Swedish American Genealogist

Volume 29 | Number 3 Article 1

9-1-2009

Full Issue Vol. 29 No. 3

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Volume XXIX No. 3September 2009

A journal devoted to Swedish Americanbiography, genealogy, and personal history

(ISSN 0275-9314)

Copyright © 2009

Swedish American Genealogist

Publisher:Swenson Swedish Immigration Research CenterAugustana College, Rock Island, IL 61201-2296Telephone: 309-794-7204. Fax: 309-794-7443E-mail: sag@augustana.eduWeb address: http://www.augustana.edu/swenson/

Editor: Elisabeth ThorsellHästskovägen 45, 177 39 Järfälla, SwedenE-mail: sag@etgenealogy.se

Editorial Committee:H. Arnold Barton, Carbondale, ILDag Blanck, Uppsala, SwedenDennis L. Johnson, Pottstown, PARonald J. Johnson, Madison, WIChristopher Olsson, Stockton Springs, MEPriscilla Jönsson Sorknes, Minneapolis, MN

Swedish American Genealogist, its publisher, editors,and editorial committee assume neither responsibilitynor liability for statements of opinion or fact made bycontributors.

Correspondence. Please direct editorial correspon-dence such as manuscripts, queries, book reviews,announcements, and ahnentafeln to the editor inSweden.

Correspondence regarding change of address, backissues (price and availability), and advertising shouldbe directed to the publisher in Rock lsland.

Subscriptions. Subscriptions to the journal are $28.00per annum and run for the calendar year. Single copiesare $8.00 each. Swenson Center Associates are entitledto a special discounted subscription price of $15.00.Direct all subscription inquiries to the publisher in RockIsland.

In Sweden the subscription price is 250.00 Swedishkronor per year for surface delivery and 275.00 kronorper year for air mail. This subscription fee may bedeposited in our plusgiro account: 260 10-9, SwedishAmerican Genealogist, c/o Thorsell, Hästskovägen 45,S-177 39 Järfälla, Sweden.

(ISSN 0275-9314)

CONTENTS

Interview with the widow .................................... 1by Norm Sandin

Korsbaneret – an interesting publication ......... 4by Elisabeth Thorsell

News from the Swenson Center........................... 7By Jill Seaholm and Christina Johansson

Peter Stebbins Craig – In Memoriam ................. 8By Ellen Rye

The search for Swedish ancestry ...................... 10By Paul D. Sward

Those mysterious words, part 3 ........................ 13By Elisabeth Thorsell

The Influence of Swedish Settlers ..................... 14By Marianne B. Lenner

(Hand)writing Example XXII ............................. 18

Bits & Pieces .......................................................... 19

Put your “Genealogy Stuff” in book form ....... 20By P. Robert Willey

The Old Picture ..................................................... 21

The solution to the (Hand)writing example ... 22

Swedish Genealogical Society of Minnesota ... 23by Elisabeth Thorsell

Book Reviews ........................................................ 24

Interesting Web Sites ........................................... 30

Genealogical Queries ........................................... 31

The Last Page ......................................................... 32

Cover picture:The Battle of Bornhˆft, in Schleswig-Holstein in 1813. Pictureby Carl Johan Ljunggren, a Swedish officer.See article on page 10.

1Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

It is October 21, 1795, here in Hälle-fors parish, Västmanland, and we areprivileged to have with us ChristinaPehrsdotter. Christina lost her hus-band, the late Sven Larsson, fourweeks ago and we are on the estatetoday with some of her family whohave assembled a team to performthe estate inventory and evaluation.Christina has agreed to let us inter-view her during the process in anunusual way. As I question her, I’veasked her to pretend that she isanswering someone who will be read-ing the interview in a different lan-guage and two centuries or morehence. The reader will know little ofthe dialect of this time and place,little of the objects and equipmentthat are in the estate, and little ofthe customs and practices thatprevail.

Me: Why are we here today?Christina Pehrsdotter: We are here to

perform the bouppteckning for mylate husband Sven Larsson.

Me: Now remember who we areaddressing – what is the boupp-teckning?

CP: Everyone knows that – it is theinventory and evaluation of allitems in the estate and the deter-mination of the distribution ofeverything to the heirs. This isrequired by the court after adeath.

Me: Good – now who are all thesepeople?

CP: Petter and Sven are my hus-band’s sons, Nils Nilsson Zander

and Göran Andersson are hissons-in-law, and the other NilsNilsson has been named guardianto the minor children.

Me: I understand Petter and Sven areboth millers just as your husbandwas. Are the sons-in-law alsomillers?

CP: No, Nils is Maria’s husband - atailor who lives in Kullberget,Södra Torp rote. Göran is Anna’shusband - a tenant farmer inDamshöjden. Both of those placesare here in Hällefors parish.

Me: There seem to be two other menhere. Who are they?

CP: Swen Siggesson and Mats Pers-son are the “good men” who willconduct the inventory and assignthe valuations. They have doneestate inventories many timesbefore.

Me: Besides Petter and Sven, I be-lieve you have had several otherchildren. How many, who are they,and how are they represented?

CP: My husband was married earlierto Brita Hindersdotter. They hadeight children but only Maria,Lars, and Sven survive. Maria isrepresented by her husband NilsNilsson Zander. Lars is a bit slowin the head and is represented byhis brother and guardian Sven.

Sven the elder and I had ten child-ren, of which six survive. Petteris here today and Anna is repres-ented by her husband Göran An-dersson. Brita, Christina, Nils,and Catharina are minors and

they are represented by their ap-pointed guardian Nils Nilssonfrom Hällefors.

Me: So you had ten children – howlong were you and Sven married?

CP: Let’s see, we married in 1768 andit is now 1795, so it was 27 years.Sven was 18 years older than me.

Me: So Sven was pretty old when theminor children were born?

CP: Yes, my goodness, he was almost65 when Catharina was born! I’vealways said, as long as butter willmelt in their mouths, men willcontinue to try for more children!

Interview with the widow– a journalist explores the world of bouppteckningar. Part 1.

BY NORM SANDIN

A Swedish pewter goblet from ca 1800.

2 Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

Me: Do you recall how you lost thefour children who died?

CP: Of course! Stina died of whoopingcough when she was about 17months old. I don’t think anyoneknows for sure what causes in-fants to die, but the first Nils hadsevere stomach pains and thesecond Nils and Johan both haddiarrhea.

Me: And how did Sven die?CP: I think it was pneumonia.

The list of estate itemsMe: We are looking at the list of estate

items. The items are grouped byvarious attributes. The first of thegroups we will look at are Silver,Pewter, Copper, Brass, Bronze,Porcelain, Glass, Iron, and Pewter.

I see that you have several rath-er expensive pieces of silver Chris-tina – how did that happen?

CP: As you said, Sven was a miller.Usually, he was paid by keeping aportion of the grain submitted bythe customer, which we used forthe family and sold any excess. Inthe last few years, the weatherhas been quite good and Svenaccumulated quite a bit of cash.He didn’t like to keep loose moneyaround so he bought silver items.Silver retains its value well andit is easy to sell if cash is needed.Besides, silver is beautiful andmakes a nice display!

Although it is generally frownedupon, some of the items in theestate were acquired by what Ithink you would call barter. Somecustomers had skills but werevery poor, so Sven did theirmilling for goods instead of grain.

Me: The copper still with all its partsis a very expensive item. WasSven a heavy drinker?

CP: Sven was a steady drinker, butprobably no more so than hismany friends. He was a hardworker and the drink never got

in the way of his work. I admitthat I have also had an occasionalnip – after all, I was usually theone who ran the still!

Since it was the nature of the millingbusiness to have grain around,one of the ways to use the excesswas to make alcohol. Sale of this

product also contributed to Sven’sincome.

Me: The cast iron stove (Bergslagska-min) is another expensive item,right?

CP: Yes, but it was worth every bit ofit – we all had many happy winterevenings huddled around thewarm stove, enjoying the heat andthe light of the flickering fire,telling stories, reading from theBible, and feeling like a family! Iwill truly miss those nights!

Me: I’m sorry for your loss Christina.Would you like to take a breakfrom the questioning?

CP: No, I’m all right.

Me: Judging by the large number ofplates, bowls, goblets, kettles, pots,casseroles, candlesticks, and bot-tles of various materials, I’d guessyou must entertain a lot. Is thatthe case?

A copper still from the 1800s. The still inoperation was attached to a kylfat(cooling vessel).

A Bergslagskamin (cast iron stove).

3Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

CP: Well, if you call the serving ofmeals entertaining, the answer isyes! We always had tables full ofpeople for meals – even when itwas just family. Remember all thechildren, the families of themarried ones, not to mention themaids and hands! Lots and lots offood has gone through my kitch-en!

Me: I see broken iron casseroles andbroken stoneware plates on thelist. Why have you been keepingthese?

CP: The iron was saved for the black-smith. He can make it into otherthings. The stoneware plates canprobably be repaired, but wenever found anyone to do it. Evenif things are damaged, we usethem as long as we can. You know,we have to pay tax on the totalvalue of the estate, so it is im-portant to identify all the deficien-cies so the valuation stays low.

Me: It seems that Sven didn’t havemany hand tools – I guess hewasn’t very handy?

CP: Sven could do many things, butbesides his milling work and ten-ding the horses, he really pre-ferred spending time with thechildren and fishing! We alwayshad a small garden, but the child-ren and I did most of the work.He would help with planting andthe harvest of potatoes and ruta-baga because that was heavywork but other vegetables wereup to me. The cows, of course,including milking, feeding, clean-

ing up, and the cheese and butterwere “women’s work” (whichincluded boys until they wereabout 15). He wouldn’t be caughtdead dealing with a cow! Sven hadall the tools necessary to conducthis business.

Me: Yes, I see many grain bins, scoops,grain sieves, measuring devices,shovels, and carts that wereprobably a part of his business. Ialso see a few drills, saws, chisels,and axes, probably for main-tenance of equipment and build-ings.

Next in the list come Vehicles andFarm Equipment. I see quite a fewcarts and sleighs as well as ridingsaddles, but no horses – how isthat?

CP: We haven’t had horses for sometime. The saddles and other horsetack are very old. The carts andsleighs were pulled by the ox thatSven the younger took prior to theinventory.

Kärra (cart).

Me: There is a separate section forFishing Equipment – Sven had 22fish nets and four boats. Lookslike he was serious about fishing.

CP: It was more than a hobby withhim. Whenever he could get awayfrom milling activities, Sven madepretty good money fishing. Hewould usually take one or moreof the older boys or a son-in-lawwith him. He had one flat-bot-

tomed rowboat north on theSvartälven (Black River), onedown the river and one at thesmall pond by Saxhyttan. Thefourth boat was kept here andhauled along on other excursions.

Me: Linenware is next. You havesome very elegant dräll table lin-ens with an interesting blockpattern. Did you get these for aspecial occasion?

CP: Yes, they were purchased for themarriage of Maria, Sven’s eldestdaughter. Sven always felt bad forMaria because she was without amother for more than a year anda half between Brita’s death andour marriage. Not only was shemotherless, but she had threeyounger brothers and the babyJonas to help out with. Brita diedwhile giving birth to Jonas andthen Jonas died when he was only19 weeks old. I guess after all that,Sven tended to spoil Maria.

Me: This section is a list of all ofSven’s clothing. There are severalitems of clothing made of “wall-marns.” Could you tell me whatthis material is?

CP: Huh, I may not be able to writeas well as these guys, but I thinkI can spell better! The word isactually “vadmal,” a rough woolencloth, sometimes called home-spun. I wove the cloth for some ofthese things and Anna becamepretty adept and made otheritems.

Some sickles for harvest.

The author isNorm “Pono” Sandinwww.sandinfamily.comClick on Genealogy Resourcesand find his Pictorial Dictionary!

To be continued!

A wooden spade with iron reinforcements.

4 Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

Korsbaneret – an interestingpublication

During my recent stay in Minnesota,I found many interesting things.

One of those was a volume of Kors-baneret (The Banner of the Cross),which until now I had not seen. Thissmall bound book is a yearly calenderfor the Augustana Synod, and waspublished by the Augustana BookConcern from 1880 to 1950, in Swe-dish. Its first editors were: Olof Ols-son and C. A. Swensson, E. Norelius,O. Siljestrom, J. G. Dahlberg, O. H.Ardahl. Swenson Center seems tohave the full collection from 1880 to1950.

The volume I have been studyingis for 1915, and starts with severalprayers and sermons. The nextsection is called From the church’sfield of work, and here are reports onthe Synod’s Immigrant’ and Sailors’Home in Boston, and on the retire-ment home in Chicago, with pictures.Also there are reports from the mis-sion fields in the U.S.

Next comes a numberof obituarieson deceased pastors and their help-mates: Johan Edvin Morton, MartinJ. Englund, Anders Hult, Nils Gibson,Georg Reinhold PetersonVictor Nel-son Thorén, A. J. Elmer, GustafNelsenius, Erik Rehner, Anders Jo-han Enstam, Brynolf Westerlund, PerErik Fredlund, Viktor Setterdahl,Johan Peter Neander, Carl OttoSwenson, C.M. Ryden, Widow (änke-fru) Christina Lindeblad, Widow (än-kefru) Ida Josefina Sannquist, SigridAmalia Blomgren, Gustaf Hultquist,Anna Katrina Peterson, MagnusLarsson, Sven August Svenson,andthe Henrickson Family.

These obituaries, in most cases,have enough information, to trace thedeceased person back to Swedishsources. Some of them were among

the early immigrants, and there canbe some very personal views on thedeceased that can be hard to find now.There are photos of most of them.

Next comes a few stories, amongwhich perhaps the Paxton-minne(memories from Paxton), by M.J.Englund, is the one with great inter-est, as it tells about the early days ofAugustana College.

The book ends with photos of allthe new pastors that were ordainedin 1914, and of churches and pastors’houses around the country.

As can be seen this series of bookshas a lot of information that can beuseful for family historians, but theredoes not seem to be an index online,and it was not possible to find acomprehensive article about theseries either.

The Swedish Lutheran Bethlehem church in Gary, Indiana.

5Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

1) 2)

3) 4)

Four new pastors, ordained in Sycamore, Ill. in 1914

Who were they?With the help of Conrad Bergendoff ’sThe Augustana Ministerium. A Sudyof the Careers of 2,504 Pastors of theAugustana Evangelical LutheranSynod/Church 1950–1962, we canfind out more about these solemnmen.

1) Andrew Gustaf Anderson born1884 Mar. 4 in Antrim, PA, died 1973Apr. 22 in Gresham, OR. He went toWashington State University and gota B.A. in 1909, graduated in 1914from Augustana Seminary with a

B.D. in 1914. After his ordination heserved in Strandburg, SD, 1914–18,and Marshfield, OR, 1918–20. Nexthe went to Mount Vernon in Van-couver, B.C., Canada, for a short time,returned to the U.S. in 1920, and ser-ved in La Conner, WA, 1920-29, Gres-ham, OR, 1929–39, then he hadsecular work until 1946, when heserved at Idaho Falls, ID, until 1953.

He was married 1914 Oct. 7 toHildegard Miller, and they had 3children.

2) Johan Leonard Benson wasborn 1884 Jan. 4 in Breared, Halland,Sweden (not found in Emibas), im-migrated in 1900, died 1973 Mar. 4in St. Paul, MN. He first graduatedfrom Upsala College with a B.A. in1909, then continued his studies atthe University of Chicago and grad-uated there in 1913 with an M.A.,and then spent the next year atAugustana Seminary. He served atHsüchow, Honan, Taiwan, China,from 1914–56, and was the presidentof Augustana China Mission. He gota D.D. from Upsala College in 1942.

He was married in 1914 July 29 toLillie Starbranch, who died in 1959.

3) Nels Benson was born 1885 May15 in Hastings, MN, son of John Pe-ter Benson and Brita Lena Nelson.He died 1979 Apr. 3 in Hector, MN.He went first to Gustavus Adolphuscollege and graduated from there in1910 with a B.A. He studied in 1914at Augustana Seminary and recieveda B.D. Then he served at Honan,China, 1913-31, and again 1946–49.1932–34 he served at Winter, Ojib-way, and Draper, WI, and at Hinckleyand Dell Grove in MN 1935–46, andat Strandburg, SD, 1952–54. He wasalso Secretary of the LutheranChurch in China.

Married 1st in 1914 to WilhelminaNelson, R.N., who died in 1946, andhad three children with her. Married2nd in 1951 to Alice Holm, who diedin 1976.

4) Kenneth Anton Bescher born1878 Mar. 25 in Ålesund, Norway, andcame in 1900 to the U.S. He studiedat the Augustana Seminary 1912–14.Then served at Kearney, NE, 1914–16, and at Fort Dodge, IA, 1916–17,and dropped from the roll in 1922.In 1920 he was a “Minister of theGospel” in Minneapolis. In 1930 hewas a travelling salesman.

He was married to Ellen C., bornaround 1888 in Sweden. He died inMinneapolis in 1940 May 6, as Ber-cher.

6 Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

Your link to your history!

Contact us at kundtjanst@svar.ra.seSVAR, Box 160, S-880 40 Ramsele, Sweden.

Phone + 46-10-476 77 50. Fax + 46-10-476 77 20.

www.svar.ra.se

The1880 Swedish

Censusnow covers most ofthe län. Missing is

onlyBlekinge.

1897–1938Scanned extractsfrom the SwedishCivil Registration.Births, Marriagesand Deaths, and

Census1930.

Newscans of the

original Mormonmicrofilms for morethan half the län in

Sweden. TryErvalla parishin Örebro län

for free!

We have many new,exciting resources forresearchers.

Here we mentionjust a few – there ismuch more on ourweb site!

Two of the releasedprisoners in the SVAR

prison records.

7Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

News from the Swenson CenterThe Swenson Centernow has a page onwww.facebook.com.Facebook is a social networkingwebsite for individuals and groups.Jill Seaholm thought it would be afast and modern way to spread theword about the Swenson Center. Shelearned about it through a courseabout how libraries can use theInternet, and now its popularity hasspread like wildfire. Through her ownpersonal page she had also seen whata tremendous outlet it can be forspreading Swenson Center newsabout Swenson Center events andother items of interest.

The way it works is that an indi-vidual becomes a ”Fan” of an organ-ization. Individuals receive messageson their own pages from individualsthey befriend and organizations ofwhich they are fans. If you are a fanof the Swenson Center, whenever wepost news, photos, or informationfrom the Swenson Center, it willappear on your page immediately.Your friends will also automatically

see what organizations and friendsyou have attached yourself to as youdo it, and they can in turn becomefriends or fans. That is how fannumbers increase rapidly.

If you have a Facebook page, pleaselook for the Swenson Swedish Immi-gration Research Center and “be-come a fan” and ask all of your Swe-dish American friends to do the same!

The 2009 O. Fritiof Ander lectureThis year’s O. Fritiof Ander Lecturein Immigration History was pre-sented by Professor Emerita Anne-Charlotte Harvey of San Diego StateUniversity on the campus of August-ana College in October 2009. Harveyhas enjoyed a distinguished careerand been active in the field of Swe-dish-American popular culture sincethe 1960s. She has also receivednumerous awards, including the re-cent recognition as the 2009 Swe-dish-American of the Year.

In her talk entitled Yon Yonson —The Original Dumb Swede But NotSo Dumb: Swedish-American ComicStereotypes in American PopularCulture, Harvey illustrated how thecharacter of Yon Yonson was createdby a German-American playwrightin 1889. Her research suggests that

the portrayal of the Swede as athoroughly honest but sometimesslow character laid the foundation forthe American characterization of the

Swedish stereo type. Harvey alsonoted that despite the negativedescription of being slow, Yon wasportrayed as a positive characterwhich also represented promise.

Members of the audience noddedalong as Harvey spoke and after-wards one man testified that thisstereotype certainly fit his owngrandparents even though, as Har-vey claims, it was created by a Ger-man-American to attract an audiencefor the 1890s theatre in America. Thelecture provided for a most stimula-ting evening and the Swenson Cen-ter staff was pleased to have at-tracted both Anne-Charlotte Harveyas this year’s presenter and with thepositive feed-back generated by theaudience.

Christina Johansson

Swenson Center Facebook page.

8 Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

Peter Stebbins CraigIn Memoriam – a remarkable scholar has left us

BY ELLEN RYE

The world of Swedish-Americangenealogy lost one of its leadingresearchers when Peter StebbinsCraig, 81, slipped away peacefully athis Washington, D.C., home onThanksgiving Day.

Peter as a child listened to hisgreat-grandmother Martha Yocumtalk about how their family’s rootswent back to Nya Sverige, the Swe-dish colony established in the Dela-ware River Valley in 1638. (Thecolony was overtaken by the Dutchin 1655, but almost all the colonistsstayed, and that is what makes thecolony’s history so interesting.)

Peter tucked the stories away,never forgot them. He went on toOberlin College and to Yale LawSchool, earning a J.D. degree, andthen moved to Washington D.C.,where he worked for many years insuch positions as legal counsel for thefederal Department of Transpor-

tation and for the Southern Railway.After discovering that doing gene-

alogy only as a sideline when you areemployed full-time really doesn'twork well, Peter retired in 1987 atage 59 and immersed himself inresearching the Swedish roots hisgreat-grandmother had talked about,bringing to the task his strong senseof right vs. wrong – fact vs. supposi-tion, his remarkable ability to retaindetail, and a legal background whichgave him an advantage in readingand interpreting birth/marriage/death, probate, land, and courtrecords. The quest led him to studyfirst-hand the sources available inPennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey,Maryland, and in Sweden. Notsurprisingly – at least not to anygenealogist, he found himself re-searching all the colonial Swedes andFinns he kept stumbling across. Tokeep things reasonably manageable,

Peter established a cut-off date, limi-ting his research to the 1638-late1700’s period.

Before long, Peter was in touch

Peter Stebbins Craig (1928–2009).

SAG 1996:1 SAG 1999:2/3

9Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

with other scholars in the U.S. andSweden who had been researchingNya Sverige, and with various organ-izations and individuals concernedwith colonial history, includingespecially the Swedish Colonial So-ciety of Pennsylvania, of which hebecame a permanent council memberand official society historian andgenealogist until his death.

Among those who came to knowPeter are all the many individualswho enlisted his help in establishingtheir own family connections to theSwedish colony.

Among Peter’s colleagues andfriends was Nils William Olsson, thefounder of SAG, who published aseries of Peter’s articles detailing thegenealogies of numerous Nya Sverigesettlers. For many years Nils Williamincluded Peter as a member of thestaff of the annual SAG workshop inSalt Lake City.

Peter’s work appeared in otherpublications as well, and he frequent-ly lectured. Among his noteworthycontributions are his many majorarticles in the Swedish Colonial So-ciety of Pennsylvania’s quarterly, TheSwedish Colonial News, each articlefocusing on just one of the earlySwedish or Finnish families andtheir descendants. His two books,The 1693 Census of the Swedes on theDelaware (1993, published by SAG)and 1671 Census of the Delaware(1999, published by the GenealogicalSociety of Pa.) are definitive works

that should be on the bookshelf ofanyone interested in the Swedishcolony.

Not to be forgotten is the GloriaDei Records Project. For more thana decade Peter has led the team inthe U.S. and Sweden which has beentranslating and compiling the lo-catable records of Gloria Dei (OldSwedes’) Church in Philadelphia,starting with the early 1640’s. Fivevolumes have been published; thereare three more to come. The teamcannot imagine what it will be liketo continue without him.

Peter was a Fellow of the Ameri-can Society of Genealogists (F.A.S.G.)and a Fellow of the Genealogical So-ciety of Pennsylvania. In 2002 KingCarl XVI Gustaf of Sweden de-signated Peter as a Knight FirstClass of the Royal Order of the PolarStar (Nordstjärneorden) in recog-nition of his contributions.

Just this past October Peter washonored by the Swedish Colonial So-ciety with its first (and possibly itslast) Lifetime Achievement Awardduring the Centennial celebration ofthe founding of the Society.

In the words of a Society member,“Many who went before, like Aman-dus Johnson, did outstanding re-search on the Swedish colony, but itis Peter who has made it come aliveby compiling all sorts of informationwe can trust is correct. Now we knowwho the settlers were, about the livesof their children and grandchildren,

Digitized old Swedish newspapers

The Swedish ColonialSociety establishes aMemorial FundThe Honorary Governor, Rev. Kim-Eric Williams writes:

“A Publications and ResearchFund, in Peter's name, will be estab-lished by the Society and contri-butions in his memory may be madeout to the “Swedish Colonial Society”and marked “Craig Fund.”

Donations in honor of Peter shouldbe sent to the Swedish Colonial So-ciety, Gloria Dei Church, ChristianSt. and Christopher Columbus Blvd.Philadelphia, PA 19147, U.S.A.

“May he and all the faithful de-parted through the mercy of God, restin peace.”

Recently the Swedish National Li-brary (Kungliga Biblioteket) finallygave the public access to parts oftheir huge collection of old news-papers.

They have been working on this fora long time, starting with the world’soldest newspaper Ordinari PostTijdender, that started publishing inthe 1640s, and still comes out everyweek as Post och Inrikes Tidningar,the official gazette of Sweden.

This effort, which also read thenewspapers by computer (an OCR

There are 28 available newspapersonline now. The search is not yetperfect, but it is still useful, as youcan search on a place name or a fam-ily name. I recently found an old wed-ding announcement from 1823 for arelative in a rural parish, where Iwould never have looked otherwise.

It is estimated that in due timemore than 110 million pages will bedigitized and made public. And thenwe are just waiting for the Swedish-American newspapers...

Link on page 30!

which creek they lived by, how muchland they had, who their neighborswere, what legal disputes they gotinto, whether they could read andwrite, how much they gave to thechurch repair fund, even the occa-sional scandal, things like that.”

Peter leaves his wife Sally, his fourchildren Steve, Cary, Jenny, andKatie, four grandchildren with an-other on the way, and, among others,his older brother John and family. Wesend them our heartfelt condolences.

The writer is Ellen Rye of SilverSpring, Maryland.E-mail: <ellenrye@msn.com>

program), did not have any markedsuccess, and was also difficult tosearch. The new effort seems to beusing the same programs as thesuccessful Finnish National Libraryhas used, and is easy to navigate.

As this is just a beta-version, thenumber of newspapers is limited, butstill very useful. You need to be ableto read Swedish to get the benefit ofit. The newspapers from the 1700sand early 1800s are printed in frak-tur type face, which might not be soeasy to read.

10 Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

The Dragon Pehr Pehrsson Svärdwas born, as Pehr Pehrsson, in Köp-inge #37, Köpinge parish, Kristian-stad län on October 15, 1860, to Hus-man Pär Pärsson and Bengta Tufves-dotter.

On November 12, 1880, PehrPehrsson was enrolled as Pehr Pehrs-son Svärd (Svärd being a soldier’sname meaning sword) into the Liv-kompaniet (Life Company) of theSkånska Dragonregementet (ScanianDragoon Regiment) under Rusthåll– Köpinge #37. He served until hisdischarge on December 9, 1886.

Köpinge parish records indicatethat he emigrated on March 4, 1887.The Emigranten Populär reveals thathe departed Malmö on March 17,1887, destined for New York, NewYork.

After arrival in the United States,Pehr settled in Kewanee, Illinois, andwent by the name of Peter Sward. Hemarried Karna Nilsdotter, also fromKöpinge parish, on March 14, 1888.Peter’s father, stepmother, and hisonly two siblings also immigratedduring the same time period. Petereventually became a foreman for theKewanee Boiler Company which wasone of the largest producers of com-mercial boilers in the U.S. at thattime.

Family legend has it that when Pe-ter was serving in the Life Companyof the Scanian Dragoons, he becamepart of a squadron that demonstrated“trick horseback riding” and had per-formed before the King of Sweden.Whether this is accurate is unknown;numerous family members did attestto his acrobatic talent and excep-tional personal strength.

A Military TraditionDragon Pehr Pehrsson Svärd was mypaternal great-grandfather and wasthe starting point for my genealogicalresearch on this family line. RobertNelson, an acknowledged expert onthe Swedish-American genealogy ofthe Bishop Hill Colony, was my men-tor and provided guidance on re-searching Swedish parish records. Asan interesting side note, it was foundthat Peter Sward’s son married adescendant of an original Bishop Hillcolonist, but that is another story.

Armed with Peter Sward’s basicinformation it was relatively easy totrace his path through the Köpingeparish records and gain additionalinformation about his father, PärPärsson. Pär Pärsson had been bornin nearby Everöd parish. Quickly Idiscovered that Pär Pärsson’s fatherhad also been in the military, but wasan infantry soldier rather than adragoon. He was Pär Pärsson Pyk(Pik), under Rotehåll - Everöd #23.An examination of his militaryrecords revealed that he was enrolledin 1812 in the Gärds Company of theNorra Skånska Infanterirregement(North Scanian Infantry Regiment).He served in this unit until he wasgranted a disability pension due todeafness on June 16, 1828.

In the Napoleonic WarThe record indicated that he had tak-en part in the Napoleonic War 1813– 1814 and in the war with Norwayin 1814. It also indicated that he hada distinguished service record. Thisin itself captured my imagination,but the household examination

records for Everöd parish also revea-led that his father Pehr PehrssonHurtig was in the military and thathis death occurred in 1813. Could hisdeath be related to the NapoleonicWar?

Who was Per Hurtig?I subsequently obtained Pehr Hur-tig’s military record which revealedthat he was enrolled in the Liv-kompaniet of the Skånska Kara-binjärregemente (Scanian Cara-bineer Regiment) on July 12, 1792,under Rusthåll – Everöd #31. Thisregiment was eventually renamedthe Scanian Dragoon Regimentwhich was the same regiment thatPeter Sward had served. To myastonishment, the record indicatedthat Pehr Hurtig had served in the

The search for Swedish ancestry leads to thecarnage of a Napoleonic War battlefield

PAUL D. SWARD

Pehr Persson Svärd.

11Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

Napoleonic War and died of a gun-shot wound at Bornhöft, Tyskland(Germany), on December 7, 1813.

Father and son in theNapoleonic WarLike most Americans, my knowledgeof the Napoleonic Wars was limited.I was aware of Sweden’s strugglewith the Russians over Finland. I wasalso aware that subsequently Swe-den joined the alliance opposing Na-poleon and that Crown Prince CarlJohan1 led one of the armies againstNapoleon’s forces. However, that wasthe limit of my knowledge and I hadnever heard of Bornhöft, Tyskland.

It became clear that I needed toeducate myself concerning Sweden’sinvolvement in the Napoleonic Wars.I was soon to discover that is not aneasy task. Very little of the historyof the Napoleonic Wars that iswritten in English deals with Swe-den’s involvement. Combined withthe fact that my comprehension ofSwedish is minimal, it became astruggle to gain this education. Nev-ertheless by deciphering the Swed-ish sources and reviewing the limitedEnglish sources, I was able to gainthe understanding I needed to piecetogether this genealogical inquiry.

Swedish troops toGermanyIn May of 1813, Crown Prince CarlJohan arrived in Germany withSwedish troops and soon took com-mand of the allied Army of the North.

Swedish troops saw minimal com-bat until the Army of the Northjoined other allied armies in con-fronting Napoleon at Leipzig inOctober which resulted in the “Battleof the Nations” and a defeat for Na-poleon. Swedish troops played alimited role in this battle2. Histori-cal records identify both the NorthScanian Infantry Regiment and theScanian Carabineer Regiment atLeipzig.

Battle of BornhöftIn December the Army of the Northwas pursuing the retreating Danish

army, the Danes being allies of Na-poleon. On December 7, GeneralSkjöldebrand, commanding theSwedish cavalry vanguard, attackedtwo brigades of Danish troops andtheir Polish lancer escort at the vil-lage of Bornhöft (also known asBornhöved) located in Schleswig-Holstein in modern day Germany.Although outnumbered five to one,Skjöldebrand launched a massivecavalry charge which routed theDanes and Poles. However, theyregrouped and subsequently repuls-ed the Swedish troops. In a sub-sequent charge by a squadron ofScanian Carabineers on the Danishflank, the carabineers suffered signi-ficant casualties. This was a bloodyaffair in which neither side gained aclear victory. The battle resulted inboth sides retiring from the field. ByNapoleonic War standards this wasa relatively small battle. There issome confusion as to what the actuallosses were for the forces involved.The highest estimates place theDanish and Polish losses at 66 deadand 75 captured, and Swedish lossesat 80 dead with an untold number ofwounded from both sides.

Perhaps Pehr Hurtig died in theinitial charge, or in the subsequentflank charge by the Scanian Cara-bineers. Regardless, he died at somepoint during this battle. However, hisson, Pär Pik, survived the Napoleonic

War and the subsequent war withNorway.

A father and son served their coun-try on the battlefields of Europe. Thefather died in the carnage of a cavalrycharge, but the son survived the hor-rors of war, for which I am thankful.Otherwise, I would not have beenhere to write this article.

Editor’s Notes:1) The French marshal Jean Baptiste

Jules Bernadotte was electedCrown Prince of Sweden in 1810.His name was then changed toCarl Johan, and in 1818 he becameKing of Sweden under the nameCarl XIV Johan. In private, thefamily kept the surname Berna-dotte, which since has been usedby members of the family thathave lost their royal status bymarrying commoners.

2) The reason for the Crown Princeto save his troops is sometimesexplained by that he was alreadythen thinking of war with Den-mark, which ended in 1814 withthe Danes ceding Norway to Swe-den.

The Storming of Leipzig 1813, by Carl Johan Ljunggren.

The author isPaul D. SwardE-mail: <wikblom@yahoo.com>

12 Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

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13Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

Those mysterious words – what do they mean? Part 3

BY ELISABETH THORSELL

Illnesses

The ancestors died from variouscauses, but as there were very fewdoctors or surgeons in the old days,the causes of death can be anybody’sguess.

The clergymen had to write downwhat they thought in the death rec-ords, as they every year had to rep-ort back to the Central Bureau of Sta-tistics, beginning in 1749 when thiswas founded. Some clergymen wereinterested enough to take a littlecourse of a few weeks of medicine,others got by with the help of a medi-cal dictionary.

This means that the causes ofdeath are probably correct whensomebody died from an accident,drowned in the lake, or was hit byfalling rocks in the mine, or hangedhimself. For internal illnesses the di-agnosis is probably also true whenthere were epidemics of, for instance,smallpox or the measles.

With the help of a recent book,Gamla sjukdomsnamn i gångna ti-der (Names of illnesses in past times),by the pharmacist Gunnar Lager-krans (latest printing in 2003), wewill look at some of the illnesses youmay see in the death records.

Håll och styngThis is usually translated as pneu-monia, but literally means that thesick person feels a stitch in his chest,a sharp pain when breathing ormoving.

FrossaThis is usually translated as the ague,shivering and feeling first hot, andthen really cold. This can be the

symptoms of malaria, which wasquite common in Sweden about 200years ago. It was especially commonalong the coasts and around the biglakes, Mälaren, Hjälmaren, and Vän-ern, but not around Vättern, as thewater is much colder in that lake.

Okänd barnasjukaThis is one of the most commoncauses of death for small children,and can be translated as “unknownchildren’s disease” or “I do not know.”

RödsotThis is one of the names for dysentery,as a visible sign of the illness was abloody diarrhea. It comes from badhygienic conditions, where manypeople lived together closely and didnot have enough access to cleanwater and clean latrines. It is alsovery contagious. There was an epi-demic in Sweden in 1772–74, whenhundreds of people died, mostlychildren and old people. This can alsobe called “durchlopp,” a German wordthat means diarrhea.

Nervfeber, tyfusThis is translated as typhoid fever,and is also caused by bad health con-ditions, and is very contagious. In1788-89 soldiers marched to Karls-krona and waited to be transportedto the war in Finland. During theirwait they had no tents, bad uniforms,and little food, so they died in thethousands without firing a singleshot.

FörstoppningThis is called constipation in English.It can be deadly, if not treated in the

right way with laxatives and morefibers, etc.

Lungsot, tvinsot, tbcThis is the same as tuberculosis,orconsumption, which was a big killerin the 1800s and the early 1900s,until it was realized how to treat it.The name tvinsot means “wastingillness” as the sick person lost a lotof weight. Young people in their teensor early twenties were especiallyvulnerable to this.

Svullnad, vattusotThis is translated as dropsy, and wasprobably a heart condition, when thesick person had too much water inthe body.

ÅlderdomssvaghetThis is translated as old age frailty,which probably means old peoplebeing easily tired, not able to work,and losing interest in life.

Smittkoppor, kopporThis is smallpox, which was a big kil-ler during the 1700s, until inocul-ation became mandatory in 1816.This is called “vaccination” in Swed-ish. There is a special column in theclerical surveys which shows ifpeople had been inoculated (v) or hadhad natural smallpox (n).

MässlingThis is translated as the measles, anacute, contagious viral disease, onecertain sign is red spots on the skin,fever, and coughing. This was also anepidemic, and killed mostly smallchildren, often all the children in afamily.

14 Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

The Influence of Swedish Settlers on aCommunity or RegionA result of an essay contest in 1948

BY MARIANNE B. LENNER

Editor’s introduction:In 1948 the Swedish American Linehad an essay contest for youngstersand received many entries from highschool seniors, as was then the pre-sent author, and others. Many ofthem were printed in Stories of Swed-ish pioneers in North America: aselection of essays submitted in a con-test in 1948: sponsored by The Swe-dish American Line to commemorateThe Swedish Pioneer Centennial.Editor: Lundbeck, G. Hilmer. 10volumes. Available at the Library ofCongress and Swedish Emigrant In-stitute, Växjö.

One of the entries concentrated ona family from Nordmark parish inthe mining area of Värmland.

The story of JohannesOlsson and his family:This is the true story of the family ofJohannes and Katherine Olson, bornin Nordmark in the province ofVärmland, Sweden. Johannes andKatherine gave birth to eight child-ren, all of whom were born in Swe-den. Beginning with the oldest, theywere the following according to theyear of birth: John, (1859); Gustaf,(1861); Karl, (1867); Anna, (1870);Andrew (1872); Hulda, (1874); Wil-liam, (1877); and Oscar, (1881).

This story is centered around An-drew, the fifth member of the family,who now in 1948, is a retired residentof the city of Wakefield, Michigan, inthe county of Gogebic. He has been afriend of our family for many yearsand has been associated with myfather in a number of communityprojects in the interests of public wel-fare. For this reason, as a result of

admiration for Andrew Olson and theOlson family as a whole, it was natu-ral that the name of Andrew shouldbe singled out in demonstrating theinfluence of the family of Johannesand Katherine Olson on the regionsknown as the Marquette Iron Rangeand the Gogebic Iron Range, in theUpper Peninsula of Michiqan.

This presentation was made possi-ble because of my father’s severalinterviews with Mr. Olson in makingthe biographical material an authen-tic document of an outstanding com-munity-minded American citizen ofSwedish birth.

It begins in SwedenAs a matter of historical review, it iswell to remember that our story ofthe Olson family had its origins inSweden about the middle of thenineteenth century. Iron ore hadbeen discovered in Michigan’s UpperPeninsula, and miners were in greatdemand.

Sweden seemed to have very littlepossibilities for the Olson familybecause practically all or most of theland was controlled by large estatesor else by the smaller landownerswhere land titles had run for gener-ations.

Johannes Olson and his familywere neither farmers nor miners.Father Olson had been a sort of Jack-of-all-trades or handy man for one ofthe large landowners. His dutiesincluded that of overseer of forestryproduction, conservation, and themaking of charcoal, which was find-ing important usage in the smeltingof iron ore. An iron ore mine had beenworked near the landowner’s estatefor several years. The shipping of ore

and charcoal to a mill at Uddeholmwas the beginning of the industry inthat section of Sweden. The sons ofJohannes Olson and Katherine Ol-son were destined to follow theirfather’s footsteps and thus work onthe estate.

The first to leaveIn 1880, the oldest of the Olson broth-ers, John and Gustaf, at the ages of21 and 19, respectively, had decidedto leave for the United States. Asthere were visa and other permitsfrom the crown, state, and church tobe secured, it was not until early thefollowing spring before they wereready to leave Sweden. Even theowner of the estate on which thefamily was employed seemed to makeit as difficult as he could for them;but finally leave was granted and theOlson brothers were on their way.When they reached America, theyheaded for the mines in MarquetteCounty, Michigan, where some oftheir friends from Sweden had pre-ceded them. They easily acquired jobsat one of the mines known as Cam-bria.

By late summer John and GustafOlson had earned enough, at pro-bably $1.50 per day, to send for theirfather in Sweden. Tempting theirfather with a prepaid passage, theboys encouraged him to join them atNegaunee, Michigan. He sailed forthe United States in October 1881,thus leaving Mother Olson with theremaining six children in the oldcountry. However, by next spring,Father Olson and the two brothershad earned enough to send to Swe-den the prepaid steerage passage fortwo full fares, four half-fares, and a

15Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

baby, no charge. The latter child, Os-car, was only five months old whenMother sailed with her brood for theland of promise.

The rest followsAndrew Olson, although only tenyears of age when he came to Amer-ica, said he still has vivid memoriesof the trip coming here from Sweden.In recalling the journey, Andrewstated that Mother and the remain-ing six children left home on abeautiful day in the middle of May,1882. The landlord’s finest team ofhorses and best carriage broughtthem to the railroad station. By trainthe family reached Filipstad for someexamination or interview. During thetime the steamship passage wasbeing prepared, the oldest sister hadpassed her twelfth birthday, and onlya half-fare ticket had been prepaidfor her. She was now scheduled forfull fare and as Mother Olson had noextra money, it was thought thefamily would get no further. BrotherKarl and Mother were resourcefuland they got through. By the time thefamily arrived at Gothenburg, thepleasant weather had subsided anda big storm came up. Since there wereno docks in those days, the large ship

could not tie up.Passengers for America were

hoisted into a small boat and takenover to the ship, and by that time theentire Olson family was so sick thatno one cared what happened. It wasthought the ship would never makeit, but as Andrew, said “Who cared.”In the morning, the passengers weretold the ship had gone through theworst storm on the North Sea intwenty years. The ship was really nota luxury liner as it was an old cattle-ship which had been converted intoa passenger boat called the Orion. Itsdestination was Hull, England. The“bedroom” was composed of what hadbeen cattle stalls, each with enoughroom for four bunks, two up and twodown, and was a little wider than thelength of a bed. Each section wouldhold altogether about twenty-fivepeople.

Andrew recalled that a strangeincident occurred during the storm:“There were four or five young menin one of the bunks across the areaway in the Olson section who werefrom somewhere in Sweden. Theyhad all found it necessary to pile theirbelongings between the bunks. Theyounger Olson sister, Hulda, hadbeen the sickest, and she found itconvenient to lean over the edge of

the bunk and relieve herself of whatlittle she had last eaten, and it wentinto one of the young fellow’s boots.He made a little fuss over it and hadto clean his boots someway, but didnot know who had done it. Fifteenyears or so later Hulda married aminister. A few years after, when agroup was together talking abouthappenings, it was discovered thatHulda was the one who had vomitedinto the boots of the young man, nowa minister and her husband.”

When the old cattle-ship Orionreached Hull, England, after threedays of what appeared a sure ship-wreck, the passengers traveled a-cross country to Liverpool. At the lat-ter port of embarkation, the WhiteStar liner the Baltic continued withthe journey to America. This was aluxury trip in comparison with thedays on the Orion, according to An-drew. The Baltic reached the NewYork harbor after nine days. TheOlsons were none the worse for theirocean trip.

Arrival in the U.S.It so happened that “Papa Olson” andthe two oldest sons had left Mar-quette County, Michigan, and hadgone to Worthington, Minnesota,

The Nordmark valley. Postcard from around 1900.

16 Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

because there was a Swedish settle-ment there that seemed to offer pros-perity in farming. They arranged forprepaid transportation for the rest ofthe family from Sweden to the townof Worthington. However, after theentire Olson family had a reunion inWorthington, the newcomers foundnothing but grass and more grass;the land of promise in Minnesotaproving to be merely a mirage. Aftera few months of work on a railroadbuilding project, the laborers in theOlson family decided to return toMarquette County, Michigan, in thefall of 1882, with the town of Negau-nee as their future home.

Back in NegauneeThe first thing the Olsons did was tobuild a house in Negaunee. Therewas lots of material as the woodswere full of virgin timber, but therewere not many sawmills. It wasnecessary for the older Olsons towork at a small sawmill on the lakenearby to help cut the lumber for thehouse. Most of the house was upbefore winter really set in. Mr. An-drew Olson said: “The lumber wasgreen, the winter of 1882 cold, andJack Frost had quite a time trying topull out the wrought-iron cut nailsfrom the lumber and two-by-fours.”However, the house must have beenwell-built because to this very day in1948 it is occupied where it standsin Negaunee.

After the house was built, FatherOlson and the oldest boys went towork at the Cambria mine. Thebrothers became miners, while thefather cut and framed heavy timbersets for underground mining to keepthe ground from caving. He contin-ued at this kind of work for the restof his life. As the main bodies of ironore around Negaunee had not yetbeen discovered at this time, the min-ers believed the mines to be depleted.It was actually the lull between de-pression and boom. As large depositsof iron ore were being uncovered onthe Gogebic Iron Range, and a pro-cess was discovered for convertingthe new finds of Bessemer ores, therewas quite a rush for this new range.

On the move againThe Olson family, especially the men,again got the wanderlust, so planswere formulated to go westward alittle over one hundred miles to thenew iron ore range, with the town ofIronwood as the destination.

While in Negaunee, the Olsonchildren got two things of greatimportance — a family name and alittle education.

Taking Andrew Olson, the fiftholdest child, as our example, here iswhat happened in Negaunee. At theage of ten he started his Americaneducation. The father’s name beingJohannes, Andrew started to regis-ter as Johanneson or Johnson inschool, according to Swedish custom.However as the surname was Olson,Andrew soon convinced his familytheir name should always be Olson.When the oldest brothers had cometo America, they had been told thatthere were already so many Johnsonsand Olsons in the United States andso much confusion on account of itthat they had already taken someother names, but they were soonconvinced that Andrew had the pro-per slant on the name; and finally thefamily agreed with Andrew to be-come all “Olsons.”

In Sweden, Andrew had receivedonly two years of schooling in the

primary studies, but his training wasso well-rounded that he had no dif-ficulty in advancing scholastically inthe Negaunee schools. Finally, whenin the ninth grade, an attack ofrheumatic fever put an end to An-drew’s schooling. But anyway, a newsuperintendent insisted that thepupils should wear dress suits andlow, well-shined shoes, while the Ol-son dress suits were mostly overallsand hightop boots. Since the Olsonscould afford nothing different at thattime, Andrew quit for good and wentto work in a confectionery.

It was in 1886 that the Olsonfamily moved to Ironwood, Michigan,the boom town that the Olson familydecided would bring them prosper-ity on the new Gogebic Iron Range.

John, the oldest of the brothers,went to work in Ironwood’s well-known “Norrie” mine. Brother Gus-taf having had enough of miningstarted a small confectionery busi-ness. It was a rather unsuccessfulenterprise, as the rough and tumbleminers were not candy-minded. How-ever, this experience and a meatmarket venture gave Gustaf the am-bition to become a whole-sale grocer.So finally, when an opportunitypresented itself in 1890, the whole-sale grocery firm of Olson Brothersand Company, under the leadershipof Gustaf, had its humble beginning.

The house in Negaunee, built in 1882 by Johannes Olsson. Picture from 1954 withMrs. Stark outside. (http://flickr.com/photos/81494713@N00/437812663).

17Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

Now in 1948, after fifty-eight yearsof depressions and booms, the OlsonBrothers firm is considered thelargest independent wholesale gro-cery firm in this section of Michiganand Wisconsin.

A family businessAt some time or another every mem-ber of the Olson family has beeninterested in the firm. Gustaf hasbeen the most persistent, and hascontinued firmly through thick andthin, panic and depressions, prosper-ity and booms. His two sons hadpicked up enough experience in thebusiness and after serving in theFirst World War came into the firm.One of the sons, Walter, is now, in1948, the mayor of the City ofIronwood. His two sons are now alsobeing groomed to eventually carry onthe traditions and business enter-prises of Olson Brothers and Com-pany.

This essay being centered aroundAndrew, whose education and ex-perience consisted of “hard knocks,”it is now the intention to summarizethe activities of Andrew on the Goge-bic Iron Range. His schooling beingterminated at Negaunee, it wasnecessary for him to secure a job assoon as the family reached Ironwood.For a year he worked in a bakery, andthen went into the Olson Brothersgrocery firm. Being ambitious, An-drew took up some office and bookwork, and spent a year in an Iron-wood law office. He learned someshorthand and typewriting, and reada little Blackstone, as he could notrid himself of the urge for law.

However, he never had the chanceto continue an education. Andrewmoved to the town of Wakefield, nearIronwood, and started a confection-ery store and ice cream parlor. As asideline, he was a justice of the peacefrom 1908 to 1920 and associate re-lief director of the poor in GogebicCounty to the end of 1939. Wakefieldhad no attorney until about 1928,and, so during all this time, Andrewwas a sort of legal adviser for mostof the people of the town, thanks tohis year in the Ironwood law office.In December 1898 Andrew married

and raised three daughters.Andrew has always been active in

the welfare of the Wakefield com-munity. He served faithfully as sec-retary of the Rotary Club and theMasonic Lodge; both groups haveprospered as the result of his untiringefforts. In Wakefield, countless per-formances of charity, goodwill, andcommunity and church services canbe traced back to Andrew Olson. Nowin 1948 Andrew has retired. He hasbeen an exemplary symbol of themotto of the Rotary club “Serviceabove Self” and “He Profits Most WhoServes Best.”

Appendix:The Olssons in SwedishrecordsAccording to the Gåsborn and Nord-mark Church records:Johannes Olsson was born 1838 Feb.

24 in Gåsborn.Wife Johanna Catharina Olsdotter

was born 1837 Mar. 7 in Gåsborn.Son Erik Johan Carlqvist was born

1859 Dec. 21 in Färnebo.Son Nils Gustaf Nordström was born

1861 Dec. 14 in Nordmark (as allthe younger siblings)

Son Karl Olsson was born 1867 Mar.4.

Daughter Anna Mathilda Olsson wasborn 1870 Jan. 10.

Wakefield City Hall in Wakefield, Michigan.

Son Anders Fredrik Olsson was born1872 Nov. 15.

Daughter Hulda Maria Olsson wasborn 1874 Oct. 31.

Son Wilhelm Olsson was born 1877July 7.

Son Oskar Edvard Olsson was born1881 Dec. 29.

The two oldest sons, Erik and Nils,emigrated from Göteborg on May15th with tickets for Negaunee.Their father followed on Sep. 23with a ticket for New York, andthen Johanna and the rest of thechildren left Göteborg on 1882May 12. She was recorded thereas a Johanson(!?).

Anders (Andrew) married in 1898Dec.28 in Bessemer to HuldaAmalia Wandau, a fellow immi-grant from Sweden. She was born1874 Apr. 18 in the parish ofNaverstad (Bohu.), and immig-rated in 1890 to Ashland, Wisc.,and moved to Ironwood in 1891.They had daughters MildredWandau (born 1900 Jan. 21 inBessemer), Hazel, Elma, and Mar-garet (Margit) Elizabeth, born1906 Sep. 26 in Bessemer.(Dates from records of the SalemLutheran Church in Ironwood.Thanks Jill!)

18 Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

(Hand)writing Example XXII

The above notices are taken from thedigitized issues of the Inrikes Tid-ningar 1799, as an example of whatyou can find in these old newspapers.More was written about this projecton page 9 in this issue of SAG.

The Inrikes Tidningar, also underdifferent names, was the official ga-zette of Sweden, so this is were of-ficers’ new commands were pub-lished, other official announcements,and also a number of private matters

that individuals wanted to make pu-blic. During the later 1800s you cansee many requests from pastors, whoask if anybody knows if so and so hadmarried during their stay in the U.S.

19Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

Bits & Pieces

The Carl SandburgMedal to Ronald J.Johnson!At the annual meeting of the Swed-ish-American Historical Society inNovember 2009 at the Chicago Swed-ish American Museum, the Society’sCarl Sandburg Medal was presentedto Ronald J. Johnson of Madison,Wisc. Ronald was awarded the medalfor his longtime efforts in SwedishAmerican genealogy, manifested inmany ways, as in his book Vista ’76.120 Years of a Scandinavian-Ameri-can Community, which was printedalready in 1976. Since then he hasspent much time and research onfinding out more about the people inthis community in Waseca County insouthern Minnesota. Ronald hasbeen a frequent member of the SAGWorkshop, and all his friends fromthere send their congratulations!

The world’s 2nd largestcoin

This piece of copper, which is actuallya coin, weighs about 28 pounds. It wasminted in Sweden from 1649 for atime, but became soon regarded asvery impractical. Its value was 8 da-ler kopparmynt, and it had a biggerbrother, the 10 daler coin, whichweighed around 40 pounds. There isnow about 20 of these smaller onesstill existing. The above one was soldat auction in Stockholm in Novem-ber 2009 for 1.8 million SEK.(Svenska Dagbladet 2009 Nov. 27)

Swedish genealogistsworking on a new DeathIndexThe latest Swedish Death Index(Sveriges dödbok) on CD covers theperiod of 1947–2006, and was re-leased in 2007. Many researchershad wished for a similar index thatwould start earlier, as the 1900s area difficult period to research, due tothe privacy rules (70 years), and thatthe records were not digitized.

However, it was decided by theFederation of Swedish GenealogicalSocieties (Sveriges Släktforskar-förbund) in 2007 to start a new pro-ject, called Namn åt de döda (Namesfor the deceased) 1901-1946. This isa volunteer project, as people andgenealogical societies accepted thechallenge to copy the handwrittendeath records into a database.

For the years after 1938 the projecthas been having fine cooperationwith the archives, who have per-mitted project managers to take di-gital photos of most parts of thedeath records. These photos havesince been used by the transcribers.

Now the project is about to end,and some provinces have had 100%of their old death records transcribedinto the common database, othersless, but it is still thought that atleast 75-80% of all the deaths duringthe period will be available on thenew CD, when it will be ready in thelate summer of 2010. It will alsoinclude the deaths from 2006–2009.

New name for theSwedish NationalArchivesThe Swedish National Archives(Riksarkivet) has for some years hada web site together with the region-al archives under the name Statensarkiv (State archives). From 2010Jan. 1 the name will again be Riks-arkivet for all of the state archives,due to a reorganization, and thename of the web site will also change.Link on page 30!

Arkiv Digital keepsgrowingThe Arkiv Digital company are nowmore or less finished with Gävleborgcounty, and are now working onStockholm county and city, andVästernorrland, and adding to Mal-möhus and Kristianstad counties.

More old documents atSVARThe SVAR subscription site is nowadding scans of very old records.They are now working on the land-skapshandlingarna (provincial docu-ments), that start around 1535, andgo up to 1634.

U.S. Census for 1940?Now it is only a little more than 800days until 2012 April 1. What hap-pens then? That is the big day whenthe National Archives releases the1940 U.S. Federal Census for 1940 forall researchers, and hopefully someold problems will be solved then.

20 Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

* Submit “book drafts” for proof-reading to family members re ac-curacy, appropriateness, as well asseeing if it is interesting to a non-genealogist reader. Realize peo-ple’s feelings and perceptions ofevents and experiences may varya great deal. Once they see it inwriting, family history takes on amore personal meaning.

* Seek professional advice re costs,editing, lay-out, and printing for-mat. With today’s technology it isamazing what can be done at rea-sonable cost.

* Consider donating copies to localgenealogical or historical muse-ums and societies, and send copiesto family members.

* Upon completion of your book, sub-mit an application to register yourwork at the United States Copy-right Office to “protect authorshipof original published or unpub-lished works.”<http://www.copyright.gov/>

There are additional guidelines orsuggestions that could be listed butthese have been the most useful forme to follow when researching andwriting about our ancestors.

If you are like me there probably areboxes of family documents andphotographs stored in either yourhome or other family members’homes. They all may be long time for-gotten. Nobody knows who many ofthe individuals are.

“What to do with this?” For thirty-eight years I have been collectingsuch items about our Swedish an-cestors with the goal of somedayorganizing everything.

So about a year ago I made thedecision to do what I had been post-poning – looking through the albums,boxes, documents, old letters, etc. Ibegan to organize the informationinto an interesting, readable book.When I began I knew this would bea challenge. What I did not realizenor understand were the many de-tails involved in such a seeminglytedious but rewarding project.

Unexpectedconsequences:* Discovered previously unknown

living family members who wereeager to learn of their ancestors.

* Gained greater perspective of mychildhood memories about familymembers.

* Identified deceased family mem-bers in letters, documents, andphotographs whom I had nevermet and had little knowledge of.

* Family members reflected on e-vents and sought additional infor-mation to enhance their know-ledge and understanding.

Somerecommendations:* Realize the task will take some time

– in my case over a year of con-centrated, almost daily work.

* Consider researching the history ofthe area during the times yourancestors lived there.

* Involve family members in thesharing of documents and photo-graphs that you are consideringusing.

* Set a “target date for completion.”Be selective – you can’t includeeverything. Accept that new infor-mation will always be found by youor family members and will thusenrich what already has been writ-ten.

* Have specific questions that arefocused and clearly stated whenyou seek information from familymembers or other sources.

* Strive to lessen making erroneousassumptions from your research.Your book needs to make extensiveuse of footnotes and a compre-hensive bibliography to identifysources. The goal is to presentaccurate information that can beeasily substantiated.

* Weave into the text anecdotal in-formation (historical events, fam-ily events, experiences, travel, andother stories, etc.).

Put Your “Genealogy Stuff” in Book Form!

Don’t hide your research results in the closet

BY P. ROBERT WILLEY

The author is P. Robert Willey,who resides at 1504 Steeple-chase Dr., Bloomington,IL 61701-8330.E-mail:<hogworc@insightbb.com>

21Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

The Old PictureOn this page we publish old pictures sent in by our SAG readers. If you have a picture you want to see on this page,either send a digital copy, scanned in at no less than 300 dpi and saved as a jpg or tif file, or send a good paper copyto the editor at the address shown on the inside cover. Do not send any originals, as we can not accept responsibilityfor them. Neither can we promise to publish all pictures.

This picture was sent in by JörgenVessman, Lekevallsgatan 54, S-43139 Mölndal, Sweden. E-mail:<jorgen.vessman@alfa.telenordia.se>

Jörgen writes:“My paternal grandfather had fourbrothers that all left Sweden for theU.S. The youngest one, Adolf Fred-rik Wester, was born 30 March 1871in Fellingsbro, Västmanland pro-vince, and in Örebro county. In Sep-tember 1888 he immigrated to theU.S.A. together with his next oldesthalf-brother, August Rober Vester,born 19 Jan. 1864, who went to Chi-cago.

“Adolf Fredrik soon dropped hisfirst name and was only called Fred-rik. It is said that during the first

year over there he worked in aquarry in Illinois. After that hemoved to Price County in Wisconsinworking at a lumber camp. He stayedthere until November 1893, when hemarried Emma Jakobsson in Ogema,Price County, Wisconsin.

“Later the family moved to the cityof Phillips, Price County, Wisc. Therewere seven children in the family, sixdaughters and one son, the youngestone named Fredrik and born in 1914.Adolf Fredrik was the only one of theWester brothers that remained in theU.S. as the three half-brothers re-turned to Sweden, some of themdoing the trip more than one time.

“When I inherited my grandfa-ther’s cottage in Fellingsbro from myuncle in 1968 I found two pictures

that have been quite interesting totake part of. They belong to the pe-riod when the forests were harvestedfor timber. Both deal with lumberfelling in Wisconsin and this photo istaken in Ogema, Wisc., by N. Nelson.

“The Ogema picture shows thetimber fellers at the camp with thesmoke from the chimney of thekitchen in the background.

“I have been in touch with a grand-son of Fredrik (born 1914) and pre-sented him copies of the pictures, butthere has not been any interest toproceed further.

“If anyone among the readers ofSAG does recognize something/some-one here or know where this couldhave taken place I would be veryinterested.”

Lumbering in Wisconsin

22 Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

The solution of the (Hand)writing Example XXII

TranscriptionN:o 61.

Inrikes TidningarStockholm, Tisdagen den 28 Maji, år 1799

Som Garfwaren Budén rest ifrån Stockholmden 23 November 1797, och pantsatt en Kista medKläder uti hos undertecknad, anmodas han at detmed första igenlös, i annor händelse blifwer det lag-ligen sålt; som tredje gången kungöres.

J. B. Creus

Då händelse jag skulle, under sjukdoms och ålder-doms swaghet, hafwa gjort någon Disposition, testa-mente, gåfwa eller annan författning; så förklararjag altsammans, under hwad namn det wara må,för ogildt; som härmed tredje gången kungöres. Stock-holm den 21 Maji 1799.

Maria Christina Lundman,Kakelugnsmakare-Enka

Lieutenanten Michael Roos, död den 19Maji, i sit 61 års ålder.

Handelsmannen och Deputeraden utiSlagtare-Ämbetet Adam Peter Hjelting,död den 15 maji i en ålder af 52 år.

Deputeranden wid Lofl. Tractörs-Socei-teten Anders Ahlstedt, död den 21 Maji, utien ålder af 53 år.

Döde i Stockholm

Translation

As the Tanner Budén has left Stockholm on 23 Nov. 1797, and pawned a chest of clothes with me the undersigned,[he] is called upon to at the first to redeem [his property], if not it will be sold according to the law. As is now madepublic for the third time.

J. B. Creus

In case I should, during illness or old age weakness, have made some dispositions, by a will, gifts, or in some otherway, I declare everything, of whatever name, to be void. As is now made public for the third time. Stockholm the 21stMay 1799.

Maria Christina LundmanTiled oven maker’s widow

Deceased in Stockholm

The Lieutenant Michael Roos, deceased on 19 May, in his 61st year of age.The merchant and deputy in the Butcher’s Guild Adam Peter Hjelting, deceased 15 May, at an age of 52 years.The deputy in the Laud[able] Innkeepers’ Society Anders Ahlstedt, deceased 21 May, at an age of 53 years.

23Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

Swedish Genealogical Society of MinnesotaAn active local society in one of the “Swedish” States!

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mnsgsm/

The Swedish Genealogical Society ofMinnesota (SGSM) started in 1983,and can thus in a few years celebrateits 30th anniversary. The society hasa close connection to the AmericanSwedish Institute, but moved lastyear for various reasons to the locali-ties of the Minnesota GenealogicalSociety in South St. Paul.

SGSM has their library there, aswell as the microfilms for the Swed-ish-American churches of Minnesota.

SGSM has meetings four times ayear, and also publishes a quarterlynewsletter, Tidningen, which hasmany useful articles. A past presi-dent was the late Phyllis Pladsen,well know for her Genealogical Dic-tionary.

The present president is VirginiaTaylor, who has many dedicatedvolunteers, including Dee and RayKleinow, who work with the websiteand the program planning.

Last October SGSM organized awell-attended research seminar withlectures and one-on-one help from noless than 7 visiting Swedish genea-logists on their premises.

October 2009 Research Seminar, from left: Dee Kleinow, Fran Hillier, Elisabeth Thorsell,Anna-Lena Hultman, Jan Eurenius, Charlotte Börjesson, Kathy Meade, AnneliAndersson, Virginia Taylor, and Olof Cronberg. Photo: Ray Kleinow.

A scene from the Fall Research Seminar, when the one-on-one sessions kept all thevisiting Swedes busy. Photo: Dee and Ray Kleinow.

24 Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

Book ReviewsHere you will find information about interesting books on the immigrationexperience, genealogical manuals, books on Swedish customs, and much more.We welcome contacts with SAG readers, suggestions on books to review perhaps.If you want to review a book yourself, please contact the Book Review Editor,Dennis L. Johnson, at <1_viking@verizon.net> or Dennis Johnson, 174Stauffer Road, Bucktown Crossing, Pottstown, PA 19465, so he knows whatyou are working on.

CorrectionIn the review on page 26 in 2/09,Lilly Setterdahl had the wrongyear of her marriage to her hus-band Lennart. The Setterdahlswere married in 1952. SAG apol-ogizes!

Old Swedesagain

Colonial Records of the SwedishChurches in Pennsylvania, Vol-ume 5, The Parlin Years, by PeterStebbins Craig, Editor, and Kim-EricWilliams, Assistant Editor, SwedishColonial Society, Philadelphia, 2009,hardcover, 286 pages, Swedish Co-lonial Society, 916 Swanson Street,Philadelphia, PA, 19147. $25.00($20.00 for members of the SwedishColonial Society).

Volume 5 of this series of books aboutthe New Sweden churches continues themassive work undertaken by theSwedish Colonial Society in 2006 torecord in one place, in English, thedocumentary history of the OldSwedes churches of Pennsylvaniaduring the Colonial period up to1786. A total of eight volumes areplanned. This volume covers the pe-riod from 1750 to 1759, in which thenewly assigned pastor Olof Parlin(pronounced Par-leen) served untilhis death in December, 1757, andincludes the time that the Wicacochurch was served by his assistant,Eric Nordenlind, who served in 1758and 1759 pending the arrival of Pas-tor Carl Magnus Wrangel in 1759.

The decade covered by this bookwas a time of turmoil both in Sweden

and in the colonies. Sweden was in aperiod of decline from its “Age ofGreatness” which ended with thedefeat in 1709 of Karl XII by Peterthe Great of Russia at Poltava andKarl’s subsequent death in Norwaya few years later. During the firstpart of the 18th century the power ofthe monarchy declined and becameconcentrated in the hands of thenobility. Foreign trade with the FarEast and elsewhere created somelarge fortunes and the building ofseveral large manor houses, but thelot of the common people was littleimproved. Not until reforms begunin 1772 by Gustav III was the powerof the Crown restored and a new eraof culture began among the aristoc-racy, called the “Gustavian Period.”

In North America, the thirteencolonies were becoming increasinglyrestive under their British rule. TheFrench and Indian War of 1754–63increased tensions and served to helpunite the colonies in their commongrievances. In Philadelphia, theleading city of this period in thecolonies, the population continued toincrease with mainly English andGerman settlers. Pennsylvania wasalso a haven for many groups seekingreligious freedom in the New World.The descendants of the New Swedensettlement, now in the fourth andfifth generation, had been inter-marrying with other groups and hadmostly adopted the English lan-guage. Church records were nowbeing kept in English, although thearchbishop in Sweden continued torebuff efforts to conduct services inEnglish despite the fact that fewSwedes remained who spoke thelanguage.

As in previous volumes in thisseries, the authors have relied onassembling and recording the origi-nal documents to relate the eventsof this period, with a minimum ofintroduction and commentary. His-toric maps have been included toillustrate the city and the neigh-borhoods referred to, with assistancein the introduction to help the read-er understand the many changes inplace names since the colonial period.The documents are arranged inchronological order, and include let-ters between the clergy and theirsuperiors in Sweden, letters betweenthe clergy and other Lutheran clergyin Philadelphia (mainly German),journal entries, minutes of parishmeetings, and various other lettersand meeting records. Many are in theoriginal English, the correspondencewith Sweden has been translatedfrom the original Swedish.

Supplementing these documents,many vital records of the period areincluded. These recorded marriages,baptisms, burials, and deaths fromthe Wicaco church (Gloria Dei in Phil-adelphia) and from Manatawney(now St. Gabriel’s in Douglassville).An index of personal names is in-cluded, as is an index of place namesto assist readers who may want toidentify individual ancestors or per-sons and places referred to in thedocuments. Other members of theSwedish clergy assigned to the NewSweden churches referred to in theyears recorded in this book includePastor Israel Acrelius, who wasassigned the dean of the mission, andassigned to invigorating the con-gregations at Wilmington, Raccoon(Swedesboro), and Penn’s Neck

25Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

Book Reviews

following the deaths of their pastors.Also assigned to the Swedish church-es was Pastor John Abr. Lidenius andPastor Eric Unander, all by thearchbishop and consistory in Swe-den.

These documents reveal thatduring this period, the Swedishpastors reached out to form an in-formal ministerium with other Lu-theran pastors in the area, mostlyserving the growing German popu-lation in Pennsylvania. The leader ofthe German congregations was Pas-tor Henry Mühlenberg, who foundedthe congregation and built the oldAugustus Lutheran Church inTrappe, PA, on the old ridge road toPottstown and Reading. (This review-er is now a member of this church.The old church was built in 1758 andis maintained in its original unalter-

ed condition. One of Henry’s sons wasa general in George Washington’sarmy in the Revolution.) Their rela-tions were most cordial with theSwedes, often exchanging pulpitsand meeting together regularly.

The correspondence and parishmeeting records reveal the diffi-culties of all pastors serving in thecolonial Philadelphia area. Con-gregations were widely scattered dueto population growth and the manyoutlying farms, mills, iron furnaces,and villages. Travel was difficult withfew if any bridges and primitiveroads. Horses were needed by pastorsto reach outlying congregations andmembers and much time was con-sumed in travel. The Swedish pastorsalso complained of the large numbersof competing sects and often un-trained religious leaders, focusingmuch of their antagonism toward theMoravian sect from Germany andSwitzerland, but also less friendly tothe many Baptists, Methodists, andother faiths planting roots in theDelaware Valley. Letters between thepastors and Swedish authorities, rea-ding between the lines of the elab-orate honorific language of the day,seemed mainly to complain of diffi-cult conditions, inadequate income,services in Swedish to few who stillspoke the language, and complaintsabout one of their fellow pastors whowas uncooperative.

It is also very clear that all thepastors involved during this periodsaw themselves as being on tempo-rary assignment to an overseas mis-sion, not as settlers. They were ex-pected to serve seven years in theColony, and each was prompt torequest relief when their assignmentneared an end. (Pastor Parlin died ofpleurisy a year or so before his relief,and is buried in Old Swedes Church).This contrasts sharply with currentELCA practice, where pastors maybe proposed by the synod bishop, butare reviewed by the congregationsbefore acceptance.

Of particular interest to me werethe records of deaths and burials atGloria Dei Church in Wicaco, whichalso included some records from theManatawney church. The 169 deathsrecorded between 1750 and 1759 areprobably a reasonably representativesampling of the general colonial pop-ulation of the time. It was shockingto see that of the 169, about a third(33.7%) were infants or children un-der 5 years. About half were 20 yearsold or less. 75% were age 50 or lessand only ten percent lived to reachage 65. (One old-timer lived to be 91).Unlike today, early deaths in familiesand among young people were usualmostly due to the many diseases com-mon at the time, though some weredue to accidents. Medical care wasalmost non-existent; a few midwivesand folk healers were present and therare physicians could do little butgive comfort. The median age atdeath was less than 30, contrastedwith 78 (80 for women) in the U.S.today.

As part of the projected series ofeight volumes, this book becomes avaluable historic resource about theconditions faced by the descendantsof the New Sweden Colony duringthis time period. It is also of greatvalue for researchers, descendants,and forefather members of the Colo-nial Society. For general readersinterested in the history of the colo-nial period, invaluable insights canbe gained from the informationincluded in this collection of docu-ments as a whole. Sponsors of thisproject include the Swedish ColonialSociety, several foundations, and Glo-ria Dei Church, whose support hasall made this project possible. Theeditors continue to make an invalu-able contribution to the history of thisperiod.

Dennis L. Johnson

26 Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

Book Reviews

The Loggers’life

Pinch River, Growing Up Hardand Fast on the Michigan Fron-tier, by Helen Godfrey Pike, PacificPress Publishing Association,Nampa, Idaho, 2008, softcover,144 pages, Amazon.com, $12.99plus shipping.

If you would like to sample life in aMichigan logging camp in the 1880’sfor a young immigrant from Swedenand his father, this work of fictionmay be just the thing for you or theteenager in your family. Sven Ander-son, age 13, and his father have justembarked on an immigrant’s journeyto America to find work, leaving therest of their family behind in Swedento fend for themselves. Their inten-tion is to send for the rest of thefamily when it becomes possible todo so. The young boy and man travelby the usual route, arriving in Amer-ica where an Indiana family be-friends them for a time. They learnof work to be had in the loggingcamps of Michigan, and sign on forthe winter logging season at a campnear Pinch River.

The father is a fairly skilled car-penter and is put to work buildingthe camp bunkhouses, dining hall,blacksmith shop, and store in thewoods near Pinch River. The son, stillgrowing and passing for fifteen yearsold, goes to work as a camp helperand “brusher,” trimming branchesfrom trees after they have been tak-en down by the loggers. He soonbecomes a shanty boy, working with

the cooks and helping tend the hor-ses. His father works in the woods asa logger. They both have to contendwith learning English, and withlearning to work and live with othersof many nationalities and back-grounds.

An entire logging season from theautumn camp building to the springlogging drive is described vividly asseen through the eyes and experi-ences of the young Sven Anderson.It is a rough existence where theyoung grow up in a hurry, and thecustoms of the loggers dictate therelationships between boys and men.Accidents, injuries, and even deathsare almost routine, and there are nohealth care, sympathy, or unemploy-ment benefits for those who fallvictim to the work. The work is hard,the days are long, meals are ample,and pleasures are very few. Mostsquander their pay and have little toshow for a hard season’s work whenthe season ends. Sven’s father fallsvictim to gambling and drink, alongwith many others, and eventuallydisappears from the story.

Sven, while disappointed, haslarger dreams of life in America. A

broken leg late in the season duringthe logging drive removes him fromthe lumberjack life and he againfinds shelter and work while his legmends, with the Indiana family hehad met the previous summer. In abrief and abrupt epilogue, we learnthat a few years later Sven hasmarried and is homesteading his ownland near Brainerd, Minnesota. Healso has found the means to send forthe remnants of his family in Swe-den, his mother and an older sister.

The author of Pinch River hasbeen a teacher of writing at SouthernAdventist University since 1987,having previously been an elemen-tary and secondary school teacher.She is a native of northern Minne-sota, and a graduate of Walla WallaCollege. She began her writing careerin college and has been the authoror co-author of several works of fic-tion on various subjects and histori-cal periods. This story has the ring ofplausibility and historical accuracyto it in describing the conditions oflogging work in the 1880’s. This is nodoubt because she and her husbandboth come from families historicallyinvolved in logging, and two of hersons are now loggers in Alabama.

Although a work of fiction, thisstory is an engaging story whichentertains the reader while inform-ing about many of the details andconditions in which Swedish andother immigrants found themselves,as greenhorns arriving in the woodsof Michigan at the time, to find workin the logging camps. This kind ofrough but ready work allowed manynew arrivals to get a start towards abetter life in their new land. Teen-agers in particular will enjoy thisyoung man’s adventures while theylearn about the conditions whichtheir grandfathers or great-grand-fathers may have had to deal with.Lives which are in sharp contrastwith the much less rigorous con-ditions for young people today.

Dennis L. Johnson

27Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

Book Reviews

The current dividend is Joy LintelmanísìI go to Americaî: Swedish American Women

and the Life of Mina Andersonî

AMinneapolisBuilding

Biography of a Building, ThePersonalities of 2615 Park Av-enue, by Mary Jo Thorsheim, PhD,Park Press Minneapolis, 2008,softcover, illustrated, 126 pages,American Swedish Institute, Minnea-polis, $16.00 plus shipping.

Visitors to the American SwedishInstitute in Minneapolis can hardlyfail to notice the dignified, largeapartment building directly acrossthe street from the Turnblad Man-sion, home of the Institute in the2600 block of Park Avenue. I know itwas a matter of curiosity to me eachtime I made a visit, although I knewnothing of its Swedish connectionsuntil this book was published.

As an architect, I admired thestately elegance of this six-storybuilding designed in the Art Decostyle of the 1920–1930’s, and the factthat even at the age of eighty yearsit appeared to be well maintainedand in good condition, but I knewlittle more.

In the early 20th century and untilWorld War II, the Park Avenue areaand nearby Portland Avenue, fromFranklin Avenue to the railroad lineat 28th street, was a neighborhood ofthe residences of many wealthy andimportant Minneapolis residents.The Turnblad Mansion, home of thewealthy Svenska Amerikanska Pos-ten publisher, Swan Turnblad, wascompleted in 1908. Nearby is themassive Harrington Mansion from

1907, now home of the Zuhrah Shrineorganization. Other mansions andlarge homes line these blocks, mostlydating from the same period. Ac-cording to the author, Swan Turn-blad, his wife, and daughter lived intheir mansion for only a short time,finding it too ostentatious for theirtastes, and moved across the streetto 2615 Park. The Turnblad mansionwas later donated to become thehome of the American Swedish In-stitute. Most of the stately homes inthe area have over the years beenadopted by various non-profit organi-zations and private businesses, withthe passing of their owners. The

prestigious neighborhoods are nowaround the cities’ lakes and in thewealthier suburbs.

2615 Park Avenue survived thechanges to this neighborhood, how-ever, and it remains a place of resi-dence for many who prefer apart-ment living close to the center of thecity. Many apartments dating to thesame era have since fallen into dis-repair or been demolished, perhapsdue to less desirable locations, neigh-borhood decline, or the encroachmentof nearby hospitals and institutionsin need of land for expansion.

2615 was built to a high standard,has underground parking, and other

28 Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

Book Reviews

features and amenities that continueto maintain its desirability for manycurrent residents.

The author has undertaken agreat deal of original research tochronicle the history of this building,including interviews with the son ofone of the builders, Lars Anderson,who served as a building mainte-nance manager for many years andlived in the buildings before his mar-riage and later when his family wasgrown. Lars died in 2004. The build-ing was the conception of two Swed-ish Americans who had emigratedfrom the same place in Sweden, thetown of Mellerud in Dalsland, wherethey had lived on neighboring farms.(Coincidentally, Mellerud was alsothe home of my maternal grandfa-ther who emigrated about a decadeearlier). The two men, Carl A. Ander-son and Gustav Nelson, first settledin Ironwood, Michigan, but hadrelocated to Minneapolis by 1907.They began work as builders of, atfirst, modest dwelling houses andlater building apartment buildings invarious locations in Minneapolis.

The success of Anderson and Nel-son in the 1920’s led them to under-take their largest project yet, asdevelopers and builders. After sev-eral years of planning, work beganon 2615 in 1929, despite the severedepression then just beginning. Thebuilding was completed by the endof 1930, and it received immediatestatus as a prestige building in a thenpopular location. They had engagedanother Swedish American, MartinLindquist, as the architect for thebuilding. Martin was born in Minnea-polis of Swedish parents and was anactive member of the First CovenantChurch in downtown Minneapolis,

known to many as the “Swedish Mis-sion Tabernacle.” He had studied atthe University of Minnesota and hadbeen in practice for about ten yearsin 1930. The building was laid out asa double ‘E’ with wings front and rearto create light and views for the manyapartments on each of six floors. Agarage for residents’ cars is below thebuilding with an entrance at the rear,on Columbus Avenue. The buildingwas set well back from Park Avenuewith a broad lawn and drivewayleading to the main front entrance.

The building has roots in the NewYork concept of luxury high-riseapartments with many services pro-vided within the building. It wasinnovative at its time for Minneapolisand has maintained its popularity foreight decades. The original buildersmanaged the building on behalf of itsbusinessman owner-investors until1947, with Lars V. Anderson, son ofCarl (C.A.) Anderson, as the buildingmanager.

In 1947, the 116 residents tooksteps to convert the building into acooperative, in which the tenants allpurchased shares in the building tobecome co-owners. Not all residents

were in agreement with this plan,however, and it took several monthsto conclude the deal. Managementwas now in the hands of a new boardof directors elected from among theresidents. A fiftieth anniversary galaoccurred in 1997 to celebrate thismilestone in the life of 2615.

Most of the remaining chapters inthis book are devoted to a descriptionof various residents and notables whohave lived in the building. Residentsincluded business and communityleaders, professionals, teachers andprofessors, writers and musicians,and other prominent residents of thecity. Other chapters describe the his-tory of “Loretta’s Tea Room,” whichwas a social center for the buildingfor many years, as was the old laun-dry, where hired staff washed andironed for many residents. Many resi-dents were Swedish or Scandinavian,but by no means exclusively. Someprominent residents included writerBruce Rubenstein, sportswriterCharlie Johnson, writer StevenPolansky, film impresario Ted Mann,and conductor Eugene Ormandy.There are even unverified rumorsthat Amelia Earhart lived at 2615 fora time. Other anecdotes about pastresidents are included together withinteresting accounts of the manyservices provided in the building. Thebuilding became especially popularwith part-time residents who spentparts of the year elsewhere, or trave-led abroad, or had a lake home wherethey would spend most of their sum-mers.

The author, Mary Jo Thorsheim, isa current resident and has becomeacquainted with many of the resi-dents. She studied at St. Olaf College,the University of Oslo, and the Uni-versity of Minnesota. She is an im-porter of prints and paintings fromScandinavia to the U.S. and lectureson Scandinavian arts and artists. Sheis also a researcher and consultantin occupational therapy, health, and

29Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

Book Reviews

New and Noteworthy(short notes on interesting books and articles)

The new Swedish Family Register 2010 (Svenska Släktkalendern 2010) has just been published. It is a book offamily genealogies, in Swedish, for about 60 Swedish families with dates as recent as August 2009. This volume is# 45 in a series that started in 1885. For more information and a list of families, seewww.svenskaslaktkalendern.se/

Well-known archivist Per Clemenson of Göteborg has written a number of manuals for Swedish Genealogy inSwedish during the years in company of his co-author Kjell Anderson. Now this team has published a new basicmanual, in Swedish, geared towards younger researchers who need to conquer the 1900s before entering the landof church records. The book is called Börja släktforska. Genvägar till din släkts historia. It is full of good hints onhow to use the information from the tax authorities (Skatteverket), the various CD:s, the SVAR website, and muchmore. It sells for about 219 SEK + postage. More information can be had by e-mailing <info@genealogi.se>

Family Tree Magazine (November 2009) has a number of articles on how to trace immigrant ancestors online,and the tips here can be used to track elusive Swedes too. Mentioned are all the NARA passenger list, and it isnoted that they are available on Ancestry with indexes, as well as Castle Garden and Ellis Island. The Hamburglists are explained. Naturalizations can also be important, and can also be found at Ancestry and Footnote. Thereare several research examples, but none from Sweden(!).

Family Tree Magazine (December 2009) has an article on how to trace European ancestors, and gives some goodadvice, like doing the proper homework before trying to go overseas, and also trying to find out the original name.A man emigrated from Sweden by the name Oskar Wilhelm Lundqvist, who then changed his name to OscarWilliams(!) is not so easy to trace. This issue has also a good guide on how to use the Mormon web site FamilySearch,including the new Record Search Pilot, where there are many new and useful databases, but perhaps not so easyto navigate.

The British TV program Who Do You Think You Are? (now even having a Swedish version) has evolved into amonthly glossy magazine with the same name, which is quite interesting, especially for those with British roots.

human services and is a writer ofgrant proposals and research pro-jects. Many photographs of 2615 ParkAvenue, neighboring buildings, itsresidents, and others connected withthe construction of the building areincluded. The book as a whole pre-sents one more interesting facet ofthe unique Swedish American his-tory of Minneapolis, which is such anintegral part of the growth and lifeof that city.

Dennis L. Johnson

Finlanders in Stockholm– A new CD

As a part of the remembrance of theyear 1809, when Sweden and Finlandwere divided into two separate count-ries after having been one for at least600 years, the Stockholm City Ar-chives (Stadsarkiv) has released anew CD. It is called Finländare iStockholm (Finlanders in Stockholm)and is only available in Swedish orFinnish.

The CD has a wealth of informa-tion, with hundreds of articles, pic-tures, and maps. The contents aredivided into several sections: MiddleAges, People and Gentry, Everydayand Feasts, Crime and Punishment,Congregation and Societies, Years of

War, Life and Quarrels, and at last,Turn of the Century (1900).

A big part is the database, whichcontains about 13,800 individuals,and has information on Finlandersfrom the late 1400s to the 1900s fromvarious sources: court and churchrecords, newspapers, and much more.

The maps are also fascinating; hereyou get a good color picture of theoldest map of Stockholm from 1625.Newer ones go to the 1930s, andmany maps of Finland from about1680 to 1918.

This CD sells for 100 SEK. Anyoneinterested in buying one can contactthe SAG Editor.

30 Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

Interesting Web SitesAll links tested inNov. 2009 andshould work

All the above web links will be found as clickable links on

www.etgenealogy.se/sag.htm

The Archives of Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN:http://gustavus.edu/academics/library/archives/index.php

The East European Genealogical Society (Canada): http://www.eegsociety.org/Home.aspxFederation of East European Family History Societies U.S.: http://feefhs.org/The DIS Swedish Computer Society: http://www.dis.se/denindex.htmOld pictures from Hälsingland: http://www.helsingebilder.se/utsida/index.aspMedieval Scandinavian Names: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/scandinavian.shtmlStalcop (Stålkofta) Family Website: http://www.stalcopfamily.com/index.htmlStockholm City Death certificates (not complete!):

http://www2.ssa.stockholm.se/Dodbevis/Allaregistrerade.aspxSwedish Frog Dance at Midsummer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXhGKIY65Jo&feature=relatedCensus research for Genealogists: http://www.1930census.com/index.phpNordstjernan newspaper: http://www.nordstjernan.com/A tribute to the Swedish American Line: http://www.salship.se/Listing of Swedish-American church records at Swenson Center:

http://www.augustana.edu/x14874.xmlDigitized old Swedish newspapers:

http://magasin.kb.se:8080/searchinterface/search_newspaper.jspThe blog of Swedish Way in Vancouver: http://blog.nordicway.com/The Swedish-American Historical Society: http://www.swedishamericanhist.org/index.htmlSwedish state archives: http://www.riksarkivet.seConvert many kinds of measurements:

http://web.telia.com/~u54504162/javascript/convert/english.htmAn English site about dead poets’ graves: http://www.poetsgraves.co.uk/Guided bus tours to Swedish sites in Minnesota, and more: http://www.swedishcircletours.com/

31Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

Genealogical QueriesGenealogical queries from subscribers to Swedish American Genealogist will be listed here free of charge on a “spaceavailable” basis. The editor reserves the right to edit these queries to conform to a general format. The inquirer isresponsible for the contents of the query.

We would like to hear about your success if you receive useful information as a result of placing a query in thispublication. Please send us your feedback, and we will endeavor to report your new discoveries in this section of thejournal.

Send queries to SAG! Everything is not online!

A SAG reader: Sonya AndersonSAG reader Sonya Anderson of St.Paul, Minnesota, e-mailed me earlierthis year with suggestions for articletopics, which is a great idea thatcould be done by more of you. In mynote to her I mentioned that I wasgoing to be in the Minneapolis areain October, and she suggested thatwe should meet.

However, our schedules made itdifficult to find a suitable time, sofinally it was decided that we shouldtrack her down at work.

And from this photo you can seewhere Sonya works, at IKEA! And asI live about 5 minutes from IKEABarkarby in Stockholm, it felt justlike home. So we had a nice chat andwill keep in contact. It is always niceto meet with the SAG readers!

Öberg, AnderssonHilda Öberg, born 25 April 1875 in Kville (Bohu.) left on 27 February 1893 from Göteborg, in the company of herbrother Nestor, born 19 Aug. 1876, also in Kville, and both had tickets for Chicago. Their parents were the soldierOtto Elis Öberg and his wife Josefina Nätt in Kville.

Hilda married John A. Anderson in Cook County 15 Feb. 1898. According to the 1900 Census, John (born inSweden in May 1868) and Hilda lived in Hyde Park, Chicago, with their son John C. W., born in Feb. 1899 (later usedfirst name Clarence), and her brother Nestor, who was then a garden laborer. In 1910 John and Hilda also had sonArthur (8) and daughter Edith (7). In 1920 the children are still at home. In 1930 the probable son Clarence Ander-son is 30, and married to Kathryn, and they have children Clarence (5), Herbert (4), Charles (2½), and Theodore (0).A Clarence Anderson, born 25 Feb. 1899, died in January 1968 in Chicago. Is he the son of Hilda? What happend tohis children, and Hilda’s other children?

Nestor moved to Birmingham, Alabama, and later to Thorsby in Chilton County, AL, where he died 19 Nov. 1940.He never married.

Hilda’s brother Johan, born 3 Dec. 1879 in Kville, was first a soldier in Tanum (Bohu.) and then left Grebbestad in1910, and continued 4 May to Birmingham, AL, to brother Nestor. In the WWI Draft registration he lives in Suffolk,Mass, and is single.

The youngest brother, Karl Anders Ture Öberg, born 15 April 1891 in Kville, immigrated 29 Jan. 1909 from Oslo,with a ticket for Alabama.

These siblings have an old cousin in Sweden who hopes for more information about them.Contact Elisabeth Thorsell, Hästskovägen 45, S-177 39 Järfälla, Sweden. E-mail: <sag@etgenealogy.se>

32 Swedish American Genealogist 2009:3

The Last PageDear friends,

Seated on floor, left to right: Lora Rose, Jan Frye, Karen Livsey, Janet Vanstrom, Nancy Mitchell, Ruth AnneHartman, Lois Haraldsen, David Garner.

2nd row, seated: Daniel Sköld, Edith Benson, Sabra Holm, Jim Gager, Dee Kleinow, Linda Gamel, ElisabethThorsell, Ulla Sköld, Kathleen Weber, Karen Weiner, Louise Anderson, Gene Anderson, Alice Johnson, Jill Seaholm,Priscilla Sorknes.

3rd row: Lois Hellberg, Lars Hellberg, Roger Drong, Kermit Frye, Helen Gager, Jenny Witherby, Darlene Nor-man, Marilyn Henry, Sherry Leafgreen, Jean Larson, Walter Erik Olson, Janet Johnson, Julie Benson, Shelly John-son, Lynn Johnson, Robert Campbell, Lynn Campbell, Ellen Rye, Sharon Clay, Ray Kleinow.

4th row: Michael Swanson, J. Lorimer Holm, Kenneth Anderson, Stephen Benson, Laura Reich, Judy Baouab,Greg Nelson, Lois Schneider, Joanne Offe, Ruth Pulju, Ronald Johnson, Susan Jackson, Marilyn Turchi, WayneNelson, Deborah Gossage, Shirley Koelling.

Not pictured: Lorraine Gordon, Earl Grefsrud, Fran Paulson, Myrtle Savage. Photo by: Daniel Sköld.

The Sag Workshop 2009

Again I have had the experience ofparticipating in the SAG Workshopin Salt Lake City, and as usual it wasa very positive experience. The mem-bers of the Workshop seemed to behappy with the arrangements, notleast with the decision of Jill and herhusband Dave to finally do some-thing about the very poor micro-phones and loudspeakers that wehave had to use during lectures.Dave, who understands these things,went out in the city and finally founda nice portable microphone and loud-speaker. This made it possible for themembers to finally all hear thelectures, which is what we wanted allthe time. The bad thing is that nowthey may catch us saying incorrectthings!

Another good thing was that the

FHL staff at the library held a num-ber of good extra lectures that inter-ested many. We hope though that byour week next year (Oct. 24–Nov. 1)the library will have finished re-modeling the International floor.

Before coming to Salt Lake City, Ihad visited Minnesota and had agood time there, among other thingsat the SGSM Fall Research Seminar(see p. 32). A personal thing was thatI was able to visit the Goodhue Coun-ty Museum and see the manuscriptsleft by Carl Roos, an adventurousvärmlänning who came to Vasa in1853. He wrote a long narrativeabout his travels to America and hisfirst years in the country, all in Swed-ish. He also wrote about his childhoodand Civil War experiences. Maybesome of it will turn up in SAG.

Then I spent some days in the Phil-adelphia area, first with a very nicecousin in Princeton, and then withan old friend, a former Workshopmember. We both went to celebratethe 100th Anniversary of the Swed-ish Colonial Society, and listened toa number of interesting presenta-tions. We also had the pleasure ofmeeting with Peter S. Craig, whoreceived his Lifetime AchievementAward for his great efforts in clear-ing the undergrowth and myths inthe history of the old Swedes. Helooked a little worn, but we had noidea that this was the last meetingwith this great man, who also formany years was a SAG ContributingEditor.

Till next time!Elisabeth Thorsell

AbbreviationsTable 1. Abbreviations for Swedish provinces (landskap) used by Swedish American Genealogist(as of March 2000) and Sveriges Släktforskarförbund (the Federation of Swedish GenealogicalSocieties, Stockholm [SSF]).

Landskap SAG & SSF Landskap SAG & SSF(Province) Abbr. (Province) Abbr.

Blekinge Blek. Närke Närk.Bohuslän Bohu. Skåne Skån.Dalarna Dala. Småland Smål.Dalsland Dals. Södermanland Södm.Gotland Gotl. Uppland Uppl.Gästrikland Gäst. Värmland Värm.Halland Hall. Västerbotten Väbo.Hälsingland Häls. Västergötland Vägö.Härjedalen Härj. Västmanland Väsm.Jämtland Jämt. Ångermanland Ånge.Lappland Lapp. Öland ÖlandMedelpad Mede. Östergötland Östg.Norrbotten Nobo.

Table 2. Abbreviations and codes for Swedish counties (län) formerly used by Swedish AmericanGenealogist (1981-1999) and currently used by Statistiska centralbyrån (SCB) (the Central Bu-reau of Statistics, Stockholm).

Län SAG SCB SCB Län SAG SCB SCB(County) Abbr. Abbr. Code (County) Abbr. Abbr. Code

Blekinge Blek. Blek. K Stockholm Stock. Sthm. ABDalarnaa Dlrn. W Södermanland Söd. Södm. DGotland Gotl. Gotl. I Uppsala Upps. Upps. CGävleborg Gävl. Gävl. X Värmland Värm. Vrml. SHalland Hall. Hall. N Västerbotten Vbn. Vbtn. ACJämtland Jämt. Jmtl. Z Västernorrland Vn. Vnrl. YJönköping Jön. Jkpg. F Västmanland Väst. Vstm. UKalmar Kalm. Kalm. H Västra Götalandc Vgöt. OKronoberg Kron. Kron. G Örebro Öre. Öreb. TNorrbotten Norr. Nbtn. BD Östergötland Ög. Östg. ESkåneb Skån. M

a formerly Kopparberg (Kopp.; W) län.b includes the former counties (län) of Malmöhus (Malm.; M) and Kristianstad (Krist.; L).c includes the former counties (län) of Göteborg and Bohus (Göt.; O), Skaraborg (Skar.; R), andÄlvsborg (Älvs.; P).

S

w

X

ZY

AC

BD

TU

C

ABD

E

FH I

O

N G

K

M

LapplandNorr

botte

n

Väster

botte

n

Medelpad

ÅngermanlandJämtland

Härjedalen

Hälsingland

Dalarna

Värmland Västman-land

Uppland

SödermanlandNärkeDals-land

Väster

götla

nd

Småland

Bohuslän

Halland

SkåneBlekinge

Öland

The counties (län) as they were before 1991. The provinces (landskap).

Gästrikland

Östergötland

L

P

R

Gotland