(ISSN 0275-9314)

CONTENTS

Folk Life in Sweden 1871 65 by A.H Guernsey

Mathias Bernard Pederson Found 85 by Elisabeth Thorsell

Finding Surprising Ties to Halland Swedes 87 by Carl O. Helstrom, Jr.

Using the Demographic Database for S. Sweden 96 by Dean Wood

Old Issue Revisited 109 fry Carol J. Bern

Swenson Center Serendipity 114 by Jill Seaholm

The Poor Y ou Always Have with You 124 by Elisabeth Thorsell

Genealogical Queries 126

Vol. XXIII June 2003 No. 2 Copyright ©2003 (ISSN 0275-9314)

Swedish American Genealogist

Publisher: Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center Augustana College Rock Island, IL 61201-2296 Telephone: 309-794-7204 Fax: 309-794-7443 E-mail: [email protected] Web address: http://www.augustana.edu/administration/swenson/

Editor: Harold L. Bern, Jr. 2341 E. Lynnwood Dr., Longview, WA 98632 E-mail: [email protected]

Editor Emeritus: Nils William Olsson, Ph.D., F.A.S.G., Winter Park, FL Contributing Editor: Peter Stebbins Craig. J.D., F.A.S.G., Washington, D.C. Technical editor: Elisabeth Thorsell, Järfälla, Sweden Editorial Committee: Dag Blanck, Uppsala, Sweden Ronald J. Johnson, Madison, WI Christopher Olsson, Stockton Springs, ME Ted Rosvall, Enasen-Falekvarna. Sweden Priscilla Jönsson Sorknes, Minneapolis, MN

Swedish American Genealogist, its publisher, editors, and editorial committee assume neither responsibility nor liability for statements of opinion or fact made by contributors.

Correspondence. Please direct editorial correspondence such as manuscripts, queries, book reviews, announcements, and ahnentafeln to the editor in Longview. Correspondence regarding change of address, back issues (price and availa• bility), and advertising should be directed to the publisher in Rock Island.

Subscriptions. Subscriptions to the journal are $25.00 per annum and run for the calendar year. Single copies are $8.00 each. Swenson Center Associates are entitled to a special discounted subscription price of $15.00. Direct all sub• scription inquiries to the publisher in Rock Island. In Sweden the subscription price is 200.00 Swedish kronor per year for surface delivery and 250.00 kronor per year for air mail. This subscription fee may be deposited in a postgiro account: 260 10-9, Swedish American Genealogist, c/o Thorsell, Hästskovägen 45, S-177 39 Järfälla, Sweden. 65 Folk-Life in Sweden 1871 A. H. Guernsey

Editor's Note: The following article appeared in the January 1871 issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine. It is an interesting and curious commentary on life in rural Sweden during that time period. The article was submitted by Lynn Johnson,* and is reprinted in its entirety in this issue along with the original illustrations. Subtitles have been added to make the original article more readable.

The kingdom of Sweden, exclusive of Lapland, has a population about equal to that of the State of New York, and an area nearly four times greater. The distribu• tion of population is quite different. In New York, a third of the population is concentrated in the two great contiguous cities of New York and Brooklyn, and fully an eighth in cities and towns of from 10,000 to 125,000 inhabitants. Nearly half the population are, therefore, residents of towns. The population of Sweden is almost entirely rural. By the census of 1865, out of a population of 4,100,000, there were 3,500,000 living in the country, 600,000 in towns. Stockholm, the capital, has 125,000 inhabitants, about equal to Buffalo. Next comes Gottenburg, with 42,000 about equal to Troy. There are four towns having from 10,000 to 20,000, and five having from 8,000 to 10,000 inhabitants. The whole number of people residing in towns of 6,000 and upward is less than 400,000.

The Bönder Of the entire population fully four-fifths are agricultural. Foreign writers usually denominate this class as "peasants;" but this word conveys an erroneous idea of their condition. Their designation in Swedish, Bonde (plural Bönder), is derived from the verb bo, "to reside," and means simply "dwellers." Sometimes the Bonde is the owner of the farm which he cultivates; oftener he holds it on lease from the crown or from other proprietors. These leases are for such long periods, and upon such easy terms, that they are practically equivalent to a freehold. Others are cotters who rent a little plot of ground, and keep a cow or two, a few pigs, sheep, and goats, and perhaps a horse. They work during harvest for their richer neighbors, and their wages, added to the products of their little plots of ground, maintain them in tolerable comfort. Mere day-laborers are almost entirely unknown in the rural districts. Mechanics and artisans are rare except in the towns. Every Bonde can perform the work required for building and furnishing his house, and carrying on his farm, even to shoeing his horse. There are, however, itinerant tailors and shoemakers, who go about from farm to farm, and rarely have settled homes of their own.

' Lynn Johnson resides at 80 Roan Place, Woodside, CA 94062. E-mail at 66 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2

The Forest Hut.

Sometimes the dwellings of the Bönder stand alone; but quite as often a few are grouped together into little hamlets. The dwellings of the better class are built much alike. Sometimes the barns and cattle-houses are detached; oftener they form three sides of a quadrangle, the dwelling-house constituting the fourth side. They are universally built of squared logs, the ends notched into each other, the interstices being filled in with moss. The roofs are usually of boards, covered over with layers of birch bark or turf. Roofs of tiles or thatch are rare. Glass windows of good size are universal. The dwelling-house consists mainly of one room, used by the whole family for sitting, working, eating, and sleeping. Upon one side is a huge fire-place, and around the walls are wooden settees, which, on opening, form beds for the family. In a recess, usually provided with curtains, is the bed of the master and mistress of the family. The floor is strewn with twigs of spruce, pine, or juniper. It often happens that the beds are insufficient for the accommodation of the family and guests or chance travelers; in that case bundles of straw are laid on the floor, upon which the occupants sleep, dressed in their ordinary clothing. On Christmas night all the family must sleep in one room; the children upon the straw-covered floor, to commemorate the fact that the child Jesus made his advent into the world upon a bed of straw. This bed on the floor is hence denominated Syskon-säng or "brother-and-sister-bed." In the chimney is a slide which is closed when the wood has been burned to coals so that no smoke is Folk-life in Sweden 1871 67 produced; combustion then goes on slowly, and all the heat of the fire is thrown into the room. Opening into the main apartment is a smaller one, nominally a spare bedchamber; but it is seldom used for that purpose, and serves mainly as a wardrobe for the Sunday finery of the family. Another small room is used as a kitchen. The food of the people is abundant and nutritive, though, according to our ideas, rather coarse. The staple dish is a "brose" of rye or oat meal and milk. The meal is also made into thin loaves, with a hole in the middle. These, strung upon horizontal poles, are suspended from the rafters. Potatoes are the usual vegetable. Milk, butter, and cheese are abundant. Meat is much more common than is usual among peasantry of other European countries; but it is usually salted; the com• mon people, indeed, have an aversion to fresh meat of any kind.

The Political Life of the Swedish Bonde Several circumstances combine to produce the peculiar form of the social life of the Swedish Bonde. Until within a few years they constituted one of the four estates of the realm: Nobles, Clergy, Burghers, and Bönder. The representatives of the Bönder used to sit in Parliament and appear at royal entertainments dressed in the homespun garments of their order. Now, however, there is no political distinction between the orders. There are about 3,000 "noble" families, who own about an eighth of the land of the kingdom but their nobility of itself gives them no special prerogatives, although, as a matter of fact, most of the civil and military offices are filled by them. The burghers have now only this advantage over the

Sleeping Accomodations. 68 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2

Bönder, that 10,000 inhabitants of a town are entitled to a representative in the Lower House of Parliament, while 40,000 are required in the country. The clergy have no separate political representation. The Parliament consists of two Houses. The members of the Upper House, 119 in number, are chosen by the provincial assemblies and municipal corporations. They must be thirty-five years of age, have landed property of the value of $22,500, or an income of $1100; they are elected for nine years, and receive no pay. Practically, the members of the Upper House must mainly belong to the nobility. The Lower House consists of 185 members, chosen for three years. Every Swede of the age of twenty-one, having real estate of the value of $280 or an income of $225, is eligible. The delegates receive their traveling expenses and a salary of $335 for each session of four months. The cultivators of the soil have to pay seven-ninths of the taxes, keep the roads in repair, and maintain the Indelta or national militia, numbering 35,000 men. Besides his pay each soldier has a cottage and a piece of ground. In time of peace the Indelta are called out for practice only one month during the year.

Education and Religion Education is compulsory upon all classes. Every child must attend school until he has acquired a specified proficiency; the minimum is reading, writing, elements of arithmetic, the catechism, Bible history, and singing. In sparsely settled districts the children often have to walk long distances to school. The statistical reports show that 20,000 have to go three or four miles, and 70,000 two miles. They set out in the morning, carrying their dinners with them, and return in the evening. It is almost impossible to meet with a Swede of either sex who is not able to read and write, or to find a cottage, even in the depths of the forest, without a Bible and a few books, mainly of a religious character. The state religion is Lutheran in doctrine and Episcopalian in form. Accor• ding to the census of 1860 there were - heads of families, we infer, only being enumerated 1,000 Jews, 900 Roman Catholics, and 500 Mormons; all the others were entered as Protestants. By the strict letter of the law no one who has not partaken of the communion can marry or hold office under the crown. The revenue of the clergy is derived partly from the crown, but principally from tithes and voluntary contributions, usually paid in kind. The Archbishop of Upsala has an income of $6,000 a year; three bishops have $5,000 each, the remaining eight bishops from $2,500 to $3,000. There are about 150 deans who average $1,500; and 1,200 rectors who have, including the products of their glebe lands, from $500 to $1,200. The incomes of the remaining clergy, curates and the like, about 3,000 in number, will not exceed $200 or $300 a year. As a class the Swedish clergy compare favorably in attainments and character with those of any other country. They belong almost entirely to the Bonde class, it being very seldom that one of a noble or burgher family enters upon holy orders. Folk-life in Sweden 1871 69

Rural Christmas Traditions The Swedish rural population is practically divided into small communities, having little intercourse with each other. Few of the Bönder have ever visited a town of 10,000 inhabitants, or gone a score of miles from their homes. Thus it has come to pass that their habits, manners, and customs have remained unchanged from generation to generation. Not a few of their customs and superstitions date back to a period before the introduction of Christianity. These were often so deeply rooted in the popular mind that the early missionaries found it impossible to eradicate them, and they not infrequently adopted the wise course of giving a Christian tum to old heathen observances. This is clearly seen in the manner of celebrating Christmas, or, as it is called in Sweden, Jul. Jul is the great Swedish festival, but it was a festival among the Scandinavians long before the birth of our Saviour. The origin of the name Jul is lost in the night of ages. One explanation, which appears the most plausible of all, is that it is simply a corruption of the word Hjul, "wheel," and means the annual circuit per• formed by the sun; the days shortening during one half and lengthening during the other; the point where the longest night and the shortest day met being called Jul-mot, "wheel-meeting." They commenced their year with the longest night, for, according to them, night, darkness, and cold, preceded daylight and warmth. This longest night comes on the 21st of December. Odin, who lived about a hund• red years before Christ, ordered that at this season a great sacrificial feast should be observed, lasting during the period when the lengthening of the days was hardly perceptible. This festival, called Jul-blot, continued, according to some, until the 13th of January, according to others, until the close of the month. As

The Jul-pines. 70 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2 there was only four days difference between Jul-mot and Christmas, when Christianity supplanted paganism, there was little difficulty in making the change of time, and the heathen Jul, retaining its own name and some of its old observances, was transformed into Christmas. Preparations for the coming Jul are made long beforehand. While the grain is unthreshed the choicest sheaves are selected from which to brew the Jul-ale and bake the 7«/-bread. On Jul-afton, the day before Christinas, the cattle must be let out from the cow-house and driven to water at an earlier hour than common, and returned before noon; otherwise the next harvest will be late. The Swedish peasantry have the same antipathy to forests which characterizes our pioneers; all trees are carefully cut down around their dwellings. But at Jul young pines, stripped of their bark and lower branches, are set out before the house; and as the sun goes down a sheaf of unthreshed grain is hoisted on a pole from the house-top for the benefit of the small birds, for all creatures must have reason to rejoice on the day when Christ came into the world. Meanwhile, within doors the women have been busy scouring and brightening the room and household utensils. The best garments of the family are got out and hung upon the walls, for they think that the Jul-fire shining upon them will preserve them from moths. The servants then proceed to the cattle-house. A mess has been prepared, composed of the same materials as the dinner of the family; a portion of this and a bundle of the choicest forage are given to each cow, with the words, "This is Jul-afton, my little one." The horses, in addition to their forage, have a drink of ale, in order that they may be mettlesome when going to matins the next morning. The poultry are regaled with a dish of Jul-gröt, a kind of pudding of flour or rice and milk. The very watch-dog is unchained this night, for it would be a pity that the poor fellow should be tied up and miserable, while every other creature is free and happy. From the position of the cattle auguries are drawn as to the coming harvest. If they are lying down, the crops will be abundant; if they are standing, they will be scanty. If possible, a few hairs from a newly-killed bear are put into each crib; this, it is supposed, will act as a preventive against the attacks of these ferocious animals during the ensuing year. When night has fallen the great room is lighted up with pitch-pine torches and candles. Supper comes off at ten or eleven o'clock. A pig's head - or, at least, some part of a swine - and a large loaf of bread, called Jul-boar, is always placed on the table. This is an undoubted relic of heathen times; for the boar was especially dedicated to the god Frey, the giver of light and sunshine, because it was said that this animal, by turning up the soil with his tusks, taught man to plow. All the family coin and silver cups and spoons are placed on the table, for it is held that the light of the Jul-fire will cause them to be lucky and increase. The supper concludes with a psalm, in which all the company join. A tankard of ale is left on the table for the delectation of celestial visitants; this is called Ängla-öl, "angels'- ale." A plate of stirabout, a little tobacco, and some articles of Folk-life in Sweden 1871 71 diminutive clothing are left here and there for the Tomte Gubbe, or "little old man of the house," a sort of friendly elf upon whose good-will much depends. He is supposed to have the form of a little old man not larger than a child. The few who profess to have seen him describe him as clothed in gray homespun, with a red night-cap and clumsy shoes. His special office is to watch around the house and cattle-sheds, to see that every thing is kept clean and tidy, and that the animals are well cared for. So long as he remains with the family all goes well; but if he is displeased, and betakes himself elsewhere, misfortune is sure to follow. The superstitions connected with Jul-night are innumerable. No one must be absent from his home, for on that night the Trolls, or demons and witches, are roaming about. The dead also rise from their graves, and, after visiting their for• mer homes, repair to the church and celebrate divine service. The fire on the hearth must not be allowed to go out, or the candles to be extinguished, during the night. The remains of the Jul are carefully preserved, since they possess great medicinal virtues, being especially efficacious for the cure of chapped hands, frosted feet, chapped lips, and sore teats of cows. The shoes of all the family must be placed together, in order to insure unanimity among the wearers. If any one places his shoes upright against the wall, and finds them fallen to the floor in the morning, he will die within the year. If an unmarried man puts his shirt in the barn, its position in the morning will indicate what will befall him in the course of the year. If the arms are folded across the breast, he will die; if one arm is stretched out, he will be married. Various other mishaps are prefigured by other changes which may occur in the position of different parts of the garment. But if it remains as he left it, nothing particular will happen to him.

To Foresee the Future There is one notable exception to the rule that a man must remain indoors upon Jul-eve. Sometimes a person, in quest of supernatural knowledge, makes what is called an Årsgång, or "yearly round," on that night. Preparations must be made for this mystical journey. Some secrete themselves, fasting for a day or two beforehand, in a dark cellar, or some other place of concealment, where they can neither hear nor see any living creature. He must divulge his intention to no one; must speak to no one; must not laugh or be affrighted at any thing which he sees or hears. Usually the pilgrim goes alone; but now and then two or three accidentally encounter, but they must not speak to each other. It is related by the Dean of Gottenburg that two men were thus making the round. There is a popular belief that at a certain instant the water of every spring is for a moment turned to wine. One of the pilgrims, happening at this moment to drink from a spring, incautiously exclaimed to his companion, "Now the water is wine;" whereupon a voice was heard from the depth, "And your eyes now are mine;" and the unfortunate man became blind from that instant. The pilgrimage begins a little before midnight, and must cease before matins. The pilgrim goes first to a church-yard, or to several 72 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2 if there be time. If a pestilence is at hand he hears the grave-diggers at work, and sees funeral processions moving about in every direction. If he passes a house he knocks gently at the door, and asks, "Is any person to die here?" If such is to be the case the doomed person himself answers, "Yes;" if not, a mystic voice from within replies, "No." If the harvest is to be abundant, the fields will resound with the noise of sickle and scythe, and diminutive men will be seen bearing great sheaves, or driving wains loaded with hay and drawn by mice. If the harvest is to be scanty, few people will be seen in the fields; empty wagons will be driven along, while the idle reapers sit sorrowfully by the way-side. If there is to be war, the woodman's axe will be heard ringing through the forest, the road will be thronged by phantom warriors, and the melancholy cry of the plover will sound in the dim distance. Every approaching calamity, such as fire or flood, will be prefigured near the spot where it is to take place. Should a man have performed the rounds for six successive years, on the seventh he will encounter a horseman, from whose mouth proceed flames of fire, and holding a Runic tablet between his teeth. If the pilgrim succeeds in getting possession of this tablet, he will acquire the power of seeing eighteen feet underground, and be able to answer any question which may be put to him. Should he perform two more pilgrimages, upon entering a graveyard he will encounter a troop of dwarfs, with magic hats on their heads. They will try by all sorts of impish tricks to make him laugh. Should he do this he will lose his Runic tablet, and forfeit all the results of his nine pilgrimages. If buffoonery fails, the dwarfs try to frighten him by horrid visions. If they do not succeed in this before the matin hour, they lose the power of getting off until one of them has given up his magic hat. The possessor of the Runic tables and the magic hat becomes thenceforth a great soothsayer, to whom all hidden things are revealed without the necessity of again going upon the Årsgång.

Christmas Day and the rest of Christmas On Jul-day every one makes a point of being present at matins, which usually commence long before daybreak. Many of the worshipers bear torches of pitch- pine. The bright flames, converging toward the church from every direction, pre• sent a striking spectacle. The torches are all flung in a heap before the church door, making a brilliant bonfire. The church is brilliantly illuminated, for, besides the candles upon the altar and the chandeliers, candles are burning in every pew. The service is performed in the solemn manner which characterizes the Episcopal ritual; but the officiating priests, instead of their usual black garments, wear long flowing white robes, with a large gilt cross on the back. On leaving church the people enter upon a regular race for their homes, for the man who first reaches his homestead will be the first to have his crops safely housed in the autumn. The remainder of the day is passed in quietness, each family by itself, neither paying nor receiving visits. Folk-life in Sweden 1871 73

The Jul-Bush.

St. Stephen's Day, December 26, is observed as a day of pastime and recreation. In most of the hamlets there is a public play-room. Here, or, in case it is wanting, in some private house, the neighbors assemble to engage in singing, dancing, and other pastimes. Before the amusements begin four maidens enter the room; two of them bear refreshments, the other two carry a tub, in which is planted a Jul- bush ornamented with tapers and gay ribbons. This is placed on the floor, and the four maidens form a ring around it, singing a song of welcome- New Year Traditions There are some superstitions connected with the New Year. If the moon is visible on New-Year's Eve a person sometimes goes into the open air with a psalm-book in one hand, a piece of bread in the other, and a silver coin in his mouth. Then, looking at the moon, he allows the book to open of itself. If it opens at a bridal psalm, he will be married during the year; if at a funeral psalm, he will die. "Nyet" or the first new moon of the year, furnishes occasion for innumerable auguries. For as many days as the new moon is obscured by the clouds the seed will be delayed in coming up after planting. The evening-star is the servant of Nyet. If the star sets before the moon, there will be an abundant harvest, for the master is then following the servant, begging him to remain, while the servant refuses, because when the harvest is plentiful he can live without servitude. If Nyet sets first, the crops will be scarce, and the servant is following the master, begging to be retai• ned in his place. The occurrences of New-Year's Day indicate what will happen through the year. If a person receives money on that day, he will continue to do it; if he pays it out then, he will have to keep on paying. If the skies are red on New- 74 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2

Year's Day, troubles are at hand. If the wind blows hard, there will be average crops. If the sun shines brightly, hard times may be expected.

Easter Passion-week, with the exception of Good-Friday and Easter-day, is observed as a joyous festival. Formerly it was customary on Good-Friday for parents and masters to flog their children and servants, giving them an "Easter- fright," to deter them from committing sin, "which caused so much suffering to the Son of God." This custom is now observed only in sport by children. The rods with which our Saviour was scourged are supposed to have been twigs of the dwarf birch; hence that shrub is called "Good-Friday's rod." Before the crucifixion this shrub is said to have been a lofty tree, the pride of the forest; but since the cruel scourging inflicted with its branches it has been condemned to grow only in fens and morasses, with hardly power to lift its feeble head above the ground. During the agony in the garden the Redeemer was seated under an aspen. Before that time the leaves of this tree were as firmly fixed as those of any other; but on witnessing the great agony their fibres burst asunder, and from that day the slightest breath of wind causes them to tremble. There are many pleasant bird-legends connected with the Saviour's pas• sion. When he was hanging upon the cross a little bird perched upon the wood, twittering. Svala, svala honom, "Console, console him." Hence she received the name of svala, "swallow," and in memory of her pity for the Saviour, it was ordained that blessings should always attend those who protected her. Hence the swallow is every where looked on with kindness, and it is considered wicked to molest her or destroy her nest. The turtle-dove also hovered over the cross, uttering her mournful note, Kurri, kurri, that is, Kyrie, "Lord, Lord." Since that time this dove has never been joyful, but wings her flight throughout the world, ever repea• ting her sorrowful cry, Kurri, kurri, kurri. Another bird hovered over the tree, crying, Styrk, styrk honom, "Strengthen, strengthen him." Hence she received her name of styrk, "stork," and in remembrance of her affectionate sorrow the gift was bestowed upon her of bringing peace and happiness to the households where she is permitted to build her nest and rear her young undisturbed. The stork is a welcome visitor throughout Sweden, and it is considered an act of piety to protect and cherish her. The pine bull-finch, or cross-bill, is said not only to have pitied the Saviour, but to have endeavored with its strong bill to pull out the nails which held him to the cross, and the red marks, ever since seen upon its beak, are the stains of the sacred blood.

An egg is considered a symbol of the resurrection, for although apparently lifeless matter, it has yet within itself a germ which, vivified, bursts its shell, and soars aloft as a rejoicing bird. Hence on Easter-eve hard-boiled eggs are eaten, and eggs gaily decorated are exchanged, with the joyful exclamation, "Christ is arisen!" There are some superstitions connected with Easter-week for which no Folk-life in Sweden 1871 75 explanation can be given. If a house is cleanly swept at this time, and the broom is hidden in a neighbor's house, it will attract thither all the vermin which would otherwise have troubled its owner. One must not, during this week, speak of rats, mice, snakes, or other injurious creatures, otherwise they will swarm through the whole year. Webs of linen must not be left outdoors to bleach overnight, for in that case the ground on which the flax grew would be bewitched and grow unproductive. If a housewife expects good luck with her linen, she must at night bring indoors the brake with which the flax is freed from its woody fibres. No linen garments should be washed, or any household utensils lent, during the week. If one wishes to escape being sunburnt during the year, she must wash in water which has been brought from the spring early in the morning before the birds have begun to sing. The most singular superstition relating to this week pertains to Maundy- Thursday. On the evening of this day the Påsk-käringar, or "Easter-witches," set off for the Blue Hills to pay their homage to their Satanic master. They go up the chimneys mounted on rakes or broomsticks. None of these implements should be left around in the open air, otherwise the hags will seize them for their aerial trip. No smoke should be seen to issue from the chimney after sunset, for this some• how facilitates the escape of the hags; so the fire is put out before night, and not lighted until after sunrise on the following morning. For some unexplained rea• son these witches must begin their flight by going up a chimney. This accomplished all the rest is plain sailing. Their form of incantation is, "In Satan's name, straight up and away past every corner to the end of the world." Once upon a time a servant-girl, hearing her old mistress repeat this formula, and observing the effect, thought it would be good fun to take a similar trip. She bestrode the broomstick, but unluckily, instead of the proper incantation, said, "In Satan's name, straight up and down!" The consequence was that she was dragged up and down the chimney all night long. The witches remain with their master until early on Eas• ter-morning, when they set out on their return. At this time they can be safely shot, if proper precautions are taken. The marksman must load his gun with a silver or steel ball, and take his station on the dunghill at the stable door. As soon as he has fired, he must rush into the stable, fling himself upon his face in a dark corner, and not look up until he has slept an hour. If then he does not find a dead witch, it is because his aim was not accurate.

May Bonfires May-day, held to be the opening of spring, was an old Scandinavian festival, solemnized, it is said, by sacrificing a child. It is still celebrated in a manner derived from its heathen origin. On the previous evening huge bonfires are built in every hamlet, around which the young people dance, while the older ones draw various auguries from the appearance of the flames. On May-day a sort of sham- fight takes place between two parties, one representing Winter and the other Sum- 76 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2 mer. Winter, however, always gets the worst of it in the end. He is buried in effigy, and ashes strewn over the grave. The children on this day make a point of wandering into the woods for the purpose of robbing the nests of the magpies. The eggs and young are put in a basket and borne to every house, the children singing a song, which runs thus:

"Best loves from Master and Madame Magpie, From all their eggs and all their fry. Oh, give them alms, if ever so small! Else hens and chickens and eggs and all, A prey to the magpies will surely fall."

Every housewife gives them something for a May banquet. May-day is really the only gala day of the Swedish children. On this day, also, the Easter witches are wont to send their "Troll hares" to suck the neighbors' cows. The cattle are usually confined in the cow-houses, which are fumigated with brimstone. In the evening they are carefully inspected; and if any injury is found upon them it is put down to the account of the witches, and a light is made by striking two flints over the creature, which is held to be a sure preventive of any further evil consequences.

The Importance of the Dairy The products of the dairy enter largely into the food of the Swedish people; and cattle constitute a considerable part of their wealth. These, during the long and severe winters, must be shut up in the cattle-houses, but on the approach of spring they give unmistakable tokens of their longing for the open air and fresh food. About the middle of May they are turned out; into the cleared fields surrounding the homestead. By the time these are eaten down, the forest trees have put forth their young leaves, and are fit to browse, and the grass has sprung up in the glades. To each hamlet pertains a forest tract, partially cleared up, often several miles distant. This is called a säter, and in it are built little log-huts called stuga, one for each proprietor. Before the middle of June the flocks and herds are led out into the sater, every animal, large and small, being tarred with the sign of the cross to protect it from evil spirits. Every cow has her own name, and the young ones are now formally christened by being struck three times on the back with a bough of the Rönn, "Rowan," or mountain-ash, her name being at the same time pronounced. These names are usually fanciful, such as Rose, Gem, Lady-bird, Snow-drop, or Welcome. A staid old milky mother is promoted to the rank of "bell-cow," and the others learn to follow the tinkling of the bell hung upon her neck. Each separate herd is under the care of two or three young women, who accompany the animals, and usually carry a pouch of meal, from which they every now and then give a handful to each animal. The journey occupies a whole day, the cattle browsing and resting on the way, the herd-girls employing Folk-life in Sweden 1871 77 themselves in knitting. Arrived at the säter, the herd-girls take up their residence in the stugas, and occupy themselves in making cheese and butter, or cutting and stacking the grass which grows in the swampy glades. Not infrequently the mas• ter and his family come to the säter, and pass days camping out, assisting the herd-girls in cutting the hay and tender shoots of trees to be stored away for winter fodder. These summer months are perhaps the most pleasant season of the whole year.

Summer celebrations St. John's Day, which comes at Midsummer, is engrafted upon an old heathen festival held in honor of Balder, the god of light, or the Sun. St. John's Eve is the most joyous night of the whole year, and is signalized by bonfires blazing on every height, around which the people dance, and through which they jump, little thinking that the custom dates back to the old times when their heathen ancestors passed through the fire in honor of Balder, Baal, or Moloch. The great attraction of St. John's Eve is the Majstång, usually translated "May-pole," although it

The Majstång. 78 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2 appears to have nothing to do with May-day. It consists of a tall spruce, often of the size of a man's body, stripped of its branches, and hung from top to bottom with ornaments, hoops, branches, flowers, flags, and streamers. Each hamlet, and nearly every considerable homestead, has its Majstång, around which on St. John's Day all the population, old and young, dance and sing. Every care is laid aside, and all give themselves up to the enjoyment of the hour. On St. John's Eve, also, it is held that the curtain between the visible and invisible worlds is partly lifted, and various forms of divination of the future are practiced. As on Easter-eve, the mysterious Årsgång may now be performed. St. Peter's Day, June 29, was in Catholic times a high day; but its observance has fallen into disuse. Some curious legends relating to the prince of the apostles are yet treasured up among the Swedish peasantry. It is said that once during the reign of Nero he was somehow released from his bonds. Wandering about the country he met the Saviour. "Lord, whither goest thou?" asked the apostle. "To Rome, to be crucified again," was the response. Peter then saw that he had some• how weakly avoided the pains of martyrdom. He returned to Rome, gave himself up, and at his own request was nailed to the cross head downward, since he deemed himself unworthy to suffer in the same manner as his Master had done. There is another legend respecting St. Peter, not altogether creditable to the apostle, which, however, is told, in substance, of many others in various ages and countries. The apostle, so runs the legend, was once on board a ship with fifteen Christians and as many Jews. A violent storm sprung up, and it was resolved that half the passen• gers should be cast overboard to save the lives of the others, the victims to be chosen by lot. Peter arranged all in a certain order in line, and announced that every ninth man, counting from the head of the line, should be thrown into the sea, until the whole number of fifteen was made up. When all was over it was found that all of the Christians were saved, and all of the Jews drowned. The following is the order in which they were arranged: 4 C, 5 J., 2 C, 1 J., 3 C, 1 J., 1 C, 2 J., 2 C, 3 J., 1 C, 2 J., 2 C, 1 J. The apostle had to go along the diminishing line six times, taking at the first, second, and third rounds three victims each, and at the fourth, fifth, and sixth two each. Any one who chooses to verify the accuracy of Peter's calculation will find that the following is the order, as they originally stood, in which the victims were flung overboard: Nos. 9, 18, 27; 6, 16, 26; 7, 19, 30; 12, 24; 8, 22; 5, 23.

Another popular legend respecting Peter is evidently of modern date: A certain Pope presented himself at the gates of Paradise, and desired Peter, the custodian, to unlock the door and give him admittance. "You say that you have the keys of heaven; unlock the door for yourself," said the apostle. The Pope replied: "It is true that I have the old keys, but Luther has been altering the lock so that they will no longer fit." Folk-life in Sweden 1871 79

Harvest time Slåtter-öl answering to our "harvest-home," is a great people's festival. It takes place on each estate when the last load of grain has been safely housed. The proprietors, in turn, give a feast to all their dependents and neighbors. Besides abundant good cheer and ale, the fiery potato brandy, called finkel, the favorite strong drink of the Swedes, flows freely, and a good part of the guests find themselves laid up under the tables. The Swedes, indeed, can not be called a temperate people. Formerly, when any one could distill finkel, its cost was only twenty-five cents a gallon, and the peasants drank it as freely as water. Stringent laws were, indeed, enacted against drunkenness. By a royal ordinance, put forth in 1814, any person who drank so that he showed a disorderly state of mind was considered guilty of the crime of drunkenness. For the first offense he was fined a dollar and a quarter. For the second and third offenses the fine was increased in a compound ratio. For the fourth, besides a fine of five dollars, he was put in the stocks one Sunday, and declared from the pulpit incapable of voting or holding office. If convicted a fifth time he was to be sentenced to hard labor for six months; and for the sixth off• ense, to hard labor for a year. If any one appeared drunk in the presence of any officer holding the king's commission, or at any public meeting, the fines were doubled. If at church, the fine for the first offense was five dollars, besides public church censure. For partaking of the sacrament when drunk the fine was ten dol• lars. If any one died in consequence of drinking, he must be silently buried. About six years ago private distillation was forbidden, and heavy excise duties laid upon brandy. This has greatly raised the price offinkel, and diminished its consumption, causing a very sensible decrease in drunkenness.

The Harvest-Home. 80 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2

Customs at Marriage Marriage is the one great event in the life of a Swedish peasant. There are innumerable marriage customs, varying in different districts. Sometimes the preliminary courtship is conducted by a böneman, or "asker." This is usually a shrewd, elderly peasant, who knows all about the affairs of the neighborhood. If the proposed suitor is likely to be acceptable to the maiden and her parents, the böneman brings him to the house. The young people must not on this occasion speak together, or seem to have any idea of the purport of the visit. Afterward, if matters go on favorably, a public betrothal takes place, the groom presenting the bride-elect with a prayer-book, and receiving in return some article wrought by her own hands. This betrothal is a sort of half marriage, but it may be set aside by the consent of both parties. The wedding proper does not usually take place for some time; in some parts, indeed, not until the bride has bleknat, that is, literally, "bleached," or "turned pale," a euphemistic phrase, indicating that she is likely to become a mother. The Church has set its face resolutely against this custom, but apparently with less success than is desirable. The wedding takes place either at the church, the parsonage, or at the house of the bride's parents. If it is to be solemnized in the church, the bridal procession, mounted on horseback, and preceded by musicians, ride thrice around the Maj- Stång, and then proceed to the sacred edifice, in front of which a triumphal arch is often erected. If the wedding is to take place at home, the clergyman and friends of the groom meet at his house, whence, after being hospitably entertained, they proceed to the home of the bride. The bride is arrayed in her best, one distinguishing article of attire being the "bridal shoes," which must be made without buckles or ties, in order that she may escape a difficult child-birth. A silver coin ought to be placed in each shoe, which will insure that money shall never be wanting to the young couple. As soon as she has put on the shoes she ought to go to the cattle- house and milk one of the cows, so that milk may never fail in her new home. The bride ought, if possible, to get a peep at the groom through her wedding ring before he sees her; this will insure that he will prove a kind husband. If she means to have the upper hand in the household, she ought, while the ceremony is going on, to have her foot a little in advance of his, and drop a glove or handkerchief; if he stoops to pick it up, he will be fated to bend his back during his whole wedded life. While the nuptial preparations are going on one should not make a noise with the well-pole, as this would lead to quarrels among the guests. It is advisable, also, to set a couple of boys fighting near the house; this will insure that the guests will not quarrel. After the marriage has been performed there is great feasting at the bride- house. This often lasts several days, the guests bringing the eatables. If the feast is prolonged too far, the hostess sets before the guests a large rice-pudding. This is understood as a delicate hint that they are expected to take their leave, and is Folk-life in Sweden 1871 81

always cheerfully complied with. Not infrequently, especially among the poorer classes, the bride-expectant, some time before the wedding, goes about among her friends and acquaintances soliciting flax and wool as a provision for housekeeping. The future groom, in like manner, goes about asking for grain, usually oats, for seed. She is called a "flax-beggar," and he an "oat-beggar." They are expected, however, in turn, to give like presents to others under similar circumstances. There are innumerable superstitions connected with courtship, marriage, and child-birth. If a youth and a maiden eat of the same piece of bread, they will fall in love with each other. A youth must not present his intended with a knife or scissors, for they will cut love; nor with a handkerchief, for it will wipe away her inclination for him; nor with shoes, for they will lead her to walk off with another. If a girl is kind to the cat, she will have fine weather on her marriage-day. If it rains on the wedding-day, the young couple will be rich. If several couples are married at the same time, one of them will have ill-luck. On returning from church the bride should dismount quickly, snatch off the bridle from the horse, loosen the saddle-girth, and give him a tap on the nose. She will then have easy labor. The same end may be attained by her creeping through the collar of the harness. The groom, on his wedding-day, should wear a shirt made by the bride; this should then be laid aside to serve for his shroud. If, on the night preceding the nuptials, she has an infant boy to sleep with her, the first-born child will be a son. At the nuptial banquet she should taste of every dish, and also bite the table-cloth; she will not then be troubled with "longings" during gestation.

Wedding Procession. 82 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2

Customs at Birth and Infancy It behooves a mother-expectant to be careful in many respects. She must not go bareheaded, or the child will be liable to scrofula. If she looks upon an empty sack with its mouth untied, the child will be always hungry. If she passes under a hide from which the hair has not been removed, and does not touch it with her hand, her offspring will have the measles. If she looks through a crevice in the door or an auger-hole in the wall, the child will squint. If she eats the egg of a gray hen, the infant will be freckled. If she smells a corpse the child will have bad breath. If she sees a half-cloven log of wood with the wedge left in the opening, or looks upon a dead hare with the head on, the babe will have a hare-lip; hence the universal practice is to cut off the head of a hare as soon as it is shot. When the child is born, the fire must not be suffered to go out until it is baptized; otherwise the Trolls will change it for another. As soon as the infant is born a book should be placed under its head, to make it quick to learn. A newly born boy should be dressed in a shift, a girl in a shirt; this will make them accepted when marriage proposals are on the carpet. In both cases the linen should be new, and then their clothes will last longer. The child must touch a dog before it does a cat, so that its flesh may heal readily. If the moon is suffered to shine on its face, it will not be sunburnt. The empty cradle must never be rocked, otherwise the child will be noisy and puling. It should not eat and read at the same time, or it will have a bad memory. If it is expected to thrive, it should never be "loused" on Sunday. If it is loused at the back of one ear, and not of the other, a dog will bite it. In its first bath should be placed the mother's wedding ring, with money and silver-ware; this will cause it to become rich when it grows up. A fresh-laid egg, placed in the bath, will make the child's skin fair; a red cloth will give it a blooming complexion. An infant should never be left entirely naked, for this will enable an illwisher to cast the "evil-eye," and thus bring all sorts of sickness upon it; to guard against this a thread should be kept tied around its arm, so that it may never be absolutely undressed. Before the infant is baptized a bit of bread should be given to it, which should then be taken away and given to a dog; the animal will then be afflicted with all the maladies destined for the child. Just before christ• ening the child should have a "spanking;" this will give it a good memory. The woman who carries the child to the church must not allow any one to pass her on the road; if she does, people will always be getting ahead of it. If she holds the boy high up, so that every body can see him, he will not be shy or bashful. If the child cries at the font, it will have a musical voice. When brought back from church, the mother should meet the child at the door and give it a cake, so that it may never stand in need of food. It should sleep with her in the dress in which it was baptized; this will cause it to be religious. If the child has convulsions in teething, its clothes must all be burned. Hence the first garments are usually cheap, so that, if thus destroyed, the loss may be less. Folk-life in Sweden 1871 83

Beliefs on Illnesses The superstitions connected with sickness and diseases are beyond enumeration. Sick persons will recover more rapidly if supplied with food from some larder other than their own. If a man has a sudden fit of colic, it is because a woman in child-bed has by magic transferred her pains to him; but if he buttons his breeches around a chopping-block and gives it a good shaking, the pains will leave him and go back to the rightful sufferer. Toothache may be cured by rubbing the tooth with a horseshoe nail, which must then be driven into a growing tree; but if the tree is afterward cut down, the toothache will return. Whooping-cough is cured by drinking water from the hollow of a church-door key. Boils may be got rid of by rubbing some of the matter which exudes from them upon a copper coin, which is to be laid down at a place where four roads meet; if any one picks up the coin, the boils will be transferred to him. They may also be cured by throwing some of the discharged matter into a stream which runs toward the north. Warts may be got rid of by dropping upon them water which has lodged on the latch of a gate, or by tying a thread around them and then burying it in the earth; when the thread has rotted away the warts will have disappeared; or by dropping a pea for each wart in a well; or by rubbing them against a tombstone. Corns may be cured thus: Some one, speaking of a person recently deceased, will say, "Poor Hans is dead." "And so are my corns", replies the sufferer. When this has been repeated three times the cure will he effected. One can escape the ague by carefully refraining from touching any kind of food before washing the hands in the morning. If a person with a running sore passes over a grave, the ulcer will heal very slowly, or perhaps not at all. Earache may be cured by swallowing the scrapings from a wedding-ring, or by having some one blow into the ear through the quill of an eagle. A sty upon the eyelid is occasioned by the sufferer having seen a chair or stool bottom upward without spitting upon it; to cure the sty some one must bore three holes in the floor in front of the patient, and spit through each of them. Spitting is indeed a preventive against all sorts of maladies. Before sleeping in a strange bed the Swedish peasant always spits into it; if a person who had previously occupied the bed had any contagious disease, this will preserve the new-comer from infection. Expectoration is also a sure safeguard against evil spirits and demons. Dropsy arises from the sufferer having drank brandy mixed with milk or water; it is curable so long as the patient's mother is living, but not afterward. Loathing for food may be cured in two ways: Give a bit of bread to a dog, then take it away and give it to the sick person; or let him eat a piece of bread-and-butter which has for some time been held down the opening of a close- stool. When any one complains of toothache, earache, sore throat, heart-burn, or the like, if the person to whom the lamentation is addressed, will say, "That's a lie," the ailment will at once disappear. A portion of consecrated bread, withdrawn by the communicant from his mouth during the administration of the Eucharist, is 84 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2 a sovereign remedy for all disorders in man or beast; or if rammed down a gun, it will cause it to shoot straight. In Catholic times "mass wine" was considered equally efficacious. But of all remedies there is no other one which the common people hold to be as efficacious as the warm blood of a criminal who has suffered death by beheading. The Reverend Doctor Willman says that not long ago, at an execution in the province of Scania, he saw more than seventy invalids walking around the scaffold and within the surrounding cordon of soldiers. They had all obtained permission of the criminal to drink of his blood - a precaution essential to the efficacy of the medicine. The instant the fatal axe fell they all rushed up with cups and spoons to secure some of the blood which spouted from the headless trunk. Each, having swallowed his portion, threw the dish behind him, and was seized by a couple of friends, who walked him backward for a while, and the desired cure was supposed to be effected. We can not wonder that the Mormon missionaries have succeeded in ma• king many converts among a people who, far from ignorant, yet cherish from generation to generation the strange superstitions a few of which we have here set forth. 85 Mathias Bernard Pederson found!

Elisabeth Thorsell *

In the December 2003 Swedish American Genealogist a short article was publis• hed about the search for a man called Mathias Bernard Pederson, of Värmland origins, who eventually ended up in Alaska and married a local Inuit woman. When this article was first printed in the Släkthistoriskt Forum 4/99,1 had not made any progress in tracing Mathias. He did not appear in the "Emigranten" CD and checking all births in Värmland, where he was supposedly bom on 24 February 1878, was not a task I looked forward to. These days the helpful Birth Records Extracts from the civil registration have been re-organised on the microfiche we have access to, and are now sorted by parish, instead of year by year, as they used to be. Later that year I travelled to Salt Lake City for the annual workshop, and brought this problem with me, as I had remembered that on the microfilms there it was still possible to search by year. So I got out the roll of microfilm for Värmland 1878 and started to look at all children bom in February, in the hope that the date of birth was correct. This hope had been strengthened by finding him in Timoty Laitila Vincent's recently published book "Finns, Swedes and Norwegians in the Alaska World War I Draft Registrations 1917-1918", where he was listed with the same birth date, 24 February 1878, and he had supposedly given this information himself. After looking at almost all boys bom in February, having the names Matias or Bernhard or both, I could see that there was not one Mathias and very few Bernhards, and I was thinking of having to do the whole roll over again and reading all children for all of the year, then in the very last rural parish he was found! In Norra Finnskoga I found a Mathias, bom 24 February 1878, son of the piga Brita Andersdotter of Båtstad. In Sweden we have name days, each day in the year has a name, and 24 February is Mathias' day, so that was probably why his mother chose that name. Now I could follow this little boy in the clerical surveys, and found out that his mother Brita, bom 2 September 1848 in Norra Finnskoga, lived with her

* Elisabeth Thorsell is a professional genealogist and lives in Sweden. She has been involved with SAG for many years and now serves as technical editor. She can be reached at 86 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2

The 1878 Birth records extracts for Norra Finnskoga parish in northern Värmland. brother Jan and his family. Brita also had two older children: s, Evald Eriksson, born 2 September 1870 in Sveg (Härj.), and daughter Karolina Eriksdotter, born 2 June 1872 in Lillhärdal (Härj.). Later Mathias got a little brother, Johan Johans• son, born 14 March 1883. Mathias is mentioned in the clerical survey with the surname Persson, but his father is not mentioned. Around 1880 the uncle Jan Andersson and his family emigrated, and maybe it is one of that family that Mathias referred to, when he mentioned a Joel Ander• son of Comstock, Minnesota, as his closest relative on his draft card. On 25 May 1891 Mathias, at age 13, is recorded as an emigrant, but he has not been found in "Emigranten" or the Passenger lists for Kristiania, Kristian• sand or Stavanger, all in Norway. Thus it has not been possible to decide if he travelled with his older brother, according to the family tradition, or not. He has been located in the 1920 and 1929 Census for Alaska, and lives then with his family at Council village in the Nome area (thanks to David A. Larson of Salt Lake City for the census information). He is listed as a gold miner. In the 1929 Census there are at least two other Swedes listed on the same page, Edla, wife of Thomas Shaw, 54 years old, and Alfred Sundqvist, 64 years old. Mathias' mother Brita was still living at Båtstad in Norra Finnskoga in 1900, but what happened to his siblings is not known. 87 Finding Surprising Ties to Halland Swedes in Pennsylvania's Woods

Carl O. Helstrom, Jr.*

It was about 20 years ago that momentary thoughts about my Swedish heritage started to transform from a vague curiosity into an ongoing research hobby, spurred on by the periodic excitement of "new discoveries" about family members and relationships. One of these discoveries was in a small, black, tin box on a closet shelf in the upstairs bedroom of my parent's house in Renovo, PA, long occupied by my paternal grandmother, Gerda (Jennie) Helstrom, 1880-1963. I had observed this box on several occasions when using the room during visits from my home in New Cumberland, PA, southwest of Harrisburg. I began to wonder what kind of family "secrets" might be in this box. Did it, for example, contain revealing facts about my paternal grandfather, Carl Robert Hellström, a native of Åsbo Parish in Östergötland, who supposedly left the family in 1909 to find work and never returned? Curiosity got the best of me on one of those visits. I got the box down, sat it on the bed beside me, and one by one, perused its paper contents. Several of the documents found in this tin box have helped me to better understand the history of my early Swedish immigrant family. The document giving rise to this article was the 1884 will of my paternal great-grandparents, Johan August and Bina Bengtson. They are also referred to as John and Bina Bengtson, and occasionally went by the surname of Benson. There was both a Swedish version and an Eng• lish version of this will. The one in Swedish had been processed through a Swe• dish Consul in Philadelphia, PA. There was also a Commonwealth of Massachu• setts verification of this document and its signatures. Bina, interestingly enough, had applied "her mark" instead of a signature. The will provided, very basically, that it was the intent of John and Bina that their estate would go to their surviving children, including Bina's daughter, Gerda Josephine, born before her 1883 marriage to John Bengtson. In another short

Carl Helstrom, Jr. resides at 1107 Allen Street, New Cumberland, PA 17070. He researches family roots centering in Östergötland and Halland. He is president of the Genealogy Club of the American Swedish Museum in Philadelphia and a participant in the annual SAG Salt Lake City Workshop. 88 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2 paragraph the couple specifically excluded as heirs John Bengtson's brothers and a sister and a person identified as Jenny Florence Ohlander. "Jenny Florence Ohlander, who's she?" Every few years when I again took out the box and re-read the will, this same question came to mind. Had this been a former fiancee of John Bengtson? Was she a daughter from a previous liaison? The answer eluded me during many years of research. As time went on, I admit, that while searching my Pennsylvania Dutch (Ger• man) Coover side, I did become aware of an Ohlander family in Renovo. They had been related to a brother-in-law of my mother's sister. Never, at any point, did I associate that Ohlander family with the one named in my great-grandparent's will.

Interesting find in Salt Lake City In October 2001 I was at the Swedish American Genealogist annual workshop in Salt Lake City. It was Saturday, the last day, and I was not satisfied that my six days of research had been all that productive. My focus had been on uncovering more information on great-grandmother Bina's relatives, the Söderbergs, in the Halmstad/Snöstorp area of Sweden. I had recently visited Halmstad and found it to be a charming city. With some detective work, and the aid of local genealogists in Sweden, Alan and Inga Cajsa Berg, I had located Söderberg-Larsson relatives, at 82 Snöstorpsvägen. During this workshop in Salt Lake City, obtaining further factual information on marriages, births, and family movement had proven difficult. In short, there had been a lot of fruitless unwinding and rewinding of microfilm spools. Out of the "blue" it came to me that on this last day, I should do a little research on Bina's husband, John August Bengtson. Growing up in the little mountain railroad town of Renovo, my father's two sisters and their families lived close by. His middle sister, Lennea, lived in Pittsburgh but kept in close touch with the family. My grandmother, Gerda (called Jennie), lived with us. Listening to family discussions over the years, I developed the sense that Gerda's mother, Bina, was a strong matriarchal figure while her husband, John, fit the stereotype of a benign, good provider figure, who was mostly in the background. This impression resulted partly, I'm sure, because John died in 1914 when his four grandchildren were quite young. In later years, Bina had been head of the household while her daughter, Gerda, had a job cleaning the railroad station and offices. From the legal papers I ascertained that Johan August Bengtsson was born in the parish of Morup in the county of Halland on 19 October 1836. Checking the Swedish atlas I located Morup up the Kattegat coast from Halmstad 40 to 50k, just beyond Falkenberg in southwest Sweden. My first task that last day in Salt Lake City was to locate the microfilms in the LDS Family History Library containing the Morup Parish records for birth, marriages, deaths, and household clerical examinations. Partly because Morup was not a large, populous parish in Surprising Ties to Halland Swedes 89 the early 1800s, I found John's birth record rather quickly and with that informa• tion located his entire family. I then followed this family until John was in his early twenties. My next discovery was that on 21 October 1859, John had married a woman by the name of Pernilla Svensdotter. Pernilla was a widow almost twice John's age, with five daughters by her late husband, Alexander Petersson. The records showed that at their marriage, John and Pernilla and four of the five girls all took up residence with John's crofter parents. Imagine that, I thought, all along I had stereotyped John Bengtson as an uninteresting personality and now I learned this man had another life with another family. How could I have grown up without hearing stories about this other family? As Saturday moved along, I skipped lunch and followed this new family in the parish records. I found that in 1865 they moved down coast from Morup into Halmstad where John became employed at SlottsmöTlan. This was apparently a large textile mill with employee family housing. By this time only one of the five daughters was still with the family. She was the youngest girl who had lived with a foster family in Morup before the marriage of John and Bina. At this point, following John Bengtson and his first family got more difficult. Halmstad, even in 1865, was a comparatively large jurisdiction with many people constantly moving in and out of the parish and to new locations within Halmstad. Moreover, unlike the rather complete parish recordkeeping I had grown used to in more rural parishes, here the parish record keeper often took shortcuts in omitting information, such as places of birth or dates of marriage. On the date John and Pernilla are recorded as coming into the parish, they were part of a long list of workers also going to work at the Slottsmöllan and living at its nearby housing. This apparently was one of those times in Sweden when lack of work on farms was being offset by new job opportunities in the cities, as the industrial age progressed. By mid-afternoon, on the this last workshop day, I had wanted to enjoy the crisp, sunny outdoors and walk around downtown Salt Lake City, do some final shopping, and buy my wife the gift I intended to buy each day since my arrival. But each new discovery kept pulling me along through each new microfilm record. Little tidbits of information such as John August's father, Bengt, being incarcerated for stealing kept me engrossed in the records. And then came the biggest find of all when quite by accident I blundered into an 1874 Halmstad inflyttning (moving in) record showing the Bengtsson family moving not from one Halmstad location to another, but moving in from of all places: AMERIKA! Seeing this, I quickly located the husförhörslängd (household examination record) for this same period by going to the page indicated on the "moving in" citation. Until this time I was strictly making notes of key facts in my notebook and avoiding the wait at the microfilm copying area. These notes included infor• mation on Pemilla's children but omitting certain items like birth dates because I surmised I would never want to refer to them again. 90 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2

With the day fast fleeting, and the record before me so revealing, I quickly removed the microfilm from the reader and joined the line of three or four per• sons on the same mission in the microfilm copy area. As my turn arrived, I betrayed my usual awkwardness with technical equipment. As usual, a lady from our work• shop group, obviously with motherly instincts, got me through the task. Back at my reader station I again looked at this household survey record in paper form. "What a find!" I thought to myself. The first listing, on page 75, is for Johan August with his wife Pernilla Svensdotter at their new residence noted as the Nytt Hus 74, placing them back at Slottsmöllan factory housing once again. It indicated they came in from Amerika in 1874, but at different times. He was Inflyttning No. 96, and she was No. 256.

Halmstad Clerical Survey "Husförhörslängd" 1874.

Listed below them was the major revelation! Recorded was the name of a four year old girl born in "Wilcox". Listed after her name in barely readable script was another word, which Ulla Sköld, one of our Swedish advisors, deciphered as "foster daughter". The name of this youngster: Jenny Florence! No last name was given, but I knew immediately it had to be "Ohlander." What an exceptional ending to my last day of research at the 2001 Work• shop! I finally went for that downtown walk. But it was mainly to walk to dinner Surprising Ties to Halland Swedes 91 with my two longtime workshop buddies, Walt Olson of sunny California and Greg Nelson of northerly Saskatchewan. I could barely contain my excitement about this newly discovered information after a drudgingly slow week of pro• gress. Walt and Greg, patiently smiling through it all, allowed me to rattle on in a way that would have been thoroughly boring to non-Swedish genealogy aficionados. Perhaps, as my peer technical helpers, they took some personal satisfaction in my "success."

More discoveries In the past year since the 2001 Workshop, there have been any number of fascinating follow-up discoveries to the above revelations. These came by digging into a variety of source materials and experiencing some unusual coincidences. Among the sources checked were: Swedish emigration records, U.S. Census records for Wilcox, PA, and Renovo, PA; Naturalization Records in the Pennsyl• vania Archives; U.S National Archives in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania birth records. I also ordered pertinent microfilms from the LDS Family History Li• brary in Harrisburg to have on hand locally as needed. I made contact with the library in Wilcox and began reading up on the history of Elk County and the surrounding area. As previously noted, the town of Wilcox was the birthplace of Jenny Florence and four other children noted on the 1874 Household Examination record of Halm• stad. Two of these children were listed with Johanna Beata Johansson, (b, Morup 14 February 1842) a widow. There was a notation that her husband, August Jo• hansson died in Amerika on 16 August 1874. The other two children were listed with their parents, Erik Johansson (b. Snöstorp 16 May 1846) and his wife Carol• ina Alexandersdotter (b. Morup 3 June 1844). While growing up and working in Pennsylvania, I had had occasion to go through Wilcox a number of times. I recall it had the appearance of a very small place (100 or so houses and buildings) in the middle of the forested Allegheny Mountains. If not for this coincidence, the place name of Wilcox noted in the Halmstad records would have been a big geographical question mark. My previous research had already led me to Wilcox in tracking my Söderberg kin from Sweden to Renovo, PA, which is about 80 miles east of Wilcox. My great uncle, John (Svante) Söderberg, left Halmstad for Wilcox in America in 1872. According to the Emigranten CD, John Söderberg was one of numerous Halland County Swedes recruited or attracted to forest and mining jobs in the Wilcox area. Other towns like Ridgway, Johnsonburg, and Kane developed out of the virgin wilderness along new railroad lines. The Swedish records show that from the 1860s to 1920s over 1,300 Swedes left their homeland with the specific destination of Wilcox.

The 1870 U.S. Census helps Later in the fall of 2001, while at the Pennsylvania Archives in Harrisburg looking at the 1870 US Census for Wilcox, I found a listing for "Ohlander". Listed under 92 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2 dwelling No. 103 were:

Olander, Nils, 28, works at tannery; born in Sweden Olander, Annie, 30, his wife; born in Sweden Daughter Jennie, 5/12 years old; born in Pennsylvania Holquist, John, 20, works at tannery; born in Sweden

In dwelling No. 106 were:

Benson, John A, 38, works at tannery; born in Sweden Benson, Pernilla, 54, his wife, born in Sweden

Four other boarders with rather illegible names, all worked at the tannery.

Since it was obvious John August Bengtson and his first wife Pernilla made a second emigration to "Amerika", I followed another hunch and went into the 1880 Census for Renovo, PA. The town's beginnings were quite familiar to me. It began in the 1860s when the Philadelphia and Erie Railroad, (later part of the Pennsylvania Railroad), built lines to capture trade on the Great Lakes at Erie and Buffalo. A wilderness site on the Susquehanna River's west branch was chosen for the building of trains and all kinds of railroad service, repair and equipment shops supporting the system. Sizeable works or shops were built and a town for workers and commerce was laid out and called Renovo, from the Latin "to renew". In several decades the town had over 5,000 residents, many of whom came directly from Sweden or moved to Renovo from forestry and mining employment in north central Pennsylvania and upper New York State. Like many emigrants to this day, a good number of Swedes simply followed relatives and friends to this location. From his 1928 newspaper obituary I learned that great uncle, John Söderberg, had left work at the Wilcox tannery in 1875 for employment at the new railroad shops in Renovo. It is very likely that John Söderberg and Nils Ohlander, Wilcox co-workers, decided to seek new jobs in Renovo at the same time. Possibly their destinies were joined years before that in Halmstad.

The 1880 Census fills out the picture In the 1880 Renovo Census microfilm I scanned the new town's enumerations block by block. There in an area called Mountain Glen, I found John Söderberg and his family listed. His wife Louisa had joined him from Halmstad in 1878, along with their oldest three children and a foster son. Their fourth child was born in Renovo in 1879. Swedish looking names like Carlson and Peterson were not as evident in the Renovo population of 1880 as they are in later records; many were single men in rooming houses. However, on page 20, at residence number 143 on 12th Street, a Surprising Ties to Halland Swedes 93 two block street between railroad and river, I found a listing very similar to the 1870 Wilcox Census listing. Now all persons listed are at one address and with several new children added:

Name Age Work Nels Olander 38 Laborer Wife Anna 40 Keeping House Daughter Jennie 10 Daughter Alena 9 Son Alfred 6 J.A. Benson 42 Laborer Wife Nellie 63 Keeping House

Quite clearly, with this 1880 record, Jenny Florence Ohlander, our mystery per• son for so long, is now identified. She has come home to her parents in Renovo, one of those thousands of settlements in "A New Land" Swedes eventually came to call "home." And back with her are John August Bengtson and his wife Pernilla who, the Emigranten CD showed, left Sweden via Göteborg on 30 January 1880 with their destination as Renovo.

The real story From this point on in the "Jenny Florence Story," a lot of facts and understandings started to come together. Tracking through 1880s editions of the Renovo Daily Record, I found that John A. Bengtson's first wife, Pernilla, died on 29 July 1882. He was married a second time in 1883, Bina Söderberg, my "farmor's mor". Jenny Florence Ohlander later married Fred Sten, an emigrant from Enslöv Parish near Halmstad, on 31 January 1893 and eventually had six children. By coin• cidence, two of her grandchildren, Jim Sten and Patricia Sten Miller were friends of mine at Renovo High School. Their mother is Betty Sten, and I later roomed at her house in Lancaster, PA, in 1956-57 while attending college. Pat Sten Miller's daughter, Debbie, is my goddaughter. Last December, at a Christmas get-together with Jim and Pat, I asked them about the first and middle names of their Grand• mother Sten. Of course, they said, "Jenny Florence." I then told them of my Salt Lake City and other findings about their grandmother who died in 1935, when they were infants. I told them that John A. Bengtson was our mutual "step" great• grandfather through his two marriages. All of the years that Jim, Pat, and I had been associated, never had any of us even dreamed of this early family tie. As you "do" genealogy, however, you find this is quite common in family relations. Within even one generation, related people lose track of their family or lineal relationships, even in a very small town. It is interesting to see what sagas like "Jenny Florence Story" can do to re-kindle new senses of relationships between people. Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2

More coincidences The coincidences continued to happen. In April 2002 the Genealogy Club of the American Swedish Museum in Philadelphia had one of its regular meetings. As President, I welcomed two new participants. They were Richard and Gwen Smith of Johnsonburg, PA. They were attending with their daughter and Swedish born son-in-law from nearby Kennett Square, PA, and their son-in-law had urged them to come the meeting. They explained that Richard had been tracing his roots in Sweden, and the search had led them to a place called Wilcox, PA. I could hardly believe my ears and could barely wait until "coffee break" to exchange informa• tion about Wilcox. At break time, I told the couple about the Stens and Ohlanders, and about how Renovo newspapers often showed persons from Wilcox attending various funerals of Renovo Swedes. Richard responded he had noticed similar things in the Wilcox-Johnsonburg-Kane newspapers. Parting after the meeting, we agreed to stay in touch to share further information. Days later, I sent Richard and Gwen all the information I had concerning the "Wilcox Connection". Shortly, in a telephone call, Richard responded that with my information he could now see quite clearly that the Renovo Ohlanders and Stens were his relatives. He then sent me a copy of his great-grandmother's 1928 obituary that, for me, corroborated Richard's story. By the time the September 2002 Genealogy Club meeting rolled around, I was anxiously waiting to see Richard and Gwen again. When we talked at this second meeting, they informed me of visiting Renovo en route to Philadelphia. They had stopped at both the town library and Fairview Cemetery. Fairview is on a forested side hill and is where many of the area's earliest Swedish settlers rest in peace - including the Bengtsons, Söderbergs, and Stens. The 1928 obituary made it quite clear that Johanna Beata Johanson, Richard's great-grandmother, was also the second oldest step-daughter of John August Bengtson, the young widow who returned to live in Halmstad in 1874 with John, her mother Pernilla, and the two children born in Wilcox. At this juncture, in the Fall of 2002, it looks as if many more connections between the mostly Halland Swedes of the Wilcox and Renovo areas are about to be clarified. At the 2002 SAG Salt Lake City Workshop, with the help of Jill Seaholm and Greg Nelson, I acquired the Emigranten CD listing of all persons who left Sweden with a specific destination of Wilcox and Renovo from about 1870 to 1920. For Wilcox, as noted earlier, there were over 1,300 names listed. Renovo had almost 500, including some returning to America after a visit to Sweden, (including, in 1885, my great-grandmother, Bina, and Jennie, my grand• mother, who was fours years old at the time). Coming to stay, however, were persons like Johanna Persdotter, the mother of Bina, and John (Svante) Söder• berg who at age 69 left Snöstorp and joined them in Renovo. Hundreds more also Surprising Ties to Halland Swedes 95 went to these places after first listing New York, Boston, or Philadelphia as their initial destination. Despite all these new arrivals, Wilcox had less than 1,500 people in the late 1800s. Many of its Swedish settlers dispersed to nearby places and some moved on to other opportunities. Perhaps in the near future we'll be able to relate some additional stories of how this "Swedish Diaspora" plays out through other per• sons like those related to the story of Jenny Florence. My casual curiosity on that last day of a workshop in Salt Lake City broke open a whole new area of family research and lead to the discovery of present day relatives who would never have otherwise been found. The discoveries made on that Saturday more than made up for my lack of progress earlier in the week. Even now as I conclude this article, I have in mind a couple of more extended family surnames which need investigation. Who knows how many more cases of forgotten relationships may someday be discovered in Pennsylvania's woods?

Male costumes from Halland. Picture from "Svenska all• mogedräkter" by Gerda Cederblom (1921). 96 Using the Demographic Database for Southern Sweden

Dean Wood*

As internet sources for genealogical research go, the Demografisk Databas Södra Sverige (DDSS - Demographic Database for Southern Sweden)' is one of the best available, particularly if one is searching for ancestors or other genealogical data in Blekinge and Skåne län (County). Currently the DDSS contains over a half million birth/baptism, marriage, and death/burial records, and with a corps of 50 persons transcribing parish records, additions to the database are frequent.

The English introduction to the DDSS states: The DDSS consists of three separate databases containing information extracted from the original Swedish parish church records of births and baptisms, weddings, deaths and burials. Each of these sets of records constitutes a separate database. It is important to know that the Swedish parishes were territorial and included every person living in the area. The databases do not cover the whole of Sweden, being limited to the counties of Skåne and Blekinge. So far only a small number of the records in the approximately 400 parishes in Skåne and Blekinge have been processed (see list of parishes for each database). However, entering of data is still in progress and new parishes are being added to the databases several times a year. The original records are from the 19th century or older and are kept at the Regional Archives in Lund. Each entry in the databases includes a reference to the original, which in most cases also is available on microfiche from SVAR. The history of the DDSS Project (Demographic Database Southern Sweden) began in 1996. Its predecessor, SDD, (Scania Demographic Database) was initiated in 1983. The purpose of the DDSS project is twofold. First of all, it was created for genealogists, local historians, and for use in schools and by local histo• rical societies. Secondly, it was created for academic research in demography, medicine etc. The contents and structure of the database reflects this double purpose. All the elements are explained in a catalogue and basic search aid is available.

' http://www.ddss.nu/

* Dean Wood resides in Dayton, MD. E-mail: Using the Demographic Database for Southern Sweden 97

The database project is administered in close co-operation between the Re• gional Archives in Lund, the regional state labour market agencies, muni• cipalities, genealogical associations, and other private organisations. This year there are about [50] persons working full time on the project. The project also co-operates with several different departments at Lund Univer• sity and the Institute of Dialect and Place Name Research (Lund).

This brief introduction hardly does justice to the amount and type of data presented or to the many other sources that may be accessed via the DDSS web page. Accessing and searching the databases at DDSS is not at all difficult, particularly if one has a rudimentary understanding of Swedish genealogical terms. Regardless of how comfortable one is in working with the Swedish language, one should not bypass the dictionary that is accessible through the English version of the DDSS web page. Click on "In English" and "Dictionary" and you will be presented with a 1,000 or more word lexicon of Swedish words and terms with their English equivalents. The three main databases (birth/baptism, marriage, and death/burial) can be queried via the English version of the web page. It is not even necessary to know much Swedish to query the database. However, the results of data searches are presented only in Swedish. Accordingly, the dictionary may prove useful for such terms as inom (within) or utom (outside) äktenskapet (matrimony) or some of the notations found in Övrigt (Remarks) among other things. It has been rumored that less information is available from the databases via the English version of DDSS. Not so! Regardless of whether one performs a search via the Swedish or English version of DDSS, the exact same records are presented. There are other databases available via the Swedish version of DDSS that are not accessible from the English version of the web page. For example, the Skåne Demografisk Databas and birth records for Malmö Kommun (municipal• ity) are only available on the Swedish version, but all of the birth/baptism, mar• riage, and death/burial records for Blekinge and Skåne are returned from the same three primary databases no matter whether the searches are conducted in the Swedish or English version.

DDSS Records Availability Currently the databases are populated with records dating from as early as 1647 (Röke Parish) to as late as 1926 for deaths (Kristianstad Garnison). This is not to say that records are inclusive for all parishes for the years 1647 to 1926. Indeed, transcription of records for most parishes covers only a short span of the years available from the parish church books. Only about a fourth of the 400 parishes are represented.2 Most of the parish records end in the 1894-96 timeframe, which marks the end of the easy access to population data via microfilm/microfiche.

2 See the Appendix for the list of parishes and date ranges available as of the date of this article. 98 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2

Later records are in the process of being filmed, but might not yet be readily accessible. As indicated in the DDSS English introduction, every record contains a reference to the original, which in most cases is available on microfiche from the SVAR (Svensk arkivinformation)3 element of the Swedish National Archives (Riksarkivet). Fortunately, the microfiche can be obtained through the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL4. In addition, most of the parish registers are available on microfilm from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The data records from the birth, marriage, and death registry pages often contain cross-references to the husförhörslängder (clerical surveys) for the parishes where additional information may be available on either microfiche or microfilm.

Accessing DDSS Records The DDSS web page contains brief Söktips (Search tips) at each of the database search forms, which indicate that, "The more fields you fill in, the more accurate will be the results of each search." While true in one sense, it can have quite the opposite effect. With a little exploration one can easily learn the basic techniques to perform data searches. However, there are additional techniques that consid• erably enhance one's chances for discovering information if the records are available in the databases. For example, as common as the given name Nils might be, it is not always the case that a search for Nils as the given name of a male relative will turn up the desired record. Why? The data records are true to the original spellings as contained in the church records. Hence one might find that Nils is Nels, Niells, or Nielss. Elna might be Ellna. Ola might be Olof or Oluf. Kierstina might be Kirstine, Kierstina, Kjerstina, or Kirstina. Given names and patronymics - particularly for women in the records from early years - may have been omitted. These factors, coupled with the Danish derivation of many names as well as the clergy's predilections in rendering names, makes variations on spellings almost unlimited. Fortunately, as indicated in the Söktips, DDSS data searches accept date ranges and - most usefully - the wildcard character "%" can be inserted where spelling is uncertain. It should be pointed out that the DDSS employs the Swedish dating system, which uses all numbers in the sequence of yyyy-mm-dd. Although this may be a bit confusing to those using other date systems, all searches must be input using this format. Search results are also presented in the year-month-day format. Accordingly, this system has been used throughout this article in the examples shown to illustrate DDSS operation.

3 http://www.svar.ra.se (in Swedish only) 4 http://www.augustana.edu/administration/SWENSON/index.htm Using the Demographic Database for Southern Sweden 99

An Illustration5 Suppose the family Bible contains the ancestral names Peter Eskelsun6 born in 1828 and Lesela Olson born in 1830 along with a reference to V. Torup. As is readily apparent, neither is an accurate rendition of Swedish names. However, enough is known to undertake a search in the DDSS. For example, Peter's father was almost certainly Eskel or Eskil. To search for Peter's birth we click on "Databaser" (Databases) at the home page and then on "Födelse o dopböcker" (Birth and baptism books). A click on "Socken/år" (Parish/Year) reveals that the DDSS contains birth records for Väs• tra Torup Parish from 1824 to 1895. Following the search suggestion to use all known data, we pull up the drop-down menu under "Välj socken här" (Select parish here), scroll down, and choose Västra Torup. We then enter the year of birth - 1828 - in the "Datum fr.o.m" (From date) field, "Peter" in the "Förnamn" (Given name) block under "Barnet" (Child) and "Eskel" as the "Förnamn" under Fadern (Father). We click on "Sökning" (Search) and wait briefly for the database to give us Peter's birth record. Alas, the message, "Tyvärr inga träffar" (Unfor• tunately no hits). If the family Bible notations were correct, Peter's birth falls within the year range of Västra Torup births in the DDSS. We should try alternative searches. Clicking on Återställ (Reset) restores all the fields in the search forms. Suppose we omit all other data and search for Peter alone. We find nine records, none of which has a father with the given name Eskel. Then it dawns on

5 Definitions of Swedish words used in this section are taken from the DDSS web site. 6 The author has taken liberties in respect to the names and relationships of family members in order to provide a more coherent illustration. 100 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2

us that Peter could be Petter. So we add the second "t", and search for Petter. Now we find twenty-two records. Among the twenty-two records there is a Petter born 1828-05-15 whose father was Eskel Bengtsson and whose mother was Boel Pålsdoter. This looks promising. Clicking on the blue-highlighted date or "Västra Tonip" under "Socken" opens the birth record for Petter. Working on the assumption now that Petter's parents were Eskel Bengtsson and Boel Pålsdoter, we can search for Petter's siblings. We omit the name for the child and enter Eskel Bengtsson and Boel Pålsdoter as the father's and mother's Förnamn and Efternamn (Surname). We find that Petter had an older brother, Magnus, born 1826-09-30. We also know that feminine patronymics customarily end with "-dotter," so we change Pålsdoter to Pålsdotter and search again. We find two more records: Bengta, bom 1833-03-21, and Assarina, born 1835-10- 15. It appears now we have found four children. However, we have also seen the name Eskil in our casual genealogy work. So we change Eskel to Eskil and search again. Another record appears showing Maria bom 1830-04-11. The foregoing searches required several iterations with variations on the names for Eskil Bengtsson and Boel Pålsdotter, which illustrates that more is not always better when searching the DDSS databases. Often a better way to search is to use the wildcard character. Instead of full names, "e%" or "es%" can be used for the father's given name, "b%" or "be%" for the father's last name, "b%" or "bo%" for the mother's given name, and "p%" for the mother's last name. The wildcard characters "%ette%" or "%lsdotter" may be used in any non-numeric field either for leading or trailing characters. Using the Demographic Database for Southern Sweden 101

There are now six records, and we discover that Eskel (Eskil) Bengtsson and Boel Pålsdot(t)er also had a son Bengt born 1824-06-07. At this stage we're fairly certain we've found all the children bom to Eskel (Eskil) Bengtsson and Boel Pålsdot(t)er contained in the DDSS database of births (but not necessarily all the children!) for Västra Torup parish:

Bengt 1824-06-07 Brohuset Magnus 1826-09-30 Brohuset Petter 1828-05-15 Brohuset Maria 1830-04-11 Brohuset Bengta 1833-03-21 Afvenböke Assarina 1835-10-15 Afvenböke

We also note that the first four children were born at the "Ort (Place) Brohuset," a farmstead, and the latter two at "Afvenböke" (today Avenböke). It appears that the family moved from Brohuset to Afvenböke between mid 1830 and early 1833. This can be verified by examining the Husförhörslängd for Västra Torup for the appropriate years. The searches so far have concerned births of children. Marriages and deaths may also be obtained from the DDSS databases. Let us first search for Petter's marriage. We go to the Lysnings och vigselböcker (Banns and marriage books) database and select Västra Torup from the drop-down menu of parishes. Now cognizant of the variation in spelling of Petter's given name and because we are not sure if his patronymic was Eskelson, Eskelsson, or even Eskilsson, we enter the few letters of which we are fairly certain followed by the wild card character,

The search for the marriage of Peter Eskilsson. 102 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2 i.e., "pet%" for Förnamn under Brudgummen (Bridegroom) and "esk%" for Ef• ternamn. This search doesn't return a record. Therefore, we return to the drop• down menu and select "alla socknar i databasen" (all parishes in the database) and without changing the entries for Förnamn and Efternamn we try searching again. Still no record is found. We are now left to wonder if his marriage was not recorded, not entered in the database, or occurred in a parish whose records haven't yet been included in the DDSS marriage database7. Perhaps we will have better luck finding Petter's death record. We go to the Död och begravningböcker (Dead and buried), select Västra Torup from the drop• down menu, and enter "pet%" for Förnamn and "esk%" for Efternamn under Den döde (The death). A click on Sökning discloses a Peter Eskilsson who died 1887-05-20 at the age of 59 years and 5 days at Smedeboda 2. Given the age span this would appear to be our Pet(t)er Eskilsson. Now our interest turns to Petter Eskilsson's children. We return to the Fö• delse och dopböcker database and enter "pet%" and "esk%". We discover 8 child• ren:

Elias 1855- -12-05 Smedeboda Nils 1858- -10-13 Smedeboda 2 Bengt 1860- 12-30 Smedeboda 2 Martin 1863- -05-26 Smedeboda 2 Cecilia 1866- 08-24 Smedeboda 2 Bengt 1869- -03-18 Smedeboda 2 Emil 1871- 11-10 Smedeboda Selma 1876- -08-17 Smedeboda

We also discover that Petter's name was recorded both as Petter Eskilsson and Peter Eskilson and his wife's name appeared as Sissela and Cecilia Olsdotter. As we know, it was Lesela Olson in the family Bible - a bit of a stretch - but as corrupted spelling goes not worse than some. Not only that, we note there was a Bengt born in 1860 and another son Bengt born in 1869. Returning to the death records database we can search for the death of the firstborn Bengt by entering "bengt" or "ben%" for the Förnamn of the Den döde and then entering "pet%" for the Förnamn and "esk%" for the Efternamn of the Anförvant (Relative). Thus we learn that the first son Bengt died 1864-08-21 at Smedeboda 2. Had this search not returned the desired result, another possible search strategy would be to use the dates from the first Bengt's birth to the second Bengt's birth. In other words, enter 1860-12-30 in the "Datum fr.o.m" field, 1869-03-18 in the "Datum t.o.m" field, and either "bengt" or "ben%" as the Förnamn under Den döde. In this

7 In fact, the author knows that Petter Eskilsson and Sissela Olsdotter were married on 19 May 1853 in Färingtofta parish. No Färingtofta parish records have been included in the DDSS databases yet. Using the Demographic Database for Southern Sweden 103 instance ten records are revealed, included among which is the Bengt [Petters• son] who died 1864-08-21. When searching with date parameters, any combination of dates in either or both of the Datum fr.o.m and Datum t.o.m fields will work, but there must be a "from" date. For example, 1825 in the "from" field will return all records for 1825, and 182 in the "from" field will return all records for the 1820 decade. One could search from 1864-01-01 to 1864-08-21. The same search can be accom• plished using 1864 to 1864-08-21. One could search for all records for August 1864 with 1864-08 in the "from" field. (When entering dates in the form yyyy- mm-dd, single-digit months and days must include a leading zero, i.e., 1 January 1875 is entered as 1875-01-01.) Siblings of parents, in particular, and other relatives can often be deduced based on name associations among the names of baptismal witnesses (Dopvittnen). With further research, associations of other family members can often be derived to facilitate construction of family units. These examples provide a number of variations by which searches of the DDSS databases may be undertaken. With a little experimentation one can easily develop a set of search strategies that will most likely return the desired results if the parish records of interest are included in the databases.

Additional databases found in DDSS The Skåne Demografiska Databas is similar in construct and content to the three main DDSS databases and contains approximately 225,000 birth, marriage, death, and moving in/out records from the years 1646 to 1894 for the following paris• hes: - Ekeby församling - Frillestad församling - Halmstad församling (Skåne) - Helsingborgs stadsförsamling - Helsingborgs garnisonsförsamling - Helsingborgs landsförsamling - Hässlunda församling - Hög församling - Kågeröds församling - Kävlinge församling - Sireköpinge församling - Stenestads församling

Included only in the Swedish version is an excellent overview and explanation of the Skåne Demografiska Databas written by Elisabeth Reuterswärd and Frances- ka Olsson. 104 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2

The Vigselregister (Marriage register) Halland is linked to the Halland Genea• logical Association, which contains a database of marriages for 99 parishes in Halland län between the years of 1672 and 1860. Years included vary by parish. This database is searchable in the same fashion as the three main DDSS databa• ses. The Födelseregister Malmö Kommun (Malmö Kommun Birth Register) con• tains birth records from 1688 to 1899 for thirteen parishes of the municipality of Malmö. It too is searchable in the same manner as the other databases, but search results are returned in the form of synopses. To view the complete birth record for a search result one must click on Tryck (Press). The Sveriges Skeppslistor is a ships register compiled from ships records on fde at the Landsarkivet (Provincial Archive) in Lund. The register contains names and other data on Swedish vessels registered between 1837 and 1939. However, not all information has yet been transcribed and it currently contains data from 1837 to 1879 only. This database is searchable in either Swedish or English.

The search window from the Skeppslistor /Ship's Lists).

The search results shows the names of the ships under the command of Captain J.L. Windahl. Further info can be found by clicking on the ships' names. Using the Demographic Database for Southern Sweden 105

The Karlskrona Sjömansdatabas (Karlskrona Mercantile Marine Office Database) is the latest to be included with DDSS. The database contains names and enrollment information of ship's officers and seamen registered with the Karlskrona Merchant Marine Office (MMO) [Sjömanshus] between 1871 and 1937. The database search page indicates a record range of 1870 to 1940. It includes as well excellent descriptions of the function of the MMOs, types of ships, and shipboard professions in both Swedish and English by Kjell-Ove Persson who is also responsible for the Sveriges Skeppslistor. The database is searchable in either Swedish or English. The Öknamnsdatabas Örkeneds socken (Örkened Parish Nickname Data• base) is a compilation of nicknames associated with persons' proper names from clerical surveys (husförhörslängder), tax rolls (taxeringslängder), and other sources. The individual records contain a wealth of other information including births, deaths, marriages, and property ownership as well as family units and histories. Finally, Osby C:l 1647-1690 is a complete transcription of the Osby Kyr- kobok (Church book) for the years indicated.

Links One should explore particularly the links available via DDSS beginning with the link Över Öresund (Over the Öresund). It is presented on the DDSS home page and contains genealogical and other information regarding ancestral linkages between Sweden and Denmark. A click on Länkar (Links) will lead one to a collection of links specific to Skåne, Blekinge, and Halland. Besides Sweden (Sverige), there are links to the other Nordic countries (Norden) - Denmark, Finland, and Norway; and the rest of the world (Övriga världen). With connections to all of these vast resources, one is certain to discover something of genealogical value.

Appendix The DDSS registers (which are current to the end of 2002) contain a notation that there may be gaps in the inclusive years.

Födelse och Lysnings och Död och Dopböcker Vigselböcker Begrav-böcker Församling StartårSlutår StartårSlutår StartårSlutår

Allerum 1837 1862 1842 1857 None Andrarum 1721 1877 1722 1734 1722 1734 Aspö 1888 1895 1888 1896 1888 1896 Backaryd 1857 1895 1791 1895 1861 1895 Bara 1862 1894 1838 1894 1862 1894 106 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2

Borrie 1835 1894 1835 1894 1835 1894 Brunnby None None 1862 1894 Bräkne-Hoby 1883 1895 1858 1895 1835 1895 Brönnestad 1862 1894 1862 1894 1862 1894 Bårslov 1861 1894 None None B åstad 1869 1894 1869 1894 1869 1894 Börringe 1861 1894 1861 1894 None Degeberga 1845 1894 1845 1894 1845 1894 Edestad 1888 1896 None 1856 1886 Emmislöv 1778 1894 1778 1894 1778 1894 Eringsboda 1854 1894 1854 1894 1854 1894 Everöd 1801 1894 1801 1895 1855 1894 Farhult 1784 1894 1784 1894 1784 1894 Fars torp 1663 1894 1663 1894 1663 1895 Finja 1863 1895 1863 1873 1863 1873 Fjälkestad 1861 1894 1858 1894 1861 1894 Fjälkinge 1837 1894 1837 1894 1837 1894 Fleninge None None 1862 1894 Fridlevstad 1861 1894 None None Färlöv 1862 1894 1835 1894 None Förkärla 1713 1894 None 1859 1894 Glimåkra 1729 1895 1693 1894 1693 1895 Gryt 1804 1894 1804 1894 1804 1894 Gualöv 1702 1894 1696 1893 1821 1894 Gumlösa 1850 1894 1850 1894 1850 1894 Gustav Adolf 1864 1894 1864 1894 1864 1894 Hasslö 1887 1895 1888 1895 1888 1896 Hedeskoga 1856 1894 1863 1894 1863 1894 Hjortsberga 1863 1896 None None Hjärsås 1869 1894 1870 1894 1877 1894 Hyby None 1886 1894 1860 1894 Häglinge 1891 1894 1862 1894 1862 1894 Hästveda 1690 1894 1690 1894 1690 1895 Höganäs 1854 1894 1854 1894 1854 1894 Hörja 1775 1895 1775 1894 1775 1895 Hörröd 1853 1894 1857 1894 1857 1894 Ignaberga 1860 1894 1814 1894 1860 1895 Ivetofta 1733 1894 1732 1894 1732 1894 Ivö 1861 1894 1787 1894 1787 1894 Jonstorp 1861 1894 1784 1894 1784 1894 Jämshög 1868 1881 None None Kiaby 1861 1894 1760 1894 1817 1894 Using the Demographic Database for Southern Sweden 107

Knislinge 1851 1894 1851 1894 1851 1894 Kristianstad Garnison 1798 1895 1798 1927 1798 1926 Kristianstad Slotts 1811 1846 None 1810 1861 Kristianstad Stads 1807 1894 1807 1894 1807 1894 Kropp 1831 1895 None 1861 1895 Kviinge 1780 1894 1780 1894 1780 1894 Kvistofta 1882 1894 1796 1894 1796 1894 Kyrkhuh 1865 1884 None None Köpinge 1862 1894 1862 1894 1862 1894 Loshult 1839 1895 1839 1894 1839 1894 Lyngsjö 1862 1894 1862 1894 1862 1894 Magiehem 1853 1894 1857 1894 1856 1894 Matteröd None 1862 1894 None Mjällby None 1861 1894 1861 1896 Mörarp 1861 1894 1861 1894 1831 1894 Norra Mellby 1874 1894 1863 1894 1863 1894 Norra Sandby 1861 1894 1833 1894 1861 1894 Norra Strö 1862 1894 1835 1894 1862 1895 Norra Åkarp 1861 1894 1804 1894 1804 1895 Norra Åsum 1865 1894 1839 1894 1865 1895 Nosaby 1859 1894 1859 1894 1859 1894 Nymö 1800 1894 1800 1894 1800 1894 Näsum 1700 1894 1700 1894 1700 1894 Nävlinge 1872 1894 1815 1894 1815 1895 Oppmanna 1865 1894 None 1865 1895 Osby 1772 1895 1772 1894 1852 1894 Ottarp 1831 1861 1831 1860 1831 1894 Raus 1828 1894 1828 1860 1828 1894 Ronneby 1859 1894 1855 1894 1884 1894 Röke 1647 1894 1647 1894 1647 1895 Sillhövda 1888 1894 None None Skepparslöv None 1843 1855 None Skårby 1825 1895 1804 1894 1790 1894 Stoby 1833 1894 1833 1894 1833 1894 Sturkö None 1861 1895 1861 1895 Svedala 1861 1894 1822 1894 1861 1894 Sörby 1850 1894 1850 1894 1850 1894 Sövestad 1861 1894 1861 1894 1861 1894 Trolle-Ljungby 1818 1894 1825 1894 1821 1894 Tving 1864 1888 None None Vankiva 1860 1894 None None 108 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2

Verum 1824 1894 1863 1894 1847 1894 Viken 1809 1894 1809 1894 1809 1894 Vinslöv 1862 1894 None None Visseltofta 1824 1894 1863 1894 1847 1894 Vittsjö 1881 1894 None None Vittskövle 1824 1894 1824 1894 1862 1894 Vånga 1861 1894 1861 1894 1861 1895 Välluv None 1861 1894 1828 1894 Väsby 1755 1894 1755 1894 1755 1894 Västra Torup 1824 1895 1824 1894 1824 1895 Ystad Garnison 1852 1882 1853 1882 1852 1882 Ystad S:t Petri 1749 1884 1689 1884 1747 1884 Ystad S:ta Maria 1863 1888 1863 1892 None Ystad Stad 1889 1894 1892 1895 1886 1894 Ängelholms Garnison 1845 1863 1845 1863 1846 1863 Öja 1856 1894 1863 1894 1863 1894 Öljehult 1861 1894 1860 1894 1861 1894 Örkened 1832 1895 1772 1894 1832 1894 Österslöv 1863 1894 1863 1894 1863 1894 Östra Broby 1778 1894 1778 1894 1778 1895 Östra Sönnarslöv 1866 1894 1841 1894 1866 1894 109

Old Issue Revisited Carol J. Bern*

Axel Edward Dahlstedt was among a later group of Swedes who came to the United States to improve his personal fortune and start his family in the new world. He was my maternal grandfather, and I had a considerable amount of information on his family in Sweden. Axel was born 26 February 1885 in Långe- måla Parish in Kalmar län (county) and his parents were Carl August and Johanna Dahlstedt. The family had been blacksmiths for several generations in the local parish. My family even had some old addresses of relatives in Sweden with whom we had maintained correspondence in years past. Yet there was a troubling puzzle over when and how Axel came to the United States. None of his surviving child• ren had any information, but they originally assumed he had traveled with his younger brother, Albin, who also came to this country. Searches of the records available on the Ellis Island web site and CD-ROM Emigranten failed to disclose any information on Axel. Several variations on the surname spelling of Dahlstedt were also unsuccessful. During these searches for Axel, his brother, Albin, kept jumping into the picture. According to Emigranten, Albin departed Göteborg on 13 October of 1909 bound for Galesburg, Illinois. Ellis Island records show that he arrived at the Port of New York 22 October aboard the Lusitania, and incorrectly state that Albin was U.S. born. But Axel was not with him as family tradition had it. So the family story that the brothers traveled together was not true. I had spent many hours looking for clues about my grandfather's immigration. I had also talked with my mother who speculated that he may have jumped ship as there was so little information available- Axel had married Jennie Christine Lind on 5 March 1913 in Kewanee, Henry County, Illinois. This narrowed the time frame for the search somewhat, but still did not answer the basic question about the date or means of his travel. During the summer of 2001 our local genealogy society in Longview, Wash• ington, decided that in order to provide more shelf space for our growing collec• tion of books at the library, many of the older periodicals would have to find new homes. A part of this category included a partial collection of the early issues of the Swedish American Genealogist. My husband quickly volunteered to remove these issues to his personal library. With just a few purchases from the Swenson Center, we now had a complete set beginning with the March 1981 issue of the Swedish American Genealogist.

Carol J. Bern is an elementary school teacher and the wife of SAG Editor, Hal Bern. She resides at 2341 E. Lynnwood Dr., Longview, WA 98632. E-mail no Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2

These older issues filled many hours of evening reading as my husband worked his way through the stack of books beside his chair. It was certainly not with any plan in mind that he read these first issues. He would peruse the table of contents of each issue and read whatever seemed that it might be of interest. One evening, he decided to read an article entitled "A Swedish Passenger List from 1902. II," by Sheryl Berquist Busterno from the September 1985 issue. It was a follow up article to an earlier story about using passenger lists to locate informa• tion on ancestors. Near the bottom of page 119, Axel E. Dahlstedt was listed as passenger No. 25 on the Oscar II arriving in New York Harbor on 6 May 1902. He told me later that he could not stop looking at the entry on the list. He knew it was the right person because it said Axel was 17 years old and was a blacksmith from Långe- måla. As it was after 11:00 PM, he debated for a couple of minutes about what to do, but finally excitement won out, and he woke me to show me the news. I was so elated that I could not get back to sleep until the wee hours of the morning, but the discovery was worth the sacrifice. Over the next several days as we discussed this new found information, and we decided that we wanted to contact the author of the article written ten years earlier to thank her for her unintended help in locating the arrival of Axel E. Dahlstedt in the United States. We also had a few questions pertaining to the passenger list. Neither of the articles listed any contact information for Sheryl Berquist Busterno, saying only that she resided in Blue Jay, California. We enlisted the help of Jill Seaholm at the Swenson Center who in a very short time got back to us with a possible address off the Internet. This information proved correct, and we shortly received a reply back from Sheryl which included a nice letter and a copy of the passenger list which she had used for the articles. This was particularly helpful as the Swedish American Genealogist articles had only included partial extracts of the passenger list. We now had copies of the old hand written lists with all 21 columns of information. Old Issue Revisited 111

Of particular interest to my family were Axel's travelling companions aboard the Oscar II on his trip to the United States. The passenger list identifies three other teenagers traveling with a 63 year old man named Nils R Carlson. The teenagers were Judith Nilsson, age 16, Oscar V. Carlsson, age 15, and Axel F. E. Carlsson, age 17. Nils R Carlson is identified as a United States Citizen with a destination of Knox County, Illinois. He is also listed as the uncle of the two Carlsson boys. My family did not recognize any of these names. We decided to develop additional informa• tion on these travelers to see if any other rela- Axel E Dahlstedt tionships could be discovered. The extracted list in the article said that Oscar V. Carlsson was from the parish of Mörlunda and Axel F E. Carlsson was from Långemåla, the same parish as Axel Dahlstedt. The female passenger, Judith Nilsson, was supposedly from the Island of Ven. Långemåla and Mörlunda are both parishes in Kalmar län where I had previously done research, but the Island of Ven was a mystery. After looking through numerous books and maps, we finally located Ven just off the coast of Malmöhus län near the city of Landskrona. Oscar V. Carlsson was easily found in the birth extracts (Utdrag) for Kal• mar län for the year 1887. He was born Oskar Vilhelm Karlsson on 15 June 1887 at Karlsmåla under Bokara in Mörlunda Parish. His parents were Karl Johan Jons- son and Johanna Lovisa Karlsdotter. Axel F.E. Carlsson was not found in the extracted birth records for Långemåla so a little creative detective work was necessary. A neighboring parish just to the north of Långemåla called Fliseryd turned out to be the place of birth of Axel Fredrik Emanuel Carlsson. He was

Birth records extracts for Mörlunda 1887. 112 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2 born on the farm Släthult in Fliseryd Parish on 13 May 1885. His parents. Otto Fredrik Carlsson and Matilda Nilsdotter, later moved to Långemåla prior to his departure for the United States which explains the passenger list notation. With the given name of Judith, we thought the young female traveler would be easy to find in Sweden. The Island of Ven had only one parish called Sankt Ibb (Skån.). But the records there did not contain the answer to the birth place or the parents of Judith Nilsson. Several other nearby parishes were checked with the same negative result. Finally, in desperation, we decided to start over and look at the passenger list again. We had been going by the transcription provided in the article, but now we had a copy of the original handwritten list. A quick look at the passenger list provided the answer as to why Judith Nilsson was not found in records from the Island of Ven. Even as I had searched for the Island of Ven, I could not figure out how this location fit into the picture with three young boys all from neighboring parishes in Kalmar län, I now found that Judith had been born in the Parish of Vena in Kalmar län back in the same general vicinity of her fellow travelers. She was the daughter of Johan Sigfrid Nilsson and his wife Johanna Maria Olofsdotter She was born 22 March 1885 at Delsbo in the parish of Vena, only a few miles from Mörlunda, Fliseryd and Långemåla. I now tackled Nils P. Carlson whose only identification is his age, 63, in 1902. This would indicate a date of birth around 1839. The parents of Oscar V. Carlsson and Axel F. E. Carlsson had now been located in the Husförhörslängder (Annual Clerical Surveys) in their respective birth parishes. Since the passenger list said these were nephews of Nils P. Carlsson, he would be a sibling to one of the parents of each of these two boys if the list was correct. Each of the four parents' birth records were located, and then the Husförhörlängd which covered that time frame was found and copied. Axel F E. Carlsson's father was Otto Fredrik Carlsson, born 22 September 1852 in Döderhult, yet another Kalmar län parish. Otto Fredrik proved to be the younger brother of Nils Peter Carlsson who was born in Döderhult 19 April 1839. Neither parent of Oskar Vilhelm Carlsson had any relationship to this supposed uncle that I have been able to discover. I have charted the families of all of these passengers out to three generations, and the only relationship found was the brother of Nils Peter Carlsson, Otto Fredrik Carlsson. The Döderhult Husförhörslängd covering the years 1862 through 1870 shows that Nils Peter Carlsson departed for Amerika 30 April 1864. This same clerical survey shows that an older brother, August Carlsson, had gone to Ame• rika two years earlier on 21 June 1862. Both Nils Peter and August Carlsson made brief appearances in the records of the First Lutheran Church in Galesburg, Illinois. One entry says that Nils Peter came to Galesburg from Woodhull, Illi• nois, but there is no indication in the Woodhull Lutheran Church records of his presence there. The Galesburg Lutheran Church records do not note where these brothers went when they left that location. Was Nils Peter Carlson one of the numerous recruiting agents who traveled to Sweden with the intent of attracting Old Issue Revisited 113 young immigrants to a nation in need of cheap labor? Was he a relative or family friend of the four traveling companions? There are still many unanswered questions. Axel and Albin Dahlstedt are found for several years in the North Hender• son Lutheran Church Records in Knox County, Illinois. Axel Fredrik Emanuel Carlson was also a member of this congregation until 1908 when he returned to Sweden. A younger brother of Axel F. E. Carlsson came to the North Henderson Church from Sweden in 1911. His name was Albert Arvid Waldemar Carlsson, and he stayed there until he was dropped from the rolls in 1919. I have not yet found any record of what happened to Judith Nilsson or Oscar V. Carlsson after they reached the United States. Possibly more research needs to done at the Swenson Center on church records for the area in and around Knox County, Illinois. As with many genealogical undertakings, the answer to one question may led to several more puzzles. A chance reading of an old article in a 1985 issue of the Swedish American Genealogist provided information on how and when my grandfather arrived in this country. That same slim volume has left me with many unanswered questions about why Axel was traveling with Nils Peter Carlson and the three young companions from Kalmar län. Perhaps it is wishful thinking, but it is possible that some current or future reader of this journal has the answer and will once again shed new light on an old issue.

Vena (old spelling: Hvena) church in eastern Småland. 114

Swenson Center Serendipity

Jill Seaholm*

Working at the Swenson Center, it is sometimes difficult to believe how many people are descended from Swedish immigrants. Hundreds of them contact us each year to try to find out where their ancestors came from in Sweden or to ask for advice about what to do next in their research. My own ancestry is as close to 100% Swedish as possible. All of my immigrant ancestors were from Sweden, but one ancestor who was born in Sweden in the 1600s had Latvian ancestry, and I have a drop or two of Finnish and German blood from a few hundred years back. It is no real surprise that a few people who contact us would end up sharing some of the same ancestors. The following are some stories about experiences I have had both before and since beginning work at the Swenson Center.

The Maria & Fair story One day in 1993 or 1994 while working on a research request we had received through the mail, I was using an 1851-1860 index of emigrants from Sweden, and while in that index I decided that I would try to find one of my dad's ancestors, Gustaf Peterson Fair. Records from that time period are sparse, but I managed to find him as "bs" bondeson (farmer's son) Gustaf Pettersson leaving in 1854. He left Jönköpings län with his wife-to-be, Fredrika Johansdotter, and a mystery woman, Maria Andersdotter.

_ _ Pettersson Gustaf bs 1854 m p Maria .andersdotter Amerika Fredrika Johansdotter

1851-1860 index to passport records showing Gustaf, Fredrika, and Maria registering to emigrate from Sweden in 1854.

I later showed it to my father. Bob Seaholm. He had not seen this index entry before, and did not know who Maria Andersdotter was. Gustaf Pettersson Fair and Fredrika Johansdotter were distantly related to each other and were both * Jill Seaholm is Head of Genealogical Services at Swenson Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, 111. Email Swenson Center Serendipity 115 from the area of Mellby Parish in Småland. They had immigrated to Andover, Illinois, and were supposedly the first to be married in the Jenny Lind Chapel there. I decided to look at the Andover church records, which we had on microfilm at the Swenson Center, to try to find out who this mystery Maria was. There I

Record from Augustana Lutheran Church in Andover, Illinois. Anders Wilhelm Hammer, Maria Andersdotter Hammer, and five children. found that Maria had married a widower named Anders Wilhelm "William" Ham• mer and had had at least four children with him. I couldn't tell if she was related to Gustaf or Fredrika, but I did learn her date and parish of birth. Several months later, when I attended the annual SAG Salt Lake City work• shop, I looked Maria up in Swedish parish records and discovered that she was a cousin to both Gustaf and Fredrika. That was that. I found what I had set out to find, and laid it to rest. Several months after that, a Moline woman, Arlene Knanishu, came in to the Swenson Center to look something up in Andover records, which is not unusual. However, she told me that the ancestor she wished to look for was named Maria Hammer! Mrs. Knanishu must have thought I was batty at first, the way I started chuckling, but she was soon amazed that I was able to walk straight to a box of printed records and show her Gustaf, Fredrika, and Maria as they left Jönköpings län. I also called my parents in Moline to tell them about it and luckily they had time to get right into their car and come to the Swenson Center to meet "Cousin Arlene" and share some background information about Maria Anders• dotter Hammer. About a year or two later, a woman from Washington DC, Marilyn Scar- brough, came to the Swenson Center to look at Andover church records. Sitting at a microfilm reader, she found the family she was looking for and called me over to ask how to make a copy of what she had found. She was also curious how a man with such a non-Swedish name had gotten into such a family of Swedes. She had the Gustaf and Fredrika Fair family on the screen. I asked her if he was in her family, and she said that he was, and I said that they were in my family, too. 116 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2

Gustaf Peterson Fair, Fredrika Johansdotter, and five children. Records of Augustana Lutheran Church in Andover, Illinois.

The son Gustaf Alfred Fair married Julia Esther Peterson (daughter of Sven and Johanna Forsberg Peterson) and Marilyn Scarbrough is the great-grand-niece of Julia. I said that I was descended from the daughter Catarina Sofia Fair! The family legend goes that the father, Gustaf Pettersson Fair, took the name Fair because his soldier name in Sweden had been Fager, which can translate into "fair" in English. I again called my parents, who were again able to come right down to meet "Cousin Marilyn" and share information about her ancestors and current relatives in Sweden.

The Wallberg Story In the year 2000, a man named Thor Waldo Swanson sent in a research request looking for a man named Adolf Filip Svensson and wife Carolina Andersdotter, who had emigrated to America. In the "Additional information about the family" section of our research request form, Mr. Swanson noted that Adolf's first wife had been "Anna Thilda Wallburg, born 1839 Ringarum... died 1 Jan 1873 New Windsor, IL; Daughter Walborg Santina, born 8 June 1871, died in Texas 1950s." I recognized the names Wallberg, Ringarum Parish (Östg.), and New Wind• sor, and called my mother right away. She recognized the names Anna Thilda Wallberg (but thought it should be Anna Stina Wallberg) and especially Walborg Santina Swanson whom she knew as "Aunt Tina." We are not actually related to Thor W. Swanson because he is descended from Adolf Filip's second wife, and we are descended from a sibling of his first wife, but there was still information to share. In fact, once we established a connection. Cousin Thor told me that he remembered having met my grandfather, Arthur Luther Lindorff (1884-1980) many years earlier. Arthur Lindorff was a child of Johan Gustaf Lindorff and Maria Lovisa Wallberg (Anna Stina's sister), and my grandfather remembered Thor Swanson's father, Carl/Charley Swanson, and his brother, Albin. Arthur Swenson Center Serendipity 117

Lindorff and Albin Swanson had been in the same confirmation class in New Windsor, Illinois, and were good friends until the Swanson family moved to Min• nesota in 1901. Thor Waldo Swanson's family history, entitled From Ringarum, Sweden to America: a history of the Swanson and Anderson families, is available to view at the Swenson Center. Using your local public or university library, you may also request it via interlibrary loan.

The Lindström Story Reprinted from Swenson Center News Number 8 (1994) One day in September of 1993, after returning from vacation, I was checking over some research that an Augustana student assistant, Keirsten Anderson, had done in response to a research request. The request came from Lindie Lindström Banks of California. Mrs. Banks knew that her paternal grandparents were E.E. Lindström and Emma Jakobsson, both born in the U.S., but wanted to know where in Sweden their parents were born. The student found a local Moline address and occupation for E.E., but could unfortunately locate neither Mrs. Banks' grand• father's nor grandmother's parishes of origin in Sweden. In reviewing the student's research for Mrs. Banks, I consulted one more source: the records of Geneva Lutheran Church in Geneva, Illinois, where Mrs. Banks thought that E.E. Lindström might have been born. We did not know E.E. 's full name, but in scanning a membership book, I located two Lindström families on page 19, the youngest child of one being Erland Edvin Lindström, with the same date of birth as Mrs. Banks' E.E. Lindström, October 6, 1857. It was the same person. The two families were the David and Johan Peter Lindström families. David was Johan Peter's father. The Geneva membership records showed that the two Lindström families had emigrated in 1852 from Hylingaryd Parish in Älvsborgs län. All of the emigrants had been born in Hylingaryd, except David Lindstrom's wife, Maja Lisa Andersdotter, who was born in Fivlered Parish. I could not find Hylingaryd in any book or map; it didn't exist. However, I had visited Fivlered because an ancestor on my mother's side was bom there, and I knew a nearby parish named Kölingared, so I decided that that must have been what was meant by Hylingaryd. Suddenly I remembered that my maternal grandmother's maiden name was Lindström, so I immediately called my mother, Marjorie Lindorff Seaholm, and asked her who in her background was bom in Kölingared parish. She replied, "It was my great-grandfather Johan Peter Lindström." She added, "His family immigrated to Geneva." Bingo! In my response to Mrs. Banks, I gave my title as "Researcher and second cousin once removed," since we were now related! Mrs. Banks was delighted to hear that she still had extended family in Illinois and was eager to learn about the 118 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2 background of the Lindström family in Sweden. My mother had not heard of Erland Edvin or his older sister who had also been born in Geneva, but she knew of the children bom in Sweden, and had extensive genealogical information about the Lindströms of Kölingared. My mother and Lindie Banks have been in contact with each other off and on ever since this discovery. Seven years later. Researcher Avis Paulson was working here at the Center and was researching a request from Agnes R. Fujan of Malmo, Nebraska. Avis was having trouble reading a word from page 19 of the Geneva Lutheran Church records and asked my advice: the word was Hylingaryd. I recognized the word and the whole page right away and "demanded" to know why she was asking. Ms. Fujan had requested information about her ancestor, Ida Christine Lindström, who was a sister of my great-great-grandfather, Johan Peter Lindström. My mot• her and Mrs. Fujan have been in contact and continue to share family informa• tion.

The Johnson Sisters Story A year or two before I started working at the Swenson Center, because I was from Moline, Illinois, a distant relative of mine in Sweden, Nichlas Malmdahl, asked me for some genealogy help. Two of his great-aunts (not related to me) had emigrated to the U.S. and had settled in Moline. Their names were Jenny and Matilda Johnson and they were sisters. Cousin Nichlas did not know much about what had happened to the sisters except that Jenny had possibly married a pastor in Chicago and had a daughter, Lillian, who may have married a Tumquist. I worked on it in bits and pieces over the course of a couple of years, first using records in Moline, then at the Swenson Center once I had started to work there, and then in Salt Lake City in 1993, which was the first time I attended the SAG workshop there. I was able to confirm a lot of the above information and actually found the current address of Lillian Tumquist, and Cousin Nichlas was indeed able to make contact with her. Jenny's sister, Matilda Johnson, had stayed in Moline, married William Carlson, and had one child, Melvin Carlson, who died at the age of 10, after falling from a streetcar. What was coincidental about this case was that William and Matilda Carl• son lived at 434 52nd Street in Moline from 1910-1947, and my father's grand• mother, Maria Malmquist Seaholm Fair, lived at 424 52nd Street for most of the same years. Great-Grandmother Fair owned the house, but did not always live there herself. Some of the time my paternal grandfather, Glenn Seaholm, lived there with his brother Carl Seaholm and his family. When the Carlsons lived at #434, there was only an empty lot between the houses, so the Carlsons and Maria Fair were indeed next-door neighbors. My father's cousin, June Seaholm Sand- berg, lived next-door to the Carlsons for some years around 1920. She is older than my father and remembers the Carlsons well. She even has an ornamental glass egg in her possession that belonged to young Melvin Carlson, given to her by his mother, Matilda. Swenson Center Serendipity 119

1920 U.S. Federal Census showing Jill's great-uncle Carl Seaholm (with family) and grandfather Glenn Seaholm living in house # 424 with Nichlas Malmdahl's great aunt Matilda living next door at house # 434.

The Von der Osten Story My mother has an ancestor named Baron Gustaf Adolf von der Osten, genannt Säcken. He was born in 2 Feb. 1636 in Västra Husby parish (Östergötland), but his ancestors were from Latvia. From a genealogist in Sweden we learned that he had been Governor of Gotland. His name is quite a mouthful and not one to forget easily. One day at work, I happened across a name in our newsletter mailing list of a person in Michigan with the surname Osten-Sacken. My mother eagerly contacted Mrs. Osten-Sacken and learned that it was her husband's family name and that we were indeed related very far back. They ended up exchanging some informa• tion.

VON DER OSTEN, GENANNT SÄCKEN

Family crest of Gustaf Adolf von der Osten, gennant Sacken. 120 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2

The Envall Story In an e-mail that came to the Swenson Center sometime in the mid-1990s, a man asked if we had any information about Nederkalix Parish in Norrbottens län. He was looking for his ancestor with the surname Envall. I remembered that the wife of one of my relatives in Västerås, Sweden, was named Gun Envall Larsson and that she was originally from Nederkalix. I took a chance that there weren't many Envalls in Nederkalix, and I e-mailed the family in Sweden to ask if there was a connection. It turned out that there was indeed a connection, and I put the person who made the request in touch with his new relatives in Västerås.

The Thorsell Story Elisabeth Thorsell and I were sitting in Lamb's Restaurant in Salt Lake City on a Monday evening in October 1993. We were there as part of the SAG Salt Lake City Workshop. She had just finished giving a short talk to the group about coincidental things that had happened to her. I mentioned that I had very distant connections to the Wallenberg family in Sweden. Elisabeth said that she did, too, as do thousands of people. I had some papers with me that week that my mother had sent along with me in case I had time to look for something more. I shared copies with Cousin Elisabeth, and she later sent me a chart showing how she and I were related as "9th half-cousins."

The Ron Johnson Story In 1998 a good friend of the Swenson Center, Ron Johnson, of Madison, Wiscon• sin, was in town for a conference we held called "The Migration of Ideas." He was in the Swenson Center beforehand, chatting with us and looking through some of our book collections, and I noticed him leafing through a SVAR parish catalog. Parish catalogs list each farm and village within a parish and explain exactly where to find each place in the parish records, and we used to have quite a few of them on the premises, but now only Dalarna and Kronobergs län. I thought Ron had picked one out randomly to see what it was, but realized that he was looking for a specific farm in an ancestral parish. He was looking at a farm called Tjuls in Eskelhem Parish on Gotland. I have actually been to Tjuls, a tiny place in western Gotland. My ancestry is not from Gotland, but relatives of mine had a summer cottage there and it happened to be at Tjuls. They invited my family there when we were visiting Sweden in 1981. Swenson Center Serendipity 121

The Small World Story One summer day in the late 1990s a couple from Sweden came to the Swenson Center while passing through Rock Island. They did not stay long, but I asked them where they were from and they pointed to Nässjö (Smål.) on my wall map. I had a relative in Nässjö named Mikael Sörnmo that I had only met once. His name isn't common, so I took a chance and mentioned his name and the fact that he worked in the Nässjö Railroad Station. The Swedish woman, who was a teacher, said that one of Mikael's children would be in her class in the fall.

The Åke Sail Story One year a man from Sweden named Gunnar Serrander stopped at the Swenson Center while passing through on a tour of the U.S. Mr. Serrander was a bus driver for tours within Sweden. He knew our director Dag Blanck, and was talking with him when I overheard Mr. Serrander saying something about the town of Åtvidaberg (Östg.). I told him that I had a relative, Åke Sail, who used to live in Åtvidaberg and often played the organ for church services when he lived there. Of course Mr. Serrander knew Åke. In July of 2000, a group of Swedish farmers on a tour of America came to Rock Island to see the Swenson Center. Few of them spoke English, and they happened to come when my Swedish co-worker Christina Johansson, was on vacation, so I was left to speak to them with my-less-than fluent Swedish. Surprisingly, it went very well. They were a great group of people, poking fun at each other, and they helped me out with words that I couldn't remember After the presentation, I chatted with the woman in charge of the group, Annemarie Samuelsson, who told me that she was from Höreda Parish in Småland (Jönköpings län). I remembered driving through Höreda whenever going to neighboring Mellby parish to visit relatives. At the time, the husband of one of my relatives, Åke Sail, was the organist in the Mellby church. I took a chance that everyone around there knew him, and asked Ms. Samuelsson if she did. Of course, she did. We had quite a laugh over that. Shortly thereafter, I related this story to a colleague in Minneapolis, Henrik Nordstrom. It did not really surprise him, Henrik said, because he was related to Annemarie Samuelsson!

The Sjöholm Story This incident happened long before I started working at the Swenson Center, but it is worthy of inclusion. In July of 1984, I was fortunate to accompany my parents to Sweden for the 2nd time. We had no idea where our ancestor Samuel August Seaholm had found the name Sjöholm and were determined to find out. We found a sign for a place called Sjöholm in Hjärtlanda Parish (Jönköpings län), took the exit, and stopped for a few pictures. My father tried to find something out from a man who lived there, but neither spoke the other's language. The next day we 122 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2

were able to return with some Swedish-speaking relatives to try to find out more about the place. The man referred us to another farm to a man named Harry Fransson. I think the farm was called Hjulås. My father and our relative, Sven Höge, went to the door to ask for Mr. Fransson. He said he would come out when he was finished eating his lunch. Harry Fransson was probably in his mid-80s. He spoke no English and did not know where Sjöholm had gotten its name. Sven explained that there were Ame• ricans in the car, and they were looking for the origin of the name Sjöholm. We wanted to know if there was a connection between the nearby farm Sjöholm and our ancestor. Mr. Fransson wasn't able to help us with the name, but when he heard that we were from the U.S., and probably having no idea how big the U.S. really was, he said that he had a nephew in Cambridge, Illinois, named Dean Leander. That got my father's attention, and he said, "I know Dean Leander." My father says that his father and Dean Leander's father had car-pooled from Andover to work at John Deere in Moline many years earlier. We all had a very good laugh about it, and Dad made certain he contacted Dean Leander when we returned home.

Sven Höge, Robert Seaholm, and Harry Fransson talking at Hjulås in 1994. Swenson Center Serendipity 123

My stories may not compare to Nils William Olsson's "The Tale of an Old Silver Spoon" (see SAG December 1995), but it is hoped that they are of interest to our readers. Many may have had similar experiences over the years as research paths have crossed with previously unknown relatives. There are some similar stories to be read at this web site http://genealogytoday.com/family/stories/serendipity.html

Jill Seaholm, Head Researcher at Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center at Rock Island, Illinois. Photo October 2002 by E. Thorsell.

It Happens All the Time I can not resist the opportunity to add one of my own experiences in this line. It happened at the SAG Workshop in Salt Lake City last year. I was talking to a lady, who was new in this group, Lucille Johnson of Arvada, Colorado. Some• how she came to mention the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and that she had lived there for many years. As some of my Värmland relatives ended up there, I asked where she had lived, and she said "Ishpeming". I said that is the town my favorite relative lives in, and she is Helen Peterson. Lucille's next question was "was her husband the school principal?" And so he was, William (Bill) C. Peterson, unfortunately decea• sed before I could travel to the U.S. Anyhow, the outcome of this conversation was that Lucille and her husband Wesley had been in the local skiing club with Helen and Bill, and knew them well from many other social events in Ishpeming, but had not been in touch since their move to Colorado. Elisabeth Thorsell 124 "The poor you always have with you"

Elisabeth Thorsell

During the Middle ages the taking care of poor people was handled by the Catholic Church. It was organized in each parish by the minister, and the people of the parish had to pay tithes to the church, of which a certain percentage was reserved for the poor-care. After the Reformation in 1527 the state took over the poor-care, but only in a limited way, the state-financed hospitals, of which there were only a few, scattered around the country. Ordinary poor people had to go out on the roads and beg. Other poor-care, like caring for old folks, not able to go on the roads, depended on the charity of local people. In 1624 the King, Gustaf II Adolf, mandated the first Hospital Ordinance, which slated that all people unable to work, should be given a place in a hospital, or if a minor, in an orphanage. The government quickly found out that this was too expensive and no benefit was, in fact, realized. In 1642 another ordinance stated that each parish should care for its own paupers. Begging was repeatedly forbidden, but it did not stop people from taking to the roads. In 1718 it was declared that the county government should send out-of-work-people to the factories, where manpower was wanted. The 1686 Church Law stated that every parish should build a poor-house, where the local poor people could find shelter, and this was again stated in the 1734 Common Law, but the work with this went very slowly, mostly because even ordinary people had a tough time to survive. In a parish in Dalsland they did build a poor-house, but decided it was too nice for the poor people, so they rented it to somebody else. In 1788 the King, Gustaf III, declared that if anybody needed to be taken to a hospital, his home parish should pay for this care. You can sometimes see little notes in the remarks column of the clerical survey, that "so and so got a permit to go to the hospital in Vadstena" or to the spa at Loka. If you are lucky, there might be minutes for the discussions in the local Parish Board (sockenstämma) and you can see what ailments your ancestor had and what the board expected the cost to be. The Parish Board made a list of all the paupers (fattighjon) in the parish, and the list could include old people as well as orphans and the unmarried mot• her with a baby. Then the parish was divided into sections (fattigrotar), which "The poor you always have with you' 125 each had to care for a number of paupers. The pauper was given a special piece of wood, incised with the marks of the various farms. These marks showed in which order the farms should be visited and the number of days they had to provide food and shelter for the pauper. The people, who were the providers in this system, kept close track of the assigned number of days, and if a pauper was ill and could not walk to the next place, they took them there in some way, not letting them stay an extra day or two. Clothes were given when it was necessary, and the money for that came from gifts to the poor-fund (fattigkassa). It was the custom to give money to the parish poor on the occasion of a wife's happy delivery of a child; money was also collected from the guests at weddings and at burials. If you were a soldier, you could give money to the poor when you went to war, and also as a token of gratitude, when you returned home in good shape. The fines for having had a baby out-of-wedlock also ended up in the poor-fund. These gifts were well recorded, and the accounts are so detailed, that you can often see who gave what amount. This can be helpful if, for instance, the Death records seems to miss out on somebody, but you can see in the account book that a sum was given at this person's funeral on a certain date. The probates (bouppteckning) often carries a little note at the end, which says "the poor percentage is paid" (fattigprocenten betald). According to the law, 1/8 % of the value of an estate should be paid to the local poor-fund. In 1847 the special Poor Laws were instituted, with the help of which the same systems and rules were to be applied in the whole country. In every parish there was to be a Poor Board (fattigvårdsstyrelse), of which the elected chairman had to implement the decisions. Only people unable to work were entitled to poor relief, and before asking the parish for help, relatives had to do their best. You had to have domestic right (hemortsrätt) in the parish where you lived, to be entitled to poor relief. If you moved to another parish, you did not get this right until after having lived there for three years. If you did need poor relief earlier, then your old parish would have to pay, which gave the incentive for many disputes in the local courts. In the clerical surveys you sometimes see remarks that a certain family "nekades mantalsskrivning", which means that the parish authorities feared that the family would soon need poor relief, so they were not to be allowed to settle in this parish, unless an employer posted bail for them. In 1871 there were new Poor Laws, much less generous than the older ones, as there had been the general famine in the later 1860s, and the country was short of money. Now the poor relief was very restricted, absolutely only for people unable to work, and it was no longer possible for the pauper to appeal the decisions of the Poor Board. It was now in the middle 1800s that the infamous pauper auctions (fattig• auktioner) started, where the paupers, or rather the chore of caring for one during the next year, were auctioned off to the lowest bidder. Several authors, who 126 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2 survived this ordeal in their childhood, have written about this bitter experience. Well-known author Astrid Lindgren, who came from a wealthy farmer's family, still had close contacts with the local poor-house (fattigstuga) in the Vimmerby area, and has several references in the books about Emil to the hard life there. The Anders Gustaf Johansson family (father mother and four children) from Edsvära in Västergötland emigrated in 1885 to North Dakota. The oldest son, Frans Albin Gideon, age 16, was already out working in a nearby parish and he stayed in Sweden for another two years. The next-oldest son, Carl Jacob, was 13 years old, when the family left, and he had to live in the parish workhouse un• til he could emigrate in 1887 in the company of his brother Gideon.The reason he had to live in the poor-house is not known, but possibly he was too old to travel on the less expensive children's ticket. In the "Brålandaboken" (published in 1975) there are several examples of the Poor Board paying the whole ticket or part of the ticket for someone, who wanted to emigrate. One girl, Anna Cajsa Andreasdotter, got a sum of money to emigrate to her siblings in the U.S. and in the minutes of the Poor Board it is hoped of the Poor Board that she would afterwards be able send money home to her elderly father, who was now getting poor relief. Sources: Nordisk Familjebok, Nationalencyklopedien, Brålandaboken.

The poor-house at Turinge in Södermanland. 127 Genealogical Queries

Genealogical queries from subscribers to Swedish American Genealogist will be listed here free of charge on a "space available" basis. The editor reserves the right to edit these queries to conform to a general format. The inquirer is responsible 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 this publication. Please send us your feedback, and we will endeavor to report your new discoveries in this section of the jour• nal.

Johnson, Arvidson, Benson

My grandfather, Emil Eliasson/Johnson, b. at Hulegården, Nösslinge, (Hall.), 31 Jul 1885, son of Elias Johansson, b.1832 in Öfralia, Skällinge, (Hall.) -1903), was the youngest of eight siblings to emigrate to the vicinity of Providence, RJ— Attleboro, MA between 188 1-1905. Eventually, four of his siblings returned to Sweden. Recent research has shown that numerous "cousins" also emigrated to that area of America. They are descendants of Elias' brother, Bernt Aron Johans• son (b. 1830 in Skällinge-d. 1889) and Anna Louisa Andersdotter. Emigrants among his ten children include Bernander Berntsson/Ben Benson, (1864-1952), Matilda Louisa Berntsdotter, (b. 1866), and Johan Bernt Berntsson/John B. Ben• son, (1868-1945). Known emigrants from among their nieces and nephews include Karl Harry Julius Johansson/Harry Johnson, (b. 1905), Alma Elfrida Johans• dotter/Arvidson, (b. 1882), Carl Johansson/Arvidson, (1883-1944), Axel Johans• son/Arvidson , (b. 1886), Oscar R. Johansson/Arvidson, (b. 1888), Ellen Eliza• beth Johansdotter/Arvidson, (b. 1892), and Hulda Annette Antonsdotter/Hulda A. Benson, (b. 1886). Seeking additional descendants in both Sweden and Ame• rica.

Darlene Johnson Norman 3620 N. Calhoun Road Brookfield, WI 53005 Phone:(262) 781-5236. E-mail: 1242

Brodin, Johansson

I am seeking information about my fathers uncle Johan Adiel Brodin, (he probably changed his name to John Adel). He was born 25 Jan 1880 in Anundsjö or Mo 128 Swedish American Genealogist 2003:2

Parish, (Ånge.). My grandfather told us that John visited him once, possibly about 1920. After that nobody heard anything from him. I am also seeking information about my mothers grandfather Kristoffer Jo• hansson, born 20 June (or July) 1864 in Björna Parish, (Ånge.). and died 5 Sept 1944 in US. I don't know when he arrived in the US, or if he changed the spelling of his name. I will appreciate any information!

Birgitta Sundgren Kilgatan ID S-89131 Örnsköldsvik Sweden E-mail: 1243

Larsson, Gullbrandsen, Wahlbäck, Lawson, Gilbert

I am looking for my maternal greatgrandparents in the U.S. They were Carl Jo• han Larsson, born 24 June 1860 in Öxabäck (Vägö.), and Anna Severina Gull• brandsen, bom in 1867 in Drammen, Norway. Their American names became Charles J. Lawson and Anna S. Gilbert. My grandmother Alma Ottilia Carlsson was bom 16 February 1886, sup• posedly in the U.S., but her parents took her back to Sweden, and she was raised there by her paternal grandparents, while Carl and Anna went back to the U.S., where they are said to have had more daughters. Carl emigrated first in 1884, then returned to Sweden 23 December 1885, and went back to the U.S. on 16 April 1886. His father was the naval soldier (båtsman) Lars Magnus Magnusson Wahlbäck, bom 19 December 1839 in Öxa• bäck. Carl's half-sister Josefina Charlotta Wahlbäck, bom 7 April 1871, emigrated to North America 25 February 1892, and his half-brother Anders Herman Wahl• bäck, bom 24 November 1864, emigrated to Pittsburgh 11 January 1910. I would appreciate information on them as well. My only other lead is a photo of a tombstone for Carl Johan and Anna, but I do not know where this tombstone is. I also have a Christmas card from Anna with an illegible address. [Looks like "Hampton"]. I will certainly be grateful for all and any information on my great- grandparents. Maybe I can find my living relatives in the U.S.!

Ann-Marie Engfeldt Fabriksgatan 2 F S-430 10 Tvååker, Sweden E-mail: 1244