EMIGRATION FROM ÖREBRO LÄN HANS NORMAN

The emigration from Örebro län during the second half of the nineteenth century ran almost parallel to the average for all of Sweden. During the 1850's it was quite small, but in connection with the hunger years toward the end of the 1860's emigration speeded up and reached is maximum during the 1880's. Even during the 1890's and during the first few years of the present century there was at times a rather brisk emigration to America. Since a large group of people left Karlskoga Parish in the western part of the län as early as the 1850's, emigration during the first years re• mained concentrated in Karlskoga Bergslag, one of the parts of the län which contained the iron working industry, while emigration from the other parishes within the län was con• siderably smaller. In studying the pattern of emigration from Örebro län it is evident that it is possible to analyze this phenomenon along certain lines. First of all one can place the län in a larger context by comparing it with the emigration intensity for all of Sweden within certain regions.1 We shall then see that Örebro län contains several of the areas in Sweden which show a high variability of emigration intensity. Thus the plains of Närke (Närkesslätten) and principally the regions along the northern shores of Lake Hjälmaren have had a rather small emigration. These parts can therefore be classified with areas of eastern Svealand and the Lake Mälaren valley, which also have shown a small index of emigration. The northwestern part of the län, containing within it the area of the Kil Mountains (Kilbergen), as well as the regions west and north of these, in other words those parts lying

1 Atlas for Sweden. Nr. 57-58. Emigration 1861-1930 (Stockholm, 1953). 83 within the Bergslag area, have had a considerably greater movement to America. These areas, therefore, comprise with eastern Värmland a rather homogeneous area with heavy emigration — although not as great as that of western Värmland and Dalsland. Another section of the län, where emigration has been heavy, is the southeastern part, con• taining the parishes in a forested area known as Tylö Forest (Tylöskogen). This particular area can be assessed from the point of view of emigration to be a continuation of the heavy emigration districts of Småland and western Östergötland. Contrasting to a high degree with this is the western shore of the northern Lake Vättern region which had an unusually small emigration. One can also attempt an analysis of the distribution of emigration within the borders of the län, keeping in mind the region's geography as well as its economic and industrial development. The intensity of emigration within the various parishes of Örebro län can be seen on charts 1 and 2. The amount of emigration is expressed in numbers per thousand per year in relation to the average population, partly during the years 1861-1905 and partly during the 1880's when migration to America was at its peak. It is clear that the län has had a quite variable pattern of emigration. Based upon the figures gleaned from the Summary Report on Population (Summarisk folkmängdsredogörelse), it has been possible to construct an analysis of the emigration in• tensity for the parishes, with respect to the degree of land cultivation and industrialization as well as geography. In order to assist in the evaluation of the material, the parishes have been ranked according to their emigration intensity (the same figures are used as for the charts). The importance of the following four factors has then been studied: 1. The size of the cultivated portions in relation to the total area of the parishes.2

2 The estimates for the percentile size of the land cultivated is based upon Agricultural Estimates (1027), Sweden's Official Statistics, Agriculture (Stockholm, 1930). 84 2. The degree of industrialization within the parishes, based upon the amount of taxation on non-farm property, in percentage of entire taxation value.3 3. The interaction of the so called "urban fields of influence" ("urbana influensfält"); i.e. what influence has the spreading large city, with its trade and dominance, had on the neighboring rural communities in limiting emigration. For this study all parishes are included which lie within a radius of 20 kilometers (approximately 12.5 miles) of Örebro, the capital and chief center of the län (the area within the circle on chart 1) .4 4. Parishes lying within the area of the Bergslag in the northwest corner of the län. An effort has thus been made to segregate the iron producing regions of this part of the län. These parishes also lie distant from the central city of Örebro (this area is marked on chart 1) ? The study shows that the parishes which have the greatest areas of cultivated soil have not had particularly heavy emi• gration. Of the twenty most heavily tilled parishes in the län,6 it is found that 14 of these lie within that half of the län which has had the smallest emigration, according to the

3 Figures for taxation values are taken from The Emigration Inquiry. The year used for taxation values is 1906 (Emigrations• utredningen, Appendix V, Table 76, [Stockholm, 1910]).

4 The fact that geographical location and transportation possibilities with nearby communities influence mobility has been shown in a study from West Sweden, where the emigration intensity because of these factors has shifted considerably between the areas which lay near each other (Erik De Geer, "Emigration in West Sweden at the End of the 19th Century," Ymer, 1959, pp. 194 ff). 5 The division of areas, limited by Helge Nelson, groups counties and parts of counties to different areas according to geographic and economic classification. From the population point of view it has seemed worthwhile to treat demographic aspects, particularly in dealing with accounts of mobility. The areas chosen representing this part of the län are the Karlskoga area, Nora Forest area (Noraskog) and the Linde area. (Sweden's Official Statistics, the Census, Decem• ber 31, 1930, II, 1-3, 6 [Stockholm 1930]).

6 The parishes in the län number 61. 85 The charts of Örebro län show emigration from the parishes during the years 1861-1905 (Chart No. 1), and during the 1880's when emigration was largest (Chart No. 2). They are based on the rate of 86 emigration per thousand of the average population for each year. As is shown, emigration was strongest from the Bergslag area in the northwest, while the plains around Örebro were least affected. 87 rank list, and only one reaches the highest quartile. Among the 20 parishes with the lowest degree of tillage there is a distinct tendency the other way. Most of these parishes are to be found in that half of the län which has had heavy emigration, and only three of them are to be found in the lower half. A connection can also be traced in emigration in• tensity compared with the degree of industrialization. Most obvious is this in the areas which have had little industry. These lie largely within that half of the län which has had the lowest intensity of emigration. Only five of the twenty parishes are to be found in the upper half, and none reaches the highest quartile. On the other hand there is a distinct tendency toward high emigration among the parishes where the economy is industrialized. When studying the two regional types it is evident that the parishes which lie near the capital of the län, Örebro, have had a markedly low emigration. Here lie nineteen of the 24 parishes on the lower half of the scale, and none of them reaches the highest quartile. We see also clearly that those parishes lying within the earlier described area called Bergslagen have had a very heavy emigration. All of these, in all twelve parishes, He within the half which shows heavy emigration. If we now combine the emigration values for the parishes in each category, and calculate the average of the annual emigration intensity, the tendencies noted above become obvious. In these calculations, those twenty parishes with the highest areas of cultivation show an average of 2.68 per thousand, while the parishes with the lowest areas of culti• vation reach an intensity of 4.05 per thousand. For the twenty parishes with the lowest degree of industrialization the emigration figure is 2.52 per thousand, versus 3.70 per thousand for the parishes with high industrialization. If we then calculate the values in relationship to the distance from Örebro, the tendency is even more distinct. Those parishes lying within 12.5 miles of the city show a figure of 2.40 per thousand, whereas the figure for the northwest Bergslag

88 shows a high emigration index of 4.38 per thousand. It is therefore clear that, by means of an analysis of this type, one can trace certain main lines of difference in emi• gration intensity between the parishes in Örebro län, depend• ing upon their cultivated area, their degree of industrializa• tion and their geographical position. The question then is whether or not the tendencies have been at work throughout the whole period of analysis. An evaluation has therefore been made of the parishes, where those which were grouped according to size of emi• gration this time have been grouped in ten-year periods (five years for the last period, 1901-1905). A study of this type will reveal that the trends observed earlier are not especially noticeable during the first two decades of the study, and particularly not during the 1860's. This concerns both the extent of cultivated area and the degree of industrialization, and to a certain degree their proximity to Örebro. The trends have been strongest during the 1880's and the 1890's. On the other hand it is confirmed that most of the parishes in the Bergslag have had heavy emigration during the entire span of the period studied. One should remember in this connection that the ten• dencies toward a pattern in emigration, observed in the various parishes of the län, cannot be the subject of too far- reaching conclusions. It should be noted that the factors here analyzed often overlap each other. Thus, many of the parishes which are to be found within 12.5 miles of Örebro lie on the Närke plain, which means that they also often belong, to the group of parishes having much cultivated land and little industry. In other words, all three factors noted in this study have kept the emigration figures low. In the same manner, the parishes in the Bergslag area coincide with the parishes in the high industrial grouping, as well as with the parishes having a low cultivation percentage, thus showing factors which seem to stimulate a high emigration incidence. Therefore, each of the above-mentioned economic and geo• graphical factors has reinforced the final effect. 89 The trends in the groupings are very clear, however. Which of the factors has contributed most to the differenti• ation is difficult to say. What one can say for sure, however, is that low emigration was present in parishes with the fol• lowing characteristics: little industry, large areas of land cultivation and a location on the plains near Örebro. On the other hand a high frequency of emigration occurred in parishes which were more industrialized, which had small areas under cultivation and which were situated in the Bergs• lag in the outer periphery of the län. From Karlskoga region emigration began at an early period, which certainly contributed to this area continuing to have heavy emigration. Contrary-wise, it should be ob• served that the emigration from the southern portion of the län, around Lake Vättern, started relatively late, with a peculiarly small incidence of emigration in the beginning. Nevertheless, this latter area experienced in later years successively increasing emigration intensity. Certain parishes maintained the same ranking in emi• gration during the whole period under study. Of those areas which have had high emigration figures throughout the whole period Karlskoga and Ljusnarsberg are the foremost ex• amples. Kumla has, during each successive decade, main• tained a level immediately above the average for the entire län. Examples of low emigration are the country parish of Askersund and Lillkyrka. Of the cities Örebro had consist• ently high emigration figures, except for the years after 1900, when the industrial breakthrough had occurred. Of the cities in the Bergslag, Nora has had a considerably higher emigration than Lindesberg; from Askersund in the southern part of the län emigration was very little. This study has shown, among other things, that the heavi• est emigration from the län was from highly industrialized sectors. In itself, the fact that an area is industrialized does not mean that emigration should have been heavy from that part. Normally industry ought to contribute to absorbing the available labor force. On the other hand, the industriali-

90 zation process contributed to an increased emigration since it created a more mobile population. What seems to have been determinative to keeping emigration at a low level is a high tempo of industrialization. That so many parts of Örebro län had heavy emigration from their industrialized districts, particularly within the Bergslag, is probably due to the significance of the iron industry, which was sensitive to the economic difficulties of the period. During good times this industry siphoned off the labor force, but during periods of depression could not employ its laborers.

The main source for this study has been the so called Summary Report of Population, which is kept at the Statisti• cal Bureau in Stockholm. These reports begin in 1861, and are copies of the exit registers of the various parishes, which the clergy was required to send annually to the Statistical Bureau. These lists contain annual reports on emigrants, their occupation, their year of birth and sex, and from 1870 on also their marital status. From 1875 the reports also in• clude the number of immigrants. Concerning the Summary Report on Population Gustav Sundbärg, in his Emigrationsutredningen (Inquiry on Emi• gration), says that for the 1860's one should add 20% to the figures given in the reports. Later on the errors become less and less.7 For the years 1885 to 1893 he considers the sources essentially correct, since from the year of 1885 it was necessary for the emigrant to have a certificate of exit from his local pastor in order to get police authorization for his emigration contract. After a law came into force in 1893 which did not allow an exit visa for a young man who had not fulfilled his military training, Sundbärg assumes that incompleteness again began to appear in the Reports, due to the fact that illegal removals increased, not registered in the church records. In order to determine the trustworthiness of the informa-

7 The Emigration Inquiry (Emigrationsutredningen), Appendix VI, 251-252 (Stockholm, 1910).

91 tion in the Summary Reports, a comparison has been made between these and the facts available in church records such as exit journals and household examination rolls. This study has been done for a limited area within the län, namely two parishes, Karlskoga and Kumla, which have been given in• tensive scrutiny so far as emigration is concerned. First of all an attempt has been made to determine the number of individuals who emigrated without getting the exit permit, and hence were not registered in the exit journals. Here are counted all persons listed in the records as "residence unknown," if known that they emigrated. The number for Karlskoga without exit permits, who emigrated during the period 1861-1905 has been estimated at 120 per• sons, whereof seven went to Norway, one to South Africa and the remainder to North America. In Kumla the corre• sponding figure was 30, of whom one was listed as going to Norway, one to Russia and one "abroad." The remainder went to North America. The total number of emigrants for Karlskoga during this period was 3,917 and for Kumla, 1,171. It seems that for Kumla there were waves of "escapees" to America; especially many in the years 1868-1870, and during the years following the end of the century. In Karlskoga it is more difficult to determine at what times these people "fled" to America, since often no year is given. Usually all the clergyman has written is that a particular person was "in America" or "gone to America without permit." Parenthetically it should be noted that these notations by the clergy under the heading "deportment" often give a telling story of how some of these emigrants left Sweden for America. One example states that an individual "went to America in May, 1869, without wife and children. Dis• honest dealings with his creditors." Another type of notation is one which states: "fled to America, leaving wife and five children. Departed with a certain individual during the spring of 1869. Desired to go to America after his relative had gone there in 1865." Later one can read that the in• dividual "returned in 1870 and paid his creditors." Other 92 examples are: "Fled to America in 1868 from his newly-wed wife. Drinks and is a fighter"; or in a terse commentary: "The wife is a shrew. The husband is in America." Another method to spot errors in the source material in the Summary Reports is to determine how many mistakes the clergymen have made, either from forgetfulness or other reasons in skipping names in the exit registers. The emi• grants listed in the Summary Reports during the period of study have been checked against the exit journals in both parishes. In cases of uncertainty the household examination rolls have been used. The same method has been used with immigrants. In Karlskoga it was found that 56 emigrants, concerning whom all indications pointed to the fact that they had emigrated, had not been included. The number of im• migrants totalled fourteen. In Kumla the number of over• looked emigrants was twelve and the number of immigrants four. A third reason why there are errors in the Summary Re• ports is that some individuals had planned to emigrate, and thus took out exit permits, then inhibited the journey and returned the permit. Many times they are nevertheless listed as emigrants and in some cases as immigrants. It also hap• pened that some took out exit permits for America and then changed their minds and moved elsewhere in Sweden. In some instances they were nevertheless listed as emigrants. There is nothing consistent about how the clergy handled cases of this sort. This means that the numbers listed in the Summary Reports for both emigrants and immigrants are a bit on the high side; such cases for Karlskoga number 35 emigrants and ten immigrants, while the figures for Kumla are eight emigrants and five immigrants. If one substracts this third group of errors from the figures in the first two categories, the number which should be added to the figures cited in the Summary Reports for Karlskoga for the years 1861-1905 is 141 emigrants (of which 120 left with• out permits) and four immigrants. For Kumla the number of emigrants should be 34 (of whom 30 left without taking out

93 a permit). The figures for immigrants are about even. If a percentage is to be calculated, based upon the total emigrants in both parishes, one should add 3.6% for Karlskoga, of which 3.1% consists of emigrants without permits. In Kumla these figures are 2.8% and 2.6% respectively. The figures in these cases are therefore quite small. These figures are for the whole period under study and are not comparable to Gustav Sundbärg's earlier mentioned re• sults. His statement that the errors in the Summary Reports are greatest during the 1860's and then rose again after 1893, seems, so far as the statistics are concerned, to check fairly well with the results for Kumla for those who emigrated without permits. On the other hand it should be pointed out* that the errors made by the clergy, as well as errors due to the fact that some who did not emigrate were listed as emigrants (or immigrants), are spread throughout the entire material. In Karlskoga it seems that the number who emi• grated without receiving the exit permit is spread relatively evenly throughout the period. Even if the results from Karlskoga and Kumla are only two samples, taken at random, in order to test the reliability of the material so far as the study of the län is concerned, it should give an indication concerning the value of the Sum• mary Reports for the study of emigration.

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