Chapter Three the Grandparents of Sven Hög and Anna Stina Johansdotter
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Chapter Three The Grandparents of Sven Hög and Anna Stina Johansdotter Chapter Three The Grandparents of Sven Hög and Anna Stina Johansdotter 1726-1809 259 3.0. Discovering the Grandparents of Sven Hög and Anna Stina Johansdotter Chapter Three Contents 3.0 Discovering the Grandparents of Sven Hög and Anna Stina Johansdotter ......262 The Grandparents of Sven Hög and Anna Stina Johansdotter .............................. 262 Discovering Anders Isaacsson and Annika Larsdotter ........................................... 263 Discovering Sven Nilsson and Anna Månsdotter ................................................... 265 Discovering Johan Svensson and Annika Johansdotter ......................................... 267 Discovering Håkan Persson and Maria Jönsdotter ............................................... 269 Understanding the Times that Sven and Anna Stina’s Grandparents Lived In ........ 271 Writing About Anders Isaacsson and Annika Larsdotter ...................................... 273 Writing About Sven Nilsson and Anna Månsdotter .............................................. 274 Writing About Johan Svensson and Annika Johansdotter ..................................... 275 Writing About Håkan Persson and Maria Jönsdotter ............................................ 276 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................... 277 3.1 Anders Isaacsson and Annika Larsdotter .....................................................278 Early Years (1742-1770) ................................................................................... 278 Life at Buckhult (1771-1806) ............................................................................. 284 The Fate of Isaac Andersson ............................................................................. 289 The Fate of Maja Andersdotter .......................................................................... 291 The Fate of Stina Andersdotter ......................................................................... 294 The Final Days of Anders Isaacsson (1806-1808) ............................................... 298 3.2 Sven Nilsson and Anna Månsdotter .............................................................301 Early Years (1726-1759) ................................................................................... 301 Life at Gransäng (1759-1787) ........................................................................... 308 The Fate of Johan Svensson ............................................................................. 318 The Fate of Sven Svensson ............................................................................... 320 The Fate of Beata Svensdotter .......................................................................... 322 The Final Days of Sven Nilsson (1787-1795) ...................................................... 323 3.3 Johan Svensson and Annika Johansdotter ...................................................328 Early Years (1736-1763) ................................................................................... 328 Life at Stora Högaskog (1763-1793) .................................................................. 335 The Fate of Annica Johansdotter ....................................................................... 347 The Fate of Lisa Johansdotter ........................................................................... 349 The Final Years of Johan Svensson and Annika Johansdotter (1793-1806) ........... 351 260 Chapter Three The Grandparents of Sven Hög and Anna Stina Johansdotter 3.3.1 Estate Records for Johan Svensson ....................................................356 3.4 Håkan Persson and Maria Jönsdotter ......................................................371 Early Years (1728-1758) ................................................................................... 371 Life at Vallstorp (1758-1769) ............................................................................. 375 Life at Älmås (1769-1789) ................................................................................ 378 The Fate of Nils Håkansson ............................................................................... 385 The Fate of Stina Håkansdotter ......................................................................... 387 The Fate of Greta Håkansdotter ........................................................................ 389 The Fate of Johannes Håkansson ...................................................................... 392 The Final Years of Håkan Persson and Maria Jönsdotter (1789-1809) .................. 394 3.4.1 Estate Records for Håkan Persson ..........................................................399 261 3.0. Discovering the Grandparents of Sven Hög and Anna Stina Johansdotter Discovering the Grandparents of Sven Hög and Anna Stina Johansdotter By Jeffrey High – May 30th, 2015 The Grandparents of Sven Hög and Anna Stina Johansdotter The last generation of Sven and Anna Stina’s ancestors that I received information about back in October of 2006 were their grandparents. According to the packet I was sent, they were: The paternal grandparents of Sven Hög were Anders Jaenson and Maja Jonasdotter. (I would later discover this to be false, and that Sven’s true paternal grandparents were Anders Isaacsson and Annika Larsdotter.) The maternal grandparents of Sven Hög were Sven Nilsson and Anna Månsdotter. The paternal grandparents of Anna Stina Johansdotter were Johan Svensson and Annika Johansdotter. The maternal grandparents of Anna Stina Johansdotter were Håkan Persson and Maria Jönsdotter. This illustration represents the grandparents of Sven Hög and Anna Stina Johansdotter For a year and a half, this generation was the furthest back I knew of Sven and Anna Stina’s ancestors. It’s unlikely the four High pioneer children of Sven and Anna Stina knew much about their great-grandparents. Likewise, Sven and Anna Stina didn’t have much of an opportunity to know their grandparents. Three of Sven’s grandparents died before he was born. The only grandparent he knew was Anders Isaacsson, his paternal grandfather, who died when Sven was only seven years old. Although three of Anna Stina’s grandparents were still living when she was born, they all died within the next few years. Maria Jönsdotter, her maternal grandmother and last surviving grandparent, died when Anna Stina was only three years old. The discovery of the grandparents of Sven and Anna Stina marked significant breakthrough in researching the High family’s Swedish ancestors. After two centuries, details of their lives have finally come to light. Learning about their lives not only shows how Sven and Anna Stina’s parents were raised, but also gives us a glimpse of what life in 18th century Sweden was like. 262 Chapter Three The Grandparents of Sven Hög and Anna Stina Johansdotter Discovering Anders Isaacsson and Annika Larsdotter For nearly six years, I believed that Sven Hög’s father Anders Andersson was the illegitimate son of Anders Jaensson and Maja Jonasdotter. When I visited Sweden in June of 2011, I visited Äskhult, the manor where Anders Jaensson lived, and Nilstorp, the farm where Maja Jonasdotter lived. However, on August 14th, 2012, I discovered that the Anders Andersson who was the illegitimate son of Anders Jaensson and Maja Jonasdotter died just three days after he was born.1 Upon making this discovery, I was greatly distraught. I now had no clue who Anders Andersson’s true parents were, and realized that my visits to Äskhult and Nilstorp were in vain. Fortunately, after conducting some lengthy detective work, I was able to discover the true identities of Anders Andersson parents, Anders Isaacsson and Annika Larsdotter. As described in the last chapter, I made this discovery by checking into Stina Andersdotter, one of the witnesses at the baptism of Johannes Andersson, Anders Andersson’s third eldest child. Household examinations showed that Stina was born at the croft Svenstorp in Norra Solberga in 1783 and that her parents were Anders Isaacsson and Annika Larsdotter. To my delight, when I checked the household examinations for Svenstorp from 1784, I found Anders Andersson was listed in the household! Upon conducting research on the family of Anders Isaacsson and Annika Larsdotter, I found more evidence which confirmed that Anders and Annika were Anders Andersson’s parents. For example, records showed that Anders Isaacsson had lived at Havsvik and Stumperyd, two of the places where Anders Andersson had lived, that Isaac Andersson, Ander Andersson’s brother lived at Släthult, the farm where Anders and Maria Svensdotter met, and Stina, Ander’s sister, lived at Gullarp, the farm in Flisby Parish where Anders and Maria spent their final days. An email I sent my uncle Ken High, announcing my discovery of Anders Isaacsson and Annika Larsdotter 1 Norra Solberga Deaths, Vol. C:2 (1730-1800), page 448 263 3.0. Discovering the Grandparents of Sven Hög and Anna Stina Johansdotter During the course of the next month, I learned several things about Anders Isaacsson and Annika Larsdotter: Anders Isaacsson was born in Lommaryd Parish in 1742. He was the son of Isak Witling and Ingeborg Nilsdotter. Annika Larsdotter was born in Norra Solberga Parish in 1744. Her parents were Lars Andersson and Maria Danielsdotter. Anders and Annika had four children: Isaac, Anders, Maja, and Stina. Anders and Annika were crofters. For much of their adult lives, they lived at the farm Buckhult in southwest Norra Solberga.