Swedish American Genealogist Volume 32 | Number 4 Article 1 12-1-2012 Full Issue Vol 32 No. 4 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonsag Part of the Genealogy Commons, and the Scandinavian Studies Commons Recommended Citation (2012) "Full Issue Vol 32 No. 4," Swedish American Genealogist: Vol. 32 : No. 4 , Article 1. Available at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonsag/vol32/iss4/1 This Full Issue is brought to you for free and open access by Augustana Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Swedish American Genealogist by an authorized editor of Augustana Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. (ISSN 0275-9314) A journal devoted to Swedish American biography, genealogy, and personal history Volume XXXIIDecember 2012 No. 4 CONTENTS Meeting New Sweden ............................................. 1 By Jan Myhrvold News from the Swenson Center........................... 7 Copyright © 2012 (ISSN 0275-9314) By Lisa Huntsha Swedish American Genealogist John Norquist, a “Good, Honest Swede”............ 8 By John D. Norquist Publisher: Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center Sophia Carolina Schön ........................................ 10 Augustana College, Rock Island, IL 61201-2296 By Lars-Åke Wångstedt Telephone: 309-794-7204. Fax: 309-794-7443 E-mail: [email protected] Handwriting Example 33 .................................... 12 Web address: http://www.augustana.edu/swenson/ Bits & Pieces .......................................................... 13 Editor: Elisabeth Thorsell Hästskovägen 45, 177 39 Järfälla, Sweden How to trace your Swedes .................................. 14 E-mail: [email protected] By Mats Lönegren Editorial Committee: Led by words (bouppteckningar) ...................... 16 H. Arnold Barton, Tyresö, Sweden By Norman Sandin Dag Blanck, Stockholm, Sweden Dennis L. Johnson, Pottstown, PA Solution to the Handwriting problem 33 ........ 19 Ronald J. Johnson, Madison, WI Christopher Olsson, Stockton Springs, ME A mystery child ..................................................... 20 Priscilla Jönsson Sorknes, Minneapolis, MN By David Anderson Swedish American Genealogist, its publisher, editors, On citing Swedish records ................................. 23 and editorial committee assume neither responsibility By Elisabeth Thorsell nor liability for statements of opinion or fact made by contributors. Book Reviews ........................................................ 24 Correspondence. Please direct editorial correspon- Interesting Web Sites ........................................... 30 dence such as manuscripts, queries, book reviews, announcements, and ahnentafeln to the editor in Genealogical Queries ........................................... 31 Sweden. Correspondence regarding change of address, back The first Swede in Canada .................................. 31 issues (price and availability), and advertising should The Last Page ......................................................... 32 be directed to the publisher in Rock lsland. Subscriptions. Subscriptions to the journal are $28.00 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 Is- land. In Sweden the subscription price is 275.00 kro- Cover picture: nor per year. This subscription fee may be de- Gloria Dei, or Old Swedes’ Church in Philadelphia. posited in our plusgiro account: 260 10-9, Swed- (Photo by Jan Myhrvold, Oct. 2012). ish American Genealogist, c/o Thorsell, Häst- skovägen 45, S-177 39 Järfälla, Sweden. Meeting New Sweden A Norwegian exploring the Forest Finn heritage BY JAN MYHRVOLD The annual New Sweden History Wednesday Oct. 31 (ASHM) farther south in Philadel- Conference took place in Philadel- Because of “Hurricane Sandy,” phia, and at the museum I saw for phia on Nov. 3, 2012, with the theme Maud’s original flight was cancelled the first time trees that had blown “The Forest Finns of Europe, New and she was transferred to a flight down. Curator Carrie Hogan was our Sweden, and North America.” In on the 31st. After arrival, she spent contact, and she gave us a lot of in- connection with this, Dr. Maud Wedin a day in New York and could clearly formation. We bought a number of of Falun, Sweden, and I, Jan Myhr- see the damage done by “Sandy.” The books in the museum shop, and had vold from Gerdrum, Norway, were first thing she noticed was that the plenty of time to visit the great invited to be lecturers. train from the airport to downtown exhibtions about the Swedish immi- As both Maud and I are especially did not run because there was no gration to the U.S. The ASHM has, interested in the Forest Finns, we electricity. as the name suggests, its focus on all also managed to set aside a few days epochs of the immigrating Swedes, after the conference, getting ac- not just New Sweden as I assumed quainted with New Sweden, and Thursday Nov. 1 at first. Later in the day we visited most importantly, visiting places with Maud took a bus to Philadelphia as the Liberty Bell and Independence connections to the Forest Finns. the trains still did not run from New Hall, where the U.S. Declaration of New Sweden is the name of the York. I arrived at Newark in the Independence was signed by John Swedish colony that was started in afternoon, and by then the trains ran Morton. For lunch we had a Phila- 1638 along the Delaware River in the to Philadelphia. I did not notice much delphia cheese steak sandwich, and future states of Pennsylvania, Dela- damage from the storm of three days then we did not eat anything more ware, and New Jersey. The first For- earlier. that day. est Finns were deported there as they had farmed with the then prohibited Friday Nov. 2 Saturday Nov. 3 method of “Slash and burn” agri- After breakfast we visited the Amer- This was another day with an early culture (svedjebränning) in Sweden. ican Swedish Historical Museum start. We went back to the museum The choice between a gruesome punishment and deportation to the “West Indies” was not difficult. The colonists of New Sweden sent mes- sages to the “old country” about the fertile soil, and soon more shiploads of people came. Still, after the Dutch had taken over New Sweden in 1655, and the English had taken over in 1664, the immigration continued for some years. It is estimated that about 600 individuals immigrated. Even after the government became Eng- lish, New Sweden was allowed to gov- ern itself for some time with Swedish clergymen and Swedish law. The Church of Sweden did not leave New Sweden until 1789. The American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Swedish American Genealogist 2012:4 1 and had breakfast there. Kim-Eric surnames in an American church Williams introduced Maud, who record, written in Swedish, are started with her lecture on “The Evo- photographed by a Norwegian. lution of Forest Finn Culture in Fin- In the cemetery outside we found land and Scandinavia in the 16th and the family grave of Erik Pålsson 17th Centuries.” Next was Ronald Mullica. On the border of the ceme- Hendrickson with his lecture on “ ‘On tery we saw our first log cabin, “The this shore a home established ... ’: An Shorn Log Cabin.” It had been moved Introduction to the Forest Finns in to Swedesboro, and was supposedly America.” My own lecture came next, built at Racoon Creek by Morton its title was “Perspectives on Family Mortonson, the paternal grandfather Names and Migration before 1821: of John Morton. As we had already Studies on the Forest Finn Ethnicity heard about the “Morton Farmstead” in Dalarna and the Swedish-Nor- and the “Morton Morton House,” that wegian Border Area.” we planned to visit, we had the After lunch the archeology profes- humorous idea of naming this place sor Lu Ann De Cunzo lectured on the “Morton Morton Morton House.” “The ‘Cultures of Agriculture in 17th- Our schedule was strict so there Century New Sweden.” At the end of was unfortunately not time to take the day we got a practical lecture by Old Swedes Church, Swedesboro, New more photos of the church records. Jersey. Frank Eld, who has studied the Instead we were able to visit a house Finnish timber techniques in North Racoon Creek, which was one of the that is said to be the oldest wooden America. His talk was titled “Finnish settlers’ areas on the New Jersey side house in America, “The Nothnagle Vernacular Log Structures in New of the Delaware River. Log Cabin” in Gibbstown, New Jer- Sweden and North America.” We had brunch at a small restau- sey. The owners, Harry and Doris The about 140 participants of the rant in Swedesboro, which turned out Rink, who live next door, were very conference were very interested, and to be the culinary highpoint of the happy to show us around. The house were an inspiring group to talk to. trip. Alfred Nicolosi had offered to was built 1638-1645, according to the take us around to several points of information sign, but research shows Sunday Nov. 4 interest. The first was the Trinty that it probably dates to no earlier Church, also called Old Swedes’ than 1670. Today we picked up our rental car. Swedesboro, which was built in 1703. Even though it had a GPS, it did not Nicolosi had chosen a very ambi- Here they kept a copy of the old tious program for us, and we soon take many minutes before we were church register, starting in 1713, lost. After a few days we understood continued our trip towards Delaware where I found on page three several and the Winterthur Museum. This the American system of signs and Finnish surnames. It was a some- roads. Due to this mishap we found museum is the repository for the what exotic instance, when Finnish collections of Henry Francis du Pont, and has more than 90,000 artifacts that were used in the U.S. between 1630 and 1860. Our guided tour lasted 90 minutes, but we only saw a small part of the collections.