Johan Jonasson

George S. Henrickson's parents were Johan Jonasson and Ingrid Christina Svensdotter Fahna. Ingrid's family has been pretty well researched. I knew absolutely nothing at all about Johan though. What little I knew was from what Ingrid's  family had written about him, which wasn't much. His name was also very common in Sweden so researching him in the records made it tough. I never could be certain if I had the right Johan. Also, I don't read old Swedish. That was a huge handicap right there.  Last December I hired a professional genealogist in Sweden to research Johan and his parents.  I contacted Annika Hostmad of https://findaswede.com/ to help. She researched Johan and both his parents and sent me the results last week. It's been fascinating reading. I'm still going through all the records, but here is what I have found so far. 

Johan Jonasson was born October 28, 1827 in Nackelyckor at Vegby Forsagard, Moheda Parish in Kronoberg County, Smaland province, Sweden. His father is listed as the Crofter Jonas Johansson and his mother is Maja Stina Danielsdotter. He was baptized November 1, 1827. His father is listed as a Crofter. This means his father rented a small farm with land and a house on it. To pay his rent, he would work so many days a year on the bigger estate. Instead of paying with money, he paid with labor. His mother worked as a maid on a farm before marrying his father. 

On July 29, 1846 the father Jonas died of a cold. This most likely left his family without a source of income. In 1847 we find Johan, the son, working as a farmhand in Ny och Sodra Kvarnen in Moheda. Sometime between 1848 to 1849 both Johan and his mother Maja are convicted of theft and sentenced to 12 or 17 days of bread and water. They both have public church duty. This means they had to publicly confess their sins before they could be forgiven. The records don't say what the theft was, but because the family and the area was so poor, my guess is it was probably food. Johan is without steady residency from about 1849 to 1855.

In May 1855 Johan marries Cajsa Johansdotter. Still in Moheda parish. It was the first marriage for both of them. Johan was 29 and Cajsa was 41. As far as I know, they had no children. They lived in a cottage without land from 1855 to 1872. During this time Johan acquired the nickname Styva Johan. "Styva" translates to "Stiff". It could describe either a physical or a personal characteristic. Physically it could  refer to stiff joints or a strong physique. Personality could refer to being good/capable, difficult, proud, arrogant, etc.  His father Jonas also had the same nickname. In the records for the late 1860's Johan is described as a drunkard. 

On April 10, 1872 his wife Cajsa dies. According to the household records, Ingrid Christina Svensdotter Fahna moved in the very next day.  She moved from Slatthog parish. Moheda is approximately 2.5 miles southeast from Slatthog parish. They're neighbors. Johan and Ingrid's first child, a daughter, is born June 13, 1873. Johan and Ingrid are married January 10, 1874. Two more children are born to Johan and Ingrid. George and Amanda, who both immigrated to America. The first daughter, also named Amanda, died in 1875. After both children left for America, Ingrid leaves Johan and cares for an older sister. Johan dies in 1903 at the age of 76 from heart disease. 

I'm still going through all the records Annika sent me. In Sweden, instead of an annual census, the Church kept Household Records for every parish. They would record who lived in the parish and various information. The priests would also make notes about people. Johan's family seems to have been penniless and very destitute at times. Life was hard. They were, however, vaccinated against small pox, and could read passages from the Bible. They also attended Communion. 

Next week I'll write up Johan's parents, Jonas and Maja Stina. 

Here is a picture of the Bell Tower outside the Moheda Church. It was built in 1665, I believe. 

How Do You Spell That?

 This week's writing prompt is "How do you spell that?" The first name I thought of was the "Strandt" name and the case of the disappearing "t".

Carl Strand, my great grandfather, always spelled his last name "Strand". His brother and sister, and his father, spelled the last name with a "t" at the end. Strandt. Why the difference? One story I heard growing up was that Carl dropped the letter "t" during World War I to make it sound less German. There was a lot of anti-German sentiment in the U.S. at the time. From the website, "Reimagining migration".

Throughout the U.S., individuals, groups, and politicians took actions, larger and small, that were aimed at ridding itself of German culture and German influence in the country. Germantown, Nebraska, was renamed Garland after a local soldier who died in the war.  East Germantown, Indiana, was changed to Pershing; Berlin, Iowa, became Lincoln. Berlin, Michigan, became Marne (after the Second Battle of the Marne). In June 1918, a Michigan congressman introduced a bill that would have required such name changes nationwide. Sauerkraut became liberty cabbage, hamburgers became liberty steaks, dachshunds became liberty pups, and German measles even became liberty measles. Some Americans even advocated ridding orchestras of music by Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart.

https://reimaginingmigration.org/the-anti-german-sentiment-of-world-war-i/

Dropping a letter to make your name sound less German would make perfect sense. There was another story too. The other story was that Carl had a feud with his family and to differentiate himself from them, he changed the spelling of his last name. Carl DID have a feud with his family. He sued his parents over ownership of the family farm. His brother and sister sided with his parents. The parents, brother and sister all spelled the last name with a "t". Carl didn't. Could this be the reason why?

To see if I could solve this mystery I went back to the original Strandt immigrant, Carl Friedrich Theodor Strandt. On the passenger lists from Hamburg to New York City, the last name is spelled "Strandt". This is also the spelling on the census records. When son William is born, he spells his last name with the "t". On William's draft card for WWI he spells his last name with a "t." However, on the 1920 census, both William and my great grandfather Carl spell their last name as "Strand." No "t." Carl is living on his own at this time as a hired hand. An entry in the City Directory for Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1926 finds Carl and William both living at the same address, and both men using the traditional "t" at the end. In subsequent years, though, every City Directory entry for Carl spells the last name with no "t". "Strand" is the spelling Carl uses the rest of his life. As for William, on the 1930 census he spells his last name as "Strand." The feud with Carl over ownership of the farm occurred between 1933-1935. On the 1940 census and all other records from then on, William goes back to the spelling with the final "t.". As do the brother and sister. 

So, which explanation is more likely? Since Carl is documented as spelling his last name without the "t" years before the great feud occurred, I feel it is more likely that he changed the spelling to avoid anti-German sentiment. It seems as if William changed the spelling too. William definitely goes back to using the "t" after the feud, so maybe HE changed the spelling to be different from his son, rather than the other way around? 

Interestingly enough, a travel document of Carl Friedrich Theodor Strandt was found that was written in German. The document lists Carl's birthplace and his parents, along with witnesses to his birth. What's interesting, is this document spells the last name as "Strand". No "t". All the family members listed in the document are spelled "Strand." Also, "Strand" is how the name is commonly spelled in Sweden and Norway. The Strand family immigrated from Germany and my great grandfather Carl always thought of himself as German, but in DNA testing I've actually found more Swedish and Norwegian DNA than German. Could it be that the Strand's are actually much more Scandinavian than German and "Strand" is the correct spelling after all, and not the German "Strandt"?

If you have any further insights, comments or questions leave them down below in the comments, or email me. The Strand branch is my favorite branch to research. They're constantly surprising me.