This week's prompt is "Origins." The origins for the George and Malvina Henrickson clan are in two areas of Sweden, Smaland and Vastra Gotaland.
Smaland is a province made up of 3 counties: Kronoberg, Kalmar, and Jonkoping. George Henrickson's paternal and maternal lines both go back in Kronoberg County until at least the late 1700's. Carl Anderson, father of Malvina Anderson Henrickson, has paternal lines that go back through Jonkoping, and his mother's family stretch back through Kronoberg. Malvina's mother, Ulrika Johansdotter Anderson, has family from Vastra Gotaland, in western Sweden. She is the only one who does not have roots in Smaland.
Smaland is in southeastern Sweden. The name literally means, "small lands." It is an area filled with forests, many lakes, bogs, and stretches to the east coast of Sweden where it borders the Baltic Sea. While some of the land is used for agriculture, it can be very rocky and the soil isn't the best. The weather averages around 72'F in the summer for a high, and around 32'F in the winter.
The "small lands" names comes from the Middle Ages when each small province could declare itself neutral in Sweden's many wars. When the land south of Smaland was controlled by Denmark, and they would have conflicts and wars with Sweden, the provinces in Smaland could and would declare themselves neutral. They were so far from Stockholm that there wasn't much the King could do. This lasted until 1350 when a national law code was introduced and the small provinces and towns lost their autonomy. The area was also the scene of several peasant rebellions.
In the 1800's Smaland was affected by famine, and had high levels of poverty. The many social and economic problems led many residents to emigrate to America. Residents read about America, the land of opportunity and left Sweden for a better life, including ours.
Today Smaland is known as the birthplace of the founder of IKEA. The birthplace of Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern day taxonomy, and Astrid Lindgren, author of the Pippi Longstocking books. Smaland is also known for glass blowing and for the original red and white peppermint stick.
Vastra Gotaland was formed in 1998 when three counties were combined into one. They were Alvsborg, Goteborg och Bohus, and Skaraborg. Ulrika Johansdotter's family goes back to the early 1800's in Skaraborg County.
Skaraborg sits between lakes Vanern and Vattern. It has densely wooded forests and plains and a table rock landscape. I couldn't find much other information on Skaraborg.
The first map below shows were Skaraborg is located within Vastra Gotaland. The second map shows the area of Smaland. Underneath that is a link to a short 2 minute video that showcases the sights and sounds of Smaland.
We visited Gothenburg, Stockholm, and then took the train to Harnosand,on the Baltic Sea. Almost all the barns were painted red. Just like dad's. Lots of trees and lakes. Sweden really is beautiful but not so great for farming
ReplyDeleteEvery time I see pictures of the Swedish countryside it makes me think of Michigan. I feel like that's probably why they liked Michigan so much, because it reminded them of home, but with better luck in farming.
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