Changing Names: Was Our Family Name Changed at Ellis Island?

 Almost every family seems to have a story about an ancestor whose name was changed at Ellis Island. Hollywood loves to use this urban legend of a character coming to America and an unfeeling, disinterested customs official can't pronounce the foreign name, so he gives the character a new, Americanized name. It never happened. Custom officials used the manifest that was created at the point of departure. Also, most of the inspectors could speak more than one language. If names were changed, it came from the immigrant, not from the inspector.

On my paternal side, my Bellgraph family became Bellgraph from Bellgrowa in Pomerania long before they immigrated to America. My 2x great grandfather John Knach became John Conor when he settled among many Irish Catholics in Nebraska. He even went so far as to claim to be from Ireland on the census, even though his family was from eastern Prussia.

On my maternal side there are many instances of the appearing and disappearing letter "t" at the end of Strandt. Even in Germany the letter appears and disappears. In America, Carl Strand seems to be the only family member who left it off. It seems to have disappeared permanantly from him around the time of World War I when there was large anti-German sentiment in the country.

This leaves us with Sven Goran Henrik Johansson, known as George Henrickson in America. If we look at George's family, we can see that there is actually a history of men in his family changing surnames.

Going back we find George's great grandfather, Anders Skjold, born in 1788 in Sweden. His father's name was Lars Christian Hultberg. When Anders joined the Swedish military, though, he took on a military surname. Men would do this to distinguish themselves from all the other men with the same name as them. "Skjold" means "Shield" in Swedish. 

Anders Skjold later had a son named Sven Andersson, born in 1810. Sven also joined the Swedish military and took on a soldier surname. His surname was "Fahna", which means "Flag." So, Sven Andersson Fahna is how he became known. His children had the last name Fahna. 

Sven had two sons, Jonas and Anders. They also joined the Swedish military and took on military surnames. Jonas could not use Fahna, as his father was using it. Jonas's surname became "Fahnstrom". Anders took the last name "Lindblad." Lindblad is an ornamental name. "lind" refers to the Lind, or Lime tree. "blad" refers to Leaf. 

Sven's daughter, Ingrid, married Johan Jonasson. Their son, Sven Goran Henrik, would have had the last name of Johansson. Johan was one of the most popular, if not the most popular name in Sweden at the time. That means, there would have been very many Swedish immigrants in America with the last name of Johansson. We've already seen how common it was to change the surname in Sweden. There was no tradition of carrying on a family name as the surname changed each generation, or with entry to the military. So, when Sven Goran Henrik Johansson came to America and saw how many other Swedish immigrants had the last name Johansson, he decided he wanted to stand out and be different. When he became a naturalized American citizen he chose a new, more American sounding name for himself. He went with George Henrickson. He dropped Johansson, and turned his name of Henrik into his surname by adding "son." 

The first paper is the passenger manifest from the ship leaving Malmo, Sweden. His name is listed as Sven G.H. Johansson. The next picture is the manifest of the ship coming into Ellis Island, in New York. The name is listed exactly the same. And that, is how we became Henrickson's, and not Johanson's. :)

How George fits in:

George Henrickson (Sven Goran Henrik Johansson) son of, 

Ingrid Svensson Fahna, daughter of,

Sven Andersson Fahna, son of,

Anders Skjold, son of,

Lars Christian Hultberg. (Lars was also in the military and I believe Hultberg is also a name given to him in the military but I'm not sure. At least 3 generations of Swedish military service.)

 

Heirloom: The story behind the mysterious painting

 One of the things I remember most about spending an afternoon with my great grandparents, Carl and Mildred Strand, was a black and white print hanging on their wall in the living room. It was of a young woman, standing on a porch, staring out as a man on a horse came riding up the road. I remember saying I thought the woman was in love and she was waiting for a letter from her boyfriend, or her boyfriend was the one on the horse. I was around 10 at the time. I remember Mildred saying she thought the same. That the woman was in love and waiting for her intended. Then my grandmother Viola spoke up and said she just thought the rider was the mailman bringing the mail. No love involved. Mildred and I laughed together, agreeing we were more romantic about the young woman than Viola. 

You can see the print in the above picture. What or who was the woman waiting for? Where did the print come from? So many questions. 

After Carl and Mildred's passing, I learned the print went to their granddaughter Colleen. It had actually belonged to Colleen's mother, Marylaine initially. Marylaine had moved out on her own and was living in Kalamazoo, I think. She found it in a closet and hung it up. Later, when she moved, she gave it to Carl and Mildred and Mildred hung it in the living room where it stayed for years. After corresponding with Colleen, it turns out that Mildred and I were right about the young woman.

The name of the painting is, "Love's Young Dream." It was painted by Jennie Brownscombe in 1887. Jennifer Brownscombe was born in Pennsylvania in 1850. She moved to New York where she studied art and painting, later traveling to Paris and Europe where she studied and gained attention. She's best known for historical genre paintings, the best-known being "The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth" which hangs in Plymouth, Massachusetts. She's also known for idealized, romantic visions of rural life, of which "Love's Young Dream" is an example of. The young woman is waiting for her intended to come on horseback. Her mother is gazing up at her, and her father is wholly unconcerned. Below is a copy of the print in color.

nmwa.org

I'm really glad Marylaine found this picture, and even happier she gave it to Mildred, where it eventually found its way back to Colleen.   

Earning a living: Ingrid Christina Svensdotter Fahna

 This week's prompt is "Earning a living." Thanks to Annika Hostmad of Find a Swede I've been able to add more to the life story of my great, great grandmother Ingrid Christina Svensdotter Fahna. 

Ingrid Christina Svensdotter Fahna was born November 22, 1840 on her father Sven's 30th birthday. Her mother was 39. Ingrid was the youngest of the couple's 5 children. Her father was a Vice Corporal in the Swedish army. He was given a cottage for him and his family to live in. In return, he would fight in the army if called upon. Her mother had limited use of one arm and had recovered from an earlier infection of smallpox. Ingrid and all of her siblings were vaccinated against smallpox. She also learned to read and write. The family lived in Slatthog parish, Kronoberg County, Sweden. Part of Smaland of Sweden.

Sickness seemed to run in Ingrid's family. Her older sisters Anna and Sara are both listed as sickly in the Household records. Their mother is also listed as sickly too. Sara is able to find work as a teacher of young children and she moves out of the cottage. She works as a teacher until her retirement. Rheumatoid arthritis is listed as a contributing factor in her cause of death. So far no work record has been found for Anna. Perhaps she was too sick to work? Her brothers move out, find work and get married. Brother Jonas even joins the army for a bit.

In October 1861 Ingrid moves out of her parish to a nearby parish and works as a maid. Working as a maid on a farm can mean many things. She may have worked inside the house doing cooking, cleaning and laundry. She may also have worked outside tending to vegetable gardens, milking cows, or taking care of livestock. Either way, it was most likely hard work. After one year, she moved back home to her parish in Slatthog. When she moves back to Slatthog it is noted that her reading is justifiable, her reputation is good, and she is free to marry. 

Shortly after moving back to Slatthog parish, Ingrid becomes pregnant. She is not wed. On September 4, 1863, she gives birth to a baby boy. He is named Anders Peter Wilhelm. We have no way of knowing if this child was born out of a loving relationship or if something more sinister happened. The child was baptized 2 days later, and in October Ingrid was counseled and given absolution for having a child out of wedlock. Unfortunately, the child died suddenly on November 12. He was 2 months old. Cause of death was stroke. It may have been a heart defect or SIDS. 

The next records for Ingrid are between 1867 and 1872. She is living with her family during this time. Her father has retired from the army and is ill. Her sister Anna is ill, and her mother is very ill. 

In the fall of 1872 Ingrid moves from Slatthog to Moheda parish to move in with Johan Jonasson, whose wife died earlier that year. Apparently, it was common then for a woman to move in with a single man and then marry later. The house they lived in was a backstuga. That means the house wasn't on land you could farm. The occupants had to support themselves in other ways. Also, on Ingrid's entry the priest noted that Ingrid had had a child out of wedlock. The Scarlet Letter seemed to follow her through her life.

On January 3rd, 1873, the Banns for the marriage of Ingrid and Johan were announced. Banns are an announcement of marriage between 2 individuals. It gives people an opportunity to come forward should they have a legal objection to the marriage. It's supposed to prevent invalid marriages from happening. What makes this case unique is that Ingrid and Johan didn't marry until January 1874. Marriage is usually a couple of weeks after the publishing of the banns. In between, Ingrid gave birth to the couple's first daughter, Amanda Christina, on June 13, 1873.

After finally marrying in January 1874, Ingrid gave birth to another child, son Sven Goran Henrik on January 19, 1875. That November Ingrid lost another child. Daughter Amanda died of illness. She was 2 and a half years old. Ingrid gave birth once more in July 1877 to daughter Amanda Emma Christina. 

The family seemed to live together until August 1892 when son, Sven, left for America. Shortly after this Ingrid and Amanda are living in Slatthog again. Amanda is confirmed in the church while living in Slatthog parish. It took about a year of studying to be confirmed. There are notes in the Household records that Ingrid and Johan are living apart. It is believed that Ingrid moved in with her sister Sara and helped take care of her, but there are no records that confirm this. Sister Anna had passed away in 1878. Her parents passed away in 1881 and 1883. Her brother Jonas had already immigrated to America with his family. 

Daughter Amanda left for America in 1901. Ingrid's husband Jonas passed away in December 1903. Although there is no record of her living with sister, Sara, Ingrid is sailing for America 3 months after Sara's death. Brother Anders and his family had already left for America too. 

Ingrid sailed for America in 1912 and passed away at her daughter Amanda's home in 1922. She had lived a very long, eventful life. 

Parish of Moheda where Ingrid and Johan lived with their family until 1892. Birthplace of Sven Goran Henrik (George Henrickson) and Amanda Emma Christina Fahnstrom.

Ingrid Christina Svensdotter Fahna, mother of

Sven Goran Henrik Johansson (George S. Henrickson), father of 

Selma

Sidney

Eulalia

Grace

Pearl

Ingrid

Carl

Evald

Raymond

Esther

Elvera

Victor