Off to Work: Mildred Strand

This week's prompt is "Off to work." Besides farming, the other profession that keeps repeating itself in our family is teaching. We have had a great many teachers over the years. Granted, women did not have many opportunities for other careers back in the day, but it is interesting how many women in our family have taught over the years. Carl Strand's mother, Mary Pulsipher, taught school before marrying William Strandt. Mary even taught school again in her later years. She attended Western Michigan College in the 1940's to add to her teaching credentials. Her daughter and Carl's older sister, Eva, also taught school. Eva's daughter, Ruth, grew up to be a schoolteacher in Florida.

June 1941

On the Henrickson side, George Henrickson's aunt, Sarah Lena Fahna, taught school in Sweden. She taught until she retired. 

Mildred Strand also came from a line of teachers. Her mother, Elnora Truman, taught in a one room school before marrying Charles Bellinger. 

After graduating from high school, Mildred earned a diploma from a Normal School and was allowed to teach. Normal schools were educational institutions dedicated to training teachers. Mildred attended one for one year and was then credentialed to teach school in the state of Michigan. 

It states that Mildred V. Bellingar has successfully completed the prescribed course of study and completed practice teaching at Allegan County Normal School. Dated June 12, 1919.

Mildred taught for one year before marrying Carl Strand on July 9, 1920. While Mildred gave up teaching to become a wife and mother, she never stopped learning. She read voraciously and loved to study and learn new things. Several of Mildred's grandchildren and great grandchildren work in education today. 

I haven't been able to locate where Mildred taught yet. I'm still working on that. Mildred's high school diploma has also been found. Here's a copy of that.

It says that Mildred Bellingar has completed the scientific course of study and is declared a graduate of the High School. Dated May 30, 1918.

Many thanks to Mildred's son, Fred, who recently found these diplomas. They are the only records at the moment of Mildred graduating high school and Normal school. I'm very thankful they were saved and shared.

Questions, comments, more info to add? Leave them down below in the comments or email me. 

Earliest Ancestor: Anders Svensson Lindblad

 This week's prompt is "Earliest Ancestor." Our earliest Swedish ancestor is Anders "Andrew" Svensson Lindblad. 

Anders was born April 29, 1836 in Slatthog, Kronoberg, Sweden. He was the third child and second son of Sven Andersson Fahna and Kajsa Catharina Jonasdotter. He was older brother to Ingrid Svensdotter Fahna, and uncle to George Henrickson.

Anders married Britta Amandsdotter on May 14, 1859. Anders and his new wife moved in with his parents and lived with them for the first few years. Anders joined the Swedish Army, like his father had, and soon had his own soldier's cottage to move into. Upon joining the Army he took a soldiers last name, He chose "Lindblad." "Lind" means "lime tree" and "blad" means "leaf." So, "Lindblad" has a connection to nature and trees. 

Anders and Britta had 4 sons between 1860 and 1867. Their youngest son, Aron, was born in 1867 and passed away in 1868. Cause of death was a stroke of some kind. Sweden was undergoing a famine between the years 1867-1869. 1867 had been unusually cold, and 1868 was a drought year. People and animals were starving all over Sweden. Undoubtedly the famine played a part in Anders and Britta's decision to leave for America.

On May 14, 1869 Anders, Britta, and their 3 remaining sons left for New York. Apparently, they had originally intended to go to Denver, Colorado, but ended up in LaPorte, Indiana. After arriving in LaPorte, Anders, who now went by "Andrew" took up farming. Andrew and Britta had a daughter who was born and died on the same day, February 10, 1873. The next year, July 31, 1874, Stina Marie would be born. Their second daughter, and youngest child. Andrew and Britta would suffer one more death of a child. Carl, their youngest son, would die in 1876. Reportedly Carl drowned in a lake. He was only 12 years old.

Andew and Britta joined the Bethany Lutheran Church, and sometime before 1880 Britta's mother, Mary, came from Sweden to live with the family. 

The 1900 Federal U.S. Census tells us how the family was doing after being in the States for 30 years. Andrew and son, George, had both obtained papers to become citizens but hadn't been naturalized yet. Interestingly, Britta had no papers. Why? As a married woman, she would obtain citizenship when her husband did. When he became naturalized, she would automatically become naturalized too. Andrew owned his farm, but it did have a mortgage. He could read, write, and speak English. Britta could read and speak English but was unable to write in English. Son George lived with his parents and helped his father work the farm. Daughter Stina lived at home and worked as a Servant. She would later move out when she married. 

While Andrew and Britta came to America in 1869, it would be until 1880 when the next family member of Andrew's came to America. That would be his nephew, Sven Fahnstrom, his brother Jonas's son. Starting in the 1880's the sons of Jonas Fahnstrom started coming to America. Our grandfather, George Henrickson, would come in 1892. Jonas and his wife and three youngest children came in 1893 and sister, Ingrid came in 1912. Some might call it chain migration, but our Henrickson family started in America with Anders "Andrew" and Britta Svensson Lindblad. Their pioneering spirit helped bring other relatives to America, including George Henrickson. His ticket to America was paid for by someone in America. The most likely candidate being his Uncle Anders. 

Andrew died June 27,1907, at home in LaPorte. He was 71. Britta passed away on April 12, 1923. She was 85 years old. The 1920 census says that Britta could now read and write English. It also lists her as a naturalized citizen. She also owns the farm, with no mortgage. Her son George lives with her and works the farm.

Oldest son Sven, who went by "Swan" in America, married and had 10 children. Youngest child Stina married and had 2 children of her own. 

Questions, comments, more information? Let me know in the comments down below or email me. Feel free to share and post with others who may be interested.

Migration

 The prompt for this week is "Migration." Our ancestors all migrated here from somewhere else. I thought I'd take a look at some of them this week.

Prior to 1875, when the Supreme Court ruled that it was the responsibility of the Federal Government to make and enforce immigration laws, there was no overriding immigration policy. Some states had their own laws regarding immigrants but the United States as a whole had no policy. Anyone, from anywhere, arriving on a boat could immigrate to America.

On August 22, 1833, William Mabbs,Jr and his parents, William and Hannah Mabbs arrived in New York City on the ship "Amity." They had departed London, England and sailed in steerage to America. William and Hannah came with their 7 children ranging in age from 12 to 1 year old. We don't know why they decided to sail to America. William had a business selling soap in London and was a Methodist. He may have felt he could be more prosperous in America, or perhaps he felt he could practice his faith more openly. Either way, he decided to make the journey across the sea, leaving his parents and siblings in England.

After getting off the ship they lived in New York City for a time until William lost his money in a bank failure. He then brought his family to Michigan to start anew as a farmer. William Mabbs, Jr, was the grandfather to Elnora Truman Bellinger.

On May 13,1870, Carl Johan Anderson and his wife, Ulrika, left Sweden to immigrate to America. We know that Carl had been a farmer in Sweden and Sweden had had 2 bad famines in 1868 and 1869. The area where Carl and Ulrika lived had a very large number of people leaving in 1869 and 1870. The famine almost definitely played a part in their decision to leave Sweden for America. Especially since they were newly married and trying to start a family. They sailed on the ship "Orlando" from Goteborg, Sweden to Hull, England. From Hull they took a train to Liverpool where they would sail on a ship to New York City. The manifest lists New York as their final destination. I'm not sure how long they stayed in New York, but they quickly came to LaPorte, Indiana and then onto Allegan, Michigan. Looking at the manifest most of the other immigrants are going to the Midwest. Some of the destinations listed are Chicago, Kalamazoo, and Cleveland.

On October 27, 1871, Carl Friedrich Theodor Standt and his wife, Wilhelmine, along with their three children, departed from Hamburg, Germany on the ship "Hansa" to sail to Hull, England. From Hull they would also continue by train to Liverpool where they would sail to America. They arrived in New York City on the ship "Minnesota" on November 17, 1871. From New York they made their way to Chicago, where apparently other family members were already living. Their youngest child, William, would be born in Chicago in 1876. According to the Strand family Bible, there were already Strandt family members living in Chicago. That would be one reason for immigration. Also, the Franco-Prussian War had just been fought from July 19, 1870 to May 10, 1871. Prussian Prime Minister Otto Von Bismark successfully unified all the German states into the German Empire on January 18, 1871. Needless to say, all the wars fought between Germany and other countries took a toll on the people. I'm sure that also played a part in the Strandt family decision to come to America. Wilhelmine had a sister who lived in Allegan, Michigan. William traveled to Allegan and at some point met and married Mary Pulsipher, where they started their family. 

On November 29, 1892, Sven Goren Henrich Johansson left from Malmo, Sweden and sailed to Copenhagen, Denmark on the ship "Kopenhamn". From Copenhagen he sailed directly to America on the ship "Hekla" arriving on December 19, 1892. He was 17 years old. From the manifest we know that his ticket was paid for by someone else. We know he already had several family members living in the United States. He had aunts and uncles and cousins. It is most likely that one of his uncles paid for his ticket to America. What is slightly unusual for Sven, who later changed his name to George Henrickson, is that he left from Malmo and sailed to Copenhagen, instead of leaving from Goteborg and sailing to Hull, train to Liverpool, and then ship to America. I learned that it was cheaper to go from Malmo to Copenhagen and then sail to America. George also lived in southern Sweden so Malmo may have been easier to travel to then Goteborg on the west coast. 

Ellis Island opened on January 1, 1892, so George would have passed through here. He would have seen the Statue of Liberty as he sailed into New York harbor and then waited for a ferry boat to take him to Ellis Island to be processed. He would have been asked identifying questions, given a physical, and then released to be on his way. We know he probably went to extended family first in Indiana and Illinois. He eventually made his way to Allegan, Michigan where he married Malvina Anderson, daughter of Carl and Ulrika Anderson. 

On December 11, 1912, our last ancestor came to America. Ingrid Fahna, the mother of George Henrickson, left Goteborg, Sweden and sailed to Grimsby, England on the ship "Salmo." She took a train to Liverpool where she sailed on the "Lusitania". She arrived at Ellis Island on December 21, 1912. She passed her physical and had $25 with her. She stood 5'2" and had gray hair and blue eyes. She listed a cousin as a contact in the "old country" and George Fahnstrom as her contact in America. George was listed as her brother-in-law but was really her son-in-law. While Ingrid sailed third class on the Lusitania her experience was far better than anyone else's. She had her own bedroom and was able to eat at a table and walk around on a nice ship. Much better than steerage in the 1800's. 

That's just a brief history of our immigrant family. As a reminder, NO NAMES were changed at Ellis Island. The inspectors checked the passengers' names against the manifest from the departing country. If any names were changed, they were changed by the immigrants themselves. Sven Goren Henrick Johansson decided to change his name to George Henrickson when he became a naturalized citizen. It was his choice to change it.

 

 

 

Surprising

 This week the prompt is "surprising." There have been several surprises I've found out while researching my family history. Here are a few surprises that I've discovered.

• 7th great grandfather David Pulsipher fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill. First, I hadn't really thought about any of my ancestors fighting in the American Revolution. I thought almost all had come over after 1776. I was surprised when I found out that David and his son, John, had fought at Bunker Hill, one of the most infamous battles at the start of the war. 
• Another surprising thing about the Pulsipher line is that the Pulsiphers who stayed in Ohio were quite active in the abolitionist movement in Ohio prior to the start of the Civil War. A Pulsipher cousin who stayed in Ohio even served with a son of John Brown in the Civil War.
• Another surprise, once again through the Pulsipher line, is that we are connected to the Mayflower. David Pulsipher's son, Ebeneezer, my 6th great grandfather, married Unity Reed. Unity goes back to Isabell Chilton on her father's side. Isabell came to America on the second ship after the Mayflower's arrival. Isabell's father was James Chilton. James and his wife arrived on the Mayflower. James is known as being the first passenger who died after arriving in America. Sometime in the future when I have time and money, I'd like to properly research this and obtain membership in the Mayflower Society. 
• Finding out that the Bellingers were originally from Germany was surprising. I'd always thought that Mildred Strand was English and Scottish and Irish. She was, but she was also German too. Finding out that Mildred and Carl could both speak German was surprising.
• On the Henrickson side, finding out that 2x great grandmother Ingrid Fahna had had a child out of wedlock was a great surprise. In actuality she had two children out of wedlock. I'd already discovered that she and her future husband Johan had a child before getting married. What was a true surprise was finding out that she had a child out of wedlock in her early 20's. Long before Johan. She was counseled by the Church on the wrongness of her act. I guess she forgot later. The child died around 3 months old. The child she had out of wedlock with Johan died around 1 year old. I wonder how the deaths of her first two children affected her relationship with George and Amanda. If any? 
• One more surprise involving the Swedish relatives was finding out that Carl Anderson, Malvina's father, was born to parents who were not legally wed. Again, Carl and his sister were born out of wedlock to their parents. In Carl's case though, the Church seemed to make an exception and welcomed his mother back with the same rights afforded a married woman. His parents, even though not legally wed, seemed to be accepted by everyone as a couple. They definitely need some more researching and looking into. 
• As a longtime fan of "Gone with the Wind" book and movie, the burning of Atlanta scene always fascinated me. I wondered how it must've felt to the citizens in General Sherman's path, and I wondered how it affected the soldiers marching. So, finding out that 3x great grandfather David Bellinger not only served in the Civil War, but marched with Sherman through Georgia and on to Charleston and Washington, D.C. was a big surprise.

Those are a few of the surprises I've come across in the past few years while researching. Every time I think I know someone, or I've searched a line as far as I can and I've found everything out, something new pops up. Regarding the Bellinger line, there seems to be a line that went with John Smith and Bringham Young to Utah and were Mormon pioneers. That's definitely a surprise! What are some of the surprising things you've learned and discovered? Leave a comment down below or email me. 

In the Beginning

 Happy New Year! 

The first prompt of 2025 is "In the beginning." I decided to do something I've wanted to do for a while, compile a list of all the birthdays, deaths, and anniversaries on a monthly basis. January is the first month so it's a good place to start. 

Let's start off on a happy note with some of the birthdays I've found in January.

My paternal Great aunt Fern Thompson was born on January 1, 1927.

January 3rd has 2 birthdays, Sidney Henrickson in 1902 and my Dad in 1941.

Frank Ashley, a paternal Great Uncle was born on January 4, 1915.

Paternal 3x Great Grandmother Abigail Eldred was born on January 9, 1804.

Paternal Great Grandmother Emilia Dobbratz Ashley was born on January 15, 1888.

Great Grandfather George Henrickson was born January 19, 1875.

2x Great Grandmother Mary Pulispher Strandt was born January 20, 1877.

January 23 was the birthday of paternal 2x Great Grandfather Andrew Thompson in 1859 and paternal Grand uncle Orville Ashley in 1919

Toni Thompson was born January 28,1945.

Next up we celebrate the marriages that occurred in January.

Paternal 2x Great Grandparents Orville Ashley and Kate Eldred were united in marriage on January 1, 1863.

2x Great Grandparents Ingrid Fahna and Johan Jonasson were also united in marriage in January, on the 10th, in 1874.

Our In Memoriam segment is sadly, the largest. 

January 1 was the day Grand Aunt Esther M. Henrickson and Grand Uncle Lynn Bellinger passed away. In 1995 and 1981.

3x Great Grandfather Madison Truman passed away on January 2, 1884.

3x Great Grandfather Sven Fahna passed away on January 3, 1881 and Victor Henrickson passed away on the same date in 1923.

Howard C. Strand passed away on January 8, 2017.

Paternal 3x Great Grandfather Riley Thompson passed away on January 9, 1908.

Grand Aunt Helen Bellinger passed away on January 10, 1980.

3x Great Grandfather Carl F. T. Strand passed away on January 18, 1914.

Paternal 2x Great Grandmother Mary Bellegraph Conors passed away on January 21, 1941.

Grandfather Lawrence F. Thompson, Sr, passed away on January 19, 2006.

3x Great Grandmother Loretta Foster Bellinger passed away on January 30, 1912.

This list is by no means inclusive. If you know of any other birthdays, anniversaries or deaths in January, please list them below in the comments or email me. 

Colonel Howard C. Strand. Passed away on January 8, 2017.

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

You Wouldn't Believe It!

 This week's prompt is "You wouldn't believe it." I've uncovered a lot of surprising things about my ancestors and relatives over the past few years. One of the facts that I really found surprising was when my mom told me that her father, Raymond Henrickson, had surprised her and her siblings by playing a bit of a tune on a piano one day. No one knew that he could even play the piano!  I dug deeper into it.

Raymond Henrickson was the 9th child born to George and Malvina Henrickson. Ray most likely learned to play the piano from his parents. Both Malvina and George played the organ at the local Lutheran church. Malvina had even helped donate money, and traveled to Detroit, Michigan to bring back the first organ for the church. From Allegan to Detroit and back again with a horse and wagon. Ray wasn't the only child of theirs to play. Oldest daughter Selma also is listed in the church records as church organist for a time. I'm unsure if any other of Ray's siblings knew how to play the piano/organ, but I'm sure there must've been others.

After establishing where Ray and his siblings learned to play the piano, the next question is how did George and Malvina learn to play? Malvina already knew how to play the organ when she met George. Her parents, Carl and Ulrika Anderson, had immigrated from Sweden. Carl was a farmer, as he had been in Sweden. Both came from poor families. Carl had worked at a railroad station and Ulrika had worked for many different families as a maid before they met and married. After marrying, Carl farmed. It seems unlikely either family had a piano. Ulrika's parents were both dead by the time she was 7. Perhaps she learned somewhere along the way from one of the families she worked for? 

George Henrickson immigrated from Sweden as a 17-year-old boy. His family also was poor, but his maternal uncles were a bit better off. One immigrated to America in 1869 and became a successful farmer. Another one worked as a tailor in Sweden, and then in America. George also had a maternal aunt who worked as the local schoolteacher. It seems music and dancing seemed to be fun pastimes in his mother's family. I found this excerpt from a letter written by one of his sister's descendants: 

 Karl and Sven George Henrickson were handsome men, several of the Fahnstrom's and the Johnson's were good looking people, also musical and some loved to dance, guess that's something I inherited. Grandpa George and his sons played accordion by ear, Great Uncle Fred's sons, Wesley (Jack) Elmer (Unk) and Leslie (Pete) were very good and played accordion, guitar and banjo for dances.

At this Mid-summer picnic George was enough of a singer to be part of a quartette, singing, so he must've enjoyed it, and had a good voice!

Our ancestors, especially the ones who lived in Sweden, had hard lives. They weren't easy, filled with hard work. Oftentimes working from sunup to sundown. But, I'm glad that they did make time for fun. That they celebrated and sang and danced, with family and friends. 

Sven Andersson Fahna - So Many Descendants

 This week's prompt is "So many descendants." I chose to write about the descendants of Sven Andersson Fahna and his wife Kajsa Catharina Jonasdotter. They are my 3x great grandparents. 

Sven and Kajsa were married June 28, 1829. Sven was 18 years old and Kajsa was 27. Sven had been in the Swedish Army. Kajsa was the daughter of a blacksmith and was slightly crippled in one hand. 6 children were born to them over the years. They had 4 girls and 2 boys. Of the 4 girls, the only one who had children was daughter, Ingrid. Ingrid married and had 3 children. One child died at the age of 2. The other children, a boy and a girl, immigrated to America where they married and had children of their own. Son Sven Goran changed his name to George Henrickson and had a total of 12 children. Daughter Amanda married and had a total of 6 children.

Sven and Kajsa's 2 sons, Jonas and Anders, both married and had children. Eldest son Jonas married and had 9 children of his own. All children immigrated to America. 6 of Jonas's children had children of their own. His son Gustaf, known as Fred, had 12 children of his own. Fred's  brothers and sisters had between 1 and 5 children each. Younger son Anders had 5 children of his own. Of his 5 children, they either immigrated to America, died in Sweden, or were born in America. I can only find records of children for Anders' oldest son, and his youngest daughter. His oldest son Sven Johan had 10 children of his own. Youngest daughter Stina had 2 children. 

Sven and Kajsa had 6 children.

They had 17 grandchildren born. 

They had 59 great grandchildren born.

They had 80 great, great grandchildren born.

All of Sven and Kajsa's descendants live today in America. Is this a complete list of all descendants? No. These are only the ones I've been able to find and document. I also didn't venture into counting 3x great grandchildren, my generation, as I didn't think I'd be able to count that high. :) 

Picture of Anders Lindblad, son of Sven and Kajsa, with 3 of his children.

Ingrid Fahna, daughter of Sven and Kajsa. Mother of George Henrickson and daughter Amanda Fahnstrom.

Jonas Fahnstrom, son of Sven and Kajsa, with his wife and 3 youngest children.

Fred Fahnstrom. Son of Jonas Fahnstrom

George Henrickson and wife with 11 surviving children. Son of Ingrid Fahna.

The children and granchildren of Sven and Kajsa originally settled in Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. From there they have spread out across America and probably the world.  

Are you a descendant of Sven and Kajsa Fahna? Comment and let me know down below. I think it's incredible that so many people can trace their lineage back to these 2 people in a small village in Sweden.

Sara Lena Fahna

 This week I found the Death Inventory list for Sara Lena Fahna. She was the older sister of Ingrid Kristina Fahna, mother of George Henrickson. Using the services again of Annika Hostmad from Find a Swede I was able to get the document translated. Annika also found the listing of Sara's death record and was able to translate that as well. I found them both to be quite interesting and they definitely add to the story of the Henrickson/Fahna family in Sweden. 

Sara Lena was born October 1, 1838. She was the 4th born child to Sven Andersson Fahna and Kajsa Jonasdotter. The records indicate that Kajsa was crippled in one hand. On March 23, 1862 Sara became approved to work as a teacher in Sweden. What did it take to become a teacher in Sweden in the 1800's, this excerpt from an article I found online about the Swedish education act of 1842 tells us.

In addition to having a personality characterized by piety and moral conduct, teachers were required to have a complete mastery of reading and writing skills, and full knowledge of catechism, biblical history, natural history (naturlära), geography, and arithmetic. The teachers were also expected to be familiar with the methods of monitorial education and teaching gymnastics and psalm songs.47 A week at the Stockholm Teachers’ College in 1848 (comprising 38 hours of class) consequently included 14 h of prayer and Bible studies, catechism, and Bible history. Five hours were spent on the Swedish language, four hours on singing instruction, three hours on geography and history, and two hours on arithmetic.48

Basic schools in every parish

And how were teachers paid? Part of their salary contained 8 barrels of grain, half of which would be rye. They also received decent housing, necessary fuel, summer grazing for a cow, and a plot of land upon which to live, if possible. It was common for teachers to have second jobs and sources of income. Basic schools in every parish 

Sara Lena stayed at various farms in her early teaching days, and then was able to settle down into her own cottage later. Records indicate she maintained good discipline in the classroom and did not hesitate to use the ruler on students who disobeyed. 

After Ingrid's children immigrated to America, and her husband Johan passed away, Ingrid moved in with Sara Lena to help take care of her. Sara Lena had dealt with illness most of her life, like her older sister Anna. Sara Lena passed away on August 1, 1912. The death record tells us she was a former Elementary school teacher from Faborg. Cause of death is listed as Rheumatic pain for many years. She had no physician attend her. 

The death inventory record tells us that Sara Lena left the following heirs: Sister Kristina, who lived there; Brother Jonas Fanstrom who lived in Illinois; and her deceased brother Anders Lindblad's 3 children living in Indiana. 

It also tells us that her assets at the time of her death were:

1 Drawer

1 Bed

1 Sofa

Planted Trees

These assets were less than the liability incurred by the estate. The burial cost and the bill for maintenance and care of the cottage were more than the assets. 

There is a note that Ingrid signed off on this as being a true telling of the estate with nothing being hidden or omitted. It was noted "Fana with hand on pen". This was done when someone had trouble writing, they would hold the pen, but someone else would put their hand over and actually move the pen.

The estate of Sara Lena was settled on November 4, 1912. Ingrid sailed to America in December 1912. She must've stayed long enough to get her sister's estate dealt with and then sailed to America to join the rest of her family. With the crippled hand of the mother Kajsa, the life long illness of Anna, the long lasting rheumatic pain of Sara, the fact that Ingrid needed someone to help her move a pen, I'm wondering if there is a connection here? It could be genetic, or perhaps just what happens when people don't have access to healthy foods and medical care? Life was difficult for our Swedish ancestors and healthy food, comfortable living conditions, and plenty of rest and relaxation were not the norm. 

My 3 main sources of information for this came from

Find a Swede

The school act of 1842

Fahnstrom family records

Solitude: Ingrid Kristina Fahna

This week' prompt is "Solitude." Solitude means the state or situation of being alone. That makes me think of George Henrickson's mother, Ingrid Kristina Svensdotter Fahna. She was the last of her siblings and family to immigrate to America. Her 2 brothers and their families, and her own 2 children had already immigrated to America. When the sister she was caring for passed away in August 1912, Ingrid made plans to come to America. She was 72 years old and would be making the journey by herself.

On August 1, 1912 Ingrid's older sister Sarah Lena Skold Fahna passed away after a long illness. The next record we have of Ingrid is the Church Book of registered immigrants. I only have access to the transcripts, not the actual page, but the book records Ingrid as leaving Sweden to travel to America on November 21, 1912. She is listed as a widow, traveling alone to America. The next recorded date for Ingrid is December 11, 1912. She's listed on the passenger list for the ship "Salmo" leaving Gothenburg, Sweden and traveling to Grimsby, England. 

Ingrid K. Fahna is listed as number 68.

Grimsby is a port on the Northern Sea in England. Grimsby and Hull were two main ports where immigrants would enter England, and then travel by train to Liverpool or another port and on to America, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. When an immigrant bought a ticket, all the travel costs were included. A ticket would get you a spot on a ship to England, a train ride to Liverpool, and then on another ship to America. Grimsby and Hull were set up with hotels, restaurants, and special trains to take immigrants across England to Liverpool or their point of departure. It was a big business until World War I broke out.

After leaving Grimsby and making her way to Liverpool, Ingrid boarded the S.S. Lusitania. She boarded on December 14, 1912 to sail to America. The Lusitania was owned by the British Cunard Line. It was launched in 1906 and in 1908 held the record for fastest Atlantic crossing. It was the largest passenger ship in the world until the Mauretania was completed three months later. Ingrid traveled Third Class. By the time she traveled to America, the conditions for Third Class passengers, formerly Steerage Class had greatly improved. Ingrid would have had a bed in a cabin, and been provided at least 2 meals a day. It wasn't fancy, but definitely an improvement over what earlier immigrants had faced.

Third Class dining room on the Lusitania.

Ingrid arrived at the port of New York on December 21, 1912. According to the passenger manifest, her Cousin Johannes was her nearest relative in the country she came from. Galva, Illinois was her final destination. The record also shows her ticket was paid for by her Brother-in-law, she had $25 with her, and her Brother-in-law George Holenstine (sp) in Galva was where she was headed. I'm not aware of Ingrid having a brother-in-law named George in Galva. I'm thinking maybe it was a miscommunication and she meant she was going to her son-in-law George Fahnstrom. It would make sense for George to buy his mother-in-law's ticket to come to America.

Ingrid also said she was not a polygamist or anarchist. She was judged to be in sound mental and physical health. Her height was listed as 5'2" and she could read and write. 

Hopefully Ingrid was able to arrive in Illinois in time to celebrate Christmas with her daughter's family. Ingrid's daughter married her first cousin, George, also Ingrid's nephew. Ingrid stayed with them for awhile and also stayed with her son George Henrickson and his family for awhile. I found a record of her in the Church book for Sandhem Lutheran Church.

Ingrid spent most of her life within a few miles of where she was born and raised. The last 10 or so years of her life traveled halfway around the world to a new country where she traveled some more. 

Ingrid died October 25, 1922.

Ingrid Fahna

One final thought. The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912. The Lusitania was torpedoed by the Germans on May 7, 1915. Ingrid is lucky she wasn't on either of these sailings. Crossing the Atlantic was a dangerous feat. We're all lucky our ancestors survived the crossing. 

 

Outcast: Johan Jonasson

 The prompt for this week is "Outcast." I immediately thought of my great, great grandfather Johan Jonasson. He was the father of George S. Henrickson, my great grandfather who immigrated to America from Sweden. As I looked over my notes on Johan I saw he was an outcast in more than one way.

The birth records for Moheda Parish in Kronoberg County, Sweden record Johan being born on October 28, 1827 to Crofter Jonas Johansson and Maja Stina Danielsdotter. He was baptized on November 1, 1827. 

The next record that records his life (1831-1836) shows him living with his parents and siblings at a remote land Nackelyckor, situated on the land of Vegby Forsagard. This land is so remote that when I did a Google search for it it doesn't even come up. So, it's either changed names, or no one lives there anymore. Either way, all the records describe this location as being "remote". So, Johan and his family lived faraway from other people. 

In the Household record for 1837-1843 the family continues to live at the "Remote land Nackelycke cultivated by soldier Warn at soldier croft." The father Jonas is listed as a pauper. Records also state that the father likes to fight, is poor and is called "Styf" Jonas. Styf translates to "Stiff" and can describe his physical appearance, or his personality. 

Johan has grown up living in a remote part of the parish, being an outcast, if you will. Now something will happen to make him another form of outcast.

Johan's father Jonas died on July 29, 1846. The family was already listed as penniless and paupers. Johan's mother was left widowed with 4 children. Johan was old enough to also be listed as penniless on the records. 

On the Household records for 1844-1850 Johan is listed as a farmhand in Nya och Sodra Kvarnen in Moheda Parish. There is a note on the record about his conviction of theft. The notes are hard to read but it looks like he was sentenced in June 1848. His mother was also convicted of the crime of theft in 1851 even though it appears it happened in June 1848. After his sentence, Johan becomes without a steady residence for 1848-1849. He had to move on. 

Notes for his mother Maja tell us that she was convicted of theft and sentenced to 17 days of living on bread and water. She and Johan also had to perform public church duty. They also would have been asked to stand on the "duty stool" during a church sermon where their crimes would have been described. They would have asked for repentance and then been rehabilitated. Johan and his mother's crime happened in 1848 and they were punished for it in 1851. Sweden outlawed public humiliation for crimes on May 4, 1855. Too late for Johan and Maja.

Johan marries and lives with his wife until her death on April 10, 1872. The very next day Ingrid Christina Svensdotter Fahna moves in with Johan as a maid. They have an illegitimate daughter born on June 13, 1873. Johan and Ingrid do not marry until January 10, 1874.

Under reputation Johan continues to be described as a drunk, penniless, and "Styf" like his father before him. Ingrid and Johan have two more children, George and his sister Amanda, who immigrate to America. Ingrid leaves Johan to care for her sister, leaving him alone, again. Johan died in 1903, living by himself, as far as I could tell from the records.

Johan seemed to live most of his life as an outcast, whether it was by living remotely from other people, or by his actions taken and being outcast from society. I don't have any pictures of Johan, but I did find a picture of his younger brother Anders. Anders, by contrast, was never convicted of theft, had illegitimate children or was classified as a drunkard. I found this picture of Anders with 2 of his adult children. Anders is seated in the front, next to his wife.

I found notes on the Fahna family online. They were not very complimentary when they mentioned Johan. Johan seems to have been the Black Sheep of the family. Johan is definitely one of the more colorful ancestors I've come across.

Strand/Henrickson Family Photos

 The theme for this week is "New to You." I thought I would post some pictures that were new to me, and maybe new to you too. 

The first picture that was new to me is one of a Sunday family dinner at the Carl Strand residence. Some time in the 1950's. 

Starting lower left, clockwise: Janice Henrickson, Carl Strand, Jack Strand, Miriam Strand, Joyce Strand, Ray Henrickson, Viola Henrickson, Vernon Henrickson, Paul Henrickson, Ilene Henrickson, Mildred Strand, Fred Strand, Marvin Henrickson, Ken Strand

What I'd like to know is, who's taking the picture?

Another New to Me picture is this one of Ray H. Viola S. and her brother Howard.

Ray Henrickson, Viola Strand, Howard Strand

Ray is looking up, Viola is looking straight ahead, and Howard is looking down. 

Here is another picture of a young Viola and believed to be her brother Milton.

Moving from the Strand side of the family to the Henrickson side, here's a picture of Ray Henrickson with horse Rody, 1930.

Another picture of Ray Henrickson and his Fahnstrom cousins, 1943.

Harvey Fahnstrom, Ray Henrickson, Herman Fahnstrom.

Harvey and Herman were Ray's first cousins from Illinois.

One more picture of Ray Henrickson and his brother Evald and their colts, 1930.

I'd like to thank Esther Henrickson Yeomans and Laurie Smalla for passing these pictures along to me. I always welcome any pictures of the Henrickson/Strand families. Pictures, letters, documents, etc. are all appreciated. Questions, comments, thoughts and remembrances in the comments or email me. Thanks for reading. Until next time.