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

Pets

 This week's prompt is "Pets." I just had to say goodbye to Becks, a cat I've had for the past 16 years. Pets truly become members of the family. They bring us joy and help us deal with life's ups and downs. No matter what, our loyal pets are always there for us. So, this week, in honor of the prompt I thought I'd share some photos I've come across of pets in our lives.

First, I can tell by looking at photos that I have always loved cats. I can't remember a time without a cat in my life. Whether it was mine, or someone else's. There's always been a cat.

Cats have also been popular with my ancestors.

Great granduncle Horace Ashley with his wife and family cat.

Grandfather Ray Henrickson holding a barn cat.

Dogs have also been a popular pet over the years.

This was Bum. He rode on the floorboards of my Grandpa Thompson's car. He'd go with Grandpa all over town.

Lower picture. This was our Airedale Terrier Timothy. Mom had had an Airedale growing up that she had fond memories of. Airedales have been popular dogs in the Henrickson household.

While not normally seen as pets, horses have played an important part in the lives of my ancestors too. A good team of horses could make farm work a lot easier. 

Carl Strand's team of horses, circa 1917.

Henry Truman's team of horses. Older brother to Elnora Truman Bellingar.

These are just a few of the pictures I've found with animals and pets. Do you have any favorite memories of pets, or any stories of ancestors with their favorite pet? Share below or email me. susanmichele83@gmail.com

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. 

 

Helen Lucille Bellingar

The prompt for this week is "Starts with a vowel." So, I'm writing about Mildred Bellingar Strand's younger sister, Helen Lucille Bellingar, who moved to Los Angeles. (Angeles begins with an "A".  It's a stretch. :) )

Helen Lucille Bellingar was born August 25, 1903 in Allegan, Michigan. She was the third child and second daughter born to Charles and Elnora Bellingar. Whereas Mildred is described as shy and reserved, Helen is described as vivacious and outgoing. Mildred is remembered as having said she was surprised Carl Strand asked her to marry him as she always thought he was more interested in the lively Helen. 

Here is a picture of Helen at age 3 in 1906.

Helen Bellingar 1906. Colorized photo.

On the 1920 Federal census, dated January 27, 1920, Helen is living with Thomas Young and his wife. Helen is 16 and listed as a servant in the household. She did not attend school but knew how to read and write. She was employed for wages and worked as an operator for the phone company. She lived a few houses down from Fred Germain, who would be such a big help to Carl and Mildred in later years. On August 14, 1920 she married Archie Keith Kent. 

Archie Keith Kent was born in Allegan, Michigan on April 3, 1899. He is also related to me through my paternal side. He's my cousin through my 3x great grandmother Hannah Kent Thompson. At sometime Archie left Michigan and moved to live with an older brother in Los Angeles, California. On his draft card for World War I he lists LA as his address and assistant tech switchboard operator as his job. However on the 1920 Federal census he is living back in Allegan as a boarder at a boarding house. His job is listed as laborer with an automotive company. On the marriage certificate he's listed as being in War Service Against Germany and his address is listed as Los Angeles. Helen's age is listed as 18. She was actually a few days shy of her 17th birthday. Witnesses to the marriage were Carl and Mildred Strand.

I believe that Archie and Helen move back to Los Angeles soon after getting married. I've found Archie registered to vote in California in 1924. He's registered as a Democrat. There is a Helen L. Kent listed in the city directory for Los Angeles who works as a telephone operator but I can't be sure it's her. LA is a big city. The next verified finding of either one occurs on April 23, 1926. Archie places an ad in the Los Angeles Times saying that he will no longer be responsible for any debts incurred by his wife Helen. 

The next is October 22, 1926 when Archie files for divorce from Helen. The divorce is granted on December 10, 1926. Archie stays in California and remarries at least one more time. He passes away in 1977, living in Apple Valley, San Bernardino County. He never had any children.

Meanwhile Helen remarried the very next year on December 17, 1927 to a Robert Earle Jodon. Robert was listed as a switchboard manager in the city directory and the 1930 Federal census. Robert was born and raised in California. His marriage to Helen was his first. His father was an electrical engineer with Edison Company. I've found newspaper articles in the social section talking about elaborate holiday dinner parties that Robert and Helen, along with Robert's parents were invited to.

Dec. 2, 1933.

In the 1940 Federal census Helen and Robert are still living in Glendale, California. Robert is now a district wire supervisor with the Southern California phone company. Their neighbors include public school teachers, radio singers, a claims attorney and even a playwright. Helen shows having a high school education through the 1st year.

The 1950 Federal census shows they have moved but are still in Glendale. Robert is a District Supervisor with the phone company. Helen does not work and is not seeking work. Helen used to send boxes of her unwanted clothes to Mildred, and Joyce would wear some of them. Howard would fly out to California and visit with Helen when he was earning his flying hours. Mildred always used to look forward to getting letters from Helen. I imagine living in Los Angeles in the 1920's and 30's was much more exciting than living in Allegan, Michigan. Joyce wrote that one time during the 1930's Charles and Elnora decided to drive out to California to visit Helen. They followed son Ray who drove on ahead. At some point Charles lost track of Ray and ended up getting lost in New Mexico. Charles wanted to turn back but Elnora said, "No." and they drove on to Albuquerque where they found Ray and continued their journey. Helen came back to Michigan once, in the 1950's. 

Helen passed away January 10, 1980 at the age of 76. She and Robert lived in San Bernardino County. During the 1960's Robert sold their Glendale home to the local library and the land was turned into additional parking for the library. I haven't been able to find an obituary but Helen died after having cancer. Robert passed away in 1989. They never had any children. 

Helen's life was definitely different than Mildred's. Helen married twice, never had children, lived a comfortable life and lived in Los Angeles, California. Mildred might have been envious of Helen and her lifestyle, but who can say for sure. I know I would definitely loved to read Helen's letters from LA.

 

 

Translation: Strandt Travel Documents

 Another prompt was "Translation." Having many ancestors who migrated from "the Old Country" I've found documents that needed translating. Google translate helps some. Having a wordlist also helps. The best thing I've found is to find someone who speaks and has knowledge of the language needing translating. Languages are living, breathing things. Just as English from 2023 is not like English from 1723, German and Swedish from today is not like German and Swedish from the 1800's and before.

One particular document that needed translating was this piece of paper that Fred Strand found in the old Bible kept by Carl and Mildred Strand. 

I recognized it immediately as having to do with Carl Friedrich Theodore Strand, grandfather to Carl Strand. Carl Friedrich is the first Strand, in our family, to come to America. The letter is written in old German handwriting and I had no way of translating it. I sent a copy of it to Heidi Strandt Andrews. Heidi is descended from Carl Friedrich Strandt, Carl FT's oldest son, and half brother to William Strandt. Heidi posted the letter on a genealogy Facebook group she belongs to and someone on there was able to translate it. It roughly translates to:

Carl Friedrich Theodore Strand

legitimate son of the former Hunter (southern German term for farmer-archaic) of Gros Schonfeld Christian Friedrich Strand and his wife Anna Dorothee born Winter, is of Gr. Schonfeld on March 27, 1834 - on March seven and twentieth of the year a thousand eight hundred and four and thirty-born and on was baptized April 6 of the same year. Baptismal witnesses were: Carl Schulz, Kathner zu Gr.Nice-field; Fritz Krempin, farmhand at Dianehof; Dorothee Strand, father's sister. The literal agreement of the previous standing information with the local baptismal register officially certified and certified bigt Rodlin May 14th, 1871.

This letter is important for 3 reasons.

Our guess is that this was some kind of certified birth certificate that Carl FT could use for travel papers. It was a document proving his identity. It's dated May 14, 1871 and the Strandt family left Hamburg on October 27, 1871. I believe this shows that Carl was preparing then to move to America. 

Another interesting note about this paper is the spelling of the name "Strandt". Strand is spelled without the letter "t" on the end. This is how Carl Strand (1901-1996) started spelling it sometime in his teenage years/ early 20's. On the passenger lists coming to America Carl FT's last name is spelled "Strandt" with the "t". The "t" always seems to be appearing and disappearing. Even in Germany. 

The final reason this letter is important is because it tells us the identity of Carl FT's father and mother. When Carl died, William filled out the death certificate. For father he listed "John Strandt" and for mother he listed "not known". He also listed Carl's birthday as March 25, 1834. He was off by 2 days. Not only does this letter give us the correct name of Carl's father, it also provides us with his mother's name and her maiden name. We also have a place of birth of Carl too. A place to start researching in Germany. 

If anyone has any extra insight or knowledge of this letter or what it might have been or means please let me know. Big Thank You to Heidi Strandt Andrews for getting this translated.

Here is the death certificate of Carl FT Strandt, for comparison's sake. Since William was born in America and was the youngest he must not have known much about his family's life in Germany.

 

Gone Too Soon: Victor Henrickson, Yvonne Strand, Norma Thompson

 When I hear the prompt "Gone too Soon" I think of all the young children who died early deaths. Children who never got the chance to grow up and lead lives of their own. I'm going to highlight some of the young deaths I've found researching my family.

George Henrickson and Malvina Anderson were married in February 1900. They moved quite often, most likely because of George's job as a minister. By 1916 they were living in Allegan, Michigan, where Malvina's parents owned a farm. Upon her father's death, Malvina and George took over the farm. On March 10, 1921 George and Malvina's 12th and youngest child was born, Victor Eugene Henrickson. Unfortunately, Victor did not have a long life. According to his death certificate he came under a doctor's care on December 23, 1922 and passed away on January 3, 1923. The official cause of death was tuberculosis meningitis. This is caused by the same bacteria that causes tuberculosis. It's caught by inhaling droplets that contain the bacteria. Today the disease can be treated with medical care. It can also be prevented with vaccines. 

The local paper also reported on Victor's death.

I don't know if any pictures of Victor exist, but if anyone has one I would love to see it.

Another child gone too soon is Yvonne Strand.

Yvonne Ruth Strand was born October 10, 1930 to Carl and Mildred Strand. Yvonne's middle name of Ruth, I'm assuming, comes from Carl's deceased sister, Ruth Strandt. Yvonne was born with Hirschsprung's Disease. Hirschsprung's disease is a disease that affects the large intestine and causes problems in passing stool. It is present at birth. Nerve cells are missing from the large intestine. It is usually diagnosed when a baby fails to have a bowel movement within 48 hours of being born. Other symptoms include a swollen stomach and vomiting. The disease can appear by itself or accompany other genetic disorders like Down Syndrome. In cases where it appears by itself about half are linked to a genetic mutation and about 20% are found in families. The rest of the cases are of unknown origin. If the parents are otherwise normal than the next child has a 4% chance of having Hirschsprung's. 

Yvonne lived with a lot of pain. At that time, there was no cure or treatment for Hirschsprung's. Carl and Mildred even took her to the University of Michigan hospital in Ann Arbor for help. Local neighbor Fred Germain helped transport her. They laid a board between seats for her to lay down on as Yvonne was in so much pain. Yvonne stayed for 2 weeks but they were unable to help her. She returned home. A local practical nurse would come to help. One night Yvonne was in so much pain that the rest of the children were sent upstairs and that night Yvonne passed away at home. It was May 13, 1942. Yvonne was only 11 years old. I remember my grandma Viola, Yvonne's older sister telling me that Yvonne wanted to live long enough to see Viola's baby born. Viola was pregnant with her first child at the time. Yvonne also wanted to see sister Marylaine celebrate her 18th birthday. Yvonne was buried, instead, on Marylaine's 18th birthday, and Viola gave birth to her first child, Janice 9 days later. Yvonne's death had a great impact on Carl. Carl wept openly at the funeral and Mildred is reported to have said that that was the only time she ever saw Carl cry. Mildred also felt that Carl blamed her for Yvonne's death as he never seemed the same afterwards. A Swedish-America surgeon, who discovered the cause of Hirschsprung's came up with a surgical technique to help patients with the disease. This was in 1948. Today, depending on the severity of the disease, it can be treated with medicine, diet, and surgery. While there is no cure, there is treatment available to help patients lead longer, better lives. 

Yvonne with younger sister Joyce. 

Norma Jeane Thompson was born November 3, 1929 in Allegan, Michigan to Frank and Anna Thompson. She was the youngest of 8 children. Norma was only just one year old when her father Frank, my great grandfather, passed away a year later on November 10, 1930. Norma lived with her mother and older siblings in Allegan. On August 8, 1937 she passed away from polio complications. She was only 7 years old. From her obituary I learned she had been in a car crash just prior to catching polio.

Norma Jeane, taken at the fair.

Norma Jeane with sisters and cousin. 

There is still no cure for polio, but it can be prevented through vaccination. 

All information on Hirschsprung's disease taken from here. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirschsprung%27s_disease

Information on Yvonne Strand provided by Fred Strand and Joyce Strand. Galloway.

Questions, comments or additional information, photos to add? Comment down below or email me.