The Thirty-Two: Part C (Ancestors of Ingwald Anderson)

My maternal grandfather Ingwald Theodore Anderson had 25% Swedish and 75% Norwegian ancestry. Of his 8 great grandparents, six were born, lived and died in Norway while two were born and raised their family in Sweden but emigrated from there to the United States to be with family when they were in their late 60's.

17. Anders Svenson (1800-1874)

Born at Korsbyn, Laxarby, Älvsborg, Sweden on the 23rd of December 1800, Anders was baptised on Christmas Day.  His parents were Sven Olson and Brita Nilsdotter. Anders was just 10 when mother Brita died at the age of 45.

Location of Korsbyn, Sweden

When Anders was 25, he married Anna-Maria Andersdotter in Laxarby. This is where the family lived when first son Johannes was born in  1827 and second son Israel in 1829.  The following year, the family moved to Galthagen, also in Laxarby and the Household Examination Records (Husforhorslzangder) indicates their continued presence there until they moved to Holjerud, Billingsfors in 1863.

Location of Galthogen, Sweden

During those years, the family continued to expand while son Israel left for Norway a couple of times and finally emigrated there in 1854. At first it appeared that only son Israel and his Norwegian wife left for America, but in 1868, Anders, Anna, son Gustaf and daughter Eva Maria also emigrated. All four show up on the list of steerage passengers aboard the "The City of London" that sailed from Liverpool to New York, arriving 25 May 1868. This would have been a rough voyage for anyone but particularly so for a couple of that age.

It appears they then joined other extended family members in Lake Mills, Iowa. The Homestead Act of 1862 had opened up land in Iowa and was a popular destination for Scandinavian immigrants. Anders died there on 10 January 1874 and was buried at Winnebago Lutheran Church five days later.

18. Anna-Marie Andersdotter (1800-?)

Anna was born at Uddevalla, Västra Götaland, Sweden on 10 May 1800 making her just a few months older than the man she would marry in 1826. She gave birth to eight children, the last when she was 45 years old.

Although she appears in numerous Swedish records prior to the family's emigration to America, once there she almost vanishes from the records. She would have died and been buried at Winnebago Lutheran Church in Iowa along with her husband Anders, but her burial record has not as yet been located.

19. Gunder Kittleson Opsahl (1794-1867)

Gunder was born on the 8th of January 1794 and baptized 11 days later at Lier, Buskerud, Norway. He grew up to be a farmer. When he was 29, he married Berthe Olsdatter and had a family with her at Opsal. He survived her by a number of years, dying at the age of 73. By then, the Tranby Kirke had been built and this may be where he is buried.

Tranby Kirke, Lier, Buskerud, Norway built c1855
Wikimedia Commons image courtesy Besse (Trond Strandsberg)

20. Berthe Olsdatter Opsahl (1799-1848)

Berthe was born and baptized in early March of 1799 to parents Ole Hanson Opsahl and Christine Sebjornsdatter.


She and Gunder had a family of at least 6 children. She died in Lier, Norway at the age of 49.

21. Jorgen Torkelson Neurak (1788-1850)

Born 5 January 1788 at Neurak, Treungen, Telemark, Norway, Jorgen was baptised in May of that same year in Kviteseid parish. He next appears living with his parents Torkild Halvorson and Turi Olsdatter at the time of the 1801 census when he was 12. His five siblings, all brothers, ranged in age from 3 to 15; a sister Mari would be born two years later. Father Torkild was a farmer and schoolmaster.

Kviteseid Old Church built c1200; photo by Trolvag from Wikimedia Commons

Nissedal clerical district contains records for Nissedal and Treungen and was separated from Kviteseid in 1810. Records occurring after 1810 would be centered at Nissedal Church rather than Kviteseid, but it isn't clear just exactly where the family attended services.

The old (18th century) wooden church called Nissedal Kirke
Wikimedia Commons image by NAPkjersti-Kj. Lie

Jorgen married at the age of 33 to 19 year-old Birgit Targiesdatter. In the Norwegian Farm Book for Nissedal, Telemark, Norway, page 327 he is described as "klokkar" (sextant, parish clerk, bell ringer or deacon) of the church.

After 1812, the Lutheran Church required that a duplicate set of church records be maintained by the parish clerk. These were called the klokker bøker. An examination of the one for Nissedal for the period 1820-1840 leads one to conclude that records in this second copy of the church books would have been written by Jorgen in his position as klokker. Indeed, the handwriting is consistent for most of this period but changes abruptly at the beginning of 1839 with the record of Jorgen's death.

Baptism record for oldest son Torkil Jorgenson 1822, probably in the handwriting of his father Jorgen Torkelson.

All of his children seem to have been recorded in the klokker bøker by Jorgen himself.

1835 birth and baptism of youngest son Halvor Jorgenson, again probably in the handwriting of father Jorgen.

Jorgen died at the age of 50 and was buried on 26 January 1839.

January 1839 death and burial record for Jorgen
(his occupation is difficult to translate but seems to indicate his position in the church as well as at Heimdahl farm)

22. Birgit Targiesdatter Heimdahl (1802-c1850)

Birgit was born in early 1802 and baptized at the Kviteseid Kirke on 24 January of that year. She was confirmed at the church in 1817.

Birgit and Jorgen had a family of six children: three sons and three daughters. All three sons emigrated to America in about 1863.

23. Knud Olson Vrålstad (1788-1857)

Drangedal Kirke built 1775
Foto: Hallvard Straume Wikimedia Commons

Knud was born at Drangedal, Telemark, Norway on 2 July 1788 and baptized 4 days later. The Lutheran church in Norway at the time required baptism within 8 days of a baby's birth. Given that the mother was considered "unclean" for 40 days following delivery of a baby and had to then be reintroduced into church fellowship, mothers including Kari Nottolsdatter Volstad would not have been in attendance at their babies' baptisms. This may explain why mothers are so rarely named in a child's birth and baptism record.

Baptism of Knud 6 July and reintroduction of mother Kari (but not by name!) 17 August 1788

When Knud was 27, he married Gro Torgrinsdatter.

1815 marriage record for Knud and Gro

He died 27 February 1857 at the age of 68 and was buried about a month later.

24. Gro Torgrimsdatter Tveitane (1791-1867)

Gro was born and baptized in March of 1791 at Tveitane, Nissedal, Telemark, Norway.

She and husband Knud had a family of 6 children, several of whom left for America in about 1862.

In the 1865 census, she is living with son Ole Knutsen at Tfedtene ovre. Gro is 77 and "føderaadsenke" which apparently means she is a widow who has given up her estate to  her son who now owns the land and is obligated to support her.

Location of Drangedal in Telemark, Norway
Google Earth Image

Her death record refers to Tvedene.  Gro lived to the age of 78 years.

Anders Svenson (b.1800 in Sweden) (52 Ancestors Week 32) Theme: "One of 32 third great grandparents"

One of my 32 third great grandparents was a Swede named Anders Svenson, the father of Israel Anderson. Anders led a well-documented life in Sweden for several decades but his life ended without record. Or at least without a record found so far. What became of Anders?

Anders was born 23 December 1800 and no doubt his arrival added to the Christmas celebrations of his family: parents Sven Olsson and 34 year-old Britta Nilsdotter and older siblings Olof, Maria and Per. His baptism was on Christmas Day.

Birth Record for Andreas (Anders) Svenson 23 December 1800, baptised 25 Dec. 1800.

The family lived at Korsbyn, Laxarby, Sweden when Anders was born. This area was very near the border with Norway which is shown as the yellow line on the map below. When Anders was fourteen years old, Sweden and Norway entered into a personal union which meant that they shared a monarch although their laws and other interests remained distinct.

Google Earth image showing Korsbyn, Sweden marked with a red pin

Sweden kept household examination records  called "husförhörslängder". These were essentially an annual census taken in the years during the 17th through 19th centuries. Now primarily of interest for demographic/genealogical purposes to show the composition of a household over a period of years, these records were originally created for religious purposes. Once a year, the minister would show up and test the religious knowledge and habits of each family member who had been confirmed. One could be asked to read or recite passages from the Bible or from the Lutheran Catechism, asked about their daily prayers, church attendance and how often they had taken communion. No doubt the minister's annual visit was awaited with much joyful anticipation!

Anders shows up for the first time in the household examination record book covering the period 1795-1800.  (It is interesting to note how the years of birth were shown: for example, older sibling Olof is recorded as 93 16/11 to show his birthday as 16 November 1793. There was obviously a bit of a conundrum about what to do when the year changed to 1800, a precursor of the Y2K issue we dealt with at the start of the year 2000. Anders is recorded as having been born 800 23/12 to indicate 23 December 1800.) During this period, Sven and Britta and their 4 children were living with Sven's widowed mother Ingrid Svensdotter at Korsbyn, Laxarby.

Household examination record for Erik and Britta's family 1795-1800

The household examination records for this family carry on at Korsbyn year after year. Anders grows to young manhood and finds himself a wife. His marriage to Anna Andersdotter is documented in the church records and shows that he was 25 and she 27. In accordance with Swedish tradition, Anna would retain the name "Andersdotter" for life.

Marriage of Anders Svenson and Anna Andersdotter of Kroken 2 April 1826

Anders and Anna continued to live at Korsbyn farm in the early days of their marriage. Son Johannes was born there in 1827, followed by my 2X great grandfather Israel in 1829. The young family then moved a few miles away to Galthögen farm, also in Laxarby parish. The Lutheran church records record not only births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials, but also record each time a person left one parish to go to another farm or parish.

Google Earth image showing location of Galthögen Farm
in an area of many lakes and forests

Their household examination records are to be found in Galthögen from 1830 to 1863 when they again moved a few miles away to Billingsfors with three of their grown children. Billingsfors was to be home for just five years. The mid to late 1800's marked a period of transition from rural farming life because of the Industrial Revolution as a result of which some one million Swedes left for America searching for a better life for themselves and their families. In 1868, utflyttning church records (for people leaving the parish) indicate that Sven (68) and Anna (68) with son Gustaf (20) and daughter Eva Maria (30) emigrated to the United States. And this is where the well-documented life starts to fade.

All four do show up as steerage passengers aboard the ship "City of London" that sailed from Liverpool to New York, arriving 25 May 1868.

The ship "SS City of London" was in operation between 1863 and 1881 when it was lost at sea taking 41 lives. Pictures of the ship and more details about her can be found at this site. Although we don't have any details of the journey made by Sven and Anna and their two adult children, there is a description of one family's trip aboard the "City of London" in 1863 that gives some idea of what conditions would have been like. The following account was written by Samuel Gompers and was found at www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAEjourney.htm:

"Our ship was the old type of sailing vessel. We had none of the modern comforts of travel. The sleeping quarters were cramped and we had to do our own cooking in the gallery (sic) of the boat. Mother had provided salt beef and other preserved meats and fish, dried vegetables, and red pickled cabbage which I remember most vividly. We were all seasick except father, mother the longest of all. Father had to do all the cooking in the meanwhile and take care of the sick. . . Father did not know much about cooking."  

It could not have been an easy trip for Sven and Anna who were close to 70 years old. What did they do after their arrival in New York? Son Israel had preceded them to America, having left from Norway with his wife and young son in 1856. There is no indication that Sven and Anna joined Israel's family in America. Daughter Eva Maria Andersdotter married a man named Robertson and raised a family in North Dakota, but there is nothing to indicate that either she or her brother Gustav had their parents living with them after travelling to America together. After their arrival in New York on the 25th of May 1868, no further records have been located in either Sweden or America for Anders Svenson or Anna Andersdotter .  Their fate remains a mystery.

Update 2017:

The availability of the church records for the Lutheran Church in Lake Mills, Winnebago, Iowa has enabled us to find the death and burial record for Anders in January of 1874. It appears that they joined other family in Iowa. A death record has not yet been found for Anna. 

Sources:

• Swedish archival records located online at http://www.arkivdigital.net/
• New York Passenger Lists 1820-1957 from Ancestry.com for Year: 1868; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: M237, 1820-1897; Microfilm Roll: Roll 295; Line: 15; List Number: 496