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Like many other Minnesotans, my daughter's paternal Johnson line came from Sweden in the late 1800s. The surname spelling at the time of immigration was actually Johansson, but many Swedes chose to Americanize their surnames upon arrival. This spelling change was not that significant though when one considers that prior to 1901, most Swedes still used a patronymic surname system (Ref 1). That means that rather than being hereditary, Swedish surname changed every generation based on the father's first name. In other words, the surname of Johan August at immigration was Johansson because he was literally Johan's son. Similarly, in Sweden his daughters had been given the surname Johansdotter. Meanwhile, wives kept the surname they were given at birth rather than taking on their husband's last name. So where do we begin then with tracing the "Johnson" surname line? Thus far, the answer seems to be with a man by the entirely different surname of Måns Månsson, born about 1729 in Asby Parish, Östergötland, Sweden.
Östergötland County (Ian) within Sweden
Organization of Östergötland County, Sweden, before and after the Swedish Municipal Reforms Act of 1862. Ydre Municipality contains 6 districts, which correspond to the former parishes. Arrows in the top figure point to the parishes of the Ydre region of Östergötland: Torpa (#30), Asby (#31), Västra Ryd (#32), Svinhult (#33), Sund (#35), and Norra Vi (#36).
Ydre municipality is a small, rural area within the boggy and forested southern Swedish Highlands. The climate is not unlike that of Minnesota, generally ranging from zones 3 to 5, though perhaps a bit dryer. This was important for Swedish farming immigrants, as it helped them to be more successful with their crops in the first few years after arriving. One of the most stunning land features of Ydre is Lake Sommen, a long, narrow, crystal-clear lake found on its northern border. Science tells us that its nutrient poor waters were formed by cracks in the bedrock due to tectonic plate shifting. However, ancient folklore ascribes its origin to the hoofmarks of a primeval cow named Urkon, who hollowed out the area that became Lake Sommen in a fit of rage (Ref 2). The lake contains the large, "almost island" of Torpön (about 8 miles long from end to end), part of Torpa parish, with which our "Johnson" line became well acquainted.
Torpön Island within Lake Sommen in Östergötland, Sweden
View of the Sommen as seen from Torpön in summer
Ariel view of farmland and forest within the Ydre Municipality
In the early 18th century when Måns Månsson lived, Sweden had not yet been impacted by the agricultural and industrial revolutions. More than 90% of its inhabitants lived off the land in small clusters of dwellings that formed rural farming villages. Land ownership in Sweden was never taken hold of by a strong feudal system as in England, and so in the early 1700s it was fairly evenly divided between land-owning farmers (freeholders), the nobility, and the Crown (Ref 3, p.3). About 85% of this land was worked by the peasant farmer class. Most of these peasant farmers did not own their own land, and instead rented it from either the nobility or the Crown (as tenant farmers) where they worked as farmhands under contract, usually for a year at a time. Male farmhands were called dräng while female farmhands were called piga (Ref 4).
In those days it was common for Swedish peasant children to leave home at about age 15 in order to take on contract work at one of the larger farms. This was a way for young people to meet future marriage partners and to learn the skills they would need to set up their own household one day, as well as to make some extra money for their families. Employers were required to provide them with food, lodging, and clothing, as well as a small amount of cash (formal education did not become common until after the 1842 primary school act). Employment contracts came to an end on Oct 24th each year (called "flyttdag" or moving day) and new hiring was done during this last week of October. During this "frivecka" (free week), agricultural laborers were allowed to move freely between farms to seek out new employment (Note 1). Given that the working conditions for contract farm workers were often less than ideal, relocations were common as workers sought out better wages and accommodations. Young people often continued in such work until their mid 20s before marrying (Ref 4).
Typical lodgings (drängstuga) for unmarried farmhands on a Swedish farm in the 1700s. These simple dwellings were shared by several workers each contract season.
Farming life ran by a fairly predictable schedule. Each new contract season started in November. If all had gone to plan, by that time the harvest would have been brought in for the year, and the excess livestock slaughtered for the winter season. Any outdoor repairs that needed to be done were undertaken before the snow set in, and of course there was always loads and loads of firewood to chop. As the cold winter months set in, women spun wool for their knitting and sewing, and tended to the sick, while men repaired tools and transported goods and supplies. Everyone waited anxiously for the spring to come, hoping it would be in time to not out last the food stores and to provide enough growing season for the new crops to fully mature.
Spring was for tilling and seeding the soil, while keeping up with the never-ending weeds. Once the snow had all melted, a few of the younger women were tasked with managing the summer pasture. This would be at someplace close enough to the main homestead to reach quickly, but also large enough to allow the animals to roam freely and graze without getting into the crops. It was their job to process the daily milking into butter and cheese, while keeping an eye out for predators lurking in the woods nearby. Östergötland was known for its Prästost cheese ("priest cheese"), a semi-soft cow's milk cheese with a mild, sweet flavor that was used by farmers to help pay their parish tithes.
By July, the first fruits and vegetables were ready for harvesting. Young and old alike could help with picking berries for jams or finding birch bark for winter handicrafts. Blackberries and elderberries were particularly common to this southern Swedish region. A second sowing in August was done for quick, cold weather crops like cabbage and peas. October was usually the busiest month, however, with all the final harvest needing to be brought in and preserved, including the potatoes. The sheep would be shorn and the fall slaughter begun. Pork, which was easily preserved through salting, was the most common meat to grace peasant farmer tables, though also fish. Rye bread was also a common staple, though mostly there was just lots and lots of root vegetable porridge. Workers in this season toiled long hours to preserve the bounty of their summers work, while contemplating the necessary projects to take on for the long winter months ahead.
These were some of the likely characteristics of the life Måns Månsson was living when he married Brita Pehrsdotter at the age of 26. By age 33, he had managed to find a more permanent position at a farm in the neighboring Torpa parish. It was called Smedstorp, and was home to about 3 other families as well. These families were not as large as one might assume in this age before birth control. The infant mortality rate in Sweden was 45% in the early 1700s, and likely a higher proportion of those deaths occurred among the lower working-class peasants (Ref 6). The reasons for this were many, including poor nutrition, lack of proper sanitation, cramped living conditions, and outbreaks of diseases such as smallpox, dysentery, and cholera at regular intervals (Ref 7). If a child died before christening occurred (by law, within 8 days of birth), the birth may have never even been recorded. This omission is clear in the large gaps of time between many children on Swedish Household Survey records. Additionally, the loss of a mother significantly increased the mortality risk of any of her other children who were less than 2 years of age at the time of her death (Ref 8).
Parish records show that Måns and Brita had at least 5 children, one of whom died at about 3 months of age, (though large gaps in birth ages suggest that they may have had up to 5-6 more who did not survive the neonatal period (Note 2)). Their youngest child, Jonas Månsson (b.1776), was our lines direct ancestor. By the time Jonas was 5, his older siblings had all left home already to work on the neighboring farm of Södra Lindkulla, about 2 miles SE of Smedstorp. The fact that the name of the farm they lived on ended with the suffix "-torp" was significant. A torp was the name for a farming homestead that was being rented by a crofter (Ref 9). Rather than the rent being paid for in cash, however, crofters paid for their tenancy by an agreed upon number of days of labor (dagsverken, ie "days work"). Crofters tended to be married men with families, who were willing to stay for longer periods than contract workers, and thus provided the landowner with stable reinforcements to their annually fluctuating contract work force. In some cases, a son could even inherit their tenancy, and if they stayed long enough, they could usually count on some form of support during their elder years. Also, unlike contract farmhands, who were required to work every non-sabbath day, crofters were generally free to take on other work as well at times, which could add to the financial stability of their household (Ref 10). The croft that Måns Månsson lived on, Smedstorp, literally meant Smiths croft (as in blacksmith), so he was likely involved in forge work of some kind.
The 1868-77 District Economic Map of Torpa parish showing Smedtorp farm to the NW, as well as North (Norra) and South (Södra) Linnekulla farms near the center bottom. "Linne" means linen in Swedish, while "kulla" means hill.
Måns and Brita raised their family at Smedstorp farm for over 20 years. Then, after their oldest daughter Ingrid married in 1784, the couple resettled at Södra Linnekulla farm themselves. Four years later, however, when Jonas was 11 years old, his father passed away at the relatively young age of 58. When a wife's husband died, she was at the mercy of the landowner to determine whether or not she would be allowed to stay after the next "flyttdag" (free day) (Ref 10, p.599). Often, they were given a 1-year grace period. By 1790, Brita and her son Jonas were found living with her daughter Ingrid's family in Transberga (one of the larger farms, about 4 miles NW of Linnekulla). By this time though, Jonas was almost 15 years of age himself and ready to begin taking on contract work of his own. Due to poor early record keeping, we lose track of him for a few years while he makes the annual move from farm to farm during his early adulthood, but he turns up again in 1798 when he moves to the nearby parish Västra Ryd at age 22. Meanwhile, his widowed mother Brita initially found work at the large Höglycke farm, but by the time she passed in 1812, at the age of 81, she had been living in a poorhouse ("fattig hus").
Three years after arriving in Västra Ryd, Jonas Månsson married Catherina Danielsdotter, the daughter of Daniel Lagman (Note 3). Daniel was a career soldier, which entitled he and his family to be supported by an allotment of about 4 farms (called a military "rote"). This was under a new system of military organization that Sweden had adopted in 1682. The soldier and his family were provided with a small home and piece of land for farming (a "soldattorp"). During periods of active military duty, the rote farms came together to maintain the soldier's family in his absence. During times of inactivity, the soldier's croft contract required him to assist on the supplying farms of his rote. Usually, a soldier's family was required to vacate the soldatorp within 3 months of his death. If he was over the age of 50 and had served for at least 25 years, he was given a small pension from the Crown at this time. However, in 1806, Daniel Lagman seems to have managed to purchase his own land, which from that point on was known as Danielshem (literally, Daniel's home).
An example of a Swedish soldatorp built in the 1700s. Each soldier croft displayed a "roteta" (root board or soldier badge) showing it was officially part of the Armed forces.
Uniform of a Swedish infantry soldier in the 1800s
Catherina had no living older brothers who were entitled to inherit Danielshem. This was a lucky break for Jonas Månsson, because it gave Catherina and he a permanent homestead on which to dwell, perhaps in exchange for caring for her father in his older age. Daniel Lagman continued living there with his daughter and son-in-law until he passed in 1814 at the age of 67. During that time, Jonas and Catherina had at least 2 children, and likely about 3 others who are not recorded (see Note 2). Their youngest son Johannes Jonasson (b.1810) was our direct ancestor. The home was part of the church village of Rydsnäs, where the parish church of Västra Ryd stood at the edge of lake Östra Lägern. The name Östra Lägern means Eastern Camp, and likely this is the origin of the military surname Lagman given to Catherina's father Daniel.
View from 1957 of the current Rydsnäs church, built in 1881-2
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The 1868-77 District Economic Map of Västra Ryd showing Rydsnäs in the top center. Based on its order in Household Survey records, Danielshem was probably just to the SW of town.
In 1823, Johannes' mother, Catherina, died at the age of only 48. Johannes had barely turned 13 at the time. Not long after, he seems to have joined his older sister, Anna Stina, in Torpa parish at Bianäs farm. Anna Stina had left home when she was 13 to work at the nearby farm of Aggarp. But at the age of 17, she left Västra Ryd and went north to Torpa parish. While working on Bianäs farm, she met and married her husband Fredrik Nilsson in 1824. This small, coastal farm was only about 4 miles NE of Smedstorp farm, where Johannes' grandfather had worked for many years previously, so perhaps they still had family in the area. The next contract year Johannes signed up to work at Smedstorp himself. Meanwhile, his father Jonas remarried in 1826 to a younger woman named Anna Lena Andersdotter, with whom he had another child, though she unfortunately died young. He passed away in 1837 at the age of 60.
An example of a typical rural Swedish farming village today, many of which are still on the historical sites they have operated on for hundreds of years
After spending a few years farm hopping near Smedstorp, at the age of 19, Johannes decided to branch out a bit further. In 1829, he crossed the Torpasjön (as the waters of Lake Sommen west of Torpön island are called) and took on work at Brandsnäs farm. And there he met a girl - Anna Lisa Larsdotter (b.1807) (See Note 5). She was the daughter of a former career soldier, Lars Jonsson Flan, so they had the experience of coming from a military family in common. They were still young for settling down by Swedish standards though, and after spending a year together on the farm, the couple decided to go their separate ways at the next flyttdag. Johannes to a farm named Björkevik (Birch Bay) that was just a half mile up the road from Brandsnäs. Anna Lisa to Brevik, a farm about 5.5 miles away on the SE portion of Torpön Island, near where her parents lived. Perhaps during their final, assumably less supervised week of frivecka, however, they opted for one last fling, because Anna Lisa became pregnant.
Le Boheme by Daniel Gerhartz
Map of Torpön Island showing the locations of various farms made reference to in the text
This was not as rare of an event in Sweden at that time as one might expect. (To be honest, given the Swedish custom of leaving home as a teenager, and not marrying until your mid 20's, I'm a bit surprised it wasn't even more common!) In the 1830s, illegitimate birth occurred in about 6.7% of Swedish pregnancies, and by 1860, that rate increased to almost 10% (Ref 11). In earlier times, the church punishments had been very strict, ranging from high fines up to even execution(!) in the early 1600s (Ref 12). A common punishment in the late 1600s was to have to sit before the church congregation on the "skampallen" (stool of shame). While this custom continued into the 1700s, after 1741 it became a more private admonishment, taking place in a secluded church sacristy instead. Being the more visible transgressor, the women usually bore the brunt of the punishment and accompanying social stigma, and many went to desperate measures to avoid this shame. In 1778, King Gustuf III became so concerned by the number of illegitimate babies being birthed in secret and then killed, that he passed a law allowing women to surrender their newborn children anonymously. By 1810, illegitimate pregnancy was no longer considered a secular offense - as long as it didn't happen more than twice(?!). Finally, in 1864, the legal punishment of either partner was done away with entirely and it became merely a civil matter for obtaining custodial support.
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Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) Carmen Gaudin as The Laundress
Johan and Anna Lisa's son, Johan August Johansson (b.1831) (direct line), was born the following August. By the next flyttdag, Anna Lisa had returned to the home of her parents in Sandvik, Lars Jonsson and Lisa Gustafsdotter (see Note 6). Meanwhile Johan left Bjorkevik without a "forwarding address" (see Note 7) and we lose track of him for several years after that. A year after Johan August's birth, Anna Lisa began working as a farm maid at Prästgården farm while her parents cared for her son. Prästgården means "The vicarage", or home of the vicar (ie the parish minister's farm), so perhaps this was seen as a way for her to repair her moral standing within the community (see Note 8).
Duly reformed, in 1834 Anna Lisa went to work for 2 years at Morashemmet, a small, rural soldier torp farm up in the hills about a mile north of her parent's home. (Her son continued to live with his grandparents at that time). Anna Lisa's parents may have thought that in this removed location, and living under the same roof as the soldier whose farm she was working, it would be easier to keep to their daughter out of further trouble. However, just a mile downhill, towards the western Torpön coast, was Boda farm. And working on Boda farm that year was a young man named Peter Magnus Petersson. The only thing we know for certain, of course, is that in about May of that year, Anna Lisa Larsdotter became pregnant again, this time with a little girl she named Anna Stina Petersdotter. Rather than tie the knot with her, however, the father left for a farm on the mainland at the next flyttdag (when Anna Lisa would have been about 4 months pregnant) and married a different woman a year later.
Boda farm today
At the next flyttdag, and the age of 29, Anna Lisa went back home to Sandvik to live with her parents once again. While her parents must have been exasperated at this point, it also must have been wonderful for her son Johan August, who at the age of 5, finally got to live with his mother under the same roof. A lucky break occurred for Anna Lisa about 2 years later in 1838. Johannes Abrahamsson, of Asby parish, came to work at the neighboring farm of Brevik that year. He was apparently underterred by Anna Lisa's previous two illegitimate children, and they married in July of that year. They built a new home ("nybygget") in Sandvik next to her parents, and within 3 years had another child of their own, Anders Peter Abrahamsson. (Likely they had one child before that who died young as well).
Traditional Swedish wedding crown
Her son's birth in 1841 seems to have been coupled with something dire that happened in the financial situation of their family, however. That year, Johannes Abrahamsson was assigned to "skrifven på socken", meaning to be part of the rotegång which was required to work the farms of the parish in exchange for the welfare they were providing his family (generally a designation saved for the poorest of the poor). After he left for this duty, her son Johan August went back to live in the home of his grandparents once again, while the younger two stayed with Anna Lisa. Sadly, their new son died just a year later in 1842, and by 1844, Anna Lisa was listed as a widow (see Note 9). Yet another marriage prospect presented himself just two years later. An older widower and retired soldier from Ekeby parish, Gustaf Persson, whose children were finally grown, seemed willing to start again with a younger ready-made family. By this time, Anna Lisa's parents were in their late 60s, and probably getting concerned with finding a stable provider for their daughter and grandchildren. Gustaf and Anna Lisa married in Dec 1846 and had a child, Johanna, 3 months later(?!). Oddly, it does not appear that he relocated to Sandvik, or that she moved to Ekeby at that time. Perhaps they initially married more to avoid additional fines and social repercussions, rather than out of a desire to homestead together. Meanwhile, Johan August continued to live with his grandparents until he reached the age of 16. Anna Lisa did finally relocate to Ekeby with her remaining two children in 1849, however, she died just a year later at the age of 43 (Note 4).
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His wife Carolina was of illegitimate birth herself, and similar to Johan August, had grown up without her mother and father (see Note 10). Their first child, Anna Charlotta, was born only 3 months after their wedding, so they may have jumped the gun a bit too, but the church was pretty forgiving as long as the couple did eventually get married. Johan August and Carolina continued working at Marek Södre farm for 3 more years, after which time Johan August took on a position at a farmstead called Alarp about a mile away. It was a croft tenancy inhabited by an older couple that was no longer able to work but entitled to elder support ("inhysehjon"), and the husband died just a couple years later. Johan August and Carolina remained at Alarp for 10 years, during which time Carolina gave birth to at least 3 more children (and likely a couple more who died young), including our line's direct ancestor, Charles "Carl" Johan Johansson (b.1863).
Map showing the locations of Marek and Alarp farms of Asby parish, across the Sommen from Torpön Island
One could easily assume from this description that rural farm life for Johan August Johansson was carrying on fairly similarly to the way it had for his father, and grandfather, and so on before him. In reality though, beginning in the 1850s, Sweden had entered a period of rapid social and economic change. The agricultural revolution had already brought about many changes over the previous century. More efficient division and usage of land had more than quadrupled farming output (Ref 14). The Napoleonic Wars had finally come to an end, reducing the casualties of war, while at the same time the introduction of potatoes as a food crop improved nutrition, and the widespread adoption of the smallpox vaccine dramatically reduced mortality. The result was a growing population with enough food and natural resources to support dramatic and sustained population growth for the first time in Sweden's history. This allowed for a surplus of farm labor that could be shifted away from the fields and into the industrial factories of production that were beginning to form in cities (Ref 15).
Early 1800s Stockholm, Sweden by Carl Johan Billmark
For the farmers of the fields, however, this macro level economic shifting was felt only as difficulty finding work in the types and locations of jobs they were used to. With more efficient means of production, landowners simply did not need as many workers as before, and thus they began to evict the majority of their tenants in order to retain the profits for themselves (Ref 16). While many people gradually gave up on farming and instead moved to the cities to take on new industrial types of jobs, others tried to preserve the way of life they had known by immigrating to America. The earliest Swedish immigrants began to arrive in the 1840s, when it was first made legal by Sweden (Ref 19, p.11), but the numbers were relatively small initially. That changed after the Swedish crop failures of 1867-68, which threw the country into a temporary famine. With the population so much larger at that point than in previous generations, the existing decentralized welfare system was not able to keep up with the needs of the poor in the farms or the cities. Mass-emigration to America ensued (Ref 17).
Johan August Johansson and Carolina Johansdotter held on throughout the famine and even a bit longer. In 1871, their oldest child, Karolina, was reaching the age where she would have typically begun solo farm rotation work as in the past - but there was very little farm work to be had. The family left the Asby parish and moved back west to the Torpa parish mainland, perhaps hoping to find better options. There Johan August took on a tenant lease at Rörsberga farm in the Rushållet dwelling. This was the torp assigned to maintain a Swedish cavalry rote with horses and supplies. Though not himself a part of the military, Johan August was likely involved in processing the horsehair, which could be used for a variety of products, such as upholstery stuffing and fishing gloves. The family moved again in 1878 to the nearby farm of Sjundemålen. At this point, under the old system, our ancestor Carl Johan would also have been of age to take on independent farmhand work. But the old system had collapsed, and there was no farmwork to be had. It was time to look for new options in America.
A Farmhouse in Sweden, by Louis Gurlitt
Stay Tuned for "Our Johnson Line from Östergötland, Sweden (Part 2-Amerika!)"
Notes
0) In Sweden, what they call counties are more similar to what we would call states, and what they call municipalities are more similar to what we would call counties, though a bit smaller than ours.
1) Swedish farm life was highly regulated by the legostadga, a statute first passed in 1664 under King Gustav Vasa I. Under this medieval law, it was illegal to be homeless, which was known as vagrancy. If you were of working age, it was required that you either owned land (which helped support the Crown through taxes), or that you contracted yourself to work the land of someone who did. People of able body who were found to be in conflict with this statute could be forced into work for the Crown or enlisted into the military. Also, landowners who did not enforce the statute's rules appropriately could have their lands seized by the Crown. Sweden had no formal welfare system at this time. Those who were legitimately unable to work, known as "inhyseshjon" (dependent tenants), had to rely on the mercy of the church and the charity of farmers. They generally lived on the edge of a farmer's property in "backstuga" and made by with whatever meager scraps they were provided (Ref 4).
2) From 1749 to 1800, smallpox raged through Sweden, killing about 270,000 people, mostly children. During this century, it was the most common cause of death. Finally, in 1801, a vaccine was developed. Within 15 years, 80% of children were vaccinated and by 1816 it became compulsory to do so. In Västra Ryd, as in many parishes, vaccination status was reported on Household Surveys starting in 1807. In this rural area, it does not appear to have been a commonplace practice until after it was made compulsory. Thankfully, by 1880, most people living in Sweden had been vaccinated and disease and death from this particular illness became rare. However, during the late 1700s and early 1800s, epidemics of dysentery or cholera were also common until sanitation conditions improved.
3) To help distinguish between all the Johans, Jonas', Gustafs, and Lars, soldiers were given a "rote" name to use in place of, or in addition to, their given surname. Career soldiers were usually referred to by this rote name in records from that point on. Often the name had some significance to the location or role they performed. It was not hereditary though, and thus did not pass down to the children.
4) After her mother died, Anna Lisa's youngest daughter Johanna seems to have gone to live with her grandfather Lars Jonsson and her grandmother Lisa Gustafsdotter. Two years later, her grandmother died at the age of 76 and Johanna herself died a year later just before reaching the age of 6. Anna Stina meanwhile, only stayed in Ekeby with her mother and new stepfather briefly before starting an annual farm contract in Asby parish later that year at the age of 14.
5) Both Johannes Jonasson and Anna Lisa Larsdotter were a bit fast and loose when recording their names on Household Surveys after leaving home. Johannes started stating his last name as Jönsson and often shortened his first name to Jöhan. Meanwhile, Anna began to report her year of birth as 1804 at times rather than 1807. Perhaps they were trying to avoid paying the church fines for their transgression? Based on birthdates/locations and other family members also found on the records, however, it is clear these are indeed the same people.
6) According to the 1830-1838 Household Survey, Lars Jonsson Flan and his family were living on Sandvik poor relief as of 1829. However, up until the age of 52, which was considered old enough to retire from the military, they were living in the soldatorp on Krushemmet farm (and at the remote Storehagen soldatorp before that). Likely he was given a pension for his service at his retirement, but these pensions were relatively meager for lower-level soldiers and depended on conduct as well, which according to the General Muster Rolls, was noted to have been "less reliable" for Lars (Search for Soldiers – Centrala Soldatregistret).
7) Typically, Household Surveys report both the year and location the individual arrived from, as well as the year and location to which they moved at the end of their contract. Johannes record for the year of 1830-31 shows only that he left in 1830 (mid-contract year, which is unusual in and of itself) and listed no location for where he had gone. Assumably, he split once the pregnancy was realized, and the expectation of financial support became a reality. He finally appears in records again 16 years later when he moved from Torpa to Asby parish, coincidentally or not also timed with when his son would have no longer required support. If you have managed to find records of him between 1831-1846, please contact me. I would love to hear from you!
8) Before the Reformation, Sweden was Roman Catholic, as was most of Europe. However, King Gustav Vasa I converted the nation to Lutheranism in 1527. In 1544, he declared himself the Head of the Church in Sweden, at which point the Church of Sweden also became the State Church (ie no separation of church and state). During the 1600s, the Church of Sweden became increasingly powerful, to the point that by 1686, one could be put to death for practicing any other faith (Ref 13). From the mid 18th century onward, however, Enlightenment ideas began to temper Lutheran orthodoxy, and by 1860 Swedish citizens were allowed to openly practice other faiths. During the latter half of the 19th century, Church and State came to be separated as well.
9) I have found no record of Johannes Abrahamsson's death in Torpa parish between 1841-1846, so it is confusing to me what the actual situation was. I would love to hear from you if you have found such a record! Given that one was usually required to live in a parish for 3 years before qualifying for poor relief, it is possible that he had not been working since shortly after arriving in 1838. Whether this was due to an injury, general disposition of character, or some other reason is unclear.
10) Carolina's mother, Christina Johansdotter, listed the fathers name as "okänd" (unknown) when she gave birth out of wedlock at the age of 21. (This was commonly done to avoid the church taxes for illegitimate births.) Three years later she married a Samuel Larsson, but Carolina is not listed as having ever lived with them on household surveys, nor was she given his first name as her last name, so I do not think that he is the father. I have not yet been able to trace where she was living during the early years of her childhood. According to her birth record, her godparents were from Fiskarehemmet, Hästhagen, and Idebo farms. I would love to hear from you if you know more!
1) Hedblom, F. (1985) "Swedish Personal Names in America". Swedish American Genealogist: Vol. 5, No. 1, Art. 6, p.20. https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonsag/vol5/iss1/
2) Translated and annotated by Reaves, W. P. “Viktor Rydberg’s Investigations into Germanic Mythology Volume II Part 1: Indo-European Mythology.” Germanicmythology.com, 2010, https://www.germanicmythology.com/ugm2/ugm2no7-14.pdf.
3) Bengtsson, Erik, and Patrick Svensson. “Inequality and Wealth of the Swedish Peasant Farmer Class 1750–1900.” Org.uk, https://files.ehs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/29060824/a8913d7e-6dac-4a00-a8e0-cf270bec3041.pdf. Accessed 2024.5) Torpa (Östergötlands län) kyrkoarkiv, Husförhörslängder, SE/VALA/00382/A I/1 (1783-1790), image id: C0018646_00017, p.11. https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/C0018646_00017
6) Karlsson, L., Lundevaller, E. H., & Schumann, B. (2019). "Season of birth, stillbirths, and neonatal mortality in Sweden: the Sami and non-Sami population, 1800-1899". International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 78(1), 1629784. https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2019.1629784
9) Högman, Hans. “Landownership - Farmers & Crofters.” Swedish History, 2021, https://www.hhogman.se/land_ownership_eng.htm#xl_Crofts-and-Crofters. Accessed 2024.
7) Högman, Hans. “Health Care and Diseases of the Past” Swedish History, 2020, https://www.hhogman.se/health-care-formerly.htm. Accessed 2024.
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