Genealogy is about making connections

 - to the past, to family members living today, 

as well as to future generations.

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In the early 20th century my paternal grandparents, Richard Severin Kallman and Lydia Abrahamson, immigrated from Sweden settling in Chicago. I am exploring their immigrant journey to "Amerika" and life in Swedish Chicago.   I've been researching my family tree in earnest for over twenty years and  I am happy to share the photos, documents, stories, information and thoughts I have gathered.  Are we related? Do you have comments, corrections, information/pictures to add? Let's connect and share.

The end of a dream - Richard Kallman

For my grandfather Richard, the dream was to have a farm. Back in Sweden, one of the main "pulls" bringing men to America was the possibility of owning land. Swedish farms were small and families were large. Only the oldest son inherited the family farm. The later sons were out of luck. Their only future was working anothers farm as a field hand, the military or merchant marines, going down into the mines or the long hard dirty hours of factory work.

My grandfather Richard was also forever working on his "inventions". Looked like some type of farm equipment. I remember one he called the "plowmaster". Hate to tell you grandpa but I think that's a combine and Cyrus McCormick beat you to it.

He was finally able to farm but that dream was short lived. Why? Perhaps his health, the depression economy, his children growing up and moving on to their own lives?...nothing worked in his favor. The farm and all it held went up for auction.

Grandpa Richard with Grandma Lydia and their two youngest daughters returned to Chicago. Their youngest son, my Dad? World War II was already raging overseas and in just a few months he would be off to Europe.

Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center of Augustana College

Click   → HERE ←     to view the 

Digital Permanent Exhibit of the Swedish Immigration to North America

located at the

SWENSON SWEDISH IMMIGRATION RESEARCH CENTER 

located at Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois

Did you know that in 1910 20% of all native-born Swedes lived in the United States?
Among those were the our ancestors ...
the Abrahamsson sisters, Anna, Lydia and Ruth
along with their Swedish born husbands.

The Swedish Newspaper in America