The Mårdaklev, Älvsborg parish record of deaths reports that all three little girls died within 4 days of each other of "difteri" (diphtheria) in July of 1890.
A disease that is considered to be from the "olden days", even those of us who are grandparents have been immunized against diphtheria. I have been a nurse for over 30 years and worked in a hospital, yet I never saw a person diagnosed as such. I am almost ashamed to say I had to look diphtheria up in wikipedia to find out exactly how it was spread and what the signs and symptoms were. Apparently the word is from the Greek word for leather which describes the thick leather-like mucous that covers the back of the throat and can literally suffocate its victims. And that is just one of the many awful things diphtheria can do to a person, particularly to a child.
One hundred and twenty five years after their deaths, I can't even imagine the deep level of grief their parents must have felt. And yet, they went on. All three little sisters were buried on 27 Jul 1890.
Their parents were Jakob Lorentz Petersson and Johanna Lena Larsdotter. Fortunately, three older sons survived to adulthood and one year after their daughters' death they had another daughter who also survived to adulthood.
Fortunate also for us. One of those sons was Johann Emil Jakobsson who married Anna Abrahamsson. If he had succumbed there would be almost 75 less cousins in the U.S. today.
Vila i frid, little sisters.
- Ranae
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