Journey to America - Johan Emil Jakobsson

Finding the passenger manifest of the ship your immigrant ancestor arrived on is a biggee for the family historian. Particularly if your ancestor arrived during the Ellis Island years, as my direct ancestors did. It can be a goldmine. You now can possibly know his full name, his physical description, his town of origin and family members back home and those in America who he is counting on to help him begin a new life in America. I have found it wise to go back again and again and truly inspect that manifest to see what other nuggets of info can be gleaned from it.

The "Mauretania" pulled into New York harbor on May 19,1911. On board was my great Uncle Emil Jacobson.

*New York passenger lists 1820-1957, year 1911, Arrival 19 May, 

Microfilm serial: T715, Microfilm roll:T715_1680, line #24*

*click to enlarge documents for easier reading, Uncle Emil is line #24*

From the initial look at this manifest I got these great statistics for my family tree

*name - Jakobsson Johan Emil
*age, marital status, occupation  -  28, married, railway official - this info assures me I have found MY Uncle Emil as I knew his birthdate and occupation from family records I had seen earlier.
*last permanent residence, next of kin - Svenljunga, Elfsborg, wife:Anna Jakobsson
*final destination - New Briton Connecticut which he has a ticket to
*ticket was paid by - self
*money in his possession - $35
*in the US before - no
*contact in the US- cousin: John Petterson 44 Kelsey St, New Briton, Conn.
*physical description - good health, 5'3", blond hair, blue eyes, no distinguishing marks
*place of birth - Sweden, Mårdeklev, Elfsborg

The later in depth look at this manifest gave me  more info to help in my further research. More importantly, the details, even the smallest details on this manifest give me more insight and understanding of Uncle Emil's immigrant experience.

*I now know the proper Swedish spelling of Uncle Emils name which will assist me in searching Swedish records. His name follows the "rule?" I have seen before with Swedish names. What we view as the middle name is what many are called by in Sweden. The first name is in honor of a saint or an honored family member. Ellis Island took names right off of the manifest. Ellis Island did not change his name. Uncle Emil himself "Americanized" his name to John Emil Jacobson.
*"Elfsborg", it seems is an alternate spelling of Älvsborg, the lan in which the family resides. That info proved to be useful in other Swedish record searches.
*Aunt Anna's address was Stommen-Hid so I know that she and the children stayed with her parents while Emil was in America. Can I deduct then that the family approved of his journey to America? My grandmother Lydia was the first of the immediate family to go to America in 1909. Can I deduct that the family approved or felt that going to America had been a good decision for her if they now supported Anna and her family?
*Uncle Emil had $35 dollars on him. That seems a bit higher than the other immigrants. Better prepared?
*Who was this cousin John Petterson? We know the family ended up in Illinois. Aunt Anna listed Moline, Illinois when she entered the country with their children.  Was Connecticutt a bust so he moved on to the lure of ample work in Illinois? Did Uncle Emil ever intend to go to Connecticut? Did his cousin even know he was coming? Some immigrants used names of relatives gone before whether or not they had been in contact to sound more legit?
*5'3" Well, I did remember Uncle Emil being this quiet little guy following behind his tall imposing wife. But that is the memory of a little girl that really did not have a lot of contact with my great aunt and uncle. Aunt Anna scared me as a child. She would march up to our door clutching her pock-a book ( I remember my grandmother using that word). She seemed large and looming and knocked boldly on our door. "Go to get yur mudder, and tell her Tanta Anna is here." and in she came with Uncle Emil following meekly behind. I don't recall ever hearing him speak! Looking at the manifest I see only 1 of the 30 on that page reached 6ft in height. So he was shorter for a fellow but everyone was shorter in those days. And the large looming Aunt Anna I remember? Her manifest states she was 5'9". Even as a fairly short adult (5'3") she doesn't seem that scary to me any more. I also thought Uncle Emil had dark hair not "blond" as the manifest stated but again my memories of Aunt Anna and Uncle Emil are sparse and from the perspective of a little child who seldom saw them.
* None of the folks logged before or after him come from the same town. I would think that friends traveling together would also disembark or be registered together. The manifest of those leaving from Gothenburg shows the same. This tells me that Emil was most likely traveling alone.
*I noted 5 persons, out of 30 on this page were "non-immigrant aliens". It seems many Swedish immigrants went back and forth from Sweden. Perhaps the husband went to work and make money returning periodically to his family back home in Sweden? Missing family and just returning for a visit? Did America not live up to its promise for some?
*Emil sailed "steerage" class which brings up visions of being in the hold of the ship like cattle., Indeed in the early days of immigration on sailing ships it was a pretty rough trip that could last a month or more depending on the weather. Crowded, unsanitary conditions, poor inadequate food, sickness spreading and killing many, particularly the very young and very old.

Uncle Emil however came on the "Mauretania".

Steerage was now called third class which is how most immigrants traveled. His trip was 6 days long. In 1909 the "Mauretania" received the blue ribard award for crossing the Atlantic in the shortest time and held that honor until 1929. The ship was huge and widely praised for its accommodations for third class passengers. Before World War I the "Mauretania" alone brought 181 thousand immigrants to America. He also traveled in May when violent weather was less likely. He may have had plenty of opportunity to stroll above deck. Outside of missing family and home, which I am sure was hard, the actual trip on the "Mauretania" was probably not bad, maybe even pleasant.

Another interesting note is that the "Mauretania" on its return trip in June of 1911 transported thousands traveling to Great Britain for the coronation of King George V.

For lots of interesting information about the "Mauretania" and its accommodations 

click ▼

THE MAURETANIA OF THE CUNARD LINE

For now, that's all, but I am sure I will check out this manifest again at a later date. You never know what you will discover when you look at a document with new eyes.

Remembering Albin and Inger Jonason

 My father's cousin Albin passed recently, followed shortly by his wife Inger.

Albin & Inger on their wedding day

Albin Nikolaus Jonason              May 17, 1926 - February 13, 2019

    Inger Ulla Svensson Jonason      October 6, 1927 - February 25, 2019

Our sympathy and prayers for their children; Ulrika, Agneta & Lars-Erik, Gunilla & Kenneth, and their many beloved grandchildren and great grandchildren.

But I do not want you to be ignorant, bretheren, concerning those who have fallen asleep.

lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,

 even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. --- I Thessalonians 4:13-18  (NKJV)

Happy Birthday Mom

Introducing my Chicago family, just as I remember them.

This is one of, if not THE, favorite picture of my family in Chicago. I found this in a box of slides and converted it to digital format. It was taken the year I was born in 1952. The occasion was my father's 36th birthday in August. Why the favorite picture? They are all there! All four of my grandparents and my aunts and uncles, just as I remember them. Missing is my Dad's older brother Albin. He and his family moved to California in the `40's and I maybe only saw them a few times growing up. But the rest are there and they look just as I remember.

Let me introduce you to my family, as I remember them, of course!

left to right

standing: 

• My grandpa Kallman. See his lips? Well, that is the biggest smile you would ever get from him. He was sort of a tough and stern old Swede, those crossed arms say it all. His favorite saying? Tyst meg dig! (Be quiet!) as he pounded his cane on the floor. To be fair, he did have a rather tough life and was quite crippled with arthritis at a young age. To me he didn't seem to care for much...except his snus...chewing tobacco tucked into his lower lip which seemed to constantly dribble from the corner of his mouth.

•My favorite uncle, Uncle Arnold. Always happy and laughing with red hair as bright and curly as mine. My mom's older brother, grandma's favorite, he worried our religious family with his chain smoking and love of a nip now and again. When he gave you one of his big hugs, oddly enough, it made me happy to breathe deeply that faint smell of smoke that clung to his collar. 

•Tall fellow in the middle? Uncle Howard. He always seemed as he looks here. A little uncomfortable as he quietly walked around observing, never saying much, just "ummm" now and again. Almost like he was thinking "who are these people and how did I get hooked up with them?". A straight-up dependable guy.

•Uncle Bill. A burly, swaggering Irishman. Loud, fun, vocal, outgoing and straightforward. Exactly what our tightly wound Scandinavian family needed, whether they knew it or not. He would chase me, grab me in a headlock and give my head a knuckle rub. "It's good luck to rub a red head and I need some good luck". I loved him. 

•My Grandpa Sevald. Kind, honest, loving and generous. Short and bandy legged...he could tap dance! He adored my grandmother. His right arm no doubt is draped across her back so he could give her a little klappa (pat) now and again.

seated:

•Aunt Ebba. She never married nor left Grandma and Grandpa to have a life of her own. Or any life really in my opinion. She didn't work, I don't think she ever did. She spent her time at the Salvation Army and playing religious hymns on the piano. To me things just didn't seem right about her. She had a big box under her bed where she had many many notebooks where she kept daily diaries. But of what? I never saw her actually DO anything. After she died the box was tossed. I often wonder now... what was in those diaries?

•Aunt Laverne. She was the youngest and the prettiest. Never overweight, her hair always done nicely and makeup on. My favorite of the aunts, she was gentle, kind, dependable and forgiving of everyone. She seemed to always have a look of wide-eyed wonder on her. She saw the positive side of everything.

•My grandma Kallman. She always seemed grey, elderly and crippled to me. Always wincing in pain but she never did complain. Family, close and remote speak well of her but I never really knew her at all. I regret that now.

•My grandma Sevald. I spent loads of time with her. They never lived far away and my mom was ill a lot so I remember my grandmother coming and caring for us quite often. A devout Christian, she lived it. She didn't just pray for you, she worked beside you and for you. She could be feisty, opinionated and strong willed but she was dependable, a rock that could weather any storm. You never worried because whatever happened you knew that grandma would always know what to do. She would "make a plan". All would be well.

•Aunt Eva. I think she was my Dad's favorite. She had the same goofy sense of humor as he. She was a lot of fun. No putting on airs with her. See her bit of a buck tooth grin? I remember when she had to get false teeth she asked them to please make them overlap a little so my friends recognize me!

Up front:

 My Dad the birthday boy. He just loved everyone getting together and laughing so I am sure it was his prompting to get a picture of the whole gang.

A few of the cousins have already been born and are pictured here (Karen, Marilyn, Rita and Robert) in 1952 but where am I? At four months, probably napping or beside my Mom who no doubt is the one taking the photo.

Good job Mom! You caught them all, just as I remember them!

“How often do we tell our own life story? How often do we adjust, embellish, make sly cuts? And the longer life goes on, the fewer are those around to challenge our account, to remind us that our life is not our life, merely the story we have told about our life. Told to others, but—mainly—to ourselves.” 

― Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending

"Koppor" takes the children of Nora

I bought in to a month of ArkivDigital, the premier Swedish repository of Swedish archival records. The photos of the original Swedish church records are as clear as possible and I have been spending a bit of time there gathering what information I can. I had noted that my fifth great grandfather, Olof Marcusson was noted in the Husförhör or Swedish Household Examination of 1787-1790 as död (dead). I was now painstakingly going through the death records month by month looking for his death record. I made a terrible discovery. The end of the 18th century, November and December 1799, gave a little foretaste of the nightmare that the new century would bring to the small parish of Nora, Västmanland, Sweden.

I had become used to seeing young women dead from childbirth and folks younger than I am today listed as dying from "alderdom" or old age. Diseases easily cured today or causes of death that just left one wondering. Can a person die from a cough or diarrhea? I guess so. Many young children did not live to adulthood and often the cause of death was not even listed by the parish priest. Did they not even know what took them or perhaps death for the youngest was so common no one even questioned it.

November and December 1799 I saw a word that I knew meant bad times to come for the parish of Nora. Three little ones - cause of death - "koppor" or smallpox. I turned the page to 1800...

double click to enlarge for easier viewing  https://app.arkivdigital.se/volume/v73533?image=10

January 14, 1800 the soldier Olof Norgrensson's 2 year old daughter Anna died from "koppor".
All the way through January and February "dito, dito, dito, dito, dito". Smallpox swept away many of the youngest of Nora, slowing only as spring came.

Olaf's daughter Brita, who I have descended from, had long ago married and moved to another parish. I never did find Olaf's death record but he lived to at least 80. Long enough to watch grandchildren and great grandchildren sicken, suffer and quickly die?

Long long ago, I know, but still I cried.

postscript - As of April 14, 1978 no cases of smallpox have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from anywhere in the world since the last case had onset of rash on October 26, 1977 in Merka town, Somalia.

Journey to America - Ruth Abrahamson Soderstrom

 

Grandma Lydia's younger sister Ruth was the last of the three sisters to immigrate to America. We know their father, Robert Albin, if not approving at least agreed to her journey as he paid for her ticker. Ruth traveled second class on the Fredrick VIII, headed to the Rock Island/Moline/Davenport area where her sisters resided. As a second class passenger Ruth  did not have to go through Ellis Island proper but she was questioned, given a cursory examination on board ship and allowed to disembark directly to the dock.

This is the manifest of the ship Fredrick VIII, which left from Copenhagen  November 19, 1914 and arrived in New York December 4, 1914. Earlier Swedish immigrants had a longer, more involved journey. They left from Gothenburg and sailed to the west coast of England, taking a 2/3 hr train ride to Liverpool, from where they would depart for North America. The introduction of Scandinavian lines eliminated the additional travel.

#30 Abrahamson, Ruth, 20 yrs old, single, female, servant, Swedish, can read and write, resides in Ö Frölunda, next of kin RA Abrahamson in Stommen Hid, destination Rock Island, Illinois, has ticket to final destination, passage paid by father, in possession of $25, has never been to the US, contact is cousin Dr. LG Abrahamson of Rock Island, In good health, 5'7" tall, light hair, grey-blue eyes, no identifying marks, born in Östra Frölunda, Sweden.

My Grand Aunt

Ruth Abrahamson Soderstrom

b. June 3, 1894 Östra Frölunda, Älvsborg, Sweden

d. October 8, 1960 in Moline, Rock Island, Illinois, USA

*double click photos to enlarge for easier viewing, right click to download*