1910 Census - Hugo and Sarona Alvine

I found my grandfather’s sister, Sarona, and her husband, Hugo in the 1910 Census. Sarona was one of the first Kallman family members to come from Sweden. She had followed her brother Håkan Patrik, but on immigrating, she did not name him as her contact but her future husband, Hugo. Hugo had arrived in the U.S. in 1893. He visited Sweden as a U.S. citizen returning to the U.S. in 1903. 1904, Sarona left to join him. Did he meet her on a return visit to his family, or was the intent always to leave for the U.S., establish himself, and return for his love, Sarona? I like either possibility!

April 16, 1910 Chicago, Cook, Illinois    889 King Place

#59- Alvine,Hugo H., head, Male, White, 34, Married 1st time for 2 years, born in Sweden, both parents born in Sweden, immigrated in 1893, naturalized citizen, occupation merchant in retail grocery, not out of work throughout 1910, can read and write, renting a house

#59- Alvine, Sarona, wife, female, white, 30, married 1st time for 2 years, born in Sweden, both parents born in Sweden, immigrated in 1904, *, occupation none, can read and write.

* Naturalization is not noted for Sarona. Before 1922, marrying a citizen automatically conferred citizen status on a woman. Conversing, an American-born woman lost her citizenship if she married an alien!

Census Sunday - 1910 US Census: Moline, Rock Island, Illinois - Lydia Abrahamson

Line 27 - Abrahamson, Lydia, Servant, aged 20

1910 US Census Moline, Rock Island, Illinois
click on census to enlarge for easier viewing

April 1910, my grandmother Lydia has been in the US. for just over a year. She is working as a live in household servant for the Irwing family. This was a very common occupation for young single Swedish immigrant women. Swedish housemaids were among the preferred. In fact at the turn of the century a fourth of all of Chicago's domestic servants were of Swedish origin and nationwide they were among the predominant groups in household labor along with Irish, Germans and Norwegians. Swedish  housemaids had a reputation for being honest, diligent, hardworking, willing to learn and unlikely to complain.* It was a good paying and highly respected job in the Swedish community.

I think she may have liked her life with the Irwing family. Sure the work was hard, but housework was difficult in those days and no worse than it had been back home in Sweden  Swedish maids were respected and relatively well paid as opposed to harsh conditions working in Sweden.

The Swedish American population was young, the majority of the population was between 20 and 40 and there were more Swedish men than women in America. The Swedish girls could have their pick. The Swedish girls adapted quickly to American ways and working in an American home they picked up English quickly. As you can see by this census record Lydia, here just a year, already speaks English.

My grandmother Lydia would shortly meet my grandfather Rikard, now going by Richard, who had arrived from Sweden in 1906. In the next year she would leave her employment to be a full time housewife as was then the custom and expectation.

*an excerpt from "Peasant Maids, City Women: From the European Countryside to Urban America." a book by Christiane Harzig, Cornell University Press

Census Sunday - 1910 US Census - Moline, Illinois - Richard Kallman

1910 US Census - Moline, Rock Island, Illinois - Richard Kallman

this is the first US census that my grandfather, Richard Severin Kallman, can be found in

*He is living on 530 10th Ave. Moline, Illinois as a boarder.  A bed to sleep in, a daily meal and he most likely shares a bedroom with the other male boarder.
*25 years old, single  Richard is actually 23 but the census indicates his landlord answered the questions for all in the household.
*Richard can speak English, read and write.
*He had immigrated in 1906.
*Richard works as a laborer for a plow company (most likely John Deere).  Richard came from Grytòl in Östergötland, a town famous for its iron works since the 1600's (and still to this day).. He was a blacksmith by trade. The Deere company offered jobs to those experienced in the Swedish iron works. Word of this company had spread all the way to Sweden along with the knowledge that a large Swedish speaking population of immigrants lived there. All three of Richards sisters are already also in America. Sarona is married. Olga and Tekla are working as live in servant girls in Chicago.
*He worked the entire year

In just a bit over a year he will marry my grandmother Lydia. I do not know if he had already met her at this time or how he met her but in the 1910 census Lydia is working as a live in servant and living just 8 blocks from her future husband. A cousin told me that she had heard that Richard would hide behind some bushes just to watch her walk by.
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Rather a nice looking fellow, don't you agree?

*click on photo or document to enlarge for easier viewing/reading*