SWENSON FAMILY

PROLOG TO SWENSON FAMILY HISTORY:
In November, 2005, Alf Gunnarson sent me a small amount of ancestor information going back two more generations. I'm including the extra material at the beginning, because I don't want to go through the confusion of adding extra chapter numbers; I'd be sure to miss some cross-references somewhere. Therefore, consider the following as two extra unnumbered chapters inserted here. Påvel Påvelsson (circa 1560-1629) (MMMMFMFFFFFF) was from Finland, part of the settlement of the Finnskogen. He settled in Trehörning, the by where my maternal grandfather (MF), John Peter Swenson, was born.

I suppose  Påvel Påvelsson had about as interesting a life as any of the rest of us, but he had an unusual death: he was murdered! Alf sent me the following, translated from a book titled Finsk Invandring Till Tiveden Med Omnejd (Finnish Immigration to Tiveden and its Environs):

In 1635, 15th of April, at the district court of Binneberg, this record: Was taken to the court Anders Mattson from Trehörning, at Tivägen, who had gashed Påvel Påvelsson with a knife..., and he (Påvel) died. This happened at Torpa Skogen on Tivägen, six years ago.

Påvel was 69 years old (my age!) when he was murdered, so the dispute presumably was not due to youthful indiscretions.

The two extra generations are:

PÅVEL  PÅVELSSON (circa 1560-1629)
       MMMMFMFFFFFF
   Children:
      TOMAS PÅVELSSON (1590-?)
         MMMMFMFFFFF
           Children:
                MÅNS TOMASSON (?-?)
                       MMMMFMFFFF


10. TENTH GENERATION (SWENSON)
Even before the non-earth-shaking events described in chapters five and seven were taking place, in the landskap of Västergötland and the by called Barrud, 150 American miles to the northwest of Småland, the angel burdened with the responsibility for my existence was fooling around with some germ plasm. My second cousin Alf Gunnarson, who independently has written a booklet about the history of Barrud as well as of his family, generously sent me copious information about the truly dead on my mother's side of the family.

 Jacob(us) Petri Rondelitius (~1585-1662) = ?
         MMFMMMMMMF
   Children:
      11.1 MARIA JACOBSDOTTER RONDELITIUS (1625-1702)
     Olaus Jacobus Rondelitius (?-?)
One day in October 2006, Alf & Kaisa Gunnarson had their golf game rained out, so they went ancestor-hunting, and found out a lot about Jacob Rondelitius. He was born in Runnaby, Närke, and became a priest, latinizing the town of  his origin to Rondelitius. He started his career as a schoolteacher at Södertälje, where he wrote a morality play titled Judas Redivivus, a Christian Tragicomedy. He and his wife (name unknown, of course) had many children. At least four of his sons became priests, and 2 daughters, including Maria, married priests. Olaus was rector of Knista parish from 1668 to 1676.
My brother Mike will be mortified to find we have a preacher in the family tree, even though it was a very long time ago.

Bengt Nilsson Kjörning (?-? ) = ?
      MMFMMMFFFF
    Children:
      11.2 JOEN BENGTSON (?-1685 )
They lived at Långsmon, Finnerödja parish. Alf writes that Bengt Kjörning was a member of the nobility, but that it's too late for me to claim a title. I can believe that, since, after 10 generations, only 1/1024 of my heredity comes from him, which makes the bluest of blood turn a little pale.

Måns Tomasson (?-?) [See Prolog above]
MMMMFMFFFF
  Children:
      11.3 OLOF MÅNSSON (circa 1630-?)
No information about him. Presumably, he lived at Trehörning.


11. NINTH GENERATION (SWENSON)

Johannes Isaksson Quist (1612 or 13-1682 ) = (11.1) Maria Jacobsdotter Rondelitius (1625-1702 )
                 MMFMMMMMF                                                          MMFMMMMMM
    Children:
      12.1 AGNETA JOHANSDOTTER (1655-? )
Quist was born in Kråkemo. I don't know where that is, but it was probably near Kvistbro, where the couple lived. Quist was the rector of Kvistbro starting in 1651. Two preachers in the family!

(11.2) Joen Bengtsson (?-1685 ) = ?
            MMFMMMFFF
    Children:
      12.2 OLOF JOENSSON (?-? )
They lived at Viby, which must have been near Långsmon.

Anders Eriksson (?-1695 ) = Kerstin Olofsdotter (?-1703 )
    MMFMMMMFF                                MMFMMMMFM
    Children:
    12.3 ERIK ANDERSSON (1655-1716 )
They lived at Långsmon.

(11.3) Olof Månsson (circa 1630-?)
                 MMMMFMFFF
    Children:
     12.4 LARS OLOFSSON (?-?)
No information about him. Presumably, he lived at Trehörning.


12. EIGHTH GENERATION (SWENSON)

(12.3) Erik Andersson (1655-1716 ) = (12.1) Agneta Johansdotter (1655-? )
                MMFMMMMF                                                  MMFMMMMM
    Children:
      13.1 MARGARETA ERIKSDOTTER (1688-1755 )
They lived at Backgården, which is west of Laxå.

(12.2) Olof Joensson (?-? ) = Karin Steffansdotter (?-? )
               MMFMMMFF                       MMFMMMFM
    Children:
      13.2 OLOF OLOFSSON (1688-1745 )
They lived at Långsmon.

(12.4) Lars Olofsson (?-?)
                 MMMMFMFF
    Children:
     13.3 NILS LARSSON (1679-?)
No information about him. Presumably, he lived at Trehörning.


13. SEVENTH GENERATION (SWENSON)

(13.2) Olof Olofsson (1688-1745 ) = (13.1) Margareta Eriksdotter (1688-1755 )
                  MMFMMMF                                                        MMFMMMM
    Children:
      14.1 GRETA MARIA OLSDOTTER (1732-? )
They lived at Långsmon.

(13.3) Nils Larsson (1679-?)
                 MMMMFMF
    Children:
     14.2 EVA NILSDOTTER (1730-?)
No information about her. Presumably, she lived at Trehörning.


14. SIXTH GENERATION (SWENSON)

Abraham Hansson (1716-? ) = (14.1) Greta Maria Olsdotter (1732-? )
      MMFMMF                                                      MMFMMM
    Children:
      15.3 MARIA KATRINA ABRAHAMSDOTTER (1752-? )
They lived at Långsmon.

Pär Olsson (?-? ) = Sara Mattsdotter (1715-1782 )
   MMFMFF                        MMFMFM
    Children:
      15.2 LARS PÄRSSON (1741-1821 )
They lived at Vallsjöbol, Finnerödja parish.

Olof Gustavsson (1732-? ) = Britta Bengtsdotter (1732-? )
         MMMMMF                                    MMMMMM
    Children:
    15.5 STINA OLOFSDOTTER (1772-? )
They lived at Lake Unden.

Lars Larsson (?-? ) = (14.2) Eva Nilsdotter (1730-? )
      MMMMFF                               MMMMFM
    Children:
      15.4 OLOF LARSSON MOBERG (1758-? )
They lived at Högshult, only about 2 kilometers (a little over an American mile) from Barrud.

Olof Karlsson (?-? ) = Maria Bengtsdotter (?-? )
     MMMFMF                           MFMFMM
    Children:
     15.1 CATHERINA OLOFSDOTTER (1740-? )


15. FIFTH GENERATION (SWENSON)

(15.2) Lars Pärsson (1741-1821 ) = (15.3) Maria Katrina Abrahamsdotter (1752-? )
                MMFMF                                                                 MMFMM
    Children:
      16.6 LENA KAISA LARSDOTTER (1791-? )
They lived at Borgan, Finnerödja parish.

(15.4) Olof Larsson Moberg (1758-? ) = (15.5) Stina Olofsdotter (1772-? )
                    MMMMF                                                            MMMMM
    Children:
      16.5 MAJA OLOFSDOTTER MOBERG (1789-1862 )
I asked Alf about the Moberg name. He answered that Olof Larsson joined the army in about 1780, and was a trumslagara, or drummer. Drumming was an important part of the battle plan back when keeping in step was an important part of fighting. As mentioned earlier, there were already too many Olof Larssons in the army, so he needed a special name. Moberg means "brave mountain."

Anders Olofsson (1734-? ) = Stina Olofsdotter (1749-? )
          MMFFF                                     MMFFM
    Children:
      16.3 KARL ANDERSSON (1786-1837 )
Two triple-great-grandmothers with the same name!

Sven Angel (?-? ) = Annica Jonsdotter (?-? )
        MMMFF                      MMMFM
    Children:
      16.4 JONAS SVENSSON (1788-1853 )

Sven Nilsson (1738-? ) = (15.1) Catherina Olofsdotter (1740-? )
       MFMFF                                               MFMFM
    Children:
     16.2 OLOF SVENSSON (1778-? )

Hans Svensson = Kersti Nilsdotter
     MFFFF                          MFFFM
    Children:
      16.1 SVEN FREDRIK HANSSON (1775-? )
Sven was born in Björkmarken (birch land), Finnerödja.


16. FOURTH GENERATION (SWENSON)

(16.3) Karl Andersson (1786-1837 ) = (16.6) Lena Kajsa Larsdotter (1791-? )
                      MMFF                                                                   MMFM
    Children:
      17.3 KARL GUSTAV KARLSSON (1832-1889 )
They lived at Eriksåsen, Finnerödja parish.

(16.4) Jonas Svensson (1788-1853) = (16.5) Maja Olofsdotter Moberg (1789-1862)
                        MMMF                                                            MMMM
    Children:
      Johannes Jonsson = Stina Lowisa Andersdotter (they lived at Barrud, 1862-1864)
      Anna Lena Jonsdotter
      Lowisa Jonsdotter
      17.4 GUSTAFWA JONSDOTTER (1836-1913 )
Jonas and Maja began living at Barrud in 1847.

(16.2) Olof Svensson (1778-? ) = Lena Carlsdotter (1788-? )
                     MFMF                                      MFMM
    Children:
      17.1 MARIA (MAJA) OLOFSDOTTER (1813-? )
Lena later married a Carl Persson. Maria was born in Korterud, Finnerödja.  Note that she was not the same person as Maja Olofsdotter Moberg.

(16.1) Sven Fredrik Hansson (1775-?) = Britta Andersdotter (1792-?)
                      MFFF                                                     MFFM
    Children:
      17.2 SVEN SVENSSON (1820-? )
Britta was from Askersund. Sven later married a Greta Andersdotter. I don't know if that was a sister to Britta or not.


17. THIRD GENERATION (SWENSON):

(17.1) Maria (Maja) Olofsdotter (1813-? ) = Gabriel Swensson (?-? ) in 1834 (?).
                           MFM
    Children:
      Lena Kaisa (Faster Lena) Gabrielsdotter (1834-?) = Carl Rundberg in 1861
          Carl Johan Rundberg (?-? )
          August Rundberg (1865-? )
          Edward Rundberg (1870-? )
          Oscar Rundberg (1874-? ) (a skilled fiddler)
          Anna Rundberg (1876-? )
      Johannes Gabrielsson (1840-? )
      Carl Gustav Gabrielsson (1843-? )
      Olof Gabrielsson (1845-? ) (never married)
 
(17.1) Maria (Maja) Olofsdotter (1813-? ) = (17.2) Sven Svensson (1820-? )
                         MFM                                                                   MFF
    Children:
      Sven Svensson (1848-? )
      Erik Svensson (1850-? ). He went to Brazil to raise grapes and coffee.
      Maria Stina (Maja) Svensdotter (1853-? ) = ? Engstrom
          Mary Engstrom
      Inga Louisa Svensdotter (1856-? )
      18.1 JOHN PETER SVENSSON (1860-1918)
They lived in Trehörning, Västergötland.

KOLMILA RECONSTRUCTION,
BARRUD, 1988 (PHOTO: ALF GUNNARSON)
Kolmila

My mother Ida told me that her grandmother Maja Olofsdotter (although she didn't know her name; I got that from Alf Gunnarson) married Gabriel Swensson when she was 16 years old. (Information from Sweden says she was 21.) They had the four children listed. Ida called the oldest, who was a neighbor when she was growing up, Faster Lena (faster, an abbreviation for far's sister="father's sister"). Her name was pronounced LAY-nah, which sounds elegant compared to the American pronunciation, LEE-nah. About a year after Gabriel died, Maja married Sven Svensson. Ida told me that Sven had come to Finnerödja years earlier from a Swedish-speaking section of Finland. The reason why he came is lost to history, but whatever it was, it didn't work out, so he became a "handyman." His duties in the community included giving advice, writing letters for people, splinting broken bones, and snapping dislocated shoulders back in place. Some handyman!

Again, a good story from the first edition ruined! The genealogy I received from Alf in Sweden indicates that Sven was from Finnerödja, and his family had lived there for generations. So who was the Finnish handyman? Was it Gabriel Svensson? Or is there confusion here because Sven Svensson's son was named Sven Svensson? Or is the whole story a myth? I need to know, since I've attributed many irrational acts to my Finnish heritage. [See the prolog to this section for the Finnish connection. It goes back much further than any of the Svennsons in this generation.]

BERNT GUNNARSSON
AT ENTRANCE TO KOLARKOJA
BARRUD, 1987
Kolarkoja exterior

In the winter they made charcoal for sale to merchants and blacksmiths. The charcoal was made in a kolmila (KOOL-meel-AH), a pit or pile of timber built in the summer, then covered with leaves, hay and earth. The wood in the kolmila had to be carefully tended for 3 days after it was lit. You needed enough air to keep the fire burning, but not so much that it burned up the charcoal. The charcoal maker slept in a nearby kolarkoja (KOH-lar-KOY-ah=charcoal hut), a small hut of sticks and covered with earth. Inside was a fireplace for cooking and warmth, and along the side an earthen sleeping bench covered with fresh evergreen boughs. Boys often were sent to tend the kolmila. One winter  while tending the fires, Olof froze all his toes. Sven heated a chisel red hot and cut all the boy's toes off. The hot chisel sealed the wounds, and he lived to come to America, although Ida remembered that "Uncle Olof always walked kind of funny."
[My mother wrote that the charcoal pile was called a bösta (BUH-stah), and that's what I wrote previously. Alf Gunnarson concluded that my mother had confused a term, since there's no such thing as a bösta. There is such a thing as a basta (linbastu) which is involved with processing linen in some manner I can't understand. The correct name for the charcoal pile is kolmila. Alf sent a picture of a 1988 project to make a kolmila, just like the olden days. They both built and burned it in the summertime, in order to avoid frozen toes. He also corrected my earlier recollection of what the hut was called (kolarkoja, not koalkulla).]

BERNT GUNNARSSON & LYLE INSIDE KOLARKOJA
BARRUD, 1987. MATTRESS IS FIR BOUGHS.
Kolarkoja interior

In 1877, Olof Gabrielsson, Carl Rundberg, and Carl Rundberg Jr. came to America, stopping in Michigan. Carl Jr. got a job in the mines, and was later killed in a mining accident. Olof and Carl Sr. bought land in Minnesota through a St. Paul land agency, and moved there. The 1888 plat map of Fish Lake township shows Olof Gabrielson owning 40 acres (location # 2) and Carl Ramberg (sic) owning 80 acres (location # 3).

By 1879, the rest of the family, Lena Kaisa Rundberg and her children August, Edward, Oscar and Anna, were able to come to America.

We visited Trehörning in 1984. It is now abandoned land, and all the buildings are gone.

 (17.3) Karl Gustav Karlsson (1832-1889) = (17.4) Gustafwa Jonsdotter (1836-1913)
                           MMF                                                                      MMM
    Children:
      18.2 IDA LOWISA KARLSDOTTER (1864-1943) (pronounced "EE-dah")
      Karl Gustaf Karlsson (1865-1940 ) (never married)
      Johan Oskar Karlsson (1867-1946 ) = Augusta Charlotta Fransson (1876-1952 )  (lived at Barrud, 1905-1941)
          Birgit Karlsdotter (1913-2002) = Gunnar Carlsson (1909-1984 )
              Bernt Gunnarsson (1935-) = Birgitta (summer at Barrud, 1967-present)
              Alf Gunnarson (1937-) = Kaisa (summer at Barrud, 1967-present)
              Britt Gunnarsdotter (1939-2007) = Tor Olauson
              Barbro Gunnarsdotter (1947-) = Owe Gusten
      Per Adolf Karlsson (1871- 1959 ) (never married)
      August Edvard Karlsson (1874-?) = Anna ? (circa 1870?-?)
          Beatrice Eleonora Carlson (1906-?) = Harry Cumming (?-?). They had no children.
They lived in Barrud, Västergötland.

MM'S BIRTHPLACE, BARRUD, CIRCA 1910
Barrud House

When I was growing up on the Lofgren Home Place, an amateurish oil painting hung on the wall showing a small brick-red log house with white trim and a flagpole in front. I never thought much about it, except that Ida said her mother had been born in that house, and it was in Sweden. It was only in going through Ida's writings about family history that I learned that the house in the by of Barrud had been in the family for many generations, and was still occupied by cousins. When we visited Sweden in 1984, and found our way to Barrud, I experienced the interesting shock of entering into the old painting: the house was painted the same color, only brighter, and the old flagpole was still there. It was much better, though, because I could look at the parts that weren't in the picture: the pleasant interior (but how could my great-grandparents have raised 5 children in a four-room house?), the cliché Old Oaken Bucket well in back of the house (still used for all the water needs of the house), and the outbuildings: a barn, machine shed, and the most elaborate wood-paneled outdoor toilet I've ever visited (also still used). The photo shown here of the house (sent by Alf) is probably the source for the oil painting. The location of the house is shown on the 1870 Barrud map.

I would like to have thought that the re-entrance into the old painting was not just an illusion, that I had somehow taken a time voyage, but of course I had not. There were cars all around, and a tractor in the machine shed. Johan Oskar's grandchildren, who live there only during the 5-week summer vacation that's standard for Swedes, take great care to preserve the Barrud house just the way it's always been. Someone in the neighborhood still grows strawberries on the land, but the grandchildren, Bernt (a banker in Malmö) and Alf (who worked for Swedish Railroads in Örebro, is now retired and winters in Skövde) do not. In fact, the residents, who have inherited these houses from the old folks, spend only those summer vacations, plus some nice weekends, maintaining the houses in their pristine condition, at Barrud. It's almost a ghost town the rest of the year. It would be an outdoor museum if it were listed on a map anywhere. Their mother, Birget, lived nearby, in Finnerödja, until she died in 2002.

IN THE BARRUD MAIN ROOM, 1910
(L-R): ADOLF, GUSTAFWA, KARL, AUGUSTA, JOHANN
BarrudFrntRm

From Ida Lofgren's notes:

Mother (Ida Lowisa) worked in Finnerödja at a finishing school. Parents with means would send their young girls to this school. They had teachers for the Three R's, but they also had to learn to weave linen and wool; prepare sheep wool, card and spin, etc.; make soap, both soft and hard; cut patterns. Mother and another girl took care of these students and also showed these things -- knitting and crocheting too. When these young ladies graduated from this school, they were ready to marry the better class men.

Ida Lowisa and August finally came to America in 1893, and Adolf followed in 1907. Adolf didn't like it here, so he moved back to Barrud in 1908 and built a small blacksmith shop that is still standing. Alf Gunnarson showed us the steamer trunk he took to America and brought back with him which is preserved in the family house at Barrud. Adolf, the returned but non-prodigal son (none of our relatives have ever been accused of being wastrels), is in the picture, circa 1910, taken in the living room of the Barrud house. He's on the left. Continuing to the right is my MMM Gustafwa Jonsdotter Karlsson; great uncle Karl Karlsson; Augusta Fransson Karlsson; and her husband, my great uncle Johan Karlsson.

BARRUD, 1984
 
Barrud, 1984
ALF GUNNARSON (L) SHOWING LYLE AND BENGT LÖWGREN
AN AUCTION LOG. JUST BEFORE COMING TO AMERICA,
IDA LOWISA SUCCESSFULLY BID ON A HANDKERCHIEF
BARRUD, SWEDEN, 1984
Alf, Lyle, Bengt

18. SECOND GENERATION (SWENSON):

JOHN PETER AND IDA LOWISA SWENSON
WITH SVEA, CIRCA 1900
John, Ida Lowisa, Svea

(18.1) John Peter Swenson (1860-1918) = (18.2) Ida Lowisa Karlsdotter (1864-1943) in 1893
                           MF                                                                        MM
    Children:
      Svea Elizabeth Swenson (April 15, 1894-May, 1984) in Minneapolis
      Hjalmar August Swenson (May 15, 1896-1977) in Minneapolis
      19.2 IDA VICTORIA SWENSON (March 12, 1898-Sept. 19, 1982) in Fish Lake Township
      Gotha Cornelia Swenson (March 5, 1900 - Dec. 20, 1994)
      Carl Rudolph Swenson (1901-1953)
      Sixten Napoleon Swenson (1903-1969)
      Harold Knute Swenson (1907-1917)

John Peter Swenson served in the Swedish army for 3 years, and also attended agricultural school, where he studied Botany. Over a lifetime, he amassed a large collection of pressed weeds, plants, and grasses, all neatly labeled with their Latin names. Swedes thought Latin was really classy. Carl Von Linne, the 18th century Swede who developed the modern biological naming system, called himself Carolus Linnaeus, and used Latin names for his classifications. John Peter transmitted this love of knowledge to his children. They seldom missed school, and always got books for presents. He worked at the Smith Lumber Mill in Camden, MN in the summer, then as a saw sharpener in the northern Minnesota woods in the winter, when the mill shut down. He spent late winter helping his uncle Olof cut trees and built a house on Olof's land. Sixten and Charlie of the next generation lived in this house, which still stands, but is no longer in the family. In 1893, John Peter had saved enough money to fulfill a promise and send for Ida Lowisa and her younger brother August. They lived in Minneapolis for 4 years, then moved to Fish Lake Township. Clearing the land was very hard, for there had been large pines on the land (3-foot diameter) which had all been stolen, leaving only the stumps behind. Just when things were getting better, John Peter died of a heart attack at age 57.

LUMBER CAMP, MINNESOTA NORTH WOODS.
JOHN PETER SWENSON MUST BE IN THIS PICTURE SOMEWHERE,
BECAUSE THERE'S NO OTHER REASON THE FAMILY WOULD HAVE KEPT IT.
Minnesota Lumber Camp

IDA SWENSON'S SIBLINGS:

Svea Swenson (1894-1984) = Edgar Roberts (December 18, 1893 - April, 1983) in 1923
    Children:
      Joseph Roberts (1924-)
      Edgar Roberts Jr. (1928-)
Svea went to Minneapolis circa 1914, trained at Swedish Hospital, and became an R.N. She enlisted in the U.S. Army as a Red Cross Nurse in 1918, and served in France.

The Chisago County Minnesota in the World War book gives her war history:

Miss Svea Elizabeth Swenson is the daughter of Mrs. Ida L. Swenson of Harris. She was born at Fish Lake, April 15, 1894. September 1, 1918 she offered her services as an Army Nurse, and was sent to Camp Beauregard. November 15th she sailed for France and arrived at Brest on the twenty-third. She was stationed at Base Hospital Nos. 6 and 208 from December 6, 1918 to June 1, 1919. On July 13, 1919 she arrived at Hoboken and was mustered out of the service.

While she was working in the base hospital at Bordeaux, she met a soldier, Ed Roberts from Pipestone, MN. After they returned, they married and lived in Minneapolis. Ed worked for the telephone company. Joe worked for Honeywell, and Ed Jr. taught English at a college in New York. Svea contracted Alzheimer's Disease in her old age. Both she and Ed are buried in Fort Snelling National Cemetary.

On March 3, 2009, Svea was inducted into the Northern Chisago County Historical Society's Hall of Fame in recognition of her service as an army nurse.

Svea Graduate Nurse
Svea in WW1
Svea & Ed, 1952
SVEA, GRADUATE NURSE
SVEA IN WWI UNIFORM
SVEA & EDGAR, 1952

Hjalmar Swenson (May 15, 1896-1977)=Alvira Lemon(?-?) in 1920
    Children:
(L-R): DAVID & JAMES SWENSON, 2006
David & James Swenson
      Wanda Swenson (1922-)
      John Swenson (Feb. 3, 1927-?)
      James Swenson (1931-)
      David Swenson (1935-)
Hjalmar attended Agricultural School, and was drafted in the army for WWI. When John Peter died in 1918, the army agreed to release Hjalmar in time to plant the spring crops. His release finally came through in May, 1919, after the armistice, and a little late for the 1918 spring crops.

The Chisago County Minnesota in the World War book gives his war history:

Hjalmar August Swenson: Private, Co. G, 35oth Reg., 88th Div.; son of Mrs. Ida L. Swenson, Harris; born May 15, 1896 at Minneapolis; entered service February 24, 1918 at Center City; Camp Dodge; transferred to Co. M, 139th Reg., 35th Div.; promoted from private to 1st class private; overseas April 245h; went into action July 30th, Wesserling Sector, St. Mihiel, Argonne, Verdun; mustered out May 2, 1919, at Camp Grant.

He taught school for a year after returning in 1919. After marrying, he and Alvira moved to Minneapolis, where he worked as an accountant at Deere & Webber (agricultural equipment distributors) until 1927, when they moved to Bismark, North Dakota and he worked for the Highway Department.

In August 2006, Mark Swenson (James's son) invited us to a reunion of Hjalmar's remaining children and their children (John has died). Hjalmar was a talented violinist and singer, and music certainly runs in the family. Mark's house has lots of musical instruments, so I picked up a guitar and we sang a few songs. I also noticed that, when we sang grace before eating everyone was singing in tune, including some spectacular harmonies. Liz took a few pictures so anyone interested can see what Hjalmar's children look like now.

(L-R): MIKE LOFGREN, WANDA SWENSON CASEY,
LYLE LOFGREN, 2006
Wanda Casey, Mike & Lyle Lofgren

Gotha Swenson (March 5, 1900 - Dec. 20, 1994) = Ernest Brian Wilcox (July 28, 1899 - Oct. 14, 1960)
    Children:
      Jean G. Wilcox (1921-) = Rollo Dimmers (Dec. 31, 1916 - Mar. 29, 1997)
         Janice Louise Dimmers (1941-)
         Robert Peter Dimmers (1942-)
         Rollo Ernest Dimmers Jr. (1943-)
         James Alfred Wilcox Dimmers (1946-)
      Harold Ralph Wilcox (Sept. 23, 1923- Dec. 9, 1992) = Corrinne Waste (Aug. 6, 1922 - Aug. 16, 1988)
         Gary Harold Wilcox (1947-)
         Craig Charles Wilcox (1948-)
         Harold Ralph Wilcox (1949-)
      Lois Rachel Wilcox (Dec. 30, 1924-Feb. 7, 1989) = Russell LaMotte (Jan. 10, 1921-May 1996)
         Linda Marie LaMotte (1941-)
         Rosiland LaMotte (1944-)
         Lois LaMotte (1951-)
         Mary LaMotte (Jan. 18, 1956-May 14, 2006)= Merle Lofgren
            Jenny Lofgren (1978 - ) = Tom Wolfers (? -)
            Jerry Lofgren (1978 - )
            Joe Lofgren (? - )
         Lori Ann LaMotte (1957-)
      Donna Lorraine Wilcox (1926 - ) = Robert E. Malchow (May 5, 1914 - Oct. 13, 1977)
      Elaine Barbara Wilcox (1931-) = William Lessard (Oct. 21, 1928 - April 3, 1999)
         Willie Jay Lessard (1949-)
         Ernest Brian Lessard (1951-)
         Rickie Antone Lessard (1953-)
         Susan Taylor Lessard (1957-)
         Dennis Michael Lessard (1959-)
         John Louis Lessard (1961-)
         David James Lessard (1963-)
         James Kelly Lessard (1967-)
       Brian Bert Wilcox (1934-) = Roxanne D.J. Smith (1939-)
         Roxanne Marie Wilcox (1957-)
         Melissa Lee Wilcox (1960-)
         Kimberly Briann Wilcox (1963-)
         Danelle Lee Wilcox (1964-)
         Tori Maureen Wilcox (1972-)
         Robb Ernest Wilcox (1973-)
      Kathryn Marie Wilcox (1937-) = Richard Iverson (1935-)
         Catherine Marie Iverson (?-)
         David James Iverson (?-)
         William Richard Iverson (1956-)
         Richard Jay Iverson (1957-)
         Julie Ann Iverson (1958-)
      William Wilcox (1941 - ) = Jackie Tobin (1944 - )
         Jodi Lee Wilcox (1969 - )
         Robin Dana Wilcox (1970 - )
         Tanya Jean Wilcox (1972 - )
         Telly Wilcox (1974 - )

Gotha moved to White Bear Lake, where many of her surviving children still live. She married Ernest Wilcox of Sunrise, MN. He was a descendant of an Englishman named Edward Wilcox (~1603 - 1660), who emigrated to Rhode Island circa 1630.

Gotha and her family did not visit the farm often, so I did not know any of these cousins very well, with the exception of Rachel. During the depression, they had a hard time caring for all those children, so Rachel stayed with Elmer and Ida for awhile. She formed an attachment to the Harris area, and so she and Russell LaMotte moved to Harris, across the road from the Day farm, after he retired. Rachel regularly came over to help Elmer and Ida when they were old.

Rachel's daughter, Mary, married Merle Lofgren, so their children are my first cousins, twice removed, from both directions. Mary was one of the most patient, generous, sweet-tempered people I've met. She was often in pain from intractable headaches. She was finally diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. We visited her in early May of 2006, at which time I recorded some family history from her. She was in good spirits but tired. She died within 2 weeks, age 50. The Harris Lutheran church overflowed for her funeral, and she had a motorcycle escort to the graveyard. We all miss her terribly.

MARY  LOFGREN AND LYLE, MAY 2006
Mary Lofgren

Carl (Charlie) Swenson (1901-1953). Never married.
Sixten Swenson (1903-1969) = Gladys Eide (?-?) in 1946. No children.

SWENSON POSTCARD SENT TO SWEDEN, 1924
(L-R): WOODPILE, ANNA CARLSON, IDA LOWISA, IDA JUNIOR,
BEATRICE CARLSON, SVEA, SIXTEN
Swenson Family, 1924

Although he was named Carl, the next of Mom's siblings was always called Charlie. He and Sixten, two years younger, stayed on the Swenson home farm and worked it. Sixten was tall, wiry, self-educated to an extreme, with a distinctive basso voice and a fondness for sesquipedalian words. He was not afraid to speak out on issues or correct ignorant opinions. The other farmers in the neighborhood, who were used to talking mostly about the weather, didn't know what to make of a conversation that included "speleology" and "disconcerting." As such, he was an object of ridicule in the community, but he didn't let that slow him down.

Although equally well-read, and older, Charlie was the opposite: short, quiet, and diffident. Everyone automatically called them "Sixten and Charlie," never "Charlie and Sixten." Like everyone else, they kept cows and grew the crops necessary to feed them, all the stuff that dairy farmers do. The house on the Swenson Home Place was always kept very warm. Sixten and Charlie smoked (all the other men on both sides of the family chewed snuff), so the house smelled of stale cigarettes. It was dark in the parlor, and the furniture was very old: I had the impression that nothing had been moved or changed in years.

Sixten Invention

The conservatism in home decoration didn't extend to other areas, though. Sixten always thought progressively. For example, he applied his formidable ingenuity to a vexing problem involving the attachment of milk-can tags. The creamery milk truck picked up 10-gallon milk cans daily, leaving empties for the next day's pickup. To identify your milk, you wrote your account number on tags and affixed a tag to each milk can, usually 4-8 cans daily for each farm. A typical can used a split ring like a key ring attached to a hole in the handle to hold the tag. Sixten thought this was too cumbersome, so he invented a device in the form of a 3" blunt arrow to facilitate tag attachment. The tag hole slipped over the point and was caught so it couldn't escape, saving several precious seconds for each can tagged. It would be stamped out of sheet metal, so Sixten bought a used stamping machine, ran it in his spare time, and sold the result to local creameries. It was a minor thrill for me when I'd get to attach one of our tags to a milk can that had a holder made by My Uncle, The Inventor. Sixten applied for a patent. I remember being disappointed when he showed me a letter rejecting the application on the grounds it was not original enough. It was original enough for me. His sales were limited, because he had to convince the creameries to buy the holders, although the farmers were the ones who benefited. Sixten stamped out many more holders than he sold, and at his auction years later, someone bought thousands of them for a pittance. I can't imagine what the successful bidder used them for.

Both Sixten and Charlie were bachelors, and it seemed that nothing would ever change their lifestyle, even after Ida Lowisa died. Then, at the end of WWII, Sixten got a job in North Branch with the Dept. of Agriculture, inspecting the seals on corncribs on farms to which the government had lent money based on their stored corn. I forget the name of the program. It had something to do with Parity, whatever that is. The idea was that Sixten would bring home hard cash, while Charlie would continue to cook meals and run the farm. There was no way to predict that such a minor change would wreak such major havoc, not just with Sixten and Charlie and their comfortable lives, but the whole community.

In North Branch, Sixten regularly ate lunch at the Cozy Cafe, where he met Gladys, the waitress. She was a buxom (i.e., fleshy) widow, brash, self-assured, with a round of bright rouge on each cheek. They married, and Gladys moved onto the Swenson Home Place with a view towards cleaning up their act. She forced them to give up smoking and threw out all the old furniture without asking any of the relatives. Ida Jr. somehow managed to save the crummy old mantle clock we have in our living room, the last artifact of John Peter and Ida Lowisa Swenson. Gladys burned all the family momentos, including John Peter Swenson's pressed flower collection, along with their Latin names. She had the house repainted, recarpeted, wallpapered, and remodeled. She threw out Sixten's book collection, and was not interested in his ideas. She was a famous gossip who was not afraid to give her opinion about other people. She spent most of her time listening in on the telephone party line, and, to make use of her talent, became the Harris correspondent for the North Branch Review. Thereafter, the Harris News consisted of everything anyone said on the telephone, much to the anger of the locals.

Charlie developed a brain tumor that made his eyes protrude alarmingly. Two operations helped, but did not stop the inevitable progress. He died in 1953 at age 51. Sixten sold the farm in 1968, and they moved to a small house in North Branch. He died of a heart attack in 1969 while shoveling snow. Gladys sold the house, moved to Florida, where she found a gentleman friend. She became senile and spent all her money. The gentleman friend pinned a note to her coat and sent her back to North Branch on a bus. The county put her in the local nursing home, Green Acres. Later, when Elmer was also at Green Acres, I would visit him there and we would get exercise by slowly walking up and down the halls among the helpless people lying about strapped onto gurneys and wheel chairs. Gladys was one of them. "There's the Old Bitch," said Elmer when he saw her, shocking language he did not normally use. Then he looked around at the rest of the patients. "You know," he said, "I never thought I would ever be in a place where I was the smartest one here."

Harold Swenson (1907-1917)
In 1917, everyone in the family except Ida Jr. and John Peter caught Diphtheria. There was no epidemic, as they were the only ones to catch it, so the source is a mystery. Sixten developed "Inflammatory Rheumatism" (now called Rheumatic Fever) and was sick for two years. The heart damage may have contributed to his death (see above). The family was quarantined, and so could not leave the farm. They fed the milk to the cows. A helpful neighbor would stop at the end of the driveway, and someone from the family would yell out what provisions they needed. Harold had the worst case, and he died from it. When I was born, Ida wanted to name me Harold in his memory, but she was outvoted by strong-willed Esther, who named me after Lyle Griggs, a neighbor. That turned out to be a good thing. My wife's father was named Harold and Liz said she'd have never married me if my name was Harold since the two of them never got along. Providence intervenes in peculiar ways.

August Carlson's Letters Home


Shortly after Harold died, August Carlson wrote a letter to his brother Johan, Johan's wife Augusta, and their daughter Birgit, who were living at Barrud. Alf sent me a copy of the letter, and I made the following approximate translation. I'm including the letter because it seems a waste to translate it and do nothing with it. Also, I find the range of topics covered fascinating.
ANNA, AUGUST, BEATRICE CARLSON
CIRCA 1920(?). PHOTO FROM ALF GUNNARSON.
August Carlson Family

    Bruno, Minnesota
    12 September 1917
Brother, Sister-in-Law, and Birgit,

We are feeling well, and wishing the same to you. We got your letter awhile ago, and thank you.

It is good to hear from you. I think of Barrud the way it was long ago. This doesn't change, and will continue as long as I live. Time changes things, but not my childhood home.

I saw in the newspaper that Sweden may enter the war. I hope they hold out, for it will end before long. As the song goes, "no day is so long that it has no evening." I assume many, many in Europe wish that the evening had already come.

Swensons had hard times this summer. Svea, as you know, studies nursing, so that by 1918, she will have served her apprenticeship. She came home for a visit, and then got diphtheria, so they were quarantined for 2 months. The youngest boy, Harold, died one morning, and had to be buried by that afternoon. No one could go to the graveyard but the pallbearers. Ida Lowisa Swenson was in bed for a week but the rest of the family was not bedridden. They are now all well again and it is a good thing.

Hjalmar Swenson has been called into the army, so he is in training to be like Swen Dufwa (per Alf, Swen Dufwa is a fictional soldier in a poem by Johan Ludvig Runeberg). He seems happy to serve country and government to give the Germans a good beating, which they've earned, if I may say, for their evil attack, which will soon be finished, on the whole world. Your neighbor Russia seems to be in a difficult situation, so now the good Barrud's religious society have little prophecy to speak of. I wish I could hear Viktor Moberg and the other old Barrud patriarchs, how they must now bluster with one another. But perhaps the newspapers have changed the news, as happened in my childhood. "Newspapers lie, and we believe them," says the old proverb.

We have had very dry weather this summer, so the hay harvest was substantially worse this year than our needs. Otherwise, the rest of the harvest was good. Animals are much more expensive than we'd like, but not as pricey as in Sweden. But the government is starting to take a hand in production, so the USA will probably act like European provinces, and it is probably the only way to save the country from hardships which otherwise occur when war rages.

We have 6 cows now with 9 young calves, but we could feed twice that many if all the land were cultivated. But it takes quite awhile to start anew and bring about order. "Although starting is hard, each day it goes better."

Nowadays they (the US government) open and read all letters you send to us, and presumably those which go to Sweden. I write anyway. It is fun to hear from you. We are healthy and feel well. Wish you all health and liveliness. Beatrice has a camera, so now we'll send photographs next time.

Best of greetings,

Fraternally,
A.E. Carlson

In 1940, August received word that his oldest brother, Karl, had died in Sweden. In response, he wrote this letter home. It was his last letter to Sweden. The Angel of Death mercifully kept him from learning what would happen during the rest of the century. Translation is by Alf Gunnarson:

    Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 26 – 1940

Received your letter yesterday, March 25, with the message of affliction, that Karl has left all earthy troubles and gone away and he is not coming back. There is no exception – all of us must set off on that walk! Well, he – like all of us in the family – has reached maturity, when the harvester tells us that the sands of our life have run down. "You must be ready," he says, "to-night I will call upon you!" Yes, Karl – like all of us – has lived in an exemplary fashion, so may God rest his soul! We come and we leave, but one day we leave forever.

Our mother's father was born in Barrud and died there and so did mother and Karl. For a very long time Barrud has been the native place, where to be born, to live and to die. I remember Barrud as good now as I did when I was at home, but changes probably have taken place. The roads and other things surely are more up to date now.

Mother Anna has been ill since Christmas, so it has been very tedious. We had to take her to the hospital. After Christmas she was at home for three weeks and we had a nurse at home but a month ago we had to send her back to the hospital. She is there now but we hope we can have her at home soon. She is suffering from a weak heart and she has been seriously ill. Anyway, she is still alive and we can just hope. But when the angel of Death orders you to come, then the hope for being on earth is gone!

I hope you will write after the funeral, so I get to know who carried Karl to his last “hiding-place”. Adolf, who has a good pen, will offer a few minutes to let me and Ida know how things are going on. I may finish off with greetings from us - to you - and be of good cheer! We must reflect upon the fact that the departure will be at hand for all of us!

Kindly

A E Carlson

Music in the Swenson Family


LYLE AND ALF GUNNARSON (WITH ACCORDION),
BARRUD, 1987
Alf with accordion
As I said earlier, both John Peter and Ida Lowisa Swenson had excellent singing voices. Oscar Rundberg (Chapter 17) was well-known in the community as an expert fiddler. Other fiddlers spoke admiringly about his skill with odd tunes, most likely the Swedish dances, such as pålskas (not the same as a polka), mazurkas, hambos, or gånglåts (walking tunes) that didn't survive long in the new world. Ida remembered that "Olof had a lovely voice and sang us to sleep evenings. He knew many Swedish songs and visar." A visa is a Swedish quasi-folk song, usually composed instead of being traditional, and mostly of the 19th century sentimental or comic variety. Hjalmar and Sixten both played fiddle and Hjalmar's children are all musically oriented. I never heard Hjalmar play, but I heard Sixten many times on Sunday afternoons when relatives gathered for coffee. He could sight-read notes as well as play by ear, so he learned some fairly esoteric jigs and reels in addition to the standard Minnesota Swede repertoire. Charlie played guitar and sang, and during their younger days, Sixten and Charlie played for dances locally, in such places as the Fish Lake Grange Hall. Sixten could also sing and play tenor banjo and ukulele.

Ida wrote the following about her mother, Ida Lowisa:

In Halifax harbor, the boat landing was delayed for a long time. Mother somehow found a guitar, thumbed to keep time, and led in singing to pass some of the time away. She knew a lot of songs. When Mother & Dad lived in Minneapolis, they both sang in Skogaberg's Church, near Swedish Hospital.

Along towards midnight at the midsummer celebration in Barrud in 1987, someone brought out a guitar, and Liz & I sang some American mountain songs to the Barrud Swedes (maybe 50 of them) who gathered in an old barn that served as a dance hall. They were very appreciative: I think they were amazed that Americans would know anything that wasn't on TV (they all watched "Dynasty"). In fact, they were a better audience than we usually have here. When I ran across the notes about Ida Lowisa entertaining the emigrants in Halifax harbor, I remembered about us singing at Barrud in the twilit midnight, and how good it felt. It'll give me some impetus to at least keep my fiddle in tune, maybe even put new strings on my guitar.



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