Information found in the Lite släktforskning documentation obtained from Helene och Gösta Carlsson was translated and compiled by Ketty Lindqvist-Nisser into English.
There are at least a dozen variations in the spelling of most names and most of them are known to have been used by related branches of the family, or to have been used
in Church Records or censuses.
Census takers would often guess the age and name spelling, without asking, of people they recorded. Many people during the early censuses may not have known how to read
or write or know their exact birthdate.
Ages recorded have been seen with variances up to 5-10 years!
In some cases, different spellings have pertained to the same person. The variations already observed are: Lindkvist, Lindqvist and the Americanized Lindquist.
The primary purpose of this publication is to record, insofar as possible, the genealogy and history of the descendants of Johan Lindkvist, born in 1878 and died in 1958, who married Eva Fredrika Gustafsson Lindgren,born in 1881 and died in 1954.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Swedish History
Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages.
In the 17th century, the country expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire. The empire grew to be one of the great powers of Europe in the 17th and early 18th century.
During the Thirty Years' War, Sweden conquered approximately half of the Holy Roman states. Gustav Adolphus planned to become the new Holy Roman Emperor, ruling over a united Scandinavia and the Holy Roman states, but he died at the Battle of Lützen in 1632. After the Battle of Nördlingen, Sweden's only significant military defeat of the war, pro-Swedish sentiment among the German states faded. These German provinces excluded themselves from Swedish power one by one, leaving Sweden with only a few northern German territories.
Under the rule of Charles X, after the treaty of Roskilde in 1658, Sweden was the third largest country in Europe by land area, only surpassed by Russia and Spain. One-third of the Finnish population died in the devastating famine that struck the country in 1696. Famine also hit Sweden, killing roughly 10% of Sweden's population.
Charles turned against Poland-Lithuania and defeating the Polish king Augustus II and his Saxon allies at the Battle of Kliszow in 1702. Charles XII attempted to invade Norway 1716; however, he was shot dead at Fredriksten fortress in 1718. Forced to cede large areas of land in the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, Sweden also lost its place as an empire and as the dominant state on the Baltic Sea.
In the 18th century, Sweden began running out of enough resources to maintain its territories outside Scandinavia. The eastern half of Sweden, present-day Finland, was finally lost to Russia in 1809.
Sweden allied itself against its traditional ally and benefactor, France, in the Napoleonic Wars. Sweden's role in the Battle of Leipzig gave it the authority to force Denmark-Norway, an ally of France, to cede Norway to the King of Sweden on 14 January 1814 in exchange for northern German provinces, at the Treaty of Kiel.
The Norwegian attempts to keep their status as a sovereign state were rejected by the Swedish king, Charles XIII. He launched a military campaign against Norway on 27 July 1814, ending in the Convention of Moss, which forced Norway into a personal union with Sweden under the Swedish crown, which lasted until 1905. This was the last war in which Sweden was directly involved.
Today, Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy of government.
Mass emigration
During the 18th and 19th centuries, between 1750 and 1850, the population in Sweden doubled. Mass emigration to America became the only way to prevent famine and rebellion; over 1% of the population emigrated annually during the 1880s. Nevertheless, Sweden remained poor, retaining a nearly entirely agricultural economy even as Denmark and Western European countries began to industrialize.
Many looked towards America for a better life during this time. It is believed that between 1850 and 1910 more than one million Swedes moved to the United States. In the early 20th century, more Swedes lived in Chicago than in Gothenburg (Sweden's second
largest city).
In the 17th century, the country expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire. The empire grew to be one of the great powers of Europe in the 17th and early 18th century.
During the Thirty Years' War, Sweden conquered approximately half of the Holy Roman states. Gustav Adolphus planned to become the new Holy Roman Emperor, ruling over a united Scandinavia and the Holy Roman states, but he died at the Battle of Lützen in 1632. After the Battle of Nördlingen, Sweden's only significant military defeat of the war, pro-Swedish sentiment among the German states faded. These German provinces excluded themselves from Swedish power one by one, leaving Sweden with only a few northern German territories.
Under the rule of Charles X, after the treaty of Roskilde in 1658, Sweden was the third largest country in Europe by land area, only surpassed by Russia and Spain. One-third of the Finnish population died in the devastating famine that struck the country in 1696. Famine also hit Sweden, killing roughly 10% of Sweden's population.
Charles turned against Poland-Lithuania and defeating the Polish king Augustus II and his Saxon allies at the Battle of Kliszow in 1702. Charles XII attempted to invade Norway 1716; however, he was shot dead at Fredriksten fortress in 1718. Forced to cede large areas of land in the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, Sweden also lost its place as an empire and as the dominant state on the Baltic Sea.
In the 18th century, Sweden began running out of enough resources to maintain its territories outside Scandinavia. The eastern half of Sweden, present-day Finland, was finally lost to Russia in 1809.
Sweden allied itself against its traditional ally and benefactor, France, in the Napoleonic Wars. Sweden's role in the Battle of Leipzig gave it the authority to force Denmark-Norway, an ally of France, to cede Norway to the King of Sweden on 14 January 1814 in exchange for northern German provinces, at the Treaty of Kiel.
The Norwegian attempts to keep their status as a sovereign state were rejected by the Swedish king, Charles XIII. He launched a military campaign against Norway on 27 July 1814, ending in the Convention of Moss, which forced Norway into a personal union with Sweden under the Swedish crown, which lasted until 1905. This was the last war in which Sweden was directly involved.
Today, Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy of government.
Mass emigration
During the 18th and 19th centuries, between 1750 and 1850, the population in Sweden doubled. Mass emigration to America became the only way to prevent famine and rebellion; over 1% of the population emigrated annually during the 1880s. Nevertheless, Sweden remained poor, retaining a nearly entirely agricultural economy even as Denmark and Western European countries began to industrialize.
Many looked towards America for a better life during this time. It is believed that between 1850 and 1910 more than one million Swedes moved to the United States. In the early 20th century, more Swedes lived in Chicago than in Gothenburg (Sweden's second
largest city).
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Lindquist, Fred Sr. 1903-1992
Fridolf Lindkvist/Jon Fred Lindquist
Birth 1903 May 29 in Fisktjarnliden, Sweden
Death 1992 October 20 in Ft. Collins, CO
Aged 90 Years 5 months
Sverige postage, 1911
First born son and named after his parents in Fisktjarnliden, Sweden. Name spelling changed when he came to the USA, in 1921. Naturalized at age 39 on March 15, 1943 in Albany County, Holmes, Wyoming.
Gripsholm, 1930
Fred Jon Lindkvist came to the U.S. at age 21 on his cousin's (Jon Fred) passport. He could not speak English. He Went to Minnesota to whomever sponsered the trip. When asked how much money he had when he arrived at Ellis Island, the answer was $5.00.
He had a book as a child with a picture of an indian floating down a river on a log. He decided he would like to do that. And he did when he was doing the log drives in the 1940's.
In 1930, he worked in Minnesota. It cost whatever he made for room and board. He decided to hop a freight train that took him to Wyoming and the timber business. He made some good money and went back to Minnesota. It was hard times and he soon spent or loaned his money. He rode the train back to Wyoming, and there he stayed.
Married
Lucille Mae Newlun
July 30, 1935
Marriage Certificate signed John F. Wagan
In Ft. Collins, Colo
Fred and Lucille Newlun Lindquist married, in 1935, in Ft. Collins, Colorado.
When Johan (the father) died in 1950's, the property was given to Grandpa Fred, being the oldest son. He signed the property over to his youngest brother, Arnie. He lived in the house, where Fred was born in Fisktjarnliden, Sweden (settled in 1732).
[Lindquist, L. June, 2011]
Jon Fred Lindquist was a young man in Sweden in the late 1920s and decided to emigrate to America.
This all started when his cousin, Fred, had purchased a ticket aboard a ship sailing to New York. Fred decided he was not going to use his ticket to sail to America. Shortly before the departure date of the ship, Jon discovered his girlfriend with another man. So Jon goes to his cousin and asks him if he could use his ticket to sail to America and pay him back when he makes enough money. Fred agrees and gives him the ticket and his passport. There was not enough time for Jon to get his own passport before the ship set sail and they, being cousins, shared the same names, Jon Fred and Fred Jon Lindkvist and looked enough alike in the ID photo to pass upon inspection.
Jon sails to America and settles with other Swedes in St. Paul, Minnesota and gets work in an Armour slaughter house. With the oncoming Depression, layoffs eventually force many men out of work. Jon, now Fred, offers up his position in an attempt so that his manager, with a wife and child, could save his job.
Fred and a friend of his decide to head west in search of work. Upon hearing of a work lead at a timber mill, Fred heads to Wyoming, outside of Laramie, and becomes a lumber jack, up in the hills in Keystone.
Hampton Inn Laramie, WY
Keystone mine
He would later meet and fall in love with red-headed Lucille, who worked in the cook house for the timber mill. She had lived next door to the lumber mill owner with her parents in Colorado. They soon married and had a son, Freddie.
Freddie Lindquist, 1942
A few years later, Lucille gave birth to twin girls, Janet and Joan.
With the outbreak of WWII, the US government is concerned about Swedish migrant workers returning to Sweden, as their skill and labor working for the mill was needed for the war effort. Fred was questioned by the mill manager and asked, what would make him stay? He said he wanted to stay in America and wanted to be a citizen. Without taking classes and studying for the test, as they were too far away, a judge comes up to administer the test and he passes. He is granted full citizenship (with his cousin’s passport) and stays in Wyoming.
logtruck 1942
In around 1943-44, the lumber camp accepts some Germans as POWs, along with other prisoners of the Germans, who were not enemies of the USA, such as some Eastern-Europeans (Polish, Serbian, Hungarians…). The Germans were detained and worked in the mill with the other POWs, who were allowed to roam free and as they pleased, bunking among the other mill workers already there.
One of these POWs would often come by the Lindquist’s house and sit on the floor with the infant twin girls. Lucille said he would just sit there and cry while gazing at the girls. He talked about how he was told that his whole family had been killed back home in the war, so he had nothing to go back to. He deeply missed his little children and wife he had lost forever.
Janet and Joan Lindquist, 1943
At the end of the war, the POWs are all returned back to Europe. Many of them even returned to work at the lumber camp.
One day, the Lindquist’s get a letter from far away. It’s a letter in an envelope, written in blue-crayon on something that looked like old brown butcher paper. It was from the POW who used to come by the house and sit with Janet and Joan.
Inside, it had written something like:
Dear Lindquist,
Wife alive.
Children alive.
It was difficult to read the writing and his signed name. Janet doesn’t recollect what country in Eastern Europe the letter might have come from.
Freddie said the man was from Germany. Freddie was in Ft. Collins going to school, during this time.
Lucille would remark on how everyone involved in the war, the Germans, the Swedes, the Eastern-Europeans, and the Americans all shared similar cultures and a common fear (an ethno-relative mindset). Nobody knew what would happen, because of the war. “Everybody was scared,” (experiencing the same anxieties), and everybody was happy to be in Wyoming.
Lucille also talked about the German POWs and what “young, scared boys” they were. The Germans were mindful in their situation in being away from the war, yet in a new country not sure how they would be accepted by the people there. They were just kids, like her younger brother, a Marine in the Pacific fighting the Japanese. She also thought that the American Army guards were “assholes” and acted like jerks with their mindless authority over the German POWs.
Certificate of Naturalizing
Dated: March 15, 1943
Age: 39
5 ft. 8 in. tall
155 lbs.
Signed: Jon Fred Lindquist
Swedish spelling: Lindkvist
State of Wyoming
Albany County, Holmes, Wyoming
Children
Frederick Duane, Jr.
Janet Kay Croft
Joan Ann Harding
A Trip Over the Golden Gate
We were heading south from Oregon. Somehow she got on the northbound side. She tried once or twice more but always ended up going the wrong way. Finally, the last time when she realized what she had done she made a u-turn right in the middle of the (Golden Gate) bridge. She had to drive over two concrete islands to do it. When the toll booth guy saw what she did, he about blew a gasket. Told her he would only let her off the bridge if she promised to NEVER come back. This was in the '50s. We hit the toll booth going each way several times. That's why the guy remembered us. We had just paid the toll and could not have had time to go all the way across and come all the way back. Also, you have to remember this was the '50s and highway signs and directions have much improved since then. In addition, paved roads were a luxury to people used to driving on gravel roads. Freeways, were mind boggling.
[Croft, J. June, 2011]
Swedish Visitors
In 1970, Fred went back to Sweden the first time sense he left (41 years).
In 1976, Freddie took relatives on a visit of the southwest USA. Cousin Ketty spoke English.
March 1978, some of them (Swedish relatives) visited us in Arvada, CO and San Diego, CA.
In 1979, Karl Gunner had a second trip to Colorado.
In 1984, Lucille, Fred and Janet went to Sweden.
Per-Arne Lindkvist and son Patrick Lindkvist visited us in 1991, a cousin the same age as Freddie. Patrick was 22 at the time. Patrick came to Arvada as an exchange student.
Fred and Mark flew to Florida, in 1992, to see Gunner on vacation.
Gunner Lindvist and Lena Wiklund (brother and Sister) visited us in 1994, Colorado.
[Lindquist, L. June, 2011]
Birth 1903 May 29 in Fisktjarnliden, Sweden
Death 1992 October 20 in Ft. Collins, CO
Aged 90 Years 5 months
Sverige postage, 1911
First born son and named after his parents in Fisktjarnliden, Sweden. Name spelling changed when he came to the USA, in 1921. Naturalized at age 39 on March 15, 1943 in Albany County, Holmes, Wyoming.
Gripsholm, 1930
Fred Jon Lindkvist came to the U.S. at age 21 on his cousin's (Jon Fred) passport. He could not speak English. He Went to Minnesota to whomever sponsered the trip. When asked how much money he had when he arrived at Ellis Island, the answer was $5.00.
He had a book as a child with a picture of an indian floating down a river on a log. He decided he would like to do that. And he did when he was doing the log drives in the 1940's.
In 1930, he worked in Minnesota. It cost whatever he made for room and board. He decided to hop a freight train that took him to Wyoming and the timber business. He made some good money and went back to Minnesota. It was hard times and he soon spent or loaned his money. He rode the train back to Wyoming, and there he stayed.
Married
Lucille Mae Newlun
July 30, 1935
Marriage Certificate signed John F. Wagan
In Ft. Collins, Colo
Fred and Lucille Newlun Lindquist married, in 1935, in Ft. Collins, Colorado.
When Johan (the father) died in 1950's, the property was given to Grandpa Fred, being the oldest son. He signed the property over to his youngest brother, Arnie. He lived in the house, where Fred was born in Fisktjarnliden, Sweden (settled in 1732).
[Lindquist, L. June, 2011]
Jon Fred Lindquist was a young man in Sweden in the late 1920s and decided to emigrate to America.
This all started when his cousin, Fred, had purchased a ticket aboard a ship sailing to New York. Fred decided he was not going to use his ticket to sail to America. Shortly before the departure date of the ship, Jon discovered his girlfriend with another man. So Jon goes to his cousin and asks him if he could use his ticket to sail to America and pay him back when he makes enough money. Fred agrees and gives him the ticket and his passport. There was not enough time for Jon to get his own passport before the ship set sail and they, being cousins, shared the same names, Jon Fred and Fred Jon Lindkvist and looked enough alike in the ID photo to pass upon inspection.
Jon sails to America and settles with other Swedes in St. Paul, Minnesota and gets work in an Armour slaughter house. With the oncoming Depression, layoffs eventually force many men out of work. Jon, now Fred, offers up his position in an attempt so that his manager, with a wife and child, could save his job.
Fred and a friend of his decide to head west in search of work. Upon hearing of a work lead at a timber mill, Fred heads to Wyoming, outside of Laramie, and becomes a lumber jack, up in the hills in Keystone.
Hampton Inn Laramie, WY
Keystone mine
He would later meet and fall in love with red-headed Lucille, who worked in the cook house for the timber mill. She had lived next door to the lumber mill owner with her parents in Colorado. They soon married and had a son, Freddie.
Freddie Lindquist, 1942
A few years later, Lucille gave birth to twin girls, Janet and Joan.
With the outbreak of WWII, the US government is concerned about Swedish migrant workers returning to Sweden, as their skill and labor working for the mill was needed for the war effort. Fred was questioned by the mill manager and asked, what would make him stay? He said he wanted to stay in America and wanted to be a citizen. Without taking classes and studying for the test, as they were too far away, a judge comes up to administer the test and he passes. He is granted full citizenship (with his cousin’s passport) and stays in Wyoming.
logtruck 1942
In around 1943-44, the lumber camp accepts some Germans as POWs, along with other prisoners of the Germans, who were not enemies of the USA, such as some Eastern-Europeans (Polish, Serbian, Hungarians…). The Germans were detained and worked in the mill with the other POWs, who were allowed to roam free and as they pleased, bunking among the other mill workers already there.
One of these POWs would often come by the Lindquist’s house and sit on the floor with the infant twin girls. Lucille said he would just sit there and cry while gazing at the girls. He talked about how he was told that his whole family had been killed back home in the war, so he had nothing to go back to. He deeply missed his little children and wife he had lost forever.
Janet and Joan Lindquist, 1943
At the end of the war, the POWs are all returned back to Europe. Many of them even returned to work at the lumber camp.
One day, the Lindquist’s get a letter from far away. It’s a letter in an envelope, written in blue-crayon on something that looked like old brown butcher paper. It was from the POW who used to come by the house and sit with Janet and Joan.
Inside, it had written something like:
Dear Lindquist,
Wife alive.
Children alive.
It was difficult to read the writing and his signed name. Janet doesn’t recollect what country in Eastern Europe the letter might have come from.
Freddie said the man was from Germany. Freddie was in Ft. Collins going to school, during this time.
Lucille would remark on how everyone involved in the war, the Germans, the Swedes, the Eastern-Europeans, and the Americans all shared similar cultures and a common fear (an ethno-relative mindset). Nobody knew what would happen, because of the war. “Everybody was scared,” (experiencing the same anxieties), and everybody was happy to be in Wyoming.
Lucille also talked about the German POWs and what “young, scared boys” they were. The Germans were mindful in their situation in being away from the war, yet in a new country not sure how they would be accepted by the people there. They were just kids, like her younger brother, a Marine in the Pacific fighting the Japanese. She also thought that the American Army guards were “assholes” and acted like jerks with their mindless authority over the German POWs.
Certificate of Naturalizing
Dated: March 15, 1943
Age: 39
5 ft. 8 in. tall
155 lbs.
Signed: Jon Fred Lindquist
Swedish spelling: Lindkvist
State of Wyoming
Albany County, Holmes, Wyoming
Children
Frederick Duane, Jr.
Janet Kay Croft
Joan Ann Harding
A Trip Over the Golden Gate
We were heading south from Oregon. Somehow she got on the northbound side. She tried once or twice more but always ended up going the wrong way. Finally, the last time when she realized what she had done she made a u-turn right in the middle of the (Golden Gate) bridge. She had to drive over two concrete islands to do it. When the toll booth guy saw what she did, he about blew a gasket. Told her he would only let her off the bridge if she promised to NEVER come back. This was in the '50s. We hit the toll booth going each way several times. That's why the guy remembered us. We had just paid the toll and could not have had time to go all the way across and come all the way back. Also, you have to remember this was the '50s and highway signs and directions have much improved since then. In addition, paved roads were a luxury to people used to driving on gravel roads. Freeways, were mind boggling.
[Croft, J. June, 2011]
Swedish Visitors
In 1970, Fred went back to Sweden the first time sense he left (41 years).
In 1976, Freddie took relatives on a visit of the southwest USA. Cousin Ketty spoke English.
March 1978, some of them (Swedish relatives) visited us in Arvada, CO and San Diego, CA.
In 1979, Karl Gunner had a second trip to Colorado.
In 1984, Lucille, Fred and Janet went to Sweden.
Per-Arne Lindkvist and son Patrick Lindkvist visited us in 1991, a cousin the same age as Freddie. Patrick was 22 at the time. Patrick came to Arvada as an exchange student.
Fred and Mark flew to Florida, in 1992, to see Gunner on vacation.
Gunner Lindvist and Lena Wiklund (brother and Sister) visited us in 1994, Colorado.
[Lindquist, L. June, 2011]
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Lindqvist, Johan 1878-1958
Born
1878 June 24 in Fisktjärnliden
Spouse
Married to Eva Fredrika Gustafsson Lindgren
Born 1881 October 23
Death 1954 February 27
He worked as a postman.
[Nisser, K. 2011]
Johan 70th birthday, 1948
Children
Fridolf "Fred" Lindkvist
married Lucille Newlun
Birth 1903 May 29
Jenny Lindkvist
married Frans Wallin
Born 1904 November 28
Death 1994 November 30
Death 1992 October 20
Sigfred Lindkvist
born 1906-12-27
Died 1970-10-21
married Alice
daughter: Lena
son: Karl Gunner
Rudolf Lindqvist
born 1906-12-27
d.? m.?
son: Per-Arne Lindqvist
Born 1938-08-01
Died
Artur Lindqvist
born 1909-01-02
died 1995-01-09
Rut Elisabet
born 1911-05-02
died 1986-02-09
married Johan Lundberg
daughter: Katty Nisser
Ingvar Lindkvist
born 1915-04-10
married to Dagny
Ellen “Ella”
born 1913-07-20
died 1991-08-16
Married to Johan Nyström
Gerda
born 1918-02-28
died 2000-01-28
Married Arne Lindstrom
Manfred Lindqvist
born 1920-07-17
died 1943-04-17
born 1924-12-18 died 1998-02-05
Married Dagny
Arne Lindqvist
born 1924-12-18
died 1998-02-05
Married Dagny
Johan, 80 years old
Death
1958-11-14.
1878 June 24 in Fisktjärnliden
Spouse
Married to Eva Fredrika Gustafsson Lindgren
Born 1881 October 23
Death 1954 February 27
He worked as a postman.
[Nisser, K. 2011]
Johan 70th birthday, 1948
Children
Fridolf "Fred" Lindkvist
married Lucille Newlun
Birth 1903 May 29
Jenny Lindkvist
married Frans Wallin
Born 1904 November 28
Death 1994 November 30
Death 1992 October 20
Sigfred Lindkvist
born 1906-12-27
Died 1970-10-21
married Alice
daughter: Lena
son: Karl Gunner
Rudolf Lindqvist
born 1906-12-27
d.? m.?
son: Per-Arne Lindqvist
Born 1938-08-01
Died
Artur Lindqvist
born 1909-01-02
died 1995-01-09
Rut Elisabet
born 1911-05-02
died 1986-02-09
married Johan Lundberg
daughter: Katty Nisser
Ingvar Lindkvist
born 1915-04-10
married to Dagny
Ellen “Ella”
born 1913-07-20
died 1991-08-16
Married to Johan Nyström
Gerda
born 1918-02-28
died 2000-01-28
Married Arne Lindstrom
Manfred Lindqvist
born 1920-07-17
died 1943-04-17
born 1924-12-18 died 1998-02-05
Married Dagny
Arne Lindqvist
born 1924-12-18
died 1998-02-05
Married Dagny
Johan, 80 years old
Death
1958-11-14.
Andersson-Lindqvist, Zacharias 1839-1920
Scandinavia Norway Sweden, 1850
Lindquist-Sweden coat of arms
Born
1839-01-08 in Fisktjernliden
Married
to Kristiana Olofsdotter Born 1839, Death 1926
Death
1920
About Swedish Names
Some characteristics of Swedish names.
The patronymic naming system, which is based on the father’s name, was common in Sweden up to the end of the 19th century, with between 90 and 95% of the population using it. If the father’s name was Sven Johansson, for example, his son’s name might be Magnus Svensson (Magnus the son of Sven). Similarly, a daughter might be named Kerstin Svensdotter (Kerstin the daughter of Sven). When a woman married, she did not adopt her husband’s name; she kept her own patronymic.
Surnames, or family names, were used by the nobility, the clergy, and some townspeople. Members of the nobility adopted family names, some of which could be traced back to coats of arms. However, less than 1 percent of the population was nobility.
Many of the clergy adopted names with Greek or Latin endings such as -ander (meaning “man” or “man from”) or -ius (“coming from” or “of”). Examples of names used by the clergy are Fallander and Morelius.
Many townspeople took family names called "nature names." These "nature names" would usually consist of two parts, such as Dalberg: Dal means “valley” and berg means “mountain.”
Soldiers were given names while in the military, where patronymics did not provide enough differentiation among the troops. Military names sometimes reflected a personal quality like Rapp (“quick”), a military term, a regimental preference, or could be associated with the place where the person served. When they left the service, some soldiers kept their military name, while others returned to using their patronymic.
Many Swedes changed their name after emigration.
When emigrants moved to a new country, they often changed their names. If they immigrated to English-speaking countries, the name was often Anglicized. Examples of name changes are
Andersson — Anderson (the double "s" becomes one "s")
Bengtsson — Benson, Bentson
Johansson — Johnson
Sjöberg — Seaberg or Seeberg
In addition, married women would adopt their husband’s surname.
The name and spelling of a name for the same individual could differ in various records.
While these records are in Swedish, the records themselves are mostly tables of dates, names, and places.
The patronymic naming system, which is based on the father’s name, was common in Sweden up to the end of the 19th century, with between 90 and 95% of the population using it. If the father’s name was Sven Johansson, for example, his son’s name might be Magnus Svensson (Magnus the son of Sven). Similarly, a daughter might be named Kerstin Svensdotter (Kerstin the daughter of Sven). When a woman married, she did not adopt her husband’s name; she kept her own patronymic.
Surnames, or family names, were used by the nobility, the clergy, and some townspeople. Members of the nobility adopted family names, some of which could be traced back to coats of arms. However, less than 1 percent of the population was nobility.
Many of the clergy adopted names with Greek or Latin endings such as -ander (meaning “man” or “man from”) or -ius (“coming from” or “of”). Examples of names used by the clergy are Fallander and Morelius.
Many townspeople took family names called "nature names." These "nature names" would usually consist of two parts, such as Dalberg: Dal means “valley” and berg means “mountain.”
Soldiers were given names while in the military, where patronymics did not provide enough differentiation among the troops. Military names sometimes reflected a personal quality like Rapp (“quick”), a military term, a regimental preference, or could be associated with the place where the person served. When they left the service, some soldiers kept their military name, while others returned to using their patronymic.
Many Swedes changed their name after emigration.
When emigrants moved to a new country, they often changed their names. If they immigrated to English-speaking countries, the name was often Anglicized. Examples of name changes are
Andersson — Anderson (the double "s" becomes one "s")
Bengtsson — Benson, Bentson
Johansson — Johnson
Sjöberg — Seaberg or Seeberg
In addition, married women would adopt their husband’s surname.
The name and spelling of a name for the same individual could differ in various records.
While these records are in Swedish, the records themselves are mostly tables of dates, names, and places.
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