My
great grandmother, Elna Andersson, was born October 16th, 1876, in
Önnestäd, Skåne, Sweden to Anders Persson and Bengta Jönsdotter. On October 11th, 1903 she married
Victor Hugo Emanuel Wiberg in Kristianstad, Skäne, Sweden.
Elna Andersson and Victor Emanuel Wiberg |
Heliga Trefaldighetskyrkan, Church of Holy
Trinity, Kristianstad, Sweden built between 1617 and 1628 by Christian IV of Denmark |
Their
daughter, my grandmother, Elsa Margit, was born August 8th, 1904 in
Kristianstad.
Victor
and Elna divorced around 1908 and Elna was sent to live in America with an
aunt. Their daughter, Elsa, remained in Sweden and was first raised by her maternal
grandfather, Anders Persson, and later by her uncle, Per Andersson (a brother
of Elna).
In
1912, my great grandmother, Elna Andersson, then living in Chicago, remarried to Peter Emil Hammarberg.
Peter
insisted they send for Elsa, my grandmother.
At age 16, my grandmother boarded a ship and immigrated to Chicago to
live with a mother she barely remembered. On her Ellis Island documents, Peter
Emil Hammarberg is listed as paying for my grandmother’s passage to America.
My
mother told me Peter was a wonderful step-grandfather and was somehow related
to my great grandmother, Elna. Intrigued, I explored Peter Hammarberg’s
ancestry.
Peter’s
World War II draft record lists his date birth as March 31,
1878 in Helsingborg, Skåne, Sweden. According
to my mother, Peter had been banished to America, like Elna. Peter supposedly
was kicked out of college in Helsingborg for getting in a fight, so his
father sent him off to America.
In 1900, Per (Peter) Emil Hammarberg was living with his parents and siblings in Sweden. Below is the census for this year. Per's father is listed as Per Persson, born in 1846. The children
have the last name "Hammarberg" instead of "Persson" or "Persdotter." Prior
to 1900, children’s last names were their father’s or mother's first name with “son” or
“dotter” added. Name Laws enacted around 1901 mandated permanent surnames uniformly passed on to
the next generation. Peter’s father chose
the last name “Hammarberg” for his children.
You will soon see the origins of this new family name. [If your head was not spinning enough with Swedish surname practices, brace yourself: Newer laws allow people great latitude in changing names and many Swedes do so. --JL]
Here
is the 1890-1894 Household record for Peter’s family in Helsingborg, before the Name Laws. In this earlier census, Per Persson is listed as born on November 8, 1846 in Nosaby, Kristianstad. Note the absence of the surname "Hammarberg."
Here
is Per Persson's birth record from 1846, listing his father, Per Månsson, occupation Bonde (farmer), and mother, Else Olasdotter. They lived in the village of
Hammar, in Nosaby parish, Sweden. We now
know why the name Hammarberg was selected in 1900- Per Persson used a location
as a permanent surname for his children and subsequent generations.
And
now the plot thickens. Here is the birth
record of Anders Persson, the father of Elna Andersson (my great grandmother). Anders Persson was born on November 6, 1833
to Per Månsson and his hustra (wife) Else Olasdotter.
A photograph of Per Månsson and Else Olasdotter, grandparents of Elna Andersson and Peter Emil Hammarberg (formerly Persson). |
This
is the gravestone of Anders Persson taken by my grandmother, Elsa, when she and
my grandfather traveled back to Sweden in 1965. His birth year is 1832 on the
stone, instead of 1833. Note that his residence, "No. 1 Hammar," is etched on the stone.
Grave of Anders Perrson, Nosaby Parish Church in Nosaby, Kristianstad, Sweden |
My
Mother and I visited the cemetery in 2008 and it is a beautiful church.
Here
is Per Månsson and family in the household records for 1845-1850. The children were born in Hammar from
1831-1846. Per Månsson's children include Anders Persson (my great great grandfather) and Per Persson, the father of Peter Emil Hammarberg. I had to
call my Mother and tell her that her grandmother, Elna Andersson, and her
step-grandfather, Peter Hammarberg, were not distantly related, but rather were first
cousins! Elna and Peter did not have any children together. Sadly, Peter Emil
died in 1943 from pneumonia due to his occupation as an asbestos worker.
Ancestry.com (World
Membership) - Sweden, Church Records, 1500-1941
|
To research ancestors from southern Sweden (Halland, Skåne, and Blekinge läns or counties) the website “Demografisk Databas Södra Sverige” or Demographical Database of Southern Sweden” is an excellent starting place. It is free and has Swedish and English versions.
www.DDSS.nu |
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