Speechless, 52 Ancestors

Caution: Mature Topic

Have you seen the movie, Children of a Lesser God? There is a scene where the female lead angrily describes how she was used by men and boys. She is deaf in fact and mute (also known as dumb) by choice. She uses emphatic American Sign Language (ASL) to express her feelings to the male lead, who speaks the concepts she is signing. While it is her story, it is also a reminder of how we humans can mistreat fellow humans who we perceive to be "less than" ourselves.

While searching through the family records in Björsäter Parish in Östergötland, I found just a few notes about Anna Lisa Ekström. However, the clues revealed by those notes immediately brought to mind the above scene. I felt the need to tell her story, which seems like a sad one.

Anna Lisa was an older sister of my great-great-grandfather and one of 15 children. She was born 9 June 1817, at the torp (croft) of Nässjö, on the lands of Lakvik. As the ninth child, she had older half-siblings who were adults and she would later have younger siblings that she helped care for. The husförhörslängd (household survey) first indicated a problem about the time she was 14 years old. She would have been studying for her confirmation and would have come under scrutiny from the minister. The note said "kan ej tala" or cannot speak.

Anna Lisa's life was not typical of poor teens of that era. She never left home to find work, as did the typical teen. Her siblings were confirmed or had first communion about the time they were 15 or 16 years old. She had her first communion much later, when she was nearly 20 years old. The husförhörslängd that covered the period when she was aged 18-22 had some notes that first said dumbe (dumb), which was crossed out. The word vanlytt was written in. That's a word that doesn't translate cleanly, but appears to mean disobedient. She may have been angry and rebelling against her lot in life. Additionally, the note included the Latin term comm, for communion, and the date, 15 May 1837. 

The next husförhörslängd, for her ages 23-27, had the note "skadad till talförmågan" or speech impaired. This notation persisted throughout the rest of her life. The severity of her speech impairment is not clear. She never married and there is no indication of an illegitimate child.   

She lived with her parents until their deaths. Her father, Eric Ekström, allowed his sons to take over the torp about 1830, when he was 60. Eric died when Anna Lisa was 25. Her mother, Stina Caisa Olofsdotter, died when she was 32. Four of her brothers took over the torp, in turn, between 1830 and 1849. She was able to stay at the familiar torp with whomever lived there, even after the torp was leased, in 1849, to a family that appears unrelated.

Nässjö was adjacent to the beautiful Lake Risten. A couple of modern photos, with a description of the lake, are currently (2023) found on a fishing site, iFiske.se. 

The shape of Lake Risten reminds me of a dragon. Look for the thumb-shaped peninsula above the dragon's wing on this 1877 map. At the northwest edge of the peninsula lies the torp of Nässjö, with the home marked as a small green area at the bottom of the letter N.

The lands of Lakvik and Missmyra, adjacent to Lake Risten, Björsäter Parish, Östergötland, 1877

In January of 1858, the 40-year-old Anna Lisa left her childhood home and was admitted to the Vadstena Kurhus, some 50 miles to the west. A Kurhus was a facility that tried to cure venereal disease, before the time when penicillin was discovered. Anna Lisa Ekström died at the Kurhus on 17 September 1858, and was buried there two days later. Her death of venereal disease was recorded in the Björsäter Parish records:

... infördes under Januari månad d. år till Wadstena Kurhus och avled der städes och begrofs enligt här an leeknade data. Begrofs i Wadstena.

... was admitted during the month of January this year to Vadstena Kurhus and died there and was buried according to the data shown here. Buried in Vadstena.

 

For additional context about the Kurhus, see the story of another woman's experience: "Anna a patient at Vadstena Kurhus." 

For orientation, Anna Lisa lived in the orange area on the map and was in the generation where the star appears.

Sources

• Björsäter Church Records for births, deaths and marriages
• Björsäter Clerical Survey records
• Lantmateriet.se Historical Maps
• Kulturarv Östergötland: Anna a patient at Vadstena Kurhus 

Kissing Cousins, 52 Ancestors

Why should my tree include the stepchildren of the sister of my 4th great-grandfather? Those are the types of unrelated people that I have been removing from my tree. I certainly don't want to add new ones. But, of course, the ancestors had a different idea.

Olof Ericsson, my 4th-great-grandfather, and his sister, Catherina "Caisa" Ericsdotter, were the children on whose shoulders fell the responsibility of family duties. Olof, the eldest son, took over the torp (croft) when his father could no longer be effective. Caisa, with younger sister Lisa, assumed the housekeeping duties when their mother died. The families of Olof and Caisa wove together in an unexpected way.

After Olof married, Caisa and Lisa left home to find jobs as maidservants in the wealthier homes in and around the parish of Grebo, in Östergötland. The tax records show they were sometimes with family and sometimes elsewhere. Caisa was the daughter who spent time living with their father as he aged. Her father, Eric Ericsson, died on 15 July 1796, at Lilla Björksved, a torp where he had lived for 48 years. His death marked the end of his family's long connection to that torp.

Caisa had been born on 16 March 1763, so was 33 years old when her father died. It was the first time in her adult life that she didn't have any responsibility toward her parents. She had no time to grieve or to ponder her future. Life was difficult for crofters and their families. She left the old family cottage behind and moved to her brother's torp of Åhagen, where she lived for a time with her brother, Olof, and sister-in-law, Catherina Andersdotter. Catherina was pregnant at the time and was very close to her due date. Little Lovisa was not yet three, while Olof's eldest daughter was ten. Caisa was a helpful pair of hands, though also another mouth to feed. 

Meanwhile in Åtvid, the next parish to the southeast, the Muraren (mason) Anders Månsson Molander and his wife were raising their two small children. When his wife died in May, 1797, Anders was suddenly in need of a wife. Somehow Anders and Caisa connected. The social network of 1797 was person-to-person, through family and friends. Anders had spent some time in Grebo about 10 years earlier, so perhaps they had met previously or perhaps there was a family connection. 

Caisa Ericsdotter and Anders Molander married in her home parish of Grebo on 10 December 1797. Caisa joined Anders near the town of Åtvidaberg, about eight miles away from her rural home, and became the stepmother of Stina, born in 1792, and Anders, born in 1794. Anders and Caisa added daughter Helena to the family in 1798.

When Stina Molander turned 16 in 1808, she left home to become a servant. Reversing Caisa's move, she took a job for about a year at Tälltorpet, which was next door to Åhagen, where her step-cousins lived. Their father, Olof, had died six years earlier. Stina's job would have allowed her very little free time, but she would have had an opportunity on Sundays to build a relationship with cousin Lovisa Olofsdotter, who was a year younger. 

1810 brought devastating loss to Stina and Lovisa and their families. Lovisa's mother, Catherina Andersdotter, died in July, orphaning her three children with Olof. She also left two children from a second marriage, as well as her older step-daughter. Anders Molander died in December, leaving Caisa as the single parent of three children, though Stina was an adult, working in Åtvid.

Caisa's niece, Lovisa, age 16, was also old enough to get a job and support herself. Lovisa moved to Åtvid parish and took a position as a maid at Stora Ramshult, about 4 miles from Caisa. Step-cousin Stina had a position at Glasgård, about 2 miles away. Lovisa may have spent time with her Aunt Caisa or her cousin Stina on her few days off. Her step-cousin Anders Molander was 6 months younger than Lovisa. At age 16, he was still living at home with his stepmother and his younger half-sister, Helena. Lovisa had the opportunity to become better acquainted with all three of her cousins during the years that she spent as a single woman in the Åtvid area.

Lovisa moved back north into the rural parish of Grebo, taking a job at Hedingstorp, which kept her within 6 miles of Åtvid. There she met the laborer Johann (or Johannes) Samuelsson, whom she married in the Grebo Kyrkan (church) on 20 June 1817. Johann leased the torp of Lilla Kongshäll, even further away from her families in Åtvid and Åhagen. Their marriage record lists the dates that the banns were called. Lovisa could have moved into the cottage when the banns were first called in April.

Lovisa and Johann had a daughter, Maria Catherina, who was born on 29 December 1817. The couple was living far enough from Lovisa's families that none of them were listed as godparents or witnesses at the christening. The family's happiness was short-lived. Johann Samuelsson died of pneumonia on 19 February 1819.

Lovisa was left a widow at the age of 25, with a 13-month old child. She was unlikely to find a position as a maid. Fortunately, she was able to stay at the torp another year, which is puzzling. The husförhörslängd does not show that she had any laborer with her to do the farm work. But in the longer-term, Lovisa needed a husband. 

Her step-cousin, Anders Molander, was the answer. The family and social connection between Lovisa and Anders brought them together. Whether for practical or romantic reasons, they married on 3 April 1820. Lovisa must have been relieved to no longer be a single mother. The two families, Olof's and Caisa's, were now connected in a second way.

Click to Enlarge

Anders had started working at the Åtvidaberg Kopparverks. One of the most important copper deposits in Sweden was being mined near Åtvidaberg and a smelter was in operation to extract the copper from the ore. Anders moved to a location called Kopparverket at the end of 1819 or the beginning of 1820. His step-mother Caisa moved along with him and Lovisa joined them. Perhaps that was company housing.

Lovisa Olofsdotter and Anders Molander had seven children, six of whom lived to adulthood. Lovisa's oldest daughter, Maria, also used the surname Molander, rather than her father's name. 

Tuberculosis claimed Caisa, Lovisa and Anders. I didn't find information about the air quality in the area of Åtvidaberg. Did the mining and smelting make tuberculosis worse? Was the Kopparverket housing area a breeding ground for tuberculosis with too many people in close proximity?

Caisa lived only a short time with the couple, dying in 1822. The couple were married nearly 30 years, with Lovisa dying in 1850. After her death, Anders lived with his son, Frans Theodor Molander, who also worked at the copper works. Anders never remarried, dying in 1865.

I have not followed the many descendants of Lovisa and Anders. A number of them emigrated to North America, including two daughters. The Wikipedia page for Åtvidaberg states that as the copper mines shut down in the area, about one-third of the population emigrated to the mining area of Ishpeming, which is in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. A number of my family's DNA matches live in that area of Michigan or had ancestors who lived there. I suspect that researching the descendants of Lovisa and Anders will reveal our relationship to those as yet unidentified cousins.

For orientation, this family lived in the orange area on the map and Olof and Caisa are in the generation where the star appears.

To Do List

• Follow the descendants of Lovisa Olofsdotter and Anders Molander.
• Try to connect the Michigan U.P. DNA matches to this family.

Sources

• Grebo Church Records for births, deaths and marriages
• Grebo Clerical Survey records
• Grebo Mantals Tax Lists 
• Åtvid Church Records for births, deaths and marriages
• Åtvid Clerical Survey records
• Wikipedia article on Åtvidaberg
• Mindat.org page on Åtvidaberg Mining Field
• Lantmateriet.se Historical Maps