Crossing the Line, 52 Ancestors

 

"Inga Stina Svensdotter, will you marry me and move to Pig Town parish?"

"Peter Persson! Are you really asking me to cross that line? All my life my family and friends have joked about Pig Town. If I move, they will tease me unmercifully! Maybe you could move here to Landeryd."

"I'm afraid that I can't move my farm -- it would be far easier to change the parish boundary! At least we won't live right in Pig Town."

While we can't know how the proposal actually took place, we do know the parish name of Svinstad was a source of embarrassment. Residents of surrounding parishes, such as Landeryd, must have teased the inhabitants. One hundred years later, the residents of the town and the parish were able to get the name changed to Bankekind, the name of the district in which the parish was located.

Inga Stina did have to consider serious aspects of the proposal. Peter was twelve years older then her 26 years and he had two little girls from his first marriage. The Napoleonic Wars were raging and reducing the available pool of young men in Inga's age group. If she didn't marry Peter, she might never marry. If she did marry Peter, she could possibly suffer a long and poverty-stricken widowhood. She did make the choice to marry Peter and to move just across the parish line to the lands of Fröslunda (now Frösslunda), in Svinstad parish.

She was born in Landeryd parish on 21 July 1780, and was christened as Ingri Stina. Most records were written as Inga, so that is what I call her. Her parents, Sven Svensson and Stina Carlsdotter, lived and farmed on the lands of Sörby, which shared an eastern edge with the west side of Fröslunda. On this lovely map from 1700, the lands of Sörby are drawn out, showing forest, stony ground, watercourses, roads, fields and houses. The lands of Fröslunda are shown to adjoin Sörby where the last red mark, number 1, is written in front of the list of names and properties.

Sörby Ägor, Landeryd Parish, Östergötland, 1700

There is no record that Inga Stina ever left home before her marriage. While there is a gap in the detailed survey records, it appears from the tax records that Inga Stina and her only sibling, Peter Svensson, did not leave home at age 15 to find work, as so many of their peers did. From their mother's 1810 probate file, it appears the family was living comfortably, though they were tenant farming.

Peter Persson and Inga Stina Svensdotter, my fourth-great-grandparents, married in her home parish of Landeryd on 5 February 1807. Inga Stina became the stepmother of Anna Stina Persdotter, age 9, and Cajsa Lena Persdotter, age 5. 

Over the next 15 years, a set of twins and six other children were born to the couple. The eldest, Sven Peter Persson, was my 3rd-great-grandfather. Four of the eight children died as infants: Anders, Carl Gustav and the twins, Nils and Johannes. The surviving children were Maria, Ulrica and Inga Lisa, in addition to Sven Peter.

The year of 1814 brought big changes to the family. The twins were born in April, with their father's occupation listed as former farmer. The family soon moved about six miles east, crossing another parish boundary to leave Svinstad behind. They moved to Sjöberga, in the parish of Björsäter, where the twins died before turning one year old. 

Peter Persson took on a new occupation and eventually chose a new surname. He became a tegelslagare, a bricklayer. Peter chose the new surname of Fröling between 1819 and 1822. Sven Peter Persson and his older half-sisters did not adopt the new name, while the younger children chose Fröling for their surname.

After nearly 15 years of marriage and eight children, Inga Stina Svensdotter succumbed to bröstsjuka, or pneumonia, on 2 February 1822, at 41 years old. Her probate record named her brother, Peter Svensson of Sörby, as the guardian of her childrens' interests. His story will be touched on in a future post. 

Her son, Sven Peter Persson, was introduced in the post Tempered. Sven and his three sisters, Maria, Ulrica and Inga Lisa, all had descendants who emigrated from Sweden to America, as did their younger half-brother and oldest half-sister.

The unlucky Peter Persson Fröling was widowed for a second time and again needed a wife to care for his small children and his home. His story was told in the post Happy Dance, Swedish Style.

Orientation

The family lived in the orange area on the map and Inga Stina Svendsotter is at the location in the tree where the star appears.

Sources

• Landeryd Church Records for births, deaths and marriages
• Landeryd Clerical Survey records
• Landeryd Mantals Tax Records
• Svinstad Church Records for births, deaths and marriages
• Svinstad Clerical Survey records
• Svinstad Moving Out records
• Björsäter Church Records for births, deaths and marriages
• Björsäter Clerical Survey records
• Bankekinds District Court Probate Records
• Lantmateriet.se Historical Maps
• Wikipedia page for Bankekind, formerly Svinstad 

One Short Month, 52 Ancestors

If you were to search for information on infant and maternal mortality in past centuries, would you be surprised by the statistics? During a recent search, I learned that survival was rare for infants born to a mother who died in childbirth. Such was the fate of Lisa Ericsdotter and her twins. 

Lisa was born to torpare (crofter) Eric Ericsson and Stina Månsdotter in Grebo parish on 25 November 1765. She was the youngest of the siblings who survived to adulthood. Her oldest brother and older sister focused on the family and the croft, while Lisa and the younger brother left to find jobs. Lisa did help out her oldest brother, Olof, when he established his own household and again when his first wife died, moving in and out of his home several times over a period of about 15 years.

With the death of her father in 1796, and with her brother settled into a second marriage, Lisa was free to work or marry as she chose. Her sister, Catherina "Caisa" Ericsdotter, had married a mason (murare) and moved to his home near the town of Åtvidaberg. Likely through that family connection, Lisa met another bricklayer .

On 12 October 1800, Daniel Grönlund of Åtvid parish married Lisa Ericsdotter in her home parish of Grebo. Lisa joined Daniel and the couple lived near or with her sister's family, appearing on the same page of the husförhörslängd, household survey, for 1801.

Seven and a half months after her marriage, on May 24, Lisa gave birth to twins, who were christened the same day. Such a quick christening may indicate the twins were not expected to survive, probably being born prematurely. 

Twins Carl and Lena Caisa were born and christened on 24 May 1801
to Murar. Dan. Grönlund and wife Lisa Ericsdotter (age 36) of Kopparverket
Åtvid CI:5 Page 53

Lisa Ericsdotter died three days later, on 27 May 1801, with the cause listed as barnsbörd, childbirth. 

Lisa's sister probably did all she could for the babies, but it was not enough, as both died within one month of their mother. Helena Catharina (Lena Caisa) Grönlund died on 20 June, and Carl Grönlund died five days later, on 25 June 1801.

Orientation

The family lived in the orange area on the map and Lisa was in the generation where the star appears.

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
• Lantmateriet.se Historical Maps