A Missing Link, 52 Ancestors

 

Why does my family have DNA cousins from the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) of Michigan? These cousins and my family have a cousin in common who is descended from my Swedish 4th-great-grandfather, Peter Persson Fröling. But how do these Michigan cousins relate? 

I gathered those mystery cousins into a list, reviewed and validated their trees and researched two Swedish ancestors that were common in those trees. One of those ancestors was easy to trace back to Sweden, but the other ancestor was a brick wall. Of course, you know what that means -- their brick wall ancestor is the link to my Fröling family! 

This post examines the connection using research and DNA and makes the information available to all the Fröling cousins. You will get to decide whether I've solved the puzzle.

Charles Paulson of Au Train, Michigan

The name of the mystery man in America was Charles John Paulson or Charles Fred Paulson or Charles Frederick Paulson or Charles John Fred Paulson. It was baffling that both names, John and Fred, were found in records. 

The 1900 census of Au Train Township, Alger County, Michigan, showed that Charles Paulson was born in Sweden in April, 1854. His immigration year was listed differently on every census, so it's useful only to identify a general timeframe. The years listed were 1882, 1880 and 1872. He married Elina Christina Magnusson, in the city of Marquette, on October 12, 1885, so any of those immigration dates are reasonable.

Charles initially worked as a miner, but by 1900, he had been naturalized, claimed land, begun farming and had built a log house that today is a museum on the National Register of Historic Places. If you visit the area, you can even rent a guest cottage or stay at a B&B on the land that he owned.

Charles John Paulson died in Au Train Township on June 10, 1925, leaving a widow, three daughters and several grandchildren. The information on his death certificate was provided by his daughter, Anna, and asserts that his birth was on April 24, 1854, in Norkoping, Sweden. Remember April 24, as you will see that day again. With geographical context, that birth would have been in the industrial city of Norrköping, Östergötland County, Sweden. No such birth was recorded in any of the parishes that were part of the city of Norrköping. 

When Swedish immigrants came to America, their birth place often was stated as the nearest city, rather than a church parish, which was used in the church records within Sweden. In Swedish-American churches, those original church parish names might be recorded. However, Charles was not listed in the local Lutheran churches of Michigan. His stated birth place had to be discarded as a church parish and, instead, the area around the city had to be considered. Widening the search area still did not locate a matching birth record.

A New Search

I've probed the mystery of Charles Paulson several times over the past few years. The indexes at ArkivDigital have continued to expand, but he remained a mystery. I tested hypothetical DNA relationships using a tool called "What Are the Odds" or WATO. I felt confident that he was a Fröling descendant, but in what branch?

In 2023, I embarked on a quest to learn which of my Swedish ancestors had siblings with living descendants, especially descendants who emigrated to the United States. Recently, I started researching the descendants of Peter Persson Fröling. His eldest son, Sven Peter Persson, is my ancestor, so I have been researching Sven's siblings. Of the 14 children born to Peter and his four wives, seven lived to adulthood and six had children who lived to adulthood, indicated by the green boxes in the chart below. All six of them have descendants who have DNA tested in the past ten years.

While researching the descendants of those six children, I found a candidate for Charles Paulson. The DNA hypothesis looked reasonable. But did the paper trail support the theory? I've not found any online document that proves the connection. The paper trail is encouraging, but not definitive.

If you are a Fröling descendant or interested in a genealogical mystery or in Swedish research, please keep reading. Otherwise, I won't be offended if you stop right here.

The Children of Peter Persson Fröling

Click on the image below to view a larger version of the family tree showing the children of Peter Persson Fröling. He had two sons and four daughters who have living descendants. This analysis references four branches: Sven Peter Persson, Maria Fröling, Inga Lisa Fröling and Johannes Gustaf  Fröling

Carl Johan Fröjd of Sweden

Notice the youngest daughter in the tree. Inga Lisa Fröling was the youngest child of Peter Persson Fröling and his second wife, Inga Stina Svensdotter. Inga Lisa married the soldier Paul Larsson Fröjd in Yxnerum parish. The parish had sections in two different counties and was less than 25 miles from the cities of Linköping and Norrköping. 

Carl Johan was born in the Kalmar area of Yxnerum parish on 24 April 1852, the third of four children. The name Fröjd was a military name. Using his father's military name, he was Carl Johan Fröjd until he left Sweden and arrived in America. If he had used patronymics, he would have been Carl Johan Paulsson. Charles is a common English version of Carl, while Johan becomes John. So his Swedish name, Carl Johan Fröjd, would become Charles John Fröjd in America. With a surname that would have sounded like a first name to Americans, he could easily have chosen the patronymic and become Charles John Paulson or even Charles John Fred Paulson.

Carl Johan Fröjd did not grow up physically close to his cousins. Peter Persson Fröling and his family lived in a fairly small area, though it seems larger on maps. It is about 35 miles from Peter's birthplace in Hannäs to the cities of Norrköping and Linköping. Björsäter parish was the center of the family and I refer to it as the family parish. Peter moved his family into the parish in 1814, living at Sjöberga until his death in 1842. Some of his children stayed in the parish, while others, like Inga Lisa, moved to nearby parishes. All his children stayed within a 15 mile radius of Sjöberga. However, before automobiles, the six miles from Carl's home to his nearest cousin was not a short distance. 

Open the legend at the top left or click on a marker to explore the family's locations.

For a deeper understanding of Carl's story, some cultural background is needed. That is found on another page, which will open on another tab or window if you click the link.

The Life and Emigration of Carl Johan Fröjd

When Carl was 16, his soldier father died during the famine year of 1868. He had been noted as sick for several years in the military records. The family was able to stay in the soldier's cottage, as his older brother, August Fröjd, age 21, was approved to take over his father's soldier position. August was the third and last soldier from the Fröjerum rote to use the Fröjd military surname. Carl and their two siblings also kept Fröjd as their surname.

Carl left home to find work the following year. He stayed in the parish until 1871, when he was 19. He took a job about 8 miles away, in the family parish of Björsäter. He was a laborer on the lands of Missmyra, near the home of my great-great-grandparents, Anna Charlotta Svensdotter and Adolph Ekström. Anna was Carl's much-older first cousin. For the first time in Carl's life he attended the same church as his cousins and could sit down on his day off to have drinks with relatives, including cousins near his age. 

After one year in Björsäter parish, he returned to his home parish and moved from farm to farm for a few years. On 9 April 1880, Carl was given a moving certificate to leave Yxnerum parish and emigrate to North America. He was 27 years old when he left Sweden.

The Moving Out List of 1880 for Yxnerum Parish.
The 5th person to leave during the year was the laborer Karl Johan Fröjd from page 216
of the clerical survey. The date was 9 April, and he was a single man, living at Majängen,
who was moving to North America.

Two of his cousins received similar moving certificates in Björsäter parish that same week:

• Per Gust Fröling, laborer, born in 1857, was living at Brånstorpet on the lands of Målstena and received his certificate on 8 April 1880. Per was a son of Johannes Gustaf Fröling, the youngest of the Fröling siblings. 
• Eric August Pettersson, born in Björsäter in 1836, with his wife and four children, received his certificate on 7 April. He was a farmer at Rosendal, which had previously been the home of his parents, Maria Fröling and Peter Ericsson. 

Eric's sister, Johanna Pehrsdotter, had emigrated 13 years earlier with her husband, Carl Thoren. They had settled in Negaunee, Michigan, in the U.P., and no doubt had written of their good fortune in America. The mines of the U.P. were hiring and may have even paid passage for the men. Eric Pettersson was probably the instigator and leader of this group of emigrant relatives. His home was about three miles from the workplace of Per Gustaf Fröling and about seven miles from that of Carl Johan Fröjd. The men could travel together, join extended family and find mining jobs in Negaunee. Eric, being the eldest, could look out for the younger men.

The police list in Göteborg (Gothenburg) included Eric and his family members, along with his two cousins, leaving on 16 April 1880. The group sailed on the ship Orlando to Hull, on the east coast of England, with a final destination of Negaunee, Michigan. 

Göteborg police list showing the eight family members. All were listed as from Björsäter, Östergötland,
 except C.J. Fröjd, who was listed as a 27-year-old from Yxnerum, Kalmar.

Arriving in Hull the following day, the group traveled across England to Liverpool on the west coast. They boarded the Cunard Line mail steamer S.S. Scythia, setting sail on 24 April, Carl's 28th birthday. The immigrants arrived in New York City on May 5th. Their travel method to Michigan is unknown, but may have been by train or on a ship that traveled the Great Lakes.

Settling in Negaunee

The group arrived in Michigan in time to be captured in the 1880 census, which was to be taken as of June 1st. On June 29th, the miner [Eric] August Peterson and his family were enumerated in the City of Negaunee, Third Ward. Shortly after that date, a fifth child joined the family. On June 5th, the tailor Charles Thoren with wife Johanna [Pehrsdotter] and their four children were enumerated in the First Ward. And on June 19th, a boarding house was enumerated in the Second Ward with a number of young miners. Included in the list were two Swedes: Peter Freule, age 23, and Charles Free, age 26.

How would you pronounce Fröjd and Fröling as a speaker of Swedish? If you have a translator that will pronounce the Swedish words for you, give it a try. I used Google Translate to hear the names. It is certainly possible that new immigrants could have pronounced their names in such a way that the census taker or the Irish landlord heard Free and Freule.

This 1880 census is the dividing line between Carl Johan Fröjd and Charles John Paulson, in terms of online records.

Evaluating the Evidence

No direct evidence was found online that links Charles Paulson to the Fröling cousins. However, considering he did not grow up close to the others, it is possible that it felt normal to him to be loosely connected after he moved 40 miles east to his homestead. At that time, before automobiles, 40 miles was a significant distance.

I've reconciled the name and explained the fuzzy birth location. The emigration date as shown on the census is ignored, as the wildly inconsistent dates cannot be reconciled. 

The birthday of April 24 is a match; however, there is a two-year discrepancy in his birth year. It's not common for ages of Swedish emigrants to be listed incorrectly in census records. It does happen though. Emigrating with family and settling nearby provides a "FAN" club of family, associates and neighbors. However, lack of online records limits the ability to research the FAN club of Charles Paulson. 

It is certainly possible that some evidence exists offline. The following online evidence was searched without results:

Probate

Though Carl Johan Fröjd's father died while he was a child, his mother and unmarried sister died after he emigrated. His mother's probate was not found, probably because she was elderly and living with her son. Sister Carolina Sofia's probate listed only her two brothers who lived in Sweden. It may be that the law did not require siblings outside Sweden to be listed. It is also possible that a choice was made to exclude Carl, they may have lost touch with him, or he may have been dead and not our candidate. While his absence from his sister's probate is disappointing, it may also signify nothing.

Swedish-American Church Records 

Some Swedish immigrants joined the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The ministers kept many records in the same way they had kept the records in Sweden. Charles Paulson was listed only in his marriage record, death record and in the christening record for one child. No helpful birth or name details were included.

Newspapers

One of the ways to identify family connections is through local newspapers. Articles for obituaries, funerals and weddings are often rich in family context. Unfortunately for this research, the surviving old newspapers of Alger County are not available online. Another man of the same name lived in Marquette County and appeared in those newspapers, while I was not able to find Charles Paulson of Alger County mentioned in a useful way. The newspaper site is searchable, but OCR is not perfect. It is certainly possible that I missed something.

Naturalization

Each male immigrant needed to declare his intention if he desired to become a naturalized citizen of the United States. The biographical content of the "Declaration of Intent" differs over time, but can be a valuable source. Finding the document can be difficult, as the process could be done in different courts. Some documents are online and others are not. The documents for Charles Paulson have not been found online.

One Positive Sign

Reviewing trees at Ancestry for both these men revealed that American researchers and Swedish researchers are all stymied. American researchers cannot go back and Swedish researchers cannot go forward. One American researcher has a theory that the father of Charles Paulson was Carl Fröjd. The researcher has associated the two names. Unfortunately the tree has no sources, no stories and no comments. However, there must have been some document that they found. I reached out to some researchers and received no response.

DNA Evidence

The puzzle started as a DNA matching question, and DNA can be used to analyze the possibility that C.J. Fröjd is the same man as Charles Paulson. The tool What Are the Odds (WATO) calculates the odds of relationships, based on the strength of DNA matches. It works best with matches above 40 cM, but can be used with lower values. The analysis is only as good as the tree and does not support endogamy, double-cousin relationships or 3/4 siblings.

First, how does DNA suggest this relationship? Most people take DNA tests at Ancestry and other companies because they are curious about their ethnic background. However, the power for genealogical connection does not rely on ethnicity. How do I know that the Fröling family is the most likely place in my tree where this connection exists?

When I find a possible Swedish connection, the first question is if both my father and his half-brother match the other person. If there is a similar match, the connection is probably Swedish, as the brothers share only their Swedish father's DNA. 

The next step is to look at the matches that are shared with the other person. Let's call that person Target X. There will be people who share DNA with Target X and my father and/or his two brothers. All the people will not be the same, but having three testers increases the chance of useful connections. 

If there are common matches to known cousins, a branch is identified to explore. In this case, all three testers and Target X share a match to a descendant of Peter Persson Fröling who is descended from a different wife, so a half-cousin. That eliminates Peter's wives as possible sources of the shared DNA. This analysis can then be focused on Peter and his siblings.

Checking the Known Cousin Match

The WATO tool was first used to check the relationship of our known Fröling cousin. This connection had been made before the WATO tool was available, so it's useful to validate if the match is possible. The ancestry of the known cousin was placed into the tree, as was my family's ancestry. For each tester in my family who has a DNA match to the known cousin, that cM match value was put into the tree. The yellow lines in the tree indicate half-sibling relationships. Johannes G Fröling was a half sibling to Sven Peter Persson, and of course my half-uncle is also shown with a yellow line as a half-sibling. 

Relationships were added parallel to the documented known cousin line, as hypotheses to be checked. The question being asked is whether the known cousin belongs at the documented place in their tree or whether the relationship could be one generation earlier or one generation later. 

My own match and my sibling's match were ignored by the tool because our father has a match. The numbers are included as an example of how DNA is randomly inherited and disappears over time. I received the entire DNA clump from my father, while my sibling received only about half.

A What Are the Odds diagram showing DNA match probabilities
for three matches to their known half-fourth cousin (click to enlarge).

The WATO analysis evaluates the hypothetical relationships and calculates the probabilities. It confirms the documented relationship is a good hypothesis, as is one generation later. One generation earlier is statistically possible, but less likely. 

The tool presents the analysis within the tree, as well as in a more detailed list of probabilities. The analysis shows that my half-uncle has the highest match to his cousin. There is a probability of 19% that my half-uncle is a half 3C1R to the known cousin, and a probability of 49% of a half 4C or a half 4C1R. The paper trail shows that the relationship is actually half fourth-cousin (half 4C). In this situation my half-uncle has the identical relationship as my father to the half-cousin. 

The WATO detailed matrix of the probabilities for each hypothesis.

Evaluating the Match for Target X

One of the descendants (Target X) of Charles Paulson has very useful match strengths to my testers. Others have weaker matches. Building a new WATO chart with Target X, eight hypotheses were inserted, since there is no firm evidence of the relationship.

A What Are the Odds diagram showing DNA match probabilities
for three matches to a possible fourth cousin (click to enlarge).

This analysis uses a beta version of the tool. The original tool rated all possibilities as equal, while the new version evaluates dates, as well as match strengths. One of the relationships is not possible, based on dates. 

The WATO detailed matrix of the probabilities for each hypothesis.

The anticipated fourth-cousin (4C) relationship is a strong possibility, as is a half 3C1R. The others are less probable.

As a researcher, I really want to find some hard evidence. I do like the probability that they are the same man, but am still undecided. You will have to decide for yourself.

To Do List

I hope one of the descendants of Charles Paulson will be able to finish the research on-site in Michigan. My list would be:

• Find his naturalization documents, probably in the Marquette court records.
• Find his obituary in both English and Swedish-language newspapers of the Munising area.
• Look for articles or notices about the weddings of his daughters, as they may refer to extended family.
• Send for the file where he fulfilled the steps to claim his homestead. That requires both time and money and would not be my first choice.

Sources

• Swedish church records, including birth, death, marriage, moving and clerical survey: 
• Björsäter, Yxnerum, Gärdserum, Ringarum, Sankt Laurentii, Östra Ryd, Hannäs, Vist, Landeryd, Svinstad, Grebo, Värna 
• Probate records: 
• Tjust häradsrätt
• Söderköpings rådhusrätt och magistrat 
• Hammarkinds, Stegeborgs och Skärkinds domsaga
• Military records: 
• Generalmönsterrullor - Kalmar regemente
• Central Soldier Register 
• Göteborg Police emigration records
• UK Newspapers:
• Shipping and Mercantile Gazette, 20 April 1880, FindMyPast.com
• The Liverpool Telegraph, 24 April 1880, FindMyPast.com
• The Journal of Commerce, 26 April 1880, FindMyPast.com
• Ship list for SS Scythia, Ancestry.com
• US Census records for Michigan, Ancestry.com
• Michigan Marriage and Death Records, Ancestry.com
• Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Swedish American Church Records, Ancestry.com
• US Newspapers:
• Battle Creek Enquirer, 28 November 1971, Newspapers.com
• Lansing State Journal, 15 July 1984,  Newspapers.com
• GLO BLM Land Records 
• Website: Paulson House at AuTrain Lake
• Upper Peninsula Digital Network newspapers
• What Are The Odds at DNAPainter.com
• Lantmateriet.se Historical Maps
• Google Maps
• Google Translate
• Ancestry DNA
• Ancestry Family Trees