If the tailor Adolph Ekström had not hired a young apprentice named Carl Johan Theodor Thor, would there have been a Fröling family chain migration from Östergötland to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan?
The story begins in the year 1854. Adolph Ekström had finished his training as a tailor (skräddare) and was striking out on his own for the first time. On October 21, he married Anna Charlotta Svensdotter, a granddaughter of Peter Persson Fröling. They settled in Christineholm (Kristineholm), west of Lake Risten, in the parish of Björsäter. Young Carl Thor, age 16, checked into the parish a month later and joined Adolph's household as a dräng, or laborer. One year later Carl left the parish with the title Skräddare dräng, a tailor worker. He was on his own journey to becoming a tailor.
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| A Björsäter Parish household survey from 1851-1855 (AI:11 page 204). Place is Christineholm on the lands (ägor) of Missmyra. Skräddaren (the tailor) Adolph Ekström and wife (hustru) Anna Charlotta Svensdotter, deceased daughter Charlotta, workers (Dräng) Carl Peter Persson and Carl Johan Theodor Thor. Shown for each person is birth date and parish, christening date and parish, smallpox vaccination, moving in year, moving in from page or parish. The parents of Carl Thor are named and it is noted that his mother is deceased. |
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| Additional information for each person is recorded on the facing page: The marriage date (gift) for the couple. The results of the annual examination. A reference number for each time they took communion each year. Charlotta's death date. The year the workers left and their destination, along with their sequence in the moving out list. |
During his year with Adolph and Anna, Carl would have met many family members through church and other gatherings. No doubt he met Johanna Pehrsdotter (also known as Peterson), another granddaughter of Peter Persson Fröling, who was the same age as Carl. She had lost her mother, Maria Fröling, at the age of eight. Did Johanna prefer to spend time with other family members, such as Anna, and away from her stepmother?
Johanna lived on the far side of Lake Risten, at Rosendal. The distance of 2.5 miles as the crow flies would have been close enough to Christineholm for frequent visits, but the lake was a barrier that required either the use of a boat or land travel of about 4.5 miles. Carl's home at Värnamo in Värna parish was about 4 miles beyond Christineholm. Would Carl and Johanna have met without his year at Christineholm?
A year after Carl returned to Värna parish, Johanna left Björsäter parish to live with her aunt, Ulrika Fröling, in Yxnerum parish. Their lives would not closely intersect again for five years.
Open the legend at the top left or click on a marker to explore the family's locations.
In 1857, the 19-year-old Johanna, born on 3 October 1838, moved to the city of Norrköping after one year in Yxnerum parish. There is not enough context in the church records to know her new role. She was living in a building owned or managed by a färgaren, or dyer, whose work was dying fabrics or yarns. She stayed in that location for five years, so she must have found it a good place to live and work.
During those years, Carl moved several times between the parishes of Värna and Björsäter, training with six different tailors between 1854 and 1862. His name and job were recorded in various ways, with the title Skräddare lärling (apprentice) first appearing in 1859. He moved to the parish of Sankt Olai in Norrköping that year to train with a master tailor. Carl acquired the title Skräddare gesäll (journeyman) and changed his surname to Thorén about 1862. Prior to the name change, he had been using his father's military surname of Thor. Along with his new name and new qualifications, he took a wife, marrying Johanna Pehrsdotter in her parish of Norrköpings Hedvig, on 2 November 1862.
For a deeper understanding of Carl's family 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.
Meanwhile, in Värnamo, Carl Thoren's father was growing too old for the military. He had been born Carl Johan Engström in 1816, just after the end of the Napoleonic Wars. On 5 September 1836, the 6-foot 1-inch son of a miner had enlisted in the infantry and taken the military surname of Thor, appearing in his first muster roll in 1839. Carl's son, Carl Thoren, born 9 November 1838, was the oldest of his children, born to his first wife, Anna Gustava Nilsdotter (1816-1850).
Carl Johan Thor served mostly in peacetime, though Sweden was briefly involved in two wars between Denmark and the German Confederation during the years he served. The First Schleswig War was between 1848 and 1851. Carl Thor was discharged 22 May 1864, three months after the outbreak of the The Second Schleswig War. With his discharge, Carl needed to leave the soldier's torp where he and his family had lived for over 27 years.
America beckoned, but the Civil War was raging. A mere six weeks after the end of that war, in 1865, Carl emigrated to Michigan with his wife and several children. He resumed use of the Engström name, leaving the surname Thor in his past, though he entertained his family with tall tales of his military exploits.
His life in Michigan would have been very different from Sweden and he must have written positive things to his son, who had stayed behind in the city of Norrköping. Two years later, in Sweden, the spring of 1867 was very cold, foreshadowing crop disaster. The famine of 1867-1869 was a catalyst for Scandinavian emigration. Thousands of people died and thousands more emigrated.
Carl Johan Theodor Thoren and his wife, Johanna Pehrsdotter, left Sweden in July, 1867, to join his father in Michigan.
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| The 1867 moving out list for Norrköpings Sankt Olai (BII:6 page 455). The Thorens are at the top of a two-page spread. Leaving on July 1, Carl Johan Theodor Thorén, Skräddare gesäll (journeyman tailor), born (f) 1838 and wife (h) born 1838. |
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| They are going to America. Last took communion in 1867. He is an honest (ärlig) man. Married 2 November 1862. Leaving are one male and one female (no children). |
Thus, Johanna Pehrsdotter was the first descendant of Peter Persson Fröling to arrive in the United States. Their first child, Charles Sten/Stone Thoren, was the first Fröling descendant to be born in America. The family was living in Houghton County, Michigan, at the time of his birth, on 28 November 1867.
Carl Thoren and Carl Engstrom both moved on from Houghton County. Carl Engstrom moved to Garfield County, Minnesota, where he lived out his life. Carl Thoren took the first name of Charles. The Thorens moved to the mining town of Negaunee, in Marquette County, Michigan. Charles first worked for another tailor and later opened a tailoring business, eventually building his own store. Johanna had more children and kept house. They wrote letters to their family and friends in Sweden, telling them of life in Michigan. Members of Johanna's extended Fröling family immigrated to Negaunee or to the United States, following Johanna and each other.
Johanna was part of a group of Negaunee women who were instrumental in establishing The Scandinavian Women's Society and the Bethany Lutheran Church. The Thoren family was very active in the church as it grew and Charles was one of the first trustees. Their two oldest children, Charles and Clara, were part of the first confirmation class in the church. The family members and their various roles were named multiple times in the church history that was written by Titus Thoren to honor the 50th anniversary of the church in 1936.
Charles Thoren died on 23 April 1917, and Johanna Peterson Thoren died on 7 December 1932. They are buried together in the Negaunee Cemetery. The local newspapers printed obituaries for both, including a lovely obituary for Johanna, at a time when few women were remembered in that way.
Four of the six Thoren children grew to adulthood, married and had children of their own. Clara Maria Thoren, born in Negaunee in 1870, had a surprising life. At age 19, she married a minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lars Wilhelm Gullström, an immigrant from Värmland. He was one of the temporary ministers who served in the early years of the Negaunee church. His ministry took them to diverse places, including Texas and North Dakota. Clara died in Minnesota in 1909.
The Immigrants
Who were the Fröling family members that immigrated to the United States? An economic downturn in America in the 1870's reduced immigration. As the economy improved in the 1880's, immigration increased, and the extended Fröling family was part of that increase.
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 with descendants who emigrated.
After Johanna, the next group of Fröling family members immigrated in 1880. Johanna's older brother, Eric Peterson, and two cousins, Per Gustaf Fröling and Carl Johan Fröjd, came to Negaunee to work in the mines, accompanied by Eric's wife and four children. Their eventual goal was to acquire land for farming. Eric filed a homestead claim of 160 acres in 1892, with Per Gustaf Froling filing his claim for a neighboring parcel in 1901.
Their 1880 immigration seemed to open the door for other family members. They were followed by a trickle of Fröling cousins. No doubt there are more that I have not yet found.
The Maria Fröling Branch
- Johanna Pehrsdotter and Carl Thoren led the way, emigrating in 1867.
- Eric Peterson likely led the 1880 group, emigrating at age 43 with his wife and four children.
- Johanna's nephew, Svante Victor Eklund, immigrated to Negaunee in 1886, when he was 19. He was followed by his sisters:
- Elin Mathilda Eklund, age 16, in 1887.
- Edla Sophia Eklund, age 17, in 1890.
- Emma Maria Eklund, age 23, in 1902.
- On the same ship as Emma was another niece of Johanna and cousin of the Eklunds. Tekla Mathilda Pettersson, age 28, immigrated with her husband Axel Karlsson and their three children, also headed to Negaunee in 1902.
The Johannes Gustaf Fröling Branch
Per Gustaf Fröling, son of Johannes Gustaf Fröling, immigrated in the 1880 group. His two brothers followed him to the Negaunee area:
- Adolf Theodor Fröling, age 24, immigrated in 1888.
- Johan August Fröling, age 30, immigrated along with his wife, son and daughter in 1891.
The Inga Lisa Fröling Branch
Carl Johan Fröjd, son of Inga Lisa Fröling, immigrated in the 1880 group. No other emigrants have been identified so far from this branch.
The Ulrika Fröling Branch
Johanna had spent a year with her aunt, Ulrika Fröling, wife of Nils Månsson Örtegren.
Johanna's cousins, Anna Sophia Örtegren and Augusta Ulrika Örtegren, immigrated to Boston in 1882 and 1883, respectively. Both women lived part of their lives in the Boston area, but eventually returned to Sweden. Their stories doubtless influenced their nieces and nephews. When their brother, Gustaf Fredrik Örtegren, died in 1934, his probate listed children and grandchildren living in New England, Massachusetts, Texas and California.
The Örtegrens all originally immigrated to the Boston area:
- Anna Sophia Örtegren, age 23, in 1882.
- Augusta Ulrika Örtegren , age 24, in 1883.
- Augusta Kristina Örtegren, age 14, in 1895, traveling with her aunt Augusta.
- Anna Ulrika Örtegren, age 16, in 1896.
- Maria Katrina Örtegren, age 17, in 1902, traveling with her sisters, Anna and Augusta.
- Adolf Fredrik Örtegren, age 20, in 1903.
- Hanna Sofia Örtegren, age 16, in 1904.
The Anna Stina Persdotter Branch
Anna Stina, the oldest of the Fröling siblings, married a soldier and raised sons who were soldiers. Their socioeconomic status was higher than their farmer relatives and it was later generations of her family who emigrated.
Three of her great-grandchildren are representative:
- Amalia Elisabeth Molander, age 18, emigrated in 1892, and settled in Connecticut.
- Her brother, Anselm Emanuel Molander, became a merchant marine, leaving his home in 1892, at age 20. By 1900, he had joined his sister and modified his surname to Molando.
- Their cousin, Nina Regina Svensson (Swanson), age 25, emigrated in 1912 to Wausa, Nebraska, a Swedish-American community.
The Sven Peter Persson Branch
Annie Elisabeth Andersson, his great-granddaughter, via son Anders Petter Svensson, was a seamstress who emigrated to Los Angeles in 1922, at the age of 18.
Sven's grandsons, the sons of Anna Charlotta Svensdotter, followed in the footsteps of their father, Adolf Ekström, who started training them to be tailors, just as he had trained Charles Thoren. Two sons emigrated. If they had gone to Negaunee, they would have had to either work with or compete with Charles Thoren. Instead, they settled in Chicago and opened a tailor shop in the suburb of Evanston.
- Ernst Viktor Leonard Ekstrom emigrated from Kristineholm in 1889, at the age of 24.
- My great-grandfather, Gustaf Emil Ferdinand Ekstrom, age 29, emigrated from the city of Linköping in 1891, with his wife and two children.
Today descendants of Peter Persson Fröling can be found across the United States, having moved on from Negaunee, New England and Chicago.
Sources
- Swedish church records for many parishes. Record sets include birth, death, marriage, moving, clerical survey and congregation records.
- Björsäter, Yxnerum, Östra Ryd, Svinstad, Värna, Grebo, Västra Ed, Gistad, Vårdsberg
- Värmdö, Bollnäs, Nedre Ullerud
- Norrköpings Sankt Olai, Norrköpings Hedvig, Norrköpings Östra Eneby
- Linköpings domkyrkoförs
- Probate records:
- Bollnäs domsagas häradsrätt
- Military records:
- Generalmönsterrullor - Östgöta regemente
- Central Soldier Register
- Göteborg Police emigration records
- Lantmateriet.se Historical Maps
- BLM GLO Land Records (homesteads)
- Ship lists, Ancestry.com
- US Census records, Ancestry.com
- Michigan Marriage and Death Records, Ancestry.com
- Connecticut Marriage and Death Records, Ancestry.com
- Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Swedish American Church Records, Ancestry.com
- US Newspapers:
- The Daily Mining Journal (Marquette), 12 December 1932, Upper Peninsula Digital Network
- Negaunee Iron Herald, 27 April 1917, Upper Peninsula Digital Network
- Upper Peninsula Digital Network newspapers
- Newspapers.com
- History of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, 1883, Negaunee, pages 452-464, on USGenWeb, Marquette County
- Wikipedia
- Google Maps
- Google Translate
- Ancestry Family Trees
- Family Search Wiki
- Find A Grave
- Cradled in Sweden
- Letters from the Promised Land
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