Leading the Way, 52 Ancestors

 
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.

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.

 

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. 

 

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.

 

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

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
 

The Minister's Dilemma, 52 Ancestors

 

What do you do when your underage son gets a young woman pregnant?

The Vika parish minister, Magnus Aspelind, faced that dilemma in the fall of 1770. Magnus was responsible not only for the religious life of the parish, but also for parishioner morality, care of the poor and documentation of the parishioners through vital records. He was one of the most powerful men in the parish, but needed to be careful with his choices. He could publicly embarrass such a couple, but that would bring shame to his son and himself. If he did not treat them as any other couple, but the truth came out, he and his family would face another kind of shame, possibly from his superiors.

Carl Aspelind was only 17 years old, four years away from his majority at age 21. Magnus expected him to complete his university studies before getting married, so would certainly not have approved a marriage. Catharina Engelbrechtsdotter was completely unacceptable, as she was about 23 years old and of a lower social class. Magnus could send Carl away to school, but what could he do about Catharina? He needed to make the problem disappear.

Magnus seems to have been a minister who did not follow all the rules. Record-keeping under his authority had gaps and omissions. He did care deeply about his children, expressing his grief in the death book when his middle son died young, as he referenced two passages from the book of Job. He would have cared as deeply about his youngest son and would have agonized over his immoral behavior and how to handle it.

A single record appears to be falsified, leading to my speculation about Magnus' solution. I believe that Magnus offered Catharina a deal. He would give her a moving certificate with a good character reference and would also give her a bit of money. She would agree to leave the parish and make no effort to contact Carl or his family. She would have known that there was no future with Carl, so such an agreement would have been acceptable to her. She would join family members about 40 miles to the southwest, in the parish of Grangärde. Magnus gave her the moving certificate, but in the moving-out list she was shown as moving to the north, to nearby Falun. If Carl had looked in the book, he would have searched for Catharina in the wrong direction.

List of people leaving Vika parish in 1770, including Cath. Engelbrecht to Fahl from Kyrkiobyn

Other people could also have falsified the records. Carl might have had access to the records, though his motive would have been to hide her from his father. He could have written a duplicate moving certificate. Catharina could have simply taken advantage of a moving certificate that left out the destination parish. Perhaps she had intended a double move, but discovered she could go directly to Grangärde.

When she arrived in Grangärde parish in late September, a notation was placed in the household survey that she had arrived from Vika (Wika). 

Household survey showing Cathrin. Engelbreckdotter arriving from Vika in September, 1770.
Also lists her illegitimate daughter Anna Lisa and the people with whom they are living.

Baby Anna Lisa was born on 29 April 1771, and Catharina identified the child's father as Carl Asplind [sic] of Vika parish. Not all illegitimate (oäkta) children had their father named in the birth record, but Catharina provided that name and was able to enjoy the satisfaction of retribution. Was she attempting to make trouble for the Aspelind family?

Birth number 79 in 1771 in the parish. Birth on 29 [April 1771] and christening on 1 [May].
Illegitimate (oäkta) daughter Anna Lisa born to mother Cathrina Engelbertsdotter of Räfvåla,
with child's father named as Carl Asplind [sic] in Vika parish.

The two parishes were in the same diocese, so the ministers must have known each other and even met periodically. The Grangärde minister would have had the dilemma of whether to mention this assertion to his peer. Perhaps he recognized the connection and perhaps he didn't. Aspelind was not a common surname, but it wasn't entirely unique. Magnus Aspelind died at the end of 1772, so there were less than two years for the ministers to discuss the allegation. The birth record was never altered. 

Anna Lisa

Anna Lisa has been positively identified in only four records so far. She and Catharina were recorded twice in the household surveys of Grangärde parish. By 1775, they had moved over 100 miles from Grangärde, in Kopparberg (Dalarna) County, to Stockholm County, where Catharina married the sailor (båtsman) Johan Duhan on 9 January 1775, in Vårdinge parish. Anna Lisa is listed as an illegitimate daughter on the only page where the family appears together.

Family of Johan Duhan and Catharina Engelbrechtsdotter,
including illegitimate daughter Anna Lisa and children Catharina, Anders and Maria.
Household survey book includes random information from 1760 to 1786.
The family is living at the Nyble Båtsmanstorp (sailor croft for Nyble rote).

The fate of Anna Lisa is unknown, as the records of Vårdinge parish have many gaps. She may have taken the surname of Carlsdotter, may have chosen from another family name or may have invented a surname. She also might have died young. Her stepfather died when she was 17, so she had probably already left home, thus has not been found living with her widowed mother. With her common name and without knowing her chosen surname, she has not been simple to trace. 

Catharina Engelbrechtsdotter Duhan

Catharina bore five more children, at least three of whom died young. Her son Anders, born in 1784, was my 4th-great-grandfather. Her last child was a son born shortly after her husband's death. He was christened Carl and, sadly, died young. Did she name the baby after a lost love?

Catharina has also been difficult to trace. Finding one falsified record makes me question every fact that was ever recorded about her, especially with conflicting documents about her birth place and birth year. None of the evidence has led to a birth record. 

About the time her husband died, Catharina took his military surname of Duhan. Catharina Duhan died in the poorhouse (fattigstugan) in Vårdinge parish, Stockholm County, on 18 September 1823.

Part of household survey of the fattigstugan (poorhouse) for 1821-1825.
Enk. (widow) Catharina Duhan is crossed out. 
On the facing page (not shown) is recorded 23 död (1823 dead).

Cornetten Carl [Charles] Aspelind

When Magnus Aspelind referenced the life of Job, little did he know that his own family would suffer more tribulations. Son Lars had died in 1768, Carl fathered a child in 1770, Magnus died in 1772, daughter Hedvig in 1775 and widow Ebba in 1777. Daughter Maria died at age 39, in 1788, leaving only two children of the eight that she had borne. Oldest son Daniel died in 1800, having stepchildren, but no children of his own. Carl also died without legitimate surviving children.

Carl Aspelind was born to Magnus Aspelind and Ebba Catharina Nybom in Irsta parish, Västmanland County, on 13 September 1753. He was listed in his father's 1772 probate as a student. In 1774 he joined the military as a cavalry soldier, serving as one of a dozen such men provided from the parish of Irsta. He held the rank of Corporal by 1777, when he was promoted to kvartermästare (Quartermaster) in the Livregementet till häst (horse), Södermanlands kompani. He had to move from Västmanland County to Stigtomta parish in Södermanland County to accept that promotion to the officer rank of Cornet, equivalent to Ensign or 2nd Lieutenant.

In 1781, at the age of 27, Carl married his brother's stepdaughter. His oldest brother, Daniel Aspelind, was a half-brother, 13 years older than Carl. Daniel had married the widowed Hedvig Körsner, who was 10 years older than himself and had grown children when they married in 1776. Her 26-year-old daughter, Justina Helena Naucler, married Carl Aspelind in the parish of Bjursås. While this marriage was not illegal or genetically risky, it seems strange or even disgusting to us in 2023. Marriage in Sweden, especially for the upper classes, was usually a matter of practicality, rather than romance. Preservation of assets may have been a factor.

After his marriage, Carl appeared in two military muster rolls, which were made only periodically. In 1791, there was a simple notation for him: sjuk or sick. The next roll stated that he had been discharged (avsked) shortly after the muster roll of 1791, when he was about 38 years old. His illness must have been serious to have forced him out of the military, though he lived another 15 years. 

He and his wife left Stigtomta parish and their whereabouts were unknown until 1800, when the indexes begin for the household surveys. At that time, Carl, who also used the name Charles, and his wife Justina were living in Kila parish in southern Södermanland County, with no indication of their previous home. They had no children or other family members in their household. 

Cornetten Carl Aspelind died in the city of Norrköping, Östergötland County, on 21 December 1806. He was 53 years old and the death record from Sankt Olai says only that he died of an unnamed illness. His probate, which was filed under the name of Charles in both Norrköping and Falu, showed that he had no children. It is possible that he and his wife had children who did not survive. It is also possible that Anna Lisa was Carl's only child.

Death of Carl Aspelind, Cornet, of an unnamed illness, at age 53 years and 3 months.
He died on the 21st and was buried on the 28th [December 1806].

Orientation

The story of Carl, Catharina and Anna Lisa started in the blue area, north of the usual areas for my family, but ended in the purple area. The larger Aspelind family was based in the blue area. Catharina Engelbrechtsdotter Duhan is marked in my grandfather's tree with the star.

To Do List

• Using Family Search indexes, research births of children named Catharina, born to an Engelbrecht or variation.
• Research Anna Lisa Carlsdotter born in 1770 in Vårdinge, with the possibility that she is the right woman, with errors having been made in the church records. No such birth was recorded in Vårdinge.

Research Note

The question of the identity of the father of Anna Lisa was not solved with the church records that are the foundation of Swedish genealogical research. There were two things that made this research possible: Catharina's uncommon surname and the class status of the Aspelind family. For ordinary peasants or farmers, this search would likely have been fruitless.

This puzzle required tax and probate records to establish location and relationships. Military records were critical, as were indexes at both ArkivDigital and Family Search. It was the 1770 tax record that piqued my curiosity. Without these tax records, Carl Aspelind would not have been identifiable with the indexes that exist in 2023.

Scrolling through the Vika tax list for any household with the name Asplind, I  found a single entry with the title and name Kyrkoh. Aspelind. The title Kyrkoherden means the parish minister, or the church shepherd, when translated by breaking up the word. That position signified that there was a story to be found. 

Fragment of the mantals tax list for 1770 in Vika parish.
Underlined is the name Kyrkoh. Aspelind, with quite a few family members in the count.

Sources

• Mantals tax records for the parishes of Vika and Stigtomta 
• Probate records:
• Kopparbergs och Säters län (utom Säters socken) och Österdalarne 
• Falu rådhusrätt och magistrat 
• Norrköpings rådhusrätt och magistrat 
• Military records:
• Generalmönsterrullor - Livregementsbrigadens kyrassiärer (1795)
• Generalmönsterrullor - Livregementet till häst (1770-1791)
• Meritförteckningar 27 (1784)
  
• Church records:
• Kopparberg (Dalarna) parishes: Vika, Grangärde, Norrbärke, Gustafs, Säter, Bjursås, Falu Kristine, Stora Kopparberg (Falu)
• Västmanland parish: Irsta
• Stockholm County parish: Vårdinge
• Södermanland parishes: Vagnhärad, Kila, Stigtomta
  
• Östergötland parish: Norrköpings Sankt Olai
• Gotland parish: Visby stadsförsamling
• Lieutenant Colonel Claes Grill, Statistiskt sammandrag af svenska indelningsverket (Statistical Summary of the Swedish Allotment System)
• Lantmateriet.se Historical Maps