Life in Hovdinge in 1887

Dear readers,

My family is growing! So many grandkids to present to you today that I have to sort it out, one family at a time! By now you have heard about my oldest son Oscar's four kids. He lives in Hovdinge North farm as does his brother August who has married and started a family. Let us concentrate today on this place on earth in the parish of Ljungby.

Göran's son # 1, Oscar with family (the Oscarson's)

Oscar is now a man of 41, living in Hovdinge with his wife Lina, 40. Her full name was Carolina Simonsdotter and she was born in the parish of Kånna, in the village of Dragaryd at the farm Landbogård.

Carolina (aka Lina) Goranson (nee Simonsdotter).

Oscar and Lina's four children presented to you earlier were

• Göran Algot, later called John Oscarson, by now 13 years old and a candidate for confirmation in the church of Ljungby.


• Salomon Edward, later called Ed Oscarson, by now 12 and earning his own living according to what he later recalled.


• Anna Christina, 9 years old.


• Amanda Cecilia, 7 years old.

In 1881, 14th April another little girl was added as # 5 of the siblings. Her name was Maria Elizabeth Goranson and "over there" in America she would be called Lizzie. 1887 she is a girl of six and would live for another 21 years only.

Maria Elizabeth Goranson (aka Lizzie).

In 1883 a little Esther Susanna was born to the world, on 9th October. She was later to become a modiste, making hats. At this time in 1887 she is four, # 6 of the siblings.

Esther Susanna Goranson

Sibling #7 of Oscar and Linas children was a little girl called Ruth Henrietta Goranson. She was born 22nd August 1886 and was to emigrate at the early age of three! So you might guess, exciting stories are to be told shortly.

Ruth Henrietta Goranson.

Göran's son # 2, August with family (the Goranson's).

In the church of Ljungby, 8th November 1881 my second son August, 31 years old, married his sweetheart Anna Kristina Salomon's daughter who was also born in Hovdinge. Seven months later the family was enlarged! A picture of Kristina below, being a little older, having given birth to ten children! When they married she was only 21 years old, being ten years younger than her husband.

Anna Kristina Goranson (nee Salomonsdotter)

Their first son Gunnar Siwer, later called Gonner was born on 12th June 1882 in the North farm of Hovdinge, in the house which earlier belonged to a man called Olof Svensson died in 1880. In 1887 Gunnar is five years old. On the picture below a grown-up man!

Gunnar Siwer Goranson (aka Gonner).

His brother Karl Henrik was born one and a half years later, 19th Jan 1884. In later years he was often called Carl H or Charly Goranson. In 1887 he is a boy of three. I bet many girls found him handsome when he grew up to be the man you see here!

Karl Henrik Goranson (aka Carl H. or Charlie)

Soon thereafter another little boy came to the world and was given the name Joseph Teophil Goranson. He is only two in 1887 as he was born 11th September 1885. His life ended tragically, which you will hear about later.

Joseph Teofil Goranson

And finally, up to this year of 1887 there was an eleventh grandchild to tell you about! A little girl called Betty Katarina (as her grandma) Sofia Goranson, later called Bettie, was born on 2nd August 1887. A very pretty lady, don't you think! I am a proud grandfather, just wish I could have had them closer.

Betty Katarina Goranson (aka Bettie)

My secretary once talked to a grandpa like me who had come up with the brilliant idea to plant a tree in the garden for every grandchild. He came regret it though, he could not live in a forest...A sweet man but not rational. Such words and knowledge, as science for beginners is what my secretary should be studying now instead of digging into old stories. She knows it too well, but cannot help herself, especially as she yesterday managed to get her husband, my descendant to spend his Sunday afternoon visiting three different cemeteries, looking for old markers and finding new exciting ones!!! Some were illegible so if you see a man and a woman with scrubbing brush among graves, it's them! What a vice!



Yours sincerely, Göran Danielsson.

Later in 1880

Dear descendants,

I presume you are the ones most interested in reading about your great grand pa's doings. We have passed the point of my lifetime but I assure you that those of my kids who survived childhood lived lives worth telling about. That is the reason why my secretary took up the challenge I gave her to write it all down in a foreign language.

Let us today concentrate on the years leading up to 1880. My dear wife was at that time 55, still living with her new husband on the west farm of Berghem in the parish of Kånna.

Göran's son # 1, Oscar with family.

Oscar, by now 34 years old, was at this time a family father of four, two sons and two daughters. The sons have been introduced already: Göran Algot later called John, was now 8 years old and Salomon Ed was 7. They lived at Näs outside Ljungby, about four kilometres from Hovdinge. In 1879 the family moved to Hovdinge North farm.

In 1876, 9th March, a little girl was added to the family and she was called Anna Christina Göransdotter. She was later to become a soldier in the Salvation Army! This is what she looked like in the family photo I showed you earlier. She was a girl of four years old in 1880, the photo below being taken some years later.

Anna Cecilia Göransdotter (aka Goranson)

Next daughter to be added to the family was Amanda Cecilia Göransdotter, below. She arrived in October 1878 and according to her children it was on the 14th of the month although the church books say the 11th. Amanda was a little girl of two years old in 1880. Her grandchildren Carol and David have been to visit my secretary and she is looking forward to more dear visitors, Ian, Valerie and Boyd this summer coming (2008)!

Amanda Cecilia Göransdotter (aka Goranson).

Göran's son # 2, August.

August was 30, living on the north farm of Hovdinge, soon to be married but not just yet.

Göran's daughter # 1, Emma with family.

Emma Göransdotter (later married Johannesson) was 26 at the time, having lived in Ljungby for a couple of years since 1878. She had met her future husband and married him 19th September 1880. His name was Bengt-Johan Johannesson and he was four years older than his wife, born in 1850. He came from the village Rataryd, the north part, which is about four kilometres west of Hovdinge, situated in the parish of Angelstad. We have no wedding day photos of the couple but would of course love to have copies if descendants could supply. Emma lived in Rataryd all her life and raised a family of five children, of which four survived childhood.

Thanks to Emma's granddaughter Gun we have a photo of a group of navvies, hopefully the correct word for these railway workers. The man to the left is according to her Bengt-Johan. What a well-dressed man!

Front Left - Bengt-Johan Johannesson

Göran's daughter # 2

Lotta Göransdotter was 22 and had probably also met her husband to be. She marries in 1881 so I will tell you next time.

Göran's daughter # 3

Maria Göransdotter was 16 in 1880, having been a candidate for confirmation in the parish of Kånna a couple of years earlier, still living with her mother and stepfather.
Blessings from above from your

Göran Danielsson.

Life in Ljungby

Hi,

In 1857 the church of Ljungby was ready, in the reign of Oscar I. This picture is taken 150 years later. The baptismal font is still there, since the 14th century. Must be the same we used for our kids. The inscription on the side of it says "Christ has scattered the power of evil and takes man out of it with the help of baptism".

Ljungby Church

Our first industries in Ljungby were a tannery and a dye works. There was also an organ manufacturer started by a man called Elfström who was to be the best organ manufacturer in the country. When my Katrina remarried and moved to Hamneda she might have used the steam boat carrying both people and goods from there to Ljungby and back. It was later replaced by railway. When the railway was first opened in 1878 the King was here to speak at the opening ceremony.

I would like to quote a few lines from the criminal code used in our court here in Sunnerbo, in efffect in 1877. It gives you a picture of circumstances confining our lives. It is a quote about observing the Sabbath:

"If anyone on a Sunday or on another festival day between 6 am and 9 pm is occupied with handicraft or other job's which can be postponed will be punished with fines, at the most 20 rix dollars, if it is not done because of your own or somebodys bare necessities of life."

For many of the emigrants, being free to believe in God in the way they wanted, without the intervention of priests and accompanying church hierarchy, was one of the reasons behind choosing to leave what was well known and hope for a new future across the ocean. My two sons and one of my girls chose to do so as I will tell you about later. I have come to realize that amazingly the immigrants re-established a similar spiritual system again in their new home land. Changing a habit is not easy. From my vantage point up here the major enticement was the possibility of being land owners in a very short timeline.


Easter is over, party was nice, house is cleaned so my secretary has been a good girl. Her kids have enjoying themselves and everybody is happy. That's the way I like it. Snow is covering spring. My secretary met a nice person today doing her shopping, who had been cooking porridge for the starlings to help them survive this backlash of winter. My secretary has her limits, she doesn't do breakfasts for starlings. The starlings of Hovdinge might die... They won't get any new houses either, she is not good at climbing trees and her husband is too busy. He saw a lapwing today, so there is hope for the future.

Until next time, yours sincerely
Göran Danielsson.

Ps. Do send me a mail or comment! You might have questions how I remember it all? You might like to know my sources? Don't worry all you people, my mind is sharp and my secretary knows exactly from where she gets the information. It might be incorrect anyway and if you would like to help, feel free to get in touch. Life is not perfect. I might possibly use some speculation, cannot give any guarantees, but I will let you know when I am less reliable.

If my use of your native language is sometimes unclear, just guess how it would have been without the help of another Danielson with no equal living in Kanata, Canada. You all owe him gratitude and St Peter up here will certainly be informed about his language corrections to make this blog more readible.

Legacy from the Lord

Dear ones,

In 1875 the king of Sweden was also king of Norway. He reign over these countries with supreme and divine powers worthy of the respect of such an ambassador. What is true I do not know as I honestly was not in the closest circles around his ilk here in heaven. But check on Wikipedia, those of you who are good at googling!

From there a photo of the king, Oscar II who remained king until he died in 1907:

King Oscar II King of Sweden and Norway

Oscar II:s period of reign was a time when Sweden was industrialized and technical developments quickly changed the circumstances, for example the ability to telegraph, send a letter with a stamp with the picture of Oscar I, make a telephone call, turn on an electric light or ride a bicycle! I realize my dear family was not first in line to use all the new gadgets in the parish of Ljungby, but gradually they too could make use of the new inventions.

My secretary has a book about Ljungby with a picture of Olof Ljungcrantz, the man is still famous because of his efforts promoting Ljungby. From this picture we know what Olof looked like before he died in 1876. As you have seen already the successors of camera obscura enabled us to see what my sons and their families looked like around 1890. I escaped that experience leaving this place in 1870. You did not miss a thing ;-)




Another site to visit is this http://www.dunkerskulturhus.se/templates/StandardPage.aspx?id=19209&epslanguage=SV There is a picture of a house which was the hussar regiment barracks for a squadron of cavalry of 60 men and their officers coming to Helsingborg in 1873 to ensure the defence of south of Sweden. The same year my second son August left for Helsingborg, but my memory and recall is lacking of anymore information...

My secretary feels guilty when she steals time from family life spending it with me and my kids. She had better promise not to blog until the house is clean and food prepared for party on Easter Eve. Fortunately, she will not have to see to the garden. The daffodils are covered with heavy snow. Always look at the bright side of life!

Yours truly, Göran Danielsson.

Life in 1875

Dear readers,

Although I cannot be with you any longer my family will. Five year after my departure, life looked like this for my wife and my kids:

Göran's son #1, Oscar with family.

In 1875 my oldest son Oscar was a grown up man of 29. He had met a girl by the name of Carolina, the daughter of Simon från Landbo-farm in Dragaryd, not far away from Hovdinge but in the parish of Kånna. Her name was shortened to Lina and she was a year younger than her husband to be. They married in the church of Kånna the 23rd of June in 1871 when Oscar was 25. What I know is that they lived in Näs, a village closer to Ljungby from our point of view in Hovdinge, about four kilometres from our home. I guess they moved back when my wife Katrina remarried and moved to Hamneda.

God blessed my wife Katrina with grandchildren, at first in 1872 (11th May) when another Göran was born! I am grateful for the honour of lending him my name. His second name was Algot and when he later moved on to America it was easier to be called something else, more easily pronounced, so he chose the name John. But in 1875 he was only three years old and knew nothing about crossing the Atlantic. As he was the son of Oscar, his family name was Oscarsson. Below a close-up from around 1890 when he was 18 years old.

Goran Algot Oscarsson (aka John Oscarson)

The second grandchild came in 1873, 21st of December. Quite a christmas present... He was given the name Salomon Edward Oscarsson and when he too later left for the states he was known there as Solomon Ed Oscarson. On the picture below he would be around 17 years old.

Salomon Edward Oscarsson (aka Ed Oscarson)

Below a picture of Oscar's family, taken much later than 1875 of course but I am so proud of my grandchildren as you all seem to be so I cannot withhold it any longer! You do recognize the feeling, don't all grandma's and grandpa's?! I am so pleased to be able to see them this way as I missed them in real life.

Oscar and Carolina Goranson's family ca 1890

Göran's son #2, August.

August was a young man of 25 in 1875, having moved to Helsingborg in the south of Sweden in 1872. We know he did his military service which might have had the duration of three years and it might have been because of that he had moved south.

Goran's daughters, Emma, Lotta & Maria.

My wife Katrina remarried as I told you earlier, with a man from Håå Storegård, that is the big farm of Håå in the parish of Hamneda, south of Ljungby. Our three girls moved together with their mum and in 1875 Emma was 21, Lotta was 17 and Maria was 11. In 1877 they moved on to Berghem in the parish of Kånna, first to Bergsgård and later to Västregård.

So, in retrospect rather a lot happened during these five years since I left this earth, don't you think? Have a good day, yours friendly Göran Danielsson.

My death in 1870

Dear ones,
Sad to say, but this is the end of my rather short life on earth. I am pleased that I can go on living in your minds with the help of a blogging secretary. She will tell you what happens with my wife, my kids, my grandkids and even my great grandkids...

As I told you earlier the years of 1868 and 1869 were hard. People starved because of bad weather conditions spoiling our crops. I was 52 years, 8 months and 28 days old when my days were ended by an illness described by Doctors of the day as Brights, a kidney disease. It is November 17, 1870.

My oldest boys Oscar and August took over the farm at Hovdinge Norregård. They were now 24 and 20 years of age. My daughters were 16, 12 and 6. In October 1874 they moved with their mother to the parish of Hamneda, in Håå. After a few years, on new-years-eve in 1875, my dear wife Katrina remarried with a man from Håå. He was a shoe-maker and his name was Carl Isak Johannesson. In 1877 they moved on to the parish of Kånna, to Berghem.

My secretary has been to a place called Vadstena where old estate inventories are kept since many years back. She was allowed to look into these old original books where the inventories were kept, written in the very best oldfashioned handwriting. After a few hours, fellow genealogy researchers around her fell asleep, one after the other with their noses literally in the books. At the very last minute before the archives closed for the day my secretary found the very estate inventory from Hovdinge Norregård. She ordered a copy and would later read several pages giving us details of my collected riches on earth. The one collecting the most stuff does not win by the way.

I owned for example

• 3/32 parts of Hovdinge South farm,
• 3/8 parts of Hovdinge North farm,
• a little necklace with ring in silver,
• a pocket-watch in silver,
• tin-candles,
• copperbowls,
• an iron,
• four axes,
• eight scythes,
• a mare,
• two pair of oxen,
• one pair of steers,
• cows - one red in colour, one brownish, one faint red,
• two heifers,
• four calfs,
• one cow which was in Näs village where my son Oscar lived,
• tools and equipment for cultivating, among them some in Näs which Oscar was using.
• a little house or a flat in the near of Tofta South farm.
• Some people owned me money, there is a long list.
• And there were of course curtains,
• bedquilts,
• a mirror
• and a spinning-wheel.
• Finally a smoke-pipe, not even possible to bring that along when leaving this earthly life.

Since 1859 I had been having two children under my guardianship. Two boys, almost adults when I passed away in 1870. Their names were Jonas Petter and Johan Magnus, both son's of Goran. My secretary wondered why these boys were under my protection. Yesterday when telling you my mother's story it all became clear to her. These kids were the grandchildren of my oldest sister Kristina. Their mother died when they were little. Their father was alive but I was to be the guardian for them. When I died their father took my place.

Glad be able to get back to you,
yours Göran Danielsson.

My mother's story

Dear readers,

In the year of 1867 two dear ones left us. We had a little son called David Göranssson who was born 20th Oct 1866. I suppose he was too good for this life, he lived for only three months. Our family was in sorrow - older brothers Oscar (21) and August (17), older sisters Emma (13), Lotta (9) and Maria (3).

Later the same year, 18th Dec 1867 my mother Stina Andersdotter passed away. She had a long life, being 81 that year. This is the story of her life as told to me by Anders Peter Nilsson in Brokhult, Göteryd parish who wrote it down so my secretary could read. God bless him, because without him we would not have known so precisely what happened. Anders Peter was related to us in a very distant way.

Stina, or Kierstin as she was named in the church books, daughter of Anders was born in Rommarehyltan, in the parish of Göteryd 15th Jan 1786. When she was almost 21, she married a young farmer, who was a widower about her age, called Anders Håkansson. They married in the church of Göteryd 26th Dec 1806.

• In 1809, 29th Jan, they had a baby girl, called Catharina Andersdotter. She had whooping-cough and died after two months.
• In 1810, 16th May, they had another girl called Kristina Andersdotter. She married Petter Jonsson from Ekenäs in Göteryd. Later he was a local jury court member. They had three boys and one girl.

21st April, 1811, her husband Anders died by breast fever in the age of 24 years, 9 months and 15 days.


Not long time passed as Stina was engaged the following year with a man called Anders Esbjörnsson from Brokhult, according to the writer Anders Peter. Anders Esbjörnsson was good-father and present at both christenings of the children mentioned above. In the church books he is called Esbjörn Andersson and was probably six years younger than Stina. So she was 26 at this time, in 1812 and Anders was 20 years old.

Anders Peter tells us the following story:
Stina was engaged to Anders Esbjörnsson in Brokhult. One Sunday morning he was the one to ring the churchbells at the church of Göteryd. At those times this was done with ropes. He had put the rope around his hand and rang the bell so much that it turned over and he could not let go of the rope. It hoisted him up and the bell got him squeezed up, severly bruised him and instantly killed him. A man called Petter who rang the bells with him was suspected to have made the bell turn around with purpose. The reason should have been that Petter was envious of the fiancée Stina, that is my mother.

In the churchbooks of Göteryd we can read that Esbjörn Andersson was hit by the little church bell during careless ringing and died 20 years old 17th May 1812.

So Stina, was left alone for the second time, with a little daughter of two. But in only seven months time she was married again, 31st Dec 1812. This time, 27 years old, she married my father Daniel who was 19 at the time. And a few year afterwards I was born in 1818.

Hope you liked the story, with love Göran Danielsson.