| Notes |
- Swan took his family to America the year after his father died.
Crop failures and poverty were rampant in Sweden at the time our family emigrated. Record numbers of people left Sweden from about 1850 until the end of World War I, settling mostly in the Americas and Australia. About 1.3 million Swedes left Sweden for the USA. Other factors included religious persecution (the government had strict laws regarding religion), bleak future prospects, and extreme social conservatism.
Swan saw first hand how hard his father worked and yet had nothing to show at the end of his life. The family moved frequently, following work where they could find it. Hearing stories about available farm land and religious freedom must have given him and his children hope.
The usual route was through England, and our family took a boat from St. Götestorp, Sweden to Hull, England (which took about a week) before embarking on their journey to America (which took about a month). As was the custom, the oldest son, Johan Peter, went to America first and found a suitable place to settle in Goodhue County, Minnesota. He returned to Sweden and brought the rest of the family back to Red Wing, Minnesota.
The men of the family are easily traced, but the daughters, Louisa Christina and Johana, have disappeared from the record.
Swan died the following year. He had 6 children and 21 known grandchildren. None of his siblings migrated, although a few of his nieces and nephews did.
The family thrived, however, and settled in Red Wing, Hastings, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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The “Orlando” sailed from Jönköping, Sweden (9 Apr 1870) to Hull, England, but the ultimate destination was New York. Very few records exist before 1878, and nothing has yet been found for the trip from England to the USA.
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LAST NAMES Although his children should have carried his first name as part of their last names (such as Swansson or Swansdotter), according to Swedish custom, when they arrived in America, they took on his last name (which was derived from his father’s first name, Hans).
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Children ages do not match the immigration record (made in 1870), although the parent’s ages match:
- Magnus, recorded as 11 years old, would have been born in 1859
- Carl August, 6, 1864
- Johanna, 9, 1861
- Christina, 11, 1859 (s/b 1849)
- Johannes, 1, 1869
The immigration record also shows another family from the same town traveling at the same time:
- S J. Magnusson, wife Maria, children Wilhemina, Carl Oscar, Emma [5]
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Old Dead Relatives
1820 - Abt 1871 (50 years)
: Address
: Location
: City/Town
: County/Shire
: State/Province
: Country
: Not Set
