Gustaf Constans Petersson

[Jack Daniel Noe]

My great grandfather's half brother, Gustaf Constans Petersson (born 21 May 1854) was born in Mönsterås and lived there until 1870, when he is shown in the moving-out records as leaving for Södertälje. The moving-in records for Södertälje are missing for that period, and I can find no trace of Gustaf anywhere after that. He is not in the dödbok on this website, he is not in the indexes on ArkivDigital, he completely disappeared. I have also searched emigration records, and can find no trace of him there, either, although his absence from the dödbok tells me he probably did emigrate. There is a Gustaf Petersson from Mönsterås who left for Racine, Wisconsin in 1882, but I've established that he's a different Gustaf...

His father Magnus was a sailor, and had another son born in Södertälje in 1869, so I'm guessing Gustaf was going there to join his father (and his father's girlfriend.)
Any suggestions for where I might find Gustaf Constans and discover his fate? Thank you!

[Ulla Lundell]

Hello Jack


You told us that Magnus had a child born in Söderälje in 1869 if you know the name of the child could you tell it and perhaps we can help you find someting about Gustaf Constans with the help of that.


// Ulla :-)

[Jack Daniel Noe]

Hi Ulla
Thanks very much for your reply. I'll attach the 1869 birth- it was for John Emil on April 26. The mother here was not Gustaf's mother, she had died in 1862.  Magnus got with Clara after that and they had another son (my morfarfar) in Oskarshamn on 1867-04-20. Magnus was a sailor, so moved around a lot.
It is only a guess that Gustaf came to Södertälje to join his father. I've never found any record for Magnus or Gustaf in Södertälje.
(I do have a moving-in record for Clara coming to Katarina from Södertälje in 1871 but it doesnt mention Magnus or her children.)  This whole family is a big puzzle!
Thanks!
Jack

[Ulla Lundell]

Hello Jack


I did some today and I did find this in Mönsterås housholdsexaminationsroll  A1:13 1861-1877 page 109 Gustav and his family it said that he moved to Södertälje on 30 of mars 1870 and in the record of moving in and out Mönsterås B1:1 1861-1885 page 89 he has number 8. moved to Södertälje and there is no record of moving in Södertälje. I shall take a look later on this evening. I did another check and it was just a small notis from Ancestry  if that was true about Gustav hade died some year after 1870 and he should have been about 16 to 17 years old, I can´t check it my self because I don´t have Ancestry or My Haritage


// Ulla :-)

[Jack Daniel Noe]

Hi Ulla

Thank you! yes, the moving out record is attached to my first message here. I think any note about Gustaf dying after 1870 is just because that's the last record of him- I have seen trees that show 'after 1870' as his death date. It's so frustrating. Gustaf's sister Ida Charlotta is also missing, I will need to make a separate post about that- it's a dramatic story because she went to America in 1883, wrote one letter back, and then disappeared forever, leaving a young son in Sweden who never discovered her fate. Another sister died in Oskarshamn in 1919, and her bouppteckningar lists both Gustaf and Ida, but says their location is unknown.
Thanks again

[Ulla Lundell]

Hello Jack


Finaly some news fore you I have looked at the mormons site and it said that Ida Charlotta died in Philadelphia but no year. The son Gustaf Edvard Petersson died  8 of December 1949 in Katarina Parish in Stockholm. I shall try to find out some moor


// Ulla:-)

[Jack Daniel Noe]

Hi Ulla

Thank you very much for looking: I put that info on FamilySearch. I am helping Ida Charlotta's great grandson with this mystery. Gustaf Edmund was his grandfather and Gustaf Edmund never knew what happened to his mother. I will create a new post about this mystery. I did ask Ida's great grandson if he ever heard of Gustaf Constans and he hadn't.
Thanks so much for looking into this 

[Kristina Rylander]

Jack,

I found your tree at ancestry and read Ida's letter. Is that the only letter that she wrote or the only one that was kept?

She signs it with Ida Marin. Since she emigrated mid November 1883 and arrived early December and wrote the letter in January of 1884 I am thinking she herself chose that last name (?). Or do you think she married directly?

Maybe her brother changed his as well? Since he cannot be found after 1870 I am thinking he also left Sweden.

With the amount of records you have attached to your tree I am assuming you have been searching for a while?

[Jack Daniel Noe]

Hi Kristina
Thanks very much for your reply!
Yes, I've been researching this mystery for about 8 years now. We have no idea where the name 'Marin' came from-I have searched exhaustively in US records and have found no trace of Ida (or Gustaf Constans). That is the only letter she wrote back- there was no word after that. Little Gustaf Edmund kept that letter all his life, always wondering what happened to his mother. Now Ida's great-grandson has it...and when I visited him and his wife in Stockholm I got to hold it. I would really like to solve this for them, but it seems impossible.
I do have one new theory: that Ida Charlotta decided that little Gustaf was better off with foster parents and decided to give him up. I got this idea when I saw an "Ida Marin" of almost the right age sailing back to American from Sweden in 1886, 2 years after the letter. Perhaps she spoke with the foster mother and they agreed not to say anything to the child.

Anyway, I will write this up tomorrow as a separate post and see what people think- I'm not sure whether the Mönsterås forum is the right place for it, though....
Thanks again! 

[Ulla Lundell]

Hello Jack


I wish that I can help you with the 8 year mistory.  I have been looking in the book of death from 1830-2020 and found this Gustaf Edsmund Pettersson born 1 of september 1877 in Maria Magdalena parish in Stockholm he died 12 of August 1949 in Katarina Parsh Stockholm and he was married  11 of Mars 1911.


// Ulla :-)

[Jack Daniel Noe]

Thank you so much for looking, Ulla.

[Jack Daniel Noe]

While looking for something else in the moving-in records for Maria parish in Stockholm I have just unexpectedly found another record of the missing Gustaf Constans..he arrived there on 1870-12-29. I can read most of this....but can anyone help me with the note on the right side of the page, which is on the second attached image. What does it say about 1871 there? Thank you!

[Maud Svensson]

admitt(erad) 1871. försvarlig
He was admitted to the holy communion/confirmed in 1871 and his knowledge of Christianity was försvarlig ≈ pretty good.

Here he is in the 'confirmation book', nr 81:
Maria Magdalena (AB) DIa:2 (1860-1880) Image 159 (AID: v653465.b159)

[Jack Daniel Noe]

Thank you Maud!
Do you have any suggestions for finding any other trace of him? I would think that if he's in the confirmation record he should be in the household surveys somewhere- but he isn't in the ArkivDigital indexes- do you think it's worth going through the 1871 household survey for Maria page by page? Is it likely that the indexers missed him? Thanks!

[Maud Svensson]

Gustaf Constans Petterson was registered at Stockholms sjömanshus Aug 14, 1871. He jumped ship in London Nov 19 the same year and was struck off the register. The ship was Magdalena, the captain Samuelsson.
Stockholms sjömanshus (A, AB) DIc:4 (1871-1884) Image 2260 / Page 248 (AID: v655692.b2260.s248)
Stockholms sjömanshus (A, AB) DIa:125 (1871) Image 5820 / Page 552 (AID: v655483a.b5820.s552)

[Jack Daniel Noe]

Thank you! That is amazing- I never thought to check in the seaman's records. Did you look there because his father was a sailor?
Now I must search in the UK....thank you again!