Hi Martha
There are lots of loose ends in this family that I have not yet been able to tie up with the rest, but I have some new facts that perhaps can be of some help.
First I can verify that you and I have found the same date of birth for Maja Gustavsdotter and the same marriage date, which I am convinced are the right ones.
I have found the birth of the son Nils in Sågen, Linderås, on Oct 31 1752, and also his death on Aug 19 1768 in Bredstorpsstugan, Säby, at the age of 16.
That finding lead me to what I believe is the fifth child of Jöns and Maja, namely the son Johannes born March 11 1769 in Bredstorpsstugan, Säby. Although the mother of this child is called Maja Persdotter in the birthbook I believe this is a miswriting on behalf of the priest, since I have found no other couple Jöns Nilsson and Maja in Säby during this period.
This last finding also corresponds with the birth of Jöns´ and Maja´s second child, also called Johannes, which took place April 9 1755 in Tuvahemmet, Södramålen, Säby. He lived only six months and was burried Oct 19 1755, also in Tuvahemmet.
As you can see the possible five children of Jöns Nilsson and Maja Gustavsdotter were born in five different places - Sågen in Linderås - Majas birth place and presumably the home of Nils´s maternal grandparents - Tuvahemmet - Boda - Gullebo and Bredstorpsstugan. Jöns Nilsson is never called ”soldier” in any of the birth entries of his children, and I believe he never was enlisted in the army.
To be a ”reserve soldier” was not an occupation and not a promise of becoming soldier either. It was a way of preparing in case one enlisted man was dismissed or died. It was the duty of the farmers in a parish to see to it that the number of enlisted men always were kept at the same number. The Swedish army of the time, and until 1901, consisted mostly of regional regiments that were recruited locally. Two or more farms together had to recruit one soldier, see to it that he had the right equipment, and that his family had a cottage to live in and support them with grain and other necessities. Instead their tax was reduced.
”Reserve soldiers” were often farmhands with no land of their own, and they often got a small fee for their willingness to serve. But not all of them became soldiers, and I believe that was what happened to Jöns Nilsson. Instead he had to move around to different farms and take jobs where he could get it. That is why his family moved around so much, I believe.
Unfortunately I have no more info on him than the wedding date and the birth dates of his children. The Säby hfl of 1759- says that he was 40 years old, and possibly born around 1722. But no record I have found says anything on where he was born or where he and his wife moved from Bredstorpsstugan.
One more thing though. His daughter Kerstin Jönsdotter, died Nov 30 1832 in the cottage Backen, Djurafall, Linderås. She was married twice and also had a daughter born out of wedlock Nov 12 1786 at Tranåskvarn, Säby, before she married Israel Persson Wall in April 1788. This daughter Eva moved to Säby in 1817 and is called Eva Olofsdotter in hfl Linderås AI:3, sid 181, obviously after her stepfather Olof Olofsson. But her surname is changed to ”Carlsdr”, which might indicate that her biological father was some Karl.
Israel Persson Wall was soldier for Uddarp, Säby, and probably died in Finland 1789 or 1790 during the war against Russia 1788-1791. Anyway Kerstin Jönsdotter was remarried Dec 28 1793 in Linderås to Olof Olofsson from Bäck, Linderås, and in this marriage she had four more children, born in Linderås between 1794 and 1804. I have the dates if you are interested.
That is what I can contribute. Not much answer to the vital questions of where and when, but perhaps some new facts that can lead to something.
Best wishes
Ämne: Äldre inlägg (arkiv) till 14 augusti, 2014 (läst 4668 gånger)
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