Christina Elisabet """"Bessie"""" Larsdotter Freeman

[Karen Kelsey]

I studied 6 of the 7 Larsson siblings who emigrated from Änimskog parish, Dalsland province, to Ironwood, Michigan, between 1881 and 1883.  The youngest of these immigrants, CHRISTINA ELISABET BESSIE LARSON, emigrated in March 1882.  She was born on 17 July 1869 in Änimskog.
We have one photograph of her, taken in Ironwood, Michigan.  Family history says that she married Jans Nilsson Freeman in Michigan, and they returned to Sweden.  No one knows when or why, or if they had children.  The family was told that Bessie Freeman died in Sweden on 23 August 1932.
How can I find more about Bessie and her husband?  We do not know when they returned to Sweden, or where they settled.

[Eva Dahlberg]

Hej Karen!
From the cd Begravda i Sverige (Buried in Sweden - the content is only in Swedish, short notice about it here) - it's far from complete, as it is material from the churches' register of graves, if such a register was made in a searchable, digitized format, and the church wanted to contribute its material. I find one suitable match (no-one of the Freeman on the cd fits) as a possibility.  
 
The birth date and the date of death are somewhat off ... but the first name of the husband also fits
 
1869-08-10
Friman, Bessie
f. 10/8 1869
Nyåkra
Död 25/8 1938
 
Hörby kyrkogård, avd. Norra kyrkogården, kv. 2 J, nr. 8 (kista, nr 2 i graven)
 
1867-03-05
Friman, Jöns H.
f. 5/3 1867
Lantbrukare
Nyåkra
Död 19/2 1926
Hörby kyrkogård, avd. Norra kyrkogården, kv. 2 J, nr. 8 (kista, nr 1 i graven)
 
Hörby församling (Hörby kn, Skåne län)
Box 164
242 22  HÖRBY
Tel. 0415-175 50
hoerby.forsamling@svenskakyrkan.se
 
The church archives of Hörby parish is at the Regional Archives in Lund, so the contact address  above is only for the grave site register.
 
regards,
Eva

[Eva Dahlberg]

PS. The cd Emibas has her birthdate in April:
 
Post 565777
Larsdotter, Kristina Elisabet
Hemmadotter (unmarried woman)
b. 4/14/1869 in Ånimskog, Älvsborgs län (Dalsland)
Emigrated 3/14/1882
from Slobol, Ånimskog, Älvsborgs län (Dalsland)
to Nordamerika
Source: Household Examination Roll, p. 225
Emibas migration file ID: Ånimskog P 1882 007
 
regards,
Eva

[Eva Dahlberg]

Found her ... It's actually the wrong year on the cd (or rather in the registers of the graves) - she died on 25 Aug 1932 which is the same year as you have, in Hörby landsförsamling (the countryside parish part of Hörby) - according to Hörby F:8, death book 1917-1936, page 77, her number is 1932:33, and the name is Freeman here.
 
The entry says Freeman, Bessie, born Larsson, born 10 Aug 1869, farmer's widow. She is stated to be found on page 1321 in the parish book.  
 
The parish book is not yet available online, but you can contact the Regional Archives in Lund for a look up and for a copy of her estate inventory to check for possible children or other heirs.
 
Good luck!
Eva

[Karen Kelsey]

Thank you so much!  I have often helped Swedes find their lost ancestors who emigrated, but this is the first in my family who got lost after she returned to Sweden.  We think that Jöns and Bessie left the U.S. after 1910, and maybe settled in Skåne because he was born there.  Is it possible to find out more about Jöns Nilsson Freeman in the Swedish records?
I think he emigrated in 1890 and went first to Michigan.  Then he and Bessie ended up in Chicago, and they were married there in 1900.  There is a listing in the 1910 census for a John and Bessie Freeman, and he worked as a janitor in Chicago.  Her age was incorrect, but that often happens on the census in large cities.
   Thank you for whatever information you can provide. It is so good to find them!

[Eva Dahlberg]

Karen, the Hörby death book (Hörby F:8, death book 1917-1936, page 45, his number is 1926:4) gives the following information John Nelsson Freeman, born 5 March 1867, died on 19 February 1926.
 
He could be the following person in Emibas
 
Post 531716
Nilsson, Jöns
Dräng (unmarried man)
b. 3/5/1867 in Östra Sallerup, Malmöhus län (Skåne)
Emigrated 3/29/1887
from Skartofta Gård, Öved, Malmöhus län (Skåne)
to Amerika
Source: Household Examination Roll, p. 36
Emibas migration file ID: Öved M 1887 007
 
but I have nothing to link the two ...  the Hörby parish book online goes until 1908, and you state that they still are in the US then. The moving in records are not online for that period either. So your best bet is to contact the Regional Archives for the missing information.
 
Good luck!
Eva
 
(Meddelandet ändrat av edah 2009-10-11 18:27)

[Karen Kelsey]

Thank you for this information.  Yes, I will contact the Regional Archives to find more about Jöns Nilsson Freeman, and I might try to get their inventories of estate.  That might give me an idea of what their lives were like after their return to Sweden.