Äldre inlägg (arkiv) till 2004-01-24

[Steve Bloomquist]

Dear Gunvor,
 
Many thanks for searching Värmland parishes for a matching emigrant.  I will add the results to my notes and see if anything connects.  
 
-=SteveB

[Lisa Brandt]

Hi Steve,
Me and my sister are searching for our grate  
grandfather who went to U.S.A in 1909..  
and we  
found him in Judys list below. His name was  
Carl  
Oscar (born 1875) and he was first married to  
Hanna (Jernberg born 1882) and had 2  
children  
when they arrived to U.S (the family stories  
includes a elder brother who died). They both  
moved to Chicago from Dalarna (Torsång),  
Sweden  
1909 (they say Oscar went first and the family  
came after but according to emigrant records  
they  
all traveled together 1909). They got a divorce  
and Hanna returned to Sweden in 1910 with  
her  
children Viola and Eric, Carl Oscar stayed in  
USA, and some say that he had more children  
in a  
second marriage. He changed his name to  
Bloomquist and called himself Carl. Our  
grandfather never spoke of his father so we  
don't  
know what happened to him. All we got is a  
letter  
from him to his son dated September 1927. In  
this  
letter does he talk a lot about a Fred and  
Selma  
(who we have assumed should be a brother  
and his  
wife).
The family Judy listed contains just that  
brother  
(Knut Fredrik who you where asking for who  
immigrated in 1893).
Carl Oscar last known address (1927) was  
7th  
Street, South Minneapolis, Minnesota. And he  
probably died in 1938.
Maybe this information can help you a little bit  
further.
 
Lisa
 
Homeparish: Torsångs  
Residence: Tylla  
County: Kopprarberg  
SVARvolume: 000357 Card nr: 6  
Page: 2 Row: 38  
Persons in the household  
Fam nr: 1  
Carl Johan Blomqvist f. 1844 in Råda Verml. l.,  
Flottn.förman  
wife Emma Kristina Kandell f. 1843 in St.Tuna  
Falu l.  
s. Knut Fredrik f. 1872 in Torsång  
d. Hilda Elisabeth f. 1873 in Torsång  
s. Karl Oskar f. 1875 in Torsång  
s. Gustaf Walfrid f. 1876 in Torsång  
s. Johan Fridolf f. 1879 in Torsång  
s. Hjalmar Alexander f. 1881 in Torsång

[Steve Bloomquist]

Lisa,
 
Thanks for the post.  I don't think there's enough matching data to say it fits, though.  I know exactly where my Charles Bloomquist lived from 1897 until his death in 1932, except for a small period from 1920-1927 which I have yet to verify.
 
I am still taking notes, though.  You never know what may turn up!

[Steve Bloomquist]

Can somebody with access to the 1890 Census for Sweden find this man for me?
 
First name: CHARL
Last name: BLOMQVIST
Age: 30     Gender: K
Parish: FÅRÖ     County: I
Port: GÖTEBORG
Date: 1893 07 11
Destination: NEW YORK
Fellows: NEJ
Source: 51:509:57166
 
This man came to the USA aboard the ship Sorrento, and on the ship manifest he gives his last residence as Stockholm even though CD-Emigranten indicates that he was from Gotaland.  
 
I would love to know who his family was on the 1890 Census.

[Steve Bloomquist]

Oh!  I just found a Carl Johan Alfred Blomqvist in Stockholm (NOT Stockholm stad) on the free Arkion 1890 listing.  Arkion gives the birth year of 1869.
 
Can someone check into these for me?
 
This is very promising!

[Lena Thelin]

Hello Steve,
 
 
Thats not the man. He lived in the Old Town of Stockholm at that emigration date .
 
best regards
Lena

[Steve Bloomquist]

Lena,
 
I want to clarify: I am not thinking that the emigrant from Fårö parish that I found on CD-Emigranten is the same emigrant mentioned on the 1890 Census in Stockholm.  
 
Rather, I would like some help locating each of these men on the 1890 census.  One of them may be the correct person.
 
Tack!

[Steve Bloomquist]

Correction to my last message:  
 
I want to clarify: I am not thinking that the emigrant from Fårö parish that I found on CD-Emigranten is the same *person* mentioned on the 1890 Census in Stockholm.  
 
(I said emigrant instead of person in my earlier post).

[Lena Thelin]

Steve,
 
About that Carl in tne Census of Stockholm, what do you want to know about him?

[Steve Bloomquist]

Lena,
 
Concerning the Carl Johan Alfred Blomqvist in Stockholm on the 1890 census:
 
I would like to know whatever can be determined by that census.  Is he living with his parents?  If so, what are their names?  Also names of siblings if they are mentioned.  A more specific date of birth?  What was his birth parish?
 
I'm not sure how much can be learned from the census entry, but every little bit helps.  It would really be useful to know if the man still lived in the same place after 1897, but I suppose that's getting into heavier research.  I have documentary proof that my farfars far was in the USA in 1897 July.  Before that, anything is possible!
 
Thanks for your interest in assiting me with this!

[Lena Thelin]

Hello,
 
Regarding the CD for southern part of Stockholm
 
Johan Petter Blomqvist born 22 of November 1834 in Medåker, Västmanland county. Dead 21 of June 1884
wife Sara Elisabeth Carlsson born 8 of March 1836 in Virserum, Kalmar county. Moved to the Teknologroten 20 of October 1900
children
Maria Lovisa Elisabeth Blomqvist born 27 of April 1862 in Maria, Stockholm City
Carl Johan Alfred Blomqvist born 2 of May 1869 in Maria, Stockholm City
 
The family lived at Bengt Ekenhjelmsgatan 8 when the CD starts at 1878
 
Carl moves to the Old town of Stockholm in 1891
 
Maria married
Erik Arvid Blomqvist born 17 of January 1860 in Arboga, Västmanland county. Dead 28 of February 1897
Children
Carl Arvid Hjalmar Blomqvist born 19 of March 1884 in Maria, Stockholm City. Dead 28 of October 1887
Sigfrid Erik Alfred Blomqvist born 20 of February 1886 in Nikolai, Stockholm City
Birger Arvid Hjalmar Blomqvist born 2 of May 1888 in Nikolai, Stockholm City
Gunnar Karl Gustaf Blomqvist born 16 of June 1890 in Nikolai, Stockholm City. Dead 29 of September 1892
Fanny Maria Elisabet Blomqvist born 22 of August 1893 in Maria, Stockholm City
 
Maria Lovisa remarried 25 of February 1900 with K.A Gustafsson born 15 of November 1874
 
Birger ARivd Hjalmar Blomqvist married
Berta Kristina Karlsson born 17 of July 1889 in Håbo Tibble, Stockholm County
children
Stig Sigvald Hjalmar Blomqvist born 10 of March 1912 in Katarina, Stockholm City
Maj Berta Elisabet Blomqvist born 15 of February 1913 in Katarina, Stockholm City. Dead 15 of February 1914
Elin Berta Maria Blomqvist born 3 of February 1917 in Kungsholm, Stockholm City
 
Regarding the CD of Old Town
 
Karl Johan came during 1891 to Prästgatan 21. He was a watchmaker. 20 of June he moved to Arboga, he came back 25 of october 1893 from Arboga to Sven Vintappares gränd 2, still a watchmaker. 24 of May 1894 he moved to Kronobergsroten in Stockholm City.  
 
That's all information that I could find.

[Steve Bloomquist]

Lena,
 
You are the greatest.  Thanks for the detailed information!

[Steve Bloomquist]

I found two Carl Alfred Blomqvist living in Södermanland on the 1890 Census.  (Note that the first name starts with a C and not a K in the Arkion database.)
 
One of these Södermanland Carls was born in 1871 and the other in 1841.
 
I am interested in the Carl born in 1871.  Does anyone have the resources to find out who his parents were, if he had any siblings, and if he still lived in Sweden after 1897?

[Gunvor Jensen]

Hallo Steve,
I found him in 1890 but not in 1900.
 
ANNO 1890 - Södermanlands län
 
Eskilstuna församling    
Carl Alfred Blomqvist f. 1871 Torpa Vestm.l.  
Om personen Om hushållet  
Hemförsamling: Eskilstuna
Hemort: Eskilstuna
Kontrakt: Vester Rekarne
Län: Södermanland
 
Födelseår: 1871  
Födelseförs: Torpa Vestm.l.
Yrke: Snick.arb.
Civilstånd: Ogift (O)
Kön: Man
Familjest:  
Famstkod: Ensamstående (E)
 
Hushåll nr: 2576
Familj nr: 10
 Personer i hushållet:
Fam nr: 1
Anders Gustaf Petersson f. 1850, Snickare
Johanna Larsson f. 1850
Hilda Sofia Gustava f. 1876
Gustaf Edvin Samuel f. 1880
Gustaf Johannes Zackarias f. 1883
Fam nr: 2
Vilhelmina Jansson f. 1865, Piga
Fam nr: 3
Augusta Lovisa Petersson f. 1865, Piga
Fam nr: 4
Gustaf Adolf Carlsson f. 1863, Sadelm.-arb.
Fam nr: 5
August Gotthard Almqvist f. 1872, Snick.-arb.
Fam nr: 6
Carl Otto Jansson f. 1824, Snick.arb.
Fam nr: 7
August Johansson Nord f. 1854, Snick.-arb.
Fam nr: 8
Claes Verner Jonsson f. 1872, Snick.arb.
Fam nr: 9
Anders Matias Johansson f. 1871, Snick.arb.
Fam nr: 10
Carl Alfred Blomqvist f. 1871, Snick.arb.
 
Regards Gunvor

[Eva Dahlberg]

But as the on-line census of 1900 still isn't completed, that doesn't necessarily mean he emigrated. Unfortunately few people have direct/immediate access to the household examination records and the on-line census isn't 100 % reliable ...
Regards,
Eva

[Steve Bloomquist]

Gunvor,
 
Thanks for the help.  I will write to Eskilstuna and see what I can learn from them.  This is the most promising lead that I've had in a little while.  However, I am managing to eliminate quite a few Carl Blomqvists from the list of possibilites, thanks to my friends here in Anbytarforum!
 
Eva, you are correct.  I never trust online data 100% anyway, I always follow up and get documentation from the source.  But it is much easier for me to get help from online sources because research in the Stads- and Landsarkivet is very expensive.  I don't have enough info about my ancestor yet, but if I can find a good candidate with some help from friends, I will follow up with the Archives.

[Eva Dahlberg]

Steve, the parish records of Eskilstuna are now deposited at the Regional Archives of Uppsala, and not at the parish.
 
The reminder that the 1900 is not finalised yet (e.g. Södermanland is in but not surrounding counties) was just a small reminder not jump too quickly to the conclusion that he emigrated (I have followed your long search over the years, so I know you follow through very carefully).  
 
Most Americans are experienced with the possible faults of a census from your own country, but we Swedes have a tendency of trusting the results of the on-line censuses (or on cd), that have become available here recently, just a bit too much. They are transcripts of extracts from the church records and are known to have some faults, but that is seldom acknowledged at the time of a look-up.
 
/Eva

[Steve Bloomquist]

Eva,
 
I wrote to the Uppsala Landsarkiv as soon as I finished reading Gunvor's message.  I did not send any money, though. After looking at their website (thanks to the link you provided), I expect I'll get a letter back explaining that I will have to pay for any searching.  Of course, I have received some courtesy work from the various Archives in the past, so maybe I'll get lucky.  I haven't bothered the good folks at Uppsala until now... haha.

[Anders Andersson]

Steve, I live in Uppsala and looked up Carl Alfred Blomqvist in Torpa during my latest visit to the archive. He was born July 16, 1871, in Himmelsberga, Torpa, to parents Carl Johan And(ers)son Blomqvist and Maja Lotta Olsdotter.
 
I followed Carl Alfred onward in Torpa until October 31, 1888, when he left home for Kung Karl (Karlskyrka) parish (according to Torpa AI:18 p187).
 
I tried looking him up in Eskilstuna as well, but didn't find him, as I'm too unfamiliar with Eskilstuna records (to complicate matters, there is more than one parish to deal with, and I'm not sure which one Eskilstuna församling in the 1890 census excerpt indicates).

[Anders Andersson]

I forgot to mention that Carl Johan Blomqvist was born December 21, 1825, in Forsa Nkp (not sure what parish that is, maybe in Norrköping) and Maja Lotta Olsdotter was born August 8, 1829, in Lista parish. Carl Alfred had an older sister Anna Charlotta, born May 2, 1861, in Torpa parish.

[Steve Bloomquist]

Anders,
 
Thanks for your excellent efforts in tracing Carl Alfred from Torpa.  It was very kind of you to perform such thorough searching!  I do not think this person is my farfars far, but I am not going to rule him out just yet.  I think I will write to Kung Karl and see what happened to this man after 1888.

[Steve Bloomquist]

I just noticed a huge error on my part concerning the Blomqvist emigrant from Fårö parish in Gotland.
 
The person that I cited from Emihamn (Charl Blomqvist) is a woman, age 30... and the person that I cited from Ellis Island (Carl Blomqvist) is a man, age 28.
 
Oops!  It must have been late at night when I imagined that connection.
 
Interestingly, I cannot find a high-confidence match for the 28 year old Carl from the Ellis Island records in the CD-Emigranten databases.

[Anders Andersson]

Steve, after tracing Carl Alfred Blomqvist from Torpa via Kung Karl and Eskilstuna, I found him on the Söder CD, and it appears he was still living in Stockholm in 1925. Thus you can rule him out now.
 
I also checked the appearantly very good lead to Dunker parish that was mentioned last May; unfortunately there was no Carl Alfred born around 1871 in that family either.
 
Have you had someone search the 1890 census for Carl Alfred's parents, in case they were still alive in 1890? Maybe that kind of combinatorial search is difficult to perform in the census; I don't know.

[iris andersson]

Anders!
Forsa Nkp? Har du försökt med Forssa, Nyköping (D)
mvh  iris andersson

[Anders Andersson]

Thanks for the suggestion! No, I haven't attempted to trace Carl Johan Blomqvist, but you are probably right that Nkp refers to Nyköping and thus Södermanland county, not Norrköping. Now that we have determined that his son Karl Alfred is not the one Steve is looking for, we don't need to investigate that lead further.

[Steve Bloomquist]

Anders,
 
Thank you, thank you, thank you for finding the key data to rule out Karl Alfred from Torpa.
 
I was reviewing my paper trail the other night, and I realized that I had been tracking this same man at various parishes at different points in time.
 
I have not had anyone search for Charles' parents on the 1890 census.. largely because I have such poor, not-necessarily-reliable data about them.  
 
In fact, my total knowledge of his parents can be summed up neatly:
 
Charles' marriage license, dated 1897 07 03, states that his father is Charles Blomqvist and his mother is Sofia.
 
Charles' death certificate and funeral records indicate that his father was Erickson Bloomquist and do not give any name for his mother.
 
That's the extent of my knowledge of his ancestors.  Not much to work with, eh?
 
Now I will happily remove Carl from Torpa from the list of possibilites, and think of some new options.

[Steve Bloomquist]

What would really help my cause (due to the conflicting immigration dates for my farfars far: 1894, 1893, 1888) would be an 1880 Swedish census.
 
I think that such a database exists, but I don't know how much data is available, or if it can be searched by any person or just head of household.
 
Can anyone tell me if it would be possible to search for a Karl/Carl Alfred Blomqvist born circa 1871 on the Swedish 1880 Census?
 
I know my farfarsfar was still in Sweden in 1880!

[Per Linder]

Hi Steve, a few thoughts:
Since you do not find him in the Ellis Island database, 1888 seems to be a plausible year for his immigration. Otherwise, he might have adopted the name Blomquist later in America.
 
Have you tried looking for Charles/Carl/Karl Eriksson at Ellis Island ?
 
Best

[Judy Olson Baouab]

Hi Steve,
 
I know you have searched very hard in Swedish records. I wonder if you have used the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center and its marvelous materials. Their records aren't online but they are extensive, and I have solved many difficult problems with their resources. Properly kept church records provide a birthdate, birth parish, year of coming to the U.S. etc. and people are arranged in family groupings so it is easier to figure out which people are ours.
 
Not every minister kept books properly, but usually the Augustana Lutheran records were very accurate and I think the Covenant churches had some good records too, but the Augustana Lutheran records were the best. I am not familiar with other denominations.
 
I found good information in obituaries from Swedish American newspapers, and marriage APPLICATIONS in some areas include place of birth. I have seen how carefully you are checking Swedish records but I don't remember you sayng anything about the Swenson Center records, although of course I haven't seen all of your posts. This is just a thought. :-)The records aren't online but they are well worth checking.
 
http://www.augustana.edu/administration/SWENSON/
 
Judy

[Anders Andersson]

Steve, the transcription of the 1880 census into machine-readable form is not yet complete; so far Arkion provides only some Norrland counties for 1880 online (and perhaps some others I didn't notice, but Stockholm is not among them). Thus you would have to wait for an 1880 census search to be meaningful, perhaps a few years (the 1900 census is not yet complete either, but somewhat closer).
 
I have also considered the possibility that he didn't go by the name Blomqvist in Sweden. However, if he adopted it upon emigration only, would he then really identify his father (who supposedly remained in Sweden) as Charles Blomqvist in his marriage license?
 
While Blomqvist, Eriksson, Karl and Sofia are all fairly common Swedish names, I hope their specific combination may turn out a bit more useful. The 1890 census includes 14 Carl/Karl Blomqvist (exact spelling) and 5 Sofia Blomqvist, although I suppose that your Sofia would be listed under her maiden name rather than that of her husband. Allowing for alternate spellings and additional first names yields a few more possibilities, but I think it would still be possible to work them through systematically and find out which Karl Blomqvist's were married to one Sofia.
 
I haven't attempted such a systematic search, but by spending 15 minutes with the 1890 census at the library I found one Karl Anton Blomqvist born 1843, married to Gustava Sofia Selander born 1834, living in Adolf Fredrik parish (in Stockholm). I doubt these are your Charles and Sofia, and therefore I don't suggest spending any time on them yet, but it demonstrates one way of approaching the problem. However, the method does require both parents to be still alive, married, and living in Sweden in 1890, which need not be the case. For all we know, Karl Alfred may have been orphaned even before emigration.