Berggren

Objective

Extend the pedigree of Karen Josefine Berggren.

Results

Verified that Karl Alfred Berggren was the son of Niklas Berggren and Anna Catharina Svensdotter, and extended his pedigree.
Determined that Karl Alfred Berggren only had two biological siblings.
Identified the mother of Niklas Berggren who was named Beata Christensdotter.
Identified two of Niklas Berggren’s siblings.
Identified the parents of Anna Catharina Svensdotter, along with her siblings.
Found the birth family of Karin Engelbrektsdotter, the mother of Anna Catharina Svensdotter.
Learned the birth region and birth date of the ancestral Hans Aron Svensson, along with the name of his father, Sven Andersson.
Learned that the ancestress, Josefina Andersdatter, had a farm name of Roberg, and it may be likely she was of Norwegian descent.

Recommendations

Have the following court volume digitized or searched by a local researcher in Sweden: Tunge, Stångenäs, Sörbygdens och Sotenäs häradsrätt, SE/GLA/11098/A I a/106, Domböcker vid lagtima ting, 1837. This may lead to a court case involving the illegitimate mother of Niklas Berggren, wherein she may identify his biological father.
Continue to research and document the Engelbrekt Helgesson Söderstadt/Orädd and Ingrid Heglesdotter family identified during this session, and seek opportunities to extend this line further, if possible
Extensively document Hans Aron Svensson’s life in Norway in order to gather additional documentation for him that may contain information about close relatives who either were still residing in Sweden or came from Sweden and came from a parish that did not burn after they left it.
Continue Norwegian research on the lines of Josefina Andersdotter Roberg. The parish she was born in has a farm book at the Family History Library that could not be examined during a future research session and be of great value.
Consider waiting for MyHeritage.com to index the nationwide Swedish Household Examination records from 1820 to 1840. Currently, their index covers the years of about 1860-1930. It appears they may expand the database to 1840 within a few years, and back to 1820 a few years after that, if they continue to follow their current rate of indexing and collection publication. Waiting for this index to be expanded might be the only way to progress further on the brick walls encountered during this session, namely determining the origins of Beata Christensdotter and Sven Olsson, of which no clues of either their actual parish of origin or birth family could be located in the parishes they lived as adults.
Another possibility while waiting for Household Examination records to be indexed is to research the witnesses and Godparents listed in the birth entries of the children of Beata Christensdotter and Sven Olsson. Doing so may lead to identifying previously unknown family connections that might lead to identifying their birth families.

The objective of this project was to extend the pedigree of Karen Josefine Berggren.

Caroline Hansdatter Ancestry

The client requested to have the information provided on Family Tree verified to ensure that research going forward was built on a solid foundation beginning with the ancestry of Karen Josefine Berggren, who was born 25 March 1910 in Tønsberg, Vestfold, Norway. While her birth entry did not appear in the Tønsberg parish register for its members in 1910, she did appear on the 1910 Norwegian census with her parents.[1] The census also listed a number of siblings proving everyone’s exact place of birth, even for Karl Alfred Berggren, listing him as being born in Brodalen in Sweden.[2] Brodalen was found to be in the parish of Bro in Göteborg och Bohus, Sweden. A birth record for Karl Alfred Berggren was found on that same date listed on the census of 20 April 1869 to a Niklas Berggren and an Anna Catharina Svensdotter in the previously mentioned parish of Bro, therefore, it was concluded the correct individual had been identified in the Swedish records.[3] His ancestry will be discussed more in depth later in this report.

Turning to Caroline Hansdatter, the before mentioned 1910 census noted her birth occurring in the Norwegian parish of Slagen along with the birthdate of 20 January 1876. Her marriage to Karl Alfred Berggren in 1896 noted she was born in Raael in 1876 to a man named Hans Aron Svensen.[4] It was learned that Raael is an old spelling for a farm named Råel, which appears to be in the local parish of Slagen of which records were historically kept by the parish of Sem, all in the municipality of Tønsberg in Vestfold, Norway. Her birth record was located which confirmed her birth place, date, and the name of her father. Her birth record also listed the name of her mother, Josefina Andersen, which matched the information listed on FamilySearch. Furthermore, the marriage record listed the year her parents were born, 1844 and 1847 respectively, and the year they married which was listed as 1871.[5]

FamilySearch listed the marriage of Hans Aron Svenson and Josefina Andersen as occurring in Slagen parish, 31 January 1871. This marriage was searched for and located in the original parish register.[6] The marriage record provided valuable information, such as the full birth dates of both the bride and groom, locations of birth, along with the names of their fathers. Hans Aron Svensson’s birth place was simply recorded as Sweden and Caroline Hansdotter’s birth place was listed as Roberg. Roberg was found to be a farm name, which is likely within the before mentioned Slagen parish boundaries. The couple could only be found on the 1875 Norwegian census, where they appeared in Raael øvre, Vestfold, Norway. This record listed an Aron Svensen (spelled Svensson in Sweden), born 1844 in Bohus, Sweden, married to a Josefina Andersdatter, born 1847 in Raael. While the birth place of Josefina Andersdatter did not precisely match the marriage record, this couple was within the same parish that the ancestral couple married just four years prior. Also, given the fact that the ancestral Caroline Hansdatter was born the next year in the exact same location, it could be safely concluded that this record referred to the desired family unit despite the discrepancy of birth farm. Because Josefina Andersdatter had a farm name, more typical of persons with Norweigen ancestry then a person of Swedish ancestry, it was determined that Josefina Andersdatter was most likely of Norwegian descent. This project was mostly focused on documenting the client’s Swedish ancestry, Norwegian research only was conducted to verify whether or not Swedish immigrants who lived in Norway were actually from the parts of Sweden listed on online trees. Because of this, further research on the ancestry of Josefina Andersdatter has been deferred to another research session. A farm book for Sem and Slagen parish is at the Family History Library, which will greatly aid in identifying the client’s Norwegian ancestors.

The 1865 census was searched for both Josefina Andersdatter and Hans Aron Svensen with no success. The search engines for the indexed Norwegian censuses were found to be very finnicky, so the lack of results does not indicate they were not enumerated. A search for Hans Aron Svensson who lived in the household of Sven Andersen, the name of his father named on his 1871 marriage previously mentioned, was met with no results. It was determined that it was likely that Hans Aron Svensson likely moved to Norway as a young man sometime between 1865 and 1871. Moving lists for Slagen parish led to the discovery of an 1868 moving entry for Hans Aron Svensen that listed him as coming from the Swedish parish of Kville.[7] Tragically, that parish had a fire in 1904 that completely destroyed the parish record archive. The Swedish Central Statistical Bureau (SCB) extract of emigrants from the parish of Kville in 1868 did not list Hans Aron Svensson. This is not surprising, as at the time Norway and Sweden were joined together in a United Kingdom, so Han’s move was viewed as being equivalent to moving to a different part of the country, not to another country. However, according to the SCB extract, only one male supposedly moved out of Kville in 1868, but no names were listed to indicate who that one male was.[8] Therefore, it is impossible to know for sure if that man was the ancestral Hans Aron Svensson, but it appears highly likely that Hans did, in fact, move out of Sweden from this parish.

The next move was to determine if Hans Aron Svensson’s family lived in Kville. A search for probate records and SCB death record extracts, the later of which only exist after 1860, was conducted and no man named Sven Andersson was found to have died in Kville parish. Either that man died before 1860 and did not have enough property for an estate inventory to be conducted, or he may have died elsewhere. Additionally, the indexed household records for Kville, which were reconstructed from SCB extracts for the household records of said parish made in 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890, and 1900, were searched as well with no indications that either a Hans Aron Svensson or a Sven Andersson resided there during any of those years. Based on the negative evidence observed, it could be concluded that most likely Hans Aron Svensson and his birth family did not originate in Kville. This may mean the records for Hans Aron Svensson’s birth have not been destroyed or lost. However, the birth and the household examinations from the 1840s have yet to be indexed nationwide, and a search of some of the parishes close by to Kville that are indexed did not lead to locating Hans Aron Svensson’s birth record. Without additional clues as to Hans Aron Svensson’s origins besides the fact he was born in the län of Göteborg och Bohus and his father was named Sven Andersen there are two courses of action to follow of which could not be done in this session. These are listed in the recommendation section of this report.

Niklas Berggren Ancestry

Once the Swedish identity of Karl Alfred Berrgren was determined to be sound, the household records confirmed the information listed in FamilySearch that Niklas Berggren was born 30 March 1837 in the parish of Svarteborg, in Göteborg Och Bohus, Sweden. A matching birth record in the before mentioned parish was located. However, it listed Niklas being born illegitimately to an unmarried vagrant woman named Beata Christensdotter, who did not provide the name of the father to the parish authorities at the time of Niklas’ birth.[9] A search of the parish birth register led to the discovery that the ancestral Niklas was actually the second of Beata Christensdotter’s three illegitimate children, all born in Svarteborg parish. Niklas’s siblings received a highly unusual surname based on Matronymics, Beatasson or Beatesdotter, which suggests that the name of their father was completely unknown, perhaps even by their mother.

Attempts to determine where the surname of Berggren came from were made, but Niklas proved difficult to track, as he supposedly moved into the parish of Håby from Skee, but that pastorat has no record of issuing a moving certificate to a Niklas Berggren born in 1837. No earlier indexed household records exist, so for now the search was discontinued of tracing Niklas Berggren backwards. It couldn’t be determined when or where Niklas Berggren picked up his surname. At the moment it is equally possible for Berggren to be the surname of a foster family or Niklas’ biological father’s surname, therefore, no assumptions should be made until further documentation is located that provideS evidence either for or against either possibility.

Attempts to trace the lineage of Beata Christiansdotter was also complicated as she was not formally registered in any of the places where the household examination register recorded as birth places of her three children. This is likely due to the fact that she was an errant vagrant during the period of her life when she bore her children.[10] The indexed household records only go back to 1854 in this parish, the earliest of which placed her as living in the parish Rectory.[11] However, she was not listed there prior to that examination. None of the other indexed entries showed her living with any relatives. After her last daughter left her side in 1854, she lived as an unmarried impoverished pauper until she died in 1895.[12]

Beata had no estate inventory conducted that could be located, and none of her childrens’ baptism entries listed any potential siblings, which would have been persons with the surnames Christiansson or Christiansdotter. No birth record in Bärfendal in 1811 was located in a computer searchable birth index for that parish, in which she was supposed to have been born according to her household examination records. Bärfendal is within a pastorat of which most of its parishes pre-1904 records were destroyed in a parish archive fire, but somehow Bärfendal’s parish registers somehow survived it. Sadly, this means if Beata was actually born in the same pastorat as Bärfendal, her birth register entry likely no longer exists.

One final discovery put the final nail in the coffin for extending this line at this time, as it was found that the parish of Svarteborg did not preserve any kind of moving record before 1854. This was the only way to learn where Beata Christiansdotter lived prior to her move to Svarteborg sometime before the birth of her first son in 1824. Other parish records may be indexed nationwide at some point in the future which may help in identifying her in earlier years. However, it is not known when this will occur. In conclusion, the research on the ancestry of Beata Christiansdotter has hit a firm brickwall and therefore research concluded for this session.

Anna Catharina Svensdotter Ancestry

During that last leg of the research session, it was decided to focus on Anna Catharina Svensdotter. Her birth entry was located, as well as the birth records for seven other siblings who were all born to a couple named Sven Olsson and Karin Engelbrektsdotter, who married and bore all their children in Bro parish.[13]

Determining the parentage of either Sven Olsson or Karin Engelbrektsdotter proved to be rather difficult. Sven Olsson had no preserved estate inventory, as he died in the middle of 1861, and the estate inventories for that entire year were never bound in the court’s archival Estate Inventory volumes, and have therefore become permanently lost. An exhaustive search of the Bro moving in lists, and the moving certificates were searched back to the year 1782, the year the Bro household examination records list him as being born. No man Olofs or Ole or any widows having a son named Sven Olofsson or Olsson were identified. No certificate for a Sven Olsson, who could have been the ancestor, was identified. The baptism entries of his children born in Bro were examined, and a maiden named Anna Olsdotter was identified on two entries, but she was not registered in either location listed as her residence in said entries in the Bro household examination records. No death record of this Anna Olsdotter could be located in the Bro parish death register index, which means the trail for her stopped. There are no other datapoints to use to search for records for that particular Anna Olsdotter, given how common that name is and how little information is available to identify her. It did not seem like she could be positively identified elsewhere with currently existing resources so a search for her had to stop.

With no moving record, estate inventory, or traceable potential siblings, the search for Sven Olsson’s birth family hit a brick wall, therefore research was concluded for this session. While not all the household examination entries were not examined in connection to Sven Olsson, no man named Olof or Ole died in the locality Sven Olsson lived in as a head of household in Sandbacken under Långeland based on the parish register death index searched. Therefore, it appears unlikely Sven Olsson’s parents lived with him. The search for his parents came therefore to a close.

Karin Engelbrektsdotter ancestry was determined after an exhaustive search. There was no success in finding a corresponding birth record in Bro with the birth date listed in the household records, as well as a failure to locate a Bro (O) AI:4 (1815-1820) estate inventory for her. There was also no success in positively identifying a moving in register entry or moving certificate preserved in the Bro archive. There was a witness found named Rasmus Engelbrektsson in the baptism of her first child with Sven Olsson. Rasmus Engelbrektsson was also found to not be born in Bro parish. Further research on him ended up in the location of a 1795 moving certificate that listed him with several other siblings and a set of parents issued by Krokstad pastorat rectory.[14] Earlier, this certificate had been noticed, but the age listed for the Karin on the certificate was several years off the 1788 birth year listed on the Bro household examination records. To be short, the certificate listed that all of the children listed on the certificate were born in a locality name Röstan, found to be in the parish of Hede, and corresponding parish register entries were found for all of the listed children along with a number of other siblings, including one for a Kari (a variant of Karin) born in 1790.[15]

Comparing the Hede birth register to the information recorded on later records, such as the before mentioned 1795 moving certificate and Bro household examination records, it was obvious that the records made later were likely incorrect based on the large number of inconsistencies in the dates of birth provided for the children of Engelbrekt Söderstedt. Only Rasmus had an accurate birth year in the Bro parish household examinations, which only record his birth year, which was 1776. A birth index entry for Rasmus born to the couple mentioned on the before mentioned 1795 moving certificate was found in the same year of 1776 in Röstan in Hede parish.[16]

Therefore, based on the fact that the 1795 moving certificate listed the only possible Karin Engelbrektsdotter that could have been the ancestress, combined with the fact the client’s Karin Engelbrektsdotter could be tied as an adult via the appearance of Rasmus Engelbrektsson as a witness, it was determined this was the ancestral line. Rasmus Engelbrektsson then could be firmly tied to the family group named on the beforementioned 1795 moving certificate and he had a daughter named Karin. Based on this line of logic, supported by evidence gathered from records, it appeared completely reasonable to conclude that Karin Engelbrektsdotter who died in Bro in 1867 was the daughter of Engelbrekt Helgesson Söderstedt and Ingrid Helgesdotter born in 1790 in the parish of Hede.

Conclusion

This was a challenging research session, but much progress was still made. It was learned that the client’s ancestry surname line ancestor, Niklas Berggren, was born illegitimately, of which his biological father is not yet known. A fantastic breakthrough was made connecting Karin Engelbrektsdotter, a newly discovered ancestor to her birth family, of which was headed by a man who served as a Dragoon in the Swedish military. The name of the ancestral Hans Aron Svensson’s father was discovered, and several important clues about his origins were discovered, which if it were not for record loss due to a 1904 fire, would have easily allowed for further extension during this session. Finally, it was concluded that that ancestral Josefina Andersdatter was most likely of Norwegian descent

Recommendations

Have the following court volume digitized or searched by a local researcher in Sweden: Tunge, Stångenäs, Sörbygdens och Sotenäs häradsrätt, SE/GLA/11098/A I a/106, Domböcker vid lagtima ting, 1837. This may lead to a court case involving the illegitimate mother of Niklas Berggren, wherein she may identify his biological father.
Continue to research and document the Engelbrekt Helgesson Söderstadt/Orädd and Ingrid Heglesdotter family identified during this session, and seek opportunities to extend this line further, if possible
Extensively document Hans Aron Svensson’s life in Norway in order to gather additional documentation for him that may contain information about close relatives who either were still residing in Sweden or came from Sweden and came from a parish that did not burn after they left it.
Continue Norwegian research on the lines of Josefina Andersdotter Roberg. The parish she was born in has a farm book at the Family History Library that could not be examined during a future research session and be of great value.
Consider waiting for MyHeritage.com to index the nationwide Swedish Household Examination records from 1820 to 1840. Currently, their index covers the years of about 1860-1930. It appears they may expand the database to 1840 within a few years, and back to 1820 a few years after that, if they continue to follow their current rate of indexing and collection publication. Waiting for this index to be expanded might be the only way to progress further on the brick walls encountered during this session, namely determining the origins of Beata Christensdotter and Sven Olsson, of which no clues of either their actual parish of origin or birth family could be located in the parishes they lived as adults.
Another possibility while waiting for Household Examination records to be indexed is to research the witnesses and Godparents listed in the birth entries of the children of Beata Christensdotter and Sven Olsson. Doing so may lead to identifying previously unknown family connections that might lead to identifying their birth families.

It has been a pleasure to assist you in researching your ancestry. We look forward to continuing, according to your instructions.

[1] Folketelling 1910, DigitalArkivet, https://www.digitalarkivet.no/census/person/pf01036488003072, Karl Alfr Bergren household in Præstegate 7, Tønsberg kjøpstad, Vestfold, Norway, accessed October 2018. Document 1

[2] Ibid

[3] Sweden, Indexed Birth Records, 1859-1946, Ancestry.com, https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?_phsrc=XxW1593&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&indiv=1&db=swedenparishbirths&gsfn=Karl%20Alfred&_83004003-n_xcl=f&msfng=Niklas&msfns=Berggren&msmng=Marie&msmns=Andersen&mssng=Karoline&mssns=Hansen&mscng=Karen%20Josephine&msbdy=1869&msbdm=10&msbdd=28&ssrc=pt_t76428633_p36346459633&new=1&rank=1&redir=false&uidh=ea2&gss=angs-d&pcat=34&fh=6&h=41707390&recoff=&ml_rpos=7, Carl Alfrid, born 20 apr 1869, accessed October 2018. Document 2

[4] SAKO, Sem kirkebøker, F/Fb/L0005: Parish register (official) no. II 5, 1892-1904, p. 219, DigitalArkivet, http://urn.digitalarkivet.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-kb20051014010679.jpg, 1896 Marriages, Entry 5, accessed October 2018. Document 3

[5] SAKO, Sem kirkebøker, F/Fa/L0009: Parish register (official) no. I 9, 1874-1877, DigitalArkivet, http://urn.digitalarkivet.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-kb20061106350405.jpg, 1876 Baptisms, Entry 28, accessed October 2018. Document 4

[6] SAKO, Sem kirkebøker, F/Fa/L0008: Parish register (official) no. I 8, 1866-1873, DigitalArkivet, http://urn.digitalarkivet.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-kb20051018020885.jpg, 1871 Marriages, Entry 6, 31 Jan Slagen, accessed October 2018. Document 5

[7] AKO, Sem kirkebøker, F/Fa/L0008: Parish register (official) no. I 8, 1866-1873, Digitalarkivet, http://urn.digitalarkivet.no/URN:NBN:no-a1450-kb20051018020943.jpg, Moving Ins 1868, Number 14 , Swedish Drang Hans Aron Svendsen age 24, Moving in from Qville (Kville), accessed October 2018. Document 6

[8] Family History Library, International Film 83048 Item 2, Göteborg och Bohus län Emigrantlistor 1868, Kville.

[9] Svarteborgs kyrkoarkiv, Födelse- och dopböcker, SE/GLA/13518/C/4 (1835-1860), Riksarkivet SVAR, https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/C0042389_00042, Niklas, born 30 March 1837, accessed October 2018. Document 7

[10] See research calendar for notes on her children’s birth records

[11] Sweden Household Examination Books, 1860-1930, MyHeritage, <https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10180-82546045/beata-christensdr-in-sweden-household-examination-books>, Christina Beatasdotter household in Östeby Prästgård, Svarteborg AI14, 1854 - 1861; Page: 19, accessed October 2018. Document 8

[12] Svarteborgs kyrkoarkiv, Död- och begravningsböcker, SE/GLA/13518/F/3 (1895-1937), Riksarkivet SVAR, https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/00085545_00007, Beata Christensdotter, died 11 May 1895, accessed October 2018. Document 9

[13] Consult the research calendar for all the sources examined in connection to this family group.

[14] Bro (O) HII:3 (1791-1810) Bild 1790 (AID: v204299.b1790, NAD: SE/GLA/13058), ArkivDigital, Bro (O) HII:3 (1791-1810) Bild 1790 (AID: v204299.b1790, NAD: SE/GLA/13058), Engelbreht Helgesson Söderstedt household moving certificate from Krokstad, dated 16 march 1795, accessed October 2018. Document 10

[15] Håkan Andersson, Födelseregister Hede-F3 (143006), http://www.slaktdata.org/index.php?p=detail&scbkod=143006&id=F3-21200&fsgper=Hede%201719-1845, Entry 21200, accessed October 2018, see research calander

[16] Håkan Andersson, Födelseregister Krokstad-F1 (143008), http://www.slaktdata.org/index.php?p=detail&scbkod=143008&id=F1-43750&fsgper=Krokstad%201688-1799, Entry 43750, accessed October 2018