Swedes in Illinois

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Permalink Reply by Debbe Hagner, AG on July 14, 2009 at 8:22pm

I have Lindquist and Desaix that were in Chicago.

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Permalink Reply by Beth Gatlin on July 21, 2009 at 3:07pm

Oh yes, many in Chicago! My great-great-grandfather Andrew T. Anderson (Andreas Troedsson) immigrated to Chicago. His brother Nils T. Anderson (Nils Troedsson) and sisters Johanna Troedsdotter Sandquist and Elna Troedsdotter (I believe her married name was Jonsson) also immigrated to Chicago. So did my great-great-grandfather Charles John Dahlquist. He married my great-great-grandmother Mary Louise Borg, who was born and raised in Porter, Indiana, but both of her parents immigrated from Sweden. Her brother August Borg and sister Minnie Borg Olson also moved to Chicago.

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Permalink Reply by Wini Caudell on July 21, 2009 at 4:01pm

They say the Swedes built Chicago. At one time it was the second largest Swedish city besides Stockholm. I have several who settled there.

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Permalink Reply by Gary King on August 9, 2009 at 7:57am

My wife's family came from Halland lan, Sweden to Geneva IL (west of Chicago, in Kane County) in 1902. A very large Swedish population settled in the Geneva/Batavia area at the end of the century. Geneva still celebrates Swedish Days annually.

I routinely include the surnames I am searching for in my genealogy-related e-mails, and after 10-years of searching, was recently contacted by one of her distant cousins back in Sweden that we had no knowledge of, descended from a son who stayed in Sweden. Small world.

Also, keep the Bishop Hill Colony in Henry County, Illinois, on your radar. This was a Swedish community and has an amazing library and archives of everyhing Swedish in the US. More info can be fgound at http://www.bishophill.com/index.php

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Permalink Reply by Wini Caudell on August 10, 2009 at 7:54am

I'm the host of Illinois Ancestors Henry County and you're so right Bishop Hill does have an amazing library and archives. Many people don't know that.

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Permalink Reply by Dag Oredsson on April 4, 2010 at 10:36am

I just found out that relatives to me emigrated to Geneva and possibly Elgin in Kane County. They came from Halland's and Älvsborg's län. Hallberg and Carlson. Was interesting to learn from your posting that Kane was a center for Swedes. ( I actually came across earlier in my research another relative from Halland that settled in Batavia.) Now I am trying to trace descendants from them.

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Permalink Reply by louise duncalf on August 10, 2009 at 11:29am

i did. they helped me on the swedish ancestry group. a large group of swedish people settled in the area i grew up in. rock island and moline,illinois. my great grandfather was swan peterson who immigrated in 1887 and hannah linder in 1888. they had two daughters and one was my grandmother.

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Permalink Reply by Wini Caudell on August 10, 2009 at 12:27pm

Funny, I grew up on the Iowa side of the QCA but my ancestors lived in Rock Island county too. I have a web site for Rock Island as well!

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Permalink Reply by Don Johnson on December 31, 2012 at 6:33pm

My great grandfathers sister was in Chicago. Her name was Anna Maria Anderson, born 4 Nov. 1862 in Hjälmseryd, Jönköping, Sweden. She married a Swanson. I believe his name was Ossian Swanson but I can not find anything in the records to tie them together.

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