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Brick wall crumbles: Samuelson/ Erickson family found
I was trying to find the parents of my great-great-great grandmother Johanna C. Samuelson. According to the 1900 census, she came to the U.S. from Sweden in 1851. Since she was only 15 in 1851 I figured she had to have come with her family.
I looked at the Porter County, Indiana GenWeb site, since she lived in Porter County, Indiana. There are some transcribed biographies on that site. There was one for Samuel A. Samuelson. Although many Scandinavian names are very common because of the use of patronymics, this man had lived in the same small town (Westchester) as Johanna, not in a big city. The biography said that Samuel A. Samuelson was born in Sweden in 1839, that his father was Samuel Ericson, that he was the youngest of seven children, and that he had come over with his parents when he was 13 and stopped in Chicago for a year, and then settled in Westchester Township. I did the math and saw that the immigration year was close to the one given for Johanna in the 1900 census, and this man had siblings. I suspected that I had found her younger brother.
I started looking for more information on Samuel A. Samuelson and on Samuel Ericson. I found a transcribed obituary for Samuel Erickson, but no family information was given. I looked at the Porter County, Indiana Death Index on the Porter County, Indiana GenWeb site. I found the listing for Johanna C. Borg (her married name) and it said her father was Howard Erickson, but since she was Swedish and I know how the patronymic system works, this was not possible. If Johanna's father's last name was Erickson and her maiden name had been Samuelson, his first name had to be Samuel. Samuel A. Samuelson was also listed and it said that his father was Erick Samuelson.
I found Samuel A. Samuelson and his family in the 1880 census, and he is living with his children, his 70-year-old mother-in-law, another man close to his age...and someone that I am sure is my great-great-grandmother Mary Louise Borg! She is listed as Mary Bord but I think the census taker wrote the name wrong. I had not been able to find her in the census until then. She was not living with her family, she was not married at the time, and she was young (17 according to the census, 16 according to the birthdate I have for her). The census says that the relationship is "something other than a direct relationship." She was keeping house. If she were to be a live-in housekeeper it would probably have been much more pleasant for her to do that in her uncle's house, and since his wife had died, he had 5 children between the ages of 1 and 8, and his mother-in-law was 70 years old, he probably needed one.
While searching the Vidette Messenger (Valparaiso, Indiana newspaper) on ancestry.com looking for information on my relatives in Porter County, I came across a legal notice, and among the defendants were John and Johanna C. Borg, Samuel and Mary Helena Erickson (Mary Helena was Samuel's second wife), and Samuel August Samuelson. It was published in 1930, long after all these people had died, but it may have been published in case any of them were still alive or in case their were claims on the real estate in question by their descendants. It sure looked like these people were family.
I was pretty convinced at this point but hoped to find more proof. If I knew where in Sweden they were from I would have gotten a short-term subscription to Genline, but I don't know where they were from.
Then I found it, the proof that I had been looking for! I found Samuel Erickson in the New York Passenger Lists, 1820 - 1957, on ancestry.com. He arrived in New York from Sweden on 8 September 1851. With him were 4 other people who appear to be his wife (Anna L.) and 3 of his children: Andrew F., Samuel A. (born about 1840; the birthdate I have for him is 3 January 1939, so he would have been nearly 13), and Johanna C., exactly the right age to be my great-great-grandmother! Their last names are listed as Erickson but I doubt that the people who recorded the information would be trying to use the correct patronymics; they would have just given the children their father's surname.
The brick wall had crumbled!
I looked at the Porter County, Indiana GenWeb site, since she lived in Porter County, Indiana. There are some transcribed biographies on that site. There was one for Samuel A. Samuelson. Although many Scandinavian names are very common because of the use of patronymics, this man had lived in the same small town (Westchester) as Johanna, not in a big city. The biography said that Samuel A. Samuelson was born in Sweden in 1839, that his father was Samuel Ericson, that he was the youngest of seven children, and that he had come over with his parents when he was 13 and stopped in Chicago for a year, and then settled in Westchester Township. I did the math and saw that the immigration year was close to the one given for Johanna in the 1900 census, and this man had siblings. I suspected that I had found her younger brother.
I started looking for more information on Samuel A. Samuelson and on Samuel Ericson. I found a transcribed obituary for Samuel Erickson, but no family information was given. I looked at the Porter County, Indiana Death Index on the Porter County, Indiana GenWeb site. I found the listing for Johanna C. Borg (her married name) and it said her father was Howard Erickson, but since she was Swedish and I know how the patronymic system works, this was not possible. If Johanna's father's last name was Erickson and her maiden name had been Samuelson, his first name had to be Samuel. Samuel A. Samuelson was also listed and it said that his father was Erick Samuelson.
I found Samuel A. Samuelson and his family in the 1880 census, and he is living with his children, his 70-year-old mother-in-law, another man close to his age...and someone that I am sure is my great-great-grandmother Mary Louise Borg! She is listed as Mary Bord but I think the census taker wrote the name wrong. I had not been able to find her in the census until then. She was not living with her family, she was not married at the time, and she was young (17 according to the census, 16 according to the birthdate I have for her). The census says that the relationship is "something other than a direct relationship." She was keeping house. If she were to be a live-in housekeeper it would probably have been much more pleasant for her to do that in her uncle's house, and since his wife had died, he had 5 children between the ages of 1 and 8, and his mother-in-law was 70 years old, he probably needed one.
While searching the Vidette Messenger (Valparaiso, Indiana newspaper) on ancestry.com looking for information on my relatives in Porter County, I came across a legal notice, and among the defendants were John and Johanna C. Borg, Samuel and Mary Helena Erickson (Mary Helena was Samuel's second wife), and Samuel August Samuelson. It was published in 1930, long after all these people had died, but it may have been published in case any of them were still alive or in case their were claims on the real estate in question by their descendants. It sure looked like these people were family.
I was pretty convinced at this point but hoped to find more proof. If I knew where in Sweden they were from I would have gotten a short-term subscription to Genline, but I don't know where they were from.
Then I found it, the proof that I had been looking for! I found Samuel Erickson in the New York Passenger Lists, 1820 - 1957, on ancestry.com. He arrived in New York from Sweden on 8 September 1851. With him were 4 other people who appear to be his wife (Anna L.) and 3 of his children: Andrew F., Samuel A. (born about 1840; the birthdate I have for him is 3 January 1939, so he would have been nearly 13), and Johanna C., exactly the right age to be my great-great-grandmother! Their last names are listed as Erickson but I doubt that the people who recorded the information would be trying to use the correct patronymics; they would have just given the children their father's surname.
The brick wall had crumbled!
Views: 43
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Kate Steere on
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Wow! Excellent work!
I too have an Erickson(we think) that we can't go back with, she was my FIL's great grandmother, who 'married' an actor. And according to a translation of her Swedish bible, had attended school in Wales, but we can't prove that either. We have her death record, which indicates her parents are Gustav Erickson and Anna Jensen. I found her on the 1900, 1920 and 1930 census records in Manhattan, she was 'married' in 1900, with a son, then widowed in 1920 and 1930 though I know her supposed husband was still living until 1924, and living with his second wife in Chicago.
She listed her occupation as actress in 1900, but had no occupation after that census, and I'm guessing she may have been touring in 1910, or just wasn't included on the census in 1910.
Thank you for sharing your story! :) -
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Permalink Reply by Beth Gatlin on
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You're welcome, and thank you for the compliment! I actually have another Erickson too, unrelated to the ones I posted about. She was from Norway. Researching Scandinavian ancestors can be a real challenge, especially when you don't know exactly where they came from. Fortunately I do know that for my Norwegian ancestors and some of my Swedish ancestors...but not all of them. The Swedish and Norwegian records are excellent (and the Norwegian ones are even free!), but you need to know where your ancestors were from. And of course once they immigrate to America it can be really hard to find the people since there are so many immigrants with those patronymic names! I've sometimes had trouble keeping track of my ancestors' siblings because of this.
Do you know where in Sweden your Erickson was from? -
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