Johanna Carolina Hellsten, the Rest of the Story

If you've been reading the saga about Johanna Carolina Hellsten and Uno Kempff, you'll notice there are some time gaps that we do not know all the details. This post will fill in all of the details that we know about Johanna, after many posts on Uno Kempff and his shenanigans with the law.

What do we know about Johanna, the oldest daughter born to Carl (Kalle) Hellsten and Johanna Sparr on 25 February 1851 in Nikolai Parish, Örebro, Sweden?

What did she do with her life?

She was 16 when her family fell on hard times in Sweden.  She wrote to her uncle in America, describing her talent for handwork in her father's brewery and general store (which had gone bankrupt), appealing for funds to travel and help once she arrived.  Eric Adolf Helsten had immigrated to USA in 1845, his mother died in 1863. His brother Manne (Theodor Emanual) Hellsten had managed their mother's estate and there was a small amount of money due to Eric. Eric agreed to have his niece Johanna borrow those funds.  Eric knowing the "reduced circumstances" of his brother Carl's family, he has his brother Manne send the funds to their sister Lovis who lives nearby to Johanna's family and who will give the money to Johanna when she is ready to travel.


She was a young woman of 17 when she immigrated to Gaylordsville, Connecticut arriving in New York City on 22 April 1868.  Her uncle had alerted Castle Island of her upcoming arrival and they notifiied him of her arrival.  Eric finds a job for her working for the Bostwick family in Gaylordsville.  She agrees to a two year commitment to work as a domestic servant for them.

Bostwick family in 1870 US Census, New Milford (Gaylordsville),
Connecticut.  Johanna is listed as a domestic servant.

She was just 21 when she ran away from Gaylordsville to New York City  -- nary a goodbye or thank you to her helpful uncle.
The Bostwick family tells Eric how they liked her so much the first year, and Maria Bostwick's mother (probably the Eunice Sanford, age 71, above) liked  her so much that she gave her a tip at the end of her service in her final pay.

Her own family was very worried that Johanna connected with Uno Kempff, someone who was from the same town in Sweden, but who had a criminal past.  He had been writing her asking her to help him find work -- much to her family's dismay.
She ran off to New York City in 1871, and we have no record of her meeting up with Uno in 1871, but we have no proof that she didn't.  The next time we find Johanna is in 1874, coming back to NYC on a ship from Hull, England with Uno, pretending or actually being his wife.
Since Uno was married to another woman back in Sweden and living with yet another woman and possibly fathering that other woman's child, one wonders about the relationship between Uno and Johanna in 1874.  The family had heard a rumor in 1871, that Johanna had not only run off to NYC but had also married Uno.

I have not found Johanna Carolina Hellsten (Johanna, Hannah, Caroline, Carolina) in New York City in 1871, however, I did find her multiple times from 1875-1877 -- advertising her services as a dressmaker.
The first one was in the New York Herald on 31 August 1875:

In August 1875, she is a "Dressmaker" who can do all kinds of family sewing by the day at a reasonable price, in a couple of weeks (14 Sept.) she is a "Competent Dressmaker," who is available by the day or week at a moderate price, with references.  Sounds like she had some practice that first couple of weeks.  By 5 December, she is not only competent she can "make old dresses over equal to new."

By 24 September 1876, she is not only a competent had seamstress, she now advertises her ability to operated any machine.  She has also moved to 88 Clinton Street, from 27 Bond, of last year.

Then, the final listing I find for her as a dressmaker, is 24 April 1877, she is now at
111 WEST 11TH ST. -- FIRST-CLASS DRESSMAKER 
to go out by the day, or will take work home; best ref-
erence.                                                  Miss HELSTEN.


So, maybe she went home to Sweden after she ran away to New York City for some reason and was never mentioned in any of the many family letters to Eric Helsten (that I had translated and put in the book, A Ring and a Bundle of Letters), came back to New York with Uno Kempff, and then stayed and worked as a dressmaker.

In each of these ads, she is Miss J. C. Helsten, or Miss Helsten, not "Mrs. anyone."
Was traveling as Uno's wife, a convenience to get from Europe to New York and not appear to anyone as a single woman, or maybe not?
Who knows, I don't.

So, did Johanna stay in NYC and live happily ever after?
We have one final clue about Johanna ....
The 1910 Census for Brooklyn, New York, 60 Gates Avenue, in a three-family building, lives
Caroline J Hellsten,

She is now called Caroline J Hellsten, 58, single, never had any children.
Go to the next page of the census and you'll find she had Albert F Faberstedt, 45, also from Sweden living there as a boarder.  He is listed as married for 20 years, naturalized having came to the USA in 1887.   Albert is working as a painter.

She came in 1892, but is not naturalized.  She is working as a cook, was employed on
15 April 1910, but was out of work for 24 weeks in 1909.  She rents her home.

Notice, she is not naturalized.  No surprise.
From 1855 to 1922, a woman took the citizenship of her husband, so in order to become a US citizen, Johanna would have had to have married someone who was a citizen (birthright or naturalized).

[I wrote a blog post about how a woman could lose her US citizenship.  Marian L Smith’s wrote two fascinating articles tracing women’s naturalization from 1802 through 1940. These are in Prologue Magazine. Read the first and click through to the second one.]

Neither Malin Klangeryd nor I have found anything more about Johanna Carolina Hellsten. No marriages, no deaths. No other census listing, no passages to and from Europe (should be something if "came in 1892").

I'll write again, if we find anything.


©2015, Erica Dakin Voolich
The link to this post is http://genea-adventures.blogspot.com/2015/06/johanna-carolina-hellsten-rest-of-story.html

Uno Kempff … Family Scandal or Family Friend?

Back to the family scandal!

Johanna left Gaylordsville without repaying her Uncle Eric for her passage, as promised!

Johanna lied about where she was going and what she would be doing!

Johanna has gone to New York City possibly to be with Uno Kempff.

Her uncle tried to discourage her, but she left her life as a domestic servant as soon as her agreed upon two years ended.  Without even a goodbye, she was gone … gone to New York City.

Johanna's Uncle Eric Helsten

who paid her way to USA and

found her work and was upset

with her sudden departure from

Gaylodsville for New York City.

So, who was Uno Kempff that the family was so concerned with?

With the great Swedish research skills of Malin Klangeryd, we know a little something about Kempff and his misdeeds.  There are some gaps, but here is what we know about him.

His full name was Knut Uno Kempff. He was born 8 September 1826 in Örebro. 

He was married 27 October 1854 to Johanna Lovisa Juberg (sometimes called Sophia Lovisa) (born 10 March 1827 in Saint Lars parish, Linköping county). They had three children who each died at a young age:

1. Anders Gustaf Uno (born 9 June 1855 in Nyköping – died 31 March of croup in Almbro, Gällersta)

2. Knut Frithiof (born 13 December 1856 in Vaksala – died 17 April 1863 of scarlet fever in Almbro, Gällersta)

3. Unus Alfred Louis (born 12 January 1861 in Gällersta parish – died 4 April 1863 of scarlet fever on Almbro, Gällersta).

Uno Kempff and his wife Sofia (Johanna) Lovisa Juberg are twenty-five years older than our Johanna Caroline Hellsten — they are old enough to be her parents!

How did they meet? Did they know each other in Sweden?

Malin has constructed a timeline of what she knows about Uno Kempff’s whereabouts from various official records:

•   1826 born in Örebro

•   1854-1855, living lat first city block farm nr 66-68 in Nyköping’s west parish. Uno works as a merchant. 

•   1854 Uno married Johanna/Sofia Lovisa Juberg

•   1855, son born in Nyköping

•   1856, son born in Vaksala

•   1860: living in Vaksala parish

•   1861, son born in Gällersta

•   1860-21 May1869: living in Almbro (Gällersta parish, Örebro County)

•   21 May 1869 – in Stockholm

•   17 April 1874-: departure from Göteborg to Hull, England on the ship Orlando. Destination New York

•   1880 -1882: living Västergötland 5 i Maria Magdalena parish in Stockholm, working as shop assistant. Living alone  

•   12 August 1882: Departure to America through Hull, England

There is a gap here in the above timeline from 1869 to 1874 when Uno Kempff leaves for New York City.  The family was worried that he was already in New York City. 

Uno Kempff leaves for NYC twice, once in 1874 and then in 1882.  When did he return?   What was he doing in NYC and Sweden that might concern Johanna C Hellsten’s family.

… and Johanna Hellsten's timeline while growing up with her parents:

•   1851, born in Nikolai parish, Örebro

•   1856 – 15 June 1863: living at plot no. 100 (Örebro, North Nikolai parish)

•   15 June 1863 – 15 November 1867: living at Norra Bro 6 (Gällersta parish)

•   15 November 1867 – 27 March 1868: living at Almbro (Gällersta parish)

•   22 April 1868, Johanna arrives in New York.

Johanna officially moves 3.5 Km with her family to Almbro (Gällersta parish, Örebro County) on 15 November 1867,  the day after she returned her travel document allowing her to go to North America.  She first got her travel paperwork a week before and had the travel money from Uncle Eric already there being held by aunt Lovis.  

Already living in Almbro when the Hellsten family arrived, was Uno Kempff and his wife.  It was close enough that the families might have known each other already. Her family ran a general store before her father went bankrupt, maybe Kempff's family had been customers.

Was her abrupt delay of travel because she had met Kempff when her family planned their move?  Was Kempff going to be the spring traveling companion she would have that her father Carl mentioned in his letter of February 1868?  I’m not sure we’ll ever know the answer to that question. 

Malin Klangeryd found this 1861 local newspaper coverage:

Tidning för Wenersborgs stad och län 1861-01-21 [Newspaper för Wenersborgs city and county]

http://magasin.kb.se:8080/searchinterface/page.jsp?id=kb:212466&recordNumber=10&totalRecordNumber=11 

"Severe sentence. Norrlands-Posten [Norrlands newspaper] from Gefle [Gävle] says: grain traider Uno Kempff, which prosecution by the court last year, for deceit and fraud in trade, aroused great attention, and whom by the Municipal Court was sentenced to compensate claimants and witnesses, and to one and a half years in prison, has recently got his sentence by the Court of Appeal; the verdict is not less than four months in prison - a true warning for those who feel tempted to walk in Kempff's footsteps”

We should add this to the Uno Kempff timeline above, 

• 1861,  a stay in prison at hard labor and also financial restitution for his deceit and fraud in trade as a grain trader.

When Carl and his wife Johanna Sparr moved to Almbro, did they know the history of Kempff from the early 1860s?  Or, did they just become friends with someone who was a friendly neighbor or colleague?

Kempff has served time for forgery and fraud!  

Our Johanna Hellsten would NOT have been in the same town as Kempff was when he got caught using deceit and fraud with his grain clients.  Besides, she would have been a young child at that time.  Her parents might not even have known what Kempff's 1861 history of what was probably a friendly neighbor or businessman.  

But there’s even more to tell about our charming Kempff.

©2015, Erica Dakin Voolich

The link to this blog is http://genea-adventures.blogspot.com/2015/05/uno-kempff-family-scandal-or-family.html

Off to America, thank you dear uncle….

Johanna Carolina Hellsten was planning on traveling to USA and applied for a departure certificate from Sweden on 7 November 1867, right after her Uncle Manne Helsten said he would send the funds from her Uncle Eric to her Aunt Lovis when she was ready to travel. She then decided to delay her departure and returned her travel papers a week later, on 14 November.

By early November, the days are getting shorter as winter is approaching in Sweden and maybe Johanna thought that traveling in the spring might be a better idea.

Meanwhile, Uncle Eric is still awaiting Hannah’s (Johanna) arrival - he writes on 23 December 1867 to Carl and Hannah, it takes this letter at least a month to arrive in Sweden.  Then Carl writes back 3 weeks later saying that Hannah has delayed her trip.   Eric is patiently waiting in America for his niece, wondering where she is, maybe even concerned since he hasn't heard after getting the travel funds to her.  By the time Eric would find out her changed travel plans, it is probably close to March — about the time for her to actually come!

Örebro 
14 Feb. 1868

My dear brother Eric

I received your letter dated 23 Dec 3 weeks ago in which I find you are awaiting Hannah’s arrival.  We received the money from Uppsala last fall.  But since it was so late in the year they were sent back to Upsala again and the trip was started in the spring.  Wherefore she has decided to leave the coming April from Götteborg because she will then have travel company.  So God willing she will be in New York in 12 or 14 days.  If the trip will be somewhat postponed I will write you about it.

My dear brother, we will probably not see each other in this time [on earth] but how do you stand with God as well as your wife and children?  Please write to me about it.  Don’t forget to because it would be nice to know if we will meet up there in heaven.  Then we will see God and the lamb in the full glory.   It will be a blessed switch to be with an eternal glorious transfigured body there be allowed to see God face to face together with his holy angels and the blessed inhabitants of heaven.  That eternally be allowed to thank, praise and say his name that brought us here with his blood.  It will be blessed and glorified and precious there where the Lord God himself is.

Here in our Sweden the wind of the holy ghost has blown in all the counties so that many sinners have listened to the call and fled to the Lord Jesus.  But among our relatives has it unfortunately not been received. Only sister Marie has some inclination but she has not at all come to peace.  My wife and children and all the others seem to be dead in transgressions and sins.  Now you have heard dear brother how we have it in this most important matter; therefore please pray to the dear God for us if  you know Him the Christ reconciled Father -- because it is written in the Bible word in many places in John 16:24 it says “ask ye shall receive and  your joy shall be full.”

Greetings to your wife and children from us all.

You devoted brother Carl

Not sure who her traveling company was, but Caroline Hellsten is listed on a passenger list arriving in New York City on 22 April 1868.

Notice her father Carl wrote of a 12 or 14 day trip.  The transatlantic sailing trips when Eric came in 1845 and his wife Mary in 1848, took about 43 days.  The addition of steam ships definitely made the trip much faster, and most likely, safer.

Spring 1868, Eric was waiting for her Hannah.    He contacted the immigration folks alerting them of her pending arrival.

Office of the Commissioners of Emigration.
Castle Garden, New York, April 22nd, 1868
    5 oclock P.M.

E.A.Helsten Esq
  Sir
  In answer to your letter 
I respectfully inform you that your
niece Johanna C. Helsten arrived this
Evening pm Steamer Minnesota from
Liverpool we shall detain her here 
until you come or send for her

  Respectfuly ce
   Bernard Casserly
   Gen. Agent & superintendent
    Per T.m.d

You might recall that Hannah had written her uncle:

I, as a big, strong, healthy seventeen  year old girl, used to brewing, commerce, and rough work and who longs for work in an unknown country where no one finds fault with one’s honest work or despises the virtuous for his poverty.
This in addition to the fact that many of my acquaintances have already left for, the employer America, which is why I, too, this fall intend to go there, if some noble person would help me with travel money and good advice at the arrival.

Since I have heard that Uncle is rich and happy in the country to which many long to go, I now set my hopes and prayers to Uncle for a kind answer to:

Could my dear Uncle please be so kind as to via a postal order to Upsala or a letter give, or, if need be, loan me 200 Kr for travel money?

Could my Uncle have use for, or know somebody, me as hired help for anything?

Could Uncle extend a helping and protecting hand to me at my arrival and until I have a position?

Does Uncle believe that a poor, but swift and untiring, girl can in an honest way earn a meager living through the work of her hands? 
…


Well, dear uncle has provided passage to America as requested.

Dear uncle has “extended a protecting hand” upon her arrival.

Does dear uncle find a job for her?

Lovis writes to Eric, 19 December 1868:
Thousands of thank yous for your dear letter that we received on May 19 and all goodness you proved Hannah in many different ways.  I would be a joy if Hannah always remembered this and is thankful towards you.  The gold ring was lost was sad they have not found it[.]  ... My man with me joins in hearty greetings to you yours and Hannah

Sounds like Eric provided not only for transportation all the way to Gaylordsville, Connecticut from Örebro, Sweden but also helped her find a job nearby.

Hannah goes to work for the Bostwick family in New Milford. Gaylordsville is part of New Milford, so it could be a couple miles away or next door.
In the 1870 US Census for New Milford, “Johanna Helston" age 20 is listed as a domestic servant.

This might not have been the kind of work that she was used to at home when she described herself as “used to brewing, commerce, and rough work.”
She probably has plenty of opportunity to "earn a meager living thru the work of her hands" working as a domestic servant.  She has agreed to work for the Bostwicks for two years.

So, did Johanna live happily ever after in America as she dreamed?
Stay tuned!

©2015, Erica Dakin Voolich
The link to this post is http://genea-adventures.blogspot.com/2015/05/off-to-america-thank-you-dear-uncle.html

Dear Uncle!

Eric Adolf Helsten immigrated to the United States in 1845.  He married Mary Hearty, an Irish immigrant, in 1849.  They worked hard and raised a family in Gaylordsville Connecticut.  None of his dozen siblings followed him, however, he kept in touch with letters that were shared back home between his mother and siblings.  One can only imagine how life in the the USA must have looked from afar to the children of a brother who was not doing very well back in Sweden.

Eric’s niece Johanna Carolina Hellsten decides to write to her uncle, appealing for funds to travel:

Sweden, Mosås and Södrabro
24 May 1867

Good Day, beloved Uncle!

Please be so good as to pardon me that I, as the daughter of Uncle’s Brother Carl, with this our taking the liberty to write these lines, which my father does not have time to do, to divulge my heartfelt wish and to beg for an affectionate and happy answer to the questions below, that for me are extremely important and have bearing on my future.

As my dear Father this last year has ceased his work as a brewer and country shop owner and now lives in reduced circumstances and therefore can not afford to keep all four of us children at  home, I, as a big, strong, healthy seventeen  year old girl, used to brewing, commerce, and rough work and who longs for work in an unknown country where no one finds fault with one’s honest work or despises the virtuous for his poverty.
This in addition to the fact that many of my acquaintances have already left for, the employer America, which is why I, too, this fall intend to go there, if some noble person would help me with travel money and good advice at the arrival.

Since I have heard that Uncle is rich and happy in the country to which many long to go, I now set my hopes and prayers to Uncle for a kind answer to:

Could my dear Uncle please be so kind as to via a postal order to Upsala or a letter give, or, if need be, loan me 200 Kr for travel money?

Could my Uncle have use for, or know somebody, me as hired help for anything?

Could Uncle extend a helping and protecting hand to me at my arrival and until I have a position?

 Does Uncle believe that a poor, but swift and untiring, girl can in an honest way earn a meager living through the work of her hands?

Please be so kind and make me  happy with a longed for answer mailed to my or my father’s address “Sweden Mosås and Södrabo”, which will decide my future fate, because if I receipt travel money and good advice, I plan to leave this fall.

My parents are, thank the Lord, in good health despite all their trouble and ask to send their heartfelt greetings in this letter, and also with loving thoughts for my future give me permission to leave.

In sincere hopes of Uncle’s loving kindness to me, with much respect, the grateful niece now persists.

Johanna Carolina Hellsten

Such a heartfelt appeal.  It turns out it came along with a letter from her father, Carl Robert Hellsten (Karl, Calle).  He confirms their desperate situation and appeals for both of them to come to the USA.

Örebro and Yellersta 
26 May 1867


Brother Eric

It is many years since we last exchanged letters and many things have happened since then.  You know from my last letter that I was thinking of going to America.  Now this trip has again come to my mind and even my oldest daughter Johanna wishes to do the same trip.  Wherefore she here encloses her letter to you.  

It is our wish since we hear many tempting letters from America from the ones how have gone there.  I do know that everybody is not lucky in America but that hard work and frugality is a way to blessing.  But here in Sweden it is a dishonor to work because vanity has taken over.  I have now been on my own for eighteen years and during this time made myself know to be frugal, sober and to work hard but this is not enough here.  Under this time of 18 years, I have  had a general store and during the last 10 years also had a brewery but in spite of all this I had to declare bankruptcy last fall and during this last winter have started to do cork cutting.  But loss in circumstances are such her that it is not worth it for the poor to try since [if] he has [declared] bankruptcy [and] if he manages to work, everything up again he loses whatever he inherits or earns without mercy. What then do you have for all the work you do?  

In the enticing letters I have read from America they testify to the one who wants to work there does not need to starve.  I think I know that all who go to America do not have luck there but it is even so an advantage that you do not have to be ashamed over earning a living in an honest manner.  If my information about America is not complete, I ask  you to inform me about this but judging from the information I have received, America has big preferences for Swedes.  Why should one then bind oneself then to this meager country?  

Some of my neighbors have now gone to America and others plan to but we don’t have the money to go.  Please give us a complete information as possible and if you consider it reasonable for us to try to work in America and then help us both with the money that  you have here in Sweden to lend us as travel money to America.  Our brother Theodor Emanuel in Upsala has them.  We want to work off the money when we come to you.  This is the only security I can give you if you would be kind enough to help me us.

Write an answer soon and  help us if you find you would like to do so.  Let me also know if brewing beer is profitable in America and also if cork cutting is profitable.  If the trip there happens, I would prefer to work in a brewery or, if that’s not possible, in another kind of factory.  I assume that  you  have some Swedish acquaintances in New York that you could be kind enough to address us to when we arrive.

Now dear brother I have written about all that concerns the trip to America.  We can have much to write about but it is much better to be able to have a real conversation about it.  I will also mention that all of us siblings are alive and as far as I know everyone is in good health.  

Lovis is married to a shop owner 20 Km from here whose name is A Nelzon.  Mari is close to Stockholm, Lina is in Upland and not far from Upsala Erica and Wennström are well.  Tilda is in Stockholm.  Ottiljana is in Upsala with our maternal aunt.   Now as before, Edla is a manager (director) at the Upsala Hospital.  Manne is a watchmaker in Upsala.  Frans is a goldsmith in Upsala Oskar is a watchmaker in Stockholm.  Knut is a teacher in the big school in Upsala.  Everyone has it well except for me and Oskar.  Oskar declared bankruptcy the same time I did and now I don’t know how he has it.

I hereby end this letter for this time with a kind greeting for yours from us.

Your brother, Carl

Carl Hellsten, Johanna's father

Such heartfelt appeals to Eric, uncle and brother in the USA who must have wealth and success from his hard work, doesn’t everyone?

Does Eric send the requested funds as his niece suggested and bring over his niece and brother?
Or, does Eric let then use the funds that their brother Manne is holding for Eric in Uppsala?

Erica does write in pencil on the bottom of Carl’s letter “From L there are two steamers leaving or more every week.”  He checks out the costs and availabilities for travel.  Travel is much better in 1867 than when he and his wife came in steerage in the equivalent of the “coffin ships” — no steamers for their earlier, much longer, trips.  The travel across the Atlantic Ocean has improved in the last couple of decades.

The letter beloe from his brother Manne (Theodor Emanual Hellsten) indicates Eric’s decision and the means of funding the trip, instead of just sending the suggested 200 Kr each to cover the trips.

Upsala 29 October 1867


Best Brother Eric!

From our heart I wish your daughter and son-in-law happiness and blessings.  We’d also like to thank  you for the pictures that you sent us.  As you promised in a letter to our brother Carl that he or his oldest daughter Hanna could borrow your inheritance from our parents to pay for the trip to America and Hanna decided to go, I have now sent the money to Lovis, she is married and living in the neighborhood of Örebro as you probably know with a request to her that she give the money to Hanna when she is ready to travel.  The reason why the sum of money isn’t bigger can be explained by the following statements.  While our mother was alive, she lent Calle 700 crowns which including interest 6% counted up to the day of dividing up the estate 3 November 1864 adds up to 77 crowns 37 öre which sum he has not been able to pay back.  When you subtract from this sum his inheritance he still owed each and everyone of his siblings 36 crowns, 45 öre.  About a year ago he had to go bankrupt without any assets.  At the time of the partition of the inheritance, we siblings did decide to send you at some time a gold ring that belonged to mother and she used and also a teaspoon since we wanted you to have a tangible memory from our parents’ home.  These things I will send to Lovis at the same time as the money and ask her to give them to Hanna to bring to you after a safe trip.  I now have to end these lines with many loving greetings from all of us to you and yours.

Your brother Manne

My wife sends many greetings to you and promises to write at another time.

So Eric will fund one of his two family members to travel at this time.
His mother Lovisa Charlotta Robert Hellsten died in 1863.  There was a small estate which brother Manne was the executor.  Eric’s share has been held in Uppsala and managed by Manne. BUT, the funds are not as large as Eric expected because there was a debt: brother Calle had borrowed 700 Kr from their dear departed mother and never repaid her and now that debt is shared equally among the other 12 siblings.

Manne has forwarded the travel funds to their sister Lovis in Örebro who lives near Calle and Johanna and Lovis will give the money to Hannah (Johanna) when she is ready to travel.  He did not forward the funds directly to his bankrupt brother.

Eric’s sister Otillia writes him on 29 October 1867:
Hanna who has the courage to travel to America[,] yes god[,] let her happily and well arrive there

This letter from Manne was written to Eric at the end of October 1867.
So, did Johanna immediately leave for the USA in the fall of 1867?

Maybe waiting till spring might make for a more pleasant transatlantic crossing.
Stay tuned.


©2015 Erica Dakin Voolich
The link to this post is http://genea-adventures.blogspot.com/2015/05/dear-uncle.html

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Ahnentafel Roulette! Back to Eric HELLSTEN

Randy Seaver challenged us Geneabloggers  with his Saturday Night challenge.  It became a good learning  moment since I usually don't look at Ahnentafel Numbers in relation to my family history since I like a more visual model.

1) So age of my great grandfather (hmmm ... 4 to choose from, but based on my birth name) 2011 - 1836.  My Great Grandfather would be 175 on his next birthday, 3 October, so Edward DAKIN would be 174 now.  Divide it by 4, gives 43.5.

2) Rounded off to 44, I get Eric HELLSTEN.  No my previous posts initially focused on Edward DAKIN,  the postmaster of South Kent CT in 1872.  Then my next group of posts were on Eric Adolf  HELSTEN and his apprentice John CARLSON.  Tombstone Tuesday this week was his father and mother's tombstone:  Eric HELLSTEN and Lovisa Charlotta ROBBERT.  Last Saturday was Surname Saturday and I focused on the HELSTEN/HELLSTEN name.

3)  Eric HELLSTEN, was born 2 March 1786 in Sweden, died 24 March 1839 in Uppsala, Domkyrkoförsamling, Sweden.  On 6 January 1815 in Norrtälje, Stockholm, Sweden he married Lovisa Charlotta ROBBERT.  She was born 21 August 1795 in Norrtälja, Stockholm, Sweden and died 25 November 1863 in Uppsala, Sweden at age 53.  He had thirteen children. When he died, his youngest was 4 months old and the oldest was 24.  I don't have a lot of information on Eric that I haven't already written about.

Death of Eric HELLSTEN, 24 March 1839

in Uppsala, Domkyrkofösamling, Sweden.

4) Three facts about Eric Hellsten:

   i.  Like is father, Jonas, Eric was a tanner.  He had a tannery on the Fyrisån River, maybe the same one his father Jonas HELLSTEN had before him.  

   ii. His oldest son Eric Adolf, was 17 when Eric died.  Eric was apprenticed as a tanner in Sweden before he came to the US.  Could he have been his father's apprentice?

   iii.  I have been unable to find a place of birth for him.  In 1858, his wife Lovisa Charlotta wrote to their son Eric A in Connecticut telling him that another son, Calle, has moved to a place called Stenbro and "they don't live very far from Hellsten's birthplace, but there are no more living relatives of his now."

http://www.maplandia.com/sweden/ostergotlands-lan/norrkoping-kommun/stenbro/
Stenbro on the map

Based on this map, I guess the next time I have access to the Swedish birth records, I should search for Eric's birth record in Norrköping and Nyköping.