Good day!
Oh boy it has been many years...over ten since my original post. I read through all the postings here to try to refresh my memory on this chap. I have to tell you...that at this point in time all that I remember is that my great-grandfather William DOUGHTY's middle name was Ohman which was apparently his mother's maiden name. That helped to explain why my uncle's middle name was Homan...the proper spelling was not known so this was an attempt.
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Mary
Hi Mary! I seem to be related to you through the Doughtys. I saw your original post a few years ago when researching Anders Eberhard Ohman, but it was from 2006 so I didn't know if you'd still be checking this website. Weirdly, that exact same story has been passed down through my line of the family as well! Our ancestor, whom my grandmother presumed was French, was supposed to have been sailing back from France where'd he built an organ in a church, when he was robbed for his money and tossed overboard (and presumably killed).
I've been doing a lot of research on this most mysterious ancestor: the short summary of the results is that he was born on May 11, 1793 in Björksta, Sweden. His parents were Michael Öhman and Catharina Ulrica Rosén. Catharina Ulrica Rosén was the daughter of Gabriel Rosén and Margareta Rath. Gabriel Rosén was the son of Eric Rosenius and Anna Wekander. They were all evidently of the upper class or nobility of Sweden, mostly priests/pastors (not sure what the term would be in English - I've only seen it written in Swedish and I've had to teach myself a bit of Swedish to do some of this research). Eric Rosenius and Anna Wekander had a number of relatively well-known children, including Nils Rosén von Rosenstein, first physician to the King of Sweden (whom Carl Linnaeus, the famous botanist, at one point tried to stab with a sword), Sven Rosén, who was banished from Sweden for being a leader of Radical Pietism, and Eberhard Rosénblad, who was a professor of medicine. I think Anders Eberhard Öhman's middle name came from his uncle Eberhard.
Anders seems to have became a journeyman musical instrument maker, and apparently part of that training required going to another country and working there before you could become a master craftsman, which is probably how he ended up in England. Andrew Ohman, organ builder, married Dorothy White in 1820 in York, England. They had four kids: Elizabeth Ohman (born 1822), Charles William Ohman (born 1823), Alfred Ohman (born 1825), and Jane Ohman (born 1828). Only Jane survived - Charles William died the same year as he was born (1823), Alfred died in 1826, and Elizabeth died in 1838 (at 16 years old).
From York directories and other sources, you can see Anders/Andrew continued working in York as an organ builder and musical instrument maker. He apparently built an organ in Tickhill, Yorkshire, in 1831 (I would LOVE to see that Portrait of an English Parish Church book in which he is mentioned, but I haven't been able to get a copy yet. He seems to have built the organ under the name "Henry" Ohman, but I believe this is the same person as "Andrew" Ohman, for various reasons). He appears to have disappeared in 1832, but he does not appear to have died: I found a London Christie's Auction House record of a sale of a viola labelled "Andrew E. Ohman/maker/Stockholm Sweden/1836" (which sold on March 18, 1992 - if anyone knows who bought it, I'd love to buy it from them). I believe he is the "Andrew Ohman," 45 (age range 45-49) on the 1841 Census of England, living in the household of George Marshall and family in St. Margaret's Parish, Leicester. On the 1851 Census of England, he was "Ohman Andrew," a 58-year-old organ builder from Sweden, visiting the household of Henry Taylor, an apprentice plumber at 29 Satchwell Street, Leamington Priors (now called Leamington Spa), Warwickshire, England. Interestingly, he was recorded as "Unmarried."
The death certificate for Andrew Ohman says he died Aug. 13, 1860 at Warneford Hospital, Leamington, Warwickshire, a "Musician," 68 years old, died of uncertain cause, but possibly cirrhosis of the liver. However, his family appeared to think he had died in 1832, as I ordered the probate for "Andrew Eberhard Ohman" of Stonegate, York, organbuilder, which was not passed until Jun. 24, 1839, but which says he died in 1832. This suggests he had gone missing and they'd had to wait 7 years before he could be declared legally dead. It was signed by his widow, Dorothy Ohman. I also have the probate of Catharina Ulrica Ohman (in Sweden, she would be known by the surname "Rosén") of Västerås, Sweden, who left a small amount of money to her grandchild, Jane Ohman of York, England, said to be the surviving child of "Andrew Eberhardt Ohman deceased."
So what really happened to him? I've got a lot of theories, but not many facts. I'm also very intrigued by the reply of Michael Ajayi - if 1803 was really the date the violin was built, it can't be made by our Ohman, because he would only have been 10 years old at the time. And yet, another Andreas Eberhard Ohman, musical instrument maker, living in York? Who else could it be? I don't suppose it's a typo for 1830?
Anyhow, glad to see there are other people interested in this mystery!
Jarra (pseudonym)
