Swedish Surnames

[jamcat95]

2. The last of Maja Lisa's children was my great-grandmother Emma (1869-1907). I have records for her in Germany, where she married and had children, and England, where she had children and died. All these records have her as Emma Johnsdotter or some version of it. Does this mean that her unnamed father could be John or Johan? Or is there a naming system that carries the Jons- part of her name from Maja Lisa's parents, who both had it in their names?

The first time she used Johnsdotter is when she left for Germany on 16 Apr 1890:
https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/C0024201_00155#?c=&m=&s=&cv=154&xywh=-44%2C-109%2C7124%2C3401

I don't think you'll ever know where the surname came from. It could well be her father's.

She is recorded as being poor by the minister.

Ian

[jamcat95]

Just found this one recording her surname as Jonsdotter for the years 1885-1890:
https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/C0024201_00767#?c=&m=&s=&cv=766&xywh=128%2C2563%2C4865%2C2323


Ian

[Eve45]

Hi Ian,

Thank you so much for all this information. The digitised Swedish birth, marriage and death documents are mostly from Ancestry. I also have the relevant documents from Germany and England. It's taken so long to find Emma's marriage to my great-grandfather because he was also illegitimate and used his father's surname (Boshen or Baschan) when they married in Germany and had their first two children, rather than Nagel, which he went by in England - his mother was Margaretha Magdalena Nagel. All the family in England and Australia (where I am) have always used Nagel. This is fascinating - I'm off to look at Daniel's records now. Thanks again, so much!

[jamcat95]

You're welcome Eve.
If there is anything else you want from the Swedish church books, just ask. No problem.

Ian

[jamcat95]

I took a look for Maja Lisa's daughter Anna Kristina in Ljungby. Quite sad really but she took her own life by poisoning herself, she did so by ingesting phosphorus. You may already have this.
https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/A0007425_00083#?c=&m=&s=&cv=82&xywh=102%2C893%2C5171%2C2517 - nr 5


Ian

[Eve45]

Thank you - again! The church books seem to be a marvellous resource but I find the language barrier a bit daunting. Many years ago I made a chart to help me decipher old German handwriting, which I still use, but Swedish is new to me and the handwritten script is difficult to understand. So having your interpretation is wonderful.

Poor Anna - I wonder what made her do that? It sounds like a nasty way to go. The family members who remembered Emma (her sons and daughters, no longer with us) said she was gentle and good and kind. Maja Lisa wouldn't have had an easy life, and Anna appears to have been unhappy. This is all making Emma much more real to me - thanks again.

[jamcat95]

Cheers Eve.
I did notice that the minister had recorded that the family were pretty poor throughout the books. Maja-Lisa's mother was also recorded as being half blind.

Ian

[Eve45]

That's exactly the sort of detail I would miss - thanks again. Life wasn't easy for them, was it? Emma and Friedrich had five children, one of whom who died in Stepney, London, at 2 years old. Emma died aged 38 of uterine cancer in 1907. My grandfather, Max, wrote a book some years later. The main character was named Jimmy. He is exactly the same age as Max, who was known as Jimmy in real life. The story of Jimmy is so close to Max's own life that I think of it as an autobiography - it has given me many clues about the family, but there is no mention of their German and Swedish origins. Max later fought for Britain in World War 1 and Frederick was interned because of his German background, so the family kept the German thing a secret.