The Swedish Family Bible

The Swedish family Bible belonged to Carl Herman & Hilda Albertina (Broberg) Erickson, Valerie's paternal grandparents. It was printed in Boston, and though we don't know its origin it may be speculated that it was possibly a wedding gift. At some point, the Bible was given to Pearl Ann - the 10th child of Carl and Hilda. Pearl and her husband Paul suggested that Valerie's daughter D.M. take the Bible, since she was the family member most invested in family history. The first time it was offered, D.M. declined, concerned that other family members might want it. When Pearl died in 1993, Paul again asked D.M. to take it, which she agreed to and did at a later time.

The book's cover, "Heliga Skrift" or Holy Book

The title page. The photo has been lightened to make it easier to read.

At the Bottom: Bay State Company.

Boston, Mass.

Back side of the Title Page - again lightened for easier reading.

Copyright, 1889, W.R. Vansant.

The middle pages of this Bible list names and birth/death dates that are significant to Valerie's family line. First, here are photos of the two-page spreads. Following that are photos of each individual page with transcriptions.

The first page lists "Giftermål," or Marriage. There is not actually wedding information on this page, but there are some birth and death dates.

Written across the top (above Giftermål): 

Karl Herman Erickson son of Eric Anderson

Below the picture:

Karl Herman Erickson

        Född den [Born] 12 Juli 1872

            Died 7/26/58     7/26/58

Hilda Albertina Erickson

        Född den [Born] 30 Juni 1875

            Died 7/23/54

Across from this page is "Födelser," or Births. Karl and Hilda's 11 children are all listed, with Melvin added in between Frank and Albert, and the last two squeezed up at the top because there were no lines left. It is interesting to note that the spelling or Erickson changed after the first three children, from "Eriksson" to "Erickson."

Herman Waldemar Eriksson

    Född den 14 Februari 1896

Gladys Lillian Eriksson

Född den 26 Maj 1899

Carl Frithiof Eriksson

Född den 30 Juli 1901

Erik Hilding Erickson [<--- begins change in spelling]

Född den 18 Augusti 1903

Frank Walfrid Erickson

Född den 14 September 1906

Melvin Leonard Erickson    July 14-1917

Albert Raymond Erickson

Född den 22 May 1909

Hilda Maria Erickson

Född den 17 Oct. 1913

Helen Lillian Erickson    29 March 1915

[Top right of the page] Pearl Ann - the "a" at the end appears to be crossed out

Born July 7, 1920

[Top left of the page] Hope Madeliane

Born May 21, 1922

Turning the page in the Bible brings you to "Dödstall," or Deaths

Gladys Lillian Erickson

Död den 3 Juni 1902.     3 yrs. old

Erik Hilding Erickson    11/17/57    54 yrs

Carl F. Erickson    12/22/67    66 yrs

Herman Erickson    11/22/74    78 yrs

Hilda M. Erickson (Johnson)    6/5/77    63 yrs

Albert Erickson    5/19/84    74 yrs (75th yr)

Helen L. Erickson Berman 8/4/85    70 yrs

Frank Walfrid Erickson    1/13/92    85 yrs.

Hope Madeliane Jarvis    3/7/92    69 yrs.

Pearl Ann Erickson Noonan    3/6/93    72 yrs.

The information written here is not always consistent with other family records, specifically names and the spelling of names. For example, Frank Erickson is listed in the Bible having a middle name of Walfrid, but he told D.M. that his middle name was Waldemar. Hope's children have said that her middle name was spelled differently than it is in this Bible [Madeliane]. The family name is spelled both Eriksson and Erickson. At a Swedish genealogy conference in Lindsborg, KS, D.M. and her daughter K.T. were told that "Americans are too attached to names," and that it was not unusual in Sweden for people to use alternate spellings or add to/change their family names. We assume that this is the case for these inconsistencies.

Finally, a page about Bertel Thorvaldsen and has famous statues, Christus and his Apostles. 

(Not transcribed)

In August of 2022, D.M. with her husband and two of her children were able to visit the Church of our Lady (also known as the Copenhagen Cathedral) where Thorvaldsen's original statues reside. It was breathtaking! And especially meaningful with this connection to the family Bible.

The Swedish family Bible has unfortunately suffered the ravages of time; it is in delicate condition in D.M.'s possession. Perhaps someday we will be able to restore parts or all of it; but even if that doesn't happen we are grateful to have the priceless family information that is written on its pages.

The Great New England Hurricane of 1938

As Valerie's dementia progressed she was less able to take care of day-to-day tasks, or remember how to do things that had once been simpler - such as warm up her coffee in the microwave. However she also began sharing memories from her childhood and younger years that D.M. had never heard before. One of these memories was about weathering a hurricane in Worcester. Hurricanes weren't named in the United States until 1953¹, so this one didn't have a specific name.

6-year-old Valerie was attending [Name?] Elementary School in Worcester, living in a triple-decker with her mom Alva, her brother Roy, and Grandma Freda Teolk. Valerie was sent home from school due to the approaching storm. Valerie remembers her Grandma Teolk trying to pull in all the laundry, and either couldn't pull it in or having a hard time pulling it in because of the strong winds. She remembered a caged pet (bird or rabbit?) that died because of the changes in air pressure, and remembered her mom Alva crying over the beloved pet. Valerie remembers trees being blown down outside, perhaps like this one in a newspaper photo:

Caption: Ancient Victim of the Storm's Fury

Storm photos from: http://www.worcestermass.com/places/hurricane.shtml

Before and after of the First Unitarian Church in Worcester:

(Before photo found on the American Antiquarian website, here.)

 

Caption: Unitarian Church in Ruins at Worcester, Mass.

In the aftermath of the storm, Valerie remembers seeing her Uncle, Wilbur Nelson (cousin Alfred Nelson's father), walking up to the triple-decker. He had gone out to get milk for his family and he brought milk over for her brother Roy, who was close to the same age as cousin Alfred. 

Here is more general information about the hurricane, from the Massachusetts.gov website:

Undoubtedly, the Massachusetts hurricane of the century was the Great New England Hurricane of 1938. Developing off the Cape Verde Islands on September 4, this storm took an unusual track over the Gulf Stream, maintaining its strength over these warm waters until it crashed into Long Island on September 21. The winds were devastating, with the Blue Hill Observatory recording the strongest winds ever for the region, 121 mph sustained winds and gusts of 186 mph. Roofs, trees, and crops were extensively damaged and power outages were widespread, lasting for weeks in some areas. The storm surge was substantial, causing 18 to 25 foot tides from New London east to Cape Cod. Downtown Providence was covered with 20 feet of storm tide and sections of Falmouth and New Bedford were buried under 8 feet of water. Western Massachusetts saw 3 to 6 inches of rain. In Springfield, the Connecticut River rose 6 to 10 feet above flood stage. Overall, 8,900 buildings were destroyed in New England, and another 15,000 were damaged. Coastal communities were decimated; 2,600 boats were destroyed and another 3,300 damaged, and fishing fleets suffered terribly, with 2,605 vessels destroyed and 3,369 damaged. A total of 564 people were killed and another 1,700 injured in southern New England.²

¹ https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/storm-names.html 

² https://www.mass.gov/service-details/the-worst-massachusetts-hurricanes-of-the-20th-century

Fredrik Johannesson and Anna Christina Westholm

Fredrik and Anna were Albert's grandmother and grandfather. They both lived and died in Sweden even as most of their children emigrated to the United States.

This Swedish record book has the entry for Fredrik and Anna's marriage. His occupation listed as "Drången," or  "farm/field hand," she is listed as "Jungsfru," or "miss/maiden."

They were married June 23, 1867; their first daughter Adelaide was born September 24, 1867. Hilda was the 4th child born to Fredrik and Anna (in 1875).

The column to the right reads "vigselförrättarte," which means "wedding ceremony;" we need to ask an expert what is written in this category - it may give us some more information about the union

Learn about Hedvig Eleanora församling (parish) in Stockholm here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedvig_Eleonora_Parish

Were Fredrik and Anna married at the parish church that is pictured in the link? Maybe. Maybe not, as their first daughter was born only about 2 months after their wedding; did the parish frown upon this, or celebrate the union, sort of a "better late than never" mentality?

Fredrik and Anna remained married until her death in 1893, and had 6 children.