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Särskilda ämnen & övrigt => Discussions in English => Ämnet startat av: Diane Smithburg skrivet 2018-11-18, 16:14

Titel: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Diane Smithburg skrivet 2018-11-18, 16:14
Hello!

We are looking for information on family before they immigrated to the United States in 1848. What we think we know:

First, regarding the name, we assume that Smithburg has been Americanized. The closest name we can find coming into the country in 1848 was "Peter Smithberger", and we have found a couple of early references to the last name "Smithburgh". But the naming conventions in Sweden during that time don't fit that name very well!

Peter Smithburg may have read letters printed in newspapers about America from Peter Cassel who had immigrated in 1845 and that may have sparked his interest. He left Sweden with his wife and six children sometime around July 1848. He did join the same New Sweden settlement that Peter Cassel started in Iowa.

We have some dates and places that they may have come from but they are not sourced so we don't know if they are correct or not:

Peter Smithburg born 31 Aug 1801 Falla, Horn, Sweden

wife Anna Catharine born 14 May 1800 Falla, Horn, Sweden

son Charles born 1831, daughter Inga born 12 Jan 1835 Horn County, daughter Sophia Helena born Apr 1838, son Andrew David born 1839 Ustahlan, son Gustav Adolphus born 05 Aug 1842, daughter Alberta born 24 Apr 1846.

We are hoping to find church records for this family initially. Also anything else that might be available that would let us learn about them. We use Ancestry.com, Family Search.com and other sites but have not been able to find any records for them.

Can anyone help or suggest the best way to find records for them before emmigration? I would be happy to reciprocate if I can!

Regards,
Tom and Diane Smithburg


Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Arne Granquist skrivet 2018-11-18, 18:58
There are problems with  records in Horn before 1581, when they were destroyed by fire.
However a record for 1805 to 1810 exists and at Falla is a Peter born 1 Sept to Carl  Andersson.
Horn (E) AI:1 (1805-1810) Bild 143 / Sida 271
Peter would thus be Peter Carlsson in Sweden. With this info I found a researcher that has Your family

I  will add his contact adress via mail


Arne
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Diane Smithburg skrivet 2018-11-19, 00:09
Hi Arne:
Thank you for the reply. I assume that you mean records before 1851, not 1581 in Horn?
I will follow up with the email address that you provided to see if it is the same family, although would it be common in that era for a man to marry a woman five years his senior?

Thanks for the suggestions! I very much appreciate any and all responses!

Diane
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Kristina Gunnarsdotter skrivet 2018-11-19, 01:11
Here is a picture of the page Arne refers to above and a birth record from 1786 where Carl Andersson in Falla is a witness at a baptism. He may very well be a brother of the father or the mother.
Horn AI:1 (1805-1810) Bild 143 / sid 271 (AID: v25966.b143.s271, NAD: SE/VALA/00139)
Horn GIV:1 (1854-1872) Bild 97 (AID: v55548.b97, NAD: SE/VALA/00139)


Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Diane Smithburg skrivet 2018-11-19, 01:21
Thank you for the clarification, I assumed that Arne was referring to a birth record from the year 1805, but the attached does show 1801, correct?
 I will take a close look.
Thanks again!
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Kristina Gunnarsdotter skrivet 2018-11-19, 01:35
No, this is from the household records covering a period from 1805-1810. I think you can find these records also in Ancestry.

Horn (E) AI:1 (1805-1810) Bild 143 / Sida 271

And that a wife is 5 years older than her husband is not very unusual.
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Diane Smithburg skrivet 2018-11-19, 01:43
Okay, that makes more sense. I am definitely on a learning curve for different types of documents! Household records are like a census, correct?
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Diane Smithburg skrivet 2018-11-19, 01:46
Also, is this Horn in Östergötland or in Kalmar please?
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Kristina Gunnarsdotter skrivet 2018-11-19, 02:09
Household records are current, not like a census which is a picture from a specific date.
It is Horn in Östergötland. There is a Horn in Västergötland (Skaraborgs län), but not in Kalmar.
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Arne Granquist skrivet 2018-11-19, 07:45

Family Peter Carlsson at #2 Norra Flaka, Djursdala (Kalmar county)
at the time the emigrated.
Djursdala (H) AI:10 (1844-1850) Bild 84 / Sida 73
https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/C0026868_00082
Note  : Left for Amerika  spring 1848



Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Diane Smithburg skrivet 2018-11-19, 14:47
This is wonderful. Thank you so much. I will digest this a bit.

Would it be reasonable to assume that Djursdala was their parish?
 
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Arne Granquist skrivet 2018-11-19, 15:31

The family moved from Horn(parish) to Djursdala(parish) 14 March 1836
Moved back to Horn 1843 and finaly returned to Djursdala early 1848.
At Djursdala is noted that Peter and Anna Cathr married 27 Aug 1830
Cathrina had 2 daughters from earlier marriage
Christina Catrina Johansdotter  born 20 Oct 1822
Anna Lovisa Johansdotter  30 Mar 1825
daughter Christina is a student learning lanquages
These children move to Södra Vi 1840 resp 1842
Djursdala (H) AI:9 (1838-1844) Bild 72 / Sida 63
https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/C0026867_00075


Arne
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Diane Smithburg skrivet 2018-11-19, 15:47
It is our understanding that Peter was a coppersmith and a farmer. Might his coppersmith occupation explain the name change from Carlsson to Smithburg? I am assuming that the move back to Djursdala would be in preparation for the emigration. This is pure gold to our genealogy research! Thank you so much.
As an aside, Peter was hauling lumber to repair their new home two weeks after purchasing a farm in Iowa with the oldest son (then called Charles). They were crossing Brush Creek after a rainstorm and the wagon was swept away and Peter drowned leaving Anna and her children. She remarried a couple years later to a Phillip Anderson who was a member of the New Sweden community there.

Do you think there is more information available about them?

Again, thank you so much.
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Diane Smithburg skrivet 2018-11-24, 17:33
I just wanted to say thank you again for the documents with explanations of the information contained that you all provided. And all the answers and explanations to what must seem to you to be very simple questions. You allowed us to have a breakthrough in this family line!

Although I had searched with very broad limits before I had never been able to find the ship manifest for Peter and his family, but I was able to find it this week. They came on the Brig Minona which left from Göteburg (or  Götenburg or Gothenburg) and arrived in Boston, Massachusetts July 13, 1848. I have not had much luck with searches in the Sweden collection of Ancestry or Family Search sadly. I don't know if the documents or indexed information does not exist (as you said, the records at Horn had burned), or if my search criteria has not worked.

Arne: I did email the person that you gave me the email for who has done research on this line. I am interested in finding out a bit of information about the family prior to their emigration. Do you think he is my best line of inquiry to learn more? I am not sure what might be out there! Any guidance you can give me would be most appreciated!

Best regards,

Diane
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Arne Granquist skrivet 2018-11-24, 18:46

The person  You got has Peter´s parents and grandparents in his file.
Give me a mail if You dont get any response from him.
For searching in Sweden You need access to the Swedish church records. They are free at
https://sok.riksarkivet.se/
Depending on which parishes You are looking for You may be able to find books upto late 1690´s


Arne
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Kristina Gunnarsdotter skrivet 2018-11-24, 23:09
A week ago you had the following question: Might his coppersmith occupation explain the name change from Carlsson to Smithburg?  Yes, it was very common that a person took a name lika this when he had an occupation other than being a farmer. But he could still use Carlsson because he continued to be Carl's son.

You also wrote:  I am assuming that the move back to Djursdala would be in preparation for the emigration.  How do you mean?
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Diane Smithburg skrivet 2018-11-26, 18:46
Hi Kristina!
Thanks for the response. I agree on the name change speculation.

As far as the move in preparation for emigration: I was referring to Arne's post of the church record: "and returned to Djursdala early 1848". It seemed odd to me that they would move right before they were going to emigrate. However I may just be over-thinking it!

Arne: I have been able to find the records that you linked for me but I will confess only by looking through the whole book! I did find confirmation class records also. I will have to read up on search hints before proceeding. Thanks! And if I haven't received an email in a few weeks I will reach out to you if that is okay.


Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Arne Granquist skrivet 2018-11-26, 19:34
ok  8)
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Diane Smithburg skrivet 2018-12-13, 19:32
Hi all!

So preparation for the holidays has slowed my progress a bit, but I do have a question!

I came across Inventory of Estates documents for Peter Carlsson's father and mother and have been working on the translation (good practice for me but not an easy task!  ::) At some point I may put what I have been able to decipher out here and request someone to review my work!

But my question is where is Falla in Horn Parish? I found a Falla much farther north, but nothing in Horn.  We are trying to put together a map with the relevant locations for this family.

Many thanks for all the help that I have received so far! Would love to reciprocate if I could!

(Also, Arne, if you read this I am going to wait until after the first of the year and then will reach out again to the contact email address that you provided.)

And early Merry Christmas to you all!

Diane
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Klas Wallén skrivet 2018-12-13, 21:24
Hi!

Here is a link to google maps.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Falla+Horn/@57.8784031,15.723215,1621m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x4659bbbe5cc41acb:0x3a0b3c456f951772!8m2!3d57.8795476!4d15.7291038

That position is aprox. the same as the position for Fala in Horn given on Bygdeband.se which is a site for local history.

Regards Klas
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Diane Smithburg skrivet 2018-12-14, 06:27
Thank you Klas! That is very helpful!

May I ask one more location? Is there or was there a town with the name of Ustahlan? It is referenced on a later American legal document as the birthplace in Sweden of one of the children in the family that emigrated in 1848.
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Kristina Gunnarsdotter skrivet 2018-12-14, 23:44
Ustahlan sounds like Djursdala.

Also try this map from Eniro. They have more names of places:
https://kartor.eniro.se/?c=57.878174,15.677490&z=11&q=%22Falla,%20HORN%22;207823987;geo
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Diane Smithburg skrivet 2018-12-15, 17:15
That is helpful. Thanks! This is a nice map site.
May I ask how you made the connection between the two names Ustahlan and Djursdala?
As always, really appreciate the help!
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Arne Granquist skrivet 2018-12-15, 18:04
My suggestion for Ustahlan is Östergötland.
Östergötland is the county where Horn is a parish
Östergötland is also name of the province

If this link works You can listen to the todays pronouncation
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3ASv-%C3%96sterg%C3%B6tland.ogg

Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Kristina Gunnarsdotter skrivet 2018-12-16, 01:32
Ustahlan is an impossible word and I also considered Östergötland. But this is how I thought about Djursdala: The D is not pronounced, ju is pronounced like English u, rs together is in Småland like an s only, d and t are similar and ala is ala. H in the middle of a word is not pronounced.

And in the birth records of Djursdala I found both Helena Sophia April 6 1838, Anders David November 20 1839 and Gustaf Adolph August 5 1842.
Djursdala C:2 (1825-1860) page 100, 108 and 121.
And in December 1836 Peter Carlsson is a baptism witness in Djursdala, same book page 93. Mother is Anna Maria Carlsdotter, maybe a sister.
Titel: SV: Searching for records on Smithburg (or Smithburgh or Smithberger possibly)
Skrivet av: Diane Smithburg skrivet 2018-12-16, 21:25
THANK YOU both! Again, very helpful. Loved being able to hear the pronunciations.