Illegitimate Grandmother born in Ragunda, Jamtland, Sweden

[Thomas Ricks Young]

Hi everyone,

This is a bit embarrassing to ask these questions but here goes. My grandmother, Jenny Tyra Vetsera HERMANSDOTTER (1903-1976) was born to Marta Katarina HERMANSDOTTER (1858-1916). Both Jenny and her mother Marta were illegitimate. I have spent hundreds of hours studying my DNA matches (Ancestry, MyHeritage, and FTDNA) in an attempt to identify the missing fathers. I have two very strong candidates. For my grandmother Jenny it is Julius Emanuel EDHOLM (1876-1942) and for Marta it is Andrew Magnus NORDFORS (1832-1911). Julius was born and died in Ragunda and Andrew was born Naset, Mo, Gavleborg and died in Utah, USA. Jenny had a brother named Herman Alfred Emanuel EDHOLM (born 1894 in Ragunda). He immigrated to the USA but died at an early age of tuberculosis (family story). I cannot find his death record. His father was the above Julius Edholm. I believe this because family story is that Marta took Julius to Court to give her son Herman the EDHOLM surname and the Court ruled in favor of that. I live in Colorado, USA and have no idea how to find such Swedish records from Ragunda. Can anyone provide me with any documentation related to this issue?

I did not originally think that Jenny's father was Julius because Marta had other illegitimate children with other men. However, I have changed that view due to overwhelming DNA evidence pointing to Julius. Marta (1858), Jenny's mother was raised by a single mother and they lived in poverty. My understanding is that Marta had a criminal record for stealing. Her mother Marta Kajsa HERMANSDOTTER (1838-1918) was born in Nassjo, Langsele, Västernorrland and died in Ragunda. Her father was Herman Svan PERSSON (1801-) and her mother was Katarina NILSDOTTER (1779-1864). Marta (1838) had a number of children but was never married. Andrew Nordfors, who I believe was Marta's (1858) father, was a Mormon missionary who was not from the Ragunda area. He was excommunicated from the Mormon church and was later re-baptized. He married a women from Ragunda and immigrated to Utah, USA. I am a DNA match with approximately twenty individuals who trace their family trees to him and I am included in a Andrew Nordfors DNA Circle on Ancestry with approximately twelve others. Is there any records in Sweden that place Andrew in the Ragunda area besides his marriage record, such as census data? Any additional information that could help me understand this situation better would be much appreciated.

[Joakim Axnér]

Is there any records in Sweden that place Andrew in the Ragunda area besides his marriage record, such as census data?

Yes. Household Examination Records (Husförhörslängder).

He moved from Stockholm to Krångede, Ragunda in 1858. He resided there until 1872 and then briefly in Krokvåg, Ragunda before emigrating to North America 1872-05-31.

1855 Storkyrkoförsamlingen AI:57 (1854-1855), page 25
https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/C0056327_00033?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0#?cv=32&z=3239.0713%2C3640.9952%2C1566.9781%2C861.3631
Smedsgesällen Anders Magnus Nordforss 1832-06-29

1858 Ragunda AI:5 (1856-1861), page 148
https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/C0036081_00163?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0#?cv=162&z=192.5529%2C3095.3026%2C2992.3584%2C1644.8903
Smedgesällen Dr[äng] Anders Magn[us] Nordforss
1832-06-29 Helsingland Mo
att[est] ifr[ån] Stockholm 1858
Mormon läran.

1861 Ragunda AI:6 (1861-1872), page 189
https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/C0036082_00190?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0#?cv=189&z=120.7122%2C4681.0257%2C3463.6484%2C1903.957
Dr Anders Magnus Nordforss
1832-06-29 Helsingl. Mo
Morm.

1864? Ragunda AI:6 (1861-1872), page 190
https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/C0036082_00191?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0#?cv=190&z=-191.413%2C41.8249%2C4210.5328%2C2314.5171
Gift 1864-05-06

1872 Ragunda AI:6 (1861-1872), page 144
https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/C0036082_00148?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0#?cv=147&z=21.1227%2C700.0013%2C4210.5328%2C2314.5171
N. Amerika 1872-05-31

[Thomas Ricks Young]

This is exactly the type of information that I need to establish a paper trail to support the DNA evidence.

Thank you!

[Joakim Axnér]

His father was the above Julius Edholm. I believe this because family story is that Marta took Julius to Court to give her son Herman the EDHOLM surname and the Court ruled in favor of that. I live in Colorado, USA and have no idea how to find such Swedish records from Ragunda. Can anyone provide me with any documentation related to this issue?

I found an interesting note in Ragunda AIIa:4, page 162:

Ragunda kyrkoarkiv, Församlingsböcker, SE/ÖLA/11087/A II a/4 (1905-1923), bildid: F0012558_00180
https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/F0012558_00180?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0#?cv=179&z=3990.4798%2C1693.5637%2C2320.3812%2C1275.5065
f. volontären Julius Emanuel Edholm
enl. utslag vid Ragunda tingslags häradsrätt
den 10 Sept. 1903 dömd till barnets far. C.W. d. 2/8 07.

Court records can be found in Ragunda tingslags häradsrätt (NAD: SE/ÖLA/10828). You need to locate the correct volume, which I think in this case would be AI:219 (1903). However it has not yet been digitized, and is not available on the internet.

Repository: Landsarkivet i Östersund (ÖLA) https://riksarkivet.se/ostersund
Archive: 10828 Ragunda tingslags häradsrätt 1621 – 1950
Series: A I Domböcker.
Volume: AI:219 (1903)
NAD: SE/ÖLA/10828/A I/219

Browse contents of archive:
https://sok.riksarkivet.se/?postid=Arkis%20786b52f7-48f7-11d5-a6ed-0002440207bb&tab=post&flik=1

[Thomas Ricks Young]

Wow, we are so excited with this! It "appears" that Marta (1958) not only petitioned the court for Herman but my Jenny also.

Thank you for taking your time to find this! Sounds like I need to go to Ragunda and check things out. As I said above, we live in Colorado, USA. However, I have a cousin who went to Ragunda and found the gravestone for Marta (1858) a few years ago.

[Joakim Axnér]

Well, the note is for Herman, not Jenny. And you need to go to the regional state archives in Östersund (https://riksarkivet.se/archives-in-ostersund) where the records are stored, not Ragunda.

[Thomas Ricks Young]

Is it kind of weird that Herman was born in 1894 and Marta (1858) was pregnant with Jenny when she sought out the help of the Court authorities with this issue? Is there anything there that links Jenny to Julius?

[Joakim Axnér]

No, there's nothing there that links Jenny to Julius. However, as you pointed out, it is an interesting coincidence that Märta went to court in the same year she had Jenny.

[Thomas Ricks Young]

Thank you again for trying. Very cool!

Thomas

[Håkan Bergström]

Having sex outside of marrige was still a criminal offence until 1864, albeit that law was not always applied the last few year.So, there might be trial after Marta's birth in the Ragunda court records.You could either write to the Landsarkiv in Östersund and ask them to have a look.


Or get the court records photographed.
The cost is circa 17 dollars per court session (there were two session per year).

https://www.arkivdigital.se/sources/3557

Håkan

[Thomas Ricks Young]

Good tip. Thank you.

[Joakim Axnér]

My understanding is that Marta had a criminal record for stealing.

Notes about her mother Märta's (b. 1837) criminal record:

Ragunda AI:6 (1861-1872), page 371 (Försvarslöse och Fattighjon)
https://sok.riksarkivet.se/bildvisning/C0036082_00356?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0#?cv=355&z=5853.3177%2C4951.7665%2C1398.4432%2C768.72

I tried to transcribe it but it's written in very small text.

Straffad för 1:a resan
stöld år 1862 enl.
uppgift

Och enligt Sundsvalls
RådstufvuRätts utslag
den 2 Juni 1868 dömd att
för andra resan stöld
undergå två års straffarbete
och i sex år wara medborge-
ligt förtroende förlustig.

[...] bet. 29/6 67
13 Aug 1868 transport
till Linköpings
[...] straff-
arbetet slutar den
27 Dec 1869

1870 d. 6 Juli
3 resan stöld.
5 år, slutar den
4 Juli 1875.

In summary she was convicted of theft (stöld) in 1862, 1868 and 1870. I guess you could call her a repeat offender. She was sentenced to hard labor (straffarbete), and spent many years in prison.

Also found her in this database of prison records:

http://www.ep.liu.se/databases/fangrullar/default.en.aspx
http://www.ep.liu.se/databases/fangrullar/dbrecord.aspx?id=20211
http://www.ep.liu.se/databases/fangrullar/dbrecord.aspx?id=25638

Edit: Again, court records of this can also be found in the aforementioned Ragunda tingslags häradsrätt.

[Thomas Ricks Young]

Wow, that does not look good. I knew she got herself in trouble (in many ways). It has been challenging for me personally to know of all of this inappropriate behavior. However, it is not for me to judge her or any other for that matter. I assume she had a VERY challenging life and I would not be here along with many others if she and her daughter had not survived. It makes one wonder where the children were while their mother was in jail and no father. I know Jenny lived for years in a poor farm. After she came to the US, she was afraid her whole life that she might be deported back to Sweden. She never became a US citizen, never had a drivers license, and used aliases. My cousin who is a lawyer tried to convince her otherwise but she would not believe any of her family. So we took her to a different lawyer and that seemed to help calm her fears that she would send back to Sweden. Not a pretty picture and it motivates me to be a better person and help all of my grandchildren be successful.

Thank you.

Thomas