Alma Maria Gustafsson Emigration Look Up

[Royce Simondsen]

Hello:
I was hoping that someone could find information about when my grandmother left Sweden.  The family history states that she left from Alvestad,
Ostergotland on 10-24-1901.  She would have been 15 or 16 years old.  I have not been able to find her in the Ellis Island records. Thank you for any help that you can give me.
Royce Simondsen

[Don Tuthill]

Hi Royce,
 
I found this emigration record on the Emibas CD, looks like the girl you were looking for. Here is that record:
 
Post 150255
 
Gustafsson, Alma Maria
Piga (unmarried woman)
 
b. 12/25/1885 in Lönsås, Östergötlands län (Östergötland)
 
Emigrated 10/24/1901
from Försjö, Älvestad, Östergötlands län (Östergötland)
to Nordamerika
 
Source: Household Examination Roll, p. 76
 
Emibas migration file ID: Älvestad E 1901 002
 
Have a nice day!
 
Don

[Mårten Swärd]

Found this information about her parents:
Father: August Gustafsson, Inhyseshjon, 34 years old
Mother: Ida Amalia Widell, 29 years old
 
They live in Kullen and have been married for 7 years.
 
Source: Lönsås födelsebok 1885, (GID:100005.86.43300)

[Britt-Marie Waller]

Hello again Royce!
 
More information about ancestors to Alma Maria are available under Efterlysningar, Östergötland, August Gustafsson 1890 Census Lonsas.
 
AI:14 p 166 Lönsås (E) GID 335.21.46700
Kullen (cottage) belonging to the farm Stora Torpa. Parishrecord until 1895.
 
Hunter (former worker) August Gustafsson b 1851-06-22 Kristberg. Married 1878-02-26.
Wife Ida Amalia Widell b 1856-09-29 Motala (E)
- dead 1886-09-01.
New wife: Matilda Andersson b 1861-04-24 Vreta Kloster (E), married 1889-05-25.
 
Children marriage no 1:
Anna Sofia b 1878-04-15 Vinnerstad (E)
Hilma Amalia b 1880-01-17 Fornåsa
Arvid Leonard b 1883-01-27  
Alma Maria b 1885-12-25 Lönsås
Children marriage no 2:
Otilia ... b 1893-01-04 Lönsås, dead 1893-05-28
Alfrida Matilda b 1896-02-12 Lönsås
 
SCB deathbook 100005.91.32900
1886-09-01 Ida Amalia Widell, blacksmiths! wife from Kullen, 29 years old, 11 months, 2 days. No cause of death is available.
 
The parishrecord from 1896 are kept at landsarkivet in Vadstena, the archive for this province. I´ll look up the death for August Gustafsson too, as I promised to do with his mothers death in Brunneby - Sofia Josefina Kalén.
 
By the way, you wrote in a letter to me that Alma Marias uncles probably emigrated too? Perhaps someone can check this out for you?  
 
Karl Gustaf Gustafsson b 1868-02-15 Brunneby (E)
Otto Gustafsson b 1853-12-13 Kristberg (E)
 
Best regards
 
Britt-Marie

[Royce Simondsen]

Don,Marten and Britt-Marie.  Thank you for your help.
 
Britt, I would appreciate it if you would look up the death date for his second wife Matilda, also.  I think that August died in 1936.
 
Thank you again for your help.
Royce

[Britt-Marie Waller]

Hello again Royce!
 
Your grandmother Alma Maria Gustafsdotter b 1885-12-28 Lönsås left for North America 1901-10-24 from Försjö Västergård, Älvestad parish (E). She worked there as a maid for a year, before this she was at home in Lönsås until 1900-10-19. She then lived with her father August Gustafsson and stepmother Matilda Andersson at a cottage named Tolsänkan, Vålberga farm, Lönsås (AIIa:1 Lönsås p 160, 1896-1908). August is first said to be a sawman a kind of lumberman...later on a fisherman. The place Tolsänkan is later on called Sjölund. In AIIa:2 Lönsås p 269 (1909-24)Sjölund living by August and Matilda is the son Arvid Leonard Gustafsson b 1883-01-27 Fornåsa (E). He is only living here between 1913-10-31 - 1914-06-26. He is said to have emigrated to North America between 1902-10-10 and 1913-10-31. I think the reason for his homecoming is his marriage in 1914-06-19 Lönsås with the shopassistant Gerda Olivia Andersson b 1887-01-22 Sjögestad (E). They move together to N America 1914-06-26. Arvid Leonards occupation is said to be maskinist, machineman or engineman...
 
In AIIa:3 (1924-35/36 Sjölund, Lönsås the father August Gustafsson b 1851-06-22 Kristberg dies 1936-08-19. The stepmother Matilda Andersson b 1861-04-24 Vreta Kloster, dies 1936-10-13. The information is only from the parishrecord, the deathbook is not available so easily due to rules of secrecy for 70 years at the archives. The deathbook for 1936 is in C:8 1916-49. If you want the cause of death you can contact the archive in Vadstena: www.ra.se/vala
 
Best regards
 
Britt-Marie

[Anne-Lee Wilson]

Hello Royce!
 
I found your Arvid Leonard and Gerda Olivia on Ellis Island!
 
Arvid Leonard Gustafsson b 1883-01-27 Fornåsa (E)
Gerda Olivia Andersson b 1887-01-22 Sjögestad (E)
 
This is what I found:
 
Date of departure: Jul 11th 1914
Date of arrival: Jul 17th 1914
Ship of travel: Aquitania
Port of departure: Liverpool
Final destination: Sagola,Michigan
Arwid Gustafson,31 yrs,engineer, 5'10 tall,brown hair and blue eyes
Gerda Gustafson,27 yrs,wife,5'6 tall,brown hair and blue eyes
It says that Arwid's father is their nearest relative in Sweden.
It also says that they are joining Arwid's sister Anna Peterson (I cannot read the text which probably is the address)who is living in Sagola,Michigan so I guess that would be the sister Anna Sofia b 1878-04-15 Vinnerstad (E)?
 
Best regards,
Anne-Lee Wilson
Florida,USA

[Anne-Lee Wilson]

More from Ellis Island:
 
Date of departure: Aug 15th 1908
Port of departure: Liverpool
Date of arrival: Aug 21st. 1908
Ship of travel: Lusitania
Final destination: Sagola,Michigan
Arvid Gustafson,25 yrs,5'9 tall,brown hair and blue eyes
Marital status: Single
Last place of residence: Sagola,Michigan
Nearest relative:his father,August Gustafson
Whether ever before in US,where and when:1907 1908,Sagola,Michigan
It says he is going to join his sister Anna Peterson --- 41,Sagola,Michigan
 
I have not found him in 1907 yet.
 
Best regards,
Anne-Lee Wilson

[Royce Simondsen]

Britt-Marie:
Thank you for taking the time to look up the information on my relatives. One of my cousins has a picture of August when he is older and I think that it says Tolsänkan on the back.  I don't know if we had any information on the death of his second wife.  
 
Anne-Lee:
Thank you for looking up the information on the Ellis Island site.  I have not been able to find my grandmother.  Maybe you will have better luck than I did.
 
Thank you again for all of the information.

[sarah]

There is a 16-year-old Swedish-born Alma Gustafson who arrived in the port of Boston on board the Saxonia in October 1901.  She was headed to Chicago and is listed as a servant.  There's no other identifying information, however, so it's hard to know if this is your grandmother.

[Royce Simondsen]

Thank you for the information, Sarah.  I had thought that she might have used another port but didn't know where.  You are right.  There is not much information to go on.  Thanks.

[sarah]

I should add that I did search for a while and didn't come up with any other likely candidates for your Alma.  Do you know if her destination was Chicago?

[Royce Simondsen]

Hi:
No, I think that her destination would be Sagola, Michigan because her sister Anna lived there.  I will have to check that but that is what I remember.  Thanks for your interest.

[Judy Olson Baouab]

Emihamn database:
 
 
First name: MARIA
Last name: GUSTAVSON
Age: 16     Gender: K
Parish: ÄLFVESTA     County: E
Port: GÖTEBORG
Date: 1901 11 13
Destination: SAGOLA
Fellows: NEJ
Source: 68:599:11036
 
The same person was entered twice.
 
First name: MARIA
Last name: GUSTAVSON
Age: 16     Gender: K
Parish: ÄLVESTAD     County: E
Port: GÖTEBORG
Date: 1901 11 13
Destination: SAGOLA
Fellows: NEJ
Source: 68:599:11036
 
Judy

[Royce Simondsen]

Judy:  
Thank you for your information.  It was very helpful.  I searched in Ancestry for Maria Gustavson but had no luck.  However, I was successful with Maria Gustafson.  I think that my grandmother arrived in Boston on board the Commonwealth on November 16, 1901.  I believe that it is her because her destination is Sagola, Michigan.  Thank you for your help as well as all those who responded.
Royce

[Judy Olson Baouab]

Did she arrive in the U.S. in 3 days after leaving Göteborg or did she leave England on the larger ship three days later? Otherwise, this sounds like an excellent match for you but it seems unlikely it would have only taken three days from Göteborg to the U.S.
 
Maybe the Emihamn departure date was misread, but that date fits reasonably well with the date she left her parish.(24 October)Perhaps the Emihamn date was in late October or early November and the scribbled date was misread by the transcriber for the cd.
 
Judy

[Royce Simondsen]

Judy:
You are correct.  I misread the date.  I think that the ship left Liverpool on the 11/16.  Looking at the records, it arrived in Boston on the 11/24.  Thanks again.
Royce

[Britt-Marie Waller]

Hi Royce!
 
I now have some information about your grandmothers uncles Otto and Karl Gustaf.
 
I followed them from their home in Brunneby parish to when they emigrated to North America...Otto Gustafsson was born 1853-12-13 in Kristberg (E). In 1868 he moves to Väderstad parish (E) Vallsbergs Backggård. It seems he is employed by a blacksmith named Claes Oskar Bergling b 1832-04-11 Kristberg and his family, they all move to Väderstad at the same date from Brunneby parish.  
 
Otto Gustafsson is listed as a dräng (probably assistant to the blacksmith) between 1868 until 1880-04-08. Then he emigrates to North America, his name is still Otto Gustafsson, but it seems that he has taken the last name of his former employer when he comes to America. Notice that the last name is BERGLING, not Berling.
 
Your grandmothers youngest uncle Karl Gustaf Gustafsson b 1868-12-15 Brunneby (E) moves from Brunneby to Skeppsås parish (E) in 1883-12-12. He works as a farmhand on the farm Qvinslunda, today probably spelled Kvinslunda. He leaves for North America 1888-03-06 from Skeppsås parish. For some years before this he calls himself Kal?n as last name (his mothers and grandfathers last name). But in the last parishrecord the name Kal?n is changed to Bergling, just like his older brothers in America.
 
I recognized the name Bergling connected to Kristberg parish, when you first started to write about her uncles. The Bergling family is a long line of blacksmiths, but as I see it there is no real connection to this family. Otto just liked the name and found it better than Gustafsson...
 
Best regards  
 
Britt-Marie

[Britt-Marie Waller]

The name of the farm in Väderstad have been spelled wrongly by me, Vallsbergs Backgård is the correct spelling.

[Royce Simondsen]

Britt-Marie:
What a difference a g makes.  I was able to find Otto living in Iowa.  This agreed with a very old address that we had for him.  That he was the correct person was supported by the Iowa state census of 1925 where his father was listed as Gustave Peterson and his mother was Sophia Kaglin.  I find a Karl(Carl) in the 1910 census but not much after that.  I will have to continue looking.  Thank you for your help.
Royce