Frederick Linn or Lindstrom

[Shelly Duncan]

I have been searching for my great great grandfather's records, but am having no luck.  I know he was born in Sweden in 1846 and later sailed to the US in 1865 and settled in Chicago.  I cannot find his name on a passenger list, since he was part of the crew and is listed as a sailor in the 1880 federal census. The story in our family is that his original name was Lindstrom, but was changed to Linn once he was here.  There are so many variations on Lindstrom that I don't even know where to start searching.  If anyone could help, I would be most grateful!!  Thank you.

[Judy Olson Baouab]

There actually are arrival manifests which list the crew members. I've seen them on microfilm and I've seen some online on the Ellis Island site. However, Ellis Island opened in 1892 and that is decades past the arrival date you listed.
 
Have you done any checking at the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center? They have a website but their extensive collection of records is not online.
 
http://www.augustana.edu/swenson/
 
He may not have used Linn or Lindström until after he emigrated. Many left with their patronymic names. (= son/dotter names) Do you have a more complete birthdate? Is 1865 an estimate based on ages in later censuses? If he was living in 1900, you can find a column for a month and year of birth in the 1900 U.S. Federal Census. Have you found his arrival on a passenger manifest or are you basing his arrival in 1865 on an immigration year found in a census? Those immigration years are often not consistent from one census to another, and they are not necessarily correct even if they are consistent.
 
I see this person (who may or may not be yours) on the Emibas CD. Emibas was made from registrations in the Swedish parish to go to a foreign country. It is about 75% complete.
 
Post 536262
 
Larsson Lindström, Carl Fredrik
Rättare = his occupation (unmarried man)
 
b. 6/5/1845 in Värnamo, Jönköpings län (Småland)
 
Emigrated 10/24/1870
from Lönnarp, Böne, Älvsborgs län (Västergötland)
to Amerika
 
Source: Emibas migration file ID: Böne P 1870 005
 
Try to find more clues in the U.S., especially at the Swenson Center.
 
Judy