Enoch Wilhelm (Vilhelm) Krantz of Småland...

[John Anderson]

I am searching for more information on an ancestor of mine, Enoch Wilhelm Krantz, born January 25, 1877 in Småland, Sweden.  He died November 15, 1952 in Sandstone, Minnesota, USA. The name Krantz appears to be a war name taken on by Wilhelm or another ancestor.  I remember my grandmother saying something about his name possibly being Petersson before the change to Krantz.  
 
I have not been able to find anything in the database on him.  It appears that there are no records from Småland in the database.  Is this so?
 
Thank you,
 
John Anderson

[Judy Olson Baouab]

John,
 
When did he leave Sweden? What database are you talking about? There are quite a few databases to choose from. Enoch could also be spelled Enok. Wilhelm might also be spelled as Vilhelm.
 
I only found one Enok Wilhelm born 1877 on the Arkion database in 1890, so he left Sweden before 31 December 1890 or he wasn't born in 1877 or he wasn't born in Småland province or some other information isn't correct.
 
Is the year of birth estimated or exact? What is your source of information? There are other possibilities if the birth year is one year before or after 1877.
 
http://www.arkion.se
 
Parish: Hammars    
Enok Wilhelm  f. 1877 Hammars  
About the person  
Homeparish: Hammars
Residence: Strömslund.
County: Örebro
 
Year of birth: 1877
Place of birth:  
Parish of birth: Hammars
Country of birth:  
 
Occupation:  
Title:  
 
Marital status:  O (Unmarried)  
Gender:   M (Man)  
Family status: s.
Family status code:   B (Child)  
 
Absence:  
Other details: v
Declaration of faith:  
Comment:  
Defect:  
Nationality:  
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SVARvolume: 000335  Card nr: 10
Page: 122  Row: 50
 Persons in the household
Fam nr: 1
Karl Karlsson f. 1832, Grufarbetare
Augusta Charlotta Albertina Andersd:r f. 1845
Ernst Ossian f. 1872
Enok Wilhelm f. 1877
 
1900
 
That Enok Wilhelm took the name Lungstedt so he is probably not yours, unless he changed his name again.
 
 
 
Parish: Hammar med Västra Ny länsdel   Show source  
Enock Vilhelm Karlsson Ljungstedt f. 1877 Hammar Örebro län  
About the person About the household  
Homeparish: Hammar med Västra Ny länsdel
Residence: Annedal
County: Örebro län
 
Year of birth: 1877
Place of birth:  
Parish of birth: Hammar Örebro län
Country of birth:  
 
Occupation: Arbetare
Title:  
 
Marital status:  O (Unmarried)  
Gender:   M (Man)  
Family status: s.
Family status code:   B (Child)  
 
Absence:  
Other details:  
Declaration of faith:  
Comment:  
Defect:  
Nationality:  
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SVARvolume: 188205  Card nr: 6
Page: 103  Row: 9
 Persons in the household
Fam nr: 1
Karl Karlsson f. 1832, Gruvarbetare
Augusta Charlotta Albertina Andersdotter f. 1845
Enock Vilhelm Karlsson Ljungstedt f. 1877, Arbetare
 
He might have taken the name Krantz after emigrating.
 
Have you checked records from the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center? Those records aren't online but they are extensive, and many find the birth parish there.
 
http://www.augustana.edu/administration/SWENSON/
 
I don't see him on CD Emigranten using the information you provided.
 
I switched the order of his given names and found someone born in Småland province in the year you provided.
 
Arkion 1890
 
Parish: Hinneryd    
Vilhelm Enoch Sigfrid  f. 1877 Hinneryd  
About the person  
Homeparish: Hinneryd
Residence: Hinneryd Prestgård
County: Kronoberg
 
Year of birth: 1877
Place of birth:  
Parish of birth: Hinneryd
Country of birth:  
 
Occupation:  
Title:  
 
Marital status:  O (Unmarried)  
Gender:   M (Man)  
Family status: s.
Family status code:   B (Child)  
 
Absence:  
Other details: v
Declaration of faith:  
Comment:  
Defect:  
Nationality:  
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SVARvolume: 000165  Card nr: 8
Page: 3  Row: 25
 Persons in the household
Fam nr: 1
Nils Jacob Sjöstrand f. 1822, Kyrkoherde
Anna Brita Blom?n f. 1831
Ester Emmy Charlotta f. 1866
Ernst Abel Ferdinand f. 1867
Martin Georg Nicolaus f. 1869
Anton David Richard f. 1871
Josef Otto Leonard f. 1872
Vilhelm Enoch Sigfrid f. 1877
Fam nr: 2
Mathilda Magnidotter f. 1871, tjenarinna
 
He is not listed in 1900 Arkion, but that database isn't completed.  
 
Do you know names of siblings or parents?  
 
Judy

[Olle Andersson]

John !
 
Here I believe the right Enoch Wilhelm:
From the 1890 census:
Petersson, Johannes 1854 Far
Nilsdtr, Maria  1838 Mor
(Barn), Peter  1866 Barn
(Barn), Ingrid  1870 Barn
(Barn), Karl  1873 Barn
(Barn), Enoch  1877 Barn
The birth year of Johannes should be 1834.
The family move from Bockaboda in Agunnaryd parish to Ryssby in 1885.
More data from Genline GID 810.30.2900 :
 
 

 
Just tell me if you want me to dig more.
 
Regards from another Anders' son

[Olle Andersson]

John!
 
Just another bonus - the birth record of Enoch Wilhelm (which led me to the right path:
GID 100007.43.13300 (Genline)

 
Olle

[Olle Andersson]

John!
Quite interesting to follow your ancesters.
I found out that all siblings emigrated
Peter and Carl in 1891
Ingrid in 1893
and Enoch after 1894 when he moved to Stockholm to serve as a pontonier at the at the Pontonjär-regiment (approx. Corps of Engineers; Main task to build bridges at war “pontoons”) at Kungsholmen/Stockholm.
When I looked for Enoch's fathers birth-record I found him born in Rydaholm parish, Jönköping:

Enoch's grandfather, Johannes father was a Grenadier (also soldier) and his name as you can see - Peter Crantz. Enoch's grandmother Lena Johansdotter. So now you know where Crantz came from!
 
Olle

[John Anderson]

Thank you so much Olle,
 
That is indeed my Enoch.  He was my great grandfather.  I have been looking for him in the Ellis Island database records and a standard search of the database does not turn him up.  So, I started going page by page through EVERY ship arrival record in the database starting with 1893.  As you can imagine, it is very slow going.  I have been doing it all week and have only gotten to February 27th, 1893.
 
From what you have found, I see that I should start looking for him in 1894 at the earliest.  I was hoping a search of the Emigranten CD would turn him so that I could narrow down the date of emigration, but I don't know of anyone who has been able to find him yet in that list, and I don't have access to it.
 
Thank you for the images above.  I save and treasure all of those, even though I can read very little of what's in them.  ;-)
 
I have always wondered at the name Krantz.  As far as I can determine, Krantz is a German surname as the word has no meaning in Swedish that I can find.  I once said to my grandmother (before she died) that perhaps we had some German ancestry mixed in with our Swedish.  She said she had never really thought about it but that it was possible.  We had always thought that she was full-blooded Swede and so was my grandfather.  
 
I have since found that on my grandfather's side of the family I actually have some Walloon ancestors that came to Sweden to workin the steel mines!  Very interesting to learn that!
 
Thank you again all of you for your priceless help and research in this matter.
 
John

[John Anderson]

Hej Olle,
 
You said that all of Enoch's siblings emigrated to America.  Did the emigrate under the surname Johannesson?  Or did some of them use Crantz or Krantz?
 
Thank you in advance,
 
John Anderson

[Olle Andersson]

John!
 
Peter and Carl emigrated in March 1891. Both as Johannessons.
 
Ingrid february 28 1893 as Ingrid Johannesdotter.
 
I will send the record pictures by e-mail.
 
Regards
 
Olle

[John Anderson]

Thank you Olle!
 
That will help me find them in the records.  That also tells me that Enoch probably emigrated under the name Johannesson also.  
 
My e-mail address is:
 
camch5@yahoo.com
 
Thank you again,
 
John Anderson

[Olle Andersson]

John!
 
You should have received the remaining information - sent it yesterday to your Yahoo-account!
 
Regards,
 
Olle

[John Anderson]

Thank you Ollie!  
 
I am still working on finding the siblings.  Unfortunately, apparently the Ellis Island records do not exist before 1892, so I am probably out of luck as far as Peter and Carl.  
 
A search of the database on the Ellis Island homepage turned up an Inga M. Johannesdotter in February of 1863, but she is listed as being 32 years of age, so I do not think she is my Inga Johannesdotter.  Still searching.  May have to resort to the page by page search yet again...
 
Thanks Olle,
 
John Anderson

[Judy Olson Baouab]

John,
 
Passengers arrived in the port of New York long before the Ellis Island receiving station started in 1892. Before 1892 passengers arrived at the wharf and later at Castle Garden and later at the Barge Office. You are hardly out of luck. :-)
 
Try this site.
 
http://stevemorse.org/ellis/passengers.php?mode=castle
 
Here are more of Stephen Morse's sites.
 
http://stevemorse.org/
 
The manifests you need are available on microfilm also.
 
http://home.att.net/~arnielang/shipgide.html
 
New York was not the only port either, so use that last link to learn how to access records for immigrants who entered through a port not in New York.
 
Judy

[John Anderson]

Thank you Judy!  I had no idea.  Thanks for the help.  You saved me a ton of frustration!  I remember hearing that some of my ancestors came to America through the port of Boston, so perhaps those are the ones.  
 
Thanks again,
 
John