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Författare Ämne: Åberg surname non-patronymic?  (läst 1426 gånger)

2007-04-08, 08:41
läst 1426 gånger

Dean Oberg

The Åberg name seems to ignore the patronymic rules.  I can trace back to a gggg grandfather, Sune Åberg born 1745. The Åberg name was consistent from Sune forward.
 
Does anyone know why Åberg would be non-patronymic?
 
Thanks.
 
Dean

2007-04-08, 08:57
Svar #1

Utloggad Anders Ellerstrand

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Two common reasons for non-patronymic names were:
 
* becoming a soldier
* becoming a craftsman
 
An example is this family  where all three sons became craftsmen (two blacksmiths and one carpenter) and takes on new, non-patronymic names.

2007-04-08, 20:32
Svar #2

Utloggad Ingela Martenius

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If the first Åberg was born in 1745 and the name kept from that time, there is only a very slight possibility that this is a soldier name. It was only in the very late 19th century that this practice became common (though there are exceptions).
If an Åberg ancestor moved into a town and became anything but a servant, he'd probably acquire a proper surname. Craftsman, merchant, civil servant (e.g. a watchman) of any description.
Clergymen also assumed surnames, but Åberg isn't a typical clergy surname (these were were most often in Latin or Greek).
If an Åberg ancestor remained in the country but had any sort of position of trust, such as foreman at an estate or forest ranger, he'd also acquire a surname.
A very special case are smiths; regardless of where they lived they tended to have surnames.
 
Generally speaking, patronymics were used by the rural population except of course the nobility, the gentry (to which class clergymen belonged) and the most trusted servants of these classes, and by the poorest urban population.
Using a surname is always about distancing yourself from the farmers.
It has to be remembered that in the 18th century more than 90% of the total population lived in the country, and only a tiny fraction of those belonged to anything but the farmer estate.
 
These are of course only general suggestions. If you give us some more details about the Åberg family, such as occupation and residence, we'd probably be able to tell you more specifically about why they had a surname so early.
 
Ingela

2007-04-08, 21:56
Svar #3

Utloggad Anders Ellerstrand

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I have an ancestor who became a soldier in 1791. His unit was called 62 Norberg and my ancestor later took the name Norberg. All of his children kept the name. My grandfather (mf) was called Norberg. They were common farmers most of them...

2007-04-10, 06:01
Svar #4

Dean Oberg

Thanks Ingela and Anders.  
 
Sune was a foreman (master hammersmith) of some kind in Falsterbro Bruk. (His wife, Anna Lisken Hindricsdotter Lomell, had ancestral ties to Belgium and Walloon metal workers.) His son, Sven Hindric Åberg (Falsterbro Bruk, Hjorted), was a hammersmith. But the next two generations, Sven Henrik Åberg (Forsaström, Gärdserum) and Nils Henrik Åberg (Getterum, Hjorted) were tailors.  
 
Dean  
http://www.obergfamily.org/sven_henric_aberg.html

2007-04-10, 22:14
Svar #5

Utloggad Ingela Martenius

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Dean,
 
Smiths are, as I said, a special case. Since at least the early 17th century they tended to have surnames.
 
Smiths were very proud of their craft, and if you belonged to a family with smith ancestors you definitely regarded yourself as at least a cut above the general farming population - even if you yourself no longer was a smith. I have some smith ancestors myself; some of the women married ordinary farmers but brought with them the notion that they were of a better class - so much so that this tale persisted in my family for close to 200 years!
 
There are also examples of the the old smith surname not being used for a generation or two, end then it pops back into use - the family is back.
 
 
Anders,
 
As I pointed out, there are always exceptions.
 
However, you can be very sure that your ancestors for some reason thought of themselves as slightly above their neighbouring farmers since they held on to the surname. Perhaps soldier Norberg was a remarkable man in some way.
 
Were your Norberg ancestors perhaps from Norrland? Surnames seem to have been more generally used a little earlier there.
 
On the other hand, I can counter with an example from my own family; they suffer from inverted snobbery. They are still farmers, in Skåne, and so proud of it that they cling to the old way of patronymics: only now, the new generation has to apply for a new surname when they turn 18. But not to worry, they all do it...if it was good enough for their great-grandfather, it's good enough for them and never mind that surnames are compulsory since 1962 (however, these old-fashioned notions of course don't stop them from applying for EU grants).
 
Ingela

2007-04-13, 09:31
Svar #6

Dean Oberg

Thanks again Ingela.  Your explanations are very helpful in putting these pieces of family history in perspective.  We Åbergs have become quite a bit more humble after emigrating. :-)
 
My wife helps keep me 'grounded' as her ancestors include John Locke - a New England pilgrim, Robert Fulton - the inventor of the steamboat, and US wild west noteables, Buffalo Bill Cody and Kit Carson.
 
But I am very proud of my Swedish heritage.
 
Thanks.
 
Dean

2007-04-13, 13:12
Svar #7

Utloggad Ingela Martenius

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Well, being of Swedish descent is in itself a claim to fame...
Just remind you wife that today (not mouldy old history) 20% of all NHL teams are captained by Swedes (25% if we count only those teams that actually have a Swede in them) - evidently North Americans need a good strong Swede (even if they have no exalted ancestors to brag about) to lead them!  
 
Ingela

2007-04-13, 16:21
Svar #8

Utloggad Anders Åberg

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Hello Dean,
The family name Åberg is rather frequently used in Sweden and today there are a large number of familys who carry the name. My ggg gg grandfather Anders Åberg (1718-1785) who lived in Kristianstad in Skåne, and who was at first a sailor and then miller and brewer, was probably the first to adopt the name in our family. I have also noticed that some branches of the family-tree, where people have gone back to farming, they have dropped the name and returned to using patronymic names.  
Already in those days there were several Åbergs in Kristianstad, and one of them was a blacksmith. He had no family-relations to my ancestor though.
Best regards
Anders Åberg

2007-04-20, 08:48
Svar #9

Dean Oberg

Anders,
 
Thanks for the additional input on Åbergs.  Maybe we have a common ancestor.  Though it looks like Sune was the first to use it in our line.  His father was Nils Larsson (born abt. 1710).
 
Dean

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