Military requirements

[Laurel Holgerson]

We have a picture of my grandfather as a drummer, all dressed up in uniform.  His name was Johan Mauritz Isberg, born  
April 25, 1881 in Hedvig Eleanor, Stockholm.  Were all boys required to serve in the military and how long?  What was the penalty for not serving?
And were there ways to avoid serving?
 
Thanks for any info you may have about this.  Laurel

[Anna-Carin Betzén]

I expected you'd get a detailed reply from someone who knows the subject well, but as this hasn't been the case, I'll make an attempt. My terminology is probably incorrect but I hope you'll get it anyway.  
 
Drafted armies were introduced throughout Europe in the 19th century (Napoleon I in France started it, and other countries followed in order to maintain the balance of power). Often only a fraction of the men were actually 'needed', so if you were lucky you didn't have to serve. And those who didn't want to serve, could avoid serving by paying someone else to do it in their stead. In Sweden, this right to opt out was discontinued in 1872. After that, everyone who was fit to serve had to do it, and if you didn't turn up you were fined. The initial training period was three months to begin with (but eventually somewhat extended as this was found insufficient), and afterwards you had to show up two or three times for some more training so you didn't forget what you'd learned (about four to six weeks at a time). So together with the initial training, it added up to maybe half a year. The amount of time you could be required to actually serve afterwards (as opposed to be in training) varied over time. At first 5 years, from 1885 6 years + 6 more years in the veteran reserve, from 1892 8 years among those called out first + 4 years among those called out next + 8 years in the veteran reserve. There were further alterations in 1901, and in 1914 it was changed to 11 years (starting at age 20) + 4 years + veteran reserve until age 42. I'm no war history buff so I have no idea to how long people actually did serve around the wars etc. In peacetime, with no threat of war, I assume the training was all they did.
(Source: Nordisk Familjebok (an encyclopedia from 1922).)
 
If you want to read about the Swedish military in the past, do visit the Military History section of Hans Högman's site. Several of the pages are in English, though not all.

[Laurel Holgerson]

Thank you for your feedback.  My grandfather came to the US in 1897.  And my father says that he left Sweden before finishing his military service.  Of course, the question is whether he did it with permission or ran off.  We just find it odd that in the records relating to his passage to the US are not in his formal name.  That leads me to believe he left prematurely, without permission.  Of course, I am assuming he was in the military.  That I still do not know for sure.
 
Again, thank you, so much  I will use those sites to learn more.  You have provided another piece to the puzzle.   Laurel

[Anna-Carin Betzén]

I didn't recall that he was that young when he left; the encyclopedia indicates that the drafted men started their training at 20 or 21. I think this means he may have been recruited rather than drafted (the two systems overlapped in the late 19th century).
 
It would be perfectly normal for records to use either his patronymic or the name Isberg. And sometimes there were typos as well.  
 
Have you posted a photo and received confirmation that he's wearing a Swedish military drummer boy's uniform? It just crossed my mind, that photographers sometimes had fancy clothes that you could borrow in order to get a fancy photograph...

[Laurel Holgerson]

Thank you for the information.  I will get a copy of the photo from my father and post it.  It never occurred to me that it could be  
 a photo where my grandfather dressed up but surely a possibility.
 
Thanks again.  I will post the photo when I get a copy.   Laurel Holgerson

[Laurel Holgerson]

Finally I have a scanned copy of a picture of my grandfather dressed up as a drummer.
 
Was my grandfather born 25 April 1881 in stockholm, Hedvig Eleanor,in the military?  Or is it a picture of a costume.  The family rumor is that he left the military to go to America.  What is the truth?
 
Thank you for the help.
 
Best regards, Laurel Holgerson

[Elisabeth Thorsell]

Laurel, your grandfather has this info in the database Emihamn:
 
Surname:   ISBERG
Given name:     J M
Age:       16            Sex: M
Born: 1880/1881
Parish:      County: A (Stockholm city)
Profession:    
Port of emigration:  GÖTEBORG
Day of emigration:  1897 03 19
Destination: MILWAUKEE
Travelling with:   NO
Source code:     59:229:4966
 
It seems that further research in local records is needed to find out if he was a drummer boy in the army.

[Laurel Holgerson]

Thank you for the information.
 
I knew he headed to Milwaukee in 1897 and returned to Sweden at some point.  I believe he traveled back to the USA in 1906 and then 1910, prior to the time his wife and daughter followed him.  It is not clear how many times he traveled back and forth.  And  what were the consequences  when he returned to Sweden?
 
The story goes that he fell in love with the housekeeper for his mother and then married her.
 
How could I find out more about the picture and whether he was in the military?
 
Thanks again.
 
Regards,  Laurel Holgerson

[Anna-Carin Betzén]

I know that someone is writing a book on Swedish uniforms of the period, and I thought I had his email address, since he helped me to date and identify a uniform in a photo a while back, but now I can't find it.  
 
Suppose someone with access to the 1890 census would locate the family there, so that Johan Mauritz Isberg could be traced in the household examination rolls or similar sources (I don't know what types of records exist for the Stockholm area) up to his 1897 emigration. If he joined the military there should be notes of it somewhere.

[Elisabeth Thorsell]

That's right. Here they are in the 1890 Swedish Census:
Isberg, Maria Charlotta   1839   M born in Karlskrona, Tailor's widow
(Barn), Helena Sofia   1876   Ch born in Stockholm
(Barn), Jakob Vilhelm   1879   Ch born in Stockholm
(Barn), Johan Mauritz   1881   Ch born in Stockholm
 
In 1890 they all lived at Kumlet #4, 5, 6 in Hedvig Eleonora, ward 11
 
As they probably did not have much money, it would have been a choice for John Mauritz to enlist in the army as a drummer boy, where he would be clothed and fed.

[Elisabeth Thorsell]

Dubbelpostat, borttaget
 
(Meddelandet ändrat av elisabeth den 06 april, 2009)

[Stefan Dake]

Here's the family in the 1880 census:
 
Kumlet N:o 4, 5, 6 Hedvig Eleonora, ward 11.
Address: 57 Nya Kvartersgatan  (after 1885: Linnégatan)
 
Johan Wilhelm Isberg, b. 1842 in Vickleby Kalmar county, tailor
Maria Charlotta Eneberg, b. 1839 in Karlskrona, Blekinge county
Wilhelmina Charlotta, b. 1869 in Stockholm
Johanna Maria, b. 1872 in Stockholm
Helena Sofia, b. 1876 in Stockholm
Jakob Wilhelm, b. 1879 in Stockholm
 
Johan Wilhelm died 26th April 1889.
Before he married in 1868, he had been a soldier in the Horse-mounted Lifeguard (Livgardet till häst). So there is a military connection, but I don't know how the uniforms looked like. The regiment was located 200 yards from their home.
 
Since John Mauritz was born 1881, he wasn't due for military service until 1901, so there would not be any trouble to emigrate in 1897. But if he returned shortly after 1901 and still was a swedish citizen, the military authorities could have been interested in him.
 
Regards
Stefan

[Laurel Holgerson]

Now the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place.  I could never figure out how Johan Wilhelm became a tailor since there was no family member who had the profession.  He probably learned the trade in the military.
 
We know his tailor shop made uniforms but it is unclear for whom-police, military, etc.  I can only guess that he continued making uniforms for the military.   Would he actually have a place of business, like a store front, or would he work out of his home.  I am not sure what Kumlet 4,5 and 6 means.
It sounds like at least 3 rooms.  And can I assume that they rented these Kumlets?
 
I also understood that his wife continued with the tailor business. Was she still living in the same place in the year 1900? If it was a poor family, then how could Johan and his mother afford to travel back and forth between America several times.  And how could Maria Charlotta afford a housekeeper?  Perhaps it was a very sucessful tailor business.
 
Thank you so much for the information. If I wanted to track down when and for how long Johan returned to  Sweden, where would I have to look?  And are there city directories for Stockholm that list businesses?
 
Again, thank you.  
 
Best regrds,  
Laurel Holgerson

[Erika Andersson]

From the 1900 census:
 
Name:            Maria Charlotta Isberg
Home parish:    Hedvig Eleonora rote 24
Home:            Kumlet N:o 4-5-6
Kontrakt:    Stockholm
Län:            Stockholms stad
Birthyear:    1839
Birth parish:    Karlskrona Blekinge län
Profession:    Skräddareänka (Tailor´s widow)
 
 
Persons in household:
Fam. nr 1
Maria Charlotta Isberg, f. 1839 i Karlskrona Blekinge län, Skräddareänka
Helena Sofia, f. 1876 i Stockholm
 
 
You can order copies from all kinds of archives from Stockholm City Archive, see more information about this at:
http://www.ssa.stockholm.se/en/
 
 
Mvh
Erika

[Anna-Carin Betzén]

Kumlet is the name of a block (an area delimited by streets etc on all sides), and 4, 5 & 6 are some of the lots within that block. (At that time, block name + lot # rather than street name + house # was used in the church records to keep track of where people lived.)  
 
In this case, I suspect that several households are lumped together under a single heading in the source; not differentiating between those who lived on lots number 4, 5, and 6 respectively.
 
In turn-of-the-century photos of Stockholm, many houses lack storefronts (especially older houses), but have a number of signs on them (often just painted onto the facade) saying that this or that firm is on a certain floor of the house. So I don't think a small family business would've had a storefront. A few example pics: Pic 1, pic 2, pic 3.

[Laurel Holgerson]

Thank you for the information regarding Kumlet and the pictures.  It is all beginning to make more sense.
 
IN this neighborhood that Charlotta lived, would they have lived in a house or an apartment or shared rooms?  And who usually owns the buildings?
 
I noticed that Helen Sofia was living in Stockholm with her mother.  What is so curious  is that Helen immigrated to the USA in the 1890's.  And now she is back.  How did Sweden keep track of who was coming and going.  Was it all recorded?  So would we know when Johan Mauritz was back in Sweden?  
 
Thanks again.
 
Best regards
Laurel Holgerson

[Anna-Carin Betzén]

In this pic and this one, Kumlet is the late 19th century buildings to the left (the pics show a different side of the block, not the address where your ancestors lived). On a contemporary map showing blocks and lots, the largest lot is labelled 4-5-6 while the others have a single number each in the normal manner; likely three lots have been amalgamated to form a larger one, so that a large apartment building could be erected. Earlier buildings on the site would have been more like the 18th century ones to the right in the pics. I guess apartment buildings were owned by some type of investors, much like today.  
 
In Stockholm at this time, most people lived in small apartments (1 or 2 rooms) that they let. And some would even let a bed or two to other people, to make ends meet. But if they'd been that poor they'd probably let a room in one of the little 18th C houses, rather than in a relatively new apartment building, so my guess is that they'd more likely belong to the middle classes. Hopefully someone else can provide more accurate information. Today this is an upscale neighbourhood and has been for quite some time, but judging from the late 19th C pics above, the transition has only just started.
 
The system for keeping track of people roughly worked like this. When you were moving from one parish to another, you first went to the parson of your home parish, who wrote a certificate containing your vital data, marital status, prehaps a brief verdict of your character, and other information that would need to be recorded about you in the new parish (there were no separate birth certificates, marriage certificates, etc). You had to show this to a potential employer, and then hand it in to the parson of the new parish, who recorded the information. So people were used to reporting in when they moved, and likely did this when they returned to Sweden as well. If they just came back for a visit, rather than with an intent to live here for a while, it may not have been recorded; an ancestor of mine who returned to Sweden for a year long visit was never recorded as moving into the parish, but when she suddenly died her death was of course recorded.

[Laurel Holgerson]

How long was this system in place?  
 
It then does appear that they were in a middle class.  Did Stockholm have city directories?  Those would be lists of businesses and the owner for each year?
 
Thanks for the photos.  As one says, a picture is worth a thousand words.
 
 
Best regards,
Laurel Holgerson

[Laurel Holgerson]

Thank you for the photos.  As one says, a picture is worth a thousand words.
 
Did the city of Stockholm have city directories.  Here in the US there are lists of people and businesses.  Or are there only parish records?
 
I understand the parish records track where people are, coming from and going.  Do the passenger lists kept by the Swedish govertment track all movements out of the country?
 
Thanks again.
 
Best regards
Laurel Holgerson

[Anna-Carin Betzén]

I'm sorry, I don't know.  Hope someone else can help!  
 
I faintly recall a scene from a b/w 30's or 40's Swedish movie, where a guy is flirting with a girl and offers to show her his certificate to prove that he was single and unattached, so I suspect the system was still in use by then. Forum members that have experienced the 1940s, 50s and 60s can surely provide some first-hand information on how it's worked since.
 
From what I've heard of US city directories, they can contain a wealth of information, prehaps even listing the members of each household. I've seen a Swedish city directory once (covering Gothenburg), and it didn't contain nearly as much information - for instance, only a fraction of the households were listed.

[Laurel Holgerson]

Thank you.  You have provided me with a  wealth of information. I appreciate all the time you and others have given to answer my questions.
 
Best wishes,  
Laurel Holgerson