Isberg-how did this name come to be?

[Laurel Holgerson]

I am researching where my grandfather’s name Isberg  comes from.  I know the name Isberg is a common Swedish name and means ice mountain.  Did his  name originate in Germany, one taken as they traveled to the US or a long time Swedish family name.  
 
 My grandfather, Johan Mauritz(JM, Mauritz  or Morris) Isberg, b. 25 Apr, 1881 in Stockholm came to American in 1895.  His brother, Jacob, b 1879 and sisters, Helen b 1875 and Wilhelmina b 1867, were already in the states.   The Swedish records show their origination as Stockholm, Stockholm. (or Stockholm lad, Stockholm)
 
Johan traveled to Sweden several times after he became a naturalized citizen in Milwaukee, WI in 1902.  He returned in 1906 with his mother, Maria Charlotta(Holgerson ?or Eneberg) Isberg b 1839 in Karlskrona. It is believed that Maria and her husband(name unknown) had a tailor shop in Stockholm and made uniforms for the police or military.  
 
Johan again returned to the US in 1910 and was followed in 1911 by his wife, Saga Wilh Katherina, b. 1891 in Ionia Mockleby  and his daughter,Mary Minnie, b 1908 in Sundbyberg, Sweden.  I do not know the name of Johan’s father.  
 
Thank you for your help, in advance.  Any information or guidance that you can give me is most appreciated!

[Kerstin Thölix]

Hello!
 
This is from cencus 1880
The family lives in Kumlet N:o 4,5,6 in Hedvig Eleonora rote 10 in Stockholm
Johan Wilhelm Isberg born 1842 in Vickleby, Kalmar county Tailor
Maria Charlotta Eneberg born 1839 in Karlskrona Blekinge county
Wilhelmina Charlotta born 1869 in Stockholm
Johanna Maria born 1872 in Stockholm  
Helena Sofia born 1876 in Stockholm  
Jacob Wilhelm born 1879 in Stockholm  
 
MVH Kerstin

[Laurel Holgerson]

Wow!  thank you so much.
 
Is there any info on Johan Wilhelm Isberg and where he came from?  Is that Isberg family a long line of Isbergs or did they come from Germany?  And was his father a tailor?
 
 
And thanks again.  Laurel

[Kerstin Thölix]

Mary Mini was born on the 23 of august 1908. father Isberg John Mauritz worker from Furutorp annex and mother Saga Wilhelmina Katarina Karlsson .
John Mauritz born 25/4 1881 and Saga Wilhelmina Katarina 5/6 1890.
Source Bromma kyrkoarkiv Födelse och Dopböcker SE/SSA/0002/CI/13 (1907-1913)
 
And this is from the cencus of 1900
The family lives in Ölands Alunbruk in Södra Möckleby
Anders Wilhelm carlsson born 1859 in Södra Möckleby Kalmar county Millworker
Johanna Charlotta Magnidotter born 1864 in Ås Kalmar county
Carl Bernhard Emanuel born 1889 in Södra Möckleby
Saga wilhelmina Katarina born 1890 in Södra Möckleby
Bror Arvid born 1892 in Södra Möckleby
Sally Maria Charlotta born 1894 in Södra Möckleby
Knut Edvin Teodor born 1895 in Södra Möckleby
Hedvig Olga Eleonora born 1899 in Södra möckleby

[Maud Svensson]

According to his birth note, Johan Wilhelm was a betrothal child, born Oct 28, 1842 in Vickleby parish, Öland, Kalmar county. His father Nils Peter Ericsson Isberg, who was a sailor, and his mother Helena Maria Jacobsdotter married Dec 28, 1844 in Vickleby.
According to the household examination records of Vickleby 1840-1850 p. 218 and 244, Nils Peter Ericsson Isberg was born Sep 7, 1817 in Glömminge parish, Öland, Kalmar county, and Helena Maria Jacobsdotter was born Oct 10, 1822 in Vickleby.

[Laurel Holgerson]

Awesome.  Thank you so much.  This information is beyond my expectations.
 
You perhaps can clear up one more thing.  My father's name was Isberg and changed it to Holgerson.  The name was supposed to be my great grandmother's(Maria charlotta isberg) maiden name.  However the records show that Maria's last name is Eneberg.  Is there a Holgerson related to Maria?  I just would like to know where the name really came from.
 
Again, thanks for the info.

[Chris Bingefors]

Maria Charlotta Eneberg was born Jan 12 in Karlskrona Admirality Parish. Her mother was Emelie Sophie Eneberg (b. 13 June 1819 in Karlskrona Tyska (German parish)). The mother was not married and there is no mention of the father in the birth record. Emelie was one of 12 children born to Nils Eneberg (ships carpenter) b 14 Dec 1791 in Åhus, Kristianstad county and Cecilia Wahlgren b 1791 i Bräkne-Hoby, Blekinge County. The Eneberg family has been named Eneberg for a very long time, my earliest record is from 1724, Nils Enebergs grandfather Petter Eneberg was born then. They were a relatively well-known family in Karlskrona, particularly the descendants of Nils´brother Erik. I have much more information on the family. A photo of Maria Charotta´s great uncle Erik Eneberg (b 1787) is attached.
 

 
(Meddelandet ändrat av izla den 31 juli, 2008)

[Chris Bingefors]

Emelie Sophie married the confectionery baker Fredrik Wilhelm Wimmerström in Västervik, Kalmar County in 1846. So the name Holgerson could not come from a stepfather either. Maria Charlotta is not recorded as living with her mother in 1839-43, in the household census.
 
There is a remote possibility that Maria Charlotta´s real father was a Holgerson, but it will be difficult to prove.
 
(Meddelandet ändrat av izla den 31 juli, 2008)
 
(Meddelandet ändrat av izla den 31 juli, 2008)

[Chris Bingefors]

In the 1860 Stockholm tax records, Maria Charlotta Eneberg was living alone in Stockholm, in Maria parish at Hornsgatan. In 1855 she was a foster daughter to shoeworker Carl Lundh (b 12 April 1817), wife Catharina and son Axel Erik Leopold in Jacob Parish, Stockholm. The wife, Catharina is Emelie Sophie´s sister Anna Catharina born 11 Feb 1815 in Karlskrona. So, Maria Charlotta grew up with her aunt.
 
(Give my regards to Madison WI, where I was a graduate student in the 80s!)
 
(Meddelandet ändrat av izla den 31 juli, 2008)

[Laurel Holgerson]

Greetings from Madison, WI?  It still is a great community!!
 
Thank you so much for the information.  I discovered that Maria had a sister-in-law named Josefina Schagerlund that lived in Stockholm at Storgat 19.  According to the New York passenger records, Maria visited her when she returned to Stockholm.  Apparently Josefina is a Holgerson.
 
Johan Wilhem Isberg's mother remarried Olaus Holgerson. So that is where the Holgerson name began.  Josefina is her sister in law on her husbands side!
 
Is there any indication as to how Johan Wilhem Isberg became a tailor?  I am told the family had a tailor shop in Stockholm and made uniforms for the Stockholm police.  And when Johan died, Maria took over the shop.  Fact or fiction?  Typically a son would follow his father in such a profession.  But it seems that the sons, at least the ones I know about, left for America.
 
Warm regards, Laurel

[Anna-Carin Betzén]

Maud mentioned above that according to the household examination records of Vickleby 1840-1850 p. 244, Nils Peter Ericsson Isberg was born Sep 7, 1817 in Glömminge parish, Öland.  
 
I checked Glömminge's records, and they don't list any child born that day, so either the date or the parish of birth may have been corrupted at some point in transcription. However, leafing through the birth records I noticed there's a village in the parish named Isgärde (ice field). Many surnames adopted during the 19th century were derived from the name of the place the person came from, so it's possible that his family had lived there.  
 
I also checked the moving out records of Resmo, Öland, where he came from in 1844. There, his name is given as Nils Peter Jonsson Isberg, sailor, with the same birth date as above. The moving out record says he lived in Resmo village but I couldn't locate him in the household examination records there.
 
(Meddelandet ändrat av acb den 06 augusti, 2008)

[Laurel Holgerson]

Hello
 
Thank you for the information.  
 
 So is the Nils Peter Jonsson and Nils Peter Ericsson the same person? It looks that way since they both have similar birthdays.   And is there any indication that Peter had siblings?  Would his father be an ericsson or a Jonsson??
 
Again, thanks for your help.
 
Laurel

[Anna-Carin Betzén]

It's definitely the same person; the Vickleby record says he moved in from Resmo in 1844, and the Resmo record says he moved out to Vickleby in 1844. There's only two dozen people or so leaving Resmo in 1844 and nobody else has a remotely similar name.
 
When the parson entered the information in the records he simply mistook the name one of the times - and unless we can trace Mr Isberg further back in time, we can't tell for sure which one is correct (though I'd vote for Jonsson as it was the earlier record - information tends to be corrupted rather than corrected over time). Nor can we say anything about his siblings. But as he is named Eriksson or Jonsson, his father's first name would be Erik or Jon/Johan.  
 
There are other Isbergs in Öland which may or may not be related to him; after all, many surnames were assumed by people who were in the military, and when they quit the next man on the job was assigned the same name. Note that the records say he was a sailor - perhaps that might mean he'd been a båtsman (boatsman - i.e. enrolled in the navy).

[Laurel Holgerson]

That is helpful.  How many Isbergs were there at this time.  And were they related?
 
Thank you for your perspective.  It seems that we have hit a dead end.  Was Nils Peter isberg in the military?  And is  there any other information that we can find on Nils, his family, his siblings,etc.
 
Again, thanks for your help.  All this is most fascinating.
 
Regards, Laurel

[Anna-Carin Betzén]

It's not a dead end, but it means (much) more work. If the birth date and location had been correct, it would've been a quick lookup in the birth records, but instead it's turning into a more extensive research task. This means searching the household examination records of his previous parish page by page until locating him, and then continuing to trace him back step by step. Or, checking the birth records of several surrounding parishes to see if his birth can be found there. If a candidate is found that doesn't have the name Isberg in the birth record, then he'd have to be traced forward to confirm if it's the same person and the name was assumed later.
 
For the late 19th century there are census databases that can help locating a person, and hint at the distribution and frequency of a name. But for earlier time periods like this, there isn't. However, the Soldiers register (an database listing many but not all 19thC and earlier soldiers) lists 150+ different soldiers named Isberg, spread over dozens of parishes all over the country. In another database, DIS, where you can search genealogical data sent in by researchers, there are e.g. over 400 Isberg entries in the 1800 to 1850 time span (including duplicates sent in by different researchers). All of these can provide possible leads to check up, but not in themselves give any definite answer to your questions.
 
(Meddelandet ändrat av acb den 07 augusti, 2008)

[Chris Bingefors]

There are a number of entries for a Nils P Isberg in Visby seaman´s charter. That is where a sailor registered to get ships. But they start in 1806, so that man must be older.

[Laurel Holgerson]

Thanks for taking a look.  I still think it is rather curious that the name Isberg is found in Oland where there are no mountains and it is relatively free of ice!!  Nils or his father must have been in the north to choose such a last name.  And being a sailor, maybe then it all makes sense.

[Chris Bingefors]

Or....he met someone with the name and liked it. Alternatively, it was given to him by a captain on a ship, to differentiate him from several other Nils Jonsson.
 
There are 2 Nils Peter Isberg in Gotland, one is born about 1780 and the other ca 1802.
 
(Meddelandet ändrat av izla den 08 augusti, 2008)

[Chris Bingefors]

There is a Nils Peter born in Glömminge on Dec 1st 1815 to farm maid Elin Börjesdotter in Brostorp, 40 years of age. Unusually, the father´s name is given, he is farmer Peter Isberg in Gillsättra. It is not uncommon to fins birth dates alterd, so this is one guess. But it does not fit with Jonsson or Ericsson.
 
Possibly, the confusion in his patronymic may be from a stepfather or lack of official father.
 
(Meddelandet ändrat av izla den 08 augusti, 2008)

[Chris Bingefors]

This Nils Peter works in Isgärde village for a while (1838-1839), his date of birth is suddenly changed to 1/2 (Feb 1) 1815. There are many Nils Peter in the area, a popular name. But there are also several people in Isgärde who adopt the name Isberg, so the theory that the name comes from that village is very plausible. But we cannot be sure this is the right man.
 
To illustrate the difficulties, this man has his birth date copied wrongly, a mistake that follows him as he moves, then changes his patronymic from Nilsson to Pettersson (which is more correct) as he works at the vicarage in Glömminge. But he is not the right man, he seems to stay at the vicarage through the first part of the 1850s. The records are not very good in this area, so the right person may be difficult to find.

[Arne Nilsson]

The right Nils Peter Jonsson Isberg is mentioned in Resmo's husförhörsbok 1840 - 1843, very last page, as klockare elev. No indication where an when he came from, bur the last number of the birth year was altered from 8 to 7, i. e. 7/9 1817.

[Chris Bingefors]

There is at least one Nils Peter born every year in Glömminge, but so far noone with a father Jon/Johan. Arne´s find is interesting, I do not think it has been changed to a 7, it just looks like a line drawn across the 8, by mistake or because his birth was a different year?

[Elisabeth Thorsell]

The above mentioned Peter Isberg in Gillsätra was also called Nilsson, as he is listed in that way in the Glömminge Clerical survey (AI:3), page 35. He was born 1780 Dec.16 in Isgärde, the son of the blacksmith Nils Isberg, born 1748 Feb.7, who died in 1817 June 1st in Röhälla, Glömminge, and his 2nd wife Ingrid Isacsdotter.
 
The youngest son of Nils was Anton Isberg, born 1799 June 4th in Röhälla, Glömminge. He has descendants in the U.S. that uses the surname Isburg.

[Chris Bingefors]

Peter Isberg was in prison (fästning) for a while according to a later clerical survey. There is no mention of when and why.

[Arne Nilsson]

In Resmo's husförhörsbok 1840-1843, very last page, the alteration of the last digit of the birth year was made by a line from up till down through the 8, and the 7 is written above the 8, a little bit right of the 8. The 7 ends in the above entry concerning Beate Andersson. The place of birth gives some thinking, as the Glömminge is not too clearly visible. But the next birth-place is also Glömminge. Virtually staring some minutes at the word seems to provide a ...ryd, the G in the front also leaves something for fantasy. But at last, Glömminge seems to fit best (also we expect Glömminge, that is the problem with reading entries in a biased manner). May be one has to think of Glimminge or Glemminge too.

[Laurel Holgerson]

So, let me review.  Nils Peter Erickson (or Jonsson) Isberg was born sept 7, 1817.  Glomminge was most likely his birth place although there is no record of his birth.  And there is no record of his family.
 
We also know that he worked at  the vicarage for a bit, had a child and was married in 1844.
 
And beyond that there are  possibilites but nothing for certain.
 
Thank you for your efforts.  I shared all this info with my 90 year old father.  He is most appreciative to know about his ancestors.
 
Laurel Holgerson