Tage Herbert Nilsson (1902-1966)

[Kim Prosser]

Hello. My name is Kim Prosser. I was born Edward Tage Nilsson in Melbourne, Australia in 1957, and was adopted shortly thereafter.
Tage Herbert Nilsson was my biological grandfather. It appears that he was born in Halsingborg, Skane County, Sweden on 4 January 1903 to parents Godfrey Nilsson and Anna Sophia Nilsson (maiden name Persson). Tage Herbert Nilsson emigrated to Australia, arriving in Melbourne on 30 November 1926. He married Lovise Emily Larsson (who became known as Louise Emily Lawson), and together they had two children - Peter Tage Nilsson and Herbert Godfrey Nilsson (my biological father, now deceased). (Source: National Archives of Australia - Application for Registration.)  
Tage Herbert Nilsson passed away on 22 January, 1966, aged 63 years. (Source: Extract from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages - Victoria, Australia.)
I am interested in trying to learn anything I can about my ancestral roots, and would be very grateful for any assistance / advice that could be offered in order to help me trace back this particular branch of the Nilsson family tree.
Thank you very much.

[Ingela Martenius]

This is a big maybe, because at the moment I only have access to the censuses of 1890 and 1900. I can't stress too much that this has to be researched more carefully! But this is certainly a tempting possibility:
 
Census 1900
Father, Nilsson, Gottfrid b. 1873 in Tåssjö (old spelling Tosjö) parish, Kristianstad county (Malmöhus and Kristianstad county are today Skåne county)
Mother, Persson, Anna Sofia b. 1871 in Jonstorp parish, Malmöhus county
Child, Gunny Alfhild, b.1895 in Jonstorp parish
Child, Erhard Waldemar   1899 in Väsby parish, Malmöhus county
In 1900 the family lived at a place called Ingelsträde No. 8 in Väsby parish; the father is noted as lodger (he didn't own a house) and labourer.
 
Now, it seems this family remained in Väsby - or they may well have moved into Helsingborg (modern spelling of Hälsingborg) and then moved back again as it's only about 25 km from Väsby to Helsingborg - since Gottfrid and Anna Sofia are buried at the churchyard of Väsby parish church. Or, it's not unknown for an emigrant to claim the nearest larger town as his/her birth-place.
From the CD Buried in Sweden:
Nilsson née Persson, Anna Sofia, b. 29 Jul 1871, d. 16 Mar 1929
Nilsson, Gottfrid, b. 13 Mar 1873, d. 19 Apr 1952 (occupation, stone-cutter)
Nilsson, John Yngve, b. 26 Dec 1906, d. 10 Dec 1974 (this is presumably a son of Anna Sofia and Gottfrid)
The grave is noted as being located in the 19th quarter, plot no. 816; the rights to the grave ceased in 1991 but there is no note it has been as yet re-used so it may still be there.
 
Census 1890
I can't immediately find Gottfrid but of course he's there somewhere.
 
Father, Persson, Nils b. 1830 in Jonstorp, Malmöhus county
Mother, Svensdotter, Kersti b. 1841 in Allerum, Malmöhus county
Child, Hilda b. 1869 in Jonstorp
Child, Anna Sofia b. 1871 in Jonstorp
Child, Maria b. 1875 in Jonstorp
Child, Emma b. 1876 in Jonstorp
Child, Paulina b. 1879 in Jonstorp
The family lives at a farm called Johnstorp; the father is noted as farm owner.
 
I hope someone else can look up the family of Gottfrid & Anna Sofia to check if they had a son Tage Herbert in 1903 - he would fit in very snugly between the sons born in 1899 and 1906...
 
Ingela

[Chris Bingefors]

Gottfrid Nilsson and Anna Sophia Persson had a son, Tage Herbert, on January 4, 1903 according to the Statistics Sweden lists of births for Väsby parish.

[Harriet Hogevik]

Hello
In the 1880 census this family is found at Stafvershult, Tossjö parish:
 
Father. Crofter Nils Bengtsson, b. 1842 Tåssjö
Mother. Maria Sjunesdotter b 1845 Tåssjö
s. Adolf b 1871 Tåssjö
s. Gottfrid b 1873 Tåssjö
d. Hilda b 1875 Tåssjö
d. Charlotta b 1877 Tåssjö
d. Sigrid b 1880 Tåssjö
 
Harriet

[Ingela Martenius]

Thanks Chris!! Thanks Harriet!!  
Thanks to you we can now definitely say that we've found the right family! Or families rather.
 
Census 1890:
Father, Bengtsson, Nils b. 1842
Mother, Sjunnesd., Maria b. 1845  
Child, Hilda b. 1875
Child, Charlotta b. 1877
Child, Sigrid b. 1880
Child, Selma b. 1884
Child, Nancy b. 1887
Child, Nelly b. 1890
The family still lives at Stafvershult, and father Nils is still a crofter. The two eldest boys have moved out:
Farmhand Nilsson, Adolf   b. 1871; he is employed by a farmer Nils Petter Nilsson at Södra (southern) Danhult in Väsby parish, Kristianstad county.
 
However, no trace of Gottfrid in the 1890 census (there are only three Gottfrid Nilsson born in 1873 in the 1900 census, and the other two are accounted for in the 1890 census).
Perhaps we should take a look at emigration?? 1.3 million Swedes emigrated during the 19th and early 20th century - but more than 200,000 returned for good (my own grandmother among them).
 
So, anyone who can check Emigranten??
Gottfrid Nilsson, b. 1873 in Tåssjö (might be older spelling Tosjö) in Kristianstad county
 
Ingela

[Chris Bingefors]

Gottfrid moves to Ängelholm Oct 24, 1888 according to the household census (SE/LLA/13425 Tåssjö AI:16 (1887-1899)  Bild 203 / sid 198). He works as a servant at No 4, Örnen (SE/LLA/13499 Ängelholm AI:27 (1885-1889)  Bild 242 / sid 209), then moves to Höja Oct 24, 1890. I cannot find him in the moving-in lists for Höja, so obviously he went AWOL.

[Chris Bingefors]

He marries July 13, 1895 in Jonstorp, the first child is born 11 August the same year. He arrived from Väsby 21 June 1895.

[Ingela Martenius]

Thanks again Chris!
He could of course have moved over to Denmark for a couple of years. Or just have stayed put in Ängelholm - it did happen quite frequently, even when emigrating, that people changed their minds and remained where they were. In a town like Ängelholm it was of course hardly noticeable, the vicar of a large town parish would probably not recognize all of his parishioners, even if he bumped into them on the street.
 
The main thing is of course that you found him again, Chris!
 
I've done a quick check on what happened to some of the other family members:
Gunni Alfhild
b. 11 Aug 1895 (just like Chris says) in Jonstorp parish
d. 18 Aug 1960 in Lilla Beddinge parish, Malmöhus county
According to the CD Died in Sweden 1947-2006 she married 16 Jun 1945 (to someone who was also called Nilsson) but I can't find him; not on the CD Died in Sweden 1947-2006, nor on the CD Buried in Sweden. Gunni Alfhild is listed as housekeeper.
She is buried in Lilla Beddinge, quarter A, plot no. 106-108.
 
Erhard Waldemar
He's neither on Died in Sweden 1947-2006 nor on Buried in Sweden. He may have died before 1947 and as there are quite a few parishes missing from Buried in Sweden, it's not so strange that he can't be found (and just to make sure, I also checked the Census 1970). Or he may have emigrated; perhaps like his brother to Australia or striking out on his own by going to America.
 
John Yngve / John Yngvar
b. 26 Dec 1906 in Väsby parish
d. 10 Dec 1974 in Höganäs parish
Väsby parish was part of Höganäs municipality in 1974, so he only moved within the municipality. He lived at the same address in the Census 1970, as he did when he died.
In both Died in Sweden 1947-2006 and Census 1970 he is called John Yngvar rather than John Yngve while Buried in Sweden so far is the only source that has him as John Yngve, so John Yngvar probably is the correct name.
Buried in Sweden gives his occupation as farm labourer.
 
Ingela

[Harriet Hogevik]

Hello
 
According to the Statistics Sweden list of births in Väsby parish:
 
Erhard Waldemar is born Jan 13, 1899
 
Bertha Signhild is born Sept 20, 1904
 
The name of the boy born Dec 26, 1906 is John Yngvar
 
I can´t find Bertha Signhild in Died in Sweden 1947 - 2006
 
Harriet

[Harriet Hogevik]

Hello again
 
According to the Statistics Sweden lists of births in Väsby Parish there is one more brother:
 
Knut Einar Sigvard is born Dec 11, 1909
 
According to Died in Sweden 1947-2006 he died Aug 23, 1966 in Mölle and had been married since Jun 30, 1940
 
one candidate wife is: Ingeborg Nilsson born Jul 23, 1912 Brunnby who died Mar 27, 2005 in Mölle. (But there is also another woman that might fit in)
 
Harriet
 
(Meddelandet ändrat av Hkh 2010-08-12 01:54)

[Kim Prosser]

Dear Ingela, Chris and Harriet,
Thank you so much for the interest you have taken in relation to my quest for information about my Swedish ancestry. I am extremely grateful for your kind and generous efforts. I hope, one day, to visit Hälsingborg and the other nearby towns that you have identified as once being home to my forebears.  
Kind regards, Kim (originally - William Tage Nilsson)

[Harriet Hogevik]

Hello Kim,
 
So far the places found are within a rather limited area in Skåne county  - you could easily visit them all in a couple of days.
 
Concerning Gottfrids parents :
Both are alive at census 1900:
 
Father Bengtsson, Nils b 1842 Tåssjö - he is now owner at Marielund in Tåssjö parish
Mother Sjunnesson, Maria b 1845 Tåssjö
child Charlotta b 1877
child Selma b 1884
child Nancy b 1887
child Nelly b 1890
 
I have also found the birth of Maria Sjunnesson:
Tåssjö birth list C/3/ (1815-1861), p 231
Feb 12, 1845 born: Maria,  
Parents: Crofter Sjunne Larsson and
 wife Christina Jönsdotter at Råslätt
 
In household exam list A I / 7 (1843-1849) p 50 we find the family:
 
Råslätt
Sjunne Larsson b Mar 1, 1804 Tossjö
wife Christina Jönsdotter b Mar 6, 1803 Tossjö
d. Kjersti Apr 23, 1831 Tossjö
d. Johanna Mar 20, 1836 Tossjö
d. Petronella May 13, 1840 Tossjö
d. Maria Feb 12, 1843 Tossjö
 
Sjunne is probably a farmer at Råslätt as no title is given for him and there is also a farmhand registered.
Regards, Harriet

[Ingela Martenius]

Kim,
 
This is only the beginning. We're just setting you on the right track for more research - which you can do yourself, with a little assistance from this forum or one of the American / international boards. Because these days most records are available on-line, for a fee. A very limited knowledge of Swedish (set words and phrases) is in most cases all that's needed - and board members will help you out with any difficulties you run into.
 
In most cases you can easily get back to the mid 1700's, at least (though there are of course always exceptions).
 
These are the record providers in Sweden (scanned images of original records):
 Genline
 SVAR
 Arkiv Digital
 
Ingela

[Kim Prosser]

Dear Ingela,
Hello again. I have been away for a few days, but look forward to doing some further research to build upon the marvelous work you, Harriet and Chris have already kindly done. I have begun to build a 'tree' in Excel to help put all of the details into a form that I can readily understand and appreciate. One question you may be able to assist me with, however, relates to the change of surname from Bengtsson (Nils, born 1842 Tassjo parish) to his son Nilsson (Gottfrid, born 13.03.1873 Tassjo province)... Is this something that is common in Swedish families?
Thank you. Kim

[Harriet Hogevik]

Dear Kim.
Hello again. Concerning the change of surnames, until about 1850-1900, it was most common to have the patronymikon. A person was a son of Nils = Nilsson (or Nilsdotter if a woman - later Nilsson also for women). Later generations kept the same surname.  
 
In my own family tree for example:
Engelbrekt Olsson born 1764
his son: Anders Engelbrektsson born 1799  
his son: Emil Andersson born 1854
his son: Wilhelm Andersson born 1882 - here the custom changes
 
Concerning your Maria Sjunnesson - I got the name Sjunnesson at census 1900 but at the 1890 census she was still Maria Sjunnesdotter (or Sjunnesd. for short).  
 
Very welcome with more questions!
Kind regards, Harriet
 
(Meddelandet ändrat av hkh 2010-08-17 21:52)

[Ingela Martenius]

Hello Kim,
 
You can read about Swedish naming practices here: Names.
 
You can read more about Swedish society in the old days generally here: Swedish Customs.
 
This is a rather good booklet on doing research in Swedish genealogical records: Swedish Genealogy. It's really geared towards American genealogists, but I think you'll find it useful too.
 
A detail: since date formats vary between countries, it's best to use this format: 03 Aug 1784 since it leaves no room for misunderstandings (used e.g. by that very international set of companies, the airlines). Note that it's recommended that you lead with a zero if the date is earlier than the 10th since that avoids all discussions about missing out on an initial 1 or 2 (do you reallt mean 3, not 13 or 23?)
 
Good luck with your research - and like Harriet says, you're very welcome with more questions.
 
Ingela