If you read the other Överhogdal emigrants stories, you will know that a number of them moved into Canada after living in the States for some years. The border between the United States and Canada in the early 1900’s was pretty open. Some of the following also lived for a time in the USA before settling in Canada.  Canadian census records are available up until 1931, so later history cannot be followed as easily. Some of the dates are not documented outside of family trees.

Lars Pettersson Wallster

Lars was born in 1884 and was the youngest of five children, with three older brothers, who grew up on the farm known as Nyåker, #4. He emigrated in 1903 to New York and from family information worked in Wisconsin for the first few years. In 1906 he became a naturalized American in Cooperstown. Sometime around the Spring of 1908 Lars returned to Sweden to meet up with his fiance, Kristina Svensson who was from Ytterhogdal. Their names are together sailing from Gothenburg and in April they married in Minneapolis. In December 1908 their first child was born in Cooperstown and in 1909 they emigrated once again to Hendon, Saskatchewan. In all they had eleven children between 1908 and 1931. They had a general farm near Humboldt, Lakeview municipality, Saskatchewan. 

Kristina died in 1971 and Lars died in 1974, both in Wadena, Saskatchewan. Eight of their children appear to have also lived their lives in the same area. One moved to Thunder Bay Ontario, and one to Creston BC.

Descendants of Sjul Svensson

Sjul Svensson was born in 1799 and grew up at the farm Svens, the second son of  Sven Esbjörnsson. He is notable for several reasons. First, he lived in three centuries as he died in 1902. He established his own farm, known as ”Sjules” and married Märtha Larsdotter (b. 1810). They had ten children, mostly sons. Two children died young but there are many descendants of Sjul Svensson. He was an active farmer who raised horses and cattle among other things in Överhogdal. His son Per Sjulson emigrated to Kittson, Minnesota in 1888 (see Other USA settlers). A number of his grandchildren emigrated. First we will look at two sons of his son Sivert, Sivert and Lars.

Sivert Sjulsson (Schulzon)  was born in 1876 to Sivert and Lisa Andersdotter. Lisa was the twin sister of Lars Sundberg, immigrant to Cooperstown. Sivert emigrated in 1903 and in 1905 he was a farm labourer in Kittson, where his uncle Per had settled. In 1912 he farmed 160 acres in McKinley, Minnesota. In the 1920 census he worked as a carpenter and boarded near Kittson with a man named Olof Kjellson who was a grain farmer. He emigrated once again to Canada in 1922 and in 1931 he was farming in Lakeview township, Mackenzie county, Saskatchewan and was single. He was a neighbour of Lars Wallster. He died in 1952 in Fosston, Saskatchewan. 

Lars Schulson was born in 1881. He emigrated in 1905, I am assuming to Minnesota. In 1911 he crossed the border at Blaine Washington and was headed to Oregon to live, and the record mentioned he had been working in Cumberland, BC, on Vancouver Island, but had lived in Oregon for two years previously. He may have met his wife in Oregon. He married Anna Maria Olsdotter around 1913. She was from Kvarnsjö, near Klövsjö, Sweden, northwest of Överhogdal. In the 1921 and 1931 censuses they were living in Union Bay, near Comox on Vancouver Island and they had three children. The censuses say they arrived in Canada in 1913, and his job was a saw filer in a logging camp.  He died in Union Bay in 1948. I didn’t find records for his wife. Their son Sjulle Erland had a family. He died in Nanaimo, BC in 1984.

The family of Olof Sjulsson

Olof (b. 1840) was another son of Sjul and Märtha. He married Märet Pålsdotter b. 1850 who was born in Älvros and they had six children. Three of these emigrated, at least for a time.

Their son Sivert Olsson b. 1882 was first to leave in 1902. He used the name Syvert Shulson and travelled with Halvar Rydin and Olof Jönsson, both from Överhogdal. He pledged American allegiance in Cooperstown in 1904 and in 1910 was working as a farm labourer along with John Rydin in Cooperstown. In 1911 he emigrated to Canada and staked a homestead, which became his in 1915. He farmed next to Halvar and John Rydin in Bone Creek, Maple Creek district. In 1931 he had a wife and son! His wife was Ellen Nilson and son was Carl, 21 years old.  Carl was born in Stockholm and since I did not find the 1921 census, I don’t know when they married, but it looks like they arrived in Canada in 1920.  Perhaps she was a widow. Carl used the surname Shulson throughout his life. Syvert died in 1959 and Ellen in 1950. Both are buried in Shaunavon, Sask.

Sivert’s sister Anna Christina b. 1879 married Martin Myrvold and they emigrated to Minnesota in 1903. Their story is found in ”Other USA settlers”.

Märta, Olof Sjulsson’s oldest daughter’s partner was Per Magnus Grip b. 1871, who was born in Färila. They had a daughter Olga b. 1897.  Per Magnus left in 1904 along with Märta’s younger brother Paul Alfred Sjulsson (b. 1884) and his friend Per Harald Eriksson.  Per Grip made a ”declaration of intentions” in Kittson, Minnesota, indicating he planned to stay there by 1906.  However, he didn’t stay. He returned to Överhogdal and to Märta in 1907. Perhaps things were not what he thought they’d be in Minnesota, or maybe Märta didn’t want to make the move. They married soon after his return and had a son later that year. Per Magnus was a forestry worker. He died in 1936, Märta in 1955. Paul did not stay in America either. I have been unable to find where he went or what he did. He returned to Överhogdal in 1914 and owned his parents property after their deaths. He was single in 1949.  He died in 1959 in Överhogdal.

The Frome Family

Lars Sjulsson (b. 1837) was another son of Sjul Svensson and Märtha Larsdotter. Lars married his cousin Karin Olsdotter in 1880. Their grandfathers were brothers; Karin’s father was the tailor Olof Olofsson from Sunnanå. They had only one child, Märtha, born later that year. In 1887 the family moved to Rätan, where Lars was a crofter.

In March 1905, Märtha became a mother: she was 24 years old. The father is not mentioned in connection with the birth of her son, whom she named Lars Olof Sigvard. She continued to live with her parents. Her father Lars died in January, 1914. The following year, Märtha married Karl Oscar From(e) who was born in Fränsta, Torp in 1877. Karl adopted Lars, who took his surname.   Karl worked as a farm labourer and later was a crofter after his father- in- law died. Märtha’s mother Karin continued to live with the Frome family.

In June 1924, the whole family, including Karin, moved to Canada. Karin was 75 years old so this was a big step for her. They took another person with them, a six-year-old boy named Nils! There is no information in the parish books indicating that Nils lived with Märtha and Karl in parish books before the move.

Nils Helmer Stadin (1918) was the son of Signe Henrietta Grinde (1887) and labourer Per Magnus Stadin (1888). Both were born in Rätan. Nils was their fourth child. Signe died of the Spanish flu along with many others when Nils was only a few months old. I am sure this was a time of chaos for the family and the oldest girl (8 years old) moved in with her father’s parents. The other three children moved several times.

Per Magnus remarried the following year and they moved back to his home. One of Nils sisters died that same year.  I don’t know anything else about Nil’s early years other than the fact that he emigrated with the Frome family in 1924. He was called their son and used the surname Frome as an adult.  

The records show that they crossed the Atlantic and settled near Vancouver, BC. Their Canadian contact was Karl Wallin, living in Fraser Mills, near Burnaby BC. In the 1931 census the family was living in Fraser Mills, and Karl worked at a sawmill. Lars worked at a lumber camp and Nils went to school. Karin Sjulson lived with the family. Karin died in Fraser Mills in 1938 at the age of 89.

Lars married Alice Cornelius in1940 in New Westminster, BC. Alice was the daughter of Norwegian emigrants who first settled in Minnesota and later farmed near Veteran, Alberta. Lars and Alice had a daughter named Brenda, born in 1943. The only information I have about her comes from an obituary in a newspaper. It seems that she married Wayne Coutts and had a daughter, Tori, when she died in 1995. It is possible Lars and Alice had more children.

Karl Oscar Frome died in1958 when he was 81 in Essondale, near Coquitlam. He may have been an inmate in the mental hospital there (which also housed dementia patients) Martha died in Sechelt BC; she was 85 years old. Sechelt is located up the Sunshine Coast from Vancouver.

Nils was an interesting person. When he was 20 he crossed the border at Blaine, Washington. His reason for the trip was “to see filmstars!” He made a bit of a name for himself; I found an article about him on ZineWiki.  He was a “zinester”. He published “Supramundane Stories, a Science fiction fanzine which may be the first or second to appear in Canada. His first issue was published in 1937. More information on what he did can be found in the ZineWiki article under his name.  More information from this article: He worked for a time in the cook house at the Bloedel lumber camp. He returned to Sweden for major surgery later on, and ended up in Caernarvonshire Wales, where he died destitute at the age of 43.

Olof Eriksson Nylund/Nyland

Olof emigrated in 1903 when he was 25. He was son of crofter Erik Eriksson and they lived at Nybuan. His mother Gölin died before he emigrated. He sailed from Trondheim and his destination was Superior, Wisconsin and his contact there was Halvar Rydin.  In 1905 he and Sivert Schulzon had been in Canada, possibly working, possibly visiting. They crossed the border in Vermont stating they were returning home to Cooperstown. In 1909 Olof claimed a homestead in Saskatchewan. The same year he took a trip home to Sweden and returned, giving his destination as Minneapolis, and his contact there being Matts Skanse. While in Sweden, he must have encouraged his father and brother to emigrate and they did, in 1910. The 1911 census shows the three men together in a sub district of Moose Jaw (probably the same farm as later, but jurusdiction changed). Olof was the farmer, the others had no occupation noted. The 1916 census also shows the three men living together, residents of Bone creek.

On the 1921 census for Maple Creek, Saskatchewan (home in Bone Creek) he was married to Lena and had two daughters, Alfhild 12 and Gerta 10. I did not find a marriage record and wonder if Lena was a widow with two young daughters, given their ages and that they weren’t with him in 1916. His father and brother lived with them as well. It was the same in 1931, and now they had a third child. There are voter records in Shaunavon in 1957 for Olof, and a death notice for 1960.

Erik Axel Nylund (b. 1876)
Per Göran found an interesting book about Swedish immigrants to  Canada called “Svea folk i Babels Land” by Carina Rönnqvist which mentions Erik Axel.  He had been working in the lumber industry, floating logs down the river to the sawmills. He was one of the driving forces in the log roller worker’s strike in 1909 and was subsequently black listed and not able to get work. He felt he had no choice but to emigrate. From her book, here is a translated quote: (p. 13)

“Pastor Carl Hammer, an acquaintance of one of the Erik’s old friends, writes about his departure: ”It was with a certain bitterness in the heart that Erik Axel left his homeland, the place he loved so much”. Together with some of the other blacklisted workers from Härjedalen and Jämtland, he settled in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan. And despite a constant longing for Sweden and his home village of Överhogdal, he remained in Canada and died in 1958.” This gives another reason why there was a spike in emigration in 1909 and 1910.

Erik Axel took out a homestead application in 1910 which was granted in 1914. As mentioned, he and his father lived with Olof and family. They likely farmed their properties together as one, or perhaps they sold off one of the homesteads.  Erik Axel’s name was on the voters’ list from 1957 in Maple Creek, the year before he died.

Erik Eriksson Nylund (b. 1842) Lived with his sons. The last reference I found for him was the 1931 census when he was in his late 80’s. I do not know when he died.

Halvar Rydin, Johan (John) Rydin (Ryden)

Halvar and John’s names come up in a number of the other emigrants’ stories. Their father Jonas came from Bjurholm and married Kerstin Halvarsdotter who was from Råberget, Överhogdal. There were four surviving children and Jonas was a labourer. Johan was the oldest (b. 1876) and Halvar next (b. 1879) and there were two younger sisters.  They lived somewhere in Sunnanå. Jonas died in 1895 so life would not have been easy for this family.   Halvar was the first to emigrate, in 1902. He traveled with Syvert Shulson and Olof Jönsson and their destination was Cooperstown. In 1905 Johan (John) emigrated and it seems both men were in Cooperstown. In 1910 Halvar was working for the widow Martha Person (Jens) on her farm. John was working for Ludvig Anderson here as well. These Andersons had adopted Peter Skanse’s son Milton and were grain farmers. Milton was now 11. Syvert Shulson worked here as well as John.

 In 1909 a few of these young men made the trip back to Sweden. Halvar And Syvert Shulson traveled together, possibly at the same time Olof Nyland made the trip.  All of them give their destination as Minneapolis and their contact as their friend Matts Skanse.

In 1911 and 1916 Halvar and John were both farming near Olof Nylund, and close to Syvert. They were still farming here in 1931 and both were single. Both men show up on voters lists for Shaunavon. John took a trip home in 1924. John died in 1952 and Halvar in 1955. I don’t know if either men ever married.

The Olof Månsson family

Olof Månsson had a large family, and most of them emigrated over an eight year period.  Olof was a newcomer to this part of Sweden. He was born in 1841 in Lysvik, Värmland. He married Karin Olsdotter in Ytterhogdal where she was  working as a maid in Västansjö. She was born in 1846 in Lekvattnet, Värmland. Olof worked as a labourer in Ytterhogdal, where their first four children were born. In November of 1882 they moved to the Gumjens farm in Överhogdal. The farm had recently been sold to Svartvik’s bolag and it must have been a confusing few months as the former families had not yet left. The old farmers Erik and Ingrid were not going anywhere but the younger generation was. Pehr and Gölin (Ringwall) had not yet emigrated. Pehrs sister Karin lived at home until the end of 1887 when she married and moved to Rätan. Pehr’s aunt Karin and son Sven lived at Gumjens until late in 1883. Either there were several buildings on the property or it was a pretty cosy time for a lot of 1883.

Olof worked as a labourer in Överhogdal, and Karin had her own labours! She had a new baby about every two years. Their children were Katherina 1875, Johan Emanuel 1877, Olof Anton 1879, August 1880, Gustav 1883, Erik Axel 1885, Elin 1887, Ida 1890, Karl Wilhem 1892 and Oscar 1894. All lived at home at Gumjens until the early 1900’s.

Katherina married Johan Anshelm Nordgren who was from Vasterås, Västmanland in 1900 and moved away for a time. Olof Anton married in early 1901 in Överhogdal and lived at Gumjens. They had four children and never left Sweden. His sister Elin also stayed in Sweden. She lived with her brother until 1913 when she moved to Ytterhogdal and eventually married Per Persson there. They had three daughters. 

The other children left Sweden, at least for a time. August and Gustav were the first to emigrate in 1902. Erik Axel moved next in 1904, and Johan Emanuel in 1905.  Katherina, Anshelm and their two children left in 1907. In 1910 Olof and Karin decided to join their children in Canada and they, with Ida and Oscar moved that year, with the destination of Edmonton. The last to emigrate was Karl Wilhelm in 1912. It looks like they settled near St Anne’s, west of Edmonton. A lot of the family were living there in the 1916 census. Their first years in Canada were not easy years.

Olof was 69 when he emigrated, and he died in St Anne’s in 1915. Katherina, wife of Anshelm died that year as well. In the 1916 census, Gustav was farming in St Anne’s, and his mother Karin and  youngest sister Ida lived with him. Axel farmed next door.  Anshelm was farming nearby and lived with his two young children.

Karin returned to Sweden in 1918 and died in Överhogdal in 1932. Johan Emanuel purportedly went to Winnipeg when he emigrated. He returned to Sweden in 1920 and married Margareta Eriksdotter in Överhogdal. They had one daughter. He died in 1964.

August Manson died in Vancouver, BC, but no date found. Gustav Manson married Maria Mattson and they were in St Anne’s in 1921. In 1931 they and their eight children lived in Peace River, Alberta. He lived a long life and moved to Campbell River, BC on Vancouver Island at some point, where he died at 95 years.

I did not find clear records for Axel after 1916.  Ida married Bror Mattson and they were farming near Mayerthorpe, Alberta in 1931. They had three children. Ida died in 1945 in Rochfort Bridge, NW of Edmonton.

Karl Wilhelm didn’t stay in Canada long. He left the end of 1912 and was back within the year. He married Margareta Jonsson in Överhogdal and they had one son. Oscar moved to Idaho at some point and died in 1936. It seems the New World did not suit all of the Manson offspring; in the end, four lived in Sweden, four in Canada, one in the USA, and one unknown.

Henrik Svensson and family

Henrik Svensson (b. 1886) was the oldest son of Sven Johannesson (b. 1860) and Brita Maria Henriksdotter (b. 1859). Sven was born in Blekinge and Maria was born in Sandarne, Gävle, however her family moved to Överhogdal at some point and she followed them there. She and Sven married in Haverö and he worked as a labourer.  They were back and forth between Haverö and Överhogdal while their children were small and then moved to Överhogdal for the last time around 1892.  Henrik had three younger sisters. 

Henrik (Henry Swanson) emigrated when he was 18 in 1904. I do not know where  he was for the first few years but by 1909 he must have been feeling settled. This was the year he applied for a homestead in Saskatchewan. Two of his sisters, Emma b. 1889 and Mia b. 1893,  left Sweden to join him that February, accompanied by a cousin also named Emma. I will come back to this Emma. The third sister Anna Maria (b. 1887) and their parents emigrated in July 1909.

In the 1916 census for Humboldt, Saskatchewan we find Henry, his mom, now called Mary, sister Emma and sister Mary (Mia) living on his farm. According to family tree information, father Sven died in 1914. I did not find his sister Anna Maria. She apparently died in 1918 in Wadena, Saskatchewan (Wadena is close to Humboldt). Mary had married William Doran and was pregnant with her second child in 1916. It looks like he was working near Hanna, Alberta. He was not with her on the 1921 census either. He died in 1926 in Alberta.

In 1921 we find the same family living together on the farm. Mary’s second son was four.  In 1931 Emma (using surname Johnson) was farming and Mary did the domestic work, and both sons were at home. Their mother had died in 1930. Henry must have left the farm and moved elsewhere. He died in BC in 1961. Mary died in 1940 in Saskatchewan.  Emma died in 1970 in Wadena, Sask.

Henry had an aunt, his mother’s sister, named Anna Erika Henriksdotter who had married Jöns Nilsson in Haverö. Eventually they had seven children. Around 1890 they moved to Berville Texas for a year or two and one of their daughters, Emma Kristina (b. 1892) was born during this time. They moved back to Haverö when she was about two.  They moved to Överhogdal around 1897.(Kyrkbyn #1) Their daughter Emma was the cousin who emigrated with Emma and Mia Swanson, and her destination was Berville. Obviously she wanted to see where she was born. She may have had relations there as well. She did not stay in the US. I did not find her trail there but she married a Norwegian named Sven Raege and they lived in Norway. She died there in 1978.

Her sister Maria Victoria (b. 1890)emigrated in 1916. She was a single mom with a six year old daughter, Anna Margareta (b. 1910).  They headed to Shaunavon, Saskatchewan where she was to work as a domestic servant. Her Canadian contact was noted to be a friend, Peter Olson. I wonder if she came planning to marry, for they soon did that. Margaret was adopted by Peter and they had another seven children. Victoria died in 1971 in Saskatchewan. I did not find Margaret after the 1931 census when she was living at home.

Anna Erika Nilsson b. 1897 was a younger sister of Emma and Victoria. She emigrated in 1921 and was in the Shaunavon area in 1926 when her friend Aina emigrated, but I did not find any other details on her.

Märta Aina Karlsson (b. 1904) emigrated in 1926 from Överhogdal. Her parents were from Dalby, Värmland and had relocated to Överhogdal where her father worked in forestry. The ships manifest noted that Aina was heading to her friend Anna Nilssons in Shaunavon Sask. While I did not find Anna there, I did find Aina! She married Ernst Eriksson Johnson in 1928 and in the 1931 census they farmed in Maple creek, Sask, They had three children in all. Later they moved to Vancouver where Aina died in 1989. Ernst died in 1977.

Emma Margreta Sjögren and Anders Byström

Emma’s birth family were typical of many living in the later 1800’s. There was  a lot of internal movement within Sweden as well as emigration from Sweden. Her father Olof Sjögren was born in Ockelbo, Gävleborg and moved with his birth family to Skog, Gävle. At some point he met Marit Jansdotter, who was born in Southern Sweden in Ekshärad, Värmland. She was a crofters daughter and had a baby out of wedlock and was living and working in Ytterhogdal. She and Olof got together and married in 1874, then moved to Överhogdal a few years later where they were crofters. They had nine children in all, seven daughters and two sons. One daughter died as a young child. Emma was their fourth daughter. In 1891 the family moved to Örträsk in Västerbottens  län and Olof was now a master builder.

Emma b. 1877 moved back to Överhogdal in 1898 and had her first child; she left for a time but was back in 1899 and living with Anders Byström and had her second child. She and Anders married in 1901 and their third child was born in December.  Anders Andersson Byström b. 1872 was born in Skorped, Västernorrland which is not too distant from Örträsk. I am guessing they met up there and then traveled to Överhogdal for work. Anders was a blacksmith. In 1904 they emigrated to Canada.

In July of 1904 the family arrived in Winnipeg and a short time later they had a son. He was only a month old when Anders died, and then the baby died a short while after that.  This would be pretty tough for Emma to be widowed with three young daughters in a strange land. Fortunately, she soon met John Sundberg and they were married in December. John and Emma farmed near Deer Horn (Eriksdale, Manitoba) and had three more daughters.  John died in 1934 and Emma moved to Keewatin, near Kenora Ontario where her daughter Kristina lived in 1940. She died in 1960.

Beda (b. 1898) married John Newman and they lived near Kenora, Ontario and had five children. She died in 1967.  Kristina (b. 1900) married August Olson in Winnipeg in 1921. They moved to Keewatin in 1923 where August worked in a flour mill. They had 3 children. She died in 1972 in Keewatin, Ont.  Betty  (b. 1901) married Joe Kanton and they lived in Oregon in 1972. I did not find out more about her. Emma’s two brothers also emigrated and lived in Manitoba.

The Anders  Sanden family

 Anders Jansson Sandén (b. 1871) and his wife Johanna Kristina Månsdotter (b. 1877) were both born in Ytterhogdal, where their first three children were also born. The family moved to  Överhogdal in 1903 where Anders worked as a labourer. In June 1905 he emigrated with Johan Rydin and Johan Olsson with the destination of Winnipeg. In November his wife Kristina and three children joined him there. In 1911 they lived in Selkirk, Manitoba and there were now four children. He was a carpenter. In 1921 they lived in Winnipeg. Kristina died in Feb 1931. Anders lived with his son John in 1931 and still worked as a carpenter. John worked in a general store but both men were out of work due to the depression. Anders died in 1958 in Winnipeg.

Carrie (b. 1897) married Alfred Crance in 1924 in Winnipeg. In 1931 he was a fireman for the railway. At that time they had no children. Ida (b. 1899)  married Douglas Gunn in 1930. In 1931 he was a salesman for an abbatoir but was laid off. Johan (John, b. 1903 )moved to Bottineau North Dakota before 1950 after marrying Beatrice Westman and having two children. John’s younger sister Annie (born 1906 in Manitoba) moved to Bottineau as well with her husband Harold Lamport.He owned a gas station and they had one child. John died in Florida in 1986. Beatrice died in 1991 in Winnipeg. Harold died in 1972 and was buried in Arizona. Annie died in 1998 in Las Vegas.