Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: User Home Pages: Sweden with the Johnsons

Sweden with the Johnsons Updated September 5, 2000

Eight cousins, descendants of Hilda and Frank Johnson, went to Sweden in April of 1997 to visit the areas where our ancestors lived and to meet relatives who still live in Sweden. The cousins were: Roy Jackson, Overland Park, KS Karen Jackson, Overland Park, KS Susan Jackson, Overland Park, KS Cheryl Kjar, Pierre, SD Lynnell Parrott, Rapid City, SD Lynne Mulliner, New Hope, MN Gwen Green, Northfield, MN Emerald Hall, Orlando, FL The eight met in Minneapolis and flew to Gothenburg. There they rented a van to tour southern Sweden. The tour ended in Stockholm and they flew home from there. We visited Eggvena where our great-grandfather and great-grandmother, Johannes Johanson (John B. Johnson) and Johanna Johannesdotter, were baptized. They immigrated with their families to Carver, MN and were married there. They later moved to Lily, SD. Their son, Frank of Lily, was our grandfather. At Eggvena we met with a second cousin, Elin Hermansson and her husband Petrus. The church warden, Gosta Bengtsson and his wife Edith, accompanied us to the Eggvena church and showed us many of the treasures which are at the church. After visiting the church, Elin and Petrus invited everyone into their home for coffee. They also showed us the marker which indicated where the ancestral farm home had been. The next stop was Risekatslosa Kyrka where our grandmother, Hilda Jonsson was baptized. At Eslov we met the wonderful Andersson-Jonsson family who hosted us for a dinner. They are Ella (our parents second cousin), Lars-Erik (Ella's son), Lillian, Jeanette, Marita, and Fredrick. We also met another cousin, Knute Fellbe, from Helsingborg, who had lived in the home that our grandmother, Hilda, lived in as a young girl. Knute also helped us find the little village of Lunnom, now gone, which is where the home was. Jeanette guided us to Helsingor and also around the Eslov area. We visited Kyrkhult where our historian, Roy, spend some time in the Research Center. From there we went to Orrefors to meet another cousin, Sven Erik Ronnby, and his wife Ingegerd. We attended the Valborgmasso at Orrefors and saw the workers parade on May 1 at Husqvarna. There Sven Erik introduced us to Sweden's Minister of Labor. In Stockholm, we met Sven-Erik and Ingegerd's sons and their families. The sons, Erik and Johann, were our guides on a tour of Stockholm. Sven-Erik guided us to Gripsholm Castle, Uppsala, Lena Sandall-Berg's home, Granhult Kyrka, and Harkeberga Kyrka among other places. Sven Erik and Ingegerd invited us to their home in Sodertalje for a typical Swedish smorgasbord. We were all very impressed with Sweden and would like to return. The country is so beautiful and the cities are so clean and neat. The Swedish people as a whole were gracious, friendly, and helpful to a group of English-speaking tourists. We will be adding more genealogical information to this page as time goes on. Our uncle and aunt, Leslie and Vera Johnson, of Zapata, TX, made three trips to Sweden to research our genealogy and recorded much of their work in a book, "The Immigrants". It is the lineage of John B. and Johanna Johnson who immigrated from Eggvena to Carver County, MN, and from there to Lily, SD. The book may be researched in the SD Archives at the SD Heritage Center. Roy Jackson is researching Hilda Jonsson's family from Risekatslosa Parrish. Other names being researched are: John G. Sjoquist, a minister who served several churches in MN and eventually moved to CA. Albert Sjoquist, son of John G. Last known address: Dassel, MN. Ada Peterson, born at Hov, and immigrated to MN when she was 16. She married Albert Sjoquist, was later divorced, and then married Eugene O. Jackson of Rosholt, SD. Contact Roy Jackson 7013 West 157th Terrace Overland Park, KS 66223 Phone: 913-685-0195 E-mail: RLJCTE@aol.com or Cheryl Kjar

Cheryl J. Kjar 316 South Taylor Pierre, SD 57501-3647 United States 605-224-2229 CKJAR@aol.com
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