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Tracing your Swedish roots: genealogy and journeys of discovery
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Jill Seaholm interview Easter witches and Bl책kulla Alice Babs remembered
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CONTENTS ( April 2014 )
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Swedish Press
Swedish Headlines 6 Headline News: Drama in Ukraine pushes defence policy up the Swedish political agenda 7 News at a Glance 8 Swedes in the News Business 7 Business News 9 Company File: c/o Hotels
ADVISORY COMMITTEE Björn Bayley, Olof Flodmark, Lars Romert, Ulf Waldén, Paul Horn af Åminne, Peter Ladner, Brian Antonson, Christer Garell, Anders & Hamida Neumuller
Heritage 15 Till Blåkulla med kvast: Påsktraditionernas ursprung 16 Swedish Roots, Oregon Lives 17 Maclayhem Lifestyle 18 Top Sju 19 Music Hemma hos 20 Design: Best of the 2014 Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair 21 Treats à la Laurel 22 Lär Dig Svenska 23 Barn Sidan
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Feature 10 Family Places Revisited Interview 12 Jill Seaholm – ‘Finding my Swedish roots was life-changing for me’
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Letters to the Editor Hi Tatty, Joan and Claes, The March issue of Swedish Press arrived in my mailbox today (March 4), and it is an interesting publication, particularly with the emphasis on education. Your generous inclusion of our submission about the Swedish American Museum’s Brunk Children’s Museum of Immigration highlights another aspect of education. Arriving to subscribers so early in the month, in advance of almost all of our March calendar events, the issue is most timely. As a longtime editor of periodicals, I congratulate you for the improvements you have made in Swedish Press. You already have our submissions for the April issue, which we will look forward to seeing in a few weeks. Stephen Anderson Chicago, Illinois Ett personligt minne av Alice Babs: En epok är över Jag hade turen att få lära känna Alice Babs redan som ung grabb. Det
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var hennes dåvarande skivproducent Frank Hedman som introducerade mig för Alice. På uppdrag av Frank och Alice man Nils Ivar gjorde jag en förteckning över hennes skivinspelningar som överlämnades på hennes 50-årsdag. Sedan dess har jag verkat som Alice personliga arkivarie och fått överta och sortera upp hennes privata samlingar av dokument som härrör sig till hennes karriär och liv. Jag har beundrat Alice Babs musikaliska intelligens som var unik. Musiklyssning hemma hos Alice och Nils Ivar var högtidsstunder som jag önskat att fler kunnat få ta del av. Nu har Alice Babs återförenats med sin Nils Ivar och det längtade hon efter. Frid Alice! Lasse Zackrisson Vaxholm, Sweden Editor’s comment: Lasse’s documentary on Alice Babs ‘Naturröstens hemlighet’ was recently shown on SVT and is available on DVD at www.vaxrecords.nu. See also Sthig Jonasson’s article on Alice Babs on p.19 /TM
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From the Editor’s Desk
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Swedish Press April 2014
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hy do we search for our roots? Why this need to find out where our ancestors came from? I’m not entirely sure, but there is an undeniably deep desire in many of us – particularly those of us with roots in other countries – to forge a connection with the past in order to create a sense of belonging. Genealogy is big business and the internet has made it easier than ever to hunt down the physical tracks left behind by previous generations. If you’re interested in looking into your family history, Swedish or otherwise, our interview with Jill Seaholm, Head of Genealogical Services at Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, provides some great tips and interesting stories. Barnsidan also has fun ideas for ways of tracing your roots along with your kids or grandchildren. Meanwhile, reader Charles Style and his daughter Elizabeth share their own personal journey of discovery, following in his Swedish mother’s footsteps as they travelled from Stockholm to Dalarna and investigated the origins of Elizabeth’s name, the story behind a mysterious painting and a maverick 17th century rector. One of the best things about moving to a new country is that you get to pick the most positive elements of both countries and cultures and use them to your advantage – something that both Jenny Ljungberg, owner of c/o Hotels (this month’s Company File, p.9) and Lennart Jönsson, subject of our Sista Ordet (p.30), managed to do. This month is of course Easter month. Last year, their first Easter in Sweden, my children were very happy to discover that this involves both Halloween-like trick or treating and dressing-up! On p.15 we explore the fascinating origins of the very specifically Swedish ‘påskkärring’ (Easter witch) tradition. Whether you’re hunting for your roots or just chocolate eggs, we wish you a very happy Easter holidays.
Tatty Maclay Editor-in-Chief Tatty@Swedishpress.com
My daughter Freya as a ‘påskkärring’. Photo: Tatty Maclay
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Swedish Headlines Drama in Ukraine pushes defence policy up the Swedish political agenda by Susan Holmberg
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s the crisis deepens in Ukraine, Sweden, along with other countries in the Baltic area, is re-thinking its defence requirements. Russia’s intervention into the Crimea set alarm bells ringing in neighboring Latvia and Lithuania, both containing large Russian minorities. Sweden, which has strong historic and economic ties to the Baltic countries, is emphasizing the need for direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian leaders brokered through a trusted third party such as the EU, the OSCE or the UN in order to bring stability to the region. During the first week of March, however, as Crimea was severed from the rest of Ukraine in an atmosphere of widespread confusion, some Swedish leaders used stronger language, condemning Russian aggression and calling for a “doctrinal shift” in Sweden’s defence policy. Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt came under fire for what seemed like an appeasement stance to some observers, telling reporters that some of Russia’s mobilizing actions were “understandable” given the Russian minorities in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Although he was quick to add that Russia’s methods were not appropriate, his comment fueled criticism from fellow coalition leaders. Foreign Minister Carl Bildt used much stronger language to condemn Russia. He called the country’s actions a violation of international law and wrote in his blog that the Russian demand for Ukrainian forces
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to hand over their arms was no less than a “scarcely camouflaged Russian takeover of Crimea”. Another strong opinion in the initial wave of reaction to events in Crimea came from Deputy Prime Minister Jan Björklund (Liberal Party). Björklund called for a reassessment of Sweden’s defence doctrine, criticizing the years of defence cuts that have left many parts of the country de-militarized. Both he and Christian Democrat leader Göran Hägglund argued that Sweden should become a full member of NATO. Since the end of the Cold War, Sweden’s defence policy has shifted away from a focus on protecting Sweden from invasion to a smaller, more specialized force with a larger capacity to contribute to international operations – an approach known as “pooling and sharing”. The debate was heightened on March 4 when a Russian military exercise in the Baltic Sea prompted Sweden to send two fighter jets to the island of Gotland, located about 250 kilometers south of Stockholm. Swedish military experts were quick to neutralize the significance
of the move, emphasizing that such exercises are routine. “This isn’t the first time planes have been to Gotland”, military strategist Stefan Ring told wire service TT. “Considering what’s been happening in Ukraine, I’d say it would be verging on a dereliction of duty if the planes weren’t there now.” Sweden’s Supreme Commander Sverker Göransson stated that Sweden’s existing doctrine is working well. “I stick with my view that we are on the right path with our doctrine and the organization that we are currently building”, he told TT. While events in Ukraine have propelled the issue of defence to the top of the agenda in this election year, it is not likely to remain a key issue unless a clear sense of threat emerges from Russia toward the Baltic states. Both the former Social Democrat-led government and the current center-right coalition government have continued to cut military budgets, and although there may be a window for increased spending on defence, the Swedish population remains more concerned about domestic issues such as health care, education and employment.
Ukraine crisis: the situation in Crimea
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News at a Glance Malmö attacks Several people were attacked in central Malmö on the night of International Women’s Day (March 8) by members of the fascist Swedes Party (Svenskarnas Parti). One person ended up in intensive care with serious head injuries and a further three victims suffered knife wounds. One of the victims is a leading figure in the fight against racism and homophobia in the football world, indicating that the attacks were specifically targeted. It is the latest event in a recent spate of neo-nazi violence in and around Malmö.
number of unemployed Swedes has dropped over the past year by 16,000. 8.5% of working-age Swedes – some 404,000 – are currently unemployed. Arbetsförmedlingen’s Mats Wadman commented, “The statistics show that the number of registered unemployed continues to fall, particularly among young people and the short-term unemployed.” Another report released by Eures (European Employment Service) praised young Swedes for being ‘loyal’ and ‘punctual.’ Uganda aid withdrawn The Swedish government has decided to withdraw aid to Uganda, following a recent decision by the country’s President Yoweri Museveni to sign a law banning the ‘promotion’ of homo-
Unemployment figures drop According to the latest figures from the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen), the
Uganda hit with foreign aid cuts over anti-gay law.
sexuality. “The government reaffirms its strong condemnation of the Ugandan legislation that violates the fundamental rights of homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender people,” said Minister for International Development Cooperation Hillevi Engström, adding, “Swedish aid is not unconditional.” Sweden’s subsidies to Uganda in 2012 amounted to €26.5 million, 42% of which was directed towards promoting democracy, human rights and gender equality.
[Business] News
Mining for money in Northern Sweden
Bitcoin. Photo: Zach Copley/flickr
At the edge of the Arctic Circle in Boden, Sweden, work has begun transforming a former helicopter hangar used by the Swedish armed forces into a 10 Megawatt Bitcoin datacentre. Swedish company, KnC Miner, is behind the project which will contribute to the region’s push to become the global hub for data traffic. KnC Miner provides hardware used in the mining of Bitcoins, a digital currency that has captured headlines
recently thanks to its astronomical increase in value. “Given that our business is in the digital mining sector,” explains KnC Miner co-founder, Sam Cole, “it is particularly fitting for us to set up operations in a community rooted in crude material mining, and today characterised by its budding technology sector.” The news comes as Facebook unveiled plans to open up its second server farm in the neighbouring city of Luleå. Volkswagen sets sights on Scania Germany’s Volkswagen Group has offered Swedish truck maker, Scania $9.2 billion for the company’s remaining shares. The German automaker already owns 63% of Scania and currently holds 89% of the voting rights following years of active purchasing dating back to
2000. If approved, the deal would allow Volkswagen, which also controls German truck maker MAN, to create an integrated truck group that can challenge industry-leaders Daimler and Volvo. Scania is a Swedish industrial icon and many of the remaining shareholders feel that the deal is not in the best interest of Scania which has been performing particularly well as of late. In addition, labour unions are concerned that the acquisition could lead to job losses in Sweden and are pushing for written agreements against such moves. This is not the first time that Scania is poised to be purchased. MAN attempted a takeover in 2006 and in 2000, the European Commission blocked a Scania merger with Volvo due to concerns of a potential trucking monopoly in Scandinavia.
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[Swedes] in the News Princess Leonore born in New York
100 was Hans Rausing of TetraPak, with a $12 billion fortune; five more Swedes made it onto the list, which was topped, as usual, by American IT mogul Bill Gates.
H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf, H.M. Queen Silvia, H.R.H. Princess Leonore. Photo: Princess Madeleine The Royal Court Sweden.
Swedish journalist killed H.R.H Princess Leonore. Photo: Christopher O’Neill/Kungahuset.se
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rincess Madeleine of Sweden gave birth to a daughter, Leonore Lilian Maria, in New York on 20 February 2014. The baby’s father Christopher O’Neill was present at the birth and her grandparents, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia flew to the US shortly after the birth. Princess Leonore has been given the title Duchess of Gotland and the Palace announced that she is officially fifth in line to the throne.
Nils Horner. Photo: Mattias Ahlm/ Sveriges Radio
Respected Swedish Radio foreign correspondent Nils Horner, 51, was shot and killed recently in broad daylight in the diplomatic district of Kabul. Horner, Swedish Radio’s foreign correspondent since 2001, was talking to his interpreter and driver outside a Lebanese restaurant when he was shot in the back of the head. Swedish Radio Director General Cilla Benkö commented: “Swedish Radio is in deep sorrow, it is one of the worst days in the history of Swedish Radio.”
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Nordqvist wins LPGA Thailand Sweden’s Anna Nordqvist recently won the $1.5 million Honda LPGA Thailand tournament, beating off stiff competition from world number one Inbee Park and
breaking a five year losing streak. Nordqvist’s last win was in 2009 and the golfer had been close to giving up the game, but the 26 year old was back on form as she closed with a 4-under 68 to beat defending champion Park by two strokes.
Stefan Persson. Photo: profashionals.de
Bäckström doping decision The 2014 Winter Olympics may be done and dusted, but Swedish ice hockey star Nicklas Bäckström remains in the news due to the IOC’s controversial decision by to ban him from the hockey finals after a drug test tested positive for pseudoephedrine, a drug found in allergy
Stefan Persson richest Swede
Anna Nordqvist. Photo: Siamsport Newspaper/AP
Forbes magazine’s annual list of the world’s billionaires lists H&M owner Stefan Persson as Sweden’s wealthiest man (and the world’s 12th), with a fortune of around $34.4 billion. The only other Swede in the top
Nicklas Bäckström. Photo: TT
medication. Sweden lost to Canada in the final, and the player’s silver medal has been withheld until the IOC decides whether or not it will be reinstated.
Company File
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f ever there were a company which combines the best of the American can-do attitude with Swedish style, the small, quirky hotel company c/o Hotels, comprising c/o The Maidstone in East Hampton, and c/o Häringe Slott outside Stockholm, is it. And it’s a happy mixture which creative director and owner Jenny Ljungberg, raised in both Sweden and the US, embodies herself. c/o Hotels is a family business and Ljungberg refers to herself as a ‘third generation entrepreneur’. Her grandfather Tage was a property developer from Småland who started LjungbergGruppen (now known as Atrium Ljungberg) and when her father Åke took over the company he expanded it to the point where, as Ljungberg puts it, ‘Sweden got too small for him.’ So the family moved to the US when Jenny was 13 and continued to expand their real estate and hotel empire. Jenny cut her teeth in the hotel business with internships at hotels including Beaver Creek Lodge in Colorado and the Diplomat Hotel in Stockholm and decided, while working as a busboy,
that she had found what she wanted to do with her life. By 2000, the family hotel chain c/o Hotels comprised a number of Swedish hotels including Tamsvik Konferens & Herrgård, Grytthyttans Gästgivaregård, Häringe Slott and the Lydmar Hotel, and in 2009 Ljungberg, after looking in vain for the perfect Manhattan property, added c/o The Maidstone, an historic inn in East Hampton (‘a sleeping beauty’, according to Ljungberg), to the portfolio. In 2013, the other hotels in the portfolio were sold off as Ljungberg decided to focus on creating a true, unique lifestyle brand at Häringe and The Maidstone. This branding takes the best aspects of Scandinavian design and lifestyle – innovation, honesty, and classic and modern design including masses of Svenskt Tenn – and merges them
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with American customer-centred culture. Meals, for example are served all day, and dogs are welcome guests at both properties. Intriguing photo art, jazz music played loud, a strong commitment to ethical practices, a taste for proper afternoon tea and a penchant for storytelling (and there are plenty of colorful stories to tell about both properties) are also hallmarks of the c/o Hotels brand.
The company now employs around 80 people and has a revenue of $8 million. As New York is her main base, Ljungberg saw an opportunity to bring the Swedish brand to the US’ and is currently looking to expand her lifestyle chain with that elusive Manhattan property at some point in the future. www.careofhotels.com
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Family Places Revisited By Charles and Elizabeth Style Charles
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y mother, Sigrid Elisabeth (born Carlberg, known as Sickan, and first married to Bengt Julin), came to England in 1951 to marry my father. She was then 31 years of age. My early memories include a rough ferry crossing – two nights and a day from Tilbury to Stockholm – and snapshot images of summers in the Stockholm archipelago. I learnt to love Sweden; thus it was that I brought my youngest daughter, Elizabeth Sigrid (named after her grandmother), to Sweden in 2011 so that she might learn her heritage. By my mother’s bed hung a small drawing of a church. Only after she died did I discover underneath the frame, in small pencil handwriting, the words Skånela Kyrka and a signature: B. Lamby, 4.12.36. My sister told me she thought this was my mother’s first boyfriend. She would then have been 16 years old. I had always found the thought of this unknown place touching and mysterious; it was obviously of special significance to her. Did they go there together; did she and B. Lamby declare young love there? Who knows? But it was an obvious objective to find the church.
Elizabeth As Dad and I drove north from Stockholm, in search of this hidden memory of my grandmother’s, all we had to guide us was the drawing, and those words: Skånela Kyrka. Part of me, I think, was sceptical that we would find it, and so I remember the
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Painting of Skånela Kyrka by Elizabeth Style.
excitement I felt as we drove round one more bend to see the little spire poking out above the trees ahead. As we got closer, there was absolutely no doubt that this was the Skånela church, drawn so beautifully (and accurately!), in the picture. It felt incredibly surreal to be visiting a place that had this unknown significance to my grandmother, and I loved imagining what might have happened there – was it a romantic story of young love as Dad wonders, or some other special hidden memory? Whatever it was, the thought that – nearly 80 years later – Grandma’s son and granddaughter had shared the adventure of finding it together was very special indeed. And it really did feel like an adventure. Erected in the 1160s in an ancient landscape, the church itself was
sweetly beautiful. Perched on a small hill, it was surrounded by golden fields, lit perfectly in the late afternoon sun.
Charles Later we travelled quite widely: to Älgö where my grandmother had a house overlooking the sea, and north to Lake Siljan in order to see something of the Dalarna landscape and its picturesque raised timber
Skånela Kyrka; Elizabeth holds the evocative drawing from 1936.
houses. My mother had taken me there on a similar expedition in 1972. Elizabeth and I also went to Kopparberg in whose vicinity generations of Carlbergs had lived. The church there – Ljusnarsbergs kyrka – dates from 1635; it is sheathed in wooden tiles, painted falu red, and it is attended by a splendid belfry tower of medieval appearance whose timbers have never had to be replaced and on whose roof traces of old tar caulking were visible. We were much amused by a story about Simon Bjurbäck, the rector from long ago. He conceived the need to enlarge the original church in order to provide a transept. He did this between 1691 and 1696 by cutting the church in half and having the two halves pulled apart in order to make the space. He is supposed to have directed operations on horseback, ready for a quick get-away, should the whole edifice have fallen down. It didn’t! We imagined my mother attending church services there 85 years ago. And then we went outside to find several fine family grave stones, restored by my aunt about forty years ago. This one commemorates Per August Carlberg (born 1811) and his wife Ulrika.
Elizabeth’s great -great-great-grandparents
Elizabeth It is a very surreal moment when, unwarned, you look down at a grave and see your own name carved in to the stone! This was a very special moment in our trip – discovering the origin of Grandma’s name and my own. Dad hadn’t known that his mother had been named after her grandmother, so it’s funny to think that a tradition has developed (unintentionally!): the naming a daughter, every other generation, with the names Sigrid Elis(z)abeth (something I’d love to continue!). It’s a wonderfully direct link with my Swedish blood; seeing the name in Kopparberg, where Grandma would have visited her grandparents, was very moving for both of us.
Charles
Outside Ljusnarsbergs Kyrka.
Their details are on the printed card (picture on the right); they were my mother’s great grandparents. The card also makes a further reference, as does the grave stone whose photograph is printed alongside it, which Elizabeth will explain...
From Kopparberg we drove south. We passed Björsarf, the home of my great aunt Ellen, from which my mother wrote to hers on 26 July 32, aged 12: “Varje morgon går vi upp klockan 7…”. Then we drove on to catch a glimpse
The origin of a name…. across a century and a half.
of the fine property, Stjernfors, where my mother remembered visiting her grandparents when she was young. The photographs were found in her belongings. The house, which in past times had two large wings, is nowadays surrounded by a smart golf course. The countryside is quiet and unspoilt; there remains no sign of the messy industrial buildings and tram-ways serving the mining industry which dominated part of this landscape a hundred years ago. Returning towards Stockholm we stopped at the prettiest of small timber churches, Ingarö kyrka, which overlooks the narrow channel separating the island from the mainland. My mother had two sons in Sweden; here at Ingarö lies her eldest, my half-brother Anders, who was born in 1942 and died in 1983 aged 40. Less than two years after the loss of her first born, my mother died of a broken heart, aged 64. Those were dark days; but she would have been happy, to know that another granddaughter who started her life in England has recently moved to Sweden to live. This is a return, born of instinct and an inherited love for Sweden. It completes a circle.
Elizabeth It’s impossible to capture the significance and the happy memories of our trip in Sweden in just a few words. It really was a very special few days, for a number of reasons: precious father-daughter time that’s so difficult to achieve in the business of modern living; not only visiting Sweden for the first time, but finding places significant to multiple generations of my family; spending time at Anders’ grave, located next to the loveliest of churches and hearing Dad’s happy memories of his brother; driving through breathtaking Swedish landscape, visiting remote pretty towns. In sum, a few days spent getting to know, and truly feeling, the Swedish in me.
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