Andersons Family History: Beginning of trip

August 9, 2010

Hej:

The following posts will be an account of the visit of 21 Spjut Swen Olof Anderson and Erika Mathilda Peterson Björklund descendants and their families from America to Sweden to visit relatives and see places of ancestral interest.

THE TRAVELERS:

For the record, the travelers represented the following children of Grandfather and Grandmother Anderson: Olive, Eva and Lovetta. From Olive there were Mary and Vern Marble; Wyoma and David Parker with daughter Jill Howells. From Eva - Davine Glasscock. From Lovetta there were Christine Gillen; Larry and Bonnie Slade with son Michael and wife Polla and children Connor and Abigail and son Rick and wife Joelle; Rosalie England; Sheldon and Donna Slade; LeGrand and Diane Slade; and Gloria Decker. Many others wanted to make the trip but were unable due to circumstances which made it impossible for them to travel. The range in age of the travelers was oldest at 81 and youngest at 12.

A LITTLE FAMILY HISTORY:

Spjut Swen Olof Anderson was the oldest son of Spjut Anders Swensson and Gröt Kerstin Olsdotter. He emigrated from Sweden in 1895 leaving behind his father and brothers Spjut Anders and Spjut Per Axel. This trip allowed the grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren of Swen Olof to get to know grand children, great grandchildren, great great grandchildren and great great great grandchildren of Anders and Per Axel. Swen's ancestral home, Gåsvarv in Dalarna, and our relatives there was the prime destination of our trip.

Erika Mathilda emigrated from Sweden in 1889 with her mother Johanna Mathilda Larsson, grandmother Brita Katharina Carlsson and brother Erik John. I am not aware of any relatives of Erika Mathilda's remaining in Sweden. Erika's ancestral home in Skensta was also a point of great interest in our trip.

STOCKHOLM:

We were able to schedule a visit to the Temple in Västerhanninge for the 29th of July. Temple President Paul Oscarson, a former missionary acquaintance of LeGrand, greeted us cordially and made available a room for us to gather as a family and do temple service. Mike Slade was able to do ordinance work with his children Connor and Abigail. It was a special experience to be with family in that sacred setting. Mary and Vern were given special recognition during the service. Afterward, we ate a delicious lunch of Swedish pancakes, a traditional meal for Thursdays.

The Temple is built on an ancient Viking site and on the evening of the 28th, Larry and Bonnie and their family visited Viking burial grounds near the Temple, with many graves which were marked with stones raised in various patterns. Some of the patterns were circles, others rectangles and octagons and some in the shape of ships. We had a feeling of reverence as we walked among these reminders of lives once lived in this area.