Chapter 3: Swedish Johansson to American Ogren

The Ancestors of Johannes Magnusson

Jacob Mansson married a woman named Annika. Their birth, marriage and death dates as well as her maiden name are still unknown. They were probably born around 1725 and married around 1750. They had one son, Eric Hernblad (1752). The same family document that providing details on Thorsten Stalhanske claims that Jacob's son Eric was a direct descendant of Stalhanske. It goes on to call him a "robust Swedish Finn" though it is not clear if it was his mother or father who was Swedish or Finnish, though "direct descendant" would suggest that his father was the Swede.

Eric Hernblad was born in 1752. It was common practice in Sweden to give a child the surname of "Jacobsson" if he was the "son of Jacob". I do not know why Eric was "Eric Hernblad" instead of "Eric Jacobsson". In Swedish, "blad" means blade (just like in English, it can mean both the blade of a sword or a blade of grass) or leaf. I have found a variety of definitions of "hern". "Herne" is a cottage. "Hern" is a kind of fowl. "Hern" is short for heron. "Hearn", "Hearne" and "Hern" are all names derived from the plural for iron.

Their are many reasons his name could have changed, perhaps because his mother was Finnish, maybe it was related to her maiden name or it was a title of honor or nobility. In the 17th century and 18th centuries, it became a custom for craftsmen to adopt special surnames fo the trade. The craftsmen's surnames were often constructed with two expressions and usually connected to names from nature--often names of trees combined with some other description found in nature. "Lindblad" is an example that means "leaf of the linden tree". Starting at the end of the 17th century the Swedish army started to give out special surnames to soldiers to help tell them apart, these names were often militaristic in style (names meaning "quick", "brave", "shield", "battle") but also often related to the names of craftsmen. It is my guess that "Hernblad" was a military name and should be interpreted as "iron blade".

On October 10, 1789, Eric married Kerstin Jeansdotter, who was born in 1751. Presumably from her surname, Kerstin was the "daughter of Jean", though I don't have any more information about her parents. They had at least one son, Magnus (Emanuel) Ericsson Blad (1791). The fact that he kept "Blad" in addition to "Ericsson" may also be related to the reason why his father's surname was "Hernblad".

Magnus (Emanuel) Ericsson Blad was born on May 27, 1791 in Alvsborg, Sweden. He was a professional soldier in the standing Swedish Army. He married Ellika Andersdotter on December 29, 1816 in Hallstad, Sweden. Ellika Andersdotter had been born on May 5, 1793 in Alvsborg, Sweden. Her parents were Anders Pafve (b. 1768) and Lisa Pehrsdotter (b. 1762) who had married on April 24, 1791. Her paternal grandparents were Ander Pehrsson and Elin Geransdotter. Magnus and Ellika had four children: Johan Anders Magnusson (1820), Johannes Magnusson (1825), Anna Kajsa Magnusdotter (1827), Pehr Magnusson. Magnus died on February 5, 1868 in Alvsborg, Sweden and Ellika died two years later in December 1870 in Hallstad, Sweden. While I believe this information to be true, it is also worth noting that one family document, a geneaology of the Ogren family by Alvin Ogren, the great grandson of Magnus, claims that Magnus's wife was Alacia Floberg.

Johannes Magnusson, the second son of Magnus and Ellika, was born on October 30, 1824 in Alvsborg, Sweden (though his headstone says 1825). He was a "tiller of the soil". As noted in the chapter on Swedish emigration, farming conditions were becoming increasingly difficult during Johannes working years in Sweden.

Johannes Magnusson, date unknown

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