Then we set out to find the area where my great-grandfather Erik Johan Larson lived before his parents took their family to the United States. I had purchased detailed maps in Stockholm and located the Kvistbro community, so it wasn't hard to find. The map showed a church there, so I was hoping it was an old one that my ancestors may have attended. As we drove we passed the sign indicating we had arrived at Kvistbro. We rounded a curve and crested a hill and there was the church surrounded by a graveyard. 
I was pretty excited and it got even better. We went to the door and found it was open, so we went in. No one was there, so we looked around for a while and took some photos of the inside. There was some literature sitting on a table in the back, including a leaflet that gave a brief history of the building in Swedish, including the year 1662. That gave some idea how old the church building was. I knew from studying the records of our ancestors that they had lived in the area for over 200 years prior to immigrating to the United States. That gave me great confidence that some of them had been christened, married, and had funeral services for them in that church. 
We then went looking for someone with a map of the graveyard. We found a young woman who was employed on the grounds - there were a few other buildings associated with the church - and asked her. She directed us to the nearby town of Fjugesta, where her boss had an office. She said he had an index of the people buried there on his computer. We drove to the town and found the man's office, but he wasn't there, so we went in search of lunch.
I was pretty excited and it got even better. We went to the door and found it was open, so we went in. No one was there, so we looked around for a while and took some photos of the inside. There was some literature sitting on a table in the back, including a leaflet that gave a brief history of the building in Swedish, including the year 1662. That gave some idea how old the church building was. I knew from studying the records of our ancestors that they had lived in the area for over 200 years prior to immigrating to the United States. That gave me great confidence that some of them had been christened, married, and had funeral services for them in that church. 
We then went looking for someone with a map of the graveyard. We found a young woman who was employed on the grounds - there were a few other buildings associated with the church - and asked her. She directed us to the nearby town of Fjugesta, where her boss had an office. She said he had an index of the people buried there on his computer. We drove to the town and found the man's office, but he wasn't there, so we went in search of lunch. Oma had noticed a sign that said Konditori on our way into town. That's the Swedish word for bakery/pastry shop. Finding some good pastries was one of Oma's goals for the trip. So the Konditori was our next stop. They had an array of delicious looking pastries to choose from. Fortunately, they also offered sandwiches, so we each had a small sandwich before selecting pastries. That was supposed to curb our appetite for the sweets, but Oma still had to try several varieties. OK, she didn't have to twist my arm to get my support there, because I wanted to try them, too.
We returned to the Lutheran Church's office and met the man with the index to the graveyard. He promptly contradicted what we had been told about everyone in Sweden speaking English. But we were still able to communicate our request. He looked up the names of a couple of our ancestors I thought might be buried there, but he didn't find them. It turned out he only had records of more recently buried people. That was a bit discouraging. We decided to go back to the church and cemetary and look around for ourselves. After all the cemetary wasn't all that large. Upon looking around at some of the headstones, we concluded the man was right. We couldn't find any that had dates as far back as the time when our ancestors would have been buried there.
Our next destination was the community of Ängatorp, where Erik Johan Larson was born. We had learned that Kvistbro was the name of the parish, which contained several smaller communities, including Ängatorp. It was just a few kilometers further down the road, according to our map. W
e followed the main road, then turned off onto a minor road, and finally turned off the pavement onto a gravel road. We soon came to the sign that announced we had arrived. Ängatorp is now just a few scattered houses and barns. There are no shops or businesses of any kind that I could see. I imagine it has not changed much in the last hundred and thirty years. Our ancestors here must have been simple people who farmed and raised animals. I believe Ängatorp means Änga’s village. Like so many of the places we have seen since we left Stockholm, it is in a beautiful setting surrounded by forest and with a lake nearby. Oma and I decided it was time to head back to the hotel.
e followed the main road, then turned off onto a minor road, and finally turned off the pavement onto a gravel road. We soon came to the sign that announced we had arrived. Ängatorp is now just a few scattered houses and barns. There are no shops or businesses of any kind that I could see. I imagine it has not changed much in the last hundred and thirty years. Our ancestors here must have been simple people who farmed and raised animals. I believe Ängatorp means Änga’s village. Like so many of the places we have seen since we left Stockholm, it is in a beautiful setting surrounded by forest and with a lake nearby. Oma and I decided it was time to head back to the hotel.
3 comments:
So, what have you been eating??? Any pictures of the food?? What about inside your hotel rooms? TAKE MORE PICTURES!!
Need more pictures, PLEASE! What have y'all been doing these past few days??? Are you okay??
I've been slow to follow up on what you're doing, but love seeing the pics and reading your narrative. How close are you to the home of our Anderson ancestors -- Undenas, Skaraborg, Sweden? I can't find it on the map.
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