Olson, Merritt C., Ph.D.

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Swedish American GenealogistVolume 6 | Number 3 Article 49-1-1986Two Passenger Lists from 1869 and 1889Merritt C. Olson Ph.D.Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonsagPart of the Genealogy Commons, and the Scandinavian Studies CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center at Augustana Digital Commons. It hasbeen accepted for inclusion in Swedish American Genealogist by an authorized editor of Augustana Digital Commons. For more information, pleasecontact digitalcommons@augustana.edu.Recommended CitationOlson, Merritt C. Ph.D. (1986) "Two Passenger Lists from 1869 and 1889," Swedish American Genealogist: Vol. 6 : No. 3 , Article 4.Available at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonsag/vol6/iss3/4Two Passenger Lists from 1869 and 1889 Merritt C. Olson, Ph.D.* An inspection of passenger lists of ships carrying immigrants to the United States provides an interesting composite of facts about 19th century Europeans traveling across the Atlantic to establish new homes. Studied were the parts of manifests of ships bringing my father's paternal and maternal grandparents from Sweden in 1869 and 1889 respectively. My father's paternal grandparents, my grandfather at age 11 and his two siblings, appearing on the manifest as entries 3~7, traveled on the S.S. Guiding Star from Copenhagen to New York, arriving on 29 June 1869. Elisha Howes, master of the Copenhagen-based Guiding Star, made entries on the manifest in a clear hand with deference to the Scandinavian spelling of names. Unfortunately 19th century passenger lists, in contrast to those of the 20th, carried a minimum of information about the immigrants. The S.S. Guiding Star's manifest called for the name of the passenger, age, sex, occupation, country of nativity and the country of destination. Only the first page of the manifest of the S.S. Guiding Star is reproduced in this article . For a complete roster one is referred to the original list in the National Archives, Washington, DC (M-237, Roll No. 313) . Of the 806 passengers, 667 were Swedes and 120 were Danes. In addition there were twelve Prussians, five Americans on board, as well as one each from Holstein and Hesse. That Swedes made up 83 percent of the passengers is not particularly surprising when one recalls that 1869 was a peak year in the early period of Swedish emigration. In that year a total of 32,000 persons left Sweden for America. 1 Although Smaland, 6stergotland and Halsingland had the highest emigration rates during this period,2 we do not know how well represented they were, for the manifest does not indicate the home parish, nor the province of the passengers. My great grandparents came from Jamtland, which at that time was experiencing an increasing emigration rate. The majority of the passengers were listed as farmers and laborers so far as their occupations were concerned. Sailors, joiners, merchants, shoemakers and smiths were also well represented . In addition there were one or more each of teachers, weavers and clerks. Among the Danes there were one or two each of brewers, distillers and cigar makers . My great grandfather was listed as a farmer. 'Dr. Merritt C. Olson resides at 1032 W. I Ith Ave .. Anchorage, AK 99501. He has lived in Alaska for 34 years and is presently a teacher and counselor in the Anchorage Public Schools. He has also served as Adjunct Associate Professor at Alaska Methodist University. 120 Two Passenger Lists from 1869 and 1889 In Sweden he had also worked at the tailor's trade, an occupation that brought him to the home of Olof Kjellson, who was the father of his future bride. Passengers ranged from infants to the 80-year-old farmer who was traveling from Sweden with his 65-year-old wife. The only deaths reported were those of three infants-a three-month-old Swedish boy, a two-month-old Danish boy and a nine-month-old Danish girl. Erik and Karin Ohlsons' destination was Vail, IA, where they joined a Baptist minister and his family whom they had known in Jamtland . Unfor-tunately the manifest does not identify the specific location to which the immigrants were traveling. My father's maternal grandparents, who also came from Jamtland, immigrated in I 889 to Dakota Territory, where they joined the Erik and Karin Ohlson family. They were passengers on board the S.S. Servia, sailing from Liverpool and Queenstown and arriving in New York 5 Aug. 1889. The manifest, prepared by the Servia '.smaster, Henry Walker of Liverpool, identifies the state to which the passengers were destined. In other respects the form is essentially the same as that of the S.S. Guiding Star. Reproduced is the fourth page (the only one given over exclusively to Swedish passengers) of the manifest of the S.S. Servia, arriving at the port of New York on 5 August 1889. The original list is on microfilm in the National Archives, Washington, DC (M-237, Roll No. 536). Erik J. Walton3 and his wife Anna, entries No. I 54and No. 155 on the ship's list, were accompanied by Jamtland friends, Nils P. and Christina Vik and their six children. Nils P. Vik (the name was Anglicized to Wik in this country) was going to the Dakota Territory to serve as a clergyman to the congregation of Swedish immigrants who settled in Orleans in a part of the territory which in a few years was to become the state of South Dakota. The English steamship carried 667 paying passengers as well as two 19-year-old stowaways. On board were 191 British passengers, 131 Americans, 120 Irishmen, 97 Swedes and 40 Norwegians. In addition there were 35 Russians and a fewer number of Austrians, Germans, Turks and Greeks. Emigration from the eastern and southern parts of Europe was gaining momentum by 1889 and would accelerate into a great wave into the 20th century, a time which saw Swedish emigration tapering off from the culmination of the 1880s. Occupationally farmers and laborers constituted a majority of the Swedish passengers aboard the Servia. There were two shoemakers as well as an engineer, a clerk, a sailor, a tailor, a saloonkeeper, a currier and a painter. Unlike the 1869 passenger list, which was dominated by family groups, the Servia in 1889 showed 27 percent of the Swedish passengers were spinsters. This is in keeping with the research findings of Prof. Sten Carlsson4 which show that the early Scandinavian emigration to North America was dominated by families, while the emigration late in the 19th century shifted to single persons- men and women aspiring to better-payingjobs. Often these single persons were relatives of earlier immigrants. The Swedish passengers were relatively young, most of them in their teens, 20s and 30s. Erik and Anna Walton, both age 66, were among the oldest Swedish 121 Swedish American Genealogist emigrants. They were joining their children, one of whom was my grandmother, who had immigrated to Iowa and the Dakota Territory earlier. The United States destination of the Swedish passengers included 16 states. New York claimed the greatest number with 27 persons. Other popular destinations were Minnesota, Michigan, Dakota, Pennsylvania and Illinois . A more specific location was not indicated except in the case of Minneapolis, which was frequently listed in lieu of a state designation. Early 20th century passenger lists provide more comprehensive information than those of the 19th century manifests. The last residence of the passenger includes the home parish as well as the province of his native country. The final destination in the United States includes both the city and state. Other information provides the source of the passage payment, the number of dollars brought by each passenger, and whether or not the passenger had been to the United States earlier and if so, when and where. Additionally, if a passenger were to join a relative in the U.S ., the identity of that person, the relationship and the address were given. No attempt has been made to identify persons on either of the passenger lists other than for relatives and the friends who accompanied them from Sweden. It would be interesting to learn from which areas of Sweden each of the passengers on the two ships came and to which of the states each of the 1869 emigrants were destined and why. The author would appreciate hearing from SAG readers who might recognize the names of ancestors or other persons on either one of these lists. -oOo-Partial list of the Swedish immigrants who arrived in New York aboard the S.S. Guiding Star. (All of the individuals listed below came from Sweden and were destined for the United States.) No. Name Age Sex Occupation I. Anders Person 35 M Laborer 2. John Tohrnberg 23 M Laborer 3. Erik Ohlson 37 M Farmer 4. Karin Ohlson 32 F 5. Oluf Ohlson II M 6. Martha Ohlson 9 F 7. Niels Ohlson 4 M 8. Erik Johnson 22 M Laborer 9. Hans Anderson 20 M Laborer 10. Lars Larsson 45 M Farmer 122 Two Passenger Lists from 1869 and 1889 11. Karin Larsson 44 F 12. Lars Larsson 11 M 13. Hans Larsson 9 M 14. Niels Nielson 46 M Farmer 15. Christine Nielson 34 F 16. Johan Nielson IO M 17. Johanna Nielson 11 F 18. Martha Nielson · 2 F 19. Johanna Palm 72 F Widow 20. Anders Nielsson 64 M Farmer 2 I. Britta Nielsson 21 F Daughter 22. Juliane Nielsson 55 F Wife 23 . Oluf Jonsson 28 M Farmer 24. Karin Jonsson 29 F 25 . Britta Jonsson II mos. F 26. Johanna Petterson 33 F 27. Julius Petterson 11 M 28. Niels Nielsson 54 M Farmer 29. Britta Nielsson 38 F 30. Per Nielsson 11 M 31. Oluf Nielsson 9 M 32. Jonas Nielsson 4 M 33. Martha Nielsson II mos. F 34. Anna Nielsson 32 F 35. Johann Jernberg 31 M Smith 36. Martha Jernberg 10 F 37. Jan Olofson 59 M Farmer -oOo-Partial list of the Swedish immigrants who arrived in New York aboard the S.S. Servia . (All of the individuals listed below came from Sweden and were immigrants). No. Name Age Sex Occupation Destination Baggage 135. Johan Carlson 31 M Painter New York 2 136. Anna Carlson 20 F Wife New York 137. Anna B. Axelquist 31 F Wife New York 138. Josef Axelquist 7 M Child New York 139. Anders Axelquist 3 M Child New York 140. Anna Axelquist F Child New York 141. Gustaf A. Ostman 45 M Farmer Michigan 2 142. Anna Ostman 42 F Wife Michigan 143. Welhelmina Ostman 18 F Spinster Michigan 144. Amanda Ostman 16 F Spinster Michigan 123 Swedish American Genealogist 145. Josefina Ostman 14 F Spinster Michigan 146. Sofia Ostman II F Child Michigan 147. Gustaf Ostman 6 M Child Michigan 148. Hilda Ostman 4 F Child Michigan 149. Elizabeth Nilsson 31 F Wife Minnesota 2 150. Selma Nilsson 8 F Child Minnesota 151. Martha Nilsson 4 F Child Minnesota 152. Ada Nilsson 3 F Child Minnesota 153. Ida Nilsson 10 mos. F Infant Minnesota 154. Erik J. Walton 66 M Farmer Dakota 2 155. Anna Walton 66 F Wife Dakota 156. Nils P. Vik 39 M Currier Dakota 2 157. Christina Vik 31 F Wife Dakota 158. Nicholas Vik 14 M None Dakota 159. Elizabeth Vik II F Child Dakota 160. May Vik 9 F Child Dakota 161. Martha Vik 4 F Child Dakota 162. Julius Vik 3 M Child Dakota 163. Christina Vik 10 mos. F Infant Dakota 164. Ingeborg Newton 23 F Wife New York 165. Johanna Dalin 30 F Spinster Pennsylvania 166. Josefina Alberg 26 F Spinster New York 167. Anna A. Ohan 18 F Spinster Michigan 168. Anna Johanson 22 F Spinster Iowa 169. Eva Fredrickstein 23 F Spinster Nebraska 170. Maria Sjogren 29 F Spinster New York 171. Amanda Olson 20 F Spinster Massachusetts 172. Elin M. Sten 17 F Spinster New York 173. Elin Ekegren 18 F Spinster New York 174. Elizabeth Kristoferson 26 F Spinster New York 175. Eulaila Anderson 21 F Spinster New Hampshire 176. Selma Petersen 37 F Wife New York 177. Augusta Dahlin 33 F Spinster New York 178. Eola Ulgrin 16 F Spinster Michigan 179. Emelia Kristiansen 23 F Spinster New York 180. Olivia Lundelius 29 F Spinster New York 181. Sven A. Anderson 32 M Laborer Michigan 182. Emma Anderson 29 F Spinster New York 1Harald Runblom and Hans 1':orman. From Sll'ecle11 tu America: A His wry ci(the Migration ( Minneapolis and Uppsala 1976). p. 121. ' Ibid .. p. 123. -'Walton was the American name assumed by the family at the time they emigrated. Their daughter - my grandmother- entered the United States under the patronymic of Anna Eriksdolter. 'Sten Carlsson. "Chronology and Composition of Swedish Emigration to America" in From Sh·eden IV AmeriC'a: A Hisrory of Migrat ion (Minneapolis and Uppsala 1976). pp. 126-127. 124 

Two Passenger Lists from 1869 and 1889

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Two Passenger Lists from 1869 and 1889

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