Copyright © Hans Högman 2019-12-24
A Bridge Tender
on Göta Canal
The Sjöholm Family
Charlotta Berg was a daughter to bridge-tender Lars
Johansson Berg (b.1806-10-01) and Maja Katharina
Larsdotter, (b.1811-07-16). Charlotta was born on
1842-09-22 in Fredsberg (R) and died on 1889-11-17
in Kristina parish, Jönköping (F).
Charlotta married Nils Peter Sjöholm on 1860-09-13.
Nils Peter was born on 1833-04-09 in Ivetofta (L). He
was a master gardener.
Most of their children left Sweden for the USA. Nils
Peter followed the children to the USA (at the age of
60) and emigrated from Sweden on 1893-05-02. Nils
Peter traveled together with his youngest son Nils
Theodor.
Nils Peter and Charlotta’s children:
1.
Johan Fredrik, born 1861-07-08 in Fredsberg.
Died 1935-06-15 in Ramnalid, Borås, Sweden.
2.
Regina Josefina Gravilda (Hilda), born 1863-03-19
in Kyrkefalla. To the USA 1884-08-29
3.
Julius Wilhelm, born 1865-05-17 in Hjo sfs. To the
USA 1890-08-02
4.
Helga Edla Adolfina (Helen), born 1867-06-23 in
Falköpings sfs. To the USA 1884-08-29
5.
Richard Birger, born 1870-02-07 i Valtorp. Died
1875-03-01 in Falköping of scarlet fever.
6.
Irenes Viktor, born 1872-04-05 in Mularp. To the
USA 1912-09-24.
7.
Karl Oskar, born 1873-05-11 in Mularp. From
Stockholm to the USA 1913-08-18. Died 1926-04-
05 in Stockholm, Sweden.
8.
Charlotta Albertina Paulina (Pauline), born 1875-
06-21 in Falköpings sfs. To the USA on 1890-08-
02.
9.
Richard Birger, born 1878-04-10 in Falköpings sfs.
Died 1959-1016 in Ölmstad (F). Married 1899.
10.
Nils Theodor, born 1883-04-10 in Jönköpings
Kristina. To the USA 1893-05-02.
11.
Elva Amanda Hildegard, born 1885-06-13 in
Jönköpings Kristina. To the USA 1890-08-02.
The Sjöholm Siblings
Nils Peter Sjöholm and his wife Charlotta Berg
Sjöholm had 11 children of whom 10 lived into
adulthood. Nils Peter and 8 of the children left
Sweden for America at various points in time. Only
the oldest son Johan Fredrik and the second Richard
Birger (b. 1878) remained in Sweden. Karl Oscar
returned to Sweden after a few years and died in
Stockholm in 1926.
Johan Fredrik Sjöholm
Johan Fredrik was born on 1861-07-08 in Fredsberg,
Västergötland. His occupation was master gardener.
Johan Fredrik married Anna Matilda Andersdotter on
1900-10-05. She was born on 1862-02-06 in Toarp and
died on 1930-03-18 in Borås.
Johan Fredrik died on 1935-06-15 in Ramnalid, Borås.
The couple had 6 children:
1.
Karl Erik, born 1888-09-11 in Lundby (O). Died
1915-07-08 in Borås (P). Married 1912.
2.
Wilhelm Julius, born 1890-12-30 in Lundby (O).
Died 1969-12-26 in Borås Caroli (P).
3.
Signe Gravilda, born 1896-05-03 in Lundby (O).
Died 1983-11-22 in Borås Caroli (P). Unmarried.
4.
Helga Ingeborg, born 1898-11-27 in Lundby (O).
Died 1963-05-22 in Borås Caroli (P). Married
name Vickstrand.
5.
Ragnhild Linnea, born 1901-07-15 in Lundby (O).
Died 1992-06-13 in Borås Caroli (P). Married
name Skoglund.
6.
Elsa Paulina, born 1904-08-05 in Lundby (O). Died
1989-10-27 in Borås Gustav Adolf (P). Married
name Sundbye.
Sources:
•
Lundby (O) AIIa:4 (1899-1906) Image 106 / page
94
•
Borås (P) AIIa:33 (1905-1911) Image 185 / page
181
•
Borås (P) AIIa:39 (1911-1929) Image 242 / page
1438
Regina Josefina Gravilda (Hilda) Sjöholm
Perry
Regina Josefina Gravilda was born on 1863-03-19 in
Kyrkefalla (R). On 1884-08-29, at the age of 21, she
emigrated from Sweden to the USA. She traveled with
her 17 year old sister Helga Edla Adolfina.
In the USA she changed her first name to Hilda. She
She married Ottis C Perry and her married name
was Hilda Perry. In 1898 Hilda opened a hotel called
Hotel Josephine, in Magnum, Oklahoma.
The image to the right
shows an advertisement in
the Magnum Star paper on
May 25 1898. This ad was
sent to me by Carol Kemp,
WA, USA. Hilda was her
great-aunt.
Her husband Ottis died at age 49. Hilda remarried but
she divorced her second husband in 1921. Her house
burned down the following year, where her father
Nils Peter died. She moved to Shamrock, Texas, in
1927 where she opened another hotel, Mother Perry’s.
Hilda died in September 1934 at the age of 71 at the
home of relatives in Magnum. Hilda is burred at the
Magnum Cemetery.
Her sister Helga (Helen) also ran a hotel.
Above is an extract from the ship manifest in August
1884 when Gravilda Sjöholm and her sister Helga went
to the US, destination New York. The manifest is for
the Wilson Line’s ship Orlando that operated between
Göteborg, Sweden and Hull, England.
The manifest shows that Regina Josefina Gravilda went
by the name Gravilda in Sweden and that Helga Edla
Adolfina went by the name Helga.
Julius Wilhelm Sjöholm Nelson
Julius Wilhelm was born 1865-05-17 in Hjo sfs. He
emigrated from Sweden for the USA on 1890-08-02.
He left Göteborg on the Wilson Line ship Ariosto for
Hull England on 1890-08-08 together with his two
younger sisters Paulina and Elva. He moved to
Minnesota and married Alma Nelson. In the US he
took the name Nelson, i.e. Julius Nelson.
Helga Edla Adolfina (Helen) Sjöholm Moore
Helga Edla Adolfina (Helen) was born on 1867-06-23
in Falköpings sfs. She went to the USA on 1884-08-29
together with her older sister Gravilda (Hilda). She
married Randall Moore, so in the US she was Helen
Moore.
In 1909 she established a hotel in Coleman, Texas, the
Cottage Hotel. It was the only hotel in Coleman for
many years. The hotel flourished and the following
year she rented the Florence Hotel and expanded her
business. The Florence Hotel was torn down in 1912
and she then expanded the Cottage Hotel by 10
rooms, a kitchen and a dining room. Helen retired in
1920 and leased the hotel to her son Louis Randall
Moore who ran the hotel with his wife
for seven years. The “New Moore
Hotel” was opened by Helen Moore in
1928.
The portrait to the right shows Helen
Moore and was published in August
1928 in an article about her hotel
business in a Coleman paper, TX.
Helen died in Dallas, Texas, at the house of her niece
Violet Hagg who took care of her in her last months of
life.
Irenes Victor Sjöholm Nason
Irenes Victor was born on 1872-04-05 in Mularp (R)
and died on 1954-11-13 in Santa Clara, CA, USA. Victor
married Beda Karolina Lundqvist on 1912-09-24.
The couple then had 7 children and Beda had two
daughters from an earlier relation. Beda was born on
1867-12-24 in Stigsjö (Y) and died on 1956-12-02 in
Santa Clara, CA, USA.
Victor and his wife lived in
Nygård, Stigsjö, Sweden.
Victor was a master
gardener.
The image to the right
shows Victor and Beda
Nason in the US. The image
is shown with consent of
Carol Kemp, WA, USA.
Victor left Sweden for the USA on 1912-09-24. His
destination was Granite, Oklahoma. The plan was to
settle in in the US and the following year the rest of
the family was to join him. Beda and their children left
Sweden for the USA on 1913-08-18 together with
Irenes Victor’s brother Karl Oskar. They sailed from
Göteborg on 1913-09-19 to Hull in England. From Hull
they went by train to Liverpool where they boarded
an Ocean liner for Quebec, Canada on 1913-09-24.
Once in Quebec the party traveled to Michigan in the
USA from where they boarded a train to Chicago and
from there to Magnum, Oklahoma where Victor was
waiting.
In the USA Victor took the new surname Nason, i.e.
Victor Nason.
Victor was drafted for military training in 1894
(conscription). His military enrollment number was
“19 40/94”. He was registered by Jönköping draft
board (40) which belonged to the Jönköping
Regiment’s enrollment area (infantry).
Victor and Beda’s children:
1.
Victor Irenius, born 1898-12-25 in Nacka (AB)
2.
Hildegard (Elsie), born 1900-08-23 in Brännkyrka
(AB)
3.
Ingeborg Sofia (Violet), born 1901-04-11 in
Ljustorp (Y). Died in 1994.
4.
Rosa Maria (Rose), born 1903-06-09 in Stigsjö (Y)
5.
Helga Elisabet (Helen), born 1904-11-06 in Stigsjö
(Y). Died in 2004.
6.
Rut Torborg (Ruth), born 1906-07-06 in Stigsjö (Y)
7.
Göta Ebba Fredrika, born 1908-05-03 in Stigsjö (Y)
Source. Stigsjö (Y) AIIa:1a (1896-1911) Image 1920 /
page 182
Beda’s two daughters from her previous relation;
Dorothea Birgitta Maria (b. 1894-03-07 in Timrå (Y))
and Emmy Karolina (b. 1896-10-19 in Stockholm)
didn’t come with Beda to the USA in 1913. Emmy
Karolina came to the US in 1912 by herself at the age
of 16. She also went to Coleman, Texas, and later
moved to Dallas. Dorothea remained in Sweden.
In the US Violet married Virgil Darwin Hagg (1901-
1979). Virgil’s family was Swedish descendants by the
name Hägg.
Karl Oskar Sjöholm
Karl Oskar was born on 1873-05-11 in Mularp (R). He
married Maria Larsdotter. She was born on 1875-07-
10 but died young on 1909-04-17 in the Royal
Seraphim Hospital. The couple lived in Kungsholmen
district of Stockholm.
Karl Oskar left Sweden for the USA on 1913-08-18
together with Irenes Victor’s wife and 7 children.
Irenes Victor came to the US in 1912. At some point
Karl Oskar returned to Sweden where he died on
1926-04-26 of pneumonia at the S:t Erik Hospital,
Kungsholmen, Stockholm. Occupation: metalworker.
Karl Oskar and Maria had a daughter:
•
Karin Maria, born 1899-09-11 in Kungsholmen,
Stockholm. Died 1981-04-22 in Hägersten (AB).
Married name Söderberg.
Karin Maria married Stig Markus Emanuel Söderberg
(1915-2000) on 1943-12-11.
Charlotta Albertina Paulina (Pauline)
Sjöholm Sackett
Charlotta Albertina Paulina (Pauline) was born on
1875-06-21 in Falköpings sfs. She emigrated from
Sweden to the USA on 1890-08-02 together with her 5
year old sister Elva. They left Göteborg on the Wilson
Line ship Ariosto for Hull England on 1890-08-08
together with the older brother Julius.
In the US she went by the given name Pauline. She
married a Sidney Sackett, so she was Pauline
Sackett. They lived in Coleman, Texas.
Richard Birger Sjöholm
Richard Birger Sjöholm was born on 1878-04-10 in
Falköpings sfs. He died on 1959-1016 in Ölmstad (F).
He married Anna Sofia Svensdotter on 1899-11-25.
Occupation; industrial worker, paper mill.
Children:
•
Nils Oskar Sjöholm, born 1898-12-01 in Gränna
(F).
•
Eva Linnea Sjöholm, born 1901-11-28 in Gränna
(F). Died 1995-10-29 in Ölmestad (F). Married
name Blomkvist.
Sources:
•
Haurida (F) AIIa:2 (1900-1905) Image 82 / page 72
•
Gränna (F) AIIa:1 (1900-1911) Image 330 / page
318
Eva Linnea married Karl Arvid Blomkvist (1895-1986)
on 1926-05-30. The couple had a daughter Gerd
Margareta (b. 1937-03-22).
Nils Theodor (Nelson) Sjöholm Seaholm
Nils Theodor was born on 1883-04-10 in Jönköpings
Kristina (F). He left Sweden for the USA on 1893-05-02
together with his father Nils Peter Sjöholm. Nils later
moved to Kansas and married Fannie Gordon.
According to the 1940 census Nils now had changed
his name to Nelson T. Seaholm.
Elva Sjöholm Stephens
Elva Amanda Hildegard was born on 1885-06-13 in
Jönköpings Kristina (F). She emigrated from Sweden
to the USA on 1890-08-02 together with her older
sister Paulina. They left Göteborg on the Wilson Line
ship Ariosto for Hull England on 1890-08-08 together
with the older brother Julius. Elva first lived with her
sister Hilda in Magum, Oklahoma. Elva married Jason
Stephens. So in the US she was Elva Stephens. The
couple had no children.
She is listed in Herrington, Kansas, in the 1915
census. Her father Nils Peter Sjöholm and her brother
Nils Theodor are living with her at this time. In 1920
she was living in Kansas City, Missouri. Her husband
Jason died in 1937. In 1940 she is listed in the census
in Kansas City, Kansas at her brother’s house, Nils
Theodor, who has now changed his name to Nelson T.
Seaholm.
She died in 1952 in Kansas City, Kansas.
Passanger Lists, Ships Departing
Göteborg
In 1869 Sweden adopted a law that required the
registration of emigrants leaving Sweden and thereby
we saw the birth of passenger lists. Emigrant agents
were thereafter obliged to keep passenger lists, i.e. to
draw up emigrant contracts and enter the emigrants
into special lists. These passenger lists were then
handed over to the Police Departments at the ports
of departure. The Police ticked off every passenger on
the lists when the emigrants boarded the ships.
Passanger List, Wilson Line Göteborg - Hull,
The Ariosto, 8 August 1890
Above, source: Göteborgs poliskammare (-1900) (O)
EIX:43 (1890) Image 230 / page 43. Section 41.
The above image are actually three extracts of the
passenger list. The page with the siblings had no
heading so it is from the previsions page. The top of
the page starts with passenger 4190 - 4192 while the
Sjöholm siblings are passengers 4196 - 4197 so I left a
few out.
Julius was the oldest among the Sjöholm siblings at
the age of 25. His two younger sisters were Paulina
(age 15) and Elva (age 5). They were departing
Göteborg on 8 August 1890 on the Wilson Line Ariosto
to Hull, England. In England they went by train from
Hull to Liverpool where they bordered an ocean liner
with the destination New York.
