COLSON FAMILY GENEALOGY AND HISTORY

COLSON FAMILY HISTORY IN SWEDEN – LARS CARLSSON

July 27, 2024

A FAMILY HISTORY BLOG BY LAVERNA COLSON SMITH

http://swedishrootsamericanbranches.com

Lars Carlsson: Discovering the True Ancestral History of the Colson Family

In my last blog I introduced my third great grandfather Lars Carlsson, initially thought to be born in 1755 and died in 1851 at 96 years of age. At the Vadstena Genealogical Archives, assisted by an excellent genealogist, Stefan Ingesson, I discovered Lars was born in 1747 and died of pneumonia in 1786 at nearly 39 years of age. We also discovered his father’s name – Carl Johan Brobergen (Bråbergen in Swedish) and his mother, Brita Jonasdotter. Discovering Lars’ true age, death and parentage, allowed me to research into Lars’ ancestors and at this time I have traced the roots of the Colson Family back to the mid-1550’s.

I am not sure how Lars’ information came out so wrong but when investigating further into the birth archives it became apparent that the parish clerk had mixed up and/or eliminated most of Lars’ 10 siblings’ names and ages as well. Fortunately, Stefan was able to access both Lars’ and his father’s estate records so we were able to verify Lars’ true age with authentic sourcing.

Lars was born on April 10, 1747 on Kushult Farm, Ödeshög Parish, Östergötland to Carl Johan Bråbergen and Britta Jonasdotter. He was the 8th of 11 siblings born into a large and successful family. He married Maria Samuelsdotter, a 17-year-old housemaid, on June 1774 when he was 27 years old. Four sons were born to this couple: Jonas (1776-1807) who later went by the name Wetterman; Peter (1780-1851); Carl Samuel (1782-1859); and Samuel who died in infancy one month before his father died in 1786. It was my second great-grandfather, Carl Samuel, who later sold his land in Kushult and purchased Skrädeberg Farm, a gorgeous piece of farmland overlooking lake Vättern.

Ödeshög Parish Today – Full moon over Lake Tåkern with modern wind turbine.

The Patronymic Naming System

One of the mysteries surrounding Lars Carlsson is why he switched from his given name of Bråbergen, sometimes shortened to Broberg, and adopted the patronymic naming system. Mostly used in rural Sweden prior to 1900, it was the process of deriving a surname based on the given name of the father and consistently changing that surname from generation to generation. For example, Lars Carlsson’s son was Carl Samuel Larsson and if he had a daughter, she would be a Larsdotter. By the time Lars Carlsson’s Estate Inventory was drawn, the family had switched to the patronymic naming system. In 1901, Sweden finally passed a law requiring families to select one permanent name and that ended the old patronymic naming system.

Preamble to Lars Carlsson Estate Inventory dated March 27, 1786.

This inventory was taken for purposes of taxation. His widow, Maria Samuelsdotter, testified to being present at the inventory and his three sons were named: Jonas, Peter and Carl Larsson. Carl Carlsson, his brother, of Oninge Wållegård, was appointed as his representative.

Fascinating Fact#1

Lars’ wife, Maria Samuelsdotter’s mother, Sara Svensdotter, a widow, married Lars ‘oldest brother Anders, a bachelor. That would make Sara both Lars’ mother-in-law and sister-in-law. According to old records, the couple thrived, and Anders ended up with her farm, Frebol.

Side View of Ödeshög Parish Church – The steeple originally was an “onion dome”, Russian style, but was replaced in the 1800’s. Colson family ancestors attended this church for over 150 years.

Next : Maria Samuelsdotter (1756-1850) – Finding Resilience in a Dark Age for Women

Swedish Pronunciation Guide for English Speakers

The Swedish Language has 3 extra vowels and some challenging consonant combinations.   Here is a quick guide to pronouncing these vowels and tricky consonants

Åå           Sounds like the “o” in for

Ää          Sounds like the “ai” in fair

Öö          Sounds like the “ea” in earn

Y             Sounds  like the Y at the end of Terry

SJ,sj       Pronounced like “wh” – a voiceless fricative. 

K, k       Pronounced like “sh” before the soft vowels of:    e, i y, ä or ö

LaVerna Colson Smith (Lolly) Avatar

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LaVerna Colson Smith (Lolly)
I was born in Oakland, Nebraska (the Swedish American Capitol of Nebraska) and graduated from the University of Texas with B.S. and M. S. degrees. My professional work took me to many different states and cities and after my retirement from the corporate world, I traveled extensively in Europe, Scandinavia and Africa. I currently reside in Lakewood Ranch, Florida near Sarasota and the Gulf Coast beaches. My interest in genealogy began on my 2010 trip to Sweden where I began researching both my paternal and maternal family lines. While living in Denver,Colorado, I became a member of the Colorado Swedish Genealogical Society, studied with Kjell Andersson, a professional Swedish genealogist/author and attended the Swedish School of Denver to further my knowledge of the Swedish Language. I currently belong to the Sarasota Genealogical Society in Sarasota, Florida. My primary research tool is Arkiv Digital, a Swedish focused site which provides clear digital images of church, tax, military, court and estate records going back to the mid 1600’s. Although, the Swedes are excellent records keepers, many valuable old records did not survive fires, floods nor poor storage. My goal is to present genealogy from a socioeconomic and historical point of view paralleling the lives of my ancestors with the times in which they and the character with which they met their challenges. I
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