“They were born in Ödeshög and the ten came to America. ( A quote from Ida V. Colson in “Colson Family Records” published, 1950.)

September 30, 2025

A FAMILY HISTORY BLOG BY LAVERNA COLSON SMITH

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Between 1852 and 1868, all ten of Carl and Rebecca’s children left Sweden for America. The large group of descendants settled near each other in Illinois and after 1864 several of them left for free land west of the Missouri River. They left behind their homeland, their family , their friends and neighbors and went into the unknown. They were a remarkable people with high moral standards, strong Christian principles and a Scandinavian work ethic that beats anything.

Victor Carlsson – Victor was born on March 25, 1834 on Skrädeberg Farm, Ödeshög Parish and married Hanna Hansdotter in Illinois in 1864. Victor and his younger brother, August, left Sweden together in 1861 and travelled to Hamburg, Germany where they boarded a steamship to New York City. Victor initially worked in Rock Island, Illinois but after the Homestead Act passed in 1862, he made plans to travel west to Nebraska where he became a successful farmer. Victor changed his name to Colson when he took out his license to wed in 1864. He left Illinois in early 1867 having secured his homestead in 1866. Victor died in 1930 at age 96 and was buried in the Oakland, Nebraska Cemetery beside his wife, Hanna. Victor Colson is my great-grandfather and I will tell his complete and fascinating story in a future blog.

August Carlsson – August, the youngest of the ten, was born on December 27, 1838 on Skrädeberg Farm, Ödeshög Parish. August left Sweden in 1861 with his brother arriving in Rock Island, Illinois via Hamburg, Germany and New York City. He married Mathilda Anderson in 1861 in Illinois and after her untimely death married Caroline Lagerlof in 1865. August enlisted as a private in the 132nd Illinois Regiment during the Civil War but never saw active duty. He farmed near his brother, Victor, for sometime in Oakland, Nebraska but moved back to Moline, Illinois where he died at age 90 and was buried in the Moline Riverside Cemetery.

Life in the New Land

FAITH– Several of the ten siblings left the Lutheran Church and joined the Swedish Baptist Church in Rock Island Illinois. Carl Johan (Charlie Colson) led this movement followed by his sisters Rebecca and Sara Helena and his brothers, Lars Peter, Victor and August. Initially, all services were in Swedish and many churches had at least one service conducted in Swedish until World War One. Many thought God would not hear them in English.

NOMENCLATURE – Since the old naming style of Sweden, patronymics, did not apply in America, each sibling changed his or her surname. The Carlsson brothers became Colson except for Lars Peter who kept the Carlson name…. but his sons later took the name, Ford. The Carlsdotter sisters all took their husbands’ names – Hanson, Servine, Hokenson, Nelson and Melin. In 1901, Sweden dropped the patronymic naming system and required each family to choose one permanent family name as long as it was not a noble name.

LIVELIHOODS- The siblings were able to find livelihoods in Illinois and Nebraska in farming and other ventures. The Homestead Act allowed ambitious farmers to build a valuable stake in the New Land and many found success in farming in Nebraska as well as in Illinois. Not one of the 10 siblings returned permanently to Sweden. August made a return visit in 1866 but did not stay long.

The photo below (taken around 1915) represents the last of the ten. All their siblings had predeceased them. Each of the ten, however, had outlived his or her respective mate. Victor outlived them all dying at age 96 in 1934.

Genealogy/Family History

As I indicated in prior blogs, a detailed genealogy of the Colson Family including “The Ten” was prepared by my aunt Ida Colson in her Book, “Colson Family Records”, published in 1950. Subsequently other family members have supplemented her work taking it into the 21st Century. If any of my readers wish to pursue a specific genealogical record, please email me at lsofiasmith@gmail.com and I will provide contact numbers. My interest has always been family history – in other words – fleshing out the names and dates to see my forebears as real people.

I credit my great aunt, Ida, with pulling together so much information for posterity. There would have been much more available but most of her saved photos, family portraits, scrapbooks and family memorabilia were burned in a trash bin following her death in 1954. It was a treasure trove that went up in smoke.

This is my final blog for the “Swedish Roots” portion of my project “Swedish Roots/American Branches.” I will follow up, in due time, with another blog discussing “American Branches. I promise it will be most interesting!!!