Victor Colson and Hannah Hanson

“They were born in Ödeshög and the ten came to America.”

A FAMILY HISTORY BLOG BY LAVERNA COLSON SMITH

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LaVerna Colson Smith

Crossing the Atlantic Ocean

Victor Colson, (Carlsson in Sweden), the ninth of ten children born to Carl Larsson and Rebecca Samuelsdotter, left his homeland in Ödeshög Parish, Östergötland Province, Sweden in 1861. As per the Ödeshög parish records, he dutifully signed out on April 5, 1861 at 27 years of age naming North America as his destination.

Victor traveled with his brother August, 23 years old, to Hamburg Germany and boarded the immigrant steamship, Hammonia on June 15, 1861 arriving in New York City, via the port of South Hampton, England, on July 2. Built by the Hamburg American Line, the ship carried immigrants from all over Europe to North America. Most immigrants traveled steerage class, the lowest class, and experienced crowded, unsanitary and deplorable conditions on board. According to my research, a passage went for approximately $30. For Victor and August, that would each amount to about 150 Swedish Riksdolars. (Sweden changed to the Krona , at par, in 1873).

Rock Island County, Illinois

The two Carlson brothers’ destination was Rock Island County, Moline Township, Illinois, where their older brother, Carl Johan Carlson had settled in 1851. By 1870, according to the US Census for Illinois, Carl Johan, had changed his name from Carlson to Colson, purchased a farm, married and fathered two children. According to the 1870 census information, his farm was valued at $3200 and his personal estate $1000. I don’t have any information to verify this but no doubt the two brothers assisted Carl John on his farm until they became settled in their new land. Carl Johan had joined the First Baptist Church of Rock Island when he arrived in the county and led his his younger brothers to do the same. He must have been an outstanding mentor and guide for Victor and August.

NOTE: In 2025 the average price sold for an acre of Rock Island County farm land was $8,374.

C. J. Colson (Charles/Charley)

Over the years, Carl Johan Carlson (now C. J. Colson) became a solid city of Rock Island County, Illinois. In 1863, at age 37, he registered for the draft and listed his occupation as a farmer. In 1877, he changed professions and according to the Moline Dispatch, he purchased a lot on Henry Street in Moline to build 20 X 50 frame mercantile building which became C. J. Colson and Sons, selling grocery products.. According to a note in Ida Colson’s family genealogy, in later life he owned a confectionary store where he became affectionally known as “Uncle Charley.” He lived in Moline his entire life, contributing to the community, and died on August 13, 1900. He was buried in Riverside Cemetery.

Carl Johan Carlson (C. J. Colson) and his wife, Sophia Anderson, married in 1854, were the parents of two children, Henry Thomas and Lydia. He was he first to arrive in Illinois and the first to take the surname, Colson. He blazed the trail for his nine siblings and served as the touchstone for their success in the “New Land.”

Civil War and Immigration

Victor and August arrived in New York City on July 2, 1861. The American Civil War had begun on April 12, 1861 with the firing on Ft. Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina. As the brothers made their way to Illinois, most likely using a combination of the Illinois Central and Rock Island railroad lines, they were heading to a strong Union state. In fact, by the end of the Civil War, Illinois had supplied over 250,000 troops to the Union Army and used their railroads to transport them. August enlisted in the 132nd Illinois Regiment but did not see any action.

“Free” immigration continued on throughout the Civil War with many new arrivals signed up as new army recruits. It wasn’t until the Immigration Act of 1882 that specific groups such as convicts and “lunatics” were denied entry. Later yet there would be a quota system concerning US immigration.

Victor Makes His Move

The 1860’s were an eventful time in American history. The beginning and ending of the Civil War and the opening of the American West. The Homestead Act of 1862 accelerated the settlement of the West by offering 160 acres of free land for a minimal filing fee of $10 and five years of continuous residence on that land. The Act was amended in 1867 to include the freed slaves. It was not extended to residents of the confederate states neither before nor after the Civil War. Victor took advantage of this opportunity by filing a claim in eastern Nebraska in 1866. Prior to taking such a momentous and brave cause, Victor, at 30 years of age, took a wife in 1864. This was Hannah Hanson (Hanna Hansdotter in Sweden) a bright, young maiden of 22 years who had immigrated to America the previous year coming in a sailboat, five weeks enroute. Their partnership would become a dynamic success.

Note: Ida Colson described her mother as a “bright, young maiden” in our family genealogy.

Victor Colson and Hannah Hanson – Marriage – March 12, 1864

Next Blog: The Victor Colson and Hannah Hanson – The Journey West – 1866-1867