Karl Erik Magnus Hallman

Karl Erik Magnus (my 2nd g-grandfather) was the son of Magnus who was the son of Magnus.

The first question I'm bound to ask:

How exactly did Karl Erik Magnus Hallman spell his name?

Carl Eric?
Carl Erik?
Karl Eric?
Karl Erik?
Karl Erick?
Or maybe even "Charles"?

Actually, every single one of those spellings show up in the records.

In his birth record and up until he was about 27 yrs-old he was mostly Carl Eric.

From age 27 to 46 he was mostly Carl Erik.

From age 46 to 73 he was mostly Karl Erik.

In the 1900 US Census he was Charles, but two years later when he remarried he was Karl Erick.

And finally, when he died in 1903 the name on his headstone was Charles E M Hallman.

I'm sure there are good arguments for using one spelling over another, but I'm choosing to use two "k's. As far as what to call him, traditionally Swedes often went by all of their given names, so while living in Sweden he was probably known as "Karl Erik Magnus" - quite a mouthful. (This may be one reason he chose "Charles" after immigrating to the US.) To keep things simple, however, I'll just call him Karl.

Karl wouldn't have known his mother as she died when he was just 4 months old. He had two step mothers, one for just a short time and another through most of his growing up years. Karl's relationship with his stepmothers is a topic upon which we can only speculate. 

Fogdöns Hembygdsförening posted a photo of Fogdö's oldest school on their Facebook page. The school went into service in 1800. So I have to ask: Did Karl attend school? Unfortunately I don't know the specifics of that, but I do believe he could read and write. From the late 17th century parents were obligated to teach their children to read. If they employed household help and/or farm workers, they were obligated to teach them to read as well. The local parish priest was required to hold individual examinations and test parishioners' reading skills along with their gospel knowledge in preparation for their first Holy Communion and entrance into adulthood. Any formal schooling outside the home was predominantly religious instruction and administered over by the clergy. It wasn't until the early 20th century that public school was half secular learning and half religious education. 

Fogdöns Hembygdsförening's photo of Fogdö's oldest school

When Karl was 17 yrs-old he left home. I think all of the other Swedish young men I've researched left home at a much older age, often in their 20s. Since almost all Swedish households during this time were self-sustaining, an able-bodied 17 yr-old young man would be a huge asset to the family. But considering the fact that some of the family's basic needs were met by virtue of Magnus' military status coupled with the fact that a still growing family was squeezed into a small soldattorp may have contributed to Karl's decision to venture out on his own when he did.

But here's something else to consider as we explore the culture and demands imposed on families during this time period. Swedish historians and scholars who have posted informal and unfiltered opinions and answers to questions online seem to have a very dim view of mid-19th century Sweden. In an online post, Mats Andersson reported that the country was "dirty and full of drunken people." He continued:

"For the best part of the 19th century, over 95% of the people lived in small rural villages, in constant fear of starvation, all manners of horrible diseases, and God, who would strike them with any amount of punishment for the slightest infraction of the Ten Commandments. (Fortunately, priests would tour the homesteads and interrogate the people to make sure they had appropriate knowledge of these commands, a process known as 'husförhör'; they would punish people found lacking in Bible literacy) Most people owned one set of clothes, bathing was an annual event, and they would spend any surplus on vodka....And yes, everyone was constantly drunk."

Stefan Hill of Uppsala University shared his opinion in a very provocative online post. From his writings we learn that (I'm paraphrasing to account for translation errors and to add clarity):

Sweden was extremely religious through the 1800s, but religiosity was required, mandated, and monitored. The very purpose of the government was to force people into the Lutheran church and specific religious beliefs. The purpose of the church was to force people to walk the narrow path that led to heaven. The teachings were very binary and "black and white": eternal salvation through exact obedience to authority or condemnation to hell.

All children were baptized into the church. If parents refused to baptize a child they were considered bad parents and would often lose custody of their child. Foster parents were assigned to the child and they would be responsible for having the child baptized. After baptism the biological parents would not always get the child back.

Once a child reached the age of 15 they were of "penal age" which meant they were in need of God's mercy offered to them by the Holy Communion. To have the right to participate in the Holy Communion a person had to prove that they were of full use of their mind (was not an "idiot") and had satisfactory knowledge of the doctrines of the pure Evangelical-Lutheran faith. The local priest was responsible for determining if they met the requirements. If not, they would be denied confirmation. This was very serious as most employers would only hire people who had been confirmed.

Passing the examinations of the confirmation was not enough. Everyone was required to continue to study the true gospel as explained by Dr. Martin Luther. The priests were obliged to monitor the people in their parish. This was formalized by the "house interrogations." The priest visited every house [at least annually] and held an interrogation with everyone who lived there. The results were kept in the church records. If a person failed the test they could be fined. Since poor people had no money, the punishment was likely to fall on their employer as they were responsible to ensure all those within their household kept up on their gospel knowledge. The laws supported corporal punishment, giving employers/fathers/husbands/men the right to beat their employees, wives, and children for any reason they deemed necessary. (In 1858 the law was amended and corporal punishment was restricted to boys under 18 years of age and girls under 16 years of age.)

The school was considered a branch of the church. The school teacher was usually a low ranking priest. The school books were Dr. Martin Luther's Small Catechism and the hymnal. Memorizing one psalm every school day was the norm; however, some teachers required children to learn two psalms by heart on Sundays. If a student failed to perform he would be punished by the priest.

The church taught that the most important mission on earth for all humans was to fulfill their duty to God. A plain servant girl who did her duty was more loved by God than a prince that failed in his duty. Sin and corruption were punishable offenses by the government and by the church, and those guilty of such were to be shamed and vilified by the public.

All those in positions of authority were to be respected and explicitly obeyed as it was taught that all authority came from God. Disrespecting and/or disobeying anyone in a position of authority, whether it be the priest, the sheriff, or the school teacher, would be like disobeying God himself.

Given all those factors - controlling system of church and government, public shaming, drinking culture, poverty levels, etc. - family dynamics could quickly spiral out of control.

Karl left home on 12 October 1844 and he went big. He went to Stockholm. Coming from a very small farming community the culture shock must have been astounding.

In 1844 the population of Stockholm had grown to just under 90,000 people and would continue to grow at a rapid pace; however, it was still very much an agricultural community. In fact, through the late 19th century 90% of the people throughout Sweden earned their livelihood through agriculture. In the 1840s Stockholm was a very unhealthy place to live. There was no sewer system and no piped water supply. It was common practice for household and human waste to be dumped onto streets already saturated with horse urine and feces. Flea infestations were common. In fact, according to an online historian, the lack of fleas was a sign of a life-threatening disease, much like rats leaving a sinking ship. In addition to the filth and nauseating stench, Stockholm was often dark as gas-powered street lighting had not yet been introduced. Artist renditions give us a fairly romanticized idea of what Stockholm would have looked like in the mid-1800s. 

We can't know if Karl made his way to Stockholm via land - which most likely would have been on foot - or if he paid passage on a boat. A trip via Lake Mälaren would have been much more direct. 

I can't help but wonder what Karl thought seeing Stockholm for the first time and how his experience compared to mine. If he saw it from the water, he would have come from the same direction we did upon our return trip from Birka. 

 

Did Karl roam through the narrow cobblestone streets of Gamla Stan and find his way to Stortorget, the oldest square in Stockholm? Well, we did!

Regardless of what he saw and where he went, there's at least one thing I'm quite confident he would not have seen in Gamla Stan - a modern-day restaurant. But as for me, I'm feeling quite at home in front of Gamla Stan's Texas Longhorn Steakhouse.

Next Post - Karl Erik Hallman, Courtship and Marriage