Magnus Son of Magnus, Rethinking Religion

Ten months following the death of his wife, Magnus took his infant son, Karl Erik Magnus, and returned to Helgarö. Three months later he got Catharina Charlotta Lindström pregnant. (This time it's documented in the record books that he was, in fact, the baby's father.) Catharina was a single woman working on a neighboring farm. Magnus was 25 and she was 30. Four months before Frans Wilhelm Hallman was born Magnus and Charlotta were married. 

In 1830 the family relocated to Fogdö, a village a mere 6 km east of Helgarö, where Magnus began a rather lengthy stint of military service. He served in the Södermanlands Regemente, Strängnäs Kompani, 2nd Corporalskapet. The family lived in Soldattorp 646 on the Lövinge farm and he was assigned the last name Löf. There they stayed for the next 18 years.

The Fogdöns Hembygdsförening (Fogdö's Hometown Association) restored a local soldattorp and posted pictures on their Facebook page. I hope they don't mind that I borrowed a few (and I totally credit them with the pics). Soldattorp 646 would not have been very far away and most likely it was similar in structure, size, and surroundings.

In 1832 Catharina gave birth to another son, Johan August. (Approximately 50 years later Johan, or "John", along with his family, would be early pioneers in what would become the largest Swedish-born settlement in Washington State. More here and here.) Three years later Catharina died. Her cause of death was listed as "lungsot" or "tuberculosis." Although the disease is thought to have always existed among humans, Catharina would have been an early casualty in a catastrophic epidemic which would take the lives of countless Europeans and continue to spread throughout the world. Catharina's death left Magnus a single father once again, raising three boys ages 8, 6, and 3.

And just like his father, Magnus married for a third and final time. At the age of 33 he married 22 yr-old Maria Christina "Maja Stina" Andersdotter who was working as a farmhand on a neighboring farm. Seven months later Maria Charlotta was born. (And yes, Magnus was listed in the priest's birth record as the child's father.) This would be the start of a very trying time for Magnus' young wife as she experienced the births and deaths of four infant children in a row.

Maria Charlotta

born 27 November 1837

died 22 May 1838

kikhosta (whooping cough)

age 7 months 

Magnus Oscar

born 27 July 1839

died  16 January 1841

bröstsjuka (chest illness, pneumonia)

age 18 months

Emma Christina

born 21 January 1842

died 29 December 1843

bröstsjuka (chest illness, pneumonia)

age 23 months

Anna Sofia

born 1 March 1845

died 10 April 1847

halssjuka (carotid disease)

13 months old

Maja Stina buried her last daughter when she was 1 month pregnant with her 5th child, Eric Albert. Three and a half years later she gave birth to another child, Gustaf Robert. Both of those sons outlived her.

I should also add that for women who gave birth to several children, anytime there were more than two or three years between pregnancies there was a good chance she miscarried or had one or more still births. 

In 1848 Magnus left military service; however, the military records don't specify a reason for his discharge. I would assume if he were derelict in his duties it would have been noted. It could have just been a matter of his age. (As a fun side note, we do find out from his military record that he was 5’ 6 ½” tall.) By this time the three oldest boys had left home. Magnus, Maja, and their two young sons moved out of Soldattorp 646 to Marieberg in the Fogdö Parish where they stayed for the next 13 years. 

In 1861 Magnus moved his family 13 km northwest to Aggarö, one of the largest islands in the Ridö-Sundbyholm Archipelago in the middle of Lake Mälaren. The island is about 1 1/4 miles long and a little more than 1/2 mile wide. Today Aggarö Island is a popular vacation retreat for those seeking nature and tranquility.  Magnus' profession was listed as a "torpare" (I'll discuss what that means later) and nothing was ever again written about him making shoes. Why would that be? My best guess would be very limited demand on such a small island, but honestly I have no idea.

And this was written in the household record covering the years 1865-1874 which I found pretty fascinating:

Did you catch what the priest wrote on the far right-hand side?

Magnus converted to the Baptist church. In earlier times this would not have been possible as all Swedes were required to be members of the Lutheran Church of Sweden.  At least annually they were tested by the local priest on their knowledge of church tenants and practices, they had to attend church services, and they were required to report to the priest any time they intended to relocate so that their new priest could keep tabs on them. Every family was required to pay taxes to the church. Failure to pay, attend, or report could result in fines or even imprisonment. Following mass exoduses of people leaving Sweden due to religious restrictions and control, the law was finally changed. Beginning in 1860 Swedes could withdraw from the Church of Sweden as long as they became members of another religion recognized by the Swedish government. (It actually wasn't until 1951 - almost a full century later - that complete religious freedom was guaranteed to all Swedes by law. More here.)

It doesn't appear, however, that Magnus' family members who were living with him at the time left their traditional religious roots. There is no mention in any subsequent records of them aligning themselves with any other church.

Magnus, again identified as a Baptist in the local priest's record book, died on the island of Aggarö on 20 December 1872 at the age of 68. The cause of death was "magkråfta" or some kind of stomach disease. Eric Albert, the oldest son of Magnus' surviving wife, had moved his family back to Aggarö where he continued to work the same land his father had and provide for his widowed mother.

Next Post - Karl Erik Magnus Hallman