Karl Erik Magnus Hallman, Skomakare (Shoemaker)

In 1873 Karl moved his family to Asteska, a small village in the Söderala Parish, Here he stayed until his emigration to America in 1888. In every Söderala church record Karl was identified as a "Skomakare" or shoemaker. If you remember, it was Karl's father, Magnus, who learned the trade from his foster father, and both men, it seems, struggled to make it their full-time profession. It seems this move offered Karl the opportunity he needed to fully practice his trade.

Up until the mid-19th century there were strict rules and practices enforced by the craft guilds which the tradesmen in the cities were obliged to abide. A shoemaker apprentice would have to be at least 14 yrs-old and his apprenticeship would last four years. The apprentice lived as a lodger at the master's home and he could be used for all sorts of tasks, household work included. He was generally compensated with room and board and received little or no payment for the work he did.

After the training period the apprentice became a "gesäller" or journeyman. He would create a "gesällprov" or qualifying piece of work which would be evaluated and approved by master craftsmen in order to be accepted as a journeyman. If he passed the "exam", he would participate in a ritual initiation ceremony and would be awarded a "gesällbrev" or journeyman certificate.

It was common that the journeymen went on a "gesällvandringar" or a journey around the country or abroad to get additional training with different masters. A journeyman could become a master craftsman after passing an examination and being awarded a craftsman's diploma/certificate. The masters had the right to independently practice their profession and also employ apprentices and journeymen.

Rules for the craftsmen in the countryside weren't quite so strict. "Socken" or rural craftsmen were allowed to work within a socken without being subjected to the strict requirements from the guilds. This was especially true for tailors, blacksmiths, and shoemakers. After the Freedom of Trade Act in 1846, all types of craftsmen were granted the right to settle down and practice their profession wherever they pleased. In the cities the shoemakers usually had permanent workshops where they made finer shoes for the residents than those worn on the farms. Course work shoes worn by rural laborers and farmers did not require highly skilled craftsmen.

A "gärningsmän" or socken shoemaker would sometimes carry his tools from farm to farm where the farmers themselves supplied the material, often from their own production of textiles, hide, and leather. Cutting the leather was of utmost importance to insure making the most economic use of the materials. The shoemaker would then soak the leather pieces in water prior to stretching them over the last and "pinning" them to the sole, making sure there were no dents in the skin and that it was properly stretched. If they were adequately skilled, rote soldiers were often allowed to supplement their income with shoemaking.

Since the Hallmans were rural craftsmen, the strict guild rules would probably not have applied to them, especially since the skill was passed down from father to son. However, Karl may have continued to hone his craft with an apprenticeship with a master craftsman during the four years he spent in Stockholm.

In my Google search to compile the above research, I discovered that there is a Shoe Industry Museum in the town of Kumla, about 165 km east of Stockholm. If I would have known that before our trip I probably would have tried to go there. (And I would have asked at least a million questions.) Digitalmuseum.se (here) which provides online images of photographs and artifacts from museums all over Sweden has an impressive collection of images relating to 19th century shoemaking: