Josephine lived with Pehr Björk and Boel Pehrsdotter in Skabersjö until she was 14 yr-old, at which time all three of them moved to the nearby town of Svedala. It was here that Josephine was listed as a "fosterdotter" for the first time, though a note in the book apart from her name still identified her as Barnhusbarnet No. 412.
In 1871 Pehr and Boel took on 4 more foster children: siblings - a boy and a girl, ages 8 and 12; a 1 yr-old infant; and a 2 yr-old toddler. At least 2 of these children were from Denmark. If you remember, it was common practice for orphaned children to be "auctioned off to the lowest bidder." In other words, whoever was willing to accept the least amount of government money in exchange for the care and upbringing of an orphaned child would become the foster parent. It's been reported that the parents often used the foster children as "slave labor" in order to offset the costs and get more of a return on their investment. It could also be that fostering children from Denmark was a private transaction resulting in a higher level of compensation. We don't know why Pehr and Boel took in more foster children, but they may have seen it as a way to improve their position financially.
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| Helena Albertina Josefina Engström (at about age 50) |
In 1871 Pehr and Boel took on 4 more foster children: siblings - a boy and a girl, ages 8 and 12; a 1 yr-old infant; and a 2 yr-old toddler. At least 2 of these children were from Denmark. If you remember, it was common practice for orphaned children to be "auctioned off to the lowest bidder." In other words, whoever was willing to accept the least amount of government money in exchange for the care and upbringing of an orphaned child would become the foster parent. It's been reported that the parents often used the foster children as "slave labor" in order to offset the costs and get more of a return on their investment. It could also be that fostering children from Denmark was a private transaction resulting in a higher level of compensation. We don't know why Pehr and Boel took in more foster children, but they may have seen it as a way to improve their position financially.
Perhaps the house was too darn crowded and noisy. Maybe Josephine was given way more than the lion's share of the work. I haven't been able to discover the law at the time, but it could be that the government support money was due to run out on her 18th birthday and the foster parents wanted her out. Whatever the reasons, in 1872 17 yr-old Josephine took the leap and ventured out on her own. She didn't go far - she was employed nearby and stayed in Svedala. There she worked for 1 year. Her next move took her about 12 km away to the village of Anderslöv where she stayed and worked for 2 years. In October of 1875 (remember, they always moved in October) Josephine secured a new job which took her back to Svedala. She would be working at the Lindholm estate.
Here's what you need to know about Lindholm. Without going into too much history, Svedala is a parish in Skåne County, located in the southernmost tip of the Swedish peninsula. Skåne had been part of Denmark until the mid 1600s. A Danish fortress - the Lindholm Castle - probably built in the late 1300s, existed within what is now the Svedala Parish. The castle was torn down in the 1500s to provide building materials for the Malmöhus Castle. Some evidence of the castle can still be seen today. The castle was gone, but the name "Lindholm" remained.
The lines between Danish and Swedish culture continued to blur in Skåne and often the Danish people would continue to make Skåne their home. The Reventlow family was part of German and Danish nobility since the middle ages. Christian Heinrich Carl August Reventberg, born in 1818 in Denmark, was a descendant of a Reventlow Count. Professional researchers attribute the name variation - "Reventlow" to "Reventberg" to the fact that he was most likely illegitimate and "berg" was part of his mother's surname. Christian was awarded several sizable properties in Denmark and received a prestigious military position in the King's Guard. His eldest son, Alexander Christian Heinrich August Reventberg, born in 1843 in Denmark, moved to Skåne in 1868 and became the owner of the Lindholm estate near Svedala. Alexander's younger brother, Carl Einar, became the owner of the Virestad estate just outside Trelleborg, a small town also located in Skåne. It was at Lindholm, owned by Alexander Reventberg, where Josephine would be working.
Let's look at a few demographical differences between Josephine and Alexander when she went to work for him. Alexander was 32 yrs-old. Josephine was 20. Alexander was descended from centuries of German and Danish nobility. Josephine had been born into a Swedish lower class working family, was orphaned, and was raised by foster parents who "mistreated" her. Alexander was the owner of the Lindholm estate/farm and had been for the previous 7 years. Josephine was a newly hired house maid. Alexander had wealth, power, and prestige. Josephine was a blonde, blue-eyed Swedish girl with a nice figure and a very pretty face.
Modern-day researchers and scientists currently study relationships which involve extreme power imbalances and understand their dynamics in ways which would not have even been on the radar in 19th century rural Sweden. Numerous online resources report their arguments and conclusions, and their findings are ubiquitously consistent. I'll quote from one online source which explains the concept in a simple to understand, non-academic way:
According to the "moving in" record, Josephine arrived at Lindholm on 4 November 1875. We don't know how many times he raped her. We also don't know if he seduced her or if it (they) were violent act(s). We can, however, do the math and know that at least one instance happened about 4 months after she started working at Lindholm. Their daughter, whom she named Elida Carolina Engström, was born 31 October 1876.
After having shared some of this information on a previous family history website I received an email from another family history researcher named Magnus Moding in 2013. He wrote in part, "My great grandmother, Carolina Eugenia (1877-1953) was according to family tradition the illegitimate daughter of Alexander Christian Heinrich August Reventberg's younger brother Carl Einar Reventberg, owner of the Virestad estate just outside of Trelleborg and one of his employees, Matilda Josefina Bursell."
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| The site of Lindholmen Castle |
The lines between Danish and Swedish culture continued to blur in Skåne and often the Danish people would continue to make Skåne their home. The Reventlow family was part of German and Danish nobility since the middle ages. Christian Heinrich Carl August Reventberg, born in 1818 in Denmark, was a descendant of a Reventlow Count. Professional researchers attribute the name variation - "Reventlow" to "Reventberg" to the fact that he was most likely illegitimate and "berg" was part of his mother's surname. Christian was awarded several sizable properties in Denmark and received a prestigious military position in the King's Guard. His eldest son, Alexander Christian Heinrich August Reventberg, born in 1843 in Denmark, moved to Skåne in 1868 and became the owner of the Lindholm estate near Svedala. Alexander's younger brother, Carl Einar, became the owner of the Virestad estate just outside Trelleborg, a small town also located in Skåne. It was at Lindholm, owned by Alexander Reventberg, where Josephine would be working.
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| Lindholm Farm today |
Let's look at a few demographical differences between Josephine and Alexander when she went to work for him. Alexander was 32 yrs-old. Josephine was 20. Alexander was descended from centuries of German and Danish nobility. Josephine had been born into a Swedish lower class working family, was orphaned, and was raised by foster parents who "mistreated" her. Alexander was the owner of the Lindholm estate/farm and had been for the previous 7 years. Josephine was a newly hired house maid. Alexander had wealth, power, and prestige. Josephine was a blonde, blue-eyed Swedish girl with a nice figure and a very pretty face.
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| Alexander Reventberg |
Modern-day researchers and scientists currently study relationships which involve extreme power imbalances and understand their dynamics in ways which would not have even been on the radar in 19th century rural Sweden. Numerous online resources report their arguments and conclusions, and their findings are ubiquitously consistent. I'll quote from one online source which explains the concept in a simple to understand, non-academic way:
"Occupying different social positions gives people different lived experiences and different access to power to shape the world around them. Because no two people have the same exact lived experience, any relationship has the potential to have a power imbalance. Power is not inherently good or bad, but with a privileged social position a person has more social credibility and influence that can be misused to take advantage of others or pressure them into doing things they don't want to do. People with power may also not be aware of how their actions negatively impact or influence the decision making of less powerful people. Power imbalances can make it difficult to recognize if consent is freely given, and can even make consent impossible. . . .
"Having power gives a person the ability to impact the lives of those who they have power over, which can be used to manipulate people into doing what they want. Sexual coercion can occur in sexual encounters with power imbalances. . . . Sexual coercion makes a person feel like they owe sex to someone or that they don't have the choice to say 'no.' People can be coerced by those who hold power over them for fear of losing their livelihood, reputation, or safety. . . .
"The power imbalance in relationships can also contribute to sexual violence. We can see the frequency of the abuse of power in sexual relationships when we look at the high rates of sexual assault [currently still] in the US. Sexual assault is possible due to power, and occurs as a result of power. Sexual predators use power differentials to manipulate their targets, whether it is to coerce them into sex, use their physical power to overcome them, or prevent their victims from reporting by using social or economic force against them. In fact, most sexual assault is not due to sexual desire but due to a desire to overpower someone and assert control." (here)Those who experience sexual abuse can suffer life-long consequences. It is common for victims of sexual assault to experience both short-term and long-term effects including depression, dissociation, flashbacks, eating disorders, sleep disorders, substance abuse, post traumatic stress disorder, self-harm, suicidal ideation, and other debilitating, life-altering results.
According to the "moving in" record, Josephine arrived at Lindholm on 4 November 1875. We don't know how many times he raped her. We also don't know if he seduced her or if it (they) were violent act(s). We can, however, do the math and know that at least one instance happened about 4 months after she started working at Lindholm. Their daughter, whom she named Elida Carolina Engström, was born 31 October 1876.
After having shared some of this information on a previous family history website I received an email from another family history researcher named Magnus Moding in 2013. He wrote in part, "My great grandmother, Carolina Eugenia (1877-1953) was according to family tradition the illegitimate daughter of Alexander Christian Heinrich August Reventberg's younger brother Carl Einar Reventberg, owner of the Virestad estate just outside of Trelleborg and one of his employees, Matilda Josefina Bursell."
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