I’ve spent many hours looking for clues to the life of Jöns Abraham Krook, one of three sons born out of wedlock to Sara Brita Krok/Krook, my 5X great grandmother who was married to Anders Molin for perhaps 8 years before they went their separate ways.

My ancestor, Hans Nicholas Molin, was the eldest surviving child of Anders and Sara Brita. They had one other son, Johan Peter.

After they separated – and I’ve found no evidence of a divorce – Sara Brita gave birth to three more sons, all of whom survived her.

Jöns Abraham was born 30July 1786 in Everlöv, Sweden. His birth entry has Anders Molin crossed out as the father with the note that he was living in Marstrand, over 200 miles away.

Sara Brita then went on to give birth to Johan Jacob on 11 March 1791 in Önnestad and then to Hans Samuel on 24 April 1798, also in Önnestad. She was in the poorhouse both times with no indication of the father’s names.

Sarah died on 5 April 1812 in Andrarum. She was called a widow and her probate named all five of her sons as “Molin.”

Through their lives, Hans Nicholas and Johan Peter used the surname of Molin, as Anders was their father.

Hans Samuel also went by Molin, although his biological father is not known.

I have been able to find records documenting these four men and their families.

However, Jöns Abraham has remained a mystery. He signed his mother’s probate record along with his four half brothers, but then he disappears.

ArchivDigital partnered with MyHeritage to build the BiS database (Population of Sweden 1800-1947), not yet complete, which is an index of household examination and parish congregation records.

There isn’t any Jöns Abraham in BiS born anywhere near 1786 and, in fact, there are only 3 men of that name in the 66 results of my search born in the 1700s.

I’ve found several records pertaining to his half brothers where they were recorded using only one of their given names, so I guess it is possible that Jöns Abraham might have used only Jöns or only Abraham.

Other variables in my search included the surnames of Molin and Krok/Krook and possibly Andersson, if Jöns Abraham used the patronymic form and claimed that Anders Molin was his father.

Results:

1. No Abraham in BiS was born on 30 July 1786.
2. There were no hits with the Molin surname.
3. There were two hits for Jöns Krok, one born in 1786, no month or day recorded and one Jöns Krook born 30 July 1786, place not recorded.

The first Jöns Krok is found living in Istorp, Älvsborg, which is in southern Sweden, although north of the towns where his extended family lived.

Jöns was a soldier. Brita Persdotter dave birth to a son, Carl, on 28 February 1805. The father was named as a man servant, Jöns Andersson from Östra Fagerhult. It isn’t clear whether Jöns Krok is the same man, but they are later found as a family in the household examination records. Brita was 15 years older than Jöns Krok, having been born in 1771.

For a male born out of wedlock, the military would have been a career option. Being a soldier, Jöns could be transferred anywhere, so where he was living isn’t much of a factor ruling this man in or out as a candidate. No further records have been found for this family and without an exact date of birth for Jöns, it is impossible to say if this man is my Jöns Abraham Krok.

The second Jöns Krok lived in Gunnetorp, Tving parish, Blekinge County, which is much closer to the area where this family lived and even though no middle name is found in the record, his birthdate is an exact match to Jöns Abraham.

The downside is that this Jöns Krok is unmarried and there is no indication of where he was born.

I looked in the household examination record for 1814-1818.

Oh, no! There is a problem. Look at Jöns birth date in the first image, above. The date is 1786 and the 30th of the month, but the number below the 30 is written a bit oddly. It was indexed as a 7.

Now, look at the 1814-1818 entry. Jöns Andersson had married and has a young son. BUT look at his birth entry. It is clearly 86, 30/1 – born 30 JANUARY 1786, not 30 July!

I have to cross this man off the list.

I am now left with only one “maybe” for Jöns Abraham Krook. I have his birth/baptismal record and he is recorded as an heir of his mother in 1812.

Where did he go after that? Did he die soon, unmarried? Did he join the military and was stationed who knows where in Sweden? Or, is he living in a parish for which records have been lost?

Having traced the family lines of Sara Brita Krok’s other four sons, I would dearly love to know what became of Jöns Abraham Krok.

Time might tell me more, as more Swedish records are indexed, but for now, I am stymied in my search.