Category Archives: Molin

Molin

Johan Peter Molin, son of Anders Molin & Sara Brita Krok, born 1782, Vankiva, Malmöhus, Sweden; 12 for ’22

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The genealogical benefits from taking the Advanced Swedish Research class through the Applied Genealogy Institute continue to appear.

Last month, I shared new details about the lives of Johan Caspersson Sandberg, his wife Anna Stina Berggren, and their children, who lived in Genarp, Malmöhus, Sweden in the 1700s.

One of my ongoing research goals is to learn more about my 5X great grandfather Anders Molin and his wife, Sara Brita Krok, who also lived in Malmöhus County, Sweden in the 1700s.

This ancestral couple was unusual for their times. Both were middle class, as Anders was a master mason and Sara’s father was the town mayor. They married in 1776, but separated before 30 July 1786, when Anders was noted as living in Marstrand, Sweden and Sara Brita gave birth to the first of her three illegitimate sons, Jöns Abraham, who was living at least until April 1812, when he appears in Sara Brita’s estate records. He remains a mystery, as I haven’t discovered him in any records after that time.

Sara Brita’s second son out of wedlock, Johan Jacob, born 11 March 1791, married and was the father of eight children.

Her third son out of wedlock, Hans Samuel, born 24 April 1798, also married, and had at least four daughters and one son.

However, Sara Brita and Anders were the parents of four sons. Hans Peter was born 3 June 1776 and died 20 October 1776.

The third son, Johan Peter, born 20 August 1780, also died in infancy on 15 September 1781.

Hans Niclas, the second born son and my ancestor,  was born 31 August 1778, married and had eleven children. I have written about him several times in the past.

The remaining son of Anders and Sara Brita Molin, their fourth and youngest child, Johan Peter, and the subject of today’s 12 for ’22 post,  born 26 July 1782 in Vankiva, Malmöhus, Sweden, had remained a mystery until recently.

He, too, was living in April 1812 and signed as an heir of his mother, Sara Brita (Krok), widow of the master mason Molin.

Thankfully, Swedes were quite good at keeping records – not just vital records, but also tax lists, moving in and out records, military records, etc. – and Johan Peter Molin was located in the BIS (Population of Sweden) 1800-1947, available on ArkivDigital.

First, just like with census and other indexed records, spelling variations and abbreviations must be considered. The BIS allows search parameters of just a first name, just a surname, birth year, exact date of birth and more.

Look what appeared when I entered “Molin” with Johan Peter’s exact date of birth:

Only one hit came up and it was for “Jöns Pet. Molin,” who was born on 26 July 1782 in the same village as Johan Peter – Vankiva, Sweden. He was living in Nevishög, Malmöhus, Sweden and appeared in the Household Examination for 1857-1861 and happened to be the entry with his date of death, 10 December 1860.

Notice that, although indexed as “Jöns,” this clearly identifies him as widower ‘Joh Pet Molin.’

From this record, I was able to work backwards to create a timeline of Johan Peter Molin’s wife, plus identify his wife and children.

In this timeline, it is assumed that Johan Peter was living with his mother, Sara Brita (Krok) Molin.

1770, 5 Aug – Malena Siversdotter born Uppåkra, Malmöhus, Sweden [Church records extant, but not found between 1770-1775]
1782, 26 July – Johan Peter born Vankiva
1783 – Anders Molin, father, taxed in Vankiva
1786, 30 July – half brother Jöns Abraham born in Everlöv, Malmöhus, Sweden
1791, 11 March – half brother Johan Jacob born in Önnestad, Malmöhus, Sweden
1798, 24 April – half brother Hans Samuel, born in Önnestad, Malmöhus, Sweden
1804 – Johan Peter Molin taxed in Övedsklostergard, Malmöhus, Sweden
1805 – Johan Peter Molin, unmarried, Household Exam of Övedsklostergard, Malmöhus, Sweden
1820, 26 March – Johan Peter Molin married Malena Sivesdotter in Brågarp, Malmöhus, Sweden
1820, 29 Dec, son Anders Molin baptized in Önsvala [Nevishög parish], Malmöhus, Sweden
1821 – Johan Peter Molin taxed in Önsvala
1822 – Johan Peter Molin crossed off tax list in Önsvala
1823 – Johan Peter Molin taxed in Djurslöv [Knästorp parish], Malmöhus, Sweden
1824 – Johan Peter Molin taxed in Djurslöv [Knästorp parish], Malmöhus, Sweden
1825, 11 March – son Lars born in Djurslöv [Knästorp parish], Malmöhus, Sweden
1843, 21 Oct – Malena Siversdotter died in Nevishög, Malmöhus, Sweden
1826 – 1860 Johan Peter Molin appears with his family in the Household Examination records of Nevishög, Malmöhus, Sweden.
1860, 10 Dec – Johan Peter Molin died in the workshouse,  Nevishög, Malmöhus, Sweden.

Notice all the villages where Johan Peter Molin can be documented? If you have ancestors from southern Sweden, you may already be aware that southern Swedes have been highly mobile for hundreds of years. I have no one in the northern part of the country, but I’ve been told that northern Swedes were much more likely to stay put.

Johan Peter Molin is a perfect example of one family’s mobility:

From this data, a biographical sketch can be created for Johan Peter Molin, wife Malena Siversdotter, and their two sons, Anders and Lars, who make up an unusual family.

Did you notice anything that might be considered a bit unusual about the ages of Johan Peter and his wife, Malena?  There is a gap of twelve years, but Malena is the one who is 12 years older than Johan Peter.

Their marriage record identifies Malena as a widow and no evidence has been found to suggest that Johan Peter had an earlier wife.

That alone wouldn’t raise eyebrows, as I’ve found many Scandinavian couples where the wife was older than the husband. Maybe not quite 12 years older, but older, nevertheless.

The eyebrow raising comes from reading the birth/baptismal records of their sons, Anders and Lars.

Johan Peter Molin was born 26 July 1782 in Vankiva, Malmöhus, Sweden, the son of Anders Molin and Sara Brita Krok. He married widow Malena Siversdotter on 26 March 1820.

Johan Peter died 10 December 1860 in the workhouse in Nevishög, Malmöhus, Sweden, having survived his wife, Malena, by more than 17 years. She also died in Nevishög on 5 August 1843.

Children:

1. Andreas, born 29 December 1820, Önsvala, Malmöhus, Sweden
2. Lars, born 11 March 1825, Djurslöv, [Knästorp parish], Malmöhus, Sweden

Stop for a moment and check Malena’s age when she gave birth – 50 years old in 1820 and 55 years in 1825! She is either a medical marvel or something is wrong. Either her birth year is way too early or else someone else gave birth to Johan Peter’s sons.

First, look at Anders’ 1820 baptismal record:

The mother’s age is actually noted – 50 years old!

What about Lars? Well, interestingly, although the Household Examination record notes that he was born in Djurslöv, which is in Knästorp parish, on 11 March 1825 AND Johan Peter Molin does appear on the 1825 tax list for Djurslöv, NO BAPTISMAL RECORD can be found in Djurslöv or anywhere in Knästorp parish for that matter, in 1825 or several years earlier or later.

As an adult, Lars stated that he was born in Stanstorp or Stenstorp. Stanstorp is part of Eslöv in Västra Sallerup parish, perhaps 25 miles from Djurslöv. Stenstorp is another town about 200 miles north. No baptism was found for Lars in either place.

Something is clearly off with Lars’s birth. Lars may be the son of Johan Peter Molin, but it would not surprise me if his mother was not Malena Siversdotter. On the other hand, there are a few documented women who gave birth in their mid-fifties. It’s just quite a rare happening.

Anders and Lars Molin both married and had children. More on their lives to come in future posts.

Both sons of Anders Molin and Sara Brita Krok have now been located and traced. In addition, two of Sara Brita’s out of wedlock sons have also been traced.

Did Jöns Abraham, born 30 July 1786 in Everlöv, Malmöhus, Sweden marry and have children? For now, I know only that he was alive in April 1812, when he signed in his mother’s estate papers. The answer to that question will require much more digging!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Molin

How Does Hans Molin of Bosarp, Sweden 1740s Fit into My Molin Family?

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While I’ve made excellent progress on the Swedish branch of my family tree, I have been stumped identifying a baptismal date or place for Nils Molin or his wife, Helena Andersdtr, who married at Ystad St. Peter, Sweden on 4 March 1736/37.

I’ve place Nils’s birth year c1702 because he was a master flax weaver. His apprenticeship would have delayed a marriage in his 20s. Also, I’ve found a number of male Scandinavian ancestors who didn’t marry for a first time until they were in their 30s so his marriage at age 35 wouldn’t be unusual.

I still have no potential birth place for Nils, although I am sure he was born somewhere in southern Sweden in the old Malmohus County.

However, I am beginning to wonder both if his father might have been a Peter Molin and if Hans Molin who lived in Bosarp, Malmohus, Sweden in the 1740s might have been his brother.

First, let’s look at Hans Molin, who was the church sexton in Bosarp from at least 1741 through most of the 1740s, if not longer.

Hans Molin, a resident of Bosarp, married Stina Orup on 10 July 1741 in Sirikopinge, Sweden. The two towns are about 16 miles from each other.

Baptisms of five children are recorded in Bosarp to Hans Molin:

  1. Cecilia Catherine, baptized 7 March 1741/42; buried 3 October 1746, also in Bosarp.
  2. Nils Peter, baptized 31 December 1743; buried 31 January 1743/44, also in Bosarp.
  3. Helveg, baptized 11 January 1744/45
  4. Peter, baptized 1 January 1746/47
  5. Cecilia, baptized 10 December 1748

Stina is reportedly the daughter of Nils and Cecilia Orup who lived in the Malmo area. With Cecilia being her mother’s name, it is easy to explain why two of their daughters were named Cecilia, as the elder child died in 1746.

Stina’s father was Nils Orup and she also had a brother named Peter, so it is possible that the Molin boys named Peter were named for their uncle.

However, both Nils and Peter are common boy’s names.

Now, my Nils Molin and wife Helena Andersdtr had a son Anders, who is my ancestor. Anders Molin married Sara Brita Krook on 2 February 1776 in Veberod. Bosarp and Veberod are about 27 miles apart.

Before you say that those distances are far apart for the time period to consider the possibility of a familial relationship, it is important to understand that Swedes living in the southernmost portion of the country (where Malmohus is located) were much more mobile in the 18th century than residents further north in the country.

Anders Molin, son of Nils and Helena, was born in Ystad, married in Veberod, lived in Oved and is last found in Marstrand, near Gothenburg.

Ystad to Veberod is 23 miles, Veberod to Oved is 7 miles, but Oved to Marstrand is 210 miles. I’ve also placed various family members in towns between Gothenburg and the southern towns.

This family was highly mobile.

Why do I suspect a family connection between Hans and my Nils Molin of Ystad?

I found a church record for Inspector Jacob Krook in Bosarp. Jacob Krook was the grandfather of Sara Brita Krook, who married my Anders Molin. The church record stated that Jacob Krook was a godparent for Nils Peter Molin, a child of one Hans Molin in the village of Bosarp in 1744. Nils Peter was born 31 December 1743.

Molin is not an uncommon Swedish surname, but it is also not terribly common in the early 1800s in Malmohus County.

Next, let’s look at the children of Nils Molin and Helena Andersdtr:

Children:

  1. Peter Johan, baptized 8 June 1737, Ystad, St. Peter, Sweden; buried 18 February 1749, Oved, Sweden.
  2. Anders, baptized 17 March 1739/40, Ystad St. Peter, Sweden; died after 1784 when living in Marstrand, Sweden; married Sara Brita Krook, 2 February 1776, Veberod, Sweden
  3. Ulrike Christina, baptized 5 July 1743; buried 2 March 1746, both in Oved, Sweden

Finally, let’s look at the family of Anders Molin & Sara Brita Krook:

  1. Hans Peter, baptized 3 June 1776, Oved, Sweden; buried 20 October 1776
  2. Hans Nicholas, baptized 31 August 1778, Finja, Sweden; died 25 February 1830, Oved, Sweden; married Anna Kjersti Sandberg, 17 April 1800, Oved, Sweden
  3. Johan Peter, baptized 20 August 1780; buried 15 September 1781, Vankiva, Sweden
  4. Johan Peter, baptized 20 July 1782; died after 1810

All three of these families had sons named Peter. Without the record of Jacob Krook standing as a godparent to Hans Peter Molin in 1743, I wouldn’t think too much of it.

However, given the scarcity of the Molin name in that region and time period, it gives me pause. I have to wonder if Hans who married Stina Orup and Nils who married Helena Andersdtr are brothers and if they might possibly be sons of an earlier Peter Molin?

I know what I’ll be doing the next time ArkivDigital has a free access weekend!

Molin

UPDATE: FOUND! Friedrich Wilhelm Schulte and Anna Greta Molin

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Just over a year ago, on 5 December 2015, I wrote about a somewhat missing branch of my Molin family, a grandchild of Anders Molin and Sara Brita Krook and daughter of Hans Molin of Öved, Malmohus, Sweden. Anna Greta Molin was a sister of my ancestor, Johanna Elisabeth Molin who married my long time brick wall, Johannes Jensen, in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1842.

I knew that Anna Greta, six years younger than Johanna and the baby of the family, had accompanied her when she moved to Copenhagen in 1838 because of the Öved, Sweden moving out list.

I also was able to find the marriage record for Anna Greta Molin to Friedrich Wilhelm Schulte, a German man, at Trinitatis Church in Copenhagen on 23 October 1846. The birth of a daughter, Lucia Herminagarde, was recorded there on 4 September 1847. Their trail went cold until I found a family tree showing the births of three sons, Gustav Adolph, Carl Oscar and Karl Franz on 18 March 1851, 15 August 1853 and 23 December 1854 in Duesseldorf, Germany. The young Schulte family had moved to Germany.

Since I had no access to German church records and can’t read German script, I set the Schulte family aside on my future “to do” list in Salt Lake, where help would be available.

Last week, thanks to help from my friend Ruth at the library, I retrieved images of the civil birth registrations of the three boys, which, in turn, gave two addresses where the family lived. The first home was on Ritterstrasse and the second on Neustrasse. Ruth helped me locate the streets on a map and then pinpointed three possible Evangelical Lutheran churches where the family might have worshiped.

Because the FHL had filmed early civil registrations, they hadn’t filmed any of the church records from the 1850s. I was prepared to again set the Schultes aside, but, first, tried searching for further clues in FamilySearch and Ancestry, entering names of each of the family members.

To my great surprise, one hit came up for a “Carl Oscar Schulte,” born 15 August 1853 in Duesseldorf, Germany. The surprise was that he was listed in the U.S. passport applications collection in 1885! This man lived in Wayne County, Michigan, which is where Detroit is located.

Surprise #2 came when a marriage record turned up for a Lucia Schulte to a Christian F. Finkbohner on 29 December 1886 . . . . in Detroit, Michigan! The bride was 19 years old, which matched the age of my Lucia Schulte, born in Copenhagen. Mr. Finkbohner was German-born, but residing in Bloomington, McLean County, Illinois at the time of his marriage.

A search of the 1870 census was frustratingly negative. I couldn’t find the Finkbohners in Illinois, or anywhere else for that matter, nor could I find Carl Oscar Schulte, his parents or his brothers.

What helped me unravel all of this were city directories for Bloomington, Illinois, where Lucia and her husband settled, and Detroit, Michigan, where the Schultes lived.

From Danish and German records, I knew that Fred and Anna Greta had four children. However, in U.S. records, I have found no hint of Karl Franz, their youngest son, and I believe he likely died before the family emigrated to the United States or very soon after arriving.

First, although Lucia married in 1866, her marriage didn’t happen until the very end of the year. The family did not appear in the 1867 Detroit city directory. Either they arrived after the directory census was taken, likely in fall of 1866, or else they moved, missing the same directory census takers, who they might have canvassed their first neighborhood after they left one residence and canvassed their new neighborhood before the family moved in.

I happened to find Oscar and Anna in the Detroit directories in the early 1880s. I immediately began backtracking them until I hit 1867, where they were not  listed.

In 1868 and 1869, Frederick Schulte appeared as head of the household. I know he is “my” guy because the family was at the same street address in later years. (I have no images because I learned something in Salt Lake. I saved many of the directory images and then emailed to myself through Ancestry, which gave no option for me to name the files myself. Therefore, I have multiple city directory images which don’t have the year printed on the page or in the file name. Lesson learned for next time  and I let my Ancestry subscription expire a couple of weeks ago so can’t access the images myself at home at the moment.)

Anna was head of the household in the 1870 directory, so I used wildcards to search for her in the U.S. 1870 census:


Lines 3 and 4 – Ann and Adolph “Schultz”

The census was taken on 27 June 1870, so Fred likely died sometime in 1869 or early 1870, but he has not been found in the mortality schedule. I also haven’t located a death record for him, but death records for this time period are not common in Michigan.

By the time the 1871 directory was compiled, Anna was the widowed head of household in Detroit and is consistently listed in the directories through 1884. She may have died about 1885, but I have not found a death record for her either.

What happened to the Schulte children? As mentioned, there is no further record of Karl Franz, the youngest known child, born in 1854.

  1. Lucia married Christian Frederick Finkbohner on 29 December 1866 in Detroit. The marriage record indicates that Christian was a resident of Bloomington, McLean County, Illinois. Quite maddeningly, I can’t find Lucy or Christian F. or Frederick C. (he went by both names, according to birth/marriage records of their children) in ANY census record before 1900. Christian F. Finkbohner’s gravestone is found at Evergreen Cemetery in Bloomington. His birth year is listed as 1832 and his year of death was 1904; he is not found in the 1900 census. Lucy, on the other hand, is found in Bloomington in 1900, listed as a widow. She reported having given birth to five children, four of whom were living. Furthermore, there is a marriage record for Mrs. Lucy Schulte Finkbohner to Christopher Rumpf in McLean County recorded on 5 November 1894. There is yet another marriage record for Lucy to William H. Baker on 24 October 1909, also in McLean County, but Lucy is again listed as the widow Finkbohner in the 1910 census.  City directories again told the story. The 1893 city directory must have been very embarrassing for Lucy, if she was able to read. She reported that she was a widow, but look who else is listed:


1893 City Directory, Bloomington, Illinois

We have sons Bernhardt, Emil and Frederick Jr. residing with their mother, Lucia, (wid F C), at 313 W. Front Street, but directly above the “widow” Lucia is Frederick C. Finkbohner Sr., living over 111 N. Main Street!

With a surname like Finkbohner, it would be very likely these people were all related and her friends could all see the lie she told. I assume that this couple divorced and that Lucia was not a bigamist, too.

Children of Lucia and Christian Frederick Finkbohner:

  1. Bernhardt, born August 1868; died November 1912; married Margaret A. Miller, 28 September 1898, Bloomington, McLean, Illinois. It appears they had no children.
  2. Anna, born 27 October 1870; died 22 December 1928, Hanson County, South Dakota; married John Amos Boulware, 7 November 1889, McLean County, Illinois
  3. Frederick Jr., born 14 January 1873, Illinois; died 9 November 1902. Fred did not marry.
  4. Emil, born 6 April 1875, Illinois; died 1956. Emil did not marry.

Of the four surviving children then, only Anna had children.

Children of Anna and John Amos Boulware:

  1. Earl Hardin, born 29 January 1891; died 11 February 1949, Hanson County, South Dakota; married Iva Irene Lubker, 1914, probably in Hanson County, South Dakota. They had three children: Delmer, born 1915; died 1916, an unnamed infant, born and died in 1916 and Wallace H. born 25 March 1919; died 24 August 1986. Wallace married Lois Ireland, 1939. she was born 17 August 1918; died 25 September 2009. They apparently divorced, as she married (2) Morgan Pratt, 6 August 1960, Nashua, Iowa. Wallace and Lois had two children, so there are descendants through this line.
  2. Tressie F., born 5 November 1892, Illinois; died 6 October 1967, Minnesota; married (1) George Thiel (1890-1928) (2) Charles Dilworth. Tressie and George had four children – Howard Arthur, Dale R., Mildred I. and Maurice H. Howard married and had children. Dale died in his teens, unmarried. Mildred and Maurice lived at least into their teen years, but I have been unable to find out more about them. At a minimum, there are descendants through Howard’s line.
  3. Raymond Deloss, born 22 July 1905; died 11 November 1979, Ocala, Marion, Florida. As an adult, he went by DeLoss Ray Boulware. He married Clara M. Schulfer, August 1962, Dubuque County, Iowa as her second husband. She was born 1906; died 1993, Portage County, Wisconsin. Only one marriage has been found for this man and, if he only married once, then he apparently had no children.  However, it is not known for certain if there are descendants through this line.

There you have it – my missing Molin family branch, now mostly accounted for. I can’t say I ever expected to find them in the United States!