Category Archives: Swedish research

Krok/Krook, Molin, Swedish research

Sara Brita Krok, 1791 and 1798

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There have been multiple surprises along the road to finding the Molin family. There are two more records found for Sara Brita Krok and both are in the birth/baptisms in Önnestad, Kristianstad.

First is the birth of Johan Jacob Krok, illegitimate son of “Brita Krok” on 11 March 1791 in the “Invalide House” or poorhouse.

JohanJacobKrokBirth1791Onnestad
AD: Önnestad Births and Baptisms, Image #113

At first, I wondered if this was Sara Brita or another woman with a similar name. When I found the next record, I came to the conclusion that it was my Sara Brita. Next, I found the birth of Hans Samuel Krok, illegitimate son of Sara Brita Krok, born 24 April 1798, also in the “Invalide House.” Sara Brita was identified as an unauthorized resident, so I am not sure how she ended up recorded there. Perhaps someone took pity on her and allowed her to give birth there.

There was a household record for Önnestad for 1797 onwards, but the Invalide house had only four residents and Sara Brita was not one of them. I have yet to find where she was living, but likely it was near Önnestad since her children were born there in 1791 and 1798. No further records have been located in Önnestad through 1810 for Sara Brita or any of her children. No burial record has been found for her either.

Summary of the Lives of Anders Molin and Sara Brita Krok

Anders Molin was likely born say 1742 in the southern most portion of what used to be Malmöhus County to Nils Molin and an unknown mother who was born about 1705 and was buried in Finja in 1778. His father was also  a master tradesman and likely a master mason.

Anders married Sara Brita Krok on 2 February 1776 in Veberöd. She was born 7 March 1752 in Bonderup, the daughter of Hans Krok. They lived in Öved when their first child, Hans Peter, was born on 3 June 1776. He likely died soon, but no burial record has been found. Hans Niclas, their second son, was born in Finja on 31 August 1778. Hans Niclas is my ancestor. Third son, Johan Peter, was also born in Finja on 20 August 1780. He died on 15 September 1781 in Vankiva. Fourth child, again Johan Petter, was born in Vankiva on 20 July 1782. According to the population register, the Molins continued to live in Vankiva in 1783.

The family has not been located in 1784. By 1785, Anders Molin is living alone in Marstrand and is again there in 1786. He is gone by 1787 and has not been found in any further records.

Sara Brita Krok is found in Everlöv baptismal records named as the mother of the illegitimate child Jöns Abraham Krok, born 30 July 1786. Anders Molin’s named has been crossed out by the priest, indicating that he is not the father of Jöns Abraham. She is found in two more baptismal records, this time in Önnestad, being the mother of two more illegitimate children. The first is Johan Jacob Krok, born 11 March 1791. The second child born in Önnestad was Hans Samuel Krok, born 24 April 1798. Both of these children were born in the “Invalide House” or poorhouse, although no Kroks are found in the household examinations in Önnestad in 1797 or 1798.

The only child for whom records have been located is Hans Niclas, who married and lived in Öved, raising his own family there. It may be that he expressed his feelings regarding his own apparently tumultuous childhood by naming his first child, a son, Anders. None of his seven daughters were given Sara or Brita has a first or middle name.

I believe I have my work cut out for me when I return to the Family History Library. My next step will be to outline parishes to research. There is a fair amount of data on line about Sara Brita Krok’s family and I will be verifying sources for her extended family. Picking up the trail of Anders Molin, both before 2 February 1776 and after 1786 will not be as easy!

Krok/Krook, Molin, Swedish research

Anders and Sara Brita – End of the Story?

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We are nearing the end of this part of the story of Anders Molin and Sara Brita Krok. Not only do I now have a sourced marriage date, I discovered another child, their firstborn, who was born in Öved four months after they were married. I have names, dates, places, and images of records for some of Sara Brita’s family, although I don’t have her siblings yet.

The real question is how do records as far apart geographically as Ystad, Marstrand and Önnestad fit into the picture of this family? My first reaction was that something was wrong here, but I wasn’t sure exactly what it was.

The records don’t answer “Why,” but they do explain how all these different and distant towns came to be part of their life story.

Anders and Sara Brita only lived in Öved at most for about two years. The family moved frequently, most likely because Anders went were the work was.

Their second child, Hans Niclas (Nicholas), my ancestor was born in Finja, Kristianstad on 31 August 1778.

The family stilled lived in Finja when son Johan Peter was born on 20 August 1780.

In early 1781, Sara Brita Krok was named as a sponsor for a child. I don’t have a full translation for this image, but she is listed as living in Finja. It seems reasonable to conclude that the Molin family moved to Vankiva in the spring or summer.

Little Johan Peter Molin’s’s life was short, as his burial record is recorded in the next village to the east, Vankiva. he died on 15 September 1781 and was buried on the 23rd.

The Molin family has one more child’s birth recorded in Vankiva, that of another son also named Johan Petter (Peter). This child was born on 20 July 1782.

As I was collecting these images, I was also checking online for more clues. I had seen a family tree that gave the name of Jöns Abraham Molin/Krok, born in 1786 in Everlöv as a child of Anders and Sara Brita. I searched the parish records and found that this birth/baptism told more than probably any other record I had already come across.

JonsAbrahamMolinBirth1786Everlov
AD: Everlöv Births and Baptisms, Image #63

Here we have the baptism of the son of master mason Anders Molin of Marstrand and Sara Brita Krok called Jons Abraham, born 30 July 1786 and baptized on 28 August. However, the part of the sentence mentioning Anders Molin is crossed out and at the very top of the entry is written “illegitimate.” After the priest entered this baptism, he came to the conclusion that this child was not a son of Anders Molin.

Remember my statement several days ago about leaving no stone unturned? Well, first I had to find out where Marstrand was. It is a town located on an island off the coast near Gothenburg. I checked to see what records were available for that parish, but found only one – the population register, which was actually a tax roll.

I immediately went searching for Marstrand in 1786 and found this entry:

AndersMolin1786MarstrandPopRegister
PR: Marstrand, Image #386

There he was in dwelling #28 and Sara Brita was not with him. He was the sole member of his family there. I then searched the same record for 1785 and, again, he was in Marstrand, again the sole member of his family.

I then checked 1784, but Anders Molin was not to be found. He was also not there in 1787 and that is the latest in time record I have so far located for him. However, since I had discovered the population registers, I checked for Finja and Vankiva and found several listings. The Molin family was listed in Vankiva for 1781, 1782 and 1783.

1781 brought my next surprises. First, “Molin” was repeated twice in the listing. First was Anders Molin, wife.

I needed a translation for the second line. It says “old father Molin” was also living there! No first name, but at least he was called Molin and not a patronymic which I wouldn’t recognize!!!

Second was a remark found at the end of the line with Anders Molin – master mason Ystad. This same remark was in several of the other population registers and I was advised in Salt Lake City that this notation didn’t say he was from there or currently living there; it most likely meant that he was a member of the mason’s guild located in Ystad. That would make sense since many of the records for this family were recorded within a few miles of Ystad.

The 1782 listing for Vankiva contained the same information, but in 1783, “old father Molin” was gone. I searched high and low in Finja and Vankiva, but found no burial record for him. There were two more surprises waiting in Finja, though. The 1780 Finja population register included “old father Molin,” but, this time, he had a name!

Anders Molin’s father was Nils Molin! Yes!!! I also found Anders Molin and wife in the 1778 and 1779 population registers. Nils Molin was not living with them and I haven’t had a chance to look for him in other parishes.

However, I found one more item relating to the family – “the wife of Molin” was buried in Finja on 11 December 1778, aged 73 years so born about 1705. Again, I realize that the priest knew who she was, but I wish he had shared her name with the rest of us!

A quick review is needed here about names used in the Molin records. First, Anders’ father was named Nils. Remember Hans Molin, church sexton of Bosarp, whose son Nils Peter, had Inspector Krok/Krook as a godparent? I thought that perhaps this Hans was an uncle to Anders Molin. Well, if he is, then Hans named his son in honor of his brother. “Peter” was the middle name.

Now, remember that Master “Mohlin” buried his son, Peter Johan, aged 11 years old, in Öved in 1749. I am now quite certain that Master Mohlin is most likely Nils Molin. Peter Johan would then be a brother to Anders Molin, I suspect that Anders was probably born in the early 1740s and would have been in his mid 30’s when he became a master mason. He named three sons either Hans or Johan Peter so the name was obviously important to him. Assuming Master Mohlin was his father, then Peter Johan was his older brother. He wanted to name a son for that brother.

I am also realizing that I have actually collected a lot more data on this family than I thought so there will be one more post covering new details about Sara Brita Krok. Come back tomorrow, please!

Molin, Swedish research

The Facts – Just the Facts – About Anders Molin and Sara Brita Krok

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Where are the facts to support the sparse information about Anders Molin and Sara Brita Krok? As I mentioned yesterday, there were a few clipped images, some sourced and some not.

To return to my research plan steps, #1 on the list was to leave no stone unturned. For the limited choices I had for Swedish records in that time frame, I used ArkivDigital, Genline, which is now on the world Ancestry.com site and the FamilySearch library catalog. The sole item in the library catalog that wasn’t found on either ArkivDigital or Genline was a longshot – mason guild records for Malmö. Sweden (FHL Film #146,465). I did not uncover any mention of the Molin surname.

While my search plan was organized in my head, trying to describe all my steps in order would be quite tedious and boring to read. Instead, I am going to list each document I was able to find AND what it says. A fairly complete picture will appear at least regarding the family life of Anders and Sara Brita, although even with that, there are still many unanswered questions. The data will be listed in order from earliest in time to most recent in time, although dates span a century from the late 1600s to the late 1700s.

First, to give an overall perspective of where the family was living, here is yet another updated map of villages and towns that I uncovered along the way.

Helsingborg, seen along the route between Bonderup and Marstrand, and Veberöd, between Bonderup and Öved, are also in the mix, as is Gullarp, near Bonderup.

If you are not familiar with Swedish records, they are NOT indexed and must be searched page by page. Another handicap for my particular research problem is that for most of what used to be Malmöhus and Kristianstad Counties, household examination records and moving in/moving out records don’t begin until at least the very late 1790’s. I’ve also been told that people in this area of Sweden moved around a lot compared to other regions of Sweden in the 1700’s. Looking at this map, I certainly believe that!

One source that proved to be invaluable was what is described by ArkivDigital as the population registers, which are actually tax lists. Only the men are listed in it, but for the Kristianstad County area and Marstrand, up north, registers (labeled as Gotebörgs och Bohus läns landskontor) exist for the 1700’s. The downside is that for the very southern portion of Malmöhus County, the only register available is for 1941.

Here we go and the list is quite extensive:

1. Sara Brita’s grandmother, Anna Brita von Wowern, was born in Helsingborg on 9 December 1697, daughter of Johan von Wowern and Anna Margreta.

The von Wowern family apparently had some social standing in their community, but I have done no other research other than looking to see if this record actually existed.

2. I found an image on line for Inspector Krok, who was Sara Brita’s grandfather, Jacob, indicating that he 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:

There were so few mentions of any Molins in these records that I took note of this birth. The father, Hans Molin, was the church sexton. He had a number of other children born in Bosarp, but the last mention of this family is in 1748. Because Sara Brita married a Molin and her grandfather was godparent to a Molin baby, I think it is possible that this Hans is an uncle of my Anders Molin.

Remember the name: Nils Peter!

3. “Master Mohlin’s” son, Peter Johan, was buried in Öved on 26 February 1749, having died on the 18th or 19th, in his 12th year. No birth/baptismal record was found in Öved for him.

I realize that the priest knew exactly who Master Molin was, but I do wish that he had named him. I believe that this is Anders’ father and that Peter Johan was Anders’ brother. It is also likely that because Anders was a master mason that this master, if his father, was also a master mason by trade.

Remember the name Peter Johan!

4. Sara Brita Krok/Krook was born 7 March 1752 in Bonderup, the daughter of Hans Krook, but her mother isn’t named in this record.

5. Andreas (Anders) Molin married Sara Brita Krok on 2 February 1776 in Veberöd. He is identified as a journeyman mason.

6. Hans Peter, son of Anders Molin, was born and baptized on 3 June 1776 in Öved. This baby died soon, but I haven’t yet found his burial record.

Remember the name Hans Peter!

7. Anders Molin and Sara Brita Krok are found in the moving in records of Öved in 1777. This is interesting because their son was baptized there in spring 1776. Perhaps the priest forgot to write them on the 1776 list so entered them in 1777. They had moved to Finja by 1778 so it is also possible that they were leaving Öved at the time they were entered in 1777. They are #10 on the list and Anders is now listed as a master mason:

AndersMolinMovingIn1777Oved
AD: Öved Moving In Records, 1777, Image #6

To summarize the family history posted so far, with a couple of extra vital records included that I haven’t posted above with images (but I have.):

Anna Brita von Wowern was born 9 December 1697 in Helsingborg, the daughter of Johan and Anna Margreta (no maiden name given) von Wowern. The von Wowerns had some social standing in the community. She married Inspector Jacob Krook in 1714 in Helsingborg. Their son, Hans, born in 1722 in Gullarp, died in Veberöd in 1754.

Sara Brita Krok married Anders Molin in Veberöd on 2 February 1776. She was apparently already pregnant at that time as their son, Hans Peter, was born and baptized in Öved on 3 June 1776. Anders and Sara Brita are found on the 1777 moving in list for Öved, but didn’t remain there very long. Also, unless the priest erred in Anders’ occupation, he was still a journeyman mason when he married, but had become a master mason by 1777.

Bosarp records show that church sexton Hans Molin lived there at least through the 1740’s. His son, Nils Peter, was born there on 31 December 1743. Hans could possibly be Ander Molin’s uncle since there is a Krok family connection.

In Öved, “Master Mohlin” buried his son, Peter Johan, on 26 February 1749. Peter was in his 12th year, so born about 1738-1739. This may be the father and brother of Anders Molin.

I have not found a birth/baptismal record for Anders Molin and I suspect I have a lot of searching to do for that. He was not born in Öved, as I searched those early records and no other Molin entries were found.

Are you following this saga so far? I will tell the rest of the story in my next post.