My
father, Adolph Arvidson, was born in Sweden as Adolf Mauritz Arvidsson.
He came to the USA after 2 brothers had come before him -
first
John and then Ivar. My understanding is that there were some
earlier relatives in the Galva, Illinois, area named Fahnstrom who had
come earlier. Susan Fahnstrom has documented information
about
the Fahnstrom
family.
Several Arvidsson and further back family reunions have taken place in Sweden. The latest was in 2006 and attended by several from the USA.
The family names in Sweden were often confusing as the sons would be named as the son of their father, and the daughters as the daughter of their father. My father was named Adolf Arvidsson because he was the some of Arvid. However, that is not exactly true in this case. His father was named Johan Andersson, so the sons should have been named Johansson (Johnsson). My understanding from my father was that there were just too many Johnssons in the area and they couldn't keep the mail straight, so they used the father's middle name instead. His full name was Johan Arvid Andersson. So the family became Arvidsson, not Johnsson. We left it to my sister, JoAnn, to get the Johnson name back by marrying a Johnson in the USA.
The following is a picture I took of 4 photographs, I believe at Inga Arvidsson's home in Sweden in 2002, as she showed them to us by laying them out on the table. It is of the 3 brothers, Adolf, Ivar and Inga's father John, who came to America. John came first and eventually returned to Sweden. Adolf and Ivar stayed. There is also a picture of the back of the photographs with information about each one.
A smaller image is shown first, then a translated description, and then a bigger image follows.
This is a translation of what is on the back of the corresponding pictures.
AndersFahnstrom with his children in 1913 in Galva. Was this the main contact that John had here, since this picture was probably John's ?
Several Arvidsson and further back family reunions have taken place in Sweden. The latest was in 2006 and attended by several from the USA.
The family names in Sweden were often confusing as the sons would be named as the son of their father, and the daughters as the daughter of their father. My father was named Adolf Arvidsson because he was the some of Arvid. However, that is not exactly true in this case. His father was named Johan Andersson, so the sons should have been named Johansson (Johnsson). My understanding from my father was that there were just too many Johnssons in the area and they couldn't keep the mail straight, so they used the father's middle name instead. His full name was Johan Arvid Andersson. So the family became Arvidsson, not Johnsson. We left it to my sister, JoAnn, to get the Johnson name back by marrying a Johnson in the USA.
The following is a picture I took of 4 photographs, I believe at Inga Arvidsson's home in Sweden in 2002, as she showed them to us by laying them out on the table. It is of the 3 brothers, Adolf, Ivar and Inga's father John, who came to America. John came first and eventually returned to Sweden. Adolf and Ivar stayed. There is also a picture of the back of the photographs with information about each one.
A smaller image is shown first, then a translated description, and then a bigger image follows.
This is a translation of what is on the back of the corresponding pictures.
| When I
traveled from America Sept 30, 1921 Ivar, Adolph and myself (John) |
||
| Adolph Arvidson | Adolph and
Ivar about 1923 |
Ivar and I
(John) 1914 The day Ivar came to America |
AndersFahnstrom with his children in 1913 in Galva. Was this the main contact that John had here, since this picture was probably John's ?
More
to come - under development