The first image is a photograph of my great-grandmother 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗮. According to the words inscribed on the back, she was 20 years old when this photograph was taken in 1901. She was born to Carl Göran Svensson and Mathilda Rydberg on June 7, 1881 in Högstad, Mjölby, Östergötland, Sweden. The second image is a photograph of the family home in Sweden. Her parents had five children; Clara was the youngest. She was just two years old when the family immigrated to America. Clara came to America in 1883 with her mother Mathilda, her aunt Hulda, and her three sisters, Anna, Alma, and Hilda. Her father and brother had come over earlier to secure land and build a log cabin and barn.
The women departed from home on July 6, 1883 according to Sweden emigrant records. They traveled by rail to Göteborg, Västra Götaland, Sweden. Then embarked from Gothenburg on July 13 aboard the steamship 𝘖𝘳𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰. The third image is the passenger manifest from their voyage across the North Sea. It lists “Minneapolis, Minnesota” as their final destination. Mathilda and her four daughters are listed at the very bottom of the page while Mathilda’s sister Hulda Rydberg is listed at the top of the next page.
It took about 40 hours before they arrived at Hull, England. From there, they traveled by train to Liverpool where they boarded the steamship 𝘉𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘢 and sailed for America on July 18. The fourth image is a photograph of the Batavia. Found in the US National Archives, the fifth image is the passenger manifest from their transatlantic voyage. Hulda Rydberg is listed on line 204 while Mathilda and her daughters are listed on lines 252-256. They rode in “steerage,” which is the lower deck of the ship where cargo was stored. They arrived at Boston, Massachussets on July 30. Then took a train from Boston to Minneapolis. The entire journey from Högstad to Minnesota took about one month.
The last name of Clara’s father was anglicized from Svensson to Swenson during immigration. The family took the last name Swenson when they assimilated into American society. Clara kept a handwritten notebook where she documented names, dates, and family history. I received a copy of it recently from my Dad. According to Clara’s notebook, the family lived first in Carver, Minnesota for four years. Then moved to Fergus Falls where they stayed for one and a half years. They eventually settled in Bertha, Minnesota on October 9, 1888 when it was still a forest of maple, oak, and elm trees. There was no town or railroad then.
When they came from Fergus Falls, a friend met them in Verndale with a team of horses and a seated spring wagon. Clara’s father had bought 160 acres from the Great Northern Railroad Company in 1888 and established a farm in Bertha. He built a board shanty, for the summer, and then built a one room log house. Later, two more rooms, two porches, a bay window, and dormer were added to the home. Then boarded and sided on the outside, and plastered on the inside. Bertha Township was founded in 1878 and named after Bertha Ristan, an early settler. Clara’s oldest sister Anna and brother-in-law Nels Anderson bought the farm that once belonged to Bertha Ristan who had established the first post office there in a log house.
