WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT MAGNUS BOGREN, AUGUST 2003


by Harold Henderson [comments & corrections welcome]

hhsh@earthlink.net




Sometime in 1760, somewhere in the 11,318 square miles of southeastern Sweden known as Småland, my great-great-great-great grandfather Magnus Bogren was born.



We know nothing of his first nineteen years. After that, for 20 years beginning in 1779, Magnus lived in Öggestorp, a parish of about 800 souls about ten miles southeast of Jönköping city. There he was recorded as "Måns" until about 1782. He lived at Kanarp Norrgård from 1781 (and perhaps earlier) to at least 1795, then at Kullen.



Magnus/Måns seems to have made a big splash in Öggestorp, considering he was barely 20 years old. It's possible that he was a native there. In any case, his work, his family, and his frequent appearances as a godparent are all unusual.



His first recorded job as a "rättare" -- a farm foreman or overseer who might do some of the actual work himself -- doesn't seem like an entry-level position, especially in a time and place when most people wore themselves out in physical labor to survive.



His first wife, Lisa Svensdotter, was at least thirteen years older than he was. Their son Anders was born in May 1781, at which time Måns was about 21 and Lisa about 34. She appears to have had at least one child from a previous marriage -- Stina, born 1777 -- and must have figured him for a good provider.



If we can use activity as a godparent to measure connectedness, then Måns was also a social butterfly. He was a witness at the first baptism recorded in the parish in 1779, that of Eva Maria Kallberg, daughter of Peter Kallberg the smith and Maria Jonasdotter. He was a witness at three of the first eight Öggestorp baptisms in 1779, and at ten baptisms altogether in the four years 1779-1782, making him among the most active individuals in the parish.



In these years Magnus seems to have been the sort of person who turns up everywhere. How did someone barely out of his teens become a personage in what one would expect to be a slow-moving and hierarchical rural society? What combination of factors gave him a head start? Local background? Personality? Influence from a powerful patron?



Whatever the factors may have been, they ceased operating during the next three years. From 1783 to 1785, Magnus witnessed only a single baptism, and his second son Jonas had no godparents at all at his baptism in 1784. Then times changed again. When Måns and Lisa had twins in 1788, they had the extraordinary number of nine godparents at their baptism.





Even by the harsh standards of their time, Magnus and Lisa were unlucky as parents. Three of their four children died young. Only their oldest, Anders, outlived his mother, and we have no record of him beyond the early 1790s.



Lisa died 12 December 1789, aged 42 or thereabouts. Magnus, now almost 30 years old, didn't take long to remarry. On 19 June 1790 in Öggestorp he married Anna Dorothea Adrian, the 20-year-old daughter of a Jönköping bookbinder. Their son Per Gustaf was born 6 1/2 months later and died in April 1791.



In records around 1790, Magnus is identified as "fogden," a bailiff or supervisor, probably a "frälsefogde," steward of tax-free land. Both he and Anna Dorothea served frequently as godparents, attending eight baptisms 1794-1796. They themselves had four more children in Öggestorp -- Sara Catharina in 1792 and Johanna in 1798, who grew up to have children of their own; Gustaf Magnus in 1794, who died just short of his second birthday; and Carl Johann in 1796, no further record.



During 20 years in Öggestorp, Magnus was a godparent at 26 baptisms and Anna Dorothea at five more for a total of 31. In addition, Magnus had eight baptismal events for nine children of his own. Thus we can generate three lists of people who had some kind of contact with Magnus and Anna Dorothea: those for whose children they served as godparents, those who joined them in that role, and those who were godparents to their children. Some people show up repeatedly in these lists and may be considered associates:



Stina Greta Lindgren (1779, 1781)



Peter Kallberg, a smith living at Ulfsnäs Hammare (1779, 1781)



John Classon & Caissa Andersdotter of Skägg and later Sekebo and Seglarp (1779, 1786, 1789)



Lars Jönsson of Skraphåsen (1779, 1780, 1786?)



Sara Ericsdotter of Ulvsnäs Kvarn (1781, 1782)



Leonard Abrahamsson of Ulfsnäs and later Bygget (1786, 1791)



Anders and Eric Abrahamsson of Kanarp Utbyn (1788, 1794)




Olof Nilsson of Kanarp Södergård (1788, 1795)



Jöns Andersson, a rusthällare (someone who provides a cavalryman to the army), and Maja Lena Ericsdotter, living in Boda (1789, 1791, 1794)



Sven Berggren, a smith at Ulfsnäs Hammare (1790, 1791)



Daniel Lidstrom (1791, 1791, 1795)



Carl Peter Koren, adjunct minister (1794, 1796)



Håkan Jonasson, torpare (farmer who paid his rent in workdays for the owner), & Caisa Andersdotter, living at Skogen (1795, 1797)



Soon after daughter Johanna's 7 March 1798 baptism, Magnus and family left Öggestorp to live some 70 miles northwest, in the province of Skaraborg. From the village of Gokhem they soon moved to the central city of Falköping. There two more sons, Per Gustaf and Daniel, were born in 1800 and 1802. Back at Kullen, their house was taken over by tenant farmer (later overseer) Johan Rydback and his wife Margareta Håkansdotter.



In 1800, Magnus is identified as an "inspektör," a term which can mean anything from inspector to surveyor or superintendent. In 1804 he's described as a miller -- a new departure for him, if accurate. But he had no time for new departures. He died in Falköping 13 February 1804, and was buried at public expense. He's as mysterious in death as in life -- how did it happen that he left his family so ill provided for after holding what seem to be relatively good
jobs?



It looks like Magnus bequeathed his survivors more vitality than money. His widow, Anna Dorothea, went on to have four more children, one out of wedlock and three with Peter Billman, before being cut down in the Jönköping cholera epidemic of August 1834. In 1824, when her daughter Sara Catharina married Jöns Andersson with a babe in arms, Anna Dorothea took the conventionally "male" position and gave the bride away. Sara had five children and it took cholera to kill her in 1857, just months after her first grandson, August Philip Andersson, was born.


[For more information on Magnus Bogren's descendants, please visit http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/~hendersonscholes]


NOTES AND SOURCES


1760 . . .

Falköping household examinations index, 1799, FHL microfilm #555231. Öggestorp household examinations, post-1765 (probably c. 1781), page 316, give birthdate of 1760, perhaps with a 1 written over the zero or vice versa. In Falköping household examinations index, FHL microfilm #555231), his age at death in 1804 is given as 44. This is all the evidence we have for his birth -- after the fact, but consistent. Much in his life would make more sense if he'd been born, say, ten years earlier.


11,318 square miles . . .

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smaland. That's about one-third the size of Maine, a bit larger than Maryland.


Småland . . .

Falköping household examinations index, 1799, FHL microfilm #555231.


great-great-great-great grandfather . . .

Magnus Bogren born 1760 Småland
Sara Katrina Bogren born 1792 Öggestorp Parish, Jönköping
Anders Magnus Andersson born 1823 Bankeryd Parish, Jönköping August Philip Andersson/Boring born Kristina Parish, Jönköping 1856
Elin Ida Boring born 1887 Chicago, Illinois
Ronald A. Henderson born 1914 Chicago, Illinois


We know nothing . . .

The names of Magnus's eleven children may offer a clue as to his parentage, but it's a perplexing one. They are ANDERS, Jonas, Otto, MARIA LENA; Per GUSTAV, SARA CATRINA, GUSTAV MAGNUS, CARL Johann, JOHANA, Per GUSTAF, and DANIEL. There is a Bogren family of Barnarp and Mulseryd parishes (also near Jönköping but not near Öggestorp) with parents Daniel and Maria Helena Lundia, and children Karl, Maria Katarina, Hedvig, Anders, Magnus (died young), Eva, and Fredrica [Barnarp births 1738-1751,1752-1765 at http://jbgf.phetast.nu/bocker/barnarp/barnarp.htm; Mulseryd births 1751-1775 at
http://jbgf.phetast.nu/bocker/mulseryd/mulseryd]. Capitalized names in Magnus's children are names known from either Anna Dorothea's birth family or that of Daniel Bogren. Except for Per and two children with Lisa, *every* name given to Magnus's children can be derived from these
families. Six of nine names in Daniel Bogren's family recur in Magnus's. The chronology would allow Daniel and Maria Helena to be his parents, but there seems no room in this family for him.
Were they his uncle and aunt, or cousins? No more substantial connection than this coincidence of names has been found. Another peculiarity is that the surname Bogren seems to have functioned as a true surname in both families -- unlike, say, a military name, which isn't passed down to the next generation.
There is no birth record for a Magnus in Öggestorp circa 1760, but he might conceivably have arrived as a young child. Because the parish birth records for 1773-1778 have apparently perished, we don't know if he appeared as abruptly in reality as he does in the vital records recommencing in 1779.


Kanarp Norrgård from 1781 (and perhaps earlier) to at least 1795 . . .

Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, page 10, Anders Månsson "i Kanarp Norrgd." baptized 11 May 1781, Genline 1152.15.8600. Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, page 90, "Dorothea Adrian frÃ¥n Kanarp Norrgd." witnesses at baptism of Gustaf Olofsson 3 Mar 1795. Intervening births and deaths show the same location.


then at Kullen . . .

Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, page 102, birth of Carl Johan Bogren of Kullen 22 Oct 1796, Genline 1152.15.13200.


job as a "rättare" . . .

Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, page 4,
"rättaren Måns Bogren" witnesses at baptism of Maja Jaensdotter 27 Apr 1779, Genline 1152.15.8300. Sweggate's online dictionary defines this term in detail: "On a farm estate: supervisor of all farm work, farm foreman. Often took part in the work himself. If he did not work but only supervised he had the title befallningsman or (gårds)fogde = bailiff. His superior was a inspektor." (www.rootsweb.com/~swewgw/facdic02.htm) In the post-1765 (probably c. 1781) Öggestorp household examinations, page 316, Måns Bogren is given a title which may be "Infpr." FHL microfilm #136606.


first wife, Lisa Svensdotter, . . .

No record of their marriage has been found in Öggestorp; nearby parishes need to be searched. In the post-1765 (probably c. 1781) Öggestorp household examinations, page 316, Måns Bogren and "Lisa" b 1747 are listed next to each other -- it's not clear whether they form a separate household. FHL microfilm #136606. In the 1765-1787 Öggestorp household examinations, page 532??, Måns Bogren appears as head of household followed by H. [housewife] Lisa b. 1746 and d. [daughter] Stina b. 1777, and a few lines below sons Anders b. 5 Nov 1781 and Jonas b. 1784, children they are known from the birth records to have had together. FHL microfilm #0136606.


son named Anders in 1781 . . .

Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, page 10, Anders Månsson baptized 11 May 1781, Genline 1152.15.8600.


Stina, born 1777 . . .

There's no clear-cut birth record for Stina in Öggestorp in 1777; the only Stina born in the parish that year appears to have different parents. Nor does she appear in the post-1765 (probably c. 1781) Öggestorp household examinations, so perhaps she was a foster child from a friend or relative. She does appear in the Bogren household in the 1765-1787 Öggestorp household examinations, page 532??, and again in the 1788-1795 section of the 1788-1811 household examinations, page 28, Book 2. Both times she's characterized as a daughter, and in this latter appearance her name is crossed out. She would have been between 11 and 18. She may have died (no record seen in Öggestorp but check again) or perhaps gone elsewhere to work as a domestic -- but in that case normal procedure was to note where she went. FHL microfilm #0136606.


Eva Maria Kallberg, daughter of Peter Kallberg the smith and Maria Jonasdotter . . .

Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, page 4 (first working page, first entry).


ten baptisms altogether in the four years 1779-1782 . . .

All from Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, Genline 1152.15.
1779: 22 Jan, Eva Marie dau. Peter Kallberg & Maria Jonasdotter. 27 Apr, Maja dau. Johan Classon & Caissa Andersdotter. 17 Sep, Carl son Isac Carlsson & Stina Andersdotter.
1780: 19 Dec, Zachris son Anders Svensson & Eliz. Zachrisdotter.
1781: 2 Jun, Elisabeth dau. Lars Jönsson & Maja Clasdotter. 14 Jun, Lena Caissa dau. Håka[n] Arvidsson & Sara Ericsdotter. 21 Aug, Annika dau. Börje Jönsson & Kirstin Jonasdotter.
1782: 1 Feb, Christina dau. Kirsten ___. 2 Aug, Otto son Nils Kanberg & Anika Svensdotter. 1 Sep, Anders son Per Langren?? & Maja Jönsdotter.


among the most active individuals in the parish . . .

General impression. Rick Henderson is transcribing records from this time in order to make a detailed study of the town
(August 2003).


From 1783 to 1785, Magnus witnessed only a single baptism . . .

Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, Genline 1152.15.9100. 1784: 29 Mar, Margreta dau. Eric Svensson?? & Maja Jönsdotter.


Jonas had no godparents . . .

Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, page 20, Jonas Magnusson 25 May 1784, Genline 1152.15.8600.


he and Lisa had twins in 1788 . . .

Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, page 42, Otto and Maria Lena 3 Oct 1788, Genline 1152.15.10200.


no records of him beyond the early 1790s . . .

Anders is last seen in the Måns Bogren household in the 1788-1795 Öggestorp household examination, where unlike Stina, his name is not crossed out. Book 2, page 28, 1788-1811, FHL microfilm #0136606.


Three of their four children died quite young . . . An unnamed "Magnison" of Kanarp Norrgd. is recorded dying 17 June 1789 and an unnamed “Magnidotter" on 20 Nov 1789 -- most likely the very young twins Otto and Maria Lena. Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, pages 47 and 49, Genline 1152.15.10400 and 10500. No death record has been found for Jonas, born 1784. He is listed in the 1788-1795 Öggestorp household examination of the Måns Bogren household but his name is crossed out. Book 2, page 28,
1788-1811, FHL microfilm #0136606.


Lisa died 12 December 1789 . . .

Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, page 49, Genline 1152.15.10500. In the usual nomenclature of the time and place, she is listed only as "Bogrens hustru."


19 June 1790 in Öggestorp he married Anna . . . Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, page 53, Genline 1152.15.10700.


Anna Dorothea Adrian, the 20-year-old daughter of a Jönköping bookbinder . . .

Kristina Parish, Jönköping, births, 12 May 1770, FHL microfilm #0135638.


son Per Gustaf . . .

Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, Per
Gustafsson born 4 Jan 1791, died 14 Apr 1791, Genline 1152.15.11100.


"Fogde" . . .

All from Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3: page 49, 12 Dec 1789, death of Bogrens hustru, Genline 1152.15.10500. Page 53, marriage Magnus Bogren & Anna Dorothea Adrian, Genline 1152.15.10700. Per Gustafsson born 4 Jan 1791, Genline 1152.15.11100. Transcribed as frälsefogde" in Öggestorp births 1779-1795 at http://jbgf.phetast.nu/bocker/oggestorp/oggestorp.htm.


eight baptisms in 1794-1796 . . .

All from Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, Genline 1152.15.
1794: 24 Apr, Daniel son Lars Larsson & Catharina Jacobsdotter. 6 July, Johannes son Jöns Andersson & Maria Lena Ericsdotter.
1795: 1 Jan, Magnus son Isaac Carlsson & Stina Andersdotter (ADA). 4 Jan, Brita Stina dau. Håkan Jonasson & Catharina Andersdotter. 4 Feb, Carl son Måns Andersson & Annika
Jönsdotter (ADA). 3 Mar, Gustaf son Olof Nilsson & Ulrica ____ (ADA). Sep, Lisa dau Anders Håkansson & Stina Jonasdotter (ADA).
1796: 18 Sep, Stina dau. Per Jonsson & Marg Johannesdotter.


Sara Katrina 1792 . . .

Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, page 70,
Sara Catharina Magnidotter born 1 Apr 1792. FHL microfilm #136608.


Johanna 1798 . . .

Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, birth of
Johanna Magnidotter 5 Mar 1798, Genline 1152.15.14000. This is the last record of the Bogrens in Öggestorp.


Gustav Magnus 1794 . . .

Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, page 84, Gustaf Magnus Bogren born 10 Aug 1794, Genline 1152.15.12300. Died 3 Aug 1796, Genline 1152.15.13000.


Carl Johann 1796 . . .

Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, page 102, birth of Carl Johan Bogren 22 Oct 1796, Genline 1152.15.13200.


a total of 31 . . .

All from Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853, C:3, Genline 1152.15.
1779: 22 Jan, Eva Marie dau. Peter Kallberg & Maria Jonasdotter. 27 Apr, Maja dau. Johan Classon & Caissa Andersdotter. 17 Sep, Carl son Isac Carlsson & Stina Andersdotter.
1780: 19 Dec, Zachris son Anders Svensson & Eliz. Zachrisdotter.
1781: 2 Jun, Elisabeth dau. Lars Jönsson & Maja Clasdotter. 14 Jun, Lena Caissa dau. Håka[n] Arvidsson & Sara Ericsdotter. 21 Aug, Annika dau. Börje Jönsson & Kirstin Jonasdotter.
1782: 1 Feb, Christina dau. Kirsten ___. 2 Aug, Otto son Nils Kanberg & Anika Svensdotter. 1 Sep, Anders son Per Langren?? & Maja Jönsdotter.
1784: 29 Mar, Margreta dau. Eric Svensson?? & Maja Jönsdotter.
1786: 1 May, Jonas son Johan Claesson & Caissa Andersdotter. 12 Dec, Nils son Jonas Nilsson & Catarina Locher.
1787: 23 Dec, Catharina dau. Lars Andersson & Kirstin Månsdotter.
1788: 3 May, Stina dau. Måns Jacobsson & Breita Svensdotter.
1789: 1 Feb, Stina Greta dau. Jöns Andersson?? & Maja Lena Ericsdotter. 30 Jun/Jul, Maja dau. Jan Claesson & Caissa? Andersdotter.
1790: Dec., Daniel son Jöns Boman & Maja Stina Carlsdotter.
1791: 13 Jun, Anders Magnus son Jöns Andersson & Maja Lena Ericsdotter (witnessed by Anna Dorothea Adrian = ADA). 28 Aug, Anna Catharina dau. Leonard Abrahamsson & Kjerstin
Persdotter.
1792: 17 Jun, Anders son Peter Ericsson & Lisa Andersdotter.
1794: 24 Apr, Daniel son Lars Larsson & Catharina Jacobsdotter. 6 July, Johannes son Jöns Andersson & Maria Lena Ericsdotter.
1795: 1 Jan, Magnus son Isaac Carlsson & Stina Andersdotter (ADA). 4 Jan, Brita Stina dau. Håkan Jonasson & Catharina Andersdotter. 4 Feb, Carl son Måns Andersson & Annika
Jönsdotter (ADA). 3 Mar, Gustaf son Olof Nilsson & Ulrica ____ (ADA). Sep, Lisa dau Anders Håkansson & Stina Jonasdotter (ADA).
1796: 18 Sep, Stina dau. Per Jonsson & Marg Johannesdotter.
1797: 19 Feb, Anders Johan son Håkan Johansson & Caisa Andersdotter. 15 Oct, Sara dau. Abraham Jacobsson & Kerstin Svensdotter.


considered associates . . .

All from Öggestorp births, marriages, deaths 1779-1853,
C:3, Genline 1152.15. Transcriptions frequently clarified at Öggestorp births 1779-1795, 1796-1811, http://jbgf.phetast.nu/bocker/oggestorp/oggestorp.htm.


Gokhem in Skaraborg province ... Tyska Tomten and then Ryttning Tomten neighborhoods in the city of Falköping. . .

Falköping Stad household examinations 1796-1808, FHL microfilm #154625, 1799 page Tyska Tomten, Ryttnings Tomten page 32.


sons Per Gustaf and Daniel . . .

Falköping birth register index 1726-1899, FHL microfilm #1703084, Per Gustaf Bogren 23 Oct 1800. Bankeryd Parish household examinations 1791-1820, examination 1805-6 of Anna Dorothea Adrian household gives birth year 1802.


Back at Kullen . . .

Öggestorp births 1796-1811,
http://jbgf.phetast.nu/bocker/oggestorp/oggestorp.htm.


an "inspektör," . . .

Falköping birth register index 1726-1899, FHL microfilm #1703084, Per Gustaf Bogren 23 Oct 1800.


a miller . . .

Falköping household examinations index, FHL microfilm #555231.


died in Falköping 13 February 1804 . . .

Ibid.


buried at public expense . . .

Buried "pa alleman bekostnad." Marriages in Kristina
Parish, Jönköping, 1698-1864, FHL microfilm #135640, marriage of Anna Dorothea Adrian Bogren and Peter Billman 1809, FHL microfilm #135640.


His widow, Anna Dorothea, went on . . .

JBGF website, Bankeryd births 18060126, Magnus Filip. Kristina Jönköping births, Carl Frederick Billman 9 Sep 1810, Hedvig Benedikta Billman 7 July 1812, Christina Sophia Billman 5 Sep 1815, FHL microfilm #135638.


cut down in the Jönköping cholera epidemic . . .

Deaths, Kristina Parish, Jönköping, 22 Aug 1834, FHL microfilm #135641.


daughter Sara Catharina married Jöns Andersson . . .

Marriages, Bankeryd Parish, 23 Nov 1823.


five children and again it took cholera to kill her in 1857 . . .

Deaths, Kristina Parish, Jönköping, 29 Sep 1857, FHL microfilm #135641.

#