17. Anna Elisabeth Sofia (Sofi) Carlstrand (Osbeck) – A Manager of Porters (Stadsbudsföreståndarinna)

17. Anna Elisabeth Sofia (Sofi) Carlstrand (Osbeck) – A Manager of Porters (Stadsbudsföreståndarinna)

When Sofi was confirmed in St Jacob’s Church in May of 1844, she had experienced more tragedies than any of her friends in the confirmation class. As she sat in the church with the other girls, she must have been thinking of her father. When Sofi was little, he had been the pastor in this church. She missed him, and her mother, and her sister, […]

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Augusta goes west

Augusta goes west

Well, Augusta only went as far west as the west coast of Sweden. But for two weeks, we are taking Augusta’s Journey to America and exploring the 19th century in Viriginia. We start with a morning stroll in Old Town Alexandria. The town was founded on the Potomac River in 1749 and is a beautiful little town just one metro-stop away from Washington DC’s Reagan […]

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A side-trip to Nebraska

A side-trip to Nebraska

I just got my new Nebraska license plates for my car. They celebrate the 150th anniversary of Nebraska becoming a state in 1867. When Augusta set off on her European journey in 1847, Nebraska was not even a formal territory. So when did the large Swedish migration to the US start? Who were the first families to settle in the heartland? I had hoped to […]

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The First Train Ride

The First Train Ride

After having spent a week in Lübeck, Augusta and her mother leave for Berlin. The weather is rather miserable but they enjoy passing the “enchanting” little town of Ratzeburg. After Ratzeburg, the landscape is flat and infertile, but the scenery is not important to Augusta – she is excited about getting to Schwarzenbek where the railroad starts. There were no railroads in Sweden in 1847 […]

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AP Rehder and his daughter Mathilde

AP Rehder and his daughter Mathilde

At this time last year, Kerstin and I hatched the idea of making the same trip through Germany that our great-great-grandmother Augusta had made in 1847, and which she described in her diary. We thought it would be an interesting vacation trip. Then we realized that we needed to find out more about Augusta and her life in Sweden in the mid-1800s. We also wanted […]

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