Karl Aron Emil Brodin

December 15, 2019 by LottaK Leave a comment

Karl Aron Emil Brodin was born in Kristdala, Kalmar län, on Nov. 2, 1875. When he was 20 years old, in December of 1895, his son Frans Evald was born. At Frans Evald’s birth both of his parents are listed as ‘unknown’. Later his mother came forward, and Frans Evald was somehow also given Brodin as his last name.

Karl Aron Emil Brodin left Sweden for the United States on July 15, 1896. His son is 7 months old.

Emil Brodin died in Los Angeles, Calif. on June 29, 1905. He had contracted tuberculosis in Manila, Philippines, while fighting with the 22nd US infantry in the Philippine – American War. That was “an armed conflict between the First Philippine Republic and the United States that lasted from February 4, 1899, to July 2, 1902.” He had enlisted in the spring of 1898 and was discharged in Manila on Dec. 13, 1901.

Sawtelle Veterans Home in west Los Angeles, Calif. was established in 1887.

On Nov. 9, 1904 he was admitted to the Pacific Branch of the U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, in Sawtelle, Calif. ‘Chas Karlson (uncle), Victoria, Ill.’ was listed as his next of kin.

Emil was buried at Los Angeles National Cemetery, 950 S. Sepulveda Boulevard, Los Angeles. His grave is in section 11, row L, site 8.

Emil was my 4th cousin twice removed.

Race: White, not yet a citizen (White)

December 14, 2019 by LottaK Leave a comment

Arvid Renström was born on June 22, 1897 in Kristdala, Kalmar län, Sweden. In 1942 he was a fireman living in Brooklyn, New York. Earlier he had been a seaman sailing between Sweden and North American ports.

On Nov. 12, 1942 Arvid enlisted in the US army. He enlisted as a private, and on the line for race someone defined him as “White, not yet a citizen (White)”.

He was 5′ 8″, and 157 pounds.

Arvid became a US citizen a year later, on Nov. 18, 1943. At that point he was living at 566 Baltic St. in Brooklyn.

Arvid must have moved back to Sweden sometime during the 1960s, because according to the US Social Security Death Index Arvid died in Europe in August of 1970. He was not living in Sweden in 1960.

The fact that the word ‘white’ appears twice on the line for race in his enlistment record is, for lack of a better word, interesting.

Arvid was my 5th cousin twice removed.

William Atle Nelson, 1925-1944

October 28, 2019 by LottaK Leave a comment

William Atle Nelson as a junior at Clinton High School in Clinton, Iowa, 1942.

From the Iowa State Memorial Union:

Private William Atle Nelson was born in Gary, Indiana on August 11, 1925 to Forrest A. Nelson and Virginia K. Kelly. He later lived in Galesburg, Illinois. William entered service on October 1, 1943 at Camp Dodge, Iowa. He served with Company K, 397th Infantry, 100th Division, Seventh Army. He had been in service one year, two months and four days before he was declared missing in action in France on January (should be Dec.) 5, 1944. After several months, the war department declared him to be killed in action.

From the WW2 Army Enlistment Record:

Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law.

The dates are unclear, but William is said to have died during the Battle of the Bulge, Adolf Hitler’s “last major offensive in World War II against the Western Front”.

War photographer Robert Capa was embedded with U.S. troops during parts of the battle. This is one of his photos from December 1944.

We will never know what happened to William, or how he died. He was just a kid. Had he lived until he was 20 he would have seen the war in Europe end in May, 1945. But, he didn’t. He died at 19, in all likelihood cold and scared.

William was my seventh cousin. We are related through two brothers, Carl Månsson born 1720, and Nils Månsson born 1727. William’s grandmother Hilma Charlotta Nilsdotter emigrated from Döderhult in Kalmar county to Galesburg, Illinois in 1868. She was three years old. Hilma was the great great great granddaughter of Carl Månsson. My grandmother Herta Viktoria Nilsson was born in Döderhult, Kalmar, in 1884. She was the great great great granddaughter of Nils Månsson.

Through Carl’s and Nils’ great great grandfather, Carl Jönsson Sabelskjöld, William and I have a known shared history going back to the early 1500s.

The Sabelskjöld family website provides more information about Carl and Nils Månsson, and their family history.

Private First Class Ralph Victor Freburg

October 27, 2019 by LottaK Leave a comment

This is my 4th cousin once removed, Private First Class Ralph Victor Freburg, born Sept. 27, 1915 in Bertrand Co., Nebraska. Ralph arrived in France with the 3rd Armored Division on June 24, 1944, and was killed in action on Aug. 17, 1944 in Ranes, Basse-Normandie, France. His family buried him in the Prairie Home Cemetery in Holdrege, Phelps Co., Nebraska. When he signed his draft card in 1940 he had been 6’2″, weighing 185 pounds.

Ralph’s grandfather Anders Victor Andersson had immigrated to Illinois in 1877. He was born in Kristdala, Sweden, in 1850 and died in Nebraska in 1918.