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Hi There
I am interested to hear if anyone has found any Scandinavian families in Newfoundland St Johns and/or Harbour Grace area 1780s onwards?
Regards
ChrissieI continue to look for my great uncle CARL EFRAIM JOELSSON who arrived in the area as a single, 20 year old man from Vrigstad, Sweden in November 1890 on the ship, Caspian. He died in a fishing accident in February or March of 1896. No known subsequent wife or children. He seems to have arrived with a small group of other passengers with whom he left Goteborg, Sweden, sailed to Hull England, traveled by train to Liverpool, and then sailed on the Caspian, a ship operated by the Allan Line. Other 3 Swedes in his party were from southern Sweden as well: Oskar Anderson,age 20, Charlotta Skog, 22 and Carl P Johanson 41. Thank you!
Hi There
Not certain if this will help you but I happened on your post and I am not certain if this will help or not but it seems that there were a few Scandinavian men in the area. I know they were not Swedish, but Norwegian.
I will let you know of 2 Norwegian fellows in and around the Harbour Grace area. Both were sea captains. One fellow Capt Olaf Olsen (1881-1945) was involved in whaling and had a few whaling stations as did a Capt.Johannes Borgen.
I went for lunch one day with my sister and across the street from the diner was a museum. Neither of us had seen before.
There was a bit of information on Olsen. Capt. Olsen bought an estate that belonged to Mr Carroll, one of the founding families, of the village of Holyrood. This Olsen also had some political type position/liason with Norway, Sweeden and Finland.
Both men were fairly wealthy. Both men lived in the greater Harbour Grace/Conception Bay area.
The other fellow was Capt. Johanne Borgen, he too had whaling ships, and owned Hawke Harbour Whaling Station in Hawke, Labrador. Capt. Borgen at one time worked for Aristotle Onassis. (This information I got from a friend of mine who is close friends with Capt. Borgen’s daughter.
Mr Carroll’s estate, now Capt Olson’s property became the “Fjordheim” Property, meaning Harbour Home, it was his country home. The house including servants quarters, was started in 1931, echoing the architecture of Norway. The property had a rock wall and at the entrance had an arch constructed from a pair of lower jawbones from a right whale. The property including the large home is still standing. (Some add-ons over the years). It was used as a tearoom for several years, that only recently closed..
As well as being active in the whaling and sealing industry, Olsen was consul to Newfoundland for Sweeden and Norway and vice-consul for Latvia and Finland. He was awarded the Latvian Order of Three Stars in 1939. King Haaken VI of Norway, deemed him a Knight of Order of St Olaf.
Like I said not sure if this helps in anyway but thought I would put it out there..
Allison Holwell
Thank you so much Allison Holwell for taking the time to write to me about Capt. Olsen and Captain Borgen. I’m always interested in where and when Scandinavian natives settled in New Foundland. Although these men don’t seem to be related to my great uncle I will keep them in mind as I continue my search. Wouldn’t it be something if my Carl worked for one of them!
Andrea Adamko (nee Samuelson)Hello Andrea, I’m originally from Corner Brook, Newfoundland, born and raised and as far as I know, have no ancestry from Sweden. However, I moved to Sweden some years back and am a Swedish citizen. It’s shame I have no ancestors here. However, I have access to many resources here in terms of family ancestry research. If any of you need anything, I’d be more than happy to help.
Olsen would be from Norway, yes. The en name ending is from Norway and Denmark. In Sweden it is spelled Olson or Olsson. Anderson is spelled Andersen in Norway and Denmark, while in Sweden it’s spelled Andersson with two s. In Swedish, there is no apostrophes. So in English we would say: “Anders’ or John’s son, while in Swedish we would just add an s : “Johns son”. Hence the two s. The same is true for Johnasson. The “J” in Swedish is pronounced with a “y” sound. The last name “Skog”: skog is a Swedish word for “forest”.
Hello Sherry.
Thank you so much for your kind offer. I am in close contact with my second cousins who live all over southern Sweden, have visited them there several times and, as you can imagine, they continue to be enormously helpful to me in my search for my Swedish roots!
Sincerely
AndreaHello! My father did his DNA through Ancestry and he was part Scandanavian however I do not have any information. My biological grandmother’s last name is listed is Smalcom/Selinsk. Do these names sound familiar to anyone? Thanks
Hello! I have Scandinavian DNA/roots and I have been looking for my great grandfather. My Grandfather Edward Anderson was born to a single mother in Burgeo in 1890 to Mary Ann Anderson. The father was not listed. The family oral history says that Edward’s father was from Norway but he died on a ship heading back to Norway. No other information about him was provided. However in a recent DNA test I have 12% Scandinavia DNA. My brother registered 22% Norwegian DNA. Does anyone know of a Scandinavian male living or visiting Burgeo around 1890? Any information would be helpful. Thanks, Ed Hartigan
There is a Facebook Group called Burgeo’s Past. Post your question there and I am sure you will receive lots of help.
I’m also hear looking for Anderson and have Scandinavian DNA. The father of My great-grandmother Emma Louise Anderson (born 1866?), married at Twillingate to James Norman Percy, the daughter of a “Late Captain Henry Anderson, Lost At Sea” (newspaper clipping) She had a younger sister named Jesse and a brother John Robert. Jesse eventually moved to USA (married Oughtred) and my great-grandparents Emma and JN Percy had two sons in Newfoundland- Cecil and Hubert- before the family moved to Montreal, Quebec where they had a third son Edward, my biological great-grandfather. Cecil and Hubert were professional soldiers, possibly Victoria Rifles, my grandfather was about 15, fibbing about his age, when he enlisted in the Grenadiers of Montreal. All three elsest brothers were veterans of active service in WW1. Other children, Norman, Marjorie, and William (Billy) were born in Montreal.
The trail has gone cold on Captain Henry Anderson, and the Scandinavian DNA being fairly has me wondering if I’m looking in the wrong places for him. Hoping to compare notesHi Shawna,
Thanks for your post. Yes I would like to compare notes on my Anderson ancestors. I have an Ancestry DNA account. I’m looking for the father of My grandfather. My grandfather Edward was born to Mary Ann Anderson in 1890 in Burgeo. Father was not listed on Edward’s baptismal record.
We were told his father was from Norway and interesting he died at sea on a trip back to Norway. Could this man have been your Captain Henry Anderson . My email is edwardhartigan1@gmail.com
Regards Ed Hartigan
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