martin_109
29-06-2008, 9:15 PM
My ancestor Josiah Harris and wife Mary emigrated to Sweden in 1834. I have for a long time searched for the place they originated from, with little luck.
The emigrated to Bölets gruva (Bölets mine) in Undenäs parush near the town of Karlsborg in Skaraborg county, probably via Gothenburg. All I know is that the years of their births is calculated to be 1808 for Josiah and 1809 for Mary. Mary's maiden-name is unknownd and so are the namnes of their parents and the place from where they emigrated. I'm not sure but I expect them to be married in the UK before their emigration and not in Sweden. As far as I can tell they emigrated together but alone - meaning that they were not acompanied by any parents or sibblings or had any children before theire first child in 1834 (se below).
They arrive in Bölet at the very end of 1834 (late December) and their first child is said to be born in Bölet in 1834 - but its more likely that she is born on their way to Bölet, either in Gothenburg or in the UK. In the household examination rolls (or clerical surveys - don't know the exact translation) Josiah is said to be an "mining engineer" - this is later changed to "owner of bölets mine".
It has allways been said that they emigrated from Scotland but in the parish entry record for Undenäs they are said to originate from England. If they meant the UK or if they really originate from England is unknowned to me.
My opinion is the at least in the 19 century most Swedes didn't make any diffrence between England and the UK as a whole (this could obviously be terrible wrong).
The lack of avaible information has raised quite a few questions:
-Are there any records avaible regarding emigration from the UK in the
1830s - any known ports from which most emigrated?
-Are there any record of people/places of education in the mining business
from which one might extract some valuble information.
-The surname Harris, is that a common surname or can it be found in
a particular part of the UK?
These are not the only questions I can come up with but I think they are perhaps the most suitable to begin with. And I have no believes that they all can be solved, if any. But Im very grateful if any of you have any ideas or pointers!
with regards // Martin Bergström
The emigrated to Bölets gruva (Bölets mine) in Undenäs parush near the town of Karlsborg in Skaraborg county, probably via Gothenburg. All I know is that the years of their births is calculated to be 1808 for Josiah and 1809 for Mary. Mary's maiden-name is unknownd and so are the namnes of their parents and the place from where they emigrated. I'm not sure but I expect them to be married in the UK before their emigration and not in Sweden. As far as I can tell they emigrated together but alone - meaning that they were not acompanied by any parents or sibblings or had any children before theire first child in 1834 (se below).
They arrive in Bölet at the very end of 1834 (late December) and their first child is said to be born in Bölet in 1834 - but its more likely that she is born on their way to Bölet, either in Gothenburg or in the UK. In the household examination rolls (or clerical surveys - don't know the exact translation) Josiah is said to be an "mining engineer" - this is later changed to "owner of bölets mine".
It has allways been said that they emigrated from Scotland but in the parish entry record for Undenäs they are said to originate from England. If they meant the UK or if they really originate from England is unknowned to me.
My opinion is the at least in the 19 century most Swedes didn't make any diffrence between England and the UK as a whole (this could obviously be terrible wrong).
The lack of avaible information has raised quite a few questions:
-Are there any records avaible regarding emigration from the UK in the
1830s - any known ports from which most emigrated?
-Are there any record of people/places of education in the mining business
from which one might extract some valuble information.
-The surname Harris, is that a common surname or can it be found in
a particular part of the UK?
These are not the only questions I can come up with but I think they are perhaps the most suitable to begin with. And I have no believes that they all can be solved, if any. But Im very grateful if any of you have any ideas or pointers!
with regards // Martin Bergström