Kristina Holmquist and Family

4. Kristina Holmquist (November 20, 1852 - February 2, 1924) married Johan Sunesson (February 19, 1843 -February 14, 1927) on June 21, 1872.1 Johan was a bond "jordbrukare" or a farmer. Their eight children took the name of Johansson, no doubt from their father's first name.

Kristina's granddaughter Hillevi had heard that Kristina was a nice and tender person who was much concerned about her family.

Kristina's house (and presumably where Kristina and Johan lived) was not too far from her father, Trufvid's, house. It is quite possible that her home was even on Trufvid's property. Kristina died in Nybyggden the town where Johan was born.

Sunesson and Johan Sunesson may have owned 200 tuunland near the Fransson family.2

4.1 Emilia [Emma] Sofia Sunesson [also Johansdotter, Johansson, Johnson] (February 5, 1874 - October ?, 1901) was born in Stenbrohult, Kronoberg, Sweden. Her parents were Kristina (Holmquist) and Johan Sunesson.

Emilia was the only child of Kristina and Johan to emigrate to America. She left Stenbrohult for America on March 24, 1891 and was traveling alone. The Swedish record gives her name as Emilia Sofia Johansdotter, i.e., Johan's daughter.

No doubt her travel arrangements to America were made beforehand. Two days after leaving Stenbrohult, she was on board a ship (probably a masted steamer) leaving the Swedish port city of Malmö. Her ship was most probably heading for England where she would change ships for the U.S. The Swedish record gives her name now as Johansson rather than Johansdotter and her destination being New York, but this was no doubt not her final destination. She was heading for Chicago.

Upon arriving in America or sometime thereafter 'Emma' lived for a while with her mother's brother, Johannes, and his family. In Memoirs of William Holmquist, William says:

My parents had two roomers at our home, Mr. Lindstrom, who after a few years left for Suwanee River area to work and we never heard from him, and Miss Emma Johnson, a half sister of Dad's. She also left a few years later, went to New York and married a bricklayer contractor, Mr. Hultgren.

William was mistaken about Emma being his father's half-sister. Johannes had two half-brothers, but no half-sisters. Emma was Johannes' niece.

In America she married a Hultgren whom she met in Chicago. They later moved to Brooklyn, New York. Gustav was a bricklayer contractor.

A Brief Family Tree says Emma died at 25 years of age in1900. However, an Emilia S. Hultgren is buried at the Green-Wood Cemetery Brooklyn Kings County (Brooklyn) New York, USA Plot: Public Lot 28307, Section 136, Grave 885. If this is the same Emilia S. Hultgren (which is likely) she died in Brooklyn in October of 1901 at the age of 27.

Emilia's grave has no gravestone. However, a volunteer by the name of Wallace G Lane Jr. kindly found the gravesite on 11/29/2016 and took a photo and provided a note. That she did not have a gravestone may tell us that Gustav could not afford to buy one.

4.2 Signild Johansson (December 27,1875 - ????) married Josef Stahl (1885 - ????). 3

4.3 Matilda Johansson (December 13, 1878 - 1959) married Frans Magni Jonsson ( 1878 - 1934) of Nybyggden on November 23, 1900.

4.3.1 August Hilding Fransson (January 13,1901 - 1946) married Lillie Berg (1901 - 1922).

4.3.2 Astrid Emilia Fransson (March 28,1903 -) married Fritiof Dalkvist (1891 - ????).

4.3.3 John Gottfrid Fransson (November 25, 1907 - ????) married Signe Jönsson (1909 - ????). Bernard and Doris Holmquist visited John and Signe in Älmhult, Sweden, probably in the 1970's and stayed overnight. John escorted Bernard and Doris around the Stenbrohults Kyrka where many of the Holmquist family is buried.

When John was twenty-two years old he wrote his mother's cousin John T. Holmquist in America asking if he would sponsor his immigration to America. We don't know what John T.'s response was. [Considering the type of person John T. was and his commitment to family members, I am sure he would have done anything he could to help John Fransson emigrate. LJH]. However, John Fransson never emigrated to America. Here is a translation of his letter: 4

I am sure that you wonder why I am writing you, but this is the reason. I am thinking of sailing over.

In order to come over I need permission [sponsorship] from a relative because so they can stand and guarantee me. Not that it is needed but it has to be on paper.

Would you like to be that person? I do not have any other relative in USA, perhaps friends if someone would give me a job in the city of Chicago. I have been told I should write you. My uncle Albert Johansson said I should. He is your cousin.

If OK is given by the consulate I will be coming this winter (1929) or the next year spring. A friend will find me a job to the Worlds Fair. Is this job a recommended one? How are jobs now?

I am 22 years old. I work with cement, have been a carpenter for one year and now a grovarbetare [works hard with his hands], but it pays very little, have been without job too, so therefore I feel that I should emigrate to USA, as I said before someone has to be my 'guardian' before I can take the trip. I much prefer to travel to the USA.

I ask you therefore with friendship that you will answer this letter. If you want to I will give your name and who will meet me.

4.4 Anna Johansson (June 19, 1882 - March 11, 1883). Anna was less than a year old when she died.

4.5 Sven Magnus Johansson (March 15, 1884 - November 29, 1896). One day while Kristina Holmquist was looking out one of the windows of her home she saw that her 12 year old son Sven had fallen through the ice of Lake Steningen and was drowning. She was unable to get to him in time. This sad event was of course a great tragedy to the family, and one which was remembered by the family nearly a hundred years later for when Lennart Holmquist visited family members in the 1980s this story was told and again mentioned in a letter in 1992.

This lake is near the town of Nybyggden. Presently the lake is not as large as it once was. The area where Sven actually drowned has receded and is now dry land.

4.6 Anna Maria Johansdotter (November 22, 1886 - September 6, 1965) was born Nybygden, Stenbrohult, Sweden. She married Nils Johan Bengtsson (October 2 or 3, 1885 - December 5, 1977) on June 23, 1910 in Vigsel. Anna passed away in Äskya, Stenbrohult, Sweden.7

Nils was born in Almås torp, Gröndal, Virestad (G), and resided in Äskya, Stenbrohult (G). He passed away in Äskya.

4.6.1 Gulli Bengtsson (1911 - 1918). Gulli died of the Spanish Influenza, a pandemic that literally killed milliions throughout the world during this time.

4.6.2 Gunnar Nils Johan Bengtsson (1917 - ????) married Bernice (1924 - ). Gunnar retired from house construction. Bernice was a children's day care worker for 23 years.

4.6.3 Vera Gulli-Maria Bengtsson (1920 -) married Hilding Pettersson ( 1918 - 1976?). Vera was a nurse.

4.6.4 Alldo Gästa-Martin Bengtsson (1923 -) married May-Britt Nygren (1926 -). Alldo has been a foreman and metal worker and worked in a local stone quarry. May-Britt's parents are Marie and Thura Nygren. Marie was born in Austria and as a result May-Britt speaks German fluently.

Bernard and Doris Holmquist visited Alldo and May-Britt sometime in the 1970s probably. Bernard and Doris' son Lennart and his wife, Jill, visited with Alldo and May-Britt on November 17, 1988, had dinner with them and left the next day to Göteborg to visit Len's grandparents on his mother's side of the family. Alldo introduced Lennart and Jill to some of his immediate family living in the area of Älmhult.

4.6.4.1.1 Andreas Bengtsson (1982 -). [Confirm these three are children of Björn and Kristina.]

4.6.5 Yngve Karl-Erik Bengtsson (1927 -) married Halina (1946 - ) who is from Poland. Yngve worked in Älmhult and for the city government.

4.6.6 Asta Elsa-Viola Bengtsson (July, 07 or 19, 1930 -) married Allan Âke Karlsson (January 5, 1924 - April 3, 1998) who worked as a sågverksarbetare (sawmill worker).

Alan was born Äskya, Stenbrohult (G), died in Älmhult and was buried on April 14, 1998.

Asta was born in Äskya, Stenbrohult (G), but lived Älmhult where she worked in a pharmacy as a Apoteksbiträde (pharmacy assistant).

Richard Holmquist from America visited the Karlssons along with other relatives in 1991.

4.7 Frans Albert Johansson (December 7,1889 - November 29, 1972) married Edit Hildur Nyh (April 13, 1902 - November 1, 1992). Albert was born in Nybyggden and was a farmer who had taken over his father Johan Sunesson's farm. When Albert was about twenty-eight years old he wrote a letter to his cousin John T. Holmquist in America whom he had never actually met. The letter was in response to a letter from John notifying the family in Sweden that John's father, Johannes had died. The following is a translation of Albert's response: 8

Best cousin John and family. After a long quite time I want to write you and let you know we had your letter where I see your dear father has gone home, and he has gone before us and that feels sad when our closest family leaves us. Even my parents have gone away from us. It is now one year since Father died and four since my Mom died. So now it is soon us that are old. I can tell you that live on my father's homestead. I have a wife and two boys, have been married three years. I have three sisters who live in this area with their family, and I can tell you that I have met Gustav Holmkvist children.They have been married but their wives have died. I don't have much more to tell about this time, but it was fun to share a bit to you and to the other cousins. I have so many relatives in Amerika both on Mom's side and on Dad's side. I think my uncles are still alive, but they are getting old.

It would be nice if I could also tell some to my sister Emma's husband, Gustav Hultgren.

If you know something about him when Uncle Holmkvist lived, he wrote so we got some news from Amerika. He wrote such beautiful letters with so many of God's words. He sounded like he was so nice, so now he rests from all of this in this world.

Yes, it would be nice if you could write and give us some news. I'll have to close for this time with many greetings to you and yours.

4.7.1 John Ragnar Johansson (June 21, 1926 - February 18, 1981) married Asta Sonja Margareta Gustavsson (February 20, 1928 -). Ragnar was born in Nybygden and Asta in Göteryd. Ragnar was a furniture craftsman and Asta a nurse.

4.7.2 Klas Helmer Johansson (December 11, 1927 -) married Margit Viola Benjaminsson (September 26, 1931 -). Helmer was born in Nybygden and Margit in Hinneryd. Helmer was a hospital employee and Margit a dressmaker.

Helmer and Margit and their son, Leif, and his girlfriend, Ann Christin, visit Meilynn and Steve Smith at Sulatorp (the name of the Holmquist cabin) in Sweden in 1999.

4.7.3 Hillevi Marianne Johansson (December 9, 1928 -) married Gösta Elis Fagerberg (June 5, 1924 -). Hillevi was born in Nybygden and Elis in Räppe. Illevi is a clerical employee and Elis a mechanic. Richard Holmquist visited Hillevi and her family in 1991. Hillevi visited Richard and Sally Holmquist in the States in 1993.

NOTE: Descendants of those people named above can be found on the web page, Kristina the Farmer's Wife. To protect the identity of living family members a user name and password are required to access that page. If you are a family by birth, marriage or adoption contact Lennart Holmquist for access.

1. Birth and death dates of Kristina and Johan are taken from their headstone in Sweden.

2. A Tunland equals 5000 sq meters or 2 acres. I do not know where this information about the amount of land Kritina and Johan had came from. Since it is mentioned that the land was near the Fransson family, perhaps they were the one's who mentioned with when visited by the Holmquist in the 1970s.

3. Swedish records actually have Signhild marrying Joseph Vilhelm Karlsson on June 29, 1912.

4. Translated by Doris [Holmquist] Brown in 2004.

6. 'Elmhult' and 'Almhult' and 'Älmhult' with two dots above the 'A' are names for the same town in southern Sweden. Älmhult is, also, the 'birthplace' of the Swedish furniture store IKEA, a company which is becoming popular in the USA at this time (2004).

7. Years of birth and death for Nils, Anna and their daughter, Gulli, are taken directly from their gravestone in Sweden. Photo of this gravestone and that of Johan and Kristina Sunesson were provided by Richard Holmquist, Sr.

8. Translated by Doris [Holmqust] Brown, 2004.

Kristina Holmquist & Family

Johansson Family