Mellen, Melin, Andersson

The Melin family began in Kopparberg County of Sweden.  This area is now known as Dalarna

The Coat of Arms of Dalarna is the image on the left.  Here is the Heraldry for this province of Sweden.



Arms granted in 1560, the use of two crossed arrows as a symbol precedes this. The province is also a duchy and the arms is represented with a ducal coronet. Blazon: "Azure, two Dalecarlian Arrows Or in saltire point upwards pointed Argent and in chief a Crown of the first." As early as 1525 the arrows appeared in use on a seal. Dalarna County uses the same coat of arms, granted for the then Kopparberg County in 1936.  I found the above information at

Norrbärke Court District on facebook.  If you are on facebook click the link.

 

The Persson Family

Anders Persson (1820-1896) & Beata Bengtsdotter (1828-1894)

My Great-Great Grandparents on my mothers side of the family tree. Anders & Beata were the parents of August Andersson.  They lived in Slöinge, Halland, Sweden.

The Andersson Family

Sofia Charlotta Andersdotter and
her husband August Andersson

The Andersson family were farmers in No. 2 Bergagård, in Skåne Län, Sweden.

August Andersson was born, July 03, 1863 in Slöinge, Hallands Lan, Sweden.  Sophia Charlotta Andersdotter was born, January 02, 1870 in Vinberg, Hallands Lan, Sweden.  They were married August 07, 1888.

Albert Sigfrid Andersson was their first born son.  Albert was born April 29, 1889.

Albert Sigfrid Andersson

The following year they were blessed with a daughter, Nanny Bernhardina.  She was born on September 01, 1890.

 

Their third child was my grand mother from whom I descend on my mothers side of the family.  My grand mother Ester Alida Andersson was born January 22, 1893. 

Ester Alida Andersson

 

 

The fourth Andersson child born was Erik Kristian.  Unfortunately Erik had a very short life.  He was born February 02, 1892 and died before his fourth birthday on January 17, 1896.  

Their last child born was daughter Anna Andersson.  She was born April 26, 1897.  

There  were complications during birth of little Anna that my great grand mother Sophia could not survive.  The last couple months of her twenty-seventh year she was fighting a fever.  Sophia died on June 28th, 1897.  She left August alone with four little children. 

All of this may not have ever happened if August Andersson had stayed in the United States.  Just four months prior to the wedding, August traveled with his sister Anna Kristina Andersson to the United States on March 29, 1888.   

It appears from historical immigration records that everyone in the Andersson family at some point traveled to the United States or Canada.  1,300,000 Swedes immigrated and 200,000 returned to Sweden.

Here is a photo of Ester, her husband Ernest, her son Ivar and Ester's older sister Nanny Bernhardina Andersson.  This photo was in New Heaven Connecticut in 1921.

Ester's grand parents were Anders Persson and Beata Bengtsdotter.  So with the Swedish naming convention August became August Andersson, so then Ester should have been Ester Alida Augustsdotter.  This was hard for me to grasp at first, but after getting all the ancestors in my pedigree it makes perfect sense to me now.  So if I had been living in Sweden and had children, my daughters would be Richardsdotter and my sons would be Richardsson.  Now do you get it?

So my great great grandfather Anders Persson was born in Abild, Hallands län, Sweden on February 09, 1820, and my great great grandmother Beata Bengtsdotter was born in Arstad, Hallands Lan, Sweden on November 01, 1828.

Their first born was Peter Bernhard Andersson.  He was born in Arstad, Hallands län, Sweden on November 27, 1852.

The second born was Johannes Elof Andersson. He and the last four siblings were born in Slöinge, Hallands län, Sweden. He was born on July 21, 1857.  The my great grand father August was the third born.  Then his sister Anna Kristina was born on August 25th, 1867, and the last born was Alfred, on December 23, 1872.

Hallands län is much different from Dalarna where the Mellen's are from.  Hallands län is on the coast with long sandy beaches, lakes and forests.  It is an agricultural community where industry has a connection to agriculture.  Besides the production of cheese, Slöinge  best known attraction is the ice cream factory.