1.
Hello. I’m Rick Lingberg from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S.A. This post is the first of many daily issuances that will follow the journey I made this past July, with my wife Mary, to uncover the story of my Gnarp, Sweden ancestors, Olof and Brita Lingberg. These posts will detail my research process, including correspondence with family historians (both American and Swedish) who aided my journey to discover family connections, sites and records.
Tomorrow: What’s in a name?
2.
What’s in a name? “Lingberg”, that’s mine, always has been. I can assure you there is nothing famous or special about it, but I do own it. Like all of you, I got it from my dad (Rich), he got it from his dad (Walter) and he got it from his dad, my great-grandfather, Olaf who got it from…well, no one seems to know where it came from.
Even though they had passed long before I was born, I knew a little about Olaf and Brita’s (my great-grand parents) life in America, but nearly nothing about their lives before they arrived in from Gnarp, Sweden in 1868. Their gravestone are etched with “Lingberg Father Olof” and “Mother Brita along with the dates of birth and passing. I’ve seen that gravestone every year for decades, usually around Memorial Day. There it is, “Lingberg” plain to see, but not much else. I’ll start there.
Tomorrow: What did the “Swede” book have to say?
3.
My other Scandinavian great-grandfather, August Peterson emigrated from Namdalen, Norway to South Dakota in 1888. He would marry a Swedish girl, Anna Edlund. August would author the book, The History of the Swedes who settled in Clay County South Dakota. On page 186 he would have only this to say about Olof and Brita’s life in Sweden.
Olof Lingberg was born March 15, 1843 in Gnarp parish, Halsingland, Sweden. He married on May 23, 1868 to Brita (Olson), born Dec. 16, 1845 in the same parish and district as he was. As a wedding trip they immigrated to the U.S., arriving at Council Bluffs, Iowa where other immigrants had arrived from Sweden.
That’s all he had to say about their life in Sweden. I would have to look to other sources for more.
Tomorrow: What did their son, Walter (Gramps) have to say?
4.
In 1978, my friend Al Chute and I were passing the old family homestead farm in Clay County, South Dakota, still owned by my grandfather Walter Lingberg. Old buildings were still standing, good photo subjects, we were armed with our cameras. Later Al suggested I should interview Gramps (now 90 years old). He shared much about growing up on the homestead and a little bit about his parents, Olof and Brita. Here’s a link to what he shared about them: https://fyi-dakota.com/gramps-homestead-story/
Interesting, but no insight to our name origin or Olof and Brita’s life in Sweden.
Tomorrow: What did www.Ancestry.com have to say?
5.
It seemed reasonable that the experts on genealogical algorithms at Ancestry.com would offer some insight into what I was seeking. There it was, my lineage…Olof & Brita…Walter and Florence…Richard and Corrine…and me. But who were Olof’s parents? Turns out their names were Erik and Brita “Lindberg-Jonnson”. That’s not “Lingberg”. Rather than insight I had simply uncovered another mystery to solve.
Tomorrow: Surely, my dad would know.
Telling good stories and delivering them to the marketplace is about all I do. I call it StoryTelling America.
There is a proverb that says, tell me a fact and I’ll learn, tell me a truth and I’ll believe, but tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.
I think everybody has a story worth telling and sharing one’s life experiences may be the most valuable asset a person can give…your successes, your failures and your accomplishments and your dreams..
Let me help you do just that.