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(LaVerne's translation of Carl Larson's Letter about his trip from Sweden to New York during Nov., 1914 during World War II. JF)
Translation of Carl Larson's Letter of Nov. 20, 1914
Dear Mother and Brothers,
I shall now write you a few lines and let you know I am in good health and shall soon reach New York-I think we will get there tonight or tomorrow morning. We have had a very severe storm for a couple of days-the boat nearly lay on its side but we were all in good humor just the same. We have been a long while on the ocean, ever since the 6th and now it is the 20th, but that doesn't matter as long as we arrive safely. The worst is yet to come-the disembarking. If all goes well, as we hope it will, then I will have nothing to complain of, neither the trip nor some of the place we got to. I have not been seasick at all except one morning when I could not eat breakfast. Generally I have felt fine the whole time. I send you greetings from Wille (Willie Anderson) and David (David Anderson) -they too are well. There are so many of us Swedes on the boat that I would say half the passengers are Swedes and mostly they are Smalanningar (natives of Smaland). We sleep four in a cabin. We have an agreeable lad from Ostergotland as a cabin mate. The reason we have been so long at sea is that we have had to go a roundabout way toward the north on account of the mines. We have been as far north as Sundsvall lies in Sweden, or nearly to the southern shores of Iceland. Now I am going to write to Esther and Alma so they can figure out when we will arrive in Eureka so they can meet us there. I can tell you that the morning we had the storm we woke to find our travel bags sliding back and forth over the cabin floor. We couldn't lie in bed without holding fast. Shoes and everything had gone into others' cabins and there was such confusion before everyone got back his own belongings.
Well, now I can report that we are on land in New York. Very likely we can continue by train this afternoon toward California. We have today, Saturday, Nov. 21, arrived at about 10 a.m. We have been on the ocean for 15 days, but we are healthy and glad for every mile that brings us closer to our destination. I wrote a telegram at Copenhagen-you have, now doubt, received it. I thought of writing one to those who helped me (to sneak out of Sweden) but then I thought that they would find out if I made it in any case. It wasn't at all difficult getting out of Sweden but we were nevertheless scared until we reached Copenhagen. I sent home my travel blanket but you need not feel sorry for me because I have been so warm that I could hardly sleep. We had a fine cabin, exactly amidships so it was really comfortable, believe me. Well, now I must close with kindest regards to you all.
Signed in haste,Karl E. Larson
Now you know a little of everything about the journey.
Carl, along with many other young Swedes, being fearful that Sweden would soon be drawn into World War I, fled the country. As soon as possible Carl applied for U.S. Citizenship. He was called in the first draft when U.S. entered the conflict, served in an Army spruce camp.
From the notes of LaVerne Larson
Some Early Swedes in Humboldt County
Biographical sketches translated from Swedish from Ernst Skarstedt, California och dess Svenska Befolkning (Washington Printing Co., Seattle, 1910)
Anderson, Pehr Erik, Watchmaker-Arcata-was born (the youngest son in a family of eight children) in Vestra Fernebo Parish, Vestmanland Province, May 24, 1845. At the age of eight, he moved with his parents to Moklinda Parish. He received instruction in watchmaking in Sala. In order to earn money for the tools of his trade, he obtained employment with the Frovi-Ludvika Railroad. Next he moved to Vestanfors where he built his own house. In 1881 he emigrated to America. Here he took up land in Dakota, five acres of which he donated for a church and graveyard. HE moved to Paso Robles, Calif. and later to Arcata, where he owns a rather large watchmaker's shop. Mr. Anderson is well-read and an effective speaker. He has often preached the sermons for the Methodists in Arcata and can be relied upon for poetry recitations at their church parties. He is also a corespondent for newspapers. He was married twice-first to Johanna Sofia Eriksdotter of Ludvika, who died during their stay in Dakota; the second time to Christine VA. He is the father of five children from his first marriage and two from the second. One son from the first marriage died in Vestanfors.
Bohmanson, Robert, druggist-Arcata-was born in Kristianstad, Skane, April 19, 1865. He had completed nearly all the courses in the secondary school when, in 1884, he abruptly discontinued his studies and entered a drugstore. He worked as a chemist in Sodertelge until 1887; thereafter in Grenna, and finally in the Storken Drugstore in malmo until 1888 when he emigrated to America. He stopped first in Omaha, Neb. After working at various jobs, he succeeded in finding employment in his chosen profession and worked in drugstores in Omaha and Wakefield, Neb. and in Del Rapids, S. Dak. In 1894 he walked from Salt Lake City, Utah to San Francisco, Califor. There he first worked in a bakery, after which for a couple of years he worked as a druggist in the large No-Percent Pharmacy on Market St. In 1897 he worked in Druggist F.B. Hulting's United Pharmacy. He opened his own drugstore on the corner of I and Folson Sts. and was the proprietor of that until 1901, when he moved to Arcata and opened a drugstore, he bought one in blue Lake in 1908. Mr. Bohmanson makes his home in Arcata. He is a skilled botanist, and every summer he takes botanical trips into the mountainous regions. He is a Mason and a member of druggists' associations. He was married in August 1898 to Amalia Runeblad from Sodertelge and has one son and two daughters.
Cullberg, Isaac, businessman-Arcata-was born in Onsala, Halland, ??? Proviscon, Jan. 9, 1867, the son of sea-captain Andreas Cullberg. He studied in Onsala's Folk School and later in Goteberg's secondary school and in Hanson's Business College. In the fall of 1885 he came to Arcata. He worked a few years in various positions in sawmills. He attended Business College in Eureka and finished there in 1888. He was bookkeeper for several lumber companies. In 1894 he organized the Humboldt Manufacturing Co. for the manufacturing of shingles and for the carrying on of trading and merchandising. He has been secretary for this company since its beginning. The company has its place of business and its factory in Arcata. Mr. Cullberg is the member of several other companies. He was married in 1899 to Hulda Nelson and has two daughters.
Engstrom, Frans Oscar, butcher-Eureka-was born in Molbacks Parish, Jonkoping Province on Oct. 4, 1869. From the age of ten he worked in a bobbin factory. He came to Texas in 1890 and worked for a year in the cotton fields. He went to San Francisco in 1891 and arrived in Eureka in 1892. He worked in the logging woods, the sawmills and other places until the summer of 1908 when he opened a butcher shop which he has operated ever since. In December 1896 he was married to Alma Larson and has three children.
Ericson, A.W., photographer-Arcata-was born in Orebro on April 26, 1848. At the age of eleven, he found work in a printing shop and remained there until 1866 when he journeyed to Chicago. His first work was helping to transform the present Lincoln Park from a cemetery to a city park. After later having worked in woods camps near Whitehall, Mich., he came to Arcata, Calif. in 1868. Residing in Trinidad, Calif. during the years 1869-76 he was, the greatest part of the time, a bookkeeper for the Trinidad Mill Co. He started his won printing sop in Arcata in 1876, and since 1893 has had a photographic studio besides. His brother Richard is his business partner. The name of the firm is A.W. & R. Ericson. As a landscape photographer, Mr. Ericson has won great fame. His views of forests in northwestern California and his Indian portraits have sold by the thousand for many years. In this book are many beautiful proofs of his artistic skill. He is a Mason and an Odd Fellow. In 1878 he married Ella Fitzell from Iowa, and has eight children, two sons and five daughters are living.
Ericson, Richard, book printer-Arcata-was born in Orebro, Sept. 7, 1843. He worked form his eleventh year till his twenty-seventh in Lindska Printing Works in Orebro. In the summer of 1870 he joined his oldest brother in the store business and they worked in partnership even in Dronstad, Russia for fifteen months. He came in August 1882 to Arcata, Calif. and became a partner with his brother A.W. Ericson, in his printing establishment. Richard Ericson is a musician, has been the flutist in several different orchestras, and plays cornet in the bands.
Glim, Olof N., minister-Eureka-was born in Glimakra Parish, Kristianstad Province, on Dec. 15, 1865. In the spring of 1882 he journeyed to America. He worked during the first five years on farms in Illinois and Dakota. In the winter of 1887 he began studying at Augustana College and was graduated in June 1893. After having served as a preacher for three years in Washington and California, he enrolled in Seminary at Augustana College in 1896. He was ordained in 1899. He had, for six years, been pastor in Ridgway and Erie, Pa., when on April 2, 1905 he took over the pastorate in Riverside, California. He left that place in June 1907 to be the pastor for the Eureka congregation, arriving on July 14. Pastor Glim has twice visited Sweden-the last time in 1904 when, accompanied by his wife, he extended the tour to include several other European countries. He is a skillful photographer and a diligent collector of books and kurios. He was married Aug. 26, 1900 to Cora Matilda Larson of Cedarhome, Wash. Mrs. Glim is gifted with an excellently beautiful singing voice.
Hoarlin, Ernst Erin, seaman-Eureka-was born in Vestervik on July 18, 1862. His father, also a seaman, died in Rio de Janeiro when Mr. Hoarlin was five years old. After having gone to school for a few years, and having been an errand boy for a store for three years, (Note: in the absence of telephones, "running boys" were often employed by shop keepers to deliver good and messages throughout the district. one erstwhile errand boy that we met had later qualified to run in the Olympics.) he worked in a book printing shop one year. He then went to sea and sailed for over twenty years, mostly on long cruises, but for many of those years on American's west coast. Since 1889 he has made his home in Eureka. He quit the sea in 1901 and has since been employed in various types of work-in sawmills, in printing shops, etc. He is a member of the Foresters, the Redman, the Knights of Maccabees, the Swedish Lutheran Church. He was married in June 1905 to Clara Styrenius of Bestervik and has one son.
Jacobson, Severin, businessman-Arcata-was born in Langaryd, Jonkoping Province, on June 1, 1866. After he left home, he worked on railroads and as a stonecutter in 1889, at which time he emigrated to America and settled down in Arcata, California. He spent his first two years working in the woods and then, in 1892, he opened the Opera Liquor Store, which saloon he still operates. He is a member of the Foresters, the Improved Order of Redman, and the Eagles.
Johnson, J.A., sea captain-Eureka-was born in Qville, Bohuslan, on Feb. 13, 1847. He came to America in 1882, and lived in Galveston, Tex. before moving to Eureka, Calif. in 1888. Mr. Johnson has studied navigation, both theoretical and practical, on long sea voyages, and served as captain of many vessels. during the last fourteen years he has been captain of the steamboats Alta and Antelope. He was married in Galveston, Tex.. His wife was born in Scar,. The Johnson's have four children: Adolph, Teller, Adenine and Ameba.
Kallstrom, Charles, manufacturer-Arcata-was born in Stockholm on Aug. 4, 1856. He emigrated to America in 1882 and after one week's stay in San Francisco, came to Arcata. He worked in sawmills and shingle mills. In 1894 he organized the Humboldt Manufacturing Co. He sold this business in 1901 and built a sawmill at Luffenholtz. On Sept. 23, 1908, fire destroyed the sawmill and much more of Mr. Kallstrom's property,-including a barn which had cost $3000. he assess his losses from the fire at 860,000 (?). He is a Mason and an Odd Fellow. In 1882 he was married to Amanda Olson of Stockholm and they have one child. Two children have died.
Larson, Charles Aefred, merchant-Eureka-was born in Linderfva Parish, Skaraborg Province on July 18, 1867. In 1887 he came to San Francisco, California. He worked in Judson's ironworks in Oakland for two years and in Mar. 1889 moved to Eureka. Here he first worked in sawmills, and later, for sixteen years, as a dock worker. In 1906 he began his grocery business at 1907 California St. he owns a fine home at 638 Pratt St. and other building lots. He is a member of the Order of Masons, the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the Redman, the Scandinavian Brotherhood Assoc. and the Swedish Lutheran Church. In this church, he has served as deacon for eighteen years and as a trustee for nearly that long a time. In 1891 he was married to Emma Anderson from Skaraberg Province and has six children.
Larson, Louis, liveryman-Arcata-was born in Sunne, Varmland on Sept. 14, 1868. He came to Eureka in 1888 and worked for one year in a sawmill. He then moved to Arcata. He has been employed mostly in logging but also had a farm in Bayside. He sold this farm and bought another of seventeen acres. In 1909, in partnership with J.E. Olsen, he entered into the livery stable business. He is a member of the Odd Fellows and the Eagles. In 1904 he married to Anna Larson from Langaryd, Smaland, and has two children. (Note: The Pioneer Stables was located at the southeast corner of the Plaza, the present site of the Bank of America.) {Further note: Louis Larson was the father of LaVerne Larson, who compiled these notes. His wife's letters home to Sweden are preserved in The Letters of Anna Larsson. JF}
Lundberg, John E., store clerk-Arcata-was born in Langaryd, Smaland on Sept. 25, 1867. In 1883 he emigrated to Ludlow, Pa., and in the spring of 1887 he came to Arcata, Calif. In the beginning, he worked in the woods, but since 1890 has had employment in Brizard's big store. He is a member of the Odd Fellows and the Foresters. In 1893 he was married to Maria Duse from Gotland, and they have had three children, two of whom are living.
Olsen, John Edwards, businessman-Arcata-was born in Langaryd, Smaland on Mar. 25, 1863. After a couple of years spent as a traveling merchant, he emigrated to America and arrived in Arcata on Mar. 25, 1888. He worked at various jobs, mostly those associated with logging-for three years, he worked in a store. In the spring of 1909, in partnership with Louis Larson, he took on proprietorship of the Pioneer Stables. He is a member of the Odd Fellows, the Foresters, and other organizations. In Mar. 1902 he was married to Hilma Mellgren from Vestergotland and has three children. {Note: The "Uncle John" of Anna's letters home. His wedding is described in her letters where she met her future husband, Louis Larson. Pictures also available there. JF}
Peterson, Otto, hotel owner-Eureka-was born in Goteborg, Sweden on Nov. 15, 1874, but moved as a small child with his parents to Erikstad, Darlsland, where he was raised. In 1890 he emigrated to America, working during the first years at various occupations in Wisconsin, from whence he came to Eureka, Calif. After a year and a half spent working in the shipyards, he devoted himself to the operation of a stationery and cigar store. In the spring of 1899 he went to Nome, Alaska. Here he tried his hand at gold mining and suffered great disappointment. In the winter of 1990 he went on foot to Dawson City and stayed in that area during the next several years, working with alternating success, under considerable trouble, toil, and self-denial. His fortune improved and then he and a partner, A.M. Swanson, bought the mind, 46 Below Discovery, on Hunter Creek. After the partners had worked this mine with great success for three and a half years, they took Chas. Freeman as a third partner in 1905. Together, they bought no less than eleven mining claims. That done, Mr. Peterson took a trip to Sweden. After he returned to Alaska in 1906, in the fall of that same year, he sold his share of all the gold mines except one in Fairbanks, which he still owns in partnership with Swanson and Freeman. He moved to Eureka, Calif. where he invested in the hotel business, leasing from hotel man, G.A. Waldner, his big hotel, called the Western Hotel. A picture of this hotel, which Mr. Peterson has furnished in the beat fashion, can be found on page 177 of this book. Mr. Peterson is a member of the Foresters, the Eagles, The Knights of the Royal Arch and the Scandinavian Brotherhood Association. He was married in the fall of 1907 to Ida Isakson, who, born in Vasa, Finland, has lived in Eureka since she was fifteen years old.
Ryden, Johan Alf., tailor-Arcata-was born in Asa Parish, Kronobergs Province on Dec. 15, 1854. He learned tailoring and worked at that trade in Sweden until the spring of 1879, when he emigrated to America. He arrived in Evanston, Ill. on May 8th. In 1881 he returned to Sweden and stayed there a year. Subsequently he lived a year in Brooklyn and New York, spent some time in Emporia, Kans., and one year in Portland, Ore. From there, he went to San Francisco and finally moved to Arcata and began a tailoring business. In 1893 he bought fifty acres of ground several miles from town, but continued on with his tailoring until 1902, when he moved to the farm, clearing the land and devoting himself to running a dairy. In Nov. 1907 he moved back to Arcata, bought a house, and resumed tailoring. Mr. Ryden is a member of the Odd Fellows. In 1891 he was married to Ida Alden from Algotsboda, Smaland, and has a daughter and three sons.
Swenson, Charles, music teacher, piano virtuoso-Eureka-was born in Paxton, Ill. on Nov. 14, 1872. At the age of seven he moved with his parents to Friendshome, Kans. He came to Lindsborg in 1882. He studied music for two years at Bethany College, then at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill. for several years. He continued his studies in Chicago, and at the Musical Academy in Stockholm, Sweden, for three years. On his return to America he became the organist in a Catholic church in Cleveland, Ohio. Shortly thereafter, he was summoned to the Augustana Parish in Minneapolis and to Prof. Johnson's music school, where he was a music teacher for two and a half years before moving to the west coast and settling in Eureka. He is a virtuoso on the piano and has appeared as soloist in many concerts in the East. He is presently the leader for the Orpheus Singing Society, organist in the Presbyterian Church, and an instructor of piano and singing. He has had a chorus of fifty voices, and the number of his students sometimes reaches sixty. Prof. Swenson is a member of the Odd Fellow order. In July 1905, he was married to Julia Helene Lundberg of Eureka, who was his first pupil and who previously had intended to go to Stockholm to study music. She is a skilled violinist and also gives lessons.
Waldner, Gustav Adolph, businessman-Eureka-was born in Vestra, Skrukeby Parish, Ostergotland on Nov. 18, 1856. At the conclusion of his schooling, he learned the shoemaker's trade, but found no pleasure in that, so went, instead, to sea and was a sailor for many years-now on a Swedish or Norwegian, now on an American vessel. He participated in the war between Chile and Peru, 1878-9, as a seaman on the Chilean flagship, Blanco El Coronado. He took part in several battles and was present at the seizing of Callao and Lima. At the war's end, he was mustered out in Valparaiso, and sailed on an English steamer to San Francisco, arriving there in the fall of (?). He worked, part of the time, in Mendocino Co. and part of the time as a street car conductor in San Francisco before moving to Eureka in April 1883. He worked in the woods, had a fish store during the years 1885-8, was employed for a year in the shipyards, and entered the hotel business in 1890. For seven years, he owned and operated the Scandia Hotel. He then leased the Western hotel which he later bought for $17,000. A half year later, he was offered $35,000 for it, but he declined the offer. He operated the Western Hotel (the same one that is pictured on p. 177) until 1907, when he leased it to Otto Peterson and set out on a trip to Europe. He is now in the real estate business with Holmes at 407 E. St. Mr. Waldner owns over 2,000 acres of land and a large house at 1353 G. St. where he lives. He is a Past Grand and Past Chief Patriarch of the Order of Odd Fellows, a member of the Eagles, the Foresters (in which he is also Past Chief), the Royal Arch (he was its first Commander in Humboldt Co.) as well as the Order of Rebeccas. In 1888 he was married to Tillie Anderson from Torslunda, Oland, and has two sons and two daughters.
Material compiled by LaVerne Larson, provided by the
Ziegler family, and prepared eletronically
by Joyce Farruggia, 1995.
© Joyce Farruggia and the Blackberry Bramble Network and the Ziegler family.
Permission to use for non-profit purposes only.
Last Updated 12-23-95