Sophia Carolina Wilhelmina Bjorklund

I haven't done much research on my Swedish family, mainly because I don't know any Swedish. I figured I would give it a go and started looking into some records and information on one of my 2nd great-grandmothers, Sophia Carolina Wilhelmina Bjorklund.

Sophia - about 1930

Sophia was born 29 October 1883 in Gävle, Gävleborg, Sweden. She was the daughter of Anders Bjorklund and Johanna Maria Grönstedt. I haven't conducted any research on Anders or Johanna, so at this point I do not know when they married. I can see there are several online trees that provide a marriage date, but since I have not found their marriage document to prove it, it is just hear-say to me at this point. I also do not know how many siblings Sophia had, but online trees show that she did have several siblings.

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Gävleborg Län (Gävle Församling, Gävle Prosteri, Uppsala Stift) Kyrkoboker, Utdrag ur 1883 års, Födelsebok, blad 40, nummer 566, Sofia Carolina Wilhelmina Bjorklund, född 29 Oktober 1883; digital image, “Sweden, Indexed Birth Records, 1860-1941,” Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com), accessed March 2016.

Religion & Immigration

Sometime within the first decade of the 20th century, Sophia came in contact with Mormon missionaries. She later joined the Mormon religion and decided to leave Sweden and join many other converts in Salt Lake City, Utah. By September 1911 Sophia made her way to Liverpool, England, where she boarded the ship S.S. Tunisian, along with 50 other passengers. They departed Liverpool on 21 September 1911 and arrived in Montreal, Canada on 1 October 1911.

United States, Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Manifests of Passengers Arriving at St. Albans, Vermont, District through Canadian Pacific and Atlantic Ports, S.S. Tunisian, departed 22 September 1911 from Liverpool, England, arrived 1 October 1911 at Port of Montreal, List B, Line 3, Sofia Karolina Bjorklund; digital image, “U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1956,” Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com), accessed March 2016.

Once arriving in Montreal, her and most of the other passengers who were also making their way to Salt Lake City, likely boarded a train that passed down south through Vermont and on toward Utah.

At this point I do not know if Sophia had any family already in Utah, or if she was taking this adventure to Utah alone. She didn't have any siblings or family members traveling on the ship with her. One of the columns on the passenger list asked who their closest friend or relative was back in the country from whence they came. Anders Bjorklund was recorded for Sophia, assuming that was her father and not another family member. Another column on the passenger list asked whether the person was going to join a relative or friend at their destination, and if so, who are they and what is their address. Sophia provided a name and address of someone who lived in Salt Lake City, but I had a hard time making out the complete name and address.

Cropped portion of the passenger list showing a friend or relative Sophia was joining in Salt Lake City.

Marriage & Family

I don't know much about the first couple of years of Sophia's life in Salt Lake City, but at some point she met John Albert Anderson, who she later married on 24 June 1914 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah. John was 41 years old and Sophia was 30 years old. John was living in Central, Bannock County, Idaho, while Sophia was living in Salt Lake City. I am not sure who they would have met since John lived at least 160 miles north of where Sophia was living. Either way, they met, courted and married in Salt Lake City. After marriage they returned to Central, where John had been living.

Shortly after their marriage Sophia became pregnant with their first child. LeRoy Julius Anderson was born 7 April 1915 in Central, Bannock County, Idaho. LeRoy is my great-grandfather. John and Sophia's second child, John Everett Anderson, was born about 1917, but I do not have an exact date. Their third child, Heber George Anderson, was born 10 May 1918, likely in or around Central.

LeRoy Julius Anderson (Left), John Everett Anderson and his wife Marie (Middle), Heber George Anderson (Right)

John Albert Anderson died only one month after Heber was born. He died on 2 June 1918 in Central from an ulcer of the stomach. He had the ulcer for three years. On 30 May of the same year he began to have major troubles, caused by the ulcer. His doctor visited him several times over the next couple of days before he died, partly from hemorrhaging. Sadly, the Anderson boys grew up not personally knowing their father.

Idaho, State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, Certificate 21467, John Albert Anderson, died 2 July 1918, in Central, Bannock County, Idaho; digital image, “Idaho, Death Certificates, 1911-1937,” FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org), accessed October 2013.

By 1921 Sophia, still a young woman in her mid-30s, met and married Charles Gustav Broady. According to some family documents, they were married 21 October 1921 in Caribou County, Idaho. I need to obtain a copy of their marriage record to prove the date and place of marriage. Charles was also born in Sweden, but I don't know much information about him other than the 1930 and 1940 census records which show Sophia and her children living in Central.

Several years ago I came in contact with a distant cousin - the son of Heber George Anderson. Him and my grandmother, Roylene, are cousins, and he told me he remembers my grandmother when they were young, but also at a young age, his family moved to Washington due to the fact that his father was in the military. He had some photos of my grandmother, her sister, Cheryl and their grandmother, Sophia. He was kind enough to share these photos with me. They are some of the only photos I have of my grandmother when she was a young girl. Below are two of the photos he shared of Sophia.

Sophia standing in front of the car.

Sophia, Heber, Roylene (left), Cheryl (right)

Sophia died 2 May 1947 in Central, Bannock County, Idaho. I found an index online that provided her death information, but I need to order a copy of her death certificate from the state of Idaho.

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