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Experience makes progress

In my research I want to find as much correct information as I can, and connect all the bits and pieces to a picture, that is as much confirmed as is gets.

I have during this year learned a lot about in what places I have to look to find the information, and the more difficult it gets, the more eager I become to really find the last missing piece that makes the picture of the soldier as correct it can be.

One of these things I really want to verify is the soldiers Place of Birth, POB. One source for that is the Swedish “Riksarkivet” which I hold quite high when it comes to reliability. When I have those facts through the correct page from the Church book, I find the case done.

This evening I decided to try again with a soldier that I couldn´t verify before due to the lack of ideas about where to search, and how to search. This soldier was Carl Hjalmar Arring, born in Stockholm according to his registration papers for the Australian Imperial Forces, AIF. He stated a quite strange reference when it came to Next of Kin, NOK, where he stated a friend named Persse, or similar. Not much to go on.

Carl Hjalmar Arring was fighting for the 10th Australian Infantry battalion at the Western Front and fell in the battle of Passchendaele 7th of October 1917. He is commemorated at The Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres, Belgium, earlier buried at the site where he was fallen, but then never found.

I went to Ancestry and tried to find a person named Arring, with the adress that he had stated in the papers, but I didnt find anything. I tried to search for Arring in the Swedish archives, and even on the web, but no luck.

I decided again to try to go through all “Carl Hjalmar” in Riksarkivet, and then put in the year that he was born, and the search in Stockholm. Luckily it was not many persons named Carl Hjalmar born in 1879. The place of birth and the Date of Birth, I found in the Australian National Archives, NAA, in the naturalisation papers. I assumed that it was the right person, as I also compared with the age he had stated on the on the registration papers. That fact is often wrong, so I have to look for more sources, and the naturalisation papers is then a good source. When it comes to Swedes who went to Australia, I find naturalisation papers in about 50 percent of the cases, and in this case I found it.

Looking through all the Carl Hjalmar in a certain time period, a period when they have counted all the persons in a specific region, I have about 27 to look through. When I look at the 15th or something I see “Arninge” in the file, that states the home village for that Carl Hjalmar.

I then decide to check the church book for Täby parish, and I now have the date and year. Looking in Riksarkivet, page in the church book for the 28th of January, and there he is … Carl Hjalmar Eriksson, born in Stockholm, that specific date.

I dont say it cant be another person called Carl Hjalmar, born at the same date in Stockholm, but this is quite close. Probably he thought it was nice to change from a quite common Swedish name Eriksson, to a name that reminded him of his village “Arninge”, that became “Arring”. In quite many cases before, I have experienced that they change their names, Johan to John, Gustav to Gust etc, when it comes to first names, but not so often the family name.

This new experience I take with me in my future work, in verifying the soldiers, especially when it comes to verify the POB.

Right now I have 127 Swedish soldiers in total in my research, and 104 of those are fully verified. The work goes on.

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World War Family …

This was one of my hardest tracing tasks I have done so far. No one is forcing me, but I can never give up when I find a trace. For my research this is one of the key factors. OK, then we begin …

I am trying to verify the birth of Eric Olson, 11th Canadian battery, who died at the Western Front 4th of September 1918, in the area of the village Saudemont, after have been injured in his hands and legs. He is buried at Queant Road Cemetery, west of the postion he fell.

Finally I found him, and could verify his birth in Lit Perish, Östersund, Sweden in 1897, not 1896, that he states in his military documents. He is born to the name Nils Erik Nilsson by his mother Kristina Eriksdotter, born 1865 and his father Nils Ohlsson born 1857.

I also found the probable reason for his new name. His mother became a widow in Östersund, after her husbands death, and then met Peter Olof Olsén, and he was born 1873. Peter and Kristina are married in April 1901, and they become Peter Olof Olsen and Christina Olsen.

Peter worked 6 years at the Swedish Jämtland Ranger Regiment, in a medical unit as an ambulance driver.

Peter took his family to the United States in 1903, and in 1908 they became citizens in Canada.

Peter and Christina had three kids. The oldest son was Olof Nilsson, who became Georg (!) Olsen. Then Eric Olsen was born, as mentioned above, in 1897, and finally William Olsen, which was born in 1903 to the name of Paulus Wilhelm Olsen, All their sons were born in Sweden. Are you with me so far?

The following research reveals that Peter Olof Olsen served as Peter Olaf Olsen initially in the 54th Infantry battalion in October 1915 and was then transferred to the 2nd Forestry Coy, before he went back to Canada again in 1919.

His Oldest son, George Olson was attached to the Canadian Engineer Reinforcement troops in Canadian Expeditionary Forces in September 1918, but he never went over to France, and the unit later demobilized in April 1919, and he was then discharged.

The mid son, as we now know as Eric Olson, went over to France and the Western Front in December 1915, and was taken on strength in France in May 1916, and finally fell at The Western Front the 4th of September 1918. May he rest in peace.

I will develop this little story later on, but the small thing that cought my eye and finally solved the story, making it possible to verify that Eric was born in Sweden, was these words: “1060 Richmond Avenue, Victoria, B.C” (British Columbia, Canada), they all wrote this on their military documents, regarding “Next of Kin”. With those Words I could find Christina at that adress, and then trace the rest of the family back to Sweden.

I hope the mother Christina finally could breath out a bit in her life, even if the loss of one son, never heals. Luckily she did not loose more members of the family. Down here you can take a look of some of the info that I found on the way.