First post in Anna-Karins Genealogical podcast YouTube channel

I have uploaded the first little film in Anna-Karins Genealogical Podcasts YouTube channel.
it is a little film about the Swedish actress Emilie Högqvist 1812-1846. she was a popular actress in the 1830thies and 1840thies .One can almost say that she was a 19th century swedish eqvivalen of Marilyn Monroe. since she was for time mistress to king Oscar I (before he became king).
She was a contemporary of the famous swedish singer Jenny Lind.

Genealogy Days in Örebro Aug 27-29 1

At last I have arrived in Örebro for this years Genealogy Days.
Örebro is an old town founded in medialval times.
One of its main attractions is the old castle in the center of the city








The Genealogy Days (the yearly conference for the Swedish Federation of Genealogical Societies) was held inthe new
Conference center Conventum.
Already around 9.30 A lot of people were queing
to by their admission ticket only aon Aug 28 around 3000-4000 tickets were sold.









Around 200 different exibitors had their booths
there were different genealogical Societies.Archives, and companies selling or providing services to genealogists and local historiians as well as authors selling their books
In the background to the left is the booth of Stor Stockholms Genealogiska Förening (The Genealogical socoety of the greater Stockholm area)

New Episodes of Anna-Karins Genealogical Podcast

I have at last published two episodes of my podcast Anna-Karins Genealogical Podcast
with interviews I made at last years Genealogy Days in Falköping.
Among the Interviews are with Ted Rosvall,representatives from DIS-Norge, Genline, Arkivdigital
Sweden-American Center and more.
Today I am of to this years Genealogy Days in Örebro

Anna-Karin in Chicago 2 Mount Olive cemetery

Today I visited some Chicago cemeteries among them
Mount Olive cemetery in Chicago .
It is a non denominational cemetery and it was founded 1886 .








Several Swedish emigrants are buried at the cemetery among them my distant relative on my maternal grandfathers side Lotta Gustafsdotter 1850-1929
married to Per Gustaf Svensson Sundquist In the USA the family called themself Swanson They emigrated in the 1890thies from Sandhult in the province of Västergötland to Chicago.
Lotta is buried in the same grave as her children
Jenny Swanson Jacobsen 1879-1901 and Arvid O Swanson 1886-1963.
Here in Chicago I am staying with some of Lottas descdendants the Bredemann family.

On the cemetery are many graves of swedish emigrants and their descendants. Among famillies I have researched I found the graves of relatives to My uncle Eric (Larsson) Lago (my maternal aunt Karins husband) .Several of his relatives emigrated in 1879thies from Getinge in the province of Halland to Chicago.Among this relatives were Julius Swenson (or Swanson) 1843- and his wife Josephine Nelson (Nilson?)1859-1929. they met in Chicago and had several children.Julius and Josephine are buried in a plot at the cemetery according to cemetery records but no stone are preserved.
However two of their daughters are buried there as well as one grandaughter.Their oldest daughter Hulda J( Swenson) Farrell 1883-1923 and her husband Edward J Farrell 1884-1941 is buried in the same lot as well as the younger daughter Alice S (Swenson) Weslar 1885-1957 and her daughter Gladys (Weslar) Cooksey 1906-1954

Ancestry buying Genline

Ancestry.com is buying the swedish family history website Genline

I hope this will be a good development for both Ancestry and genline customers

Ancestry customers will get more access to swedish materials and Genline gustomers hopefully will get access to Ancestrys was holding of USA andCanadian and other records.

Dick Eastman is writing about the merger here

Anna-Karin in Chicago 1

I have arrived in Chicago. I hope to be able to post something about my experiences here later.

The first Swedes came to Chicago in the 1840-thies and 1850thies

Swedish Royal Weddings: Crown princess Victoria to Daniel Westling June 19th 2010 part 1

At last the wedding of Crown princess Victoria and Daniel Westling took place in Storkyrkan just beside the Royal Palace in Stockholm.. The wedding day was the culmination of 3-4 days of festivities. I have tried to find some You Tube clips to show you everything what went on

The day before the wedding(June 18th) there was a big gala consert at the Concert Hall in Stockholm were a lot of Swedish singers and artists celebrated the princess and her fiance among the artists were the group Roxette (Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson who performed their song The Look



In the beautiful Ending of the consert a lot of singing children came up to salute the crown princess (about 3 min. into the video)

Crown princess Victoria Marries on Saturday june 19

On Saturday June 19 th Crown princess Victoria daugthter of King Carl XVI and queen Silvia will marry Mr. Daniel Westling from Ockelbo.
Crownprincess Victoria is the royal couples eldest child (and heir to the throne) she is born in 1977. Daniel Westling is born 1973 in Örebro but grew up in Ockelbo.

Around 2001 he met crownprincess Victoria when he worked as her personal trainer the became a couple soon after. The couple became engaged in 2009 feb 24

The wedding will be held in Storkyrkan close to the royal palace in Stockholm. The wedding date has historical significance. In 1976 June 19 king Carl Gustaf and queen Silvia was married . There were also royal wedding on the same dates in 1823 and 1850. I will try to post a bit more on the wedding later.

Parts of the royal wedding can be seen Live and on the we at Swedish Televisions Royal Wedding site at

http://svt.se/detkungligabrollopet; (in Swedish)

The official wedding site (english version)

http://www.royalcourt.se/royal…..60315.html

Swedish Emigrant Institute ist empoyees are given notice

All staff at the Emigrant Institute in Växjö, which has been on notice and the property is being sold, writes Smålandsposten. (the local newspaper)

The Institute's financial crisis is a result of loss of funds and disagreements with the former co-financiers the Municipality of Växjö and Kronoberg County Council.

The Board is opposed to their proposal that the Institute will be part of the same organization as the Småland Museum and Archives Kronoberg. It is feared that it would damage the institution's status to be included in such a local context.

Here is a rough translation fo the article in Smålandsposten
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The staff at the Emigrant Institute has its notification of termination and the whole property in The Museum Park is being offered for sale .The reason is that the board of the Emigrant Institute and the board of the The Culture Park has failed to reach an agrement about a merger.

- I never thought it would go so far. We all agree that this is regrettable and serious, "said Lars Hansson, director of The Emigrant Institute.
Altogether, it is about a dozen employees. The decision to give notice of termination to those is taken by the Emigrant Institutes Board. None of the staff Smålandsposten was in contact with yesterday wanted to make any comments.
- We do not know what this will mean, says one of them.

Although the property, with the House of Emigrants,the exhibition hall and office space and land in The Museum Park will be up for sale,according to the Board of the Emigrant Institutes's decision.
The property was recently valued at around 14 million Swedish kronor by the Valuation Office in Växjö.

- We have to take responsibility for the economic situation. Here is a mortage on the property also. It must be resolved in any way, "said Lars Hansson.

The background to the notices and the possible sale of the real estate is the Emigrant Institute's board of directors and the The Culture Park, which is owned by the municipality of Växjö and Kronoberg County Council, has been unable to agree on a solution for a merger.
The reason is that the Emigrant Institute did not buy the politicians' approach to transfer the Emigrant Institute's staff and activities to The Culture Company with the Småland Museum (the county museum)and The Kronoberg Archives. It would risk Emigrant Institute's national and international status in the scientific community to the risk of such a local context, the Board (of the Emigrant Institute )believes.

- Our policy has been that the Emigrant Institute will maintain its core business, archives and research, and that we share the public areas with the Culture Park. But it has not been possible to reach an agreement on this, "said Lars Hansson.
Chairman of the Board, history professor Harold Round Flowers says:
- The Culture Park will get a larger organization and momentum and we will guarantee what we will do that foundation. There is actually a collision of interests .

The Institute's economy has been strangled by withdraval of economic support from the local government of Växjö and the Kronoberg County Council this money is now given now to The Culture Park. Altogether, it is about a couple million a year. The money will not be at the Institute until there is a settlement.

The Culture Park s director , Erica Månsson, believes that the offer is generous and that includes opportunities for the Emigrant Institute s goals , such as in research.
- My opinion is that we have given a very good offer which we took into account the Foundation's various comments. We are appalled by the staff situation. It is unfortunate, "she says.
Today sit representatives of the Emigrant Institute and Cultural Park in the new negotiations. Both sides say they hope for a solution, even if the lengthy discussions have not led to the conclusion that they failed to agree.
- I have high hopes, "said Culture Park chairman Peter Norrman.

Lennart Ernstsson

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there were several comments on the article in the newspaper some taking the side of the Swedish emigrant Institute and some the side of The culture Park among the comments were this from Bo Frank (the mayor of Växjö)
"
All the politicans in the municipality and county council is behind The culture Park and the offer toThe Emigrant institute to be developed as part of The Culture Park. If theSwedish emigrant Institute would rather close down its operations it may do so !
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My personal comment on this is that it will surely be a sad Day if the Swedish Emigrant Institute is forced out of its building and forced to leave Växjö. For years it has drawn tourists from USA, Canada and other countries to Växjö. People has been able to look at the exibitions and in the research department they also have been able to do research on their familiys origin in sweden and swedes has also been able to do research on their relatives fates in USA and Canada . The Emigrant Institutes archive and library conatins a unique collection of books ,swedish-american newspapers microfilmed swedish-american church records and also unique interwiews with old emigrants and a unique collection of pictures. This unity of library, research department ,archive and exibitions is now risking to be lost as well as the competence that goes with the employees.
I am aware that times have changed and that the Emigrant Institutes way of working has to change too.
as well as to the fact that The Institute has economical problems.

The bottom line is perhaps that the Swedish Emigrant Institute is a national institution anf that the Smålands Museum and the Kronoberg Archive are local Institutions and that their Interest may collide.
As a national Institution the Institute should have recevied some state support but that has never been given. Instead it has been dependent on economical support from the Municipality of Växjö and The county Council. The Municipality of Växjö and especially Bo Frank have pressed hard for a merger with the Smålands Museum and the Kronoberg Arhive to cut costs and to put pressure on The Emigrant Institute they have more or less slowly strangled them by cutting the economic support and forcing them to more or less close the research deparment to visitors (they are still answering research questions by e-mail).
it is sad that there have been no agrement.
I have spend much of my time at the Swedish emigrant institute since the late eighties that time may soon be gone.