Murder on Christmas Night ! The shooting of Swan Nelson in Chicago Dec 25 1893 part 1

On  Chistmas Eve 1893 Swan Nelson a young Swedish Emigrant closed his little tobacco store on Archer Ave on Chicagos south side   at 4 pm and walked to his home close by near 32 Street .;
Swan was born as one of 7 surviving children  in 1871 in the village of Magletorp in Trolle- Ljungby in the province of  Skåne (Scania) in southern Sweden as the son of Nils Johnson 1820-1881 and Sissa Johnsdotter 1830-1891.
After the the death of their father, Nels two oldest sisters Elna and Karna emigrated to the USA in 1882.  after their mothers death Sven and his older brother Jöns and their youngest sister Johanna emigrated in march 1892. Sven and Jöns settled in Chicago where their maternal aunt Elna(Ella) Benson and her two children lived..

Trolle-Ljungby church 

In Chicago Jöns and Sven Nilsson quickly became John and Swan Nelson .  Life apparently went well for the two brothers  Swan quickly learned a bit of english and manged to accuire a little tobacco store. He also took part in the social life of the Swedish-Americans in the city. In the summer of 1893 he became one of the charter members of the lodge Angantyr of The Independent order of Vikings. In  the summer and fall of 1893 Chicago also hosted The  Worlds Columbian Exposition .with visitors from allover the USA and the world visiting Chicago.
The city  was also plagued by crime and violence and political corruption  and shortly before  the Exposition closed Chicago mayor Carter Harrison was murdered .

"The White city" The Worlds comumbian Exibition in Chicago 1893

Swan had all reasons to be content with his life in Chicago and to look forward to a bright futute unfortunate his life was cut short all too soon. On Christmas evening  Swan went to a small Christmas party held by his neigbours Otto and Josephine  Bjorkman  . he and the bjorkman family and a few other friends celebrated Christmas Eve the Swedish way with some food and drink.


(Aproximate place where the shooting took place (the street numbers where changed in 1909)

About 2.30 AM  early on Christmas morning Swan left the Bjorkmans home. Despite being early in the mornng he decided to go to the Northelfer´s saloon nearby.  Outside the saloon he met two Irish-american policemen  Michael J Healy and Thomas  J Moran  who had had some drinks in another saloon earlier in the evening.
 They  insisted that Swan should buy them some drinks in the saloon. The three men went inside    where  there where  a few sleepy german-american customers and the bartender .The bartender gave the policemen cigars and Swan bought them each a drink. but when they insisted he should buy them more he refused.

 They then beat him with a club. and then  cleared the saloon. Outside the Saloon the quarell continued. They arrested Swan Nelson and while Mooran went to call the police-wagon Healy held him. Swan then brooke lose and ran towards his home .The two policemen fired 5 shoots (in the air) they later said.
Swan Nelson was hit in the back. Mrs.Bjorkman heard the shot and opened the door.  Mooran entered and said  he had fired at a robber and demanded more whiskey !.Swan Nelson had managed to crawl to his house where mrs Bjorkman found him dying.

 "Here is my watch,mrs Bjorkman"  he said " I am shoot and will die !. the two policemen returned.Healy treatened to shot mrs  Bjorkman if she left the dying man , he also hit her in the face she later testified. Swan Nelson was dragged to the sidewalk where he was heard saying "I die,I die ,I have done no wrong,Have I no friends here? help-I am dying."  The police-wagon arrived and took him  to the hospital where he died later on Christmas day .

Växjö and Småland in Wold War 1 part 2

World War 1  Växjö and Småland, part 2

A man from  Kristdala  in the U.S. Army

Although Sweden by its neutrality never became directly involved in the fighting in the First World War was still Swedes who fought in the war. The largest group was probably the Swedish emigrants who emigrated to the United States and that more or less voluntarily  joined the U.S. Army.

Among them was Carl Edward Carlsson 1891-1985 from Kristdala in Kalmar County. Carl Edward
emigrated in 1912 to America where he settled in the vicinity of Oneida, Illinois.
In April 1917 the United States declared war on Germany, and in December against Austria-Hungary.
In June 1917  Carl Edward  was drafted along with many other young men.Just  before
midsummer 1918, they were sent to  Camp Grant near Rockford, Illinois.
The new Military Service Act in the U.S. in 1917 obliged even those who have begun the application process to become a citizen to stand at  the army's disposal. Carl Edward became  a  U.S. citizen Aug. 1, 1918 while at Camp Grant. Not everyone in Rockford's neighborhood wanted to join the army in June 1917 120 Swedes were arrested in Rockford for conscientious objection.
Carl Edwards company were  after a short time training   went to New York and then on to Liverpool and from England by boat to Bordaux to join the rest of the American Expeditionary Force In France
Parts of Carl Edwards field equipment helmet, canteen, knapsack, etc.

 

The trip to the front in France  was undertaken in cattle cars. Carl Edwards Companywere quartered in a farmhouse soon the  the Spanish flu broke  out and most of the men fell ill.Carl Edward and the few other healthy soldiers escaped the disease but were sent  to the front to fill in the gaps after the armys losses .The fighting  at the front was hard and  after a week, there were only 76 men  of 265 left in the company  the rest were dead or wounded. Overall  Carl Edward spend 4 times at the front the total days spend fighting was 28 . He served mainly in the  28th Infantry Division.
After the hard battles  General Pershing called  the division for his "Iron Division" .
Papers relating Carl Edwards time in the field and pictures of him in uniform.

 


After the Armistice in  November 11th  1918 the  U.S. troops to stayed  another 6 months in France In n March 1919 Carl Edward and his  company was  located in Bagneux. The demobilization took place outside Le Mans and on  May 1th  the  return journey by boat  to Philadelphia began , The final demobilization. took place May 17 at Camp Dix, New Jersey
Below Carl Edward and his comrades in the 28th  Infantry Division in Bagneux in March 1919

After his return from the war Carl Edward decided to visit his family in Sweden  His passport application  is  dated October 8th  1919. December 6th he sailed from New York  to Sweden.
He later returned to U.S A  and stayed there until the early 1930 thies  when he definitely returned to Sweden, where he married and had two daughters, He died in 1985.Towards the end of his life he wrote down his  experiences in t World War 1.
 Carl Edwards daughters have put their  father's belongings to Kulturparken Småland s disposal  for the  exhibition. The picture below shows Carl Edward Carlsons  daughters Irene Enoksson and Ingrid Kronvall along with the CEO of Kulturparken Småland  Lennart Johansson.