The Wiklander family

Margareta Nilsdotter Torn was born April 13th 1833 in Nordanbro, Hassela. Godfathers and godmothers at the baptism was the farmer Pål Danielsson and his wife Ingrid Olofsdotter from Ölsjön, farmer and teacher Paul Bodin, Pål Danielsson and the maid Gölin Danielsdotter Kråm, all from Nordanbro.
Margareta moves to Vigge on October 25th 1857 and three years later, on June 12th 1860, she marries Erik Peter Ersson Wiklander.
Together they had five children:

Erik Andreas born 26-09-1859
Brita Eugenia born 16-08-1861
Vendela Götilda born 03-09-1864
Margareta Olivia born 25-01-1868
Nils August born 03-02-1871

Margareta and Erik lived in this house. The people in the picture has nothing to do with Margaretas family.

Erik Peter died in Vigge on March 24th 1873. It´s not hard to imagine that life became much harder for Margareta and the children. Luckily, some of the children were relatively old, Erik was fourteen and Brita twelve, so they could help out around the house.

We know that Margareta rented out the house to the highest bidder in 1877. The contract is still preserved. Click here to read it (only in Swedish).

July 21th 1882 Margareta chose to emigrate to America with her children. The oldest daughter had the year before married Johan Peter Persson, and they emigrated at the same time as Margareta. According to the emigrant-record (a CD-ROM containing information about the people who emigrated to America) the destination was S:t Paul, Minnesota, but we know that they came to Bethel in Anoka County, Minnesota. We will probably never know who took the initiative to the trip, but it was probably Brita and Johan who decided to emigrate, and the others came with them.
In addition we can say that at least thirteen people from Stöde emigrated on that date, eleven of them to S:t Paul.
 

The image shows Bethel were Margareta lived, and Cambridge were she is buried.

June 30th 1883 Margareta married a man called Andrew Stadin who came from Hassela. His actual name was Anders Stadin and had immigrated as early as 1872 together with his then wife, Gölin Kråm. She died in 1880 and left husband Anders with several children.
Anders married Margareta in 1883, but she died October 8th 1884. She is buried in Union Cemetary in Cambridge, Isanti.

Daugther Brita Eugenia Wiklander died 20-12-1930 in Ball Bluff, Aitkin, Minnesota. She is buried in Ball Bluff Cemetary in Aitkin, Minnesota.

Daugther Vendela Götilda Wiklander died 02-07-1931 in S:t Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota. She is buried in Isanti Union Cemetary, Isanti, Minnesota. She married Erik Eriksson 09-05-1884 in Willmar Kandiyohi.

Daughter Margareta Olivia Wiklander married a Claus or Ole Hendersson in October 1887.
Son Nils August Wiklander (or Nels August Wiklander, as he was called in America) married Charlotte Ridge. He died 16-03-1942 in Stevens Point, Portage, Wisconsin and is buried in Oak Leaf Cemetary, East Bethel, Anoka, Minnesota.
 

/Andreas Wikström Key

(translated by Therese Johansson)