Jonas Victor writes of difficult problems that were in his Swedish family. Hans and Oskar are Jonas Victor's brothers. Roselyn
Clay Center, Kansas
April 1922 or 1923
Brother Albert,
I received your letter several days ago. Thanks for telling me how life is going for you.
As you see, I am with my son in Clay Center. I will go home next week. I have been here since January 9. It is good for my feet here during the wintertime. They make a fire in the cellar, so the floors are warm in all the rooms.
When I read your letter, I could not hold back tears. I thought of Hans and Mother's and Father's sorrow. I have never thought that Fransen was Oskar's son, even though you told me that Oskar and Anlovis (Anna Lovisa) had a son together. It was difficult to understand why Oskar did not marry her. Both the clergyman and Mother and perhaps her parents had ordered him to marry her. If they had married, perhaps she would not have committed suicide.
Their life was unhappy. I can not leave the thought that it was a spirit which controlled him, but when she died everything was pulled up for him. Perhaps he saw the life they had lived together, all the pressures he got. The most difficult thing for him was he perhaps felt guilty because of her death. And perhaps that is why his mind became bothered.
If they had asked God to forgive them, everything would have been good. Nobody who has not experienced death of someone close, can understand the feeling of the one who survived.
I did what I could for my wife, when she was sick. I picked flowers along the roads in the spring and also flowers in the garden, and we talked much. She was happy. I should have been with her the whole time her last week, so sometimes I have gloomy thoughts. I feel that I neglected something.
In the next part Jonas Victor tells about the mental problems Hans had and the cruel methods used for treatment of people with mental illness. Roselyn
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
79. March 26, 1923. Part 3.
This is the final part of a letter. He misses his wife, and as usual, he wonders about the "bog" and farm back home in Sweden. Roselyn
Since Mother (his wife) died, I feel so alone and my thoughts are often of her, but I have it better than many others. I have God's peace in Jesus Christ. When I am at the cemetery, I think of "near and dear" and it is sorrowful for me. When I come to my wife's grave where I have my great companion, then it is difficult to hold back the tears. It will not be a long time before my body will be buried with her. The reunion will be soon.
Here we have a burial plot for every family member and nobody else can be buried there. Like many others, there is a cemented wall around the grave, 8 inches high and 20 inches deep and a gravestone in the middle with the name on. When I go to the cemetery, I find most of my old friends there. I read their names and the year when they were born and also the year when they died. It is cut into stones of granite, and it will not disappear in hundreds of years. It does not feel good to see this, but it must be, so a new generation comes instead. Everything under the sun is perishable.
You mentioned 3 crowns. I always thought that you charged too little for your troubles about the inheritance from Gottfrid.
Brother Albert, do not forget to write and tell how it is with Algot, Johan Peters' son, and also about the harvest from the bogs, how much the wood is worth and if you can sell it.
Let me know if you have a Sunday School in the neighborhood. May we meet at home with God. That is what I wish, and it is in my prayers.
Kindest regards to all of you.
J.V. Svenson
The postmaster in Randolph said that a letter to Sweden does not cost more than 5 cents. Let me know if you have to pay something.
Let me know how old you are and also your wife and children.
I am happy that I got a letter from you and happy to write to you. Do not wait so long to send letters.
May God help us so we will meet our "near and dear" with God. It feels strange sometimes, but God is the same as he always has been--loving, merciful and forgiving.
From your brother. Kindest regards to all of you. J.V. Svenson
Since Mother (his wife) died, I feel so alone and my thoughts are often of her, but I have it better than many others. I have God's peace in Jesus Christ. When I am at the cemetery, I think of "near and dear" and it is sorrowful for me. When I come to my wife's grave where I have my great companion, then it is difficult to hold back the tears. It will not be a long time before my body will be buried with her. The reunion will be soon.
Here we have a burial plot for every family member and nobody else can be buried there. Like many others, there is a cemented wall around the grave, 8 inches high and 20 inches deep and a gravestone in the middle with the name on. When I go to the cemetery, I find most of my old friends there. I read their names and the year when they were born and also the year when they died. It is cut into stones of granite, and it will not disappear in hundreds of years. It does not feel good to see this, but it must be, so a new generation comes instead. Everything under the sun is perishable.
You mentioned 3 crowns. I always thought that you charged too little for your troubles about the inheritance from Gottfrid.
Brother Albert, do not forget to write and tell how it is with Algot, Johan Peters' son, and also about the harvest from the bogs, how much the wood is worth and if you can sell it.
Let me know if you have a Sunday School in the neighborhood. May we meet at home with God. That is what I wish, and it is in my prayers.
Kindest regards to all of you.
J.V. Svenson
The postmaster in Randolph said that a letter to Sweden does not cost more than 5 cents. Let me know if you have to pay something.
Let me know how old you are and also your wife and children.
I am happy that I got a letter from you and happy to write to you. Do not wait so long to send letters.
May God help us so we will meet our "near and dear" with God. It feels strange sometimes, but God is the same as he always has been--loving, merciful and forgiving.
From your brother. Kindest regards to all of you. J.V. Svenson
Thursday, November 10, 2011
78. March 26, 1923. Part 2
This part goes into some wrongdoing by a family member with money and the result. Then he goes on to ask about the price of wood in Sweden and about his livestock and his gifts of money to his children. Roselyn
Algot, Johan Peter's son, did wrong with much money and that is a sin, and ends with sorrow. If Johan Peter had said no, Karl Johan would have been under a guardian and then nobody would be suffering. It would have been better for Algot. It was bad for Algot.
I can tell you that in America, I have never heard of anybody who has stood surety for a person. Those who have debts have to take out a mortgage on their land, horses, cattle and implements. I have never heard that anybody has been without insurance, but if the landowners cannot pay, the owners of the mortgages have to sell by auction, but the people get no pay. There is no insurance on the bill or the debt note.
How is it on the cultivated bogs? Probably you get lots of feed. How much is the inspected wood in Hamra worth? They must be small trees. It is odd that they can sell them. I think it times are very poor in Europe. We have always been happy that we moved from Hamra. When you write the next time tell me about the bogs and the price of the wood. It would be good for you if the price is high. The price of lumber here is very high.
Next week if the price stays the same, my leaseholder will send our cattle to the slaughterhouse to sell. We have 55 cattle; some are calves. The calves that have been with the cows during the summer are bigger. The price is not very high. These are the last I will sell.
I have given the children 1000 acres of arable land, 90 cattle and swine and other things. I wanted to arrange it so I did not have to work with it.
I get $600 a year for as long as I live. I also have income from another place. I do not need all that, but many people ask for money for the hospital, children's home, compassion for old people, the home for lung diseases and also money for the churches in Cleburne.
When God has blessed us, I do not want to lose the way and not see directions in God's word. You cannot give money to all. If I get sick and have to be in the hospital, I must pay for that.
Algot, Johan Peter's son, did wrong with much money and that is a sin, and ends with sorrow. If Johan Peter had said no, Karl Johan would have been under a guardian and then nobody would be suffering. It would have been better for Algot. It was bad for Algot.
I can tell you that in America, I have never heard of anybody who has stood surety for a person. Those who have debts have to take out a mortgage on their land, horses, cattle and implements. I have never heard that anybody has been without insurance, but if the landowners cannot pay, the owners of the mortgages have to sell by auction, but the people get no pay. There is no insurance on the bill or the debt note.
How is it on the cultivated bogs? Probably you get lots of feed. How much is the inspected wood in Hamra worth? They must be small trees. It is odd that they can sell them. I think it times are very poor in Europe. We have always been happy that we moved from Hamra. When you write the next time tell me about the bogs and the price of the wood. It would be good for you if the price is high. The price of lumber here is very high.
Next week if the price stays the same, my leaseholder will send our cattle to the slaughterhouse to sell. We have 55 cattle; some are calves. The calves that have been with the cows during the summer are bigger. The price is not very high. These are the last I will sell.
I have given the children 1000 acres of arable land, 90 cattle and swine and other things. I wanted to arrange it so I did not have to work with it.
I get $600 a year for as long as I live. I also have income from another place. I do not need all that, but many people ask for money for the hospital, children's home, compassion for old people, the home for lung diseases and also money for the churches in Cleburne.
When God has blessed us, I do not want to lose the way and not see directions in God's word. You cannot give money to all. If I get sick and have to be in the hospital, I must pay for that.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
77. March 26, 1923 Part 1
In this rather long letter, Jonas Victor is grateful for his children. He writes about the economy in the country . Roselyn
Randolph, March 26, 1923
Brother Albert with Family. God's Peace!
Thanks very much for the letter. I learned so much. It is nice to get a letter from Sweden, and especially from the place where my parents' house is and hear how you are.
I am with my son, Alfred, and I feel well. It is so quiet in the house. They have no children. They have a foster-daughter, but she is in school. She is a teacher now and seldom at home. How poor it is without children. If I had no children it would be so boring to live.
Nearly every week I get one or two letters, and also they visit me sometimes. I write to them. There would not be as many letters if the postman did not come every day to the house both take and leave the mail.
My health is good. Thanks to God! There have been changes for me. On the farm I had much to do. We had about 150 hens, which I cared for. It was more work than I wanted. Now I walk one mile every day if the weather is fine. It keeps my nerves in order. I was 87 years old the first of October last autumn.
Albert gets about 15 dozen eggs a day from his hens. They are cheap now. We have not had snow this winter to amount to anything.
I paid for the newspaper 2.50 this year. I have proof of that. I have written to Oskar about that. They ought to have the newspaper. Let me know if you get it.
The workers here do not work more than 8 hours a day. They have a big daily allowance. There were 1 million bushels of potatoes that were not picked up in the northern states. The work for doing it was too expensive. The railway workers have a big daily allowance. (Wages). The result was that freight was expensive for the businessman, who would take the potatoes home and sell. There was a big harvest so the potatoes were cheap. The factories do not have enough workers, so nobody needs to be unemployed.
The youth who go to school until they finish college or even longer, do not want to do heavy work. So there are many vagrants. The workers earn lots of money, but they use it to buy automobiles. It is nearly impossible in the country for farmers to get help, so they trade between themselves.
Randolph, March 26, 1923
Brother Albert with Family. God's Peace!
Thanks very much for the letter. I learned so much. It is nice to get a letter from Sweden, and especially from the place where my parents' house is and hear how you are.
I am with my son, Alfred, and I feel well. It is so quiet in the house. They have no children. They have a foster-daughter, but she is in school. She is a teacher now and seldom at home. How poor it is without children. If I had no children it would be so boring to live.
Nearly every week I get one or two letters, and also they visit me sometimes. I write to them. There would not be as many letters if the postman did not come every day to the house both take and leave the mail.
My health is good. Thanks to God! There have been changes for me. On the farm I had much to do. We had about 150 hens, which I cared for. It was more work than I wanted. Now I walk one mile every day if the weather is fine. It keeps my nerves in order. I was 87 years old the first of October last autumn.
Albert gets about 15 dozen eggs a day from his hens. They are cheap now. We have not had snow this winter to amount to anything.
I paid for the newspaper 2.50 this year. I have proof of that. I have written to Oskar about that. They ought to have the newspaper. Let me know if you get it.
The workers here do not work more than 8 hours a day. They have a big daily allowance. There were 1 million bushels of potatoes that were not picked up in the northern states. The work for doing it was too expensive. The railway workers have a big daily allowance. (Wages). The result was that freight was expensive for the businessman, who would take the potatoes home and sell. There was a big harvest so the potatoes were cheap. The factories do not have enough workers, so nobody needs to be unemployed.
The youth who go to school until they finish college or even longer, do not want to do heavy work. So there are many vagrants. The workers earn lots of money, but they use it to buy automobiles. It is nearly impossible in the country for farmers to get help, so they trade between themselves.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
76. July After 1922 Part 4,
Jonas Victor writes about his health and about some relatives. Roselyn
Omaha, Nebraska
July After 1922
When I came to Omaha, I met the clergyman Gullen and his family and Hulda, who was with us for six years. He said that he had visited Miss Larson, your wife's sister. She is living with one of her daughters in the country. She is sick with an illness that causes her hands to shake a lot. It was not because of her age. They did not say if she had much pain. There is much illness in the world.
I have been around in the town and I have seen so many beautiful parks and farms. I have also visited old people's homes and hospitals. There are so many sick people. I could not stand that, so I had to leave. I prayed to God for good health.
I think often of Oscar, (his brother, Franz Oskar) if God could save him so he would be obedient. I have gone around a lot, and I think I have it better now than earlier, when my wife lived, because I had so much to do. But I feel more and more that I, most of all, want to be by my wife's side in the grave. As long as God wishes me to live, I will be thankful. I have reason to be thankful, because I am in good health for my age.
I talked to Smitt in Cleburne. He said that he had written to Anton Gustafsson, and he says he will pay his debt. I think that he will do that, and send it to Gustavsson. Andersson could perhaps send a little every time, so it would be paid in one or two years. He is old, but his daily allowance is good.
The carpenters in the land don't have much to do. I think often of you. I know from newspapers, that it is much better in Sweden now than before.
I wrote to Chicago about the newspaper to you, and they said that you should get it until the first of April next year.
When I read this letter, I see that I have written very badly, so I have to correct it. It will be difficult for you to read it.
Dear Brother, do write to me, so I know how you are and how it is in Hamra and how life is for Algot, Johan Petter's son.
Perhaps this is my last letter, before I leave here. I will go to Alfred's over the winter.
This letter is not signed.
Omaha, Nebraska
July After 1922
When I came to Omaha, I met the clergyman Gullen and his family and Hulda, who was with us for six years. He said that he had visited Miss Larson, your wife's sister. She is living with one of her daughters in the country. She is sick with an illness that causes her hands to shake a lot. It was not because of her age. They did not say if she had much pain. There is much illness in the world.
I have been around in the town and I have seen so many beautiful parks and farms. I have also visited old people's homes and hospitals. There are so many sick people. I could not stand that, so I had to leave. I prayed to God for good health.
I think often of Oscar, (his brother, Franz Oskar) if God could save him so he would be obedient. I have gone around a lot, and I think I have it better now than earlier, when my wife lived, because I had so much to do. But I feel more and more that I, most of all, want to be by my wife's side in the grave. As long as God wishes me to live, I will be thankful. I have reason to be thankful, because I am in good health for my age.
I talked to Smitt in Cleburne. He said that he had written to Anton Gustafsson, and he says he will pay his debt. I think that he will do that, and send it to Gustavsson. Andersson could perhaps send a little every time, so it would be paid in one or two years. He is old, but his daily allowance is good.
The carpenters in the land don't have much to do. I think often of you. I know from newspapers, that it is much better in Sweden now than before.
I wrote to Chicago about the newspaper to you, and they said that you should get it until the first of April next year.
When I read this letter, I see that I have written very badly, so I have to correct it. It will be difficult for you to read it.
Dear Brother, do write to me, so I know how you are and how it is in Hamra and how life is for Algot, Johan Petter's son.
Perhaps this is my last letter, before I leave here. I will go to Alfred's over the winter.
This letter is not signed.
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