Johan Anton Andersson was born in Hulegården 1, Stråvalla, Sweden on 18 Aug 1874 to Anders Johanson and Anna Lena Henriksdotter1,2. He was the youngest child, joining the family of five other children. The two oldest were half sibling, Johan August and Johanna Lena, both of whom were from his mother’s first marriage3,4. His three full sisters were Inger Lena, Anna Johanna (another sister was born with this name but only lived a couple of days, this sister was the second Anna Johanna) and Sofia. His father was a farmer who owned the land that they were farming (however, see below re leasing)3,4.
Johan lived in Hulegården on his parents farm until he was married3,4. Although his father is listed as the landowner when Johan was born, by 1895 he was listed as ½ landowner, which was normally designated as a leaseholder, so he may have been leaseholding earlier, or he may have sold the land during that time4. In earlier times, the land owners originally owned at least a mantal of land (sufficient to support a family) the dividing of land to heirs meant that the holdings got smaller and smaller. As farming did get better a landowner could own 1/16 of an original mantal and still support his family. Unfortunately, as land continued to be divided farmers slowly moved to lower levels of wealth and, eventually, landless and semi-landless peasants who did not have enough land to support their families and often became leaseholders on larger tracts of land in order to make a living. These “landless peasants” were considered to be at the bottom of social spectrum as larger landholders strove to be considered a higher class. They were the poor, and Sweden’s poor were getting poorer as land was not increasing16,17. This is one of the reasons migration to the Americas became so popular in the late 1800s, early 1900s.
Johan lived at home as a young boy and remained at home as a young man. He still lived at home when the banns were posted on 24 April 189512for the first time and on 24 May 1895 Johan married Johanna Albertina Johanesdotterr, who was living in Stravalla 6. Johanna moved to the farm with Johan11.
Their first son Einar Joël Agnelius was born one week after they married on 31 May 18955. They continued to live on the family farm and increased their family quickly having five daughters: Anni Berhardina, Judit Signhild, Gerda Linnea, Alice Dorotea and Augusta Wilhelmina (who lived only three months); and one son Johan Albert5,6.
1910 Census for Stråvalla, Halland, he was listed as a peasant (officially, a farm labourer who does not own the land)18.
When his father died in 1911, and while their youngest child was still a baby, Johan and Johanna left the farm and moved with their four youngest children to Rya 4, Frillesås5,6,7,8,13. At that point, with no land of his own, or his family, to work, Johan was listed as a labourer. Their oldest son Einar stayed in Hulegården for a year and then moved to Canada.
The family continued to live in Frillesås for the next several years. The older girls grew and slowly moved away13,6. Johan and Johanna sent their youngest son to another farm in the parish to be fostered and work when he was 10 in 19206.
Johanna died in 1924 and Johan remained a widower after that time9.
In 1929, with all his children now grown and moved away, Johan moved to Goteborg Karl Johan7,8,9. He did not stay there long, but moved to Göteborgs Annedal as a railway labourer in 193010. He lived there until 1934 when, at 60, he moved to Örgryte10.
Johan Anton died on 26 June 1946 at Göteborgs stad at the age of 7215.
Link to Johan Anton Andersson on Genealogy
1Births. Sweden. Stråvalla annex, Fjäre and Fiske, Göteborgs, Halland. 18 August 1874. ANDERSSON, Johan Anton. Collection: Sweden, Indexed Birth Records, 1859-1943. http://www.ancestry.ca: accessed2018.
2Baptisms. Sweden. Hulegården 1, Stråvalla, Halland. ANDERSSON, Johan Anton. 20 August 1874. https://www.arkivdigital.net/: accessed June 2018.
3Household Examination Books. Sweden Hulegården 1, Stråvalla, Halland. ANDERSSON, Johan Anton. 1870-1879. https://www.arkivdigital.net/: accessed June 2018.
4Household Examination Books. Sweden. Hulegården 1, Stråvalla, Halland. ANDERSSON, Johan Anton. 1880-1895. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLFL-JJY8 : accessed December 2017.
5Congregational Records. Sweden. 4 Rya, Frillesås, Halland. ANDERSSON, Johan Anton. 1895-1911. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLFL-N772 : accessed December 2017.
6Household Examination Books. Sweden. 4 Rya, Frillesås, Halland. ANDERSSON, Johan Anton. 1911-1935. https://www.arkivdigital.net/: accessed June 2018.
7Moving in Books. Sweden. Frillesås, Halland. ANDERSSON, Johan Anton. 1911. https://www.arkivdigital.net/: accessed June 2018.
8Moving Out Books. Sweden. Stråvalla, Halland. ANDERSSON, Johan Anton. 1911. https://www.arkivdigital.net/: accessed June 2018.
9Congregation Records. Sweden. Göteborgs Karl Johan, Göteborg och Bohus. 1928-1937. https://www.arkivdigital.net/: accessed June 2018.
10Congregation Records. Sweden. Göteborgs Annedal, Göteborg och Bohus. 1929-1945. https://www.arkivdigital.net/: accessed June 2018.
11Marriages. Sweden. Stråvalla annex, Fjäre and Fiske, Göteborgs, Halland. 24 May 1895. ANDERSSON, Johan Anton and JOHANNESDOTTER, Johanna Albertina. Collection: Swedish Indexed Marriage Records 1860 – 1943. http://www.ancestry.ca: accessed Feb 2018.
12Banns and Marriage Records. Sweden. Stråvalla, Halland. ANDERSSON, Johan Anton and JOHANNESDOTTER, Johanna Albertina. 24 May 1895. https://www.arkivdigital.net/: accessed June 2018.
13Congregation Records. Sweden. Hulegården 1, Stråvalla, Halland. ANDERSSON, Johan Anton. 1895-1906. https://www.arkivdigital.net/: accessed June 2018.
14Congregation Records. Sweden. Rya 4, Frillesås, Halland. ANDERSSON, Johan Anton. 1906-1935. https://www.arkivdigital.net/: accessed June 2018.
15Deaths Index (CR) Sweden. Lundby, Göteborgs stad, Göteborgs och Bohus Iän. ANDERSSON, Johan Anton. 31:7/4 8 Collection: Swedish Death Index 1860-2016.
16http://www.understandingyourancestors.com/asl/skanePeasantLife.aspx
17http://www.ehs.org.uk/dotAsset/a8913d7e-6dac-4a00-a8e0-cf270bec3041.pdf
18Census. 1910. Sweden. Strävalla, Hallands. . https://www.arkivdigital.net/: accessed June 2018.
