Karl Magnus Sjögren (1853-1938)

Karl Magnus Sjögren att appr — Karl Magnus Sjögren at appr. 55

Birth[]

Born in Klippingsbo (a crofter's holding) in Vissefjärda, Kronoberg county, Sweden (today Kalmar county) September 10 1853.

Parents[]

Johannes Petersson (1819-?), born in Algutsboda, Kronoberg county (today Kalmar county), death unknown
Fredrika Christina Magnusdotter, born July 18 1827 in Långasjö, Kronoberg county (today Kalmar county), death unknown.

Siblings[]

Jonas August (1859-?), a schoolteacher like his brother Karl Magnus.
Johan Alfred (1862-1879), dead at 17.

Education[]

Examinated as a schooltecher in Växjö, Kronoberg county. Named so in a 'house examination roll' from 1874.

Marriage[]

Married in Ronneby, Blekinge county September 19 1879 to Vilhelmina Judith Amanda Sjögren b. Englander (1855-1943).

Children[]

Karl Henrik Louis (1880-1966)
Ester Amanda Linnéa (1882-1968)
Ruth Amanda Naëmi (1884->/=1918)
Nanny Amanda Natalia (1887-1981)
Karl Ivar Rickard (1887-1918), Nanny´s twin brother
Karl Hugo Albin (1888-1964)

Henrik, Ester and Hugo buried in the same grave in Barkåkra cemetery near Ängelholm; Ruth disappeared in the USA 1912 or later and Ivar drowned there as a sea captain.

Divorce[]

Karl Magnus and Amanda divorced January 21 1893 after being married 14 years.

Death[]

Karl Magnus died in Ängelholm, Kristianstad county August 2 1938, the last six years living at Hamngatan (today Mesanvägen) in nearby Skälderviken.

Burial[]

Buried 1938 in Barkåkra cemetery near Ängelholm. The gravestone was after 50 years moved to a 'Lapidarium' close to the church.

Biography[]

”Believe me, he was rigorous” said his daughter Nanny, with whom he had little contact after the divorce in 1893. Nanny was then six years old and was fostered by an aunt in Ronneby. Only Ester and Ruth lived with their father owing to the census of 1900.

He probably never met Nanny after she at fifteen years age left Ronneby to begin work in nearby Karlskrona. At one time around 1918 he was seen outside Nanny's flat in Huskvarna, but he never got in touch. Nanny had at that time been a widow for three years and lived alone with her four children, mainly living off social welfare.

Karl Magnus soon bought land, vineyards, in the USA, and visited the country a couple of times, the last time in 1911. Correspondence with land agents have been kept. He probably made some profit from the land, as he left behind a fairly large amount at his death in 1938. Apart from a house in Skälderviken also 50,000 Swedish crowns in cash, the equivalent of appr. 20 times a labourer's yearly income .

He had continued his work as teacher, Söderbärke, Tiveden and Vislanda have been named as places of work. At the end of the 1910s he bought land in Simlångsdalen in Halland, where he had a nice two story house built on a peninsula called Haga. It was ready in 1924 as a photo of him from that date shows. He had at that time been a pensioner for a few years and lived there until 1932 when he moved to a new and smaller house in Skälderviken, at Hamngatan 10 (now called Mesanvägen).

Karl Magnus had a limp, said to be from a dog bite inside the church. In the house examination roll (husförhörslängden) from 1874 it is stated that he had shown a medical certificate exempting him from military duty.

The cause of the divorce is said to have been his reluctance to hire help for the care of the large house 'Persborg' and the many children, six during an eight year period. His relatives have claimed that this could be because of the low income of teachers. Differences in their backgrounds may also have played a part. He was born in a crofter's holding where everyone had to make do, whereas she came from a middle class family, where servants were a matter of fact. But this should only be seen as a speculation.

Skälderviken was a that time a well frequented seaside resort. The writer of these lines remembers the story of Karl Magnus on summer walk, wearing classic seaside clothing – jacket, white trousers, girdle an straw hat.