Saturday, February 9, 2008

Släktbrev från 1860-talet (Family letters from the 1860s)

Jag läser gamla släktbrev från Lignellska släkten. Ett av breven är från min mormors mormor Maria Melander till min mormors mor Eugenia Jenny Lignell f. Melander. Det är så innerligt och kärleksfullt skrivet. Brevet är daterat Eskilstuna 1868. I en anteckning står det att det är skrivit av hennes man sergeant Samuel Melander efter hennes diktamen. Maria kanske inte kunde skriva eller var dålig. I brevet fanns ett fotografi av Axelborg i Eskilstuna där Samuel och Maria bodde. Jag misstänker att fotot är taget efter en mycket fin teckning. Bilden ser mycket gammal ut.
[I am reading old family letters from the Lignell family. One of the letters is from my grandmother's grandmother Maria Melander to my grandmother's mother Eugenia Jenny Lignell (born Melander). It is written in such a very personal and loving way. The letter is dated in Eskilstuna in 1868. In a note it says it was written by her husband sergeant Samuel Melander after her dictation. Maybe Maria couldn't write or she was sick. In the letter is a photograph of Axelborg, the place where Samuel and Maria lived. I suspect that the photo is taken from a very good drawing. The photo looks very old.]
Personen till vänster är min mormors mor Eugenia Lignell och hennes syster Malin. Det sitter några tavlor på väggen bakom dem och två av dem har jag på min vägg i mitt hem. Bilden är tagen 1908. Det är spännade att upptäcka dokument som man inte har sett. På den tiden fanns inga bilar eller tågförbindelser utan breven gick med postdiligens.
[The person to the left is my grandmother's grandmother Eugenia Ligness and her sister Malin. There are some paintings behind them, and two of these I have on my walls in my home. The photo is taken in 1908. It is exciting to discover documents you have never seen. At this time there were no cars or railroads and the letters were transported with horse-pulled stage coaches]
[Translation by LS]

5 comments:

LS said...

How old do you think the two sister's are in this photo? AREA and LA, the woman to the left is your great great great great grandmother (I think I got that right...)

PP said...

Eskilstuna did not have a railroad in 1908? Wow...that is late for the coming of the RR.

LS said...

I just found some info that Eskilstuna got its railroad in 1875, and it was the North-South route from the iron mines in Bergslagen to the foundries in Oxelosund that led to this. This route led through Eskilstuna.

In 1895 the railroad between Stockholm and Eskilstuna was finished.

Read more here if you know Swedish.

LS said...

Even more photos and history here about the first railroad in Eskilstuna, also in Swedish (sorry). The first Swedish locomotiv was built in Eskilstuna too, more about that here.

AnS said...

1868 when the letters was written was there no railroad to Östersund were Eugenia Lignell lived in Carlslund. But her husband Carl A. Lignell was very engaged to get a railway between Stockholm-Östersund. He was lobbing. I have letters were he write about this and he also wrote about the bad journey with diligens and boat.