On the Road to Sweden: Grandma and Grandpa Stuberg

Grandpa and Grandma
John and Elsa Stuberg

This is a John and Elsa Stuberg post -- at least when I get beyond the preliminaries.

I previously blogged about my father’s side of the family but not my mother’s. The biggest part of the explanation is in the numbers. My dad was the youngest of 11 children while my mother was an only child. The sheer quantity of aunts, uncles and cousins on my father’s side, makes for not only more material, but also for better access to stories, timelines and photos. My Uncle Herb and Aunt Margaret lived in the Chicago area with us as I was growing up. They were a constant part of our lives, whereas my mother had no close relatives living nearby during most of my youth.  

Another factor in the unequal attention to ancestry is members of dad’s family were active in civic affairs and/or politics. As a result, there is a wealth of published material, much searchable on the internet. My dad’s father and grandfather founded and developed their hometown of Bathgate, North Dakota (2010 population 43).  I visited Bathgate several times. My dad’s father, Isaac J. Foster, was county sheriff, local civic official (president or chairman of the fair board and various other boards and commissions), a Grand Mason, an auctioneer, a purveyor of insurance and real estate, and an appointee to various state boards and commissions.

My dad’s namesake, his uncle George, moved from North Dakota to Chicago where he studied law, was elected a City Alderman before the turn of the century (the 20th Century that is), served as a Democratic Party Cook County Committee official, worked as assistant prosecuting attorney and ultimately became a municipal court judge. Early in the 20th Century, when few women attended college, two of dad’s two older sisters, Bina and Grace, were university trained, one educated and employed as a druggist (known modern day as pharmacist) and the other became a teacher, well known in the towns where they served.  His sister Charlotte eventually taught school as well.

My dad’s second oldest brother, Lyndon (aka Lyn or Red) Foster, was a partially disabled WW I veteran who went on to be a newspaper publisher and political firebrand in California. At one time or another Lyn was a candidate for Los Angeles City Council, he vied for a seat in the U.S. Congress and he campaigned to become Lieutenant Governor of the Golden State. Lyn irked his rivals to the point where political opponents bombed his apartment in 1935.

Albertan cousin (right) with the Stanley Cup.

Even the cousin from Alberta who I met just this spring had a political career, quite a bit more successful, if less dramatic, than Uncle Lyn’s. He was elected a Conservative Member of the Alberta Parliament, where he also served as Attorney General -- later appointed as a Justice of the Court of the Queen's Bench of Alberta where he served for two decades. I was most impressed when I discovered a photo of my cousin on the internet posing with the Stanley Cup, won by the Edmonton Oilers back in the day of Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Grant Fuhr and Kevin Lowe et. al..  When I lived in the DC area, I had always hoped the Washington Capitals would become so blessed. It was not to be. 

Anyway, back to my mother’s side of the family. My maternal grandparents emigrated separately as young adults from Sweden. They settled in the Swedish neighborhood on the north side of Chicago known as Andersonville (ulimately on Farragut Avenue) where their native language was spoken (my mother was born in the U.S. but did not speak English prior to attending Kindergarten).   Andersonville was founded in the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire and before the north side was annexed by the city.

Andersonville Rooftop Water Tank

After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, wooden homes were outlawed in Chicago. Swedish immigrants, who could not afford to build homes of stone or brick, began to move outside of the city's northern limits. Swedish immigrants continued to arrive in Andersonville through the beginning of the 20th century, settling in the newly built homes surrounding Clark Street. Before long, the entire commercial strip was dominated by Swedish businesses, from delis to hardware stores, shoe stores to blacksmiths, and bakeries to realty companies. The local churches, such as Ebenezer Lutheran Church, Bethany Methodist Episcopal Church, and St. Gregory's Roman Catholic Church, were also built by Swedes, and reflected the religious diversity of the new arrivals.

Like most other European-American ethnic groups, Swedes began to move to the suburbs during the Depression and post-war periods, and the neighborhood began to decline. Concerned about the deteriorating commercial situation, the Uptown Clark Street Business Association renewed its commitment to its Swedish heritage by renaming itself the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce. On October 17, 1964 Andersonville was rededicated in a ceremony attended by Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley and Illinois Governor Otto Kerner. At about the same time, the annual Swedish tradition of celebrating the summer solstice blossomed into Midsommarfest, which has since grown into one of Chicago's largest and most popular street festivals.

Elsa Stuberg (left) and
Evelyn Foster, 1970's

As a youth, when the Christmas and New Year holidays approached we would make a pilgrimage to Schott's Delicatessen on North Clark Street to stock up on Scandinavian delicacies.  The Schott's retail operation was retrieved from bankruptcy in 1975 and renamed as Wikstrom's, now operated as a direct marketer.  My mother made the best ever potato salad, meatballs and pickled herring -- wish I had the recipes.

Beyond  that, based on personal recollection alone I get pretty fuzzy, pretty quick. I remember meeting a cousin when I was perhaps 7 or 8 years old, who when I mentioned something going down to the beach and diving into Lake Michigan, she said “Der is is no yumpin board at the beeech.” My grandfather died before I was born.  The only relative on my mother’s side who I had more than a passing acquaintance with was my elderly grandmother, who spoke halting English as a second language and lived in Florida most of my youth. Besides a summer vacation to visit her in the Tampa St. Petersburg area, we connected on occasional 3 minute long distance phone calls with us kids allocated an awkward 30 seconds of airtime each. Then there was a dark and embarrassing note -- a distant cousin involved decades back in a homicide -- which frankly scared me from having much to do with the maternal side of the family.

Roland Classon sorting
through ancestral photos.

But then comes forward my cousin Roland Classon to remind of us of our roots and bind us together. Roland and I have in common great grandparents. I have not met Roland in person nor have I spoken with him. We have communicated via snail mail and the internet. Roland lives in Helsingborg, Sweden. He works as a journalist for the Helsingsborgs Dagblad (Daily) and writes and blogs on the topic of genealogical research no less -- in Swedish of course.   If you are inclined to dig into his blog you had better load Google Translate.

In 2000, Roland kindly sent me a thick sheath of papers documenting his Stuberg family research, including a foldout of my maternal grandfather’s family tree going back 6 generations. Roland listed nine generations including myself.

• Per Persson (1670-1735), Aseda parish, Småland, Sweden 
• Petter Persson Stödberg (1697-1770), Aseda parish, Småland, Sweden
• Jonas Stödberg (1745-1808), Aseda parish, Småland, Sweden 
• Peter Stödberg (1775-1829), Aseda parish, Småland, Sweden 
• Gutaf Stödberg (1813-1884), Aseda parish, Småland, Sweden 
• Carl Stödberg (1852-1922), Aseda parish, Småland, Sweden 
• John Stuberg (1890-1951) Chicago, Illinois 
• Evelyn Foster (1924-2006) Chicago, Illinois 
• Grady Foster (1953- ) Bozeman, Montana 

Cousin Roland reports that Per Persson was married to Karin Olofsdotter (1660-1741) whose father was Olof Persson (1640-1706) who was “head of county.” So apparently, there were some politicians on the maternal side of my family after all.

John Stuberg (left) 1924
Chicago, Illinois

Grandpa John Stuberg was born in 1890 and emigrated to the U.S. in 1911. His brother Charles had previously emigrated in 1903; his sister Julia had emigrated in 1905. John married in 1924 and died in 1951. He was drafted and served in the U.S. army as a resident alien stationed in England during WW I. I have the 48 star flag the VA supplied to drape over his coffin in honor of his service. John (Johan Stödberg prior to moving to the U.S.) died in Chicago, Illinois where he is interred in Rose Hill Cemetery, about 2 and one-half miles north, northwest of Wrigley Field. He was a White Sox fan. I forgive him. John Stuberg was a brick mason by trade, known for his skill in building intricate fireplaces and stairwells. Besides John Stuberg, Rose Hill Cemetery is the final resting place of, among others, Oscar F. Meyer, founder of Oscar Mayer Co., Richard Warren Sears, founder of Sears Roebuck and Co. and John Daniel Hertz, founder of Yellow Cab and Hertz Rent-A-Car's namesake.   It is appropriate this post be published on Memorial Day because when I was a young lad the holiday was occasion for visiting Grandpa Stuberg's grave and placing an American flag in honor of his service.

My grandmother Elsa Stuberg, was born Elsa Ryden (Rydin) in 1894 and passed away in 1984. Her siblings included David Ryden (Rydin, 1896-1964) and Oscar Ryden (Rydin, 1898-1971) who also emigrated to the U.S..  Oscar lost a son, David Rydin, in the Korean War the same year I was born.  My grandmother told me that when she was a recent immigrant she worked as a household domestic.  Her employer was known to operate outside of the law, to the point her employment was terminated when she began to understand too much English.  She moved from Chicago to St. Petersburg, Florida in the 1950’s and moved back to the Chicago area in the late 1970’s, where she spent her final years in a nursing home. She was the only grandparent I ever knew. I remember visiting her in St. Petersburg during my youth, where she had become a shuffleboard player. Grandma did not have much in the way of money or possessions, but she always had a boyfriend. 

Grandma Stuberg (center) visits Sweden, 1954

In his research, Cousin Roland turned up photos and a letter that chronicled a visit by Elsa Stuberg to Sweden in 1954.   

The letter, Elsa Stuberg wrote was dated 29/7 1954. Elsa was then in his native town of Linköping, with her brother Oscar Rydin. She wrote in part: "How are things with the weather in Smaland? Here in Östergötland, it was boring, cold and rainy since midsummer. It does not look like we would get some warm weather. 

We now not very long left to stay in Sweden, but while we were with you all the siblings in Småland, where it's so divinely agreeable, thanks for all the hospitality we had with you. 

And what I heard, it was a big heat wave over Chicago, it's pretty hard when they have young children there is warm at night, too. "

Roland observed on his ancestry blog,

I know my grandmother and other siblings met Elsa Stuberg. There's the photo evidence. They were also at the cemetery. And I also know that Elsa Stuberg had brought some gifts from America. My mom told me once: "I remember that Elsa was in Sweden, but we never met. Hildegard was nylon stockings as gifts, such as they put in a corset. At that time there was no such socks in Sweden. But Hildegard could not have them on it, she had strong legs - so I got them instead. "

Although Kenneth Stödberg was only ten years old when Elsa Stuberg came to Kuttaboda he remembers it well: Everyone looked forward to this, everyone knew she was coming. It was a great event in the village when it was America's Alien, it happened not so often. Yes, that was the only time she came. People came cycling to see a glimpse of her. How well I remember it. It was steamed, cleaned and changed curtains. Even the grass was hit.  She was going to see how good we had it. We also took on us the finest of clothes.

My sister offered Roland recollections too.

Joanne Foster still remembers his grandmother's Sweden trip in 1954, though she was then only seven years. In an email, she writes: "I remember when she traveled.She flew from Chicago to New York and then took the boat to Sweden. I also remember all the beautiful things she had brought from Sweden; amazing knitted sweaters and scarves with maps of Sweden. " image of Sweden, the roots, would be kept alive.

 And here and now we work to carry the tradition on.

Godfrey Stödberg and Elsa Stuberg at Kuttaboda Mellangård, 
Aseda parish, Smaland. Photo from 1954.