February 2017 - Augusta's Journey

Join us for a canal cruise through Sweden, as we recreate Augusta Söderholm’s voyage in 1850.

Join us on May 30, 2017, for a 4-day cruise on the legendary Göta Canal!

Augusta, in a diary entry in 1850, describes her journey on the legendary Göta Canal as “one of the most beautiful and pleasant trips one can make.”

Augusta’s diary – which she kept faithfully throughout the voyage – provides us with an eyewitness account of her trip: her fellow passengers, the ship’s charming captain, and the sights, stops and experiences along the voyage … including a night she had to spend on deck with a young man in straw hat!

Augusta chronicled her life in her diary, and we plan to use her entries as a travel guide for a journey in her footsteps through Europe, allowing us to better understand her life and the era in which she lived.

The first leg of our journey will be recreating her canal cruise on the Göta Canal, traveling aboard the world’s oldest registered cruise ship, the M/S Juno, on a route that the cruise line Rederi AB Göta Kanal has maintained since 1869.

Dressed in clothing of the time, we will share with fellow passengers our research about Augusta, her life in the mid-1800s, and her memorable voyage.

We would be delighted to have you join us on our Göta Canal cruise!

Promotional Offer

Rederi AB Göta Kanal is offering a 20% discount for anyone who would like to join us on our cruise. Simply book by email or phone, mentioning the code “1850.” This offer is valid for new bookings on the 4-day Classic Canal Cruise, Stockholm – Gothenburg, departing May 30, 2017. Please contact the cruise line directly for additional offers on bookings made from the USA.

Read more about the Classic Canal Cruise.

About the Göta Canal

The Göta Canal is a historic waterway through Sweden’s heartland, connecting the Baltic Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. The canal, which has almost 70 locks and passes through Lake Vänern and Lake Vättern, opened in 1832 and remains active today almost 180 years later.

About Augusta

Augusta Söderholm is our great-great-grandmother. Augusta was born in Sweden in 1827 and died from tuberculosis at the age of 28. During the years 1847 – 1855, she kept a diary which chronicles her 1847 trip through what is now Germany and the Czech Republic, daily life at her country estate Loddby, Östergötland, and her frequent visits to Stockholm with its glamorous social life.

Augusta’s voyage on the Göta Canal – “one of the most beautiful and pleasant trips one can make”

In July 1850, Augusta made a memorable voyage on the Göta Canal. The reasons for Augusta’s voyage was to wave goodbye to her brother August, who was to sail from Gothenburg to Cape Town on the brig Mimer.

And of course, Augusta provides a colorful eyewitness account of her voyage.

On the outbound trip to Gothenburg, onboard the steamer Götheborg, she spends a lot of time with a Mr Cassel (possibly Knut Cassel):

“A couple of loud and gesticulating Frenchmen were entertaining a young, blond, unremarkable man in straw hat.”

“The next day, I became acquainted with all passengers and were then told that the young man in the straw hat was named Cassel and was from the Capital. Furthermore, I came to realize that he was not so unagreeable as I had first thought.”

“The conversable Mr Cassel, who to me appeared to be a big nobody, although with a sharp mind and an incomparable talent to constantly keep his mouth moving, kept me entertained during the voyage.”

On the return trip, onboard the steamer Thomas Tellford, it is the captain who gets most of Augusta’s attention:

“Our captain’s name was Krüger, a very polite and charming young man who fulfilled all the duties of a host on his steamer. He entertained me quite agreeable during the trip, which is also one of the most beautiful and pleasant trips one can make. Before we parted in Söderköping, we agreed to dance the first waltz together at the Innocence Ball in January; let us see if that happens or not.”

But no, Augusta did not waltz with Captain Krüger in January. She didn’t travel to Stockholm until March of that year.

And who was the charming young Captain who got Augusta to describe the Göta Canal voyage as one of the most beautiful and pleasant trip one can make?

Carl Henrik Kreuger was born 1822. He passed the marine officer examination in 1838 (only 16 years old) and sailed with foreign merchant fleets and the British fleet before becoming a lieutenant in 1846. As a young marine officer, he worked on Swedish ships during the summers: postal ships on the Baltic Sea and canal steamers on the Göta Canal. And that is how Augusta met him in the summer of 1850. He later had a stellar military career and retired in 1885 as a rear admiral.

What Augusta most likely did not find out was that Carl Henrik’s father had an interesting life story as well. Johan Henrik Kreuger was an admiral, author, and inventor. In 1822, the same year that Carl Henrik was born, Johan Henrik was asked by the Swedish government to restore Sweden’s relations with Morocco. Sweden owed Morocco 20,000 piasters for protection against pirates along the Moroccan coast. To resolve the conflict with Sultan Mulay Suleiman, Johan Henrik sailed with a squadron to Morocco. His negotiations with the Sultan were very successful; he returned to Sweden with a personal letter from the Sultan stating that the debt was forgiven.

Advertisement in the newspaper *Tidningen för Wenersborgs Stad och Län*, 17 juli 1850 (KB)

Top image: Gotha Canal Inauguration 1832 By Zg097qji (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

My Valentine’s Dress

A couple of weeks ago, I finished my Victorian laced corset and the corded petticoat. Time to make the 1847 dress using my beautiful fabric from Sweden. All blogs tell you that you should make a test dress first in some cheap cotton to make sure the pattern works.

Well, I didn’t even have a pattern. After having tried for a week to create one, I decided to spend $18 on a well-reviewed pattern suitable for the California Gold Rush, the Mexican American War, and the Oregon Trail. For this dress I would need almost 7 yards of fabric. Did I really want to spend that much money on a test dress?

I checked out thrift stores instead and had some luck. I found several pieces of a pretty fabric with lots of ruffles – maybe some bedroom set? For $4 I got 3 Laura Ashley ruffled curtains and a matching round table cloth – probably about 7 yards in all and perfect for the project!

The pattern arrived in the mail with 51 pages of instructions and patterns for 3 different dresses. I picked the simplest design and began the work. I had no idea how time consuming it would be – but the instructions were very clear. Unfortunately, the size I had cut out was too small and I had to adjust and add pieces here and there. I guess that is the reason for doing a test dress.

Just as in the corset, there were bones to be inserted in the bodice. But I didn’t have any more and I couldn’t find any locally either. What else could I use? The eureka moment came when I found nylon cable ties that were of the right dimension! It worked perfectly.

About 40 hours later, on Valentine’s Day, the dress was finished. Hopefully it will take less time to make the one with the expensive fabric!

The Illumination of Stockholm 9 February 1853

Stockholm, 9 February 1853

My Dear Adolf:

It is evening and on top of all it is the large and remarkable illumination evening. For the last three days, I have missed my Adolf and in vain waited for you at the usual time; in vain longed, in vain complained, but this evening, yes this evening, there are no limits to my sense of loss and my disappointment. Tonight I am all alone in the house, completely alone with myself, my memories, and a large number of lit candles. Their clear flames do not harmonize with my mood at the moment….

Wood engraving by Edward Gurden Dalziel 1862

I have with resentful glances viewed the artificial sea of light that surrounds me from all directions, been ready to blow out every candle, and sit in the dark….

The family just got home from their outing around town, frozen and frightened by the commotion and crowds. A great many of the displays had failed and they had not managed to see some of the most beautiful illuminations like the Bourse.

Adieu for today, my Adolf, more another time.

Augusta

During the summer of 1852, King Oscar I was ill. For that reason, the King and the Queen spent time at a spa in Bavaria. Two of their children, Eugenie (age 22) and Gustaf (age 25), visited them. On the family’s return trip to Sweden, Prince Gustaf died from typhoid fever and the King had also contracted the disease. Swedes worried that the King might not survive. When in February the King started to recover, the elders of Stockholm decided to arrange a public celebration in the form of an “illumination”. During this event, voluntary contributions to various charities were also encouraged.

The illumination evening on the 9^th of February 1853 started at 6:30 pm with a monumental firework display to the music of Svea Artillery’s Band. Small torches had already been lit to illuminate public buildings and places around town. Many private residences were also illuminated. The most elaborate display was the Bourse while another fascinating display was a pyramid made of 80 stacked barrels of tar. The display attracted a huge crowd of spectators when lit. The illumination displays ended at 10 pm at which time many social banquets started.

But Augusta missed it all. She was seriously ill with tuberculosis and couldn’t go out and see the amazing illumination with the family Hjort.

We are just grateful that she mentioned the illumination in her letter, and that our family kept those letters for future generations. A piece of forgotten history rediscovered.

Princess Lovisa arrives in Stockholm 15 June 1850

“In February 1850, I returned to Stockholm in the company of Mother and Lejdenfrost.

I was forbidden to dance, and when I did not spend my evenings with Ekström or the Bohemans, which was often the case, one could be sure to find me at some concert at de la Croix Salon or in a lodge at the Grand Opera House.

In the spring, the Bohemans came down to the Kirsteinska Garden in the afternoons with their work. I was usually the lecturer, but often we were interrupted during our lectures by the Royal Secretaries Seippel and Strokirk, nicknamed The Inseparables. We then passed the evenings quite merrily in conversation and laughter.

After having been completely drenched at Biskopsudden on the 15^th of June and viewed all the finery at the engagement ceremonies, I accompanied the Bohemans and Hildegard to the steamer Linköping on a chilly, rainy morning on which they departed for Anneberg. I took a sad farewell of them and, afterwards, prepared myself for my own departure from the capital.”

The engagement and subsequent marriage of Crown Prince Charles (the future King Charles XV) and Princess Louise (Lovisa) of the Netherlands must have been the social event of the year. Princess Louise and her family arrived at Biskopsudden in Stockholm by the steamship Gefle on 15 June 1850. The major newspaper, Post- och Inrikes Tidningar, reported that even before noon, a large number of Stockholm’s inhabitants had gone to the landing site and to other areas through which the royal highness would pass on her way to Haga Palace.

And among those was Augusta. Yet, in the diary, there is only one sentence about the occasion, and it only describes how she got drenched and no other details. There is not even a mention of the 12-carriage cortège making its way to Haga. Nothing about the sounds of canons and of people cheering. How did she get to Biskopsudden, who accompanied her, and how was she dressed for the occasion?

Fortunately, there were 3 lithographs made of the occasion: the arrival of the princess (the feature picture above), the cortège with the prince riding next to the carriage with the princess, and the arrival of the princess at the royal palace in Stockholm for the wedding on 19 June 1850 (all by A. Weidel).

The Royal Family’s cortège from Biskopsudden to Haga the 15th of June 1850 (Lithograph by A. Weidel)

Karl XV and Lovisa’s arrival at the Royal Palace the 19th of June 1850 (Lithograph by A. Weidel)

Footnotes and Sources
Ekström and Bohemans:
Carl Henrik Boheman (1796-1868) was a Swedish professor of entomology. He had five children (age in 1850): Hildegard (24), Hildur Linnea (21), Carl Hjalmar (16), Ernst Henrik Georg (14), and Carl Rudolf Helmer (3). The family resided in Adolf Fredrik’s parish but also had an estate, Anneberg, located in Gränna community and on the northeast shore of Lake Ören. The estate is still in the family.

In 1850, Hildegard Boheman was already married to Carl Henrik Rudolf Ekström who later became a province governor. By the time of this diary entry, they had 3 children: Carl Henric Hjalmar (b. 12 Oct 1847), Anna Karolina Amelie (b. 16 Oct 1848), and Hildegard Sofia Christina (b. 14 Dec 1849).

Kirsteinska Garden (Kirsteinska Trädgården):
The garden was located in front of what is now the Central Train Station in Stockholm. It was popular among young people and provided outdoor concerts and other events.

Seippel and Strokirk:
Augusta misspelled Seippel as Zeipel in her diaries. In published records, Seipel (with one p) is also used although the correct spelling was Seippel. Otto Wilhelm Seippel (1820-1899) was 29 years old at time of the diary entry. He later had the title of “kansliråd” and married Christina Maria Svensson. One son, Otto Bernhard Seippel (born 04 June 1854) , is listed in the taxation records.

Wilhelm Theodor Strokirk (1823-1895) was 27 years old in 1850. He appears in several places in Augusta’s diary as does his future father-in-law.