October 2022 – Augusta's Journey

In 1840, at the age of 7, Josefine Stenbock was sent to Stockholm to live with Pastor Johan Fredrik Edgren and his wife Lovisa Dethmar and to attend their school. She lived with the Edgren family for four years (1840-1843).

IMG-7937

Tack för hvar stund jag med dig delat,
Tack för hvar dag jag haft med dig
Om någon gång jag mot dig felat,
Glöm mina fel, men glöm ej mig.

(Thank you for every moment I shared with you,
Thank you for every day I had with you
If ever I have wronged you,
Forget my faults, but don’t forget me.)

(Similar versions of this poem can also be found in older texts.)

Josefine Stenbock

Josefine belonged to a very old, noble family in Sweden. Her full name was Baroness Josefina Albertina Charlotta Fredrika Lovisa Stenbock. She was born 7 May 1833 at Torsjö estate in Solberga parish in Skåne. Her father, Count Magnus Albert Carl Gustaf Arvid Stenbock, was a chamberlain at the royal court and had also been an adjutant to the crown prince. Her mother was Countess Jeannette Margareta Hamilton. Josefine had five brothers (three of which died young) and one sister.

In 1857, Josefine married Chamberlain, Count Jacob Fredric Theodor Uggla and settled at Sillsjö (Selesjö) manor (close to Rejmyre) in Skedevi parish in Östergötland.

The following year, their daughter, Margareta, was born. For some reason, she was born at Jacob Fredric’s childhood home, Stora Djulö in Stora Malm’s parish in Södermanland).

Then in 1859, Josefine gave birth to a son, Carl Otto Knut Theodor. The young family lived at Sillsjö for 5 years. In 1862, they moved to Näringsberg in Västerhaninge parish. Näringsberg was owned by Josefine’s parents.

Two years later, in 1864, at the age of 34, Jacob Fredric made a trip to France.

In Paris, he visited a photographer (Alophe) at 35, Boulevart des Capucines to have his picture taken. Interestingly, it was at this address that another famous photographer, Felix Nadar, also had a studio. In 1874, Nadar lent his studio to the newly formed group of impressionists for their first exhibition.

Count Jacob Fredric Theodor Uggla (1829-1864) at 35 Boulevart des Capucines in Paris . Source

The ultimate destiny for the trip was Dax in south-west France. Dax was famous for its hot springs and was the first established spa in France. Many visited hot springs to cure diseases. Was that the reason for his trip? Did he have tuberculosis? Jacob Fredric died while at Dax, only 34 years old.

Josefine also visited a photo studio – but in Stockholm. Unfortunately, there are no dates on the photos.

Countess Josefine Albertina Charlotta Fredrika Lovisa Uggla (born Stenbock) (1833-1881) Source

Josefine was now a widow at the age of 31 and with two young children, 5 and 6 years old. She would have to move in with some family members. In 1865, the little family moved to Klafreda (Klafreström, Klavreström) in Nottebäck parish. Josefine’s brother, Albert Magnus Olof Abraham Stenbock owned half of Klavreström’s iron mill. Josefine and her two children would live with her brother’s family in the beautiful old manor until 1869 when she moved to Copenhagen.

Josefine died in Copenhagen in 1881 at the age of 48.

Josefine’s daughter, Margareta Charlotta Johanna Fredrika did not marry and died in 1943.

Margareta Charlotta Johanna Fredrika Uggla (1858-1943) Source

Josefine’s son, Carl Otto Knut Theodor, emigrated to USA and changed his last name to Hamilton (after his maternal grandmother). He married, had 6 children, and died in 1933. According to genealogy sites, he became an artist (painter) and lived in Brooklyn, NY.

Augusta Rütterskjöld was 16 years old when she sat down to copy the following lines on a card for Cecilia Koch’s memory album.

IMG-7935

L’amitié vient du ciel habiter ici bas
Elle embellit la vie et survit au trèpas

(Friendship comes from the heavens and dwells below
it embellishes life and survives death)

The poem is actually the last stanza of a longer poem, “Même Sujet” by Desmahis, a famous French poet who lived in the 1700s. It might have been included in a French poetry book that the girls studied in school.

Augusta Rütterskjöld

Augusta Rütterskjöld was one of Cecilia’s (and our Augusta Söderholm’s) friends. They had been in the same confirmation class and they had just celebrated their first communion (Jacob Parish, May 1844). They all, most likely, also attended Edgren’s school. Augusta was 16 years old and lived in a large house at Regeringsgatan 66. She had lived in the house since she was born. Augusta was the youngest of the Rütterskjöld children. Her older siblings were Lovisa 21, Adelaide 19, Jaquette 18, and Ewert 17.

Her family was well connected in Stockholm but her father had left them after mismanaging his wife’s inheritance. It was Augusta’s mother and her relatives who cared for the children. The family history is documented in an earlier blog entry about Augusta (Augusta Mariana Rütterskjöld and her Absent Father).

Jaquette Rütterskjöld

I was wondering if any of Augusta’s sisters might also have given Cecilia a memory card. Were there any cards that had been signed simply by a first name or initials that might match any of her sisters’ names? There was one. It was a memory card by a friend who had also copied a short French poem and who had signed it using her initials, J…e. It was probably signed by Augusta’s sister Jaquette.

Awhile ago, I also wrote a blog entry about Jaquette and her aunt, Netta Dimander: Who was Mrs. Dimander?

The Poem

The poem from which Augusta copied the last lines can be found in the following book, published in 1835: The French Reader’s Guide; or, Miscellaneous Selections in Prose and Verse from the Best French Authors of the two last Centuries, and from the Most Distinguished Writers of the Present Day. It is available online.

Month: October 2022

Cecilia’s Album: Josefine Stenbock (Uggla) – A 7-year-old in Edgren’s boarding school