Cecilia’s Album: Carolina Åberg – Cecilia’s Cousin
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Bleibe Du auch von mir ferne,
Immer froh von Herzen;
Nimm mein Theil der Lust, und gerne
Trag ich deins der Schmerzen!
The poem is a stanza from a longer poem, Liebesfeier, written by Friedrich Rückert. Friedrich Rückert (1788-1866) was a German poet and translator who mastered over 30 languages. He is famous for his translations of oriental poetry.
The stanza that Caroline copied in Cecilia’s memory album can be translated as follows in Swedish and English:
Förbliv du, om än i fjärran,
alltid av hjärtat glad
Tag min del av fröjden, så bär
jag gärna din del av smärtan
Remain thou, even if far from me,
always happy in your heart
Take my share of joy, and gladly
I will carry your pain
Carolina Åberg
Carolina Åberg was Cecilia’s cousin. She wrote the card to Cecilia on May 4, 1844, at a place called Torp. Torp is close to Uddevalla, Cecilia’s hometown.
I initially couldn’t find out if they were related or just friends until I read the details about Cecilia’s baptism. There, the pastor had documented her godparents and witnesses of the baptism. One of those was Christina Maria Koch (1788-1859) married to Fredrik Åberg (1780-1844), a wholesale merchant and a member of the Board of Commerce (kommerseråd).
Christina Maria Koch was Cecilia’s father’s oldest sister. Carolina Åberg was their daughter, born on May 24, 1824, in Uddevalla. The only thing I could find about her life was that she visited the spa in Gustafsberg. She died in Uddevalla in October of 1920, at the age of 96!
Maybe she bequeathed some belongings to relatives. But this signed handwritten greeting by her from 1844, when she was only 20 years old, is a real treasure.
