The Amaranth Ball, 6 January 1845. Painting by Fritz von Dardel. Kunt Bergenstråhle is holding the hand of Elisabeth Schwan.
Who was Elisabeth Schwan?
Last week, I wrote about Augusta’s lieutenants – the ones she met at balls, theatres, and concerts. The image for the blog was a painting of Lieutenant Bergenstråhle dancing with a girl in a yellow ball gown. The painter, Fritz von Dardel, had “tagged” her as E. Schwan.
In another painting, von Dardel also included her and tagged her as Elisabeth Schwan.
At General Peyron’s Ball, 19 Dec 1844. Elisabeth Schwan is the dark-haired girl in the lilac dress. Painting by Fritz von Dardel.
Who was she? Did Augusta know her? Was Augusta at this ball? Is she one of the girls in the background?
Since I had not seen her name among Augusta’s school friends, I decided to check if she and Augusta might have known each other through church. I searched the 1844 records of first communion in the archives for Jacob’s Parish in Stockholm. Sure enough, Elisabeth Mathilda Schwan, born 2 February 1828, was listed as the 5th girl in the class, according to the social rank of the father (Augusta was listed as number 10; Elisabeth’s father was a wealthy merchant).
So, Augusta and Elisabeth were friends!
Another ball in 1844. Elisabeth’s father, J. G. Schwan is the first gentleman from the left. Painting by Fritz von Dardel.Elisabeth Schwan’s mother, Augusta Eleonora Schön. Drawing by Maria Röhl.
It didn’t take long to find out more about Elisabeth’s family. Her father, Johan Gustaf Schwan (b. 1802), was a wealthy merchant who had married his cousin, Augusta Eleonora Schön. She was the daughter of another important merchant in Stockholm – Johan Schön (b. 1781).
Elisabeth Schön and Adèle Peijron
I was already familiar with the wealthy family Schön. The mother of one of Augusta’s friends, Adèlaide (Adèle) Peijron, was born Schön. After some genealogy searches, I found out that the mothers of Elisabeth Schwan and Adèle Peijron were sisters.
So Elisabeth and Adèle were cousins!
Elisabeth must have been a favorite of von Dardel as he singled her out in two of his paintings. So what happened to hear in life. Who did she marry?
Knut Cassel!
All the Cassels!
Another familiar name from Augusta’s diary. Or did we get that wrong? In an earlier blog, I wrote about a young man in a straw hat that Augusta met on a Göta Canal cruise in July of 1850. He was from Stockholm and his name was Cassel. I had concluded that it most likely was Knut Cassel. But if Augusta knew Elisabeth, and Cassel was engaged to Elisabeth, wouldn’t they have made the discovery that Augusta knew Cassel’s fiancé? Wouldn’t she have mentioned that in her diary? So in retrospect, it was probably not Knut Cassel who was the fellow passenger.
Elisabeth Schwan’s husband, Knut Cassel
Knut Cassel was born in 1821 and had studied law at the university in Uppsala. In 1843, he got a position in the Department of Finance in Stockholm.
There is one more Cassel mentioned by Augusta. In the spring of 1846, Augusta asks her friend Lotten if it is true that Lieutenant Cassel has left for Russia. Lotten assured her that the rumor was true. Now, who was this Cassel? I search for lieutenants with the name of Cassel, and there are several in 1846. We’ll probably never know who Augusta referred to.
Anyway, Elisabeth and Knut had a long life together. They had 5 sons and in 1860, the family purchased a castle from the royal family – Stjernsund. Today, it is a museum. Kerstin and I are planning on visiting it on our Summer Sejour in June – wearing our new summer dresses!
I was actually going to write about Augusta’s first love. Then I got curious about all the young men who were interested in her. In 1845, Augusta was 18 and her admirers, who had just started their military careers, were in their late 20s. Augusta and her best friend Lotten Westman met them at balls, theatres, and concerts. After Augusta left Stockholm, Lotten wrote letters which included the latest gossip.
Gossip about Bergenstråhle, Löwegren, Edholm, and Bildt.
Lotten to Augusta, Stockholm, October 1845
“I saw all your admirers at Gunther’s concert last Tuesday – Bergenstråhle, Löwegren, Edholm, etc, etc., as I believe there is a multitude of them. Do you know, I made a startling discovery that Knut Bergenstråhle has ”moonlight” on top of his head. I sat on the balcony, thus high above them all, and made that little discovery. Lieutenant Löwegren looks like ”world contempt and bitterness” when you see him out on town and I think he has become completely transparent tout pour nous.”
“All your admirers, the Bergenstråhles, Löwegren, Bildt, and God only knows the rest of them, were at the masquerade ball at Carlberg and {unreadable verb} the masked ones. They themselves were not wearing masks; it would have been a shame to put masks on such beautiful faces.”
Lotten to Augusta, Stockholm, 7 April 1847.
“Lieutenant Bergenstråhle was at Ekströms and I had the honor to “gallop” with Lieutenant Knut. Lieutenant Löwegren was also there. Seriously, I like him and he looks rather handsome.”
Von Dardel was a contemporary, well-connected nobleman who had a passion for drawing and painting social scenes. He was the same age as Augusta’s lieutenants and attended the same social events. In a world before cameras, he recorded the events in sketches and paintings. Many times he included himself in the painting. And he was ahead of his time by tagging people in his paintings by writing their names in the margins.
In the picture below, Augusta’s friend Lieutenant Edholm is the young man in the middle (as tagged).
The Coronation Ball Given by the Nobles, 16 Oct 1844. Painting by Fritz von Dardel. Lieutenant Erik af Edholm is dancing with the voluptuous woman in the middle.
In the picture below, Augusta’s friend Knut Bergenstråhle is the young lieutenant holding the hand of the young girl dressed in yellow. Did Augusta attend this ball?
The Amaranth Ball, 6 January 1845. Painting by Fritz von Dardel. Knut Bergenstråhle is the young lieutenant in the middle.
Fritz von Dardel also painted Lieutenant Löwegren as he was playing piano at some social gathering.
I couldn’t find any picture of Tante Cordier, so I painted a miniature portrait of how I think she looked.
Last week, I wrote about the time before sidewalks, about winter in Stockholm, and how nice it was when the dirty slush in the streets froze. Augusta’s friend Lotten had described it in a letter to Augusta. Lotten also wrote about taking a walk with the lovely Tante Cordier.
Who was she?
I don’t remember having seen that name before in any of Lotten’s letters to Augusta.
“This morning when I woke up, I saw through the window a clear blue sky and was told that it was below freezing outside. You know how happy one gets about dry streets after walking in dirt, 2 feet deep. I hurriedly dressed and, accompanied by my lovely Tante Cordier, walked far, far out, admiring and delighting in the glorious nature. Is there anything more lovely than a clear winter day? It made me so happy and it will keep me going for a whole week in case the weather gets dreadful again.” (Lotten’s letter to Augusta, dated 24 November 1845)
In search of Tante Cordier
So who was Tante Cordier? When I look for someone in Stockholm, I usually start with the digitized census records. This time, I search for Cordier but there are no results for 1845.
Church record of Tante Cordier in 1844
After the census records, I usually check the church records. Besides the government, the Church of Sweden also kept an eye on the citizens. Each household was subjected to a yearly household examination, making sure that the inhabitants could read the bible (and were vaccinated against smallpox!). Within each parish, the results of the examinations were recorded in the church ledger, sorted by city block and house number – listed the way it would have been recorded by the pastor as he walked down the street and visited each family. The records are now digitized, but they are not searchable, so reading through the ledgers is like visiting each address and checking in on each household. It is time-consuming to look for someone, but it is also pretty fascinating.
Since I know Lotten’s address, I decide to start there. I could always just check on her neighbors as well. Tante Cordier would probably have lived close to Lotten.
Bingo!
Widow, Wife of Professor, M.C. Cordier de Bonneville reads the entry. She lived at the same address as Lotten.
Tante Cordier’s census record in 1845
Now that I know her full last name, I go back to the census records and find her handwritten declaration for the 1845 census. Marie Christine Cordier de Bonneville was the widow of professor Cordier de Bonneville. Her maiden name was Björk and she was born 23 May 1781.
With the unique name and title of her husband, I am sure Google will find him.
Professor Louis Joseph Anger S:t Cordier de Bonneville
The first hit is a wonderful Swedish blog written about Louis Joseph Anger S:t Cordier de Bonneville, with quotes from author Wilhelm von Braun who described the professor in hilarious detail.
Professor Bonneville was born in Amiens, France in 1766. He was a painter and an engraver. In 1798, he moved to Sweden to work on the engravings of a series of paintings “Voyage Pittoresqe de la Suède“. The final series consisted of 19 plates, finished in 1802. Some of his engravings can be found at the Swedish National Gallery.
Bonneville was also a teacher of French and was appointed as professor of French at Karlberg, the military academy in Stockholm. There are amusing stories about Professor Bonneville by Wilhelm von Braun and others from this time. There is even a story about him and his wife, our Tante Cordier, who he referred to as his “little friend”.
Tante Cordier and her husband didn’t have any children but they had a foster daughter, Sophia Carolina Eleonora, who took the name Cordier. Professor Bonneville died in 1843 – 2 years before Lotten’s and Tante Cordier’s winter walk.
It is amazing how a single name in a letter can lead to stories and pictures and add to the knowledge of a time and a place. I now see Tante Cordier, her colorful French husband’s “little friend”, and imagine how she and her husband went to the theatre together. He was fond of food and they probably had nice dinners. Maybe they had his paintings or etchings framed in their parlor.
I am sure Tante Cordier was delighted to have Lotten as a neighbor.
Thank you, thank you, my good friend for your last letter, even though I had to wait quite some time to get it. But I will not scold you, only thank you so much for your last letter.
I should probably start by thanking you for your good wishes for the new year. I thank you for your wish that my heart will be free and I share your thoughts that one is happiest that way. I have received a very opposite wish from Dora; she wished that I would seriously fall in love with someone. Let’s see whose wish will come true by the end of the year. I am on your side so there are two wishes against one.
Have I written to you in the New Year and sent my well-wishes? I think so. If not, you know that I wish you all the best. My good friend, what many Christmas presents you got! It is a shame that they will not be seen in Stockholm this winter. You wish to hear mine; although they did not measure up with yours, I was completely satisfied. Here you have them:
Two dresses, very beautiful and modern, Parramatta or whatever it is called
One black long shawl
One pink silk cap
Book: Accounts of the Domestic Life
One beautiful bertha
White gloves
The most beautiful, small, knitted cap to have on the trip to and from the theatre
A tied crepe
Ribbons of all colors and dimensions and lots of things too small to specify in detail.
What did Augusta get for Christmas in 1845? Maybe similar items. Clothes and accessories were obviously important Christmas gifts for 19-year-old women. Did Augusta also get clothing made of Parramatta – beautiful and modern?
I had never heard of Parramatta before and had to look it up. Parramatta was a type of fabric that became popular in the 1840s. Many advertisements in the daily papers, both in Norrköping and Stockholm, listed Parramatta among the fabrics for sale. So what was it?
The Parramatta Female Factory
The Parramatta Female Factory
Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, Australia. In the 1840s, it was a British settlement. It was famous for its woolen mills and infamous for The Parramatta Female Factory. The factory was a penitentiary for women convicts who were sentenced to labor in the form of manufacturing woven cloth for export. It also served as a workhouse for incapacitated women. The factory opened in 1821 and in 1827, the women rioted because of cut in food rations and poor conditions. In 1842, over 1200 women and children lived in the factory. By 1848, the factory closed.
Parramatta as a Textile Term
Most of the fabric exported from Parramatta was wool fabrics. In textile terms, Parramatta refers to a light, twill, dress fabric with a silk or cotton warp and a woolen weft. So Parramatta fabric could be produced in Europe as well as being imported from Australia. Lotten’s dress fabric could have come from the Parramatta Female Factory or from some textile mill in Europe. But to Lotten, it was simply beautiful and modern.
The Book: Accounts of the Domestic Life
Skildringar ur det Husliga Lifvet (Accounts of the Domestic Life) by Anna Fredrika Ehrenborg
If there had been a bestseller list in December of 1845, Accounts of the Domestic Life would have been on the list. The book, “Skildringar ur det Husliga Lifvet” was penned by Anonymous.
Today, the book is available as a paperback on Amazon so I could have wished for it for Christmas! But there is no need for that; the book is available for free as a scanned copy of the 1845 edition.
The real author was Anna Fredrika Ehrenborg, born Carlqvist (1794-1873). She was deeply spiritual and a follower of Swedenborg. I don’t know if Lotten liked the book, but it would have been the kind of moral book a young woman should read.
I am sure Lotten never wondered about Parramatta manufacturing or why her gifts were considered suitable for young women. She was “completely satisfied” with her gifts. And I am sure the dresses and accessories were beautiful, just like those depicted on the fashion plates – the fashion in Stockholm, 1845.
In the foreground, Gustavianum, where Adolf Nordvall studied philosophy. Carolina Rediviva, the university library, in the background. Painting by Johan Way, 1833.
A couple of weeks ago, Kerstin and I visited Uppsala University archives. We were trying to find more information about Augusta’s husband, Adolf Nordvall, and about student life in the early 1850s. Where did he live, where did he post his letters to Augusta, and who were his friends? It was a fruitful visit even though we still have lots of unanswered questions.
While Uppsala was on my mind, I remembered Lotten writing to Augusta about their friend Emelie Breitholtz who figured in a previous blog.
Lotten to Augusta, October 1845
.”….On Monday I was at Bohemans and had quite a nice time. Emelie was there as usual. She is now traveling to Uppsala to her mother’s sister, Mrs. Waij, to open a new hall to which they have moved. Royal Secretary Ekström asserted that Emelie was to perform at some concert there and sing …”
Who was Mrs. Waij? And what did Lotten imply by “a new hall” (in Swedish: “…inviga en ny sal som de har flyttat till.”)?
It took some round-about research to find that the last name, Waij, should actually be Way.
Emelie’s aunt, Maria Theresia (or Marie Therese) Way was born Hästesko-Fortuna and married Johan Wilhelm Carl Way in 1827 (sometimes he also goes by the name John Way). She was a portrait painter, although, I haven’t found any paintings attributed to her.
Johan Way, on the other hand, was a famous and multitalented artist and professor, having retired from a military career at age 27. Before then, at age 21, he had participated in the Battle of Leipzig where the French army, under Napoleon Bonaparte, was defeated.
The couple had two daughters, Jenny Maria* born in 1829 and Josefina Theresia born in 1833 (married, Matthiesen). When Emelie visited the family Way in October of 1845, she was 19 years old and her two cousins were 16 and 12 years old.
Wouldn’t it have been interesting if any of these girls had kept a diary – maybe they did?
But back to Johan Way. His specialties were miniature portraits and glass painting. He also wrote textbooks on how to draw and he taught art classes. In the 1830s, he took the initiative to an art museum at Uppsala University. Today, the museum is located in Uppsala Castle.
Angels painted on glass for Uppsala Cathedral by Johan Way.Unknown woman. Miniature painting by Johan Way.
His miniature paintings of royalty and famous people were exquisitely executed and a few are in the Swedish National Gallery. Did he paint any of his wife or daughters, or of his niece, Augusta’s friend Emelie?
And, did Augusta’s husband, Adolf Nordvall, ever run into Professor Way in Uppsala?
___________________
*listed as one of the beneficiaries in Johan Way’s estate inventory (Swedish National Archives)
Did Augusta know anything about the Caribbean island, St. Barths? Saint Barthélemy, or St. Barths, was a Swedish colony between 1784 and 1878. Augusta’s friend Lotten would have had good reasons to know about the island…
I am still reading the letters from Charlotte “Lottten” Westman to Augusta. Augusta and Lotten had been friends in Stockholm while attending private girl’s schools in 1842-1845. When Augusta moved back to her country home, Loddby, outside Norrköping, Lotten kept Augusta up-to-date on the social life in Stockholm. In the winter of 1845-46, she tells Lotten about the sisters Ulrich.
Lotten and Edla Ulrich
Lotten’s letter to Augusta, Stockholm, 24 November 1845
“…You must tell me in the next letter if you have become acquainted with the Royal Secretary Ulrich’s family and, if so, please convey my heartfelt greetings to them. I sincerely admire them. You must tell me how they are liked in Norrköping. At first acquaintance, the girls appear superficial and pretty unremarkable. But they are extremely good and the older one is particularly dear to me…”
Lotten’s letter to Augusta, Stockholm, 22 January 1846
“…When you meet Lotten Ulrich, give her my heartfelt greetings. I think she will miss Stockholm a lot, as well as all her acquaintances here. She was the one who really grieved the most about leaving Stockholm but she is right in trying to accept her destiny when it cannot be changed…”
Who were the sisters Ulrich and why did the family have to leave Stockholm?
Lotten Ulrich (1806-1887) and Edla Ulrich (1816-1897) lived at the Royal Palace in Stockholm where their father, Johan Christian Henrik Ulrich, was the secretary to King Carl XIV Johan. When the king died in 1844, the family realized that their status would change and, in April 1845, they received a letter stating that they were now entitled to live at Kungshuset (The Royal House) in Norrköping. Lotten Ulrich was not excited about having to leave the Royal Palace in Stockholm for a house in Norrköping.
Lotten Ulrich’s Diary, Norrköping, Thursday, 12 September 1845 (my translation of the Swedish text, translated by Margareta Östman from the diary’s original entry in French (Östman, 2015).
“In Norrköping. This single word expresses the extent to which my destiny has changed since I last wrote in my diary. I’m no longer in Stockholm, in our dear little apartment in the Royal Palace, I am no longer at Gröndal, our beloved little rural home at Djurgården, these two places where I since my earliest childhood have spent my days; days that, when all is said and done, were happy, peaceful, and quiet No, I’m in Norrköping in The Royal House, eighteen [Swedish] miles from so many people and places that are infinitely dear to me and will remain so. It is here that I will now live my life, it is to this place we have traveled to live among people to whom we are indifferent and who are strangers to us.
And when I think of all the sacrifices that are required of us here, of all the pleasures I forever must forgo because of this move, then my heart breaks and I feel like crying in despair. And nevertheless – do I not have all the reasons to be content with my present situation, especially when I compare with how it could have been without God’s grace and without the grace of our good King Oscar I who gave us a place for retirement here in return for the one we had to leave in Stockholm? My destiny is determined, that is true, but do I not really have cause for despair and for letting my tears flow? …..”
Lotten Ulrich was trying to deal with the family move, her father’s retirement, and Norrköping. On the 6 January 1846, she attended a ball at the city hall in Norrköping. It was a beautiful ball, but Lotten Ulrich was so depressed that she didn’t even enter the ballroom.
I don’t know if Augusta ever did meet the sisters, and Lotten didn’t mention them again.
Ulrichs and Plagemanns
Lotten’s grandfather was the pharmacist Carl Johan Fredrik (CJF) Plagemann. His brother, Conrad Ludvig Plagemann (1784-1842) was a custom’s officer at Saint Barthélemy. He had 14 children born on the island.
The Ulrich sisters’ two brothers served consecutively as governors of Saint Barthélemy. Fredrik Carl (Fritz) Ulrich (1808-1868) was governor until his death in 1868. Bror Ludvig (1818-1887) then moved with his family to Saint Barthélemy and became the new governor.
It is no surprise that one of Conrad Ludvig Plagemann’s daughters, Lovisa Albertina (1815-1899), would marry one of the Ulrich brothers, Fredrik Carl (Fritz).
One of Conrad Ludvig’s sons, Arnold Plagemann (1826-1862) became a famous marine painter. In the late 1840s, he came back to Sweden and stayed with CJF Plagemann in Umeå. Some of his pencil drawings are included in the publication of letters between CJF Plagemann and his daughter Dorothea (Lotten’s “Dora”).
Painting by Arnold Plagemann
Jungfru Sara, pencil drawing by Arnold Plagemann 1848-1850
Minna Ulrich
Fritz Ulrich corresponded with his sisters and family in Stockholm. They eagerly awaited his letter with news from Saint Barthélemy. News about the growing family. And sometimes they got packages or sent packages.
Lotten and Edla Ulrich describe in their diaries in 1838 how they buy a doll. It is going to be a present for Fritz’s 4-year-old daughter, Edla Wilhelmina (Minna), and will be sent all the way to Saint Barthélemy. The body, which is 23 inches long, and the head are bought separately. The head has real hair and enamel eyes. The doll will be outfitted with clothes that the sisters and their mother are making. They are very excited about the project.
Little Minna was actually Lotten Westman’s second cousin. How much did she know about her family in St. Barths? Sadly, Minna and two of her younger brothers died in a fever epidemic in 1841. In 1842, another daughter was born and given the same name. Seems like that was not an unusual custom.
In my last blog, I wrote about Augusta’s friend Lotten and her family. I mentioned that her grandfather, the famous pharmacist, Carl Johan Fredrik (CJF) Plageman, had moved to northern Sweden with his second wife, Eva Sofia. On a wintry day in 1853, she died. Letters from CJF Plagemann to his daughter, Dorothea, who lived in Stockholm, describe all the details of the funeral and the period of mourning. It is an interesting description of a winter funeral in northern Sweden. The following are translations of a few excerpts of those letters, which were compiled by Carl Johan Lamm and published in 1947.
Umeå, 5 February 1853
…The funeral will be in the church and then the body will be taken to the Södermark’s crypt where it will stay until spring when the ground will be bare and our family grave in the cemetery will be accessible. Now it is covered by 12 feet of snow.
Umeå, 18 February 1853
All afternoon, I have been busy writing invitation cards which our friend, pharmacist Johan Olof Asplund, will deliver tomorrow; that is, an invitation to our beloved and lamented mother’s funeral next Tuesday. The invitation is for 11 am. At around noon, when the guests have gathered, there will be coffee and pretzels, then wine and Bischoff, sweets, jam, cake, sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies – all according to local tradition – and then, lastly, bouillon and paté.
Once the church-ringing has started, around 3 pm, the men, after being called, will line up and the body will be carried by friends from the room to the gate, and from there in a wagon to the church and, likewise, be carried to the altar. The funeral will be performed by Pastor Jonas Åberg; then it will be carried out and put in the wagon. Some of the men will leave while others, including the grieving, will follow out to the cemetery where the casket will be put in the Södermark’s crypt. Those who have been the officiants and some of my closest friends will then come back to the house, around 30 people, and eat a dinner while standing. Oh! If it was just over! It will be a difficult and trying day for me…
…Miss Nordin and Carin Sjöström will give Dedé (Dorothea) a complete description of the beloved mother’s last weeks. I have kept her small hair braids. The Flower Room has been divided in half, covered in white, and with 4 chandeliers, 4-arm candle-holders, and 12 wax candles, it will, during the day, shine a light on the sad coffin. The coffin is black-lacquered and decorated with plates, handles, silver feet, and 132 north stars made of tin. The portraits of the Royals, mirrors, tables, and chairs are covered in white. In the innermost room, a corner sofa is placed and chairs are removed from all rooms. In this innermost room, we 3 grieving will be sitting, as well as others, and over the sofa is my beloved Dedé’s portrait dressed in a black crape. Everything will be well arranged for an honorable funeral.
Umeå, 26 February 1853
White morning curtains, that we have borrowed from Mrs. Anna Maria Meuller, will, according to local custom, hang over the windows that face the street for 6 weeks. Oh! Long weeks!
Umeå, 23 March 1853
Another death has occurred, that of young Mrs. Lindberg, who died in childbirth, 36 years and 3 months old, leaving her husband and child. Now my morning curtains, which I borrowed from Mrs. Meuller, have to be taken down and washed so that she can lend them to the family Lindberg. At least it looks a little happier and nicer in my rooms now that these covers have been removed.
Thank you, thank you, my good friend for your last letter, even though I had to wait quite some time to get it. But I will not scold you, only thank you so much for your last letter. I should probably start by thanking you for your good wishes for the new year.
…
You know what? I have not yet received a letter from Dora since I wrote you last. I’m really worried. Imagine my delight; she will come here this summer. She will also travel with her mother to Nora to a married sister she has there. Mormor (Swedish: mother’s mother) is going to take water because she has been ill throughout the winter. I am supposed to be invited by Moster (Swedish: mother’s sister) to come there, but although I love Dora so much and how fun it would be, it would be impossible for me to stay away from home for so long without getting homesick. I would rather be at my beloved Ulriksdal for a few days. My aunt and uncle live there. There, I really enjoy the summer. It is so private with the lake close by. I can lay down in a boat by the shore and rock gently with the waves. I don’t know anything as monotonous, but also nothing more wonderful on a bright, sunny day than to lie in a boat by the shore and hear the sound of the waves rhythmically break against the shore. It’s a lovely song in my ears. I’ve never liked the countryside before, but now I love it and suffer in the city during the summer.
…
Write soon to your true friend, Lotten.
The original letter from Lotten regarding Dora.
This is Charlotte Westman’s first letter to Augusta in 1846. As usual, she talks about Dora and how Dora will be traveling to the small Swedish town, Nora. But Dora is never mentioned with a family name, so how could one ever find out who she is?
The paragraph in this letter is pretty confusing. Right after discussing Dora, Lotten mentions a maternal grandmother who has been sick and needs to drink water from the spring in Nora. Is it Dora’s grandmother or Lotten’s? I decide to at least find out who Lotten’s grandmother was.
Lotten’s maternal grandmothers
Lotten’s maternal grandmother was Hedvig Charlotta Åslund (1776-1816) from Ovanåker, Folkärna parish, close to Avesta. She was married to a famous pharmacist, Carl Johan Fredrik (CJF) Plagemann (1779-1864). She died in an explosion while making silver fulminate when she was 40 years old. Maybe she was helping her husband in his laboratory?
Carl Johan Fredrik Plagemann (1779-1864). Lotten Westman’s maternal grandfather.
The following year, CJF Plagemann opened a pharmacy in the Westman Palace in Stockholm. A requirement for opening his own pharmacy was that he should also teach pharmacy students. The activities should be conducted under the supervision of a professor of chemistry, Jacob Berzelius.
When CJF Plagemann’s wife died, she left behind four children between the ages of 3 and 11. One of those children was Lotten’s mother, Eva Charlotte (1807-1840, married into the Westman family). So Lotten’s maternal grandmother died long before Lotten was born. As was customary at the time, the widower then married his first wife’s younger sister, Eva Sofia Åslund (1785-1853). Lotten, therefore, had a step-grandmother who was also her great aunt. Did she refer to her as Mormor or Moster?
And here comes the interesting observation. Her grandfather and his new wife had a child, a daughter born in 1826 – thus a year older than Lotten – by the name of Dorothea, or Dora. Could it be the Dora?
Dorothea Plagemann
Dorothea Plagemann (Dorothée Kindstrand). Drawing by Maria Röhl 1861.
Eva Dorothea Fredrika Charlotta Plagemann spent her childhood in Stockholm. During this time, her father expanded his pharmaceutical business to include manufacturing of chemical products. Raw materials necessary for the manufacturing were abundant in northern Sweden, so in 1833, CJF Plagemann moved to Skellefteå and from there, in 1843, to Umeå. Did Dorothea move with her parents or did she stay behind in Stockholm, boarding with some family and attending school? All we know is that she had her first communion in Klara parish in Stockholm in 1843, a year before Lotten. Most likely, she stayed in Stockholm for at least some of those years. Maybe she also attended Mrs. Edgren’s school?
In the summer of 1851, Dorothea did live in Stockholm. Her letters to her father in Umeå and his letters to her were published in a local yearbook in 1947. She writes about their garden and the famous botanists who come to visit. She tells her father about the status of the various plants. Her father writes about daily life in Umeå.
On the 19 August 1851, Dorothea married pharmacist Fabian Reinhold Kindstrand, a colleague of her father. In documents from the time she goes by several combinations of names and spellings, e.g., Dorothée Kindstrand and Dorothea Plagemann.
Is it Dora in Nora?
I don’t know if Dorothea is Dora who Lotten refers to in her letters. I haven’t found any connections yet between Dorothea and the town of Nora. Dorothea’s mother had many sisters, so when Lotten writes that Dora “…will also travel with her mother to Nora to a married sister she has there”, could she possibly mean a sister of her mother? I might find out more, as I have many more of Lotten’s letters to read.
Update: 30 November 2018.
There were more clues in Lotten’s later letters.
Stockholm, 6 May 1846
“…Imagine spending the whole summer in the countryside! I could spend the whole summer in the countryside if I could only bear being apart from Mademoiselle Hellberg and Clara – at Moster (Swedish: mother’s sister) Anna’s – but I would be crushed by the longing for them.”
So, Lotten’s maternal aunt in Nora was named Anna. I search on Anna and Nora and Plagemann and get nowhere. Then I simplify the search to just Nora+Plagemann and land in a book about Swedish families published in 1906. And there it is – Anna Sofia Plagemann married to Adolf Fredrik Baer, living in Nora. So Dorothea Plagemann had a married sister living in Nora, by the name of Anna.
Simplified family tree connecting Lotten to Dora. It shows Lotten’s maternal grandparents and CJF Plagemann’s 5 children.
In a later letter, Lotten, for the first time, mentions her maternal grandfather – not by name, but the fact that he came to visit. Makes me wonder if she corresponded with him? Dora did – but that was her father, not her grandfather.
Stockholm, 16 June 1846
“…I was fully convinced I would meet Dora. The day of her arrival was already determined and we were expecting her. Then Morfar (Swedish: mother’s father) came alone, because Momor (Swedish: mother’s mother) had again fallen and had a fracture and, therefore, they could not travel.”
In the next paragraph, Lotten complains about all that she has to do.
“Today, as well, letters and packages must be sealed and sent to Umeå.”
And it was in Umeå that CJF Plagemann and his wife lived. Did Dora also live there in 1845-1846 and only spent the summers in Nora?
I think it is safe to conclude that Dora in Lotten’s letters is Dorothea Plagemann and that Dora visited her aunt Anna in Nora.
When searching for images of Dorothea, I found some beautiful paintings by the famous Swedish artist, Carl Larsson. What did they have to do with Dorothea? The first one happened to be of Dorothea’s daughter. Eva Dorothea Helena Kindstrand was born in 1852 and is better known by her married name, Eva Upmark. She held many positions in organizations for women. She was the chairperson of the Swedish Women’s Confederation and the secretary of the Red Cross Women’s Association. In 1911, she organized the International Congress of the International Council of Women.
Eva Upmark also had a daughter. Her name was Dora. And Carl Larsson painted her too – a large painting of Dora Lamm with her sons and another one of her reading.
The Edgren’s census record for 1844. Girls boarding with Mrs. Edgren includes Augusta.
Augusta attended Mrs. Edgren’s school in Stockholm from the fall of 1841 through the spring of 1844. She boarded with the Edgren family together with 4 other boarders or “pensioners”: Adèle Peyron, Mathilde Biel, Elise Biel, and Josefine Stenbock. The school closed in the summer of 1844 but the following school year, Mlle Andriette Frigel had taken over at least some of the students and Adèle, Mathilde, and Elise were now boarding with Mlle Frigel.
Mlle Frigel’s census record for 1845. Adèle, Mathilde, and Elise are now boarding with Mlle Frigel.
Adèle’s life story was chronicled in a previous blog. Who were the other girls, the sisters Biel and Josefine Stenbock?
Mathilde and Elise Biel
Mathilda (Mathilde) Carolina Sofia and Emilia Elisabeth (Elise) were sisters. Mathilde was born in 1830 and Elise in 1832. They also had an older brother, Fredrik August, born in 1829, and a younger brother, Carl Axel Hugo, born in 1833. Their father was German-born Christian Friedrich Biel and their mother was Augusta Mathilda Hasselström.
Christian Friedrich Biel and his business partner, Johan Albert Kantzow, started in 1808 the company Kantzow & Biel, one of the largest export and import firms in Stockholm. The company was also a major exporter of iron to the US. In 1824, Kantzow and Biel petitioned the US Congress regarding import duties levied on their iron shipment:
Journal of the House of Representatives of The United States, Being the Second Session of the Eighteenth Congress, Begun and Held at The City of Washington, December 6, 1824, and in the Forty-Ninth Year o the Independence of the United States.
When Christian Friedrich died in 1839, Kantzow continued running the company.
So why did Mathilde and Elise’s mother decide that the girls should board with Mrs. Edgren and then with Mlle Frigel when she and the children lived in Stockholm? Being a widow with 4 young children who needed schooling might have been difficult. And as the family could afford it, it might just have been more convenient to have the girls live with their teacher.
It is also possible that she was not in good health. She died in 1847, at the age of 44. The cause of death was listed in church records as “wasting” (Swedish: tärande).
So what happened to Mathilde and Elise later in life?
Mathilde Biel
Björneborg
Mathilde, or Matilda, married Olof Nordenfelt in 1852. Olof was born in 1826 at Björneborg in the province of Värmland. When his father died, he inherited the estate and its ironworks. He became chamberlain at the royal court in 1860 and a member of parliament in 1867. They had 9 children and many grandchildren. Mathilde died in 1888 at the age of 57.
Elise Biel
Svanå
Elise, or Elisabet, married Victor Edman in 1850. Victor was born in 1813 in Stockholm and this was his second marriage. His first wife died following the birth of their second son. Between 1856 and 1870, the family lived at Svanå in the province of Västmanland. Victor was the majority shareholder and manager of the Svanå ironworks. Today, Svanå is a conference center and
Emilia Elisabeth (Elise) Edman, born Biel. Photograph by Robert Roesler. Privately owned.
In 1870, the family moved to Stockholm. They bought a house in the same block as where Elise and her sister had lived with Mrs. Edgren! The house was just around the corner from Mrs. Edgren’s school. They also rented a small farm, Edeby on the island Lovön.
In 1875, Elise and Victor celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary and Victor surprised Elise with a gold bracelet consisting of seven linked medallions, each containing a photograph. The photographs were portraits of Victor, in the middle, and his six children – two from his first marriage and four from his marriage with Elise. In 2017, the bracelet was gifted to the Nordic Museum in Stockholm by Victor’s great-great-grandson and namesake.
Elise also had her portrait taken by Robert Roesler who in 1877 opened his photography studio on Drottninggatan 29 C in Stockholm.
Elise died in 1907 at the age of 75.
Josefine Stenbock.
Torsjö
Josefine belonged to a very old, noble family in Sweden. Her full name was Baroness Josefina Albertina Charlotta Fredrika Lovisa Stenbock. Her name appears in documents as Josefina, Josefine, Josephine, and Josephina – spelling variations were very common in the 1800s. She was 6 years younger than Augusta, born 7 May 1833 at Torsjö estate 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 an older brother and three younger siblings. Her youngest sister Sophia was born in 1843. According to genealogy websites, all of them were born in Skåne. It thus made sense that Josefine was sent to a boarding school in Stockholm.
In 1857, Josefine married Chamberlain, Count Jacob Fredric Theodor Uggla. With the marriage, she became a countess. They had two children, Margareta Charlotta Johanna Fredrika born in 1858 and Carl Otto Knut Teodor born in 1859. Sadly, her husband died in 1864 at the age of 34 and interestingly, he died in Dax, a small town in south-west France. Dax was famous for its hot springs and was the first established spa in France. Did he have tuberculosis? Did Josefina travel with him?
Josefine’s son, Carl Otto, emigrated to America and took the last name of his maternal grandmother – Hamilton. He became a captain in the US army and participated in the Spanish-American War. He married, had 6 children, and died in 1933. According to genealogy sites, he was also an artist (painter).
Josefine also did not live long. She died in 1881 at the age of 48 in Copenhagen.
My illustration of how I imagined the three girls looked when reading in Mrs. Edgren’s class.
Little Women. Illustration by Frank T. Merrill. 1880
In the fall of 1841, Augusta started school in Stockholm. It was a boarding school run by Mrs. Lovisa Edgren and her husband, Johan Fredrik Edgren. During the summer of 1844, the Edgrens moved and the school closed. Augusta still had one more year to study in Stockholm so what school did she attend in the fall of 1844?
Augusta’s best friend Lotten kept in touch with Augusta after they had both finished school in 1845. She updated Augusta on the latest gossip.
I thought that if I could learn more about Augusta’s friends, I might be able to get the pieces of the puzzle and figure out which school they all attended.
What I never realized was that the answer was in plain sight in some of Lotten’s letters – Mademoiselle (Mlle) Frigel. I even quoted it in my blog about Augusta’s friend, Adele Peyron:
“Yesterday, I was visiting Mlle Frigel and she always asks about you and sent her warmest regards. Adèle Peyron also sent you many greetings. Erica Degermann and I are invited to Mlle Frigel on a final ball on Tuesday.” (16 April 1846)
On 18 December 1845, Lotten writes:
Your greetings to Mlle Frigel and the girls have already been conveyed.”
It was that sentence I reacted to. It wasn’t a mother and her girls that Augusta was sending greetings to – it was a mademoiselle and her girls. Didn’t that sound like a teacher and her girls?
How would I find out?
Googling Frigel + Stockholm leads me to a famous composer and professor of music theory. He was during the late 1700s and early 1800s Sweden’s most renowned music theorist – Pehr Frigel (1750 – 1842). He married Maria Charlotta Palmroth (1766-1797). Did they have any unmarried daughters that could have been teachers?
More googling.
They had three daughters: Beata Helena Charlotta (2 December 1790 – 26 November 1855), Andriette Christina (21 September 1795 – 6 October 1882), and Margareta (who died in infancy). Either Charlotte or Andriette could have been a teacher – or both.
Charlotta Frigel
I start looking for Charlotta. The first place I search is the digitized census records for Stockholm. I only find P. Frigel in the 1835 census records and, sure enough, it is Pehr Frigel. He, his daughter Charlotta, and a “cleaning woman,” are listed at the same address. Andrietta must have been living somewhere else.
What happened to Charlotta after 1835?
Now I search the Royal Library’s digitized newspapers for any mention of Charlotta. There are two hits.
The first one is in the Daglig Allehanda newspaper of 17 July 1840, noting that “by the Royal Majesty” Charlotta and her sister Andrietta and 8 other girls have been granted the right to be legally independent (Swedish: “att vara myndig“). Unmarried girls could apply for this right but it wasn’t until 1863 that women automatically were granted this right at the age of 25. Of course, if they married they lost this right and their husbands became their guardians.
The second notice about Charlotta is her death notice. It states: “Death in the provincial towns: Mademoiselle Beata Helena Charlotta Frigel at Aske Manor in Uppland, 26 November 1855, 65 years old.”
Did she become a private teacher in some wealthy family?
“From my 4th year, 1813, I still vividly remember two events: a funeral for a merely one-year-old little brother, and the arrival of a teacher, Mademoiselle Charlotte Frigel, for my sisters. I can still vividly see her looks and clothing in front of me as if it was just yesterday.”
It is a long memoir, but very interesting, about his family’s extensive travels in Europe over several years, their health issues, and their deep religiosity.
I look up the sister who Charlotta, at age 23, was hired to teach in 1813. Johanna Vilhelmina (Mimmi) was 6 years old. Two years later, a second daughter, Maria Carolina Matilda, was born.
I don’t know how many years Charlotta stayed at Aske and whether she was living there or just visiting when she died in 1855.
Her name appears with three different spellings: Andriette, Andrietta, and Andréetta. In the census records, she is listed as the head of the household with the title of “sekreterardotter”, daughter of a secretary. Her father, Pehr Frigel, was the permanent secretary of The Royal Swedish Academy of Music. He was also a secretary in the Royal State Office.
Mlle Frigel’s census record for 1845.
Digitized census records of Andriette’s household exist for the years 1845 and 1870. I first pull up the image for 1845. I can hardly believe what I see.
I have found Augusta’s school! Andriette Frigel is Mlle Frigel in Lotten’s letters!
“Undersigned, daughter to the late secretary in the Royal State Office, Pehr Frigel, and through the Royal Majesty’s graceful resolution of 19 June 1840 declared legally independent, maintains a boarding institute for girls.”
The girls boarding with Mademoiselle Frigel are listed as Adelaide Peyron, Mathilda Biel, and Elizabeth Biel. All three had boarded with Mrs. Edgren the year before (in addition to Augusta and Josefine Stenbock).
Google street view of where Mlle Frigel had her boarding school in 1845.
And where did Andriette live? In 1845, her address is listed as the block named Blåman, House No. 8 or, according to the new numbering system, Drottninggatan (Queen Street) 53. I enter the address into Google Maps and smile. Of course, I know where that is. It is a clothing store – Indiska. Every time I am in Stockholm, I check out their sales. So this is where Augusta went to school during the fall of 1844 and the spring of 1845. And it is very close to where she was living, boarding with the Ribbing family. That place is now a Starbucks Café close to the Central Station. Of course, the locations are the same, not the houses. Soon I will be able to lead walking tours through Stockholm in the footsteps of Augusta. We will meet at Starbucks!
So what happened to Andriette later in life? There is one note stating that she was an artist – something I have not been able to verify. I search the digitized daily newspapers again and find her death notice. She died in Stockholm in 1882 at the age of 87.
Pehr Frigel’s Funeral and Jenny Lind
Which brings me back to Andriette’s father, Pehr Frigel. He lived to be 92. His funeral in 1842 was grand, to say the least. The daily paper wrote about the music that was performed and the solo artists – including Jenny Lind. She was only 22 years old and belonged to the same parish as Pehr Frigel. She would soon become world-renowned.
A note on Pehr Frigel’s funeral (Daglig Allehanda, 10 December 1842)Jenny Lind in 1840
