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.

How do you make a Victorian laced corset?

When we first started Augusta’s Journey, Kerstin got interested in the fashion of the time – the late 1840s – and decided to start making historically accurate clothes. Her first garment was a laced corset – the must-have underwear of the Victorian era (the original Victoria’s secret 🙂 ). It was beautiful! And it looked really professional.

“Here,” Kerstin said, “try it on! And by the way, you need to make one too.”

The next day, we spent a few hours copying the pattern she had altered from an online source (“Please be aware this pattern if free and does not come with instructions”). With the pattern, she gave me enough fabric, ribbons, and 26 fake whale bones. The next day we purchased the required hardware: a front-planchette and brass grommets.

This all happened in November.

Two weeks ago, I finally opened the bag with all the materials and put it in nice little heaps on my sewing table. And then I looked at the pictures of Kerstin’s finished corset. Somehow, I should just be able to convert all the materials into that! With no instructions.

Then I remembered that Kerstin had bought an adjustable dress form for this project, and I thought, that must be the magic trick. It would just be like the TV series Project Runway. I would simply pin up the fabric on this dummy and start making creative clothes. That led to a week of agonizing over types of dress forms – adjustable (expensive) or cheap one-size forms (bad reviews) and lots of other alternatives. I just needed one that looked like me and one on which I could pin the fabric. Of course, you could probably make one…? Googling “make your own dress form” led me to great video instructions of the Duct Tape Dress Form. This is where you wear a t-shirt and have someone wrap you in duct tape (no, I am not including those pictures 🙂 ). This creates a form of your body that you will then fill with pillow stuffing. And that is what I did, and it worked beautifully.

So now there were no more excuses – I had all that I needed.

I thought it would just take a day or two. I hadn’t realized that there were 5 pattern pieces for a total of 20 fabric pieces to cut out and stitch together. Then 26 channels to be stitched for the bones, using ribbon. And then there were the questions of which seams to stitch in what order – which was up and down, left and right, inside and outside, and how should the hardware be fitted into the seams?

While getting my head around the 3D questions, I felt grateful to my mother who always let us use her sewing machine and had cartons full of fabric and ribbons for us to use; to my father who was a good role model by sewing sails and beach bags for our sailing summer vacations; to my elementary school teacher, Miss Sörén, who taught us the importance of perfect seems (I didn’t appreciate it at that time); and to my middle school teacher who taught us how to make clothes. And most of all to Kerstin, who had done all the research and provided me with a pattern and assured me that I could also make a corset, just like hers.

Day after day, the piles of materials were shrinking and the corset was taking form. Embellishment was of course up to me. Kerstin had used lace and embroidered her corset. I found some beautiful antique napkins with tatted lace in a local thrift store and used the lace on the front.

After 2 weeks, I had finally succeeded in making the laced corset.

Now for the next project: make that 1847 skirt and bodice (and then a bonnet, an umbrella, a purse, and shoes). Watching BBCs drama series about Queen Victoria is a great inspiration though, and there are so many beautiful dresses I can only dream about making. Stay tuned 🙂 .

How boring it is to be ill … but Wilhelm von Braun writes humorous poems

In the summer of 1849, I was mostly at home except for a few weeks spent at Fullerstad and a few days at Krusenhof. August was very ill throughout the summer and the joy and well-being during that time were rare guests at Loddby. The last days of the year, I had a violent rush of blood to my lungs, and was sick for 3 weeks. A thousand times I exclaimed with Braun:

How boring, so boring it is to be ill
woe it’s invention, nevertheless, still
time passes by, as time’s wont to do,
But slowly, damned slowly, time passes through.

(Attempt at translating Wilhelm von Braun’s poem Fantasi på sjuksängen).

This is the first diary entry where we learn that Augusta had tuberculosis, or consumption. Her brother August was also ill and we don’t know what he was afflicted with that summer. Fullerstad was the home of Augusta’s dear relatives, the Schuberts, and Krusenhof was the home of her best friends, the Hjorts.

But who was Wilhelm von Braun who wrote poetry that a 22-year-old girl would have memorized? Well, at that time he was one of Sweden’s most popular poets. And not all of his poems would have been suitable for young women :).

Wilhelm von Braun (1813-1860), like Paul Wahlfelt and other officer friends of Augusta, got his early education in the cadet school at Karlberg’s military academy in Stockholm. This was a boarding school for boys, usually from privileged families. Wilhelm followed the tradition of his father, and was enrolled at Karlberg at 15 years of age in 1828. After graduating in 1834, and for the next 7 years, he served as a lieutenant.

But his passion was poetry and prose. He published his first poetry in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet in 1834. In 1849 he wrote a story called Napoleon, the Adventure of a Cadet, which was based on his experiences at Karlberg. In 1846, he resigned his commission as a lieutenant to be a full-time writer.

Von Braun is presently having a renaissance. There is now a Wilhelm von Braun Association who has published the book Wilhelm von Braun – The one that ladies never read (“Den där som damerna aldrig läst”). And while reading the book, one can enjoy a glass of Wilhelm von Braun’s Punsch, a traditional Swedish cordial, produced in honor of this national poet.

I am glad that Augusta still got to enjoy the poems suitable for women, and those that provided humor for young girls suffering with consumption.

Sources (in Swedish):

https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_von_Braun

www.tam-arkiv.se/share/proxy/alfresco…/ASU_207.pdf (Kadettminnen av överste Claes Bratt)

Fantasi på Sjuksängen i Samlade Arbeten af Wilhelm v. Braun, Del 1 (pdf of book available free online)

http://www.culturum.se/Braun/2StPunsc.htm (Wilhelm von Brauns Punsch)

Featured image is part of an oil painting by Antonio Mancini (1852-1930), Resting, 1887. http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/artist/Mancini,+Antonio

Balls, theater performances, and concerts

“I spent the winter and summer of 1848 at home in deepest solitude, sometime interrupted by a visit from and to Krusenhof.

In January 1849 I traveled, accompanied by Hanna Schubert, to Stockholm where we stayed with baroness Ribbing. Naturally, we had a good deal of amusement: balls, theater performances, and concerts followed in pleasurable succession. Lessons in singing for Mr. Dannström and dutiful visits in return for the previous evenings’ pleasures occupied our mornings.

Erik Sparre came often and paid us visits and Lieutenant Wahlfelt did not come less often. In the spring he proposed to me, but I have always been told that my heart is petrified, and truth is, I believe that it is made of harder material than those of people in general. Anyway, the amiable Lieutenant’s proposal was rejected and in July I returned happy and free to my peaceful, quiet home.”

Krusenhof was the neighboring estate about 3 miles from Augusta’s home at Loddby. Her best friends, the family Hjort, lived there until December 1850 when they moved to Kungsholmen, Stockholm. More about the family will come in later posts.

Hanna Schubert (b. 1829) was Augusta’s cousin’s daughter. She married Erik Sparre (mentioned above) in 1851.

Mr. Isidor Dannström was an opera singer and composer who also gave singing lessons. He was very famous in the 1840’s along with Jenny Lind. His portrait (right) was drawn by Joseph W. Wallander.

And who was Wahlfelt, the suitor? Paul Axel Fredrik Wahlfelt (b. 1817) was in 1849 a 32-year-old lieutenant who was an instructor in gymnastics and weaponry. He must have started his military education at an early age as the artist Maria Röhl included him in a drawing (left) of young cadets in 1832 .

In 1844, he was also included in Fritz von Dardel’s painting of the Burgesses’ Coronation Ball (top of page). This was a ball held in honor of the coronation of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. The painting probably depicts the newly introduced dance – the polka. What is also interesting is that von Dardel tagged the dancers, as we do in today’s Facebook pictures. Therefore, we know that Paul Wahlfelt was the 5th gentleman from the left or the 4th gentleman from the right. It seems like that would be the tall, blond officer in the middle.

And as a footnote, Paul Wahlfelt never married.

Sources:
Fritz von Dardel’s painting: http://runeberg.org/dfvalbum/0017.html
Maria Röhl’s drawing of Wahlfelt: http://libris.kb.se/bib/10233865
Isidor Dannström:
http://www.swedishmusicalheritage.com/composers/dannstrom-isidor/
https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isidor_Dannstr%C3%B6m
Hanna Schubert:
https://www.geni.com/people/Johanna-Schubert/6000000006127401417

Will 1852 give us clear or cloudy days?

Augusta celebrated New Year’s Eve 1851 with her friends. She was 24 years old and life was still good:

Today we were invited to Bååthens¹. There were 10 other guests from Norrköping, and of the most boring kind. Luckily there was a tiny Mrs Lundmark from Malmö who was particularly talkative, just like the hostess, and as Gustaf² and I made up the 3^rd and 4^th members of this little coterie, we could congratulate each other on our contribution to making the evening pleasurable. A simple supper consisting of lutfisk and porridge as well as steak and a pastry was taken and the party ended around midnight. It is now 2 am, the new year has begun; will it give us clear or cloudy days? The future will give me answers.

The wonderful answer is that 1852 was a momentous year for Augusta – the year she met her future husband Adolf Leonard Nordvall.

_______________

¹Seved and his wife Ulla (Ulrika Josefina) Bååth (http://www.skanskebatar.se/gen_public/000/0008/247.php)

²Gustaf Adolf Eklund, merchant who also built the New Theatre (Eklundska Teatern) in Norrköping

The Family at Loddby

When discovering a diary, it is like stepping into someone’s home without knowing anything about the family. There are names mentioned, but it is not like a novel where the author will provide you with character descriptions. And at the time of Augusta’s diary, there were no photographs.

Fortunately, there is a lot of recorded genealogy; dates and places of birth, marriage, and death. And of some family members, there might be a painting or a drawing.

So what did Augusta’s family look like?

It consisted of only 4 persons: Augusta, her brother, her mother, and her brother-in-law.

When the diary starts in 1847, Augusta is almost 20 years old. Her older brother August is 31. What we glean from the diary is that Augusta and her mother would rather not have him around: “Poor August! He will never be free from a life that is a never-ending chain of pain, bitterness, and suffering, and we will never, ever stop crying over him.”

Augusta’s mother, Anna Catharina (Charlotta) Fagerström is 59 years old. She got married at 17, a widow at 47, and had 5 children of which only 2 are still alive in 1847. Augusta was born when her mother was 39 years old. From the diary one discerns that Augusta cares a lot about her mother.

And then there is Gustaf Fredrik Lejdenfrost. Lejdenfrost is a 49-year old, wealthy, textile-mill industrialist who owns the estate Loddby, just outside Norrköping. This is where the family lives. He is twice a brother-in-law to Augusta. He first married Augusta’s sister Amalia (b. 1808) who died in childbirth at age 25. He then married Augusta’s oldest sister Charlotta (b. 1806) who died from influenza only two years after their wedding. One can only wonder how one could overcome being a widower at age 35 and again at age 39! As he is well connected and successful, he becomes Augusta’s benefactor which allows her to study and be part of the society in Stockholm.

There is also staff mentioned in the diary, especially the housekeeper Stina Maria (Malla) Kullerstrand (32 years old) and the bookkeeper C. Lindgren (18 years old).

That is the small family at Loddby.

But then there are so many relatives, friends, and suitors. The journey has only started!