Second Generation  

2. Karl August KARLSSON,^4,5 son of Karl Johan LARSSON and Gustava OLSDOTTER, was born on 17 OCT 1864 in Bo, Örebro Co, Närke, Sweden,⁶ died on 1 OCT 1918 in Hessel, Mackinac Co., MI, USA, at age 53,⁴ and was buried in Cedar Cemetery, Cedarville, Mackinac Co., MI, USA.⁴ Other names for Karl were Charles August NYE ⁷, and Karl August NOJD.⁸

General Notes: Karl emigrated 15 May 1888. He used the name Karl August Karlsson Nöjd on his police clearance in Göteborg, Sweden. He used the name Charles Nojd in the census records. His name was recorded on his homestead papers as Charles A Naeid. His name is recorded as Charles A Nye on his marriage certificate and his children's birth certificates. He was born Karl August Karlsson. He was a soldier and was assigned the soldier name of Nöjd. Some men returned to using their patronymic name when they no longer were soldiers and some kept their soldier names. Karl chose to keep using his soldier name.

Nöjd means satisfied in Swedish. Sweden did not really have last names. The children were born and given Christian names and then they were identified as being their father's daughter or son. This is referred to as the patronymic naming system. When men became soldier's it was necessary to correctly identify them. Due to the patronymic names, there were numerous persons with the same name and the "last" name changed with every generation. Sweden developed the soldier name system at the end of the 1600's. Each district had to have a certain number of soldiers. Each soldier was assigned a short, usually one syllable name, and there was only one soldier in each district by that name. Karl was the only soldier with the name of Nöjd in his district, but there may have been a soldier named Nöjd in several other districts. It was not until 1901 that Sweden passed a law mandating that everyone have a last name. It became popular in the 1880's to have a surname and many people began to choose surnames. It first became fashionable to drop the dotter and just use the son ending for both sons and daughters. Women did not take their husband's name. It began to be popular to take your husband's name around the turn of the 20th century.

We have numerous bills and receipts showing Karl's name recorded sometimes as Nye and sometimes as Nojd. It depended on the person who was recording the name. It is apparent that he wanted to use the name of Nojd, but it appears that it was too difficult for most people to understand his name. Ellen, his daughter, told me
that he had a very strong accent. I showed her a copy of her parent's wedding certificate where it is recorded that his mother's name was Gustava Woolsen. Her name was Gustava Olsdotter or Olsson. Ellen stated to me that Woolsen was the way her father said Olson. Charles is the English version of Karl and almost all Swedes with the name of Karl changed their names to Charles when they emigrated to the US.

Karl emigrated alone, without any other family members. He had two brothers and two sisters who emigrated and they all emigrated alone.

On 30 Sept 1918 Charles A Naeid signed over the warranty deed for the farm to his wife, Mrs Tena Nye. This was recorded and filed in Mackinac County on 2 Oct 1918 in Liber 54 page 486.

His homestead application was # 5168 and the final certificate was # 2546. It was filed and recorded at the land office at Marquette Vol 6 page 45. His claim was approved on 3 May 1895.

There was no religious freedom in Sweden. Everyone was automatically a member of the Swedish Lutheran Church at the time of their birth. The Swedish Priests were considered equivalent to government officials. His police clearance states that he has not been confirmed in the Swedish Church, he has not had the proper certificate for the class in Lutheran doctrine and he cannot take the sacrament. Sweden passed a law in 1951 officially allowing freedom of religion. It was not until the year 2000 that Sweden passed a law severing the relationship between the government and the Lutheran Church. As of 2000, Swedes are not automatically born a member of the Lutheran Church. The Break between the Church and State actually began about 1900. Many Swedes emigrated in the 1840's seeking religious freedom. It became more and more popular to leave the Church and become a Baptist or a Methodist. This religious movement occurred during a time of rapid social changes as society moved from the rural farms to the industrial cities. Sweden initially tried to outlaw other religions, but gradually came to accept them. The serious discussions about the divorce of the Church from the State began in the 1950's. The divorce has been a very long process, but has ended amicably. Up until January 2000 all Swedes were automatically a member of the Lutheran Church at birth. If they wished to withdraw from the Church they had to complete a lot of paperwork and it was not really socially acceptable. As of January 2000, parents must complete a form if they want their child to be a member of the Lutheran Church. The Lutheran Church used to handle all the family records, but now the county council takes care of the vital statistics.
Karl's parents were Baptist and this is why they did not have their children baptized in the Lutheran Church. It is important to Baptist that everyone make their own decisions about baptism. At the time that Karl emigrated it was still a very serious thing to separate from the Lutheran Church and it was a major cause of emigration. His daughter, Ellen, told me that her father talked about being forced to learn Lutheran Doctrine and to serve in the military and that these were part of the reason why he chose to emigrate.

Karl married Dorthea MORTENSEN on 5 FEB 1894 in St Ignace, Mackinac Co., MI, USA.⁹

Marriage Notes: Witnesses to the marriage were Chris Sorensen and Sena Mortensen. Sena was Tena's sister and she married Chris Sorensen.

Children from this marriage were:

          i.   William NYE (born on 14 MAY 1894 Hessel, Mackinac Co., MI, USA - died in 1966)

         ii.   Anna Mae NYE (born on 23 SEP 1895 Hessel, Mackinac Co., MI, USA - died on 30 MAR 1975 in St. Ignace, Mackinac Co, MI, USA)

        iii.   Frederick NYE (born on 14 MAY 1897 Hessel, Mackinac Co., MI, USA - died on 5 NOV 1965 in Hessel, Mackinac Co., MI, USA)

         iv.   Morten NYE (born on 25 MAR 1899 Hessel, Mackinac Co., MI, USA - died in 1962)

          v.   Roy NYE (born on 7 AUG 1901 Hessel, Mackinac Co., MI, USA - died on 5 AUG 1926 in Detroit, Wayne Co, MI, USA)

         vi.   Manetta Margaret NYE (born on 4 JUL 1903 Hessel, Mackinac Co., MI, USA - died on 3 SEP 1975)

1       vii.   Ellen Augusta NYE (born on 1 JAN 1906 Hessel, Mackinac Co., MI, USA - died on 19 MAR 1998 in St Ignace, Mackinac Co., MI, USA)

       viii.   Virginia Arvella NYE (born on 25 MAY 1909 Hessel, Mackinac Co., MI, USA - died on 1 DEC 1994 in Howell, Livingston Co., MI USA)

         ix.   Carl Alvin NYE (born on 6 AUG 1911 Hessel, Mackinac Co., MI, USA - died on 22 NOV 1996 in St. Ignace, Mackinac Co, MI, USA)

          x.   David Daniel Jordan NYE (born on 13 DEC 1913 Hessel, Mackinac Co., MI, USA - died on 17 OCT 1985 in Ontario, San Bernardino Co, Ca, US)

         xi.   Dorothy Cleantha NYE (born on 14 MAY 1916 Hessel, Mackinac Co., MI, USA - died on 30 JAN 1983 in Hessel, Mackinac Co., MI, USA)

3. Dorthea MORTENSEN, daughter of Hans Jørgen MORTENSEN and Abbelone NIELSEN, was born on 1 DEC 1873 in Glud Parish, Vejle Co, Denmark,¹ was baptized on 26 DEC 1873 in Glud Mark, Glud Parish, Vejle Co, Denmark,¹⁰ died on 14 NOV 1942 in Detroit, Wayne Co, MI, USA, at age 68,¹¹ and was buried in Cedar Cemetery, Cedarville, Mackinac Co., MI, USA. Another name for Dorthea was Tena MORTENSEN.

General Notes: Tena emigrated with her mother in 1883. I have not been able to locate any immigration records. The date of 1883 is taken from Federal US census records. I have a receipt showing that they purchased dress fabric and buttons at a store in the city of Horsens, Denmark on 16 June 1883.

After Charles died, Tena married William Johnson who was born August 1872 in Finland and came to the US in 1890. This marriage ended in divorce.

Tena's birth record states her name is Dorthea Mortensen. In the 1880 Danish census records for Glud Parish she is listed as Dorthe Mortensen.

Dorthea married Karl August KARLSSON ⁵ on 5 FEB 1894 in St Ignace, Mackinac Co., MI, USA.⁹