Cousin Linda is the place where I publish some of the things I find when doing genealogy and researching family history. To get in contact with me, send an email to lkvist (at) mac . com
Check out my Swedish blog at: kusinlinda.blogspot.com
Last weekend I was at a two day long familyreunion in Tving in Blekinge. Day two we all went to the cemetery in Tving to look at some tombstones related to the family. We went there a bit early so I had time to add the cemetery to Billiongraves.com and upload a couple of photos. It was a very sunny day, not suitable for tombstone photography.
Anyway, I found a really special tombstone, it says: Two blind siblings, Allgot 11 year, Matilda 20 year, 1899.
2 blind siblings, Allgot 11 year, Matilda 20 years, 1899.
I decided to try to see what I could find out. Allgot or Olof Allgot that was his full name was born September 25 1887, in Tving. He died January 26 in 1899. Matilda was born February 24, 1879, in Tving. She died June 17 in 1899. They were both noted as blind in the churchbooks.
Allgot and Matilda with thier parents and siblings.
Tving (1895-1911) page 358
I was home sick a while ago browsing the TV-channels. Tuned in on the Oprah Winfrey show and it happend to be the episode where she told the story of her unknown halfsister Patricia. Ofcourse I had to watch it and from my genealogy point of view I found it very interesting.
One of the questions you unsually gets when telling people you are into family history research (after the most common one - "how far back have you got?") is if you have found any celebrities.
Ok, so I have some famous people in my tree since I happen to be related to a man called Önnarp Torden. He lived waaaay back so its not exactly that Marie Fredriksson (singer in Roxette) and Fredrik Ljungberg (football player) shows up at my door unexpectly for a cup of coffee.
I have also been reserching a friends´ tree who had a drawing teacher who had John Bauer as a student. Not exactly related but you find those kind of interesting connections a times.
But to my closest family, my aunts, uncles and cousins I could break the news that we were related to Hildur Alice Nilsson, also known as Alice Babs, rather famous in Sweden and Denmark (and nice to be able to tell the Danishbranch of the familytree this as well). She was also in the USA working with Duke Ellington.
Hildur Alice Nilsson aka Alice Babs
My grandmother Lilly was a huge Alice Babs fan, both coming from the same area (Blekinge) in Sweden. Well, go figure, if only I could have told her she was thirdcousin to Alice and that her greatgrandmother and Alice Babs greatgrandmother were siblings.