It was in the 19th century that the great immigration of Scandinavians to the U.S. took place. The once prosperous Scandinavian nations were rocked by political strife and social upheaval as regional wars and agricultural disasters created tremendous instability in everyday life. By the middle of the century, the time was ripe for mass immigration, and Scandinavians began arriving in American ports in large numbers.
Hakan Anderson, my father's great-grandfather, experienced first-hand the hardships in Sweden. At 8 years of age his father told him, "You must go and find work. I can't feed you all." Hakan responded, "Father, I will try." Fortunately, Hakan found an old couple who took him in to feed their geese.
Hakan left Copenhagen, Denmark April 1, 1859 on the steamer "Lnhvdt" with his cousin, Andrew. They arrived in Liverpool, England then set sail on April 11, on the ship "The William Tapscott" for New York. Both were Mormon converts whose destination was Salt Lake City, Utah. Four years later, Haken was asked to assist with a wagon train and was assigned two young Swedish women.
Cecelia Swenson 1841-1924
Copenhagen to New York
When Cecelia was a child at home, she had to work very hard, going to the field with her father, pitching hay, and binding the grain. In the winter she had to help thrash the grain with a flail, carry green wood from the forest until her shoulders would swell up. Her dresses would freeze and hit against her ankles and make them bleed. She was only ten years old when she had to do such hard work. Some parents in the old country thought if they whipped their children often, it would make them have more respect for their parents. Cecelia came in for more than her share, and she left home when only 15 she lost all of the love and respect she could have had for her father. When she left, she went to work in a dairy. Here she milked 16 cows night and morning. She worked there for two years and then left for Copenhagen. She worked in a weaving factory there. She and her sister Betsy had joined the LDS Church and were baptized before she left. Cecelia's mother and sister Betsy joined her in Copenhagen. They said her father had worked them so hard and was so cross they told him they were going to leave him alone to do his work, and if he was not satisfied, he could find someone else to help. He told them to go, as he would manage better without them. Betsy got a chance to work and they were very happy with their mother keeping house for them.
Everything went well for three weeks, when lo and behold, who should they see coming down the road but Father Swenson. He looked very tired and foot sore. As the three looked out of the window they could not help laughing to thinking he had betrayed his feelings. A knock came on the door. “Come in, father,” mother said.
Father said, “Won’t you please come home. I’ll treat you better. I can’t get along without you.”
Both girls spoke at once, “Mother is going to stay here with us and keep house. We will take care of her and she won’t have to work so hard. You can run the farm to suit yourself.” But their father said he had some news for them. “We must get ready to sail to Zion. You know there will be lots to do. We have all joined the Church and a lot of converts are getting their affairs in shape so that they can go. Grandmother said if that was the case they had better go home. “What do you say girls?” They went back to their home to get ready. After awhile, Father Swenson said, “We can’t all go at once. What do you think we had better do, wife?” they talked things over and over; at last father Swenson solved the problem. He always smoked a pipe and he would spit, turn around, spit again and turn around. This went on until his would say, “What is to be done?” And he replied, “If we only had the money we could send Cecelia with this next immigrant company. They are going to sail in April (1863)." Cecelia went ahead of her family and traveled with a Hannah Nelson, a friend she met on the way.
When they arrived in Salt Lake they had no relatives to stay with so followed Hakan to Mt. Pleasant, Sanpete County. Hakan married Hannah who died three weeks later, then married Cecelia Swenson. Cecelia was glad he proposed as both girls had fallen in love with him on the handcart journey. They moved to Cache County then homesteaded in Idaho. They loved music and dancing. A family tradition with the grandchildren was reinacting Hakan's pioneer story.
