In a recent letter I received from my Cousin Solveig Lundquist in Sundsvall, Sweden, held a very nice surprise inside. A beautiful portrait from 1878 of her Great Aunt Ingrid Svensk and her husband Jonas Ericsson Svensk (Swede) Sr. and their son Jonas Jr.

Solveig has lived in Sweden her whole life and is the granddaughter of my Great Aunt Sigrid Elisabet (Olofsdotter). Sigrid is my Great Grandmother Christine Brita Kristina (Olofsdotter) Erickson's sister. Also helping out below is Maria, Solveig's Daughter and Olivia who is her Granddaughter.

Accompanied with the photograph was a three page letter written on January 27th, 1878 by my Great Great Aunt Ingrid Svensk living in Kiron, Crawford County, Iowa and written to her sister Karin Göransdotter, my Great Great Grandmother in Sundsvall.

February 15th, 2020

Dear Mark,

Hope all is well. I am sending a translation of a letter from my Great Aunt Ingrid Svensk sent to her Sister Karin Göransdotter in 1878. My Grandmother Sigrid and your Great Grandmother Brita Kristina's Mother Karin had a sister, Ingrid, who emigrated from Sweden to America in 1870. Her husband was named Jonas Ericsson Svensk (Swede) Sr. and they had two sons, Eric Svensk (Swede) and Jonas Svensk (Swede) Jr.

The family settled in Kiron, Crawford County, Iowa and the letter she wrote has been preserved. I think it is so lovely. It is written in old Swedish. They wrote like they spoke. Sadly it can't be translated entirely, but this will do fine. I add the transcription here.

Best Regards,
Solveig, Maria and Olivia

January 27th, 1878

Jonas Svensk and Ingrid Svensk
Kiron, Crawford County
Iowa, North America

Dear Sister Karin and Brother in Law Olof,

After a long silence I would like to write to you once again. I have written a letter to you before, that I never got a response from. Could it be that there was no address in there either. Has it been lost? We are all alive and have good health. I on the other hand have been and still am suffering from gout. The winter is stunningly beautiful, good weather and no snow. Our cattle are outside all of the time. I should tell you if the other letter hasn't arrived.

We moved from the place we lived before four and a half years ago. We bought land here in Kiron, Iowa and settled as best as we could. We built a house in the following manner. Dug a hole in a hill fourteen feet in a square. Dressed it in planks, two windows and a door and a small vestibule. And this is the house we still have. It is very expensive to get lumber here because everything needs to be shipped a long way, and there is not a single forest or bush within five mile radius from here. And even in that it is very small and insufficient.

There is no other solution for fuel than to buy. We believe we have sixty acres cultivated land and harvested last year six hundred bushels of wheat. Also one hundred bushels of grain and nine hundred bushels of corn. We have four horses, two cows and four oxen and one heifer, two calves, two swine and a flock of chickens.

We can make two trips into town every day if we please, and there we have a railroad. I like being here as much as in Sweden. There are many here who come from Hassela and many from Stöde and the rest of the Swedes are from other various places. Daniel Danielsson sends his greetings to you. Spik Anna has requested greetings a long time ago if we ever wrote. We call them Lena Lindblom and Anna Michaelson.

Herman Ericsson sends his greetings. He lives two and a half miles from us and close to Lindblom. He manages the best out of all the Swedes around here. Our son Jonas goes to School and he is a good schoolboy. Our other son, Eric, writes below. I will have to end with a dear greeting from everyone to you, kindly write to us.

Your affectionate sister,
Ingrid Svensk

I understand all well that my poor penmanship will betray me if I were to sign it, but it cannot be helped. Mother has asked me numerous times to write to you. But I have withdrawn. I send my greetings to you. There is a bit of the paper left, but it is late so I will stop and say Farewell.

Eric