Newsletter no 13
October 2003

Midsummer in Stockholm - on one of the few rainy days this summer!

Walloons in your family tree?
Bonnevier, Allard, Qvarfort, Mineur, Birath - these are a few Walloon names and there are many more. If one of the names listed in this web site is yours, or your ancestors', your family probably came from the Walloons who once emigrated from their homes in Belgium, or even France, to Sweden. Of course, some names have changed since that time. 

Most of the Walloons came from Belgium,  the valley of the Meuse, Liège and Namur,  were they worked in the iron industry.  They came to Sweden during the 17th century, tempted by good salaries at Swedish iron mines, and settled in Uppland and in Östergötland. 

In the beginning the Walloons, like most immigrants, married within their own group. They spoke French, not Swedish, and were not Lutherans like the Swedes were. Later on they moved to other parts of Sweden, where they were sought after because of their skills, and slowly started to mix with the Swedes and even marry young Swedish women and men. 

If your family is Walloon, you might be interested in a CD called Smedskivan. Over 85000 people of Walloon background are included in this CD. 

Also, Sällskapet Vallonättlingar (Society of Descendents of Walloons) might be of interest to you. 

Was your ancestor a "torpare"?

Many of the emigrants were torpare in Sweden, poor peasants who worked very hard to survive. They often had many children, some of whom died in infancy from disease or hunger. 

A torpare usually lived in a small house, on the grounds of a farm, with his family. He worked for the farmer certain days each week, but also had a garden and some animals at his torp, cottage. For a better understanding of how this torpare lived, I suggest you read an interesting description by the well-known genealogist Nils William Olsson. 

Vilhelm Moberg's books about emigrants who left Sweden in the mid 1800's give you a good idea about the living conditions at the time. There are four books: The Emigrants, Unto the Good Land, The Settlers and Last Letter Home (translated to English!). You can find these books here. Interesting books by a wonderful writer!