Kraft Family History
Introduction
When I began my ancestral search
I knew very little about the Kraft family other than my grandfathers name,
Frank, the name of my great grandfather, Andrew, and the fact that the family had
emigrated from Sweden to Minnesota sometime in the mid 1800's. My father told me that he thought Andrew
(Swedish spelling: Anders) emigrated from
Geography
Of
Sweden
Sweden, the
largest country in
The climate is temperate in the south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; sub arctic conditions prevail in the north. The terrain is mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands with mountains in west and all of it heavily forested. The area of Sweden that our family comes from lies in the South central part of the country and is very similar in topography to Minnesota, where the family settled.
The Kraft family has its origins in Älvsborg län
(now a part of Vastra-Gotland). The area
is located just South of the large lake called Vättern
within the
Early Family History
Our family has its origins in central
Patronymics were a system of naming individuals that
was in common use during the 18th and mid 19th centuries
in Sweden. The male children would take
the first name of their father followed by 'son' (i.e., Peter's 'son', Anders 'son',
etc.) while the female would take the first name followed by 'dotter' in a
similar fashion. It's confusing, to say
the least, and difficult to follow individuals from generation to generation
especially if they move from parish to parish.
However, it becomes even more complicated. If an individual joined the military, he
would drop his patronymic name and arbitrarily choose a name describing
himself, his place of origin or perhaps something he wished to be. The military did this to better enable
individual identification while in service.
Such is the case with our Kraft family origins. Through luck, I was able to find two
"Kraft" entries on the Swedish emigrant CD during the period that I
knew the family emigrated from Sweden to America. The first group consisted of Anders, Kristina
and Karolina leaving in 1869. The second
group consisted of Anders Gustaf, Britta, Karl, Mathilda, Janne and August
leaving in 1873. Both entries listed
their origin in Älvsborg län and their parish as Fullestad. A subsequent review of the Fullestad Parish
HFL record for the pertinent time period revealed the entire family prior to
their emigration. Interestingly, Anders
Gustaf had been assigned a Soldat number and, thus, was a member of the military. A review of the military records revealed
that he had, indeed, changed his last name from 'Petterson' to 'Kraft' when he
joined the military. Knowing this, it
was possible to follow the family back in time using the HFL records. I was able to trace the earliest record of
our family to 1715, in Fagrabo, Tumborg Socken.
Unfortunately, many of these HFL records are difficult to read as the
individual entry was 'scratched out' as the person died or left the
parish. Also, they don't reveal much
about how the family lived or what their circumstances were during that time
period. However, the following records
do establish the link between the earliest ancestor and the Kraft family that
emigrated from
This by no means is a thorough analysis of the
parish records for our family; however, it is all I've been able to find as of
March 2001.
ANDERS GUSTAF KRAFT
1825-1878
History In
Anders Gustaf Petterson was
born 21 Feb 1825 in Southeastern Sweden in the parish of Lena, Älvsborg län. Because his parents were married in
Bergstena, I believe that he was actually born in Bergstena but have not been
able to find his birth registration on the films I have reviewed to this point
(11/20/00). Be that as it may, the HFL
record states he was born
I don't have
much on his early life or the movements of his family during his early years;
however, his parents are listed as living in the parish of Tumborg for a number
of years where his father worked as a farmer.
Anders Gustaf is shown on the HFL film for Tumborg Socken, (1835-1847)
as having moved in 1842 (Age: 17) to Lena Parish. I find him on the Inflyttade
(in register) for Lena in 1842 listing himself as And Gust Peterson. He's listed on the out register in 1843 under
the same name and I don't pick him up again until his marriage
to Britta. Gustaf married Britta
Petersdotter in 1847 in Algutstorp Parish. On this record he's listed as Drange (farmer)
from Fölene, Nohlg.
By the time
his son, Anders,
is born in 1849, he's listed on the
birth registry as Gustaf KRAFT, Soldatfolk
(Military) from Hagrungsborg. This is
the first use of the surname "Kraft" in our family and is
obviously a name acquired when he joined the Swedish military. Its rough translation means 'power' or
'strength'.
My inquiry to
the Swedish Military Archives regarding the service record for Gustaf Kraft
yielded the following:
Anders Gustaf Kraft; Torp nr: VD-00-1122; Född:
21 Feb 1825, Ort: Lena; entered the military 29 Dec 1847 in the Västgöta-Dals
regimente, Kulling company, composed of soldiers who lived within the
Kulling district in Älvsborg county. The
military
record lists his name before joining the military as "Petterson"
and indicates no degree of rank. He
served in the Swedish military for 19 years and was dismissed 2 July 1866
because of deafness. It lists his last known
residence as Häggrunga, Marbogården. A
review of the actual muster
rolls for the Kullings Company reveals very little additional information
other than his height, which is shown to be 5'8".
On the HFL
for 1850-1855 he's listed as Soldat No. 1122, Algutstorp Socken,
Hagrungsborg until 1856 at which point he and his family move to
His oldest
son, Anders, and oldest daughter, Stina, leave for North America in 1869 to
make a home in Minnesota. (See the detailed record below) On the next HFL for
Fullestad Socken, Lagmansholms Rote, Englatorpe farm (1870-1880), Gustaf takes the remainder of his
family (Britta, Carl, Mathilda, August, Janne) and immigrates to North America
in 1873. He lists his occupation as 'hemmansbrukare'
(farmer) on his exit card. The reason
for his emigration is unclear, but can be presumed to be economic and one stimulated
by the previous emigration of his brothers, sisters, father and mother as well
as his oldest son and daughter.
Emigration
"I have no information on their descendants,
but the Emigrant CD has some facts about their original names and provenience:
Förnamn: A G
Efternamn: KRAFT
Ålder: 48 år Kön: M
Församling: JYLLESTAD Län: P
Titel/Anm: (MEDÅKANDE)
Utresehamn: GÖTEBORG
Utvandrdag: 1873 04 11
Destination: ST PAUL
Källkod: 7:125:54
No more information to find
about the other persons in the same family.
Most probable parish is Fullestad parish in Älvsborg
county, Västergötland province. About 15 km NE of town Alingsås."
The family left Fullestad Parish on
From
Minnesota History
Anders Gustaf immigrated to
His wife,
Britta, also born in
Anders Gustaf is next found on the Carver
County index of deaths as having died Jan 23, 1877. In the death registry the cause of death is
listed as "liquor" and his place of origin simply listed as
"Sweden". However, from the
4th page of the Chaska
Valley Herald, dated
"Died-We are informed
that a Swede, residing in the neighborhood of Johnson's Saw Mill, Hancock
Township, was frozen to death last Tuesday week, while on his way home from
Carver. It is also supposed that he was
pretty well loaded down with poor "whiskey" at the time. We are not informed as to whether he was
single or married."
I believe he was buried in the West
Union Lutheran
Descendents of Anders Gustaf
& Britta Kraft
KRISTINA KRAFT
1847-?
Swedish History
Kristina Kraft was born 1847 in Algutstorp
Parish, Älvsborg län. The first child born
to her parents, Gustaf Kraft and Britta Petersdotter, I have been unable to
locate her birth record and only have her birth date from the Swedish HFL
record. However, her parents are listed
as 'Soldatfolk' (military) from Hagrungsborg (a small collection of homes or
farm) beginning in 1847. Not much is
known of her early years in Sweden but presumably it was a difficult life and
one constantly threatened by starvation and privation. In 1869, Kristina accompanied her brother,
Anders, and younger sister Karolina to Minnesota in an attempt to find a better
life. To my knowledge, Kristina was not
married prior to her emigration, nor did she have any illegitimate children.
Emigration
On May 28, 1869 Kristina and Anders left Sweden from
the port of Göteborg on the ship
"Plato" destined for Hull, England where a short overland railroad
trip would then take them to Liverpool to catch their ship to Quebec. The emigrant agent was David Lyon. I found Anders and Christina as passengers
onboard the S.S.
Nova Scotian leaving Liverpool, England, 3 June 1869 and arriving Quebec,
15 June 1869. They left Quebec traveling
by rail to Grand Haven, Michigan where they again boarded a boat for Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. From Milwaukee they traveled
by train to their final destination of St. Paul.
Minnesota History
Anders and Kristina Kraft moved to Carver County
after their arrival in St. Paul. The
reasons that they chose this particular location to settle can only be
conjecture, however, the book, "They Chose
I find Kristina on the 1875
Minnesota State Census listed as Christine, age 28, the eldest of the
children of Anders and Britta Kraft. However,
from this point on I lose track of Christine and have not been able to identify
her movements or family if she married.
There is a possibility she may have married a 'Johnson' and moved to St.
Paul or Le Seur, Mn.
As of June 2001, I have no further follow up.
ANDREW KRAFT
1849-1920
Swedish History
Anders Kraft was born
22 Oct and christened 23 Oct 1849 in Algutstorp Parish, Älvsborg län. His parents, Gustaf Kraft and Britta
Petersdotter are listed as 'Soldatfolk' (military) from Hagrungsborg (a small
collection of homes or farm). Witnesses
at the christening included Anders Peter Andreasson, Johannes Ericsson, both
from Häggrunga., as well as Annika Ericsdtr and Maja
Johansdtr. Not much is known of his
early years. He probably helped on the
family farm as a farmhand and received little to no education. In 1869, he, his older sister Kristina, and younger sister Karolina decided to emigrate to
the United States It's unclear why they chose to leave their family and
emigrate to the
Emigration
The following is abstracted
from the emigrant CD, CD-Emigranten:
#2
Förnamn: ANDERS
Efternamn: KRAFT
Ålder: 20 år Kön: M
Församling: FURUSTAD Län: P
Titel/Anm: ARB (MEDÅKANDE)
Utresehamn: GÖTEBORG
Utvandrdag: 1869 05 28
Destination: ST PAUL
Källkod: 1:580:1180
On May 28,
1869 Anders left Sweden from the port of Göteborg on the ship "Plato"
destined for Hull, England where a short overland railroad trip would then take
them to Liverpool to catch their ship to Quebec. The emigrant agent was David Lyon. I found Anders and Christina as passengers
onboard the
S.S. Nova Scotian (passenger
manifest) leaving Liverpool, England, 3 June 1869 and arriving Quebec, 15
June 1869. It is presumed that they left
Anders, Christina and Carolina Kraft moved to Carver
County after their arrival in St. Paul.
The reasons that they chose this particular location to settle can only
be conjecture, however, the book, "They Chose
Andrew is first seen on the 1875
Minnesota State census of
Picture of the Original
Kraft Homestead
In Hancock Township, Carver
County
c. 2001
The next entry of significance to our family is a
death entry for 1881. On the death
register for
After Lotha's death in 1881, Andrew married Mary
Johnson in 1883. This second
marriage also took place in the West Union Parsonage of Carver County and was
witnessed by Frank Johnson. The Rev.
Andrew Jackson also presided at this wedding.
Mary Johnson was born
Andrew and Mary had a total of 7 children, 5 of who
survived to adulthood. (Photo
of Andrew, Mary Kraft and children) Frank Sydney Kraft was born Dec. 1885,
the second of the five children and my grandfather. In addition to Frank there was Andrew (1884),
George (1887), Ellen (1890) and John Edward (1892). Sometime after 1895 but before the 1900
census the family moved to the Brookfield Township of Renville County,
Minnesota.
A short
article in the Weekly Valley Herald dated
Renville
County was a farming community made up predominantly of German and Swedish
immigrants. The family is again found
on the1900
and the 1910
census for Renville County however, on the 1910 census Frank is not at home
and Ellen is also gone. Andrew's
occupation is again listed as farmer and he lives on a farm that he rents. Interestingly, Frank Bretall and family, my
grandmother's family, appears to live but a short distance from the Kraft's on
the 1910 census in the same township.
Almost certainly, this is how Frank met Minnie, my grandmother. They probably went to church and school
together until Frank left to make his own way.
Andrew, Mary and two of his sons, George and John Edward, moved to
Kamsack, Sask, Canada around 1916 to homestead and farm wheat. Andrew remained there until his death in
early July 1920 from cancer. His body
was returned to Hancock Twsp, Carver County for burial in the West Union Church
Cemetery. The following is the obituary
from the
Andrew Kraft Buried at West
Union
Andrew Kraft, whose death
was mentioned in last week's issue, was born in October, 1849 in Westgotland,
The deceased was a victim of
the dreaded disease cancer and his sufferings were intense the last few
weeks. He is remembered here by his
friends as a generous and good-hearted man and a helpful neighbor and friend.
He is survivied
by his broken-hearted wife, Mrs. Mary Kraft, one daughter, Mrs. Grimm of
Hector, and four sons, Edgar, George, Edward of Canada and Frank of
Minneapolis.
The following accompanied
the remains here: Mrs. Mary Kraft and
sons George, Edward and Frank and family and Mr. and Mrs. Grimm and children.
Rev. Hegstrom
of St. Peter conducted the funeral. Rev.
Nelson was in attendance at a synodical meeting in New York.-Belle Plaine
Herald.
Andrew is found in the West
Union Graveyard lying next to his wife, Mary, who followed him in death in
1932.
Carl Kraft
1852-1941
Carl and Selma Kraft
On their 50th
Wedding anniversary
Photo Courtesy of Francis
Kraft
Swedish History:
Karl
was born 19 Oct 1852 in Algutstorp Parish,
Emigration
Förnamn: A G
Efternamn: KRAFT
Ålder: 48 år Kön: M
Församling: JYLLESTAD Län: P
Titel/Anm: (MEDÅKANDE)
Utresehamn: GÖTEBORG
Utvandrdag: 1873 04 11
Destination: ST PAUL
Källkod: 7:125:54
No more information to find
about the other persons in the same family.
Regardless of the reasons for their emigration, the
HFL for Fullestad Parish shows the family leaving the parish on 9 April
1873. The Swedish Emigrant CD has he,
his father, Gustaf, mother, Brita, and siblings, August, Thilda, and Janne
leaving
Note: Copies of the ship
passenger manifest
And pictures of the ships
can be found
In the listing for Anders
Gustaf Kraft
Minnesota History:
The family presumably spent a period of time in St.
Paul, Ramsey County before they moved to Hancock Township, Carver County to
homestead. On the 1875
Minnesota State census, it shows the family living together in
Gustaf died in the winter of 1877, and, after his
death, I believe that the family split up to find their own way. Anders and John stayed in Carver County on
the original homestead with Britta, their mother, and the two nephews. Karl, however, married Selma Soderlund, a
young
lady who lived on an adjoining farm, and moved to the East Union Township
of Carver County to begin farming. They
lived in Carver County for approximately six years before leaving and moving to
the Stearns-Pope County area.
Carl and
I find Carl
Kraft and his family on the 1900,
1910
and 1920
census for
Carl and Selma Kraft's children include Anna, born
Carl served as Town Clerk and as a member of the
Lyman Prairie School Board for thirty-six years. He was one of the organizers of the Grove
Lake co-operative creamery and served on the creamer board. He died
April 15, 1941 after what is described as a long illness with failing
health the last three years. His death
followed a fall, which resulted in a broken arm. In his obituary it stated that he contributed
for years to the Grove Lake Methodist Church and Rev. Raymond Mattock and Rev
T. B. Clark conducted services for him.
He was survived by his wife, five children, thirteen
grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and August, his brother in Calderbank,
Saskatchewan.
Descendents of Andrew and
Mary Kraft
Frank Kraft
1885-1976
The trip from my hometown of
Owatonna to Minneapolis used to take about 2-3 hours so most of the time on the
trip to visit Grandpa and Grandma Kraft I'd sleep in the back seat of our
car. Going to visit Grandpa Kraft was
pretty special for me 'cause we'd always go fishing down at Lake Nokomis
whenever I was visiting. I can't ever
remember not catching any fish when we went down there and once we caught so
many fish we couldn't carry them all back home & had to throw 'em back in the Lake.
I didn't like to eat the fish but I sure liked to catch 'em. Grandpa Kraft
used to keep the worms we used to catch fish down in his basement in a big old
Prince Albert pipe tobacco can with a snap-on lid. I'll never forget him tellin'
me to go down and get the can of worms 'cause that meant that we'd go on down
to the lake and fish. I remember the
cellar where he kept the worms was dark and cool and the smell of the worms in
that pipe tobacco can was of rich, dark dirt.
Even today, every time I see a large pipe tobacco can I smell that rich,
dark, dirt aroma that I remember so well from my childhood.
I think they
used fishing as the excuse to get me out of the house so Grandma Kraft could
cook us dinner or clean the house. They
lived in a duplex on Bloomington Avenue in Minneapolis that they bought after
Grandpa sold the grocery store he owned for years. They used the income from the duplex to live on
I guess; although those are things that didn't really concern me back
then. I just liked to go there. Grandpa also had a big old radio in his
dining room that I liked to play with when I went there. It had tubes so it would take a while to warm
up but then I'd switch back and forth from SW to AM and listen to my hearts
content. I can remember once when they
took me to Excelsior Amusement Park but they wouldn't let me ride the roller
coaster 'cause they thought I might fall out.
I can remember Grandpa Kraft used to save up all the Sunday Magazine
covers for me to look at when I'd visit 'cause I liked to look at the pretty
outdoors pictures. There used to be a
lot of pictures with ducks and geese as prominent features. I'd sleep on a crushed velvet sofa they had
in their living room with the radio just across the room. Before I'd go to bed, Grandpa would play
checkers with me and usually let me win.
He also had a coin collection of silver dollars and old pennies &
dimes that he had collected from his store.
He kept it in a well-worn leather pouch and I'd play with this as
well. I used to line up all the coins
and stack the silver dollars and so forth.
Frank Kraft was born in Hancock
Township, Carver County Minnesota Dec 12, 1885, the second of six
children. His older brother, Andrew, was
born April 1884, George in 1887, Ellen in 1891, and Eddie in 1892. I don't think he knew too much about his
family except what he remembered from childhood. He knew his father and mother were from
Sweden but didn't really know how or when the family immigrated to
Minnesota. He filed for Social Security
when he was eligible and listed his birth town as "Chaska". He didn't have much contact with his mother
or father in his adult life and his younger brothers moved to Canada to
homestead in the early 1900's. Frank
stayed behind and lived in Minneapolis because his wife, Minnie Bretall,
didn't want to leave Minneapolis. I
believe this caused a "rift" in the family because Frank did not go
to Canada with the rest of the brothers.
My dad says he never met his grandfather (Andrew) and may have met his
grandmother (Mary) one time when she visited them in Minneapolis and there was
no real contact between Frank and his brothers after they moved to Canada.
I first found record of Frank Kraft
in Carver County on the birth register for 1885. He and his family stayed in Hancock Township,
Carver County until the spring of 1896 when Andrew, his father, sold the
original Kraft family homestead and they move to Hector, Minnesota. They show up on the 1900 census in Renville
County as renting a home. His father is
listed as a farmer and both he and his older brother, Andrew, are listed as
farm laborers. On the 1910 census
they've moved to the Melville Township and by this time Frank is apparently off
to Minneapolis to work and make a living.
It's interesting that Frank Bretall and his family live in Melville
Township not too far away from the Kraft's.
Frank and Minnie Bretall almost certainly met one another
through school and church contacts prior to his departure for Minneapolis. They subsequently married in December 1912 in
Bird Island, Renville County and lived in Minneapolis thereafter. They were married in the Moravian Church in
Bird Island with Minnie's sisters and Frank's brothers in attendance. Douglas, my father, was born
in 1914, Minneapolis, and Frank and Minnie had no other children.
On the 1920 census they're found living in Minneapolis with Minnie's father, Frank Bretall, and two of her sisters, Anna and Elsie Bretall. In addition, there are three other boarders in the house with the family. My dad can remember living with his grandfather Bretall for quite some time. Frank Kraft is listed as being a house construction worker on the 1920 census but soon bought a retail grocery store and operated it until he retired. My dad said that when Grandpa Kraft originally came to Minneapolis he worked as a motorman on a streetcar. At this point (3/8/00) I don't know when he started that endeavor or