Family history
Because of my interest for history in general and my curiosity for my roots particularly, I came to spend a lot of time researching and reading the church books and other genealogy sources. I came quite long back in time both on our grandmothers and grandfathers (Enetteīs and Gustavīs) side. Especially on Gustavīs and his mother's side (Nymansline) I found a lot of exciting information, some of our relatives have lived in the Höganäs - Väsby area for many hundreds of years. Thanks to the fact that many of them have been "klockare" (bell-ringers), "kantor" (the closest I can find is organist in the church) and church hosts we can follow the family lines back to the 1700th century.
I have placed my genealogy information into four groups as follows:
In groups 2-4 the information is found in national registration from church books only. But with the Nyman line it's different. Here are others sources too, such as an extremely valuable list of "klockare" and "kantorer" in Väsby congregation, which is found in a church book. There is also a book with the title "Nils Nymans samlade skrifter", (The collected works of Nils Nyman), Nils Nyman was born in 1812 and brother to Gustavīs mother's father. The book can be found both in the university's library in Lund and in the city library in Höganäs.
During the late 1600's Sweden was recapturing Skåne (the south province of Sweden) from Denmark. To easier manage to keep the new captured areas the Swedish State Government started a kind of ethnic cleansing and efforts were made to make Skåne more Swedish. People who were against the Swedes, where driven away and replaced by Swedes that more or less was forced to move into the new areas. One of those who were forced to move to Skåne was a gardener, Nyman who moved from Östergötland (a province just south from Stockholm) to the castle of Krapperup, (about 15 minutes north from Höganäs). The sources give no information about the gardener's first name. Possibly it can have been Petter because this name is found later in this family.
The first Nyman to be found in any of the church books from Skåne is Eric Nyman (1669-1739). There is no information of where he was born but it's not impossible that he was born in Östergötland and the he came to Skåne together with his parents.
In the 1710-decade Eric Nyman is found active as a "befallningsman" (an old Swedish word, kind of foreman) on the country estate Knutstorp in Kågeröd.
On the 18th of July 1710 he marries Cristina Dahlström, (1676-?). There is no information about brothers or sisters to Eric and Christina. Possibly Eric had a brother named Anders because the 21st of February 1714 Anders Nyman marries Gunnel Ohlsdotter in Allerum.
On Knutstorp the 16th of July 1712 Eric's and Christina's first child, a son, was born. At this time the Admiral-General-Lieutenant Baron Cornelius Ankarstierna owns Knutstorp. The baron was born in Sweden but with Netherlands extraction. He was born 1655 in Stockholm and was a son of the in Swedish duty, Diderik Thijen from Netherlands (Holland). After a quick military carrier in the navy Cornelius became a nobleman on the 26th of October 1679.
In 1693 he became "friherre" (an old noble Swedish title) of Ousbyholm in Höör parish and the owner of Knutstorp. When Eric's and Christina's son was baptized he was carried by Cornelius Ankarstiernaīs wife Margareta Sparre. The godfather was the Baron's son, Claes and the godmother was the pastor's (vicar's) wife Helena Nenicia. The child was given the name Cornelius (1712-1778).
In 1719 the family of Eric Nyman moves with his family to "kronohemmandet 3 1/4 mantal Brackegarden" in Vasby congregation and in the same year their daughter Anna-Greta was born.
Cornelius Nyman was educated to gardener. At the age of 23 he was forced to marry Bengta Jonsdotter, (1713-1787) in Kågeröd at the 5th of October 1735. In 1736 Cornelius and his wife lived on Brackegarden, which still was owned by Eric. The 2nd of January the young couple's first child, a girl, was born, she was given the name Beata. The 9th of December 1738 their son Petter was born. At his christening he was carried by an Elsa-Maria Salling, (more about her and her family later).
In 1739 Eric Nyman dies and the "kronohemmandet" was taken over by Cornelius. The same year their daughter Margaret was born. The 15th of February 1741 their son Petter dies. The 14th of October 1744, a new son of Cornelius and Bengta was born, he was also given the name Petter (1744-1817). After that Cornelius and Bengta had 4 more children, Erik 1747, Johanna 1749, Stina 1753, she died very young 1754 and Stina 1754. Six of eight children reach adult age, which was considered very good, and that can be a sign of some good prosperity.
In the 1730-decade you can see some relations to the carilloneur family named Salling. As mentioned above is Elsa-Maria Salling godmother of Corneliusī and Bengtaīs first son Petter(I). Their social status was very good during these years, in 1770 Petter (II) Nyman marries Katharina Fredrika Boustedt, daughter of Elsa-Maria Salling and "kantor" Hans Olai Boustedt.
Grandfather's father to Elsa Maria Salling was Anders Martensson (1615-1685), he was carilloneur in Väsby congregation in the years 1640-1685. His son Henrik Andersson Salling (1659-1765) succeeded him as carilloneur. Henrik married Margareta Bengtsdotter (1662-1745) sometime in the late 1680-decade. Together they had six children. The oldest was their son Erik (1688-1771). Henrik was "kantor" and carilloneur until his death in 1735. His son Erik succeeded him. Erik married Helena Holm (1690-1767). They had three children together.
The oldest was Elsa-Maria Salling (1719-1750). In 1728 Anna Johanna was born and in 1731 Carl Fredrik was born, but he died the year after.
In the year 1731 the church council in Väsby-Viken congregation decided to buy "a piece of barrel-organ" (an organ) and the congregation should establish a new organist service. The organ was ready in 1737 and cost 450 silver coins. As organist was in 1738 a 21-year-old man from Kungälv in Bohuslän employed, his name was Hans Olai Boustedt (1717-1795). His father was Olof Andersson and was "kantor" in Kungälv. He does consequently the long move from Bohuslän to Skåne. Most likely he travels by boat. There is information that says that he soon before his employment in Vasby was working in Landskrona together with his brother Ditlof Olai Boustedt.
During his first year as organist in Vasby-Viken, Hans was living (renting a room) in the house of the carilloneur. At that time Elsa-Maria Salling was a girl in her upper teenage. Besides that Erik Salling was missing a son to keep the "kantor"/carilloneur tradition in the family. It was also quite obvious that a small congregation as Vasby-Viken not in the long term could afford to pay a respectable salary to an organist. The most reasonable conclusion was that the services of "kantor"/carilloneur and organist, was made into one service. So if it was because of love, or because of practical reasons or maybe both. Hans and Elsa-Maria were married the 8th of December 1744. In 1746 their son Olof Magnus was born and in 1748 their son Erik Andreas was born but he dies during his first year of life. In a letter to the church council in Lund in 1749, Erik Salling describes to them how hard the circumstances of living are for the organist and propose that Hans should be appointed as a help carilloneur. A contract was set up between Hans and Erik and Hans became a help carilloneur with a smaller salary.
In 1750 their daughter Katarina Fredrika (1750-1820) was born and short after that Elsa-Maria died at only 31 years of age. So Hans was not more than 33 when he became a widower and alone with a four year old child and an infant. Maybe that's the explanation why he remarried the year after to 26 years old Maria Christina Sjöberg. During the years 1753-1763 Hans and Maria-Christina had six daughters and one son.
The 13th of November 1770 Petter Nyman marries Katarina Fredrika Boustedt. It's is probable so that he at that time takes over Brackegarden. In 1771 Erik Salling dies and Hans Boustedt has the carilloneur service for his own. In 1778 Cornelius Nyman dies and from now on it's for sure that Petter alone runs Brackegarden. Petter and Katatrina Fredrika had during the years 1771-1790 eight children and six of them reach adult age. As child number five was son Cornelius (1781-?) born in 1781.
Cornelius grows up at Bräckegarden and in spite of the fact that he is only the fourth son it's not in question for him to take over Bräckegarden however he can't afford to pay his brothers and sisters. Instead of that he became a soldier. He was a "husar" and held the soldier-cottage in Ingelsträde, Väsby congregation. Already at the age of 18 he marries a ten (!!) year older daughter of a farmer from Jonstorp by the name Hanna Gudmundsdotter (1799-1835). During the years 1801-1814 they had six children, and Olof (1814-1883) was the youngest.
In 1813 it was meant that Cornelius should join the war in Germany but as a result of an injury he didn't have to go.
How life in the soldier's cottage was you can read in Nils Nyman's collected works, here is small piece of it:
"In the outer door there was a lock. The other doors had only tree bolts to pull over. The floor in the kitchen and in the hall was made of stone. In the living room was floor of tree, but the rats has made small holes here and there. On the south side there was a window. There was only a fireplace in the kitchen. There were a lot of wall-lice and head-lice were very common too. The children had wounds and rashes. After baking bread and when the oven still was warm, mother used to rub us in with ointment and then drive us into the own."
Cornelius taught the children to read and write. The time the soldiers weren't in military training, it was there responsibility, for the parish, to work as some kind of travelling school. In the early 1820 the education for common people was about 11 weeks.
On Sundays the children had to gather around Corneliusīs bed and read the morning pray, the bible text (evangelium) of the day and sing some hymns. At the soldier cottage they had six sheep which often got twins. Wool was carded and spanned into wool yarn that then was weaved into vadmal (a kind of textile). The textiles were then carried to Munka Ljungbyīs Stamp where it was prepared.
On Sundays people went to church. On their way home they sometimes visited a restaurant and it happened pretty often that they didn't get home until Tuesday.
1835 Cornelius became a widower. After some years he remarried and had two more children.
Olof got an employment at Höganäsbolaget and married Hanna Andersdotter and they had during the year's 1845-154 four daughters and one son. One of their daughters was Katharina (1847-1939) and she was mother to Gustav and Arvid Ebbesson. Katarina lived until 1939 and was to the end very healthy
What happened to the carilloneur service? Hans Boustedt had it to his death in 1795. After him his son in second marriage took over it, Goran Boustedt (1763-1829). After Goran came his son Hans Rickard Boustedt (1792-1854). After that the service left the family and the work was taken over by schoolteacher Jons Peter Nyman, and although the name Nyman he is not related to any of our Nymans.
Magnus
Translation: Jan Ebbesson