Emigrant Institutes

Göteborg as it was

 We visited two different Emigrant Houses (Museums) on our first two days in Vetlanda. We started with Göteborg because that is also the city from which most Swedes left for America. That was a full day trip. The next day we began with a trip to Växjö to see the museum there and its magnificent cathedral.

The life they left behind

While quite different in style and somewhat different in content, the two museums tell the same story about why Swedes were leaving in such numbers (25% of the population left for North America between 1850 and 1930) and what life was like once they arrived in America. The Göteborg Emigrant House has a much more informal feel as it is housed in the building the emigrants had to pass through on their way to America. As soon as we entered we were greeted by a guide who took us through the displays. He explained that their primary purpose was to show the similarities between the lives of Swedish emigrants and those who are immigrating to Sweden today. Several pictures of Swedish emigration are paired with those of today’s immigrants. One key aspect to the story is that those who leave one country for another don’t leave everything behind. They may be anxious to fit in to their new country, but at the same time they don’t want to lose touch with the old. They bring with them the foods and cultures of the old country. News of the old country remains important. At one time, there were literally hundreds of Swedish language newspapers printed in the US. Today, of course, that news comes via the internet. Even today, more than 100 years after most of those Swedes emigrated, there are still viable clubs and organizations working to keep those old ties alive. Linda and I are a good example of that as we are here to learn more about our ancestry and belong to Nordic Northwest, one of those clubs keeping the old ties alive.

Smallpox vaccinations increased life expectancy

The museum in Växjö is in a new building with bright, modern-looking display panels, and several places where visitors can listen to emigrants talk about their experience. Unfortunately they weren’t working when we visited. This museum also included an exhibit about Vilhelm Moberg, Moberg is a much-loved Swedish author who wrote a four-book series about Swedish emigration. He was meticulous in his research as he told the story of a family leaving Sweden for a new life in America. We actually first heard about him at the ABBA museum. Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderson have written two musicals along with their work on Mamma Mia!. One of these, Chess, is about a chess match, but the other is based on the Moberg novels. I was a bit surprised that his name was new to me, but I will definitely check him out when we return home.

The train station today

Post Street is not so busy today

The customs house all had to pass through

The story of emigration is pretty much the same everywhere. People need a reason to leave their home, family, and friends, the push factor. They also need a reason to go to a place where they believe life can be better, the pull factor. For Swedes, ironically, improvements in lifespan actually made living conditions worse. Peaceful times, the smallpox vaccine which became mandatory in 1874, and the introduction of the potato to the farms and the diet all meant that more children survived and life spans increased. Even though the amount of farmland increased, the larger families still had trouble getting enough to eat, especially when they had an early frost or other weather conditions that meant less food available. The landless population in Sweden quadrupled between 1830 and 1850. While leaving home was not something people wanted to do, it almost became a necessity. A few also left for religious reasons. The Swedish State Lutheran Church was able to persecute non-believers until 1858. While Sweden was not a hotbed for alternatives, there were still many who practiced a different form or Christianity including 8000 Mormons who emigrated by 1910.

All your belongings

The crowded ship to Hull

 Meanwhile, land in America was cheap and plentiful. The railroads had been give huge amounts of land by the government to entice them to build the transcontinental railroads. Railroads began promoting these lands to immigrants. They could sell the land cheaply and then charge the farmers for transporting their crops increasing business in the long term. In addition, the Homestead Act meant that settlers could buy land cheaply from the government. Even though Sweden banned foreign advertising of land in 1883, there were plenty of local entrepreneurs actively promoting emigration.

This is what steerage looked like

The actual process of leaving Sweden was not difficult once one had raised the money. You had to get permission from the local priest. Although the priest was forbidden by law from stopping the emigrant, many did try to dissuade emigrants from leaving arguing that it really wasn’t that much better in America and, “What about your poor mother?” From the old home, they would travel by train to Göteborg. The train station was a short three blocks along Post Street to the Emigrant House where they would show their papers, walk down the “steps of tears,” and board a ship to Hull, England. Most emigrants would spend two days in Göteborg before boarding a ship.

The life left behind

A place to relax while waiting for the ship

An entire industry grew up on Post Street to accommodate the emigrants. Hotels and restaurants were essential, but you also had promoters who helped those who did not have all their plans in place. Most of them were legitimate. Churches also set up shop to help emigrants and make sure that their souls were cared for on the long journey ahead.

From Hull they would take the train to Liverpool or Southhampton where they would board an ocean liner to America, most likely New York. At the beginning in the 1850s, the trip could take as long as 15 weeks. By the time the Swedish-American Line opened in 1915 so that ships could sail non-stop from Göteborg to New York or Canada, the trip was down to eight or nine days. It could still be difficult if the weather was bad and you were in a steerage compartment. Steerage improved over the years, too. At first, the emigrants might be housed with animals on the trip from Göteborg to Hull. By the time the new steamships were being built in the 1900s, steerage was relatively nice for the passengers.

A test to put the pieces in their correct spots.

The eye exam

Once the Swedes got to America, they quickly found places to stay. Most would either go to farm country already populated by Swedes who had come before or into Swedish enclaves in the cities. At one point Chicago was the second largest Swedish city in the world. In Chicago, “Snoose Street” anchored the Swedish part of town. So-called because the Swedes all seemed to be snoose users, the street was full of Swedish shops and services.

Chicago

Mockup of a street in Chicago

Young Swedish women were especially welcomed in the cities. They were excellent maids who could cook and sew along with the regular duties. The women were happy to work where they would get room and board along with a wage and Thursday afternoons off. This was a huge improvement over their life as a maid in Sweden where all they earned was room, board, and a set of clothes with no time off. Their ability to sew also put them at the top of the line in the textile industry earning the best wages for their work.

Vilhelm Moberg's writing room

Two displays deserve special mention. In Göteborg, they have built a replica of a ship, the Green Parrot. The name comes from the fact that the British called the emigrants parrots because that is what the Swedish language sounded like to them. We were give lanterns to see inside the hold where the passengers would spend most of their time. The ship doesn’t rock on the waves, but they do turn on the sound for passengers. In Växjö, they have built a model Snusgaten in Chicago to show life on the street.