Swedish Immigration to America
Hello! I am Jessica Tovesson, founder of Learn Swedish Now, an online language school that offers personalized Swedish classes live with a native instructor. Like many of my fellow Americans I am a proud immigrant to this country, and spent the first half of my life in my native country of Sweden. Today’s blog is about the history of Swedish immigration to North America, the life of the earlier settlers in the new country, and descendants of Swedish immigrants searching for their family roots.
Swedish immigration to America really got started in the mid-nineteenth century and reached its peak in the 1880s. The waves of emigration from Sweden in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries led to some 1.3 million people heading for the new world, which is put in perspective when you consider that the total population of Sweden was 4.5 million in the 1880s. There were varying reasons for people to leave their homes and embark on the long and sometimes dangerous trip to America, but the primary driver was a search for better financial opportunities. With so many people leaving for a new life across the Atlantic many Swedish families can trace back relatives that joined the great migration. In fact, when my husband and I got into genealogy during the pandemic we found a distant relative that settled down near our current residence outside Chicago in the 1920s!
Life in the new country was not always easy, particularly for the early immigrants arriving in the nineteenth century. Many of them settled down in the American Midwest, which has a climate that is somewhat similar to Sweden and where land was very affordable at the time. I visited some of the places in Minnesota last summer with a strong Swedish heritage. The city of Lindstrom was settled by Daniel Lindström, who left Sweden in 1853, and its heritage is proudly displayed throughout. In the city, nicknamed “America’s little Sweden”, you will quickly notice the water tower shaped like a traditional Swedish coffee pot and find statues of characters from the literature works of Wilhelm Moberg. A short drive from Lindstrom is the city of Scandia with its beautiful museum, Gammelgården, where you can see original buildings from the first Swedish settlers, including a modest cabin that housed a large family, a wooden church later converted to a school building, and the home of a local preacher and his family. I highly recommend a visit if you ever get the opportunity!
It is common to find signs of Swedish heritage in today’s North America, such as Swedish family names, traditional dishes, and even some words that have been incorporated into the English language. And Americans with Swedish roots are increasingly interested in learning about their family history and Swedish ancestors. In fact, a Swedish television show that helps Swedish-Americans connect with their ancestry is very popular in the country and has been produced in 10 seasons! The show is called “Allt för Sverige” (Everything for Sweden) and follows a competitive format where participants carry out various challenges during their stay in Sweden, until one winner remains. Throughout the show they learn about Swedish culture, language, customs, food and mannerisms, as well as their ancestors and family history.
I often incorporate Swedish culture and customs into my language lessons as a way to make learning fun and exciting. And many of my students have Swedish family connections that we explore together during class, perhaps translating an old letter or even clarifying some stories that were passed down through the generations. If you want to start learning about the Swedish language and culture, sign up for one of my free trials today!
