A Pastor in the Family

Because it is Easter Sunday, I thought I would write this week's post about one of our ancestors who was committed to a religious life.

Long before we acquired the LINN surname, we had the surname Smedbom. An interesting Swedish name, right?

Here is a short version of how Smedbom became Linn: Gustus (Linn) Olausson was the son of Olaus Fredricsson who was the son of Fredric Smedbom who was the son of Peter Smedbom. Peter Smedbom is my 5^th great grandfather. He and wife Sigrid Jonsdotter of Eksjo Parish in Jonkoping County had 7 children. This was an educated family, a middle-class family. Fredric, my 4^th great grandfather, was a teacher, a land owner, and a well-respected man. His two youngest siblings, Hedvig and Jons Peter, were twins. But it’s his older brother Johannes who has a more interesting story.

Johannes was born November 30, 1725, in Eksjo Parish of Jonkoping County. It was Johannes who received the highest cost for an education in this family. He studied at Uppsala University which is the oldest university in Sweden, founded in 1477. Johannes passed an examination to become a pastor in 1758. Then he went to Greifswald in Germany to earn his doctorate at one of the most prestigious universities in Europe. Germany, at that time, was a Swedish territory (since the peace treaty in Westphalia that ended the devastating 30-years war in Central Europe). Peace Treaty  

There he studied to become a doctor of philosophy, graduating in 1761. Johannes is listed in a book about students from Östergötland that is scanned and available online. List of Students

When we think of college graduates in our family, I doubt that we think back to the 1700s. From my 40 years of genealogy research, I believe that Johannes Smedbom was the first college graduate in our family AND the first family member to earn a doctorate! 

Johannes married Anna Casja Hassell in 1762 They had one child, David Smedbom, born in 1769. In 1771, Johannes was ordained as pastor in Vikingstad Parish outside of Linköping, This move was to bring Johannes, Anna, and their son David close to his parents and siblings again. The appointment as pastor was a very prestigious one, and it was Johannes' plan to use his education to minister to a congregation; but he never had the chance to fulfill his dream. Just five days after his ordination, on May 15, 1771, Johannes died of extreme dehydration brought on by diarrhea.  He was just 45 years old.

The Vikingstad Church was founded in 1765-68 but the building was opened in 1785.

It's a sad ending to a life that held such promise and one that could have influenced and taught people in Vikingstad and beyond. Johannes was committed to a life of service, a life that was cut too short.