She Violated the 6th Commandment 4 Times*

It would be easy to label Sophia Margrite Kjellander (pronounced Shee-lander) as the "town whore," to dismiss her and then move on to the next person in the family tree. After all, she had given birth to three illegitimate children by different men before she met her future husband Olof Rask and then had three more children with Olof before they married. In one census, it was noted that “she violated the 6^th commandment 4 times”.* But to judge Sophia as the “town whore” doesn't help one understand the choices she made. To view Sophia's life more closely might show a different picture.

For the next two weeks, I’ll share what I have learned about my second great-grandmother, Sophia. She was born on April 9, 1822, in Finska Parish of Stockholm, Sweden, the second of four daughters born to Carl Jacob Kjellander and his wife Margaretha Elisabet Fogelqvist. Carl Jacob Kjellander was a miller who had moved to Stockholm for work.

The children were:

• Christina Albertina Kjellander, born August 27, 1820;
• Sophia Margrite Kjellander, born April 9, 1822;
• Carolina Jacobina Antoinetta Kjellander, born January 25, 1824;
• Charlotta Bernhardina Kjellander, born August 1, 1826.

The family was poor, but there was no indication that they had overwhelming difficulties. Every account of the family shows them to be healthy, happy, and adhering to the church principles, as outlined in the yearly clerical surveys conducted by the parish priest.

But then tragedy struck the family. On June 11, 1827, at the age of 10 months and 11 days, baby Charlotta Bernhardina Kjellander died. Her death record indicates a sudden death. This family tragedy started a series of events that changed the lives of every member of the Kjellander family, including the subject of this post—Sophia Margrite Kjellander.

As sad as the untimely death of their child and sibling was, the family was trying to make do. But then the family began to struggle to make ends meet. On March 23, 1830, the mill worker Carl Jacob Kjellander and his wife Margaretha Elisabet Fogelqvist were granted relief payment from the Public orphanage “Allmånna barnhuset” for their 6-year old daughter Carolina Jacobina Antoinetta (Reg. #1661). The family had placed Carolina in the orphanage on a temporary placement, indicating in the orphanage records that they would come for her once their financial situation improved.

The family had lost one daughter and had now placed another in temporary care of the orphanage. Clearly, the family was struggling on many levels. And adding to their struggles, another tragedy struck this family. On October 16, 1830, Margaretha Elisabet Fogelqvist died of a cold at age 38. She was buried in Adolf Fredric Parish in Stockholm on October 21, 1830. It is difficult to think of someone dying of a cold, but Margaretha may have been depressed and  run down for the two years since Charlotta’s death and the placement of her daughter Carolina in the orphanage six months prior, leading to her inability to fight off a cold. Now, this young family was without a wife for Carl and a mother for 10-year old Christina and 8-year old Sophia; and 6-year old Carolina was still in the orphanage.

What a struggle it must have been for Carl Jacob Kjellander. He had to continue working as a miller in order to provide for his children. But how could he do that and also care for Christina and Sophia, and bring Carolina home from the orphanage? From the records, it is clear that Carl could not, although he tried. He brought Carolina home from the orphanage; and in the 1830 clerical survey for Adolf Fredric Parish in Stockholm (Gruftdrangen), Carl is found with his three surviving daughters: Christina, Sophia, and Carolina. But he could not continue to take care of them. Carl’s own health was suffering. He had to make a difficult decision.

Oldest daughter Christina was now of an age where she could be sent out to live with another family as a servant girl (pigan). It was not unusual in those days for a 10-year old to live with another family and to begin her own independent life.

The other two daughters, Sophia (age 8) and Carolina (age 6) could not work yet. And so, Carl believed he had no other choice but to place them both in the Stockholm orphanage on a temporary basis. Both Sophia Margrite Kjellander and Carolina Jacobina Antoinetta Kjellander were admitted to the Public orphanage (reg # 2227 and 2228) on February 2, 1831, in order to be placed in foster homes. Among the admissions documents is a letter of application dated January 19, 1831, signed by a representative of the parish poor relief administration and the vicar, in which they describe the trying conditions the family lives under, as the father, the widower Carl Jacob Kjellander, is taken ill and cannot support his family. It is stated in the application that the children watch over their sick father and cry for bread, warmth, and care on a daily basis. In the letter, the vicar, Lars Lund, points out that the father is young enough to be able to take care of his children when he is well again, and that the sisters are to be admitted only during their father’s sickness.

Sophia and Carolina must have been saddened by all of these events that had happened in their young lives. Their baby sister had died; their mother had died; their older sister was sent out to work; their father was very ill; and now they were placed in the orphanage. Their father probably talked with them about the need to do this on a temporary basis until he was well and could come back for them and care for them. Sophia and Carolina accepted this temporary arrangement, knowing they would be back with their father soon.

The totality of these events was heavy. How much more could these young girls take? Sadly, there would be more. They were placed in the orphanage on February 2, 1831, and on February 9, 1831, their father, Carl Jacob Kjellander, died.

Were the girls told of their father’s death? Did they wonder why he never came back for them? How did this affect Sophia and Carolina? And what impact did this have on the rest of their lives? Following Sophia’s life gives some idea into the impact these tragic events had on her and the decisions she made.

On February 21, 1831, within three weeks of her admittance to the orphanage and two weeks of her father’s death, Sophia was taken under the care of Anders Gustaf Edberg of Svedje Håsjö Jamtland, approximately 300 miles north of Stockholm. One of the reasons orphans were placed with families in northern Sweden was because the Swedish government was trying to populate parts of Sweden that, at this time, were sparsely populated. But this would have seemed like a different world to Sophia.

Sophia was the servant girl to this family, and how she was treated could have varied from being a member of the family to being abused. In May of 1832, the orphanage made its one and only check on Sophia and the family and determined that she was not being mistreated. In 1836, when Sophia was 14 years old, the orphanage permanently closed her file.

At around age 18, Sophia begins her life as a servant girl on various farms, moving often, sometimes as often as 3 times in one year. At one point I found Sophia as a “person with no permanent residence”.

What was happening to Sophia? My great-great grandmother had suffered so much in just 18 years. My heart has always ached for Sophia, losing her baby sister, then her mother, then being separated from her older sister, then being placed in an orphanage while her father tried to regain his own health, only to die. Sophia, sent away from everyone and everything she knew.

What would happen to this young woman who had no permanent residence? Next week’s post will look at Sophia as an adult.


* The 6th Commandment as we know it has to do with murder while the 7th is about committing adultery. When I read this, I tried to find out whether an old Swedish version of the Bible might have had different numbering, but I had no luck. I put a query out on a site where Swedish experts help with translations and other Swedish genealogy questions, and no one had a definitive answer, but one person stated that "In the Lutheran tradition [Swedish tradition], the 6th commandment is about adultery." Now that was from Wikipedia which might not be the most accurate source. 

Another conclusion is that the parish priest wrote it down incorrectly and meant that Sophia had violated the Commandment on adultery 4 times, the 7th as we know it. I'm quite sure that she didn't murder 4 children, and I've not found anything to indicate that Sophia murdered anyone. If any of my Lutheran scholars has something more definitive than Wikipedia, please comment for others to see.