Are We French?

There's something different about my 6th great-grandfather's name. While Swedes followed a patronymic naming pattern, giving children the father's first name followed by SON or DOTTER (i.e. Lars Mansson's children might be Brita Larsdotter and Olof Larsson), we do have an ancestor with a name that sounds anything but Swedish.

In Gavleborg County, Hanebo Parish, lived a man named Bertil Monsieur, and he is my 6th great-grandfather on Maude Edith Olofson Linn's line. Sounds French, right? Here's what I know.

In the 1600's and 1700's in Gavleborg County, iron was abundant. And the Swedes, including many of our ancestors, were able to mine the ore. But they didn't have the expertise to refine the ore. And so, they brought in skilled people from France, Belgium, and Finland to help with the process and to teach Swedes the craft.

In 1640, Sweden exported just around 11,000 tons of iron, but by 1740, that amount had increased to over 40,000 tons per year, thanks in part to the skilled iron ore workers who were brought to Sweden during that time. Sweden was a major supplier of iron for armaments, both at home during the many wars Sweden was involved in, as well as for exporting and trade, and so, having the ability to mine AND to refine the ore was a real benefit.

One of the people who was brought to Sweden to refine the ore was Bertil Monsieur's father, and to my knowledge, based on information I've exchanged with Swedish researchers living in Sweden, he came from Finland. So, technically, Bertil Monsieur was a Swedish resident and citizen born in Sweden, but of Finnish descent.

Bertil Monsieur was born on Tonsen Farm in Hanebo Parish in 1693. He met and married Ella Olsdotter who was born in 1686. They had 4 children including my 5th great grandmother, Karin Bertilsdotter.

Bertil Monsieur was a soldier between 1711 and 1719. From 1718-1719, Sweden was in war against Norway as part of the Great Northern War; and during a march back in December 1719, Bertil's feet were so badly frostbitten that he couldn't continue as a soldier. And so, he became a farmer in Hanebo Parish.

Bertil died in 1773 at the age of 80.

I'm not sure what your reaction is, but we are not French. If, however, you go back far enough into the 1600's on Maude Edith Olofson Linn's line, we are Finnish.