The Lundgren Name

Charles Warner Lundgren (1882-1957) married my great aunt Lilly Sophy Olofson (1892-1979) at Ascension Lutheran Church in Boone, Iowa on March 1, 1911. Where did the Lundgren name come from? Because I've traced this family back several generations, we will see where the name came from, but the "why" might be more of a mystery.

We would normally think that the last name that was carried down generations would come from the father's surname. And normally, especially in more recent times, it did. Long ago in Sweden, the husband kept his last name and the wife kept her own last name and the children took a version of the husband's first name but added "-son" or "dotter" to it. But something else happened with the Lundgrens.

In the Lundgren tree, we go back from Charlie to Olof Lundgren (1845-1930) to Erick Lundgren (1818-1910) to Olof Ersson/Erickson (1787-1848). Ersson? So how did the name Lundgren come to be?

Olof Ersson was a laborer who married Sophia Lundgren, the daughter of a tailor, Johan Fredrick Lundgren and his wife Sophia Hammerstrom. It is unlikely that Johan's original/birth surname was Lundgren but rather was formalized because of military experience, perhaps from a location where his ancestors had lived (Lundgren = grove + branch), or to differentiate the family surname from others that were identical (too many Olofsons or Larssons in one area).

Whatever the reason, the Lundgren named was passed down for several generations to Johan Fredrick Lundgren and also to his 7 children, including Sophia Lundgren. When Sophia married Olof Ersson, the reason for her children and all other descendants to take the surname "Lundgren" is hard to know. 

Was it because Olof was simply a laborer with a very common surname and Sophia's father was a tailor with a more unique Swedish name? 

My friends and family, I have no idea! But what I do know, is that the Lundgren name did not come from the male surname line but from Sophia Lundgren and her ancestral line.

I know I've said this before, but this is one reason I love genealogy. There are often no simple answers. Research takes time and the ability to find and read/translate records. If the Lundgren name were closer to my direct line and not just through the husband of my great aunt, I'd definitely be working on the reason behind this change in the norm. 

We've had mysteries before in this blog. Maria Barquist Olofson. When did she die and where is she buried? The Reinquists/Linns who adopted a boy who was related to the famous Nobel family. Why did his parents leave Sweden, have 3 sons and give them up for adoption? So many mysteries in this great hobby.

We are definitely winding down on my blog as we have just 3 days left in the year. Do any of these mysteries intrigue you? I'm always happy to work with others on our mutual ancestry. 

PHOTOS OF MY GREAT AUNT LILY AND GREAT UNCLE CHARLIE LUNDGREN