The Murder of Farmer Olof Ericksson of Ygsbo in 1717

Olof Ericksson is my 7th great grandfather on Maude Edith Olofson's side. Several years ago in Salt Lake City, I decided to do more research on Olof as I wanted to understand why he died at such an early age: 29. Of course, many diseases and accidents in the early 1700's could kill the young as well as the old, but still, it was something to tie up on my tree. With help from the professional researchers for Sweden in the library, we found Olof Ericksson's death record, and that started some real searching! It turns out that my 7th great grandfather Olof Ericksson was MURDERED!

Olof Ericksson was born on an Ygsbo farm in Farila Parish, Gavleborg County on August 6, 1688.On November 15, 1713, Olof married Kerstin Persdotter, born on September 21, 1688. Kerstin was the daughter of the local innkeeper. This couple lived in Fone, Farila Parish and had a son, my 6th great grandfather, Eric Olsson.

When my husband and I went to Sweden several years ago, we made arrangements to meet with a woman who was very familiar with the Farila Parish area. This part of Sweden is very rural, very forested, with few major roads or signs. We were thankful for her help. I had given her names and locations of the individuals I was interested in knowing more about so we might visit a home or a church they would have attended. But she went so much further. She found the transcript for the trial of the man who murdered Olof Eriksson. She roughly translated it to me as we enjoyed a cup of coffee and I tried my best to remember my shorthand. Below is the story taken from that trial:

THE MURDER OF THE FARMER OLOF ERIKSSON OF YGSBO IN 1717

 

In the year 1717 the 23^rd of February, they had a trial in Farila, Hogdahl and Ljusdal. Those sitting in judgment were Michell Olsson of Storbyn; Olof Jonsson of Ygsbo; Olof Gudmundsson of Hafra (plus 6 men from Ljusdal and 2 from Hogdahl = 11 men).

On the 25^th of February 1717, the Judge Hans Aberg gave a description of what happened. He said a killing had been made at the inn in Storbyn Farila on the 13^th of January the same year. The soldier Olof Hook punched the farmer Olof Eriksson who was about to drive him to Jarsvo. He punched him so much that he died from the damage. By cause of that, the court would like to hear what happened because Olof Eriksson’s family and witnesses wanted to know what happened. There came the father-in-law Per Mansson with his wife as well as the widow Cherstin Persdotter how the battle had begun when her deceased husband on the same evening was waiting with his horse for the soldier.

The soldier had first punched Olof Eriksson two times on his head with a sword out on the lawn just because Olof Eriksson did not take off his hat when the soldier came out of his house. After that, he had yelled at Olof Eriksson so much that no words can describe it. After a while, he did get friendly and offered Olof Eriksson to go into the house for a drink.

The punches that Olof Eriksson got had changed him so much, but a little later he would walk to Jarvso to get the horse that the soldier had borrowed. But Olof Eriksson fell down 4-5 steps from the gravel road northeast of the church into a puddle. The puddle was from the snow that had melted from the suddenly hot weather. Olof Eriksson lay there all night until another farmer named Anders Olsson came and dragged him away. He gave notice to Per Mansson to take him home but at 7 p.m. Olof Eriksson’s life ended.

Another witness Lars Mansson is a church bell ringer. He did not swear on the bible but said that Hook hit Olof Eriksson on the arm, not his head because he did not take off his hat and asked after the innkeeper. Olof Eriksson got two punches on the head and one on the shoulder (the left side). Olof Eriksson and Lars Mansson followed a servant into the house. What passed after that he couldn’t say because Olof Eriksson soon left.

On the same date also a village trustee named Michell Olsson of Storbyn and Jon Michelsson of Ygsbo followed Olof Eriksson and Lars Mansson into the house and they had walked away after the fighting was over.

Then another person (who was a fighter) stated that he, in the beginning of the fight on the yard, was sitting in his house. When he heard Olof Eriksson yell “don’t beat me, Sergeant,” he told the driver of the horse to calm down because no one can hurt you when I’m here. But Olof Eriksson ran away to hide. The driver yelled after Olof Eriksson and when he came back, the fighter reminded Hook that Olof Eriksson was the son-in-law of the innkeeper. They shook hands and Hook and Olof Eriksson went into the house to have a drink of newly made liquor. He didn’t know what quantity was consumed by Olof Eriksson.

A question was asked to the driver: “did you see that the sergeant had his sword?” The driver said the sword was hanging from Hook’s belt. He never saw the sergeant touch the farmer because they were three feet away from each other when the driver came out. In the cabin they became friends once again. No fighting happened inside and the driver didn’t ever hear the dead person complain.

Another soldier Jon Jonsson Friskop did see that Hook on January 13 hit Olof Eriksson and pulled his hair and punched with something. The farmer fell but not so hard it would be a deadly impact.

A maid, Jolin Swensdotter, said that she came out just as Olof Eriksson got up from having been hit but he stepped up and she couldn’t tell if he had been harmed.

Par Mansson’s daughter, Carin Parsdotter, could only say that the newly made liquor was less than 6 spoonsful.

Sergeant Lieberhof had been in the cabin and had been taking orders from Hook and he didn’t know anything about the fight.

Driver Petter Norman said the same that he never heard Olof Eriksson complain when he was with him in the cabin. Nor could he tell Hook and Olof Eriksson were enemies.

Hereby Sheriff Pehr Lundman said the same as three persons in the cabin; they had not gone out.

Military Officer Olof Falen told that on January 14 he had been with Liebenhof and Norman and had seen Olof Eriksson. They had checked on his condition because there had been some rumor about Olof Eriksson. But they don’t see any damage (bruises on the body). Only the back of his head had a bump. They didn’t think this was a great damage to Olof Eriksson.

Military doctor trainee David Vogt wrote a paper after examining Olof Eriksson’s body dated 17 January with the following: Olof Eriksson’s dead body was blue and brown over his whole back and his right buttocks had a big scar and his head was swollen. Head was shaved and had been cleaned. You could see a small opening and a split lip. But Vogt was not present in the courtroom.

Farmer Anders Olsson said on 14 January a little after breakfast half past eight he had taken Olof Eriksson from the puddle no more than ¼ meter deep and took him inside and then sent for his father-in-law, Per Mansson, who saw him in this shape and asked two questions of him but Olof Eriksson could only say “God was.” Anders Olsson witnessed also that Olof Eriksson’s head wasn’t in the water because it was lying on gathered ice and placed his head on the ice.

On a question no one could get a real explanation on how Olof Eriksson fell into the puddle and for that sake they were eager to learn if anyone had met him on the road during that time.

Then Per Mansson gave information that the wife of Anders Halfars, Carin Persdotter, heard or had seen Olof Eriksson say he was getting his horse on January 13 at Jarvso. Carin said that Sheriff Lundman drove Hook out of town to Jarvso when Olof Eriksson went to get his horse. Carin Persdotter was sent for and she stated that Olof Eriksson said he had been beaten by Hook and would have lasting damage but she couldn’t explore what that was because Olof Eriksson left to Jarvso to get his horse. She also said that Olof Eriksson was not drunk.

Sheriff Lundman questioned that he and Hook rode away from the inn first. From these men, it was difficult to have them swear on the bible because they didn’t know if they had to swear and be honest about another military man. Hook ran away with the Sargent after the murder. The purpose for his escape was said to be a mission for the Sargent. It also seems odd that there has been no information about his escape until January 18 when the news traveled to Jarvso.

Therefore, the court by the cause of Hook’s being gone, rested the case. Notes: Olaus Hook escaped and then came back and was condemned to death but is in prison in Gefleborg. During the War against Norway, Hook was there and was one of a few survivors (most froze to death returning from Norway). 1717-1718 when 3000 men froze. He came to Jarvso and died in 1724.

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Olof Eriksson was buried in the front of the church. He left a widow and son. The home that they had lived in was moved many years later from Ygsbo to Fone and is a Swedish Heritage Site, showing the architecture of the time.

We were given a tour of the home, a home that was in our family several centuries ago and today is a Heritage Site. Below are a few photos we took while there.

It was a large house for the time with two floors and an attached "garage" for animals.  While this is a very sad ending to a young man's life, I'm thankful that he and his wife had one son to carry on this family down to Maude Olofson...and me.

The Murder of Olof Ericsson

Do you ever wonder how close we came to having one of our direct line ancestors die? How close we came to never being born with the murder of an ancestor? For example, if Peter or Frank Linn had died in World War I, none of us would be here.

In one case, my grandmother Maude Edith Olofson's line would have failed to exist with the death, the murder, of her 5th great grandfather, my 7th great-grandfather, Olof Ericsson. Here is the story of his murder.

Olof Ericsson was born in Farila Parish in Gavleborg County on August 6, 1688. He met and married the soldier's (later the innkeeper) daughter, Kerstin Persdotter, on November 13, 1713. They were both just about 25 years old. Olof was a farmer, a successful farmer, who had a large, two-story home in Farila. Today, that home is preserved as a Heritage Farm in Farila as an example of the architecture of the early 1700's. I have visited Farila Parish and walked through the beautiful home that belonged to our ancestor.

Olof Ericsson House in Farila Parish

Inside Olof Ericsson House - First Floor Living Space with Fireplace

Bed in Olof Ericsson's house, second floor

In the cold Swedish winter, on January 20, 1717, something terrible happened to Olof. He stumbled from the local inn feeling the effects of the beating he had taken earlier in the day. His head ached. And he could feel the welts building on his shoulders and back. Olof knew that he'd been hurt but assumed that he would be fine if he could just keep going. He staggered toward the church on his way to a nearby town. It was late on the evening of January 20, a bitter cold evening in this northern village in Sweden. Olof made his way to the steps outside the church grounds but before he could climb the steps, Olof crumbled to the ground. The last breath of life exhaled from his body onto the icy pool beneath him. Olof's body lay in front of the church in Farila all night.

Farila Church where Olof Ericsson died

The next morning, farmer Anders Olsson found Olof's frozen body. Anders ran to the inn where Olof's in-laws, Per Mansson and Margreta Andersdotter, the innkeepers, lived. As Anders relayed the news of the death of their son-in-law, Per and Margreta immediately suspected the Sargent, Sargent Hook as the murderer. They had heard a commotion outside the inn earlier in the day and had seen Olof and Sargent Hook arguing. And, according to the stories they'd heard from others, they knew the source of the argument.

Sargent Hook needed transportation to the nearby village of Jarsvo where he would soon meet up with other soldiers and be sent to fight the Russians and their allies in the Great Northern War. Up to this point, Sweden had been a world power, but since 1700, fierce battles had been taking place. It was customary for local farmers to aid soldiers, and Olof Ericsson was willing to lend his horse to Sargent Hook and later walk to the nearby village of Jarsvo to retrieve his steed.

Before I continue this story, you might be wondering how I know these details or even if I'm making it up. The story is true, and I'll explain at the end of this post how I know so many details of a murder in 1717.

Earlier in the day, Olof had arrived with his horse at the home near the inn where Sargent Hook was staying. The Sargent came out to greet Olof, but he was immediately upset that Olof hadn't shown proper respect to him. Olof had not removed his hat for the Sargent. This may seem like a minor insult today, but not in Sweden in the 1700's and not to Sargent Hook. The Sargent drew his sword, yelled at Olof, and beat Olof around the upper back and shoulders. As Olof tried to run away, Sargent Hook beat him with his fists around the head and shoulders until Olof fell to the ground. A neighbor came out to remind Sargent Hook that Olof Ericsson was an esteemed farmer, son-in-law of the innkeepers, and a well-respected man in the village. The Sargent put his sword back, apparently realizing that he had overreacted. Hook helped Olof up, invited him into the house where they had a drink. Both men apparently thought that Olof was not badly hurt at the time.

After the two men consumed a small amount of alcohol, Sargent Hook left with Olof's horse to go to Jarsvo. And later, Olof struck out to walk the 12 miles to Jarsvo to retrieve his horse. Olof only walked as far as the local church in Farila when he collapsed and died.

When word reached Sargent Hook that he was wanted for the murder of Olof Ericsson, Hook fled. But he later returned and was tried and sentenced to death for Olof Ericsson's murder. He was in prison in Gefleborg but was released in 1723. He went to Jarsvo where he died in 1724.

So, how do I know that this is true? When we visited Farila in 2009, we met with a local tour guide who took us to the church, to the inn, to the home that was Olof Ericsson's. And then she shared the transcript of the trial with me.

Olof Ericsson and his wife Kerstin Persdotter had been married just a bit more than 3 years when Olof was murdered. This line, with Olof dead, might have ended, meaning I wouldn't be here, and probably you wouldn't either if you are descended from Maude Edith Olofson Linn. But lucky for us, Olof and Kerstin had one son before Olof was murdered. His name was Eric Olofsson. He was born on January 24, 1716, he was just one year old when his father was murdered. And he is my 6th great-grandfather.