Anna and Anton’s journey began in Sweden in the late 1800’s during a time when Swedes faced famine, financial hardship, and few opportunities for the future. The only thing many young Swedes, like Anna and Anton, had was hope for a better life in America.
Almost 1.3 million Swedes, around one third of the country’s entire population, emigrated from Sweden and travelled over 5,000 miles to America between 1840 and 1920. Anna and Anton were two teenagers that were part of that emigration…with little money, no formal education and no knowledge of English, their new country’s language.
Anna Louisa Olsson was born on January 29th, 1889, in Ed, Sunne parish in the county of Värmland, near the Norwegian border, to a single mother and two older sisters, Maria and Elin. Anna emigrated from Sweden in 1907, at the age of 18, and traveled 5,400 miles, by herself, through the United States Immigration Center on New York’s Ellis Island to Chicago to stay with her older sister Elin, who had left Sweden two years earlier for America.
Nils Anton Olsson was born on October 28, 1882, in Boalt, Glimåkra parish, in Skåne. Anton was the second oldest son in a farming family in southern Sweden. As was the custom, the oldest son would inherit the farm, leaving very few opportunities for the younger sons.
In 1902, Anton left his life and family in Sweden for America, arriving in Boston among tens of thousands of other European immigrants. During the immigration processing, a government official arbitrarily told Anton he could never use Nils, his first name, in the United States or the government would find him and ship him back to Sweden. After going through Immigration in Boston, he traveled to Chicago.
Upon arrival in the US, neither Anna or Anton didn’t speak English, their new country’s language, and had little formal education. They didn’t have much money to begin their new lives in America. According to their ship’s manifests, upon departure from Liverpool, England, Anton had $6, and Anna had $15.
Anna and Anton met in Chicago and married on July 24, 1909. While in Chicago, Anton worked for 9 years at the large Pullman (railroad) Car factory and Anna cleaned houses and did sewing.
By 1911, Anna and Anton had saved enough money to leave Chicago. They travelled over 1,000 miles to a new town named Crystal City in South Texas, where they had bought two 10-acre tracks of farmland (sight unseen) and helped establish a new Swedish settlement with 14 other Swedish families.
With 20 acres of sandy land, a one room wood-framed house and a mule, the Olsons hoped to make a good living vegetable farming. Shortly after arriving at their new farm, Anna and Anton’s daughter, Edna Louise, was born on November 27, 1912.
Their plans and hopes were not realized due to a lack of rainfall in South Texas and the long distances to marketplaces. Most of the other Swedish settlers moved back north, but the Olson family moved to the Taylor area in Williamson County northeast of Austin. They were joined later by Anna’s older sister Elin and her husband Nils Swanson who moved from Crystal City, with their young son Joel Roland, to Hare, Texas northeast of Taylor where they also rented a farm.
Starting over in Williamson County among many other Swedish immigrants, Anna and Anton were able to rent much better farmland from John Lindquist. On May 16, 1918, their son, Edgar Douglas, was born at their farm’s renthouse outside of Taylor. Ed eventually married the love of his life, Ruth Frances Cleveland from Buda, Texas, on July 6, 1941.
In 1935, after saving enough money from farming their rental property, Anna and Anton bought their own farm closer to Hutto, Texas. Anna and Anton successfully farmed their 178 acres until their passing in 1963 (Anna) and 1969 (Anton).
They had hoped someday to travel back to Sweden to visit family, but never realized that dream.
