This week has been amazing! My cousin from Sweden (that I have only been in contact with through letter and email) came to visit with her husband and two friends. My great-grandfather and her grandfather were brothers. Thanks to google I have seen photos of the historical marker at the Type Cemetery, but have never made the visit (it's not a very easy place to find!) Armed with some information from an older cousin, we went in search of some history.
Jonas Sunvison, my great -grandfather (my dad's dad's dad).
I have read this part of the inscription many times, but never imagined that Christina Fredrickson was my great-great-great grandmother! My cousin's husband did research not only on my great-grandfather's side of the family, but also some on my great-grandmother's side (so sweet, and so unexpected!).
Also, the gravesite of my great-grandmother's parents, August and Amanda Nyman (Christina's daughter).
Then we made a 3 hour or so drive west to West Sweden (a "ghost town", marked only by the cemetery), quite isolated, but easier to find, where my great-grandparents and their 3-year-old daughter were buried.
My grandparents and father lived in this area until sometime during or after the 1950s drought (1950-1957.)
I love vintage items! Just imagining the history behind an item makes me smile. I reuse everything. My Papa's old chair is my sewing chair, my Gramma's 1920s valentines are framed art, and my Great-grandmother's ruffly pillowcase is a valance in my daughter's room. And those are just my favorite things - I have way more!