What happens to Ida Eriksdotter in the US?

Question

I asked the below question in the Facebook group Swedish-American genealogy a few days ago, and I've incorporated the information from that exercise here.  It was inconclusive, so hoping that the WikiTree hive

I'm helping a distant relative find out the fate of his great aunt in the US. I lose track of her as soon as she arrives in the US. Here's what I've got - anything further on her life in the States would be most appreciated.

Ida (Maria) Eriksdotter, b. 14 August 1863 in Ödenäs, co. Älvsborg, Sweden, daughter of Erik Svensson and Anna Cajsa Eriksdotter. See

* Ödenäs (P) AI:8 (1877-1898) Bild 155 / sid 148 (AID: v44944.b155.s148, NAD: SE/GLA/13667) 

* Ödenäs (P) B:1 (1861-1894) Bild 27 / sid 24 (AID: v44945.b27.s24, NAD: SE/GLA/13667).

She leaves Sweden, according to the database Emigranten Populär 2006, on the 21st August 1885, with a destination of "Lucas". She arrives, I believe at Boston on the 6th or 7th of September 1885 on the Cephalonia. See:

* "Massachusetts, Boston Passenger Lists, 1820-1891," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939K-YCF5-9… : 1 September 2016), 098 - Aug 1-Sep 30, 1885 > image 326 of 595; citing NARA microfilm publication M277 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

* "Massachusetts, Index to Boston Passenger Lists, 1848-1891," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9KC-B924-C… : 25 October 2016), 007620069 > image 736 of 3962; citing NARA microfilm publication M265 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration 1969).

But what happens next?

The generous people of Facebook worked out that she left Gothenburg, Sweden, on the Orlando (Göteborgs poliskammare före 1900, Inkomna uppgifter om utvandrade personer, SE/GLA/12703/E IX/27 (1885)) from which it became clear that the destination was Lucas, Iowa.

Another reference, which I've been unable to access or find gives the destination as "New Tacoma", which may or may not exist: See: The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Series Title: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, 1820-1891; Record Group Title: Records of the U.S. Customs Service; Record Group Number: 36; Series Number: M277; NARA Roll Number: 101

Trying to understand if this young lady has any descendants over in the U.S. so any further clues would, on behalf of my relative, be appreciated.

Comments

Hi Matt,

I found a possibility under the name Maria Eriksdotter

Name:	Emma Mathilde Holstad
Record Type:	Confirmation
Birth Place:	Bristol
Confirmation Date:	12 Jun 1892
Father:	Martin Sorenson
Mother:	Marie Eriksdotter
Church Name:	Immanuel Lutheran Church
Church Location:	Forest City, Iowa

*Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Archives; Elk Grove Village, Illinois on ancestry.com there was no other suggestions listed

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Thanks for looking, Steve!  I suspect it's not her given that the daughter, Emma, here is confirmed in 1892, which suggests she would have been born around 1880 at the latest, more likely 1878/9, so five-seven years before Ida emigrated; and she travelled alone from Sweden.

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The ship log for the destination of "New Tacoma" (which was aboard the Cephalonia), is for a Ida Svenson born abt 1859 and arriving in Boston 06 Aug 1886.  That one does not match her dob or the arrival date that would have been in 1885.

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Thank you Robin!

Answer 1

Does ida have a middle name ???

Comments

Yes, noted in the original question in brackets - Maria.  She used "Ida" in all the passenger manifests.

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Matt, the meaning of a "middle name" in US is not the same as one one of her given names at birth in Sweden.

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Thanks Maggie - I have *zero* experience researching in the US, so sorry if "Maria" is a non-answer! :)  If a middle name is not a given name, then what is it?

Answer 2

Does Ida Maria have any profile on WikiTree??

What is her fathers last name? Upon arrival Eriksdotter could have been changed to Eriksson or she could have been given the same last name as her father had.

Have you tried searching for her travel companions who is also going to Lucas, Iowa? They are both male and would not have changed their last names like Ida Maria presumably did.

Comments

No profile at this stage - as mentioned, it's not my own research, it's for a distant (DNA-distant, so about 6th cousin once removed) relative.  I can add one if it'd help?

Her father's name was Erik Svensson, so I should cast my net to include "Svensson", "Eriksson" and "Eriksdotter" then?

Thanks also for the idea to search for the companions, I'll see if that might yield anything.

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The companions are a good idea.

Ida Maria, born in 1863 and gone to North America in 1885 will probably have married very soon and gone by a different name altogether ;-)

Although there seems to be this strange practice of having the maiden name of the mother in the death records for children and suchlike.

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Although I haven't found anything on Ida Maria after she arrived in America, she did have a sister, Matilda, who came to America, most likely in 1900. That is the date on the Swedish emigration record. I haven't found a passenger list for Matilda, which would show her destination. In many cases, family members would join other family members who had arrived previously. Matilda ends up in Chicago and marries Per Emil Andersson in 1906.

Since there are no apparent records on Ida Maria after she arrives in America, it is possible that she passed away during the voyage or shortly after arriving. That is unlikely since she was only 22 years old, but still a possibility. Or she could have been sent back to Sweden if she had any physical problems. She was apparently traveling with three other people bound for Lucas, Iowa: August Mattsson, Svante Andersson and Svante Nielsson. A search for them may be in order.

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Thanks Richard, appreciated, and all good points.  I know that my relative has done some work on Matilda, so I'll follow up with him on that, as well as the three other passengers.  It'll give me plenty to do over the weekend, I suspect!