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16
16 Story of an Emigrant.
Mv mother was born 011 the island of Ifo, my father’s
fam-ilv also came from that island and were the owners of the
estate described by Du Chaillu in his " Land of the Midnight
Sim " with the remarkable crvpt built by Bishop Andreas
Suneson* and the estate still belongs to a second cousin of
mine. Mv father inherited a small sum of money for which,
at the time of his marriage, he bought a land in the parish
ofOnnestad near the city of Kristianstad. On this property
he built a small house, barn, etc., and on the south side of the
former a small flower garden was laid out at either end of
which my father planted a spruce tree, one of which grew up
into a fine, big tree, the only one of its kind in the whole
neighborhood, and to which I shall refer farther on. In this
unpretending little cabin I was born Dec. 23d, 1832, and under its
lowlv but peaceful roof I spent the first years of my
childhood, together with an elder sister and a younger brother.
I can vet distinctly remember many incidents from my
childhood as far back as my third and fourth year; all these
memories are dear and exceedingly pleasant to me. There
was 110 discord, 110 cause for sorrow and tears in my home
during the time of my childhood. Everything bore the
stamp of peacc and calm, emanating from that spirit of
genuine old Swedish honesty and sincere piety, which animated
my parents. One of my very first recollections is of my
father reading aloud the beautiful hymn:
" The morning light shall wake me
To the strains of sacred song," etc.,
At tlie age of six my schooling commenced under the
guidance of an itinerant schoolmaster bv name of Bergdahl, who
taught small children at their homes, stopping one day for
each child at every house and keeping on in that way the
whole term which lasted from three to four months. Old
Bergdahl was a good and sensible man, far superior to the
•Note: Vol 2, pa^e
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