NordNorth of Nälden

Contents

The chapters

Seven chapters and an epilogue, from Jämtland in the 1890s to the family’s return in 1990.

“In Swedish, nord means north.”

From “About the name,” at the back of the book

The book starts with Nils and Brita in Jämtland. Two chapters then go back through their families, and the rest follows them west. The bars below place each chapter on the timeline, in reading order.

  1. Nordannälden and Västerkälen1896–1905
  2. Brita’s family1765–1921
  3. Nils’s family1761–1913
  4. Deckerville1905–1913
  5. Roanwood1913–1916
  6. Addy1916–1920
  7. Bertha and her sons1920–1982
  8. The visit1990
  1. Chapter 1Nordannälden and Västerkälen1896–1905. Näskott, Rödön, Hallen and Krokom, JämtlandNils, a crofter’s son from Nordannälden, marries Brita at Rödön in 1901. Their sons, Victor and Hugo, are born, the family takes a farm at Ytterhallen, and in May 1905 they leave for Canada.
  2. Chapter 2Brita’s family: Nygården, Klösta and Västerkälen1765–1921. Aspås, Lit and Rödön, JämtlandBrita’s people, farmers at Nygården in Aspås and Klösta in Lit, and the brothers and sisters she left behind in Sweden.
  3. Chapter 3Nils’s family: Nordannälden and Tjernåsen1761–1913. Näskott and Offerdal, JämtlandNils’s people: crofters at Nordannälden, a settler on new land in Offerdal, and a great-grandfather who served as a soldier named Blom.
  4. Chapter 4Deckerville1905–1913. Trondheim, Liverpool, Quebec and SaskatchewanThe crossing by Hull and Liverpool to Quebec, the Swedish colony at New Stockholm, and a homestead on the Saskatchewan prairie.
  5. Chapter 5Roanwood1913–1916. Opheim and Roanwood, Valley County, MontanaThe family crosses into Montana in 1913 and settles near Opheim, on a place with a coal seam, and raises flax. A daughter is born there and lives two weeks.
  6. Chapter 6Addy1916–1920. Spokane and Addy, WashingtonNils declares his intention to become a citizen at Spokane, the family farms in the hills above Addy, and in June 1919 the sheriff cannot find him.
  7. Chapter 7Bertha and her sons1920–1982. Addy, Spokane and Chewelah, WashingtonBertha raises Victor and Hugh on her own and spends her last years at Chewelah. The leads on what became of Nils are followed as far as the records go.
  8. EpilogueThe visit1990. JämtlandEighty-five years after the family left, three of Hugh’s family travel to Jämtland and are welcomed by the descendants of Brita’s sister Emma.

At the back: About the name, A note from the author, Acknowledgments, and the source notes for every chapter.