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  1. #1
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    Robinsons/Sweden?

    Hey all! I haven't been on here for awhile. I've been running into a dead end in my family research. My last name is Robinson but I can't find any documentation for anyone past my 3rd great-grandfather. My aunt did some research and I have names for his father and grandfather. The grandfather's name was Elijah Robinson, probably born some time between 1750 and 1780. All I have is that he came to America from or through Stockholm, Sweden. I don't know whether this man was English, Scottish or Irish. But at this point I'll try anything. Does this ring a bell with anyone out there? His son was named John Nolan Robinson. I don't know if John was born before or after the move to America. Anyway, if anyone has a clue about my family, let me know on here or via pm. Thanks!

    ~Aaron

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  3. #2
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    27th December 16
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    I have found Swedish genealogy a challenge. One of my grandmothers is Swedish, and I have not found records before her parents. One of the biggest issues I have found is how few family names there seem to be from Sweden, and the names I have looked for being Hanson and Anderson there are many records with nothing that says if they are family or not. It seems Han, Hans, Ander, and Andrew were common names in Sweden. I have heard that there are places in Sweden that could help if I were to ever go to Sweden and 23 and me (one of my sisters took their DNA test) shows family in Sweden.

    Hopefully Robinson will be a little easier to look for. With how common Robin or Robert were as names, you might have the same difficulties I have had.

    Below are a few sites that might help you out.

    https://www.arkivdigital.net/swedish-genealogy
    https://www.genealogi.se/finding-your-swedish-roots
    http://swedishgenealogyguide.com/arc...-birth-records

  4. #3
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    I'm confident the Robinsons didn't come from Sweden. They likely would have come from Scotland, England or Ireland. But apparently some of them were in Sweden before coming on to America. I'm not sure why yet. But I found out that some Scots who took part in the '45 rebellion fled the country after Culloden, going to places like France, Holland and Sweden. While that's a possibility for my family, it's pure conjecture. My hope is that if my family came from Scotland and there are any Robinsons on here who have done family research and know anything that can shed any light on things, I would be grateful.

  5. #4
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    3rd June 15
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    Don’t assume that his surname was Robinson when he emigrated to the America’s.
    There are a myriad of reasons why the original surname may have been changed, from literacy to hand writing to accent.

    I had the same problem with my family surname. It’s been spelled one way in Australia since c1860. On shipping records it’s spelt another way ( the sticking point) back on the IOM it was spelt another way. (Yet that has also changed to the current spelling)
    As the ship was English we assume the accent of the Manx family sounded different to the English person taking names and it was misspelled.
    Once arriving in Australia the shipping officials would have been from another part of England and again not understood the accent.

    If you have a local family history society go and visit them with the information and documents you have.
    They are wonderfully helpful and have all sorts of sneaky ways to find information and the experience to reinterpret spelling and handwriting.

    For example: my ex hubby and children have a simple surname we assumed was English, research was easy and discovered they were of Scottish decent. Met a neighbour in the bush with the same surname.... assumed that they may be related as their son looked like our son. (And the son could be mistaken for my child and has been, that’s how similar the features were)
    Spoke to the father... family are of Danish decent. Danish surname changed by officials of English birth at the docks in NSW.
    None of it is on purpose it’s just the different accents and education levels that were around in those days.

  6. #5
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    26th September 05
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    In the 18th Century, there was a huge trade between Scotland and the Nordic countries. I read a thesis, cant remember if Masters or PHD on the economy of Scotland prior to the 45 and one of the biggest imports was timber for houses. So its perfectly understandable for a Scot to come here from that area. There was an entire Scot's brigade in the low countries, I have ancestors who were Scottish, but came here from Gotland.....

  7. #6
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    27th December 16
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    Hopefully you can find some Swedish immigration records and ship lists. A ship list sometime only has name and at other times has name, place of birth, family members and other useful information. If the family immigrated to Sweden before arriving in the US there is most likely a paper trail to find. The name could be from anywhere with Scandinavian influence and there is plenty of Scandinavian influence in parts of England, Scotland, Ireland, and pretty much all of Northern Europe.

    These sites show information about Swedish immigration records yet I do not know how good the information is:
    https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en...nd_Immigration
    https://www.arkivdigital.net/swedish...ship-manifests
    https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en...es_and_Indexes

    This site is searchable:
    https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1189

    I have found that there are situations in the 17th through 19th centuries that caused families move from place to place quite often. Normally this appears to have been due to religious persecution or political insurrections in the place the family cane from. Both of these would apply if the family did side with the Jacobites in '45. In these situations the name sometimes changed to match the local spelling in the areas the family would move to. It looks like several people in the 17th and 18th centuries due to religious reasons moved to Sweden, and then in the 18th and 19th centuries where then persecuted. There is a good chance that researching these groups might turn up more family history and the reasons for moving around.

    This site talks about non Swedes moving to Sweden in the timeframe:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religi...ian_minorities

  8. #7
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    Let’s not forget that the Empire was won due to the work of Scots merchants just as much as redcoated soldiers.....

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  10. #8
    Join Date
    1st February 15
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    and that many of the Jacobite men, joined the Red coats after the rebellions. Where better to hide, get fed and find employment as your clan leader was no longer in charge... that way many also settled round the world..

    Meanwhile in Sweden the top ten surnames now, all finish with Son or SSon. A Robinson would not have been out of Place in Sweden or any other Scandanavian country. However the name maybe an Anglisiation of one of the other Son names.
    "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give"
    Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill

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