Additional Notes of Bengt Alfred Ledell

A HISTORY OF THE BENGT ALFRED AND JOHANNA LEDELL FAMILY

The descendants of the B.A. Ledell family had their beginning in a province of Sweden known as Tressberg, Skaraborg, Lan., Vestergotland. It was there on September 25, 1865, that Bengt Alfred Ledell was born. At that time, however, he had the surname of Swanson, and not until he immigrated to America in April, 1888, did he take the name Ledell a name which originated from "Lydall", a river that was near his parental home in Sweden.

Bengt Alfred, known to his family and many friends as B.A. or Alfred, was the oldest of five children, three boys and two girls. His sisters, Emma and Mathilda, never did come to America, but the three boys - John, Carl, and Alfred - left their homeland and came to America. John (age 19) came in 1886; Alfred (age 23) and Carl (age 16) came in 1888. Their parents, Margaret and Sven, remained at home in Sweden.

When John reached the shores of America, he first went to Osage City, Kansas, but soon moved to McPherson where he married Ida Walstrom and had three children Oscar, Hildegard, and Gerald. John had lived in McPherson County for 61 years by the time of his death in 1947.

Carl lived in the McPherson and Windom areas for many years. He married a McPherson girl, Mattie Jessie. Two children, a boy who died very young and a daughter, Margaret, were born when the couple lived on a farm near Windom. Later they moved to Colorado where they lived the rest of their years.

Upon leaving Sweden, B. Alfred came directly to McPherson because he had several Swedish friends who had settled there earlier. His first employment was as a farm laborer for Charley Sellberg. In 1889, B.A. joined Trinity Lutheran Church of McPherson.

Before proceeding, another very important person must be discussed a girl born in Killerod, Ostraby, Skane, Sweden, to Nils (or Nelse) and Kjersti (or Kerstin) Olson. This girl, Johanna, was born on June 24, 1877, the fourth child born to the second marriage of Nils Olson. (Nil's first marriage lasted only six months due to the death of the wife.) Twins Anna and Ola were the oldest; Ola died while still a baby and Anna died at approximately eight years of age. Andrew was the third child. When Andrew was three and Johanna was one, their mother died. Their grandmother, Benta, practically reared the two motherless children.

As time passed, Nils married for the third time to a woman named Ingar. To this marriage, six children were born: twins Ola (died prior to age one) and Olaf (the only one of the six to remain in Sweden as an adult), Nels (came to Salina died in 1918), Anna (died between ages 8 and 10), Alfred (immigrated to Kansas then moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota), and Otto (immigrated to McPherson -nickname "Doc" died 1945). From this group of six children, only two had families. Nels married Hilda Johnson and had four children: Leona, Bernhard, Clifford, and Laurine. Olaf married and fathered two children: Nils and Anna; information on this family is incomplete.

Nils Olson married a fourth time, but the wife's name is not known.

On April 24, 1892, Andrew (age 16) and Johanna (age 14) also decided to sail to America, the land of promise and opportunity. They left Sweden only two weeks after Johanna had been confirmed in the Sallrup Lutheran Church of Ostraby by the Reverend Bregdal (or Bergthal). Her confirmation day was on Palm Sunday, April 10, 1892. (Andrew had been confirmed in 1890.) By May I, they were in England and arrived in McPherson on May 23. By May 24, they were at the home of their uncle, John Olson (brother of their father). (Note: Mabel Olson, one of John Olson's children, married Dan Ostlind. They had five children - Isabelle, Lowell, Geneva, Virginia, and Maxine. Virginia married Bob Hinson and had a son, John. The Ledells and the Ostlinds have maintained contact throughout the years.)

Not many days passed when these two began working and finding their place in their new land. Johanna first sought employment in McPherson in the homes of Oakley, McElvain, Okerlind, and Darrah. Naturally it was hard to step into a new environment where even the language was a barrier, but these immigrants had determination and soon were very much "at home away from home."

As the years passed, Andrew and Johanna met many friends, one of whom was Emily Bowman who became Andrew's wife. They made their home in Brookville, Kansas, and had four children: Doris, Bertha, Irene, and Amos.

Johanna found that making friends in McPherson was easy; one of her new friends was B. Alfred Ledell. These two young people were attracted to one another and married on May 26, 1894, at the farm home of Mr. and Mrs. John Olson; B.A. was 28 years of age and Johanna was almost 17. Their marriage day was actually a double celebration because Johanna's six-week-old twin cousins Ethel and Earnest Olson, children of Mr. and Mrs. John Olson were baptized. The newly weds were baptismal sponsors for the babies.

Mr. and Mrs. B. A. Ledell made their first home on the "Sellberg place," four miles north of McPherson. Here they lived for almost ten years; and here their first five children Margaret, Agnes, Mabel, Anna, and Evelina were born. When the opportunity came in 1904 to buy the "Hedlund place" one mile north of their current home, they took it. This has remained the Ledell homestead to this day. (Following Johanna's death in 1949, Burdett, the youngest child of B.A. and Johanna Ledell, bought the home place and still lives there.)

The Ledells continued to farm, raise their large family and enjoy God's blessings. Seven more children were born: Edla, Harry, Esther, Marcella, a stillborn son, Elva, and Burdett. Ten-year-old Edla died on July 14, 1916, from appendicitis. Her funeral was held from the Trinity Lutheran Church on July 16, 1916; burial was in the Ledell lot in the McPherson cemetery.

As the years passed, the children attended Hilton School for their public education and were confirmed in the Trinity Lutheran Church for their religious education. All the children married and settled in the McPherson area. See the following pages for information on their spouses and children.

The Ledells were fortunate and indeed richly blessed by a large and respected family. They were privileged to live to see their children grow up to become useful citizens in the country to which they had immigrated years before.

B. Alfred died at his home on June 8, 1932, at the age of 66. His funeral was held from the home and then from Trinity Lutheran Church on June 12, 1932.

Johanna departed this life at the home of her daughter, Agnes Schafer, on August 24, 1949, at the age of 72. Burial service was from Trinity Lutheran Church on August 27, 1949. She was laid to rest beside her husband in the McPherson Cemetery.

Peace be to their memory.