Family History

How did we get here?

      My great grandfather, on my father’s side, came from northern Sweden. For many generations that side of my family were very poor farmers. They were also very devout Lutherans. His name was Evert Warren Lindberg, he was the 6th Evert Lindberg, I am the 9th. When my great grandfather was 14, his parents let his sister die. They did so because their view on life and death revolved around “God’s will.” Combined with economic opportunity this was enough to make him spend all of his money on a ticket to America. With no money, ability to speak English, or family, he traveled to America. After a short stint in the army he moved to Chicago where we found a job and found his future wife, Elcina Qaadman. 

    Elcina lived with he Jewish family in Holland. However, with the Nazi scare becoming more and more real, she and her siblings boarding a ship to America. They left two months before German occupation of the Netherlands. The rest of her family, along with 99% of the Jewish-Dutch population died at the hands of the Nazis. Part of their assimilation in America was hiding their Jewish identity. In fact, we had no idea that they were Jewish until my grandfather received some of their items in a will. We do not know how they made it from New York to Chicago, but we assume their sponsor, who we do not know the nature of, was located in Chicago. Elcina also had a disability, which means she would be rejected from entry at Ellis Island. Her brother managed to disguise her as man which covered her “hunch back” and got her into the country.