THRILLING NEW PIX by Doug Bingham

I am always thrilled when one of you sends me any information.  Imagine my excitement when I got the following pictures from Cousin Doug Bingham.  The picture are some he took in Sweden when he was there with his son Scott.  Doug, and his son Scott fulfilled missions in Sweden.Doug sent me a Power Point Presentation.  I do not know how to link that to the blog.  If anyone knows how, please send me an email. 

The symbol of Sweden

This is the Asker, Orebro, Sweden church.  It would be the main church for the Asker Church District.  In this church, Grandpa Carl Oscar Johnson was christened.  I have a copy of that record which I will post at another time.  (Carl's mother lived with her father on a farm (usually a group of houses or a village)  in Asker.  For an explanation of how place names can be interpreted, see the post about Anders Peter Jonsson.)

 Another picture of the Asker church, and the cemetery.  Even more important is the picture of Cousin Doug Bingham.  Doug and Scott looked for graves and records of ancestors at this church.  However, any grave over 100 years old has been emptied, and the remains sent to a central "bone yard" in Sweden.  All the records for this church are available - not at the church - but on films at the LDS Family History Center in Salt Lake City, or on Genline - a Swedish Record site, or at a central storage in Uppsala County in Sweden. 

 Doug and Scott also visited this church in Brevin, as it is in the Asker District.  They wondered if Grandpa was christened here.  However, since I found Carl's christening entry in the Asker Church Records, I believe he was christened in Asker.  However, this picture, and the following pictures are representative of the Swedish Countryside.

 Doug and a man he converted on his mission are speaking with the cemetery caretaker at Brevin.  Doug was impressed with the Brevin area.

 Another picture of Brevin.   The pictures Doug sent of this area of Sweden remind me of the Snake River Valley.  No wonder Grandpa and Grandma were comfortable settling in the Valley.  They probably felt at home. The following picture is another of the Asker District countryside near Brevin.

 The name on this sign thrills me. I have done a lot of research in the records of this place, as this is where Grandma Gerta was born and raised during her childhood. She had fond memories of this lovely place, especially the wildflowers. When she was a teen, and after her mother died, the family moved to Stockholm to be near or with an Aunt.

Isn't this church in Tryserum beautiful. Baby Gerda Theresia was christened here.  Gerda's older sister Anna was christened, then died and was buried here before Gerda was born.  Later, a brother Karl was christened here, and probably, Gerda's mother was buried here.  However, there would be no markers left.  See explanation above.

Another beautiful Swedish Countryside scene.

THANKS SO MUCH, DOUG for all these wonderful pictures.  They help make our ancestors and thier lives a little more real for us.