Swestories Monday Special no 2

24/07/2023

Did you know that...

in the spring of 1895, the police in Stockholm apprehended a gang of thieves that had been wreaking havoc in Gamla Stan, Stockholm's Old Town. The core of the gang consisted of ten to fifteen younger men, and during the investigation, the police came into contact with Hedvig "Morsan (mother)" Aronsson, née Landgren.

Hedvig Eurofrosyne Ottiliana was born on January 15, 1846, in Stenberga, Jönköping, Sweden, and she arrived in Stockholm in the 1870s. She got married several times and had three sons (Axel Edvard, Valfrid, Karl Emil). The criminal activity began after her son Karl Emil introduced his friends (the gang) to Hedvig when she was working at her sister-in-law's dressmaking shop. Since the dressmaking business wasn't going well, Hedvig and her sister-in-law Emma started buying stolen goods from the boys' gang.

The police found the stolen goods in the shop, and everything was exposed. Hedvig and Emma claimed that they had bought the items from unknown individuals and firmly denied dealing with stolen goods. However, the boys in the gang admitted to the trafficking. Hedvig was sentenced to one year and three months of penal labor, loss of civil rights for two years, and a fine of 300 kronor (equivalent to over 20,000 SEK today). Hedvig began her prison sentence on August 26, 1895.

Hedvig served her sentence at the Stockholm County Prison on Östermalm, also known as the Women's Prison. After her release, Hedvig moved to Grevgatan on Östermalm and worked as a maid. In 1898, she regained her civil rights and at 53 years old, on July 14, 1899, she emigrated to the USA to join one of her sons.

The last record we have of Hedvig is from the 1920 U.S. Census, where she worked as a housekeeper for the Knowles family in San Francisco.

Hedvig Aronsson passed away at the age of 92 on February 15, 1939, in San Francisco.

ulf.guttman@sweroots.com