In 1846, a few
hundred people from, among others, the provinces of Hälsingland
(c. 300 km from Alfta) and Uppland, all followers of the preacher
Erik Jansson, established the colony of Bishop Hill in Illinios.
In the same year, around 20 of Jansson's followers abandoned
Bishop Hill and established a community in Chicago. After this
the emigration to America began in earnest, new settlements
appeared, primarily in Illinois and Minnesota.
During 1846-1850, 3,917 people emigrated from Sweden to the
USA, of which 382 (10% of the parish population) were from Alfta.
In 1846, every fourth Swedish emigrant was from Alfta and during
the entire period, close to 50% of the emigrants came from the
province of Gävleborg.
By the end of the mass emigration in 1920, around 1.4 million
Swedes had left Sweden for America. At that time, Sweden's population
was only 3.5 million. That means that one of every fourth Swede
had emigrated. Around 200,000 of these emigrants returned to
Sweden sooner or later with American ideas. Swedes have also
had a great impact on America's development. In fact, the city
of Chicago was largely built by Swedes
 |
| Dit is Chris, die een paar jaar geleden hier bij ons op bezoek kwam. wat hebben we een heerlijk dagen samen gehad. |
 |
| Prachtig quilt werk is er ook te zien. |
 |
| Hier een kaart van Bishop Hill in Amerika waar ze zich hebben gevestigd |
 |
| En hier sta ik. |
Ik hoop dat jullie ook even mee hebben genoten, van onze trip naar Alfta museum.
Fijne dag allemaal groetjes Joke
