Not long ago, I met with my father's cousin Kurt, who is a paternal grandchild of Robert and Dagny, just like my father. He is going on 90, but completely clear-headed and full of interesting stories from the missionaries' time in China. We usually do something cultural together and this time we went to the... Continue Reading →
Looking through the box of books and documents that fellow researcher Karin Stålhammar Hansson sent me in December, I came across a carefully wrapped Bible in Chinese. On the title page is the name “Mina Stålhammar,” Karin’s grandmother. The cover is somewhat worn, but all the pages are intact, and a bookmark, depicting the mission... Continue Reading →
One of the most difficult things to come to terms with on a personal level, when diving into missionary history in China, is the fact that my great-grandparents had to send their children back to Sweden by the age of seven. In practice, this meant they could only be present in their children’s lives during... Continue Reading →
As many of my blog posts testify, the missionaries in China did not only preach and teach Christianity, but also worked with various forms of education and healthcare. Above all, they started many boys’ and girls’ schools for the children in their areas of outreach, and opium asylums were common in regions where many were... Continue Reading →
A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from Mr. Liu Hong, a passionate researcher of Swedish missionaries in China. He shared with me a passage about my great-grandfather Robert’s challenges in establishing a mission station in Hancheng, Shaanxi. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was incredibly difficult for foreigners to... Continue Reading →
Throughout my research, one particularly important source has helped me make sense of the adventures my great-grandparents experienced during their time as missionaries in China. The Swedish missionary magazine in China - Sinims Land - first published in 1896, is filled with articles from Robert, Dagny, Nils and Olga. Aside from their contributions, I can... Continue Reading →
The National Library in Stockholm has recently made it possible to search old newspapers online. This is a great service as it is far easier and less time consuming to sit at home doing resarch, than at the library. (Though I truly love sitting in libraries and find the atmosphere to be most inspiring at... Continue Reading →
Being a missionary in China around the turn of the last century, one had to be quite resourceful. When missionaries settled in a village, they first had to find a house that could serve as a mission station and then they would look for buildings where they could hold services, start schools or opium asylums.... Continue Reading →
111 years ago - by the end of September of the year 1912 - Dagny and Robert were on the move again after having spent two years in Sweden. During this time, Dagny had given birth to a baby girl - Helfrid - at the age of 42, and another eight-year period in China awaited... Continue Reading →
I am spending some warm summer days in a small village in the south-east of France. The village, Grignan, is built on a hill with an impressive castle right at the top. Our holiday home is situated in the village wall, with one of the sitting areas in a round tower overlooking the greenery with... Continue Reading →
This weekend, the whole of Sweden celebrates Midsummer. Midsummer is that magical time of year, when the day never ends and we know we are at the peak of light. The maypole, before being raised. Swedes celebrate Midsummer by getting together, eating herring, salmon and salads and those unbelivably tasty new potatoes. We find a... Continue Reading →
