Matthias Swenson Colrue 1830-1878

Could we solve the puzzle of Matthias Colrue's parents? Here is the summary of information discovered at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City in October 2012. I asked the Scandinavian experts for translations of the church records, so it seems that we have at last found the correct parentage.


1830 2 Sep: birth of Mathias to bachelor Svend Johansen (the experts at the desk and I think this is an error, as EVERY other record, vaccination, confirmation, Mathias’ marriage, gives his name as Svend Hansen) and unmarried Berthe Christensdtr. Svend’s second child out of wedlock; Berthe’s first.

1832 29 Aug: birth of Berthe to bachelor Svend Hansen and unmarried Ragnild Bertelsdtr. Svend’s second child out of wedlock with this woman and his third in all.

1832 27 Sep: birth of Carl to widower Ole Jensen and unmarried Berthe Christensdtr. Child is labeled legitimate because couple is engaged. (Ole and Berthe appear together in the 1865 census with son Bernt.)

1833 2 Jan: marriage of widower Ole Jensen, 30 and unmarried Berthe Christensdtr, 26. Marriage had to wait for probate from Ole’s first wife to finish 21 Dec 1832

1837 6 Jul: marriage of bachelor Svend Hansen 38, and widow Marthe Christensdtr, 44. Her husband’s probate cleared 27 Jan 1837.

1804 28 Oct: christening of Berthe born to Christen Erichsen and Marit Olsdtr. This is the ONLY Bertha of the right age born between 1800-06 whose father was named Christen. She was confirmed in 1820; father’s name given as Christen.

1799 6 Sep: christening of Svend born to Hans Jensen and Ronnaug Jacobsdtr. Again, this is the ONLY Svend born during the right time period to a father named Hans.  (Svend’s age 39 at time of marriage.)

There was not time to find Hans & Ronnaug’s marriage; those records are not yet digitized. Same for Christen and Marit.

Marthe Christensdtr has to be Berthe’s sister. I found children born to Christen & Marit: Ole in 1790, Marte in 1792, Erland in 1795, Johann in 1797 and Berthe in 1804. Christen and Marit appear in the 1801 census with three children—Johann must have died before the census.

So----it appears that Svend fathered Mathias with Berthe and later married her sister!