Emil Westling (1874-1944)

Caroline “Lena” Andersson (1874-1958) HISTORY OF CAROLINA ANDERSSON WESTLING

Written by Ronald Bramble, Caroline's grandson.

Caroline “Lena” Andersson Born: 9 Sep 1874, Vastra Vingaker, Sodermanland, Sweden

Died: 27 Sep 1958, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, USA

Burial: 30 Sep 1958, Murray City Cemetery, Murray, Salt Lake, Utah

MARRIED: 16 Jan 1901, Murray, Salt Lake, Utah, USA

Emil Westling

Born: 25 Sep 1874, Osteraker, Sodermanland, Sweden

Died: 20 Mar 1944, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, USA

Burial: 25 Mar 1944, Murray City Cemetery, Murray, Salt Lake, Utah

Emil Westling

It is not known why Emil immigrated to the USA. He was not a Latter

Day Saint, but his mother was. He may have come to Murray, Utah to

bring her to live with the Saints. He was a carpenter all his life, and lived

very humbly. He never owned a car, and lived as he would have in the

"old country." After his death in 1944, his daughter, Helen had a very

vivid dream where she saw him with the Lord. Emil was sitting on a rock

weeping. That dream spurred the family to have him baptized,

confirmed, given the priesthood, endowed, sealed to his parents, and to

his wife. (Source Susy Branble Hopkins PDF)

Caroline “Lena” Andersson - Emigrated 1899

Caroline and her brother Erick were married in a double wedding. Marriage license #10063, book K,

S.L.C.

Ronald Bramble has: (a) A Public Welfare Lien Agreement for Carolina Westling where she signed her

name as Caroline A. Westling. The document is dated 25 Jul 1951. (b) A copy of Carolina's obituary

Vastra (west) Vingaker is about 90 miles west-south west of Stockholm near the west tip of Lake

Kolsnaren. It is also 10 miles from Lake Hjalmaren, Sweden’s largest lake.

HISTORY OF CAROLINA ANDERSSON WESTLING

As the summer of 1874 began to turn towards the fall in Vingaker, Sweden, Anders Andersson, a

carpenter, and his wife, Brita Persdotter, awaited the birth of their seventh child. On September 9, 1874

a baby girl was born. They named her Carolina, and she was a beautiful child.

On 12 December 1879, when Carolina was five years old, her father died, leaving her mother and eight

children to fend for themselves. He died exactly 2 months after he was baptized a member of the LDS

Church. Life was very difficult for the family. Brita took in washing and ironing to earn a little money,

and they farmed most of their food. Soon Caroline joined the other children at the local elementary

school. The benches were hard, the discipline strict, and the days very long.

It was customary that when children completed elementary school,

they were apprenticed in some occupation.. Usually, they went to live

with the tradesman to whom they were apprenticed. Thus, they were

able to support themselves while learning the skills of their trade.

When Carolina was fourteen years old, she left her friends and home in

Vingaker and traveled almost 100 miles to the great capitol city of

Stockholm to become a maid to a countess. Carolina was a small, shy,

and sensitive person. She felt very much alone in the great city. It was

so different from her home town.

Carolina was given a small room high in the attic of the great house

where the countess lived. She heard stories of ghosts that roamed the

halls of the mansion at night, and, indeed, she heard noises that

sounded like ghosts to her. They struck a paralyzing terror to the core

of her heart that she remembered into her old age. Oh, how much she

missed her home and

family.

As the months passed in Stockholm, Carolina made new

friends, and learned much about life in the great city. She

learned about the great difference between the rich and the

poor. She learned to serve fourteen-course meals with

propriety and grace. She learned to iron fine linens

without leaving creases or folds to mar their beauty. In

time, she was taken into the kitchen where she was taught

the special cooking skills that were to mark her as a superb

cook all her life.

Now that Caroline had a little extra money, she was able to

buy some fashionable clothing. On her day off, Carolina

and her friends loved to dress in their finest and parade

along the boulevards of Stockholm, down to the great

railroad station where they watched the people coming and

going. During the parade, it was customary that the girls

walked on one side of the street, and the boys walked on

the other side.

Like all Swedes, Carolina was raised in the Lutheran Church. It was the state religion, and almost all

belonged to it. Carolina attended church functions as a child, and was confirmed at age twelve.

However, in the late 1890's, with Carolina over 20 years old and the Mormon Prophet Lorenzo Snow

recently sustained as the leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in far off western

United States, both Carolina and her mother were visited by Mormon Missionaries, and taught the

gospel. She and her mother accepted the message, and on 4 Mar 1898 went to a very cold and icy lake

where the ice was broken, and they were baptized. Carolina later stated that they never felt the cold of

the water during the ceremony. Their faith was strong, and they were happy to be members of the

Church. This event was to change their lives to an extent they could scarcely realize at the time.

The great spirit of the" gathering" was sweeping Europe, touching the hearts of Mormon converts. It

caused them to immigrate to America and to Utah. Carolina's mother was quite taken with the idea of

immigrating, but Carolina had mixed feelings. She had a good job and lived in a great city that she

loved. However, she recognized the loose moral conditions that were prevalent in the country, and she

did want to associate with the Saints in Utah. Realizing that her brothers and sisters had already

immigrated to America and Utah, and that her aged mother was suffering from arthritis and was mostly

blind, she knew that if her mother was ever to live with the Saints and her family, she would have to

accompany her. In August of 1899, Carolina and her mother bid a final goodbye to their homeland and

friends, and set sail for the New World and Utah, the land of Zion.

The Spanish-American war was in progress at the time of their immigration, and they encountered a

number of "Enemy" ships on the trip. The passengers huddled below deck in terror as the sound of

canon fire spoke of the danger that was much too close for comfort. However, Carolina and her mother

avoided the panic by exercising their faith that God would bring them safely to their destination.

Another fearsome thing that Carolina remembered her whole life were the mighty seas that would crash

down on the bow of the ship and cause a torrent of water to run down the deck.

The little Union Pacific train chugged across the Great

Plains of the United States and into the mighty Rocky

Mountains. In the tops of those mountains was Great

Sat Lake City. It was the place they had heard so much

about and had dreamed about. They felt it must be a

place better and greater than Stockholm. After a month

of travel by sea and rail, they finally arrived in Great

Salt Lake City...Zion.

Carolina's heart sank within her as she stepped from the

train and into the tiny station house that was located on

a slag heap. She was disappointed to walk the muddy,

unpaved dirt streets of the city. She was very homesick for the paved streets and sidewalks of Stockholm,

and the beautiful architecture of the buildings.

Carolina's feelings were short lived, however, as she fell into the arms of her younger sister, Ellen, who

had preceded her to Great Salt Lake City, and was married with two small children. Ellen lived in

Murray, a small town about seven miles south of Great Salt Lake City. She ran a boarding house for

men who worked at the smelter. One of those men, Emil Westling, was to play an important role in

Carolina's life.

Meanwhile, it was important that Carolina find work. She couldn't speak a word of English, and was

somewhat bewildered by the customs and pace of life in her new land. However, with her excellent

training as a cook, she had little trouble finding work as a cook for a family in the northeast "Avenues"

of Great Salt Lake City.

One night, as she was walking home from work, she was frightened "half out of her wits" as she saw

small people with grotesque costumes and masks running about the neighborhood, banging on peoples

doors, and yelling "trick or treat." Halloween was not celebrated in Sweden, and she was not prepared

for her first experience.

As Carolina, a very small, lovely, and petite girl, visited her

sister, she became attracted to a tall, strong young Swedish

man, Emil Westling, who lived at the boarding house. He was

not LDS, but he was a good man. The attraction between

them was mutual and they courted for two years before

"setting the date." During those years, Carolina's brother,

Erick, who also lived at the boarding house, was courting a

young lady, Ellen Pearson. They also decided to get married.

Thus, on 16 January 1901, a great double wedding feast was

held, and Carolina and her brother were each civilly married.

The first two years of marriage were a struggle for Carolina

and Emil. They lived with Ingrid, Emil's mother (a difficult

woman) and they also had to adjust to the language, customs,

and the culture of the new land. They worked hard to get

ahead enough to move out on their own. In the second year of

their marriage, it became apparent that they were going to

become parents. In anticipation of the new baby, they moved

to a small rented house on 45th South St. in Murray. It was

there, on 18 Feb 1903, that their first son, Lawrence Emil, was

born. With a small son and a home of their own, life seemed

happy and good to the little Westling family.

As Carolina became more and more

Americanized, she began to use the

Americanized version of her name, Caroline.

Friends and family always called her "Lena."

Two years later, Caroline and Emil lived in Salt

Lake City in a little rented house on 7th West. It

was there on 15 February 1905 that their second

son, Hilmer Carl, was born. When Lawrence

was four and Hilmer was two, a terrible tragedy

occurred. Hilmer contracted spinal meningitis

and died on 22 April 1907. Caroline and Emil's

hearts were broken and their world shattered at

the loss of this little son they loved so dearly.

Caroline and Emil moved to another rented house on 8th South in Salt Lake City. On 4 September 1907,

another son, Herbert Eric, was born. He helped to fill the void that was in their hearts because of the

death of Hilmer. Shortly, they had a chance to buy a home of their own. It was located at 840 West 7th

South in Salt Lake City. This house became their home for the rest of their lives.

On 17 May 1910, Caroline and Emil's first daughter,

Helen Virginia, was born, and on 30 March 1912,

another son, Harold Melvin, was born. Between 1914

and 1918, the First World War took place. It was a

terrible affair, and when it ended, the world was

determined that it would be "the war to end all wars."

However, such was not to be the case. Finally, on 18

March 1918, their last child, a daughter, Grace Lenore,

was born. The home at "eight forty" smelled of the

richness of Caroline's cooking, rang with the laughter of

the children as they played, and became the treasury and

focal point of the whole family’s life and memories.

Caroline would kneel with her children to pray at night.

It was a precious time. The children would always pray

in Swedish, which was a second language to them.

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Caroline was very close to her mother and sisters, who lived in Murray. Often, the Westling family

would travel the streetcar to Murray for a day of food, fun, and laughter with family and friends. On

summer afternoons, coffee was served outside on a large white cloth, spread on the grass. But even

outside, it was served from the finest silver to the very best china cups and saucers. It was a bit of old

country finery they could enjoy even though their circumstances were somewhat straight. Naturally,

there was also a multitude of coffee cakes and fancy breads for everyone to enjoy.

BACK ROW 1906

1- Emil Westling. 2- Carolina “Lena” Andersdotter Westling, 3 Andrew “Anders” Svenson Johnson,

4- Josephine Ellen Andersdotter Johnson, 5- Brita Christina “Stena” Andersdotter Forresberg, 6- Franz

“Emil” Foresberg, 7- Hilma Carlson Anderson, 8- Erick Willaim Aderson, 9- Anna Erickson Anderson,

10 Alfred John Anderson holding 11 Viola Anna Anderson

FRONT ROW

12- Lawrence Westling, 13- Grandma Westling holding 14- Hilmer Westling, 15 Nils Johnson, 16 Grace

Johnson, 17 Grandma Britta Persdotter Anderson holding 18- Vernal Johnson, 19- Grandma Carlson

holding 20- Alvin Anderson, 21 Elsa Margaret Marie Anderson, 22- Irvin Alfred Anderson.

The Swedish women formed a club they called

"The Friendly Women’s Club." It met often to

foster close relationships and keep one another

abreast of the news. In these social gatherings,

Caroline was the life of the party. Her quick wit

and happy disposition sparked others to greater

happiness and friendship.

Carolina “Lena Andersdotter & Ellen Jerling

Swedish was the language always spoken in Caroline's home.

She was very much a product of the "old country." Hard work

and cleanliness were her way of life. Her tiny (700 sq. ft.) home

was immaculate in spite of having a large family and none of the

conveniences of today (year 2000).

Even when electric refrigerators were common, she had an old ice box. Every two or three days someone

had to go to the store and buy a block of ice and carry it home. She did her best cooking on an old coal

stove that was in the kitchen. She had a gas stove, but it was relegated to the back porch to keep the

coffee pot hot. Emil was a carpenter. He lowered the kitchen sink, drain boards, and cupboards to make

them easier for her to reach. He also made a "breakfast nook," which was a booth between the kitchen

and dining room for eating. The back yard had a little workshop back by the alley. It always smelled of

fresh shavings. The workshop and house were connected by a sidewalk made of wood. Between the

house and the workshop was the garden and some grass.

For the United States, World War II took place from December 1941 to 1945. It was even more terrible

than World War I. Herbert, and Harold served in the military during the war. Fortunately, they did not

see action.

Lawrence (nicknamed Red) married Sarah Margeret (Sally) Haun, a nurse. He did not have a very

happy life. They had no children. The only work he spoke well of was as a garbage man. Alcohol and

cigarettes were problems in their lives.

Herbert (nicknamed Chub) never married. Following World War II, he became a complete drunk and,

later, died painfully of cancer.

Helen (nicknamed Sis) attended college for two years, taught school, married Howard Ross Bramble, and

moved to Boise, Idaho. They had five children. In 1943 they separated, and Helen and her children

moved back with Caroline. In March 1949, Howard and Helen were divorced. On 5 Sep 1959 Helen

married Ernest Frederick Hasselfeld. They had no children.

Harold (nicknamed Pink and Hal) moved to California,

and married Catherine E. Ross. They were divorced,

and Harold married Violet Kay Kazakis. Niether

marriage produced children. Harold worked in the

food/restaurant business in Los Angeles. He died on 18

August 1958 from a heart attack, after having heart

trouble for a number of years.

Grace became a nurse, married Gordon K. Wallace,

had four children, then divorced him. Later she

married Clell Petty. After his death, she married Melvin

Densley in the temple.

In 1941, when Caroline was 67 years old, she suffered a

massive heart attack. While her lifestyle changed

somewhat after that illness, she did recover and carry

on almost as if she would live forever. Three years

later, 1n 1944, Emil died of a heart attack (coronary

occlusion). Caroline was heartbroken, but determined

to meet and master life in whatever form it came.

Emil Westling died:20 March 1944.

For the next fourteen years, Caroline was a major influence in the lives of her grandchildren, nine of

whom, with their mothers, lived with her part of those years, and four of whom lived with her most of

those years, because of the divorces in the lives of her daughters.

On 27 September 1958, Caroline passed quietly from this life after nearly a year of battling cancer. She

lived for 84 eventful years wherein she amply demonstrated the courage and tenacity of her pioneer

spirit, her ability to laugh and sing, even in the darkest times, and her ability to love and serve her family.

Her influence is extending into the third generation of her family, and will, perhaps, extend on

indefinitely without foreseeable end.

Written by Ronald Bramble, Caroline's grandson.

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https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MMRG-H64

1900 Lena Anderson in household of Chas Rood, "United States Census” name: Lena Anderson event place: ED 44 Precinct 43 Salt Lake City Ward 4, Salt Lake, Utahbirth

date:birth date Sep 1874 birthplace: Sweden relationship to head of household: Servant

race or color (standardized): White gender: Female marital status: Single

immigration year: 1898

father's birthplace: Sweden mother's birthplace: Sweden

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https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MMRP-N9Z

1900 Emil Westling in household of Ingrid Westling, "United States Census"

Name:Emil Westling Place:ED 63 Murray Precinct, Salt Lake, Utah, United States

Birth Date:Sept 1873Birthplace:Sweden Relationship to Head of Household:Son

Father's Birthplace:Sweden Mother's Birthplace:Sweden Race:White Gender:Male

Marital Status:Single Immigration Year:1893

Household Gender Age Birthplace

Head Ingrid Westling F 58 Sweden

Granddaughter Annie Westling F 9 Sweden

Son Emil Westling M 27 Sweden

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https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M5XQ-DF5

1910 "United States Census" Emil Westling, Salt Lake City Ward 2, Salt Lake, Utah

name: Emil Westling, birthplace: Sweden, relationship to head of household: Self

residence: Salt Lake City Ward 2, Salt Lake, Utah, marital status: Married

race : White, gender: Male immigration year: 1896,

father's birthplace: Sweden, mother's birthplace: Sweden

Household Gender Age Birthplace

self Emil Westling M 36y Sweden

wife Lena Westling F 35y Sweden

son Lawrence E Westling M 7y Utah

son Herbet E Westling M 2y Utah

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https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M8PB-VFL

1920 Emil Westling, "United States Census"

name: Emil Westling residence: , Salt Lake, Utah

estimated birth year: 1875 age: 45 birthplace: Sweden

relationship to head of household: Self gender: Male race: White marital status: Married

Household Gender Age Birthplace

self Emil Westling M 45y Sweden

wife Caroline Westling F 45y Sweden

son Lawerance Westling M 16y Utah

son Herbert E Westling M 12y Utah

dau Helen V Westling F 9y6m Utah

son Harold M Westling M 7y Utah

dau Grace L Westling F 1y9m Utah

Brita Anderson F 85y Sweden Caroline Westling’s Mother

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https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XH6F-LD3

1930 Emil Westling, "United States Census"

name:Emil Westling event place:Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah

gender:Male age:55 marital status:Married race:White

birthplace:Sweden estimated birth year:1875 immigration year:1896

relationship to head of household:Head father's birthplace:Sweden mother's birthplace:Sweden

Household Gender Age Birthplace

Head Emil Westling M 55 Sweden

Wife Caroline Westling F 55 Sweden

son Herbert Westling M 22 Utah

daughter Helen Westling F 19 Utah

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https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VT4J-3CQ

1940 Emil Westling, "United States Census, 1940" name: Emil Westling event place: Ward 2, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City Precinct, Salt Lake,

Utahgender:Male age: 65 marital status: Married race (standardized): White

relationship to head of household (standardized): Head

birthplace: Sweden estimated birth year: 1875 residence in 1935: Same House

Household Gender Age Birthplace

head Emil Westling M 65 Sweden

wife Caroline Westling F 65 Sweden

son Herbert E Westling M 32 Utah

.

Deseret News and Telegram - Salt Lake City, Utah - 29 Sep 1958

Caroline A. Westling Mrs. Caroline (Lena) Anderson

Westling: 84. 840 W. 7th

South

Died Saturday at 1:10 a.m. at

home after a long illness. (Died 27 Sept 1958)

Born Sept 9, 1874 Vinoker, Sweden,

To Anders and Britta Pearson Anderson.

Married to Emil Westling Jan 19, 1901

In Murray. He died in 1944.

Survivors: son, Herbert E., Mrs Grace Wallace,

Mrs. Helen Bramble, Salt Lake City: nine grandchildren;

A sister, Ellen Johnson, Murray.

Funeral Riverview Ward Chapel,

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints,

Tuesday 10 a.m.

Friends call, Monday evening, 260 E. South Temple.

Tuesday half hour prior to services at chapel.

Burial: Murray City Cemetery.

Deseret News, OBITUARY, Tue., 21 Mar 1944 p.12.

Emil Westling 69- 840 W. 17th So. St. died in his home yesterday at 8:30 a.m. of Coronary

Thrombosis.

A son of Lars Erick and Ingrid Anderson Westling. Mr Westling was born in Soderland,

Sweden Sept 25, 1874. He came to the United States in 1896 (1893 per 1900 Census) and

had lived in Utah since. He was a carpenter for the S.L.C. board of education for 20

years.

Survivors include his widow Mrs Caroline Anderson Westling, three sons Lawrence

Westling, S.L.; Harold Westling ; Herbert Westling; two daughters Mrs Helen Bramble,

Mrs Grace Wallace, Provo; and 8 grandchildren.".

Your tombstone stands neglected and alone.

The name and date are chiseled out on polished, marbled stone.

It reaches out to all who care. It is too late to mourn.

You did not know that I exist. You died and I was born.

Yet each of us are cells of you in flesh, in blood, in bone.

Our heart contracts and beats a pulse entirely not our own.

Dear Ancestor, the place you filled those years ago.

Spreads out among the ones you left who would have loved you so.

I wonder as you lived and loved, I wonder if you knew

That someday I would find this spot and come to visit you.

Author Unknown

Find A Grave

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-

bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Westling&GSby=1875&GSbyrel=before&GSdy=1945&GSdyr

el=before&GSst=47&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=126463&df=all&

Emil Westling Birth: Sep. 25, 1874, Sweden,

Death: Mar. 24, 1944, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake

County, Utah, USA

Burial: Murray City Cemetery , Murray, Salt Lake

County, Utah, USA

Plot: 09 006 6

FIND A GRAVE

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=58494

Caroline "Lena" Anderson Westling Birth: Sep. 9, 1874, Sweden

Death: Sep. 27, 1958, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake

County

Utah, USA

Burial: Murray City Cemetery , Murray, Salt

Lake County, Utah, USA

Plot: 09 006 5