Family History
Lennart Holmquist
circa 1995
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Lennart John Holmquist and his sisters Meilynn and Carolynn and his brother Carey are descended from the families Holmquist , Swanson , Rinell, and Colldén all of Swedish origin. The Holmquist and Swanson families were emigrants from Sweden to America in the late 1880s. They settled initially in the Chicago, Illinois area.
The Rinell family were Swedish Baptist missionaries who emigrated from Sweden in 1893 and arriving to their adopted homeland, China, in 1894. Three generations of the Rinell family were to live in China, two generations of whom were born in that country. The last of the Rinell family left China about the year 1951 when the communist Chinese took over final control of China. Prejudiced against foreigners, the communist Chinese government forced many foreigners out of China through outright expulsion, intimidation, accusations of illegal or unethical behavior, the confiscation of their property or combination of any of the above. The Rinell family left China under adverse circumstances, eventually settling in Sweden and America.
Lennart Holmquist, a great-grandson of John and Hedvig Rinell, is writing, with the help of family members, a book about the Rinell family in China, which at this point is entitled Foreign Devils; a Swedish family in China 1894 - 1951
John Alfred Rinell
circa 1915
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Hedvig Jansdotter
circa 1891
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Johan Alfred Rinell married Hedvig Lovisa Jansdotter (Jan's daughter). Jan Ersson who was from Film, Uppsala, Sweden.
The Colldén family was from the towns of Göteborg (Gothenburg) and Lindome in Sweden. Most of the Colldén family remained in Sweden except for David and Lisa Colldén who became a missionaries to Africa, and David's sister Hellen Colldén who married a Rinell and became a missionary to China. .Eventually descendants of the Rinell family in China settled in both Sweden and America while the Colldén family in Africa resettled again in Sweden.
Johan Bernhard Colldén
circa 1894
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Searching for Family Members
If your are searching this website for family members and you are not a descendant of Lennart, Meilynn, Carey or Carolynn, you will not be related to all the families mentioned on this webpage. However, you may be related to one or more of the families. Search through the Holmquist , Swanson , Rinell, and Colldén webpages for your family. While you do so, keep in mind that some webpages of the more recent branches of the family may require a user name and password to gain access. If you need a user name and password write an email to family@earthwander.com and explain who you are and how you may be related.
Adding to the Family Website
If you have any more information on any of these families or their descendants or have comments or suggestions to offer, send an email to family@earthwander.com. Contributions of family information, photos or general content are, very welcome.
If you would like to research and/or write about any branch of the family, contact Family@earthwander.com. Your work will be included on this website. If you want your work to be readable only by family members and not the general public, we can put your work in the password-accessible only part of the website. For other ways to contribute see Volunteer.
Keeping in Touch
Please keep in touch. Family members are on Facebook.When you are a friend on Facebook you will also hear about updates and new information about the family.
Colldén
Holmquist
Rinell
Swanson
Printing & Downloading
Family is encouraged to print off any web pages of this family history for your own records. Though electronic media is a wonderful way to make information available, paper is in a sense more durable. Websites can come and go in a flash; paper can last thousands of years under the right conditions. You can also save an electronic copy.
Contributors
The family histories for the most part have been written and assembled by Lennart Holmquist. However, many family members have contributed over the years including Bengt Holmquist of Sweden, and Doris (Dollan) Rinell, Alice (Lally) Rinell, John Rinell and Margaret (Margie) Rinell of Sweden and America. The Rinells contributed with personal and family stories, documents, and identification of individuals in photographs.
Chapters written by other family members are noted with their particular web pages.
Copyright
All material in these histories are copyrighted, and can only be used with the written permission of Lennart Holmquist including but not limited to electronic, paper, video, film, DVD, CD and audio and other current or future format. The intention is to keep businesses and other third parties from financially profiting from this material, and not to limit access to the material. You are free to coy and use the material if it is for personal use.
Anyone contributing photos, audio, movies, documents or any other media retain the copyright to that material. The material is used here with their permission.
Last Update: 16-Nov-2015
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