Holmquis

Johan Bernhard & Ida Colldén¶

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A Prosperpous Family from Lindome, Sweden¶

by Lennart Holmquist

Twins Born in Sweden¶

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Johan Bernhard
Ida Kristina ColldŽn
Colldén
Göteborg, Sweden
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Johan and Ida owned a furniture factory, a furniture store, and a grocery store on a small hill in the town of Lindome about a day's journey by horse from Göteborg. We do not know when Johan Bernhard first got into the furniture business, but in 1903 Johan is know as furniture dealer or in Swedish 'möblerhandlare' according to his son Daniel's birth record.

The factory resembled a very long barn. Painted on it's side in big block letters was COLLDÉN, an earlier billboard you might say. Beside manufacturing furniture in his factory, Johan also buys furniture from local farmers. During the spring, summer, and fall their farms kept the farmers very busy, but during the cold winter days after the animals were cared for, the farmers built furniture which they sold to Colldén to be sold locally or in the big city of Göteborg where Johan and two partners owned a large furniture store called Colldén Möbelaffär [verify this name].

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Colldén Family
Lindome, Sweden
circa 1906
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The factory and the furniture store made Johan relatively prosperous. The family's home in Lindome was large with many rooms, and he employed a number of people. The Colldén family were wealthy enough to donate a large pipe organ to their baptist church, Linnéa Church in Göteborg. Ida is mentioned in her daughter Lydia's birth record as being a baptist. The family was doing well.

In to his forties, however, Johan Bernhard, often felt tired, and he sometimes had a difficult time concentrating. He seemed always to be thirsty, and frequently drank water. Johan Bernhard had diabetes and not much could be done about it at this time. (It was not until 1922 in Canada that insulin was used on the first patient). Johan died of diabetes on August 23, 1910 when Hellen and David were only about ten years old. Johan was only 45 years of age.

The family was hit hard, especially considering it was a large family. Johan Bernhard ran the family business. With him gone no one could really take his place. Assuming here that the children were too small to take over - check this out. Eventually the business was sold. Though Ida was to receive a small stipend for the use of the name Colldén until her death the family's standard of living dropped considerably.

The children had to work. Hellen dropped out of school and worked in a bakery making among other bakery items, knäckebröd (hardtack). Ludde and Ebba eventually opened a small bakery named Hellas Hembageri named after their little sister Hellen. Hellen worked at the bakery for two years starting at age thirteen. Later she learned bookbinding, and owned a bookbinding business, called Hellen Collén's Bokbinderei, for two years. Still later she attended semiary in Stockholm where she met her future husband, Oscar Henry Rinell.

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