Jonas Persson

1869 comes to America

(Torpare)

As the families grew, the farms, which had been in the same family, perhaps for centuries, suddenly were no longer able to feed the many additional mouths. Add to this the fact that the nation's laws precluded, that at the death of the farm owner, the farm could be carved up for the heirs. Usually the farm was therefore inherited by the eldest son. The remaining children had to make their own way, either by hiring out as farm hands and maid servants to a neighboring farmer, joining the army, or taking up a village trade, such as that of a cobbler, a tailor or a carpenter.

For those who wished to remain on the land and at the same time to stay, at least semi-independent, there was one other choice, that of establishing one's own existence on land which belonged to a farm owner. This land, usually the most unproductive, was quite often located on the outskirts of the village near the edge of the forest. This was of course encumbered land, and the settler who worked it was obligated to provide the owner with a certain number of free work days during the year. In return the torpare worked his plot of ground, seldom larger than a couple of acres, where he could plant potatoes, grow vegetables and a bit of hay for the lone cow, a couple of pigs and a few chickens. Occasionally the land area was large enough also to support a horse. But there were problems, inasmuch as the farm owner wanted his torpare to work during the busiest seasons, the time of planting, harvesting, slaughtering, fence mending and the repairing of roads. The crofter had to adjust his own schedule to the demands of the owner, thereby finding himself scrambling at odd hours accomplishing his own tasks.

(www.genealogi.se/roots/nwotorp.htm)