This is Eskil Lorentz Bååv, my paternal grandfather’s first cousin. My grandfather died in 1933, and after that no one knew, or spoke of, his original family. I discovered the Bååv family through the Swedish church records. Eskil’s mother was Ada (1855-1951), my grandfather’s maternal aunt. Ada was 16 when my grandfather was born, and I’m pretty sure she helped take care of him. Both Ada and her sister Johanna, my grandfather’s mother, worked as maids from when they were young. “Maid” (piga) was a catch-all title that referred to female domestic help and farm workers.
The railroad expanded to Falköping, where they lived, in the 1860s. Johanna used the railroad to find work away from home. Ada married a man whose occupation is listed as “wagon greaser”, a railroad worker.
Ada and her husband Johan Alfred Bååv moved to Göteborg, where they had a large family. Eskil was one of the youngest kids. He spent most of his life working for the railroads. He died in 1948 i Göteborg.