Updated: May 2006

QVARNSVEDS ANDERS ANDERSSON and CARIN ANDERSDOTTER
Qvarnsveds Anders Andersson was born July 28, 1747 in Gagnefsbyn, Gagnef, Sweden. (1)
Married Carin Andersdotter in 1771. She was born May 19, 1751 in Rista, Gagnef.
Children:
Anders, born Oct. 31, 1781.x
Carin, born April 6, 1777.
Both children were born in Rista.
Anders died July 27, 1824 and Carin died June 22, 1834.
(1) Records of the Kvarnbergs’ births, marriage and deaths appear in church records obtained from the Gagnef Pastorate (Pastorsambetet i Gagnef) in Sweden.

QVARNSVEDS ANDERS ANDERSSON and KERSTIN PERSDOTTER
Qvarnsveds Anders Olsson was born Oct. 31, 1781 to Qvarnsveds Anders Andersson and Carin Andersdotter in Rista, Gagnef, Sweden. (1)
Married Kerstin Persdotter in 1801. She was born June 12, 1772 in By, Gagnef.
Children:
Anders, born Oct. 18, 1802.
Per, born Sept. 30, 1806.
Olof, born Dec. 22, 1812.
Carin, born April 24, 1818.
Anders died Dec. 22, 1835 and Kerstin died in 1847.
(1) Records of the Kvarnbergs’ births, marriage and deaths appear in church records obtained from the Gagnef Pastorate (Pastorsambetet i Gagnef) in Sweden.
NOTE: This seems a little unusual because the traditional Scandinavian naming patter would indicate that his father should have been Ole since his last name was Olsson. This may need further research.

QVARNSVEDS ANDERS ANDERSSON and CARIN MATSDOTTER
Qvarnsveds Anders Andersson was born Oct. 18, 1802 to Qvarnsveds Anders Andersson and Kerstin Persdotter in Rista, Gagnef, Sweden. (1)
Married Carin Matsdotter in 1825. She was born Sept. 25, 1798 in Nysahl, Gagnef. Carin died in 1846.
Children:
Anders, born Oct. 6, 1825.
Mats, born Dec. 5, 1827 and died Oct. 6, 1830.
Per, born Dec. 31, 1829.
Kerstin, born May 29, 1832 and died in 1839.
Mats, born Jan. 13, 1835 and died in 1838.
Karin, born Dec. 30, 1836 and died in 1838.
Karin, born Jan. 20, 1839.
Married Johanna Persdotter in 1848. Johanna was born July 27, 1812 in Nordback, Gagnef.
Children:
Olof, born Dec. 13, 1848.
Mats, born March 20, 1852.
Anders died Feb. 24, 1883 and Johanna died July 3, 1885.
(1) Records of the Kvarnbergs’ births, marriage and deaths appear in church records obtained from the Gagnef Pastorate (Pastorsambetet i Gagnef) in Sweden.

QVARNSVEDS PER ANDERSSON and ANNA ERSDOTTER
Qvarnsveds Per Andersson was born Dec. 31, 1829 to Qvarnsveds Anders Andersson and Carin Matsdotter in Rista, Gagnef, Sweden. (1)
Married Anna Ersdotter in 1853. She was born Aug. 4, 1828 in Rista. (2)
Children:
Karin, born Dec. 15, 1853.
Anders, born Dec. 27, 1855.
Per, born Sept. 18, 1858.
Kerstin, born Nov. 21.1860.
Olof Kvarnberg, born April 25, 1864.
Anna, born March 26, 1868.
Under the old Nordic naming system, Per used his father’s first name as his last name - Andersson or "son of Anders." Qvarnsveds was a family name, the origin of which is uncertain. A researcher in Gagnef said it was possibly the name of the family farm.
Per was a farmer.
Anna died Aug. 1, 1896 and Per died June 3, 1905.
(1) Records of the family’s births, marriage and deaths appear in church records obtained from the Gagnef Pastorate (Pastorsambetet i Gagnef) in Sweden. (2) An unpublished Kvarnberg genealogy says Anna was born April 7, 1828.

OLOF and ANNA KVARNBERG
Olof Kvarnberg was born April 25, 1864 in Rista, Gagnef, Sweden, to Qvarnsveds Per Andersson and Anna Ersdotter. (1)
Married Anna Olsdotter on Nov. 1, 1890. Anna was born Aug. 3, 1866 in Graf, Gagnef. (2) Children: Anders, born Dec. 22, 1890.
Olof, born Sept. 11, 1892.
Anna (Monson), born Jan. 18, 1895.
Kerstin, born Feb. 13, 1897.
Erik, born Sept. 5, 1900.
Gustaf Edvard, born March 18, 1903 and died April 20, 1903.
Karin, born Sept. 23, 1905 and died Feb. 6, 1906.
Gustaf Edvard, born Oct. 8, 1906. (3)
Kvarnberg - actually Qvarnberg in some records - means "mill-mountain." The name seems to have evolved from "Qvarnsveds," which was attached to the beginning of the names of Olof’s ancestors. This word, translated literally, means "mill-wood." A Swedish researcher in Gagnef was unable to identify the origin of the name, saying it was possibly the name of the family’s farm. (In the mid-1800s, Sweden officially ended the practice of naming the child after its father, otherwise Olof’s last name would have been Person.)
Olof – listed as "the worker" in Swedish records – was employed at a saw mill. The Kvarnbergs were very poor. They lived in Gagnef on a rundown farm, which they didn’t own. Things got worse when Olof’s wife died on May 19, 1908. Olof was rarely home because he worked at the mill.
The children immigrated to the United States seeking better opportunities. Anders – known as Andrew in America – left Sweden on March 8, 1909. Olof – spelled Olaf in America – left on Oct. 9, 1911 and served in the U.S. Cavalry in the Southwest in 1918 and 1919. (Family members insisted he was part elf because he had pointed ears.) Anna and Gustaf left together on July 20, 1913. Family tradition says Kerstin and Erik came in 1919. Gagnef church records say Erik left on Dec. 28, 1916. The records say Kerstin first moved to Stjarnsund on June 6, 1917. They don’t say when she left for America.
Olof died in Sweden in July 12, 1916. He had a weak heart and had been a heavy drinker. (4)

(1) Records of the Kvarnbergs’ births, marriage, immigrations and deaths appear in church records obtained from the Gagnef Pastorate (Pastorsambetet i Gagnef) in Sweden. Other information comes from interviews with Gustaf Kvarnberg in 1989. (2) An unpublished genealogy compiled by members of the Kvarnberg family in Canada says Anna’s last name was Dragsten and she was born Aug. 2, 1866. (3) The Kvarnberg genealogy says Andrew was born Dec. 23, 1890. (4) The Kvarnberg genealogy says Olof died in June 1915.

GUSTAF and OLGA KVARNBERG
Gustaf Edward Kvarnberg was born Oct. 8, 1906 in Graf, Gagnef, in central Sweden. His parents were Olaf and Anna (Olsdotter) Kvarnberg. (1)
Married Olga Larson. (See below.)
Children: Gus and Olga had two sons and a daughter.
The Kvarnberg family in Sweden was very poor.
Gus’ mother died when he was a year and a half old. His father was rarely home because he worked in a lumber mill.
The Kvarnberg children came over to the United States a few at a time, hoping to find a better life. Andrew came to the United States first and made enough money to bring over others. In 1913, Gus immigrated to the United States with his sister Anna. In 1916, after most of the children had left for America, their father died.
Before Gus left Sweden, an old man told him that America was a magical land. Americans road in carriages that weren’t drawn by horses, but were controlled by moving a stick. Of course Gus had never seen an automobile and thought the man was some kind of psychic when he first saw a car. He was also amazed by the large buildings he saw in the United States.
Young Gus thought the voyage across the Atlantic would never end. Aboard ship, passengers were allowed on deck only once a day to exercise. The boy also suffered from bedbugs.
Anna recorded the journey in her diary (as translated from Swedish): "On Saturday morning, Aug. 2, my brother and I left our home in Gagnef, Dalarne, and arrived in Goteborg on the evening of the same day. We stayed in Goteborg until Monday morning, Aug. 4. We then went aboard the steamer Runo and came to Hull, England, Wednesday morning, Aug. 6. We later went by railroad through England to Liverpool. We arrived on the evening of the same day, Aug. 6. We stayed in a hotel in Liverpool until Friday morning, Aug. 8. We then went aboard the steamer Celtic (White Star One steamer). We arrived in New York Saturday morning, Aug. 16. We later went to Ellis Island on the evening of Aug. 16. We left there on the fourth day, Wednesday evening Aug. 20. Then we went by railroad to Chicago. We arrived in Chicago on Friday morning Aug. 22, 1913 around 10:30." Church rcords in Gagnef, Sweden, say Gus and Anna left for North America on July 30, 1913.
In 1989, Gus recalled that flowers and shrubs adorned Ellis Island. "It looked like a paradise," he said. "I thought, `This is where l want to stay."’ However, Gus suffered from lice during his stay on the island and was eager to leave when the time came. Ellis Island in New York Harbor acted as the main receiving station for immigrants from the 1890s to the mid-1900s. Immigrants were registered and examined for disease before they left the island.
When he began school in Chicago, he couldn’t speak any English. He felt embarrassed and became determined to learn the language. Later in life, he remembered little Swedish and spoke with no accent. Gus was naturalized when he was 19 years old.
Gus spent his first three years in the United States living with his aunt and uncle, Peter Sundquist. Gus then moved in with his brother Andrew in Oak Park, Ill., and later lived with his sister Anna and her husband, Evald Monson on a farm in Rice Lake, Wis. While he was young, he was treated unkindly at times. He left school after eight years.
He held several jobs in his youth, including one as an errand boy for Brooks Laundry in Oak Park. He also worked in this brother Andrew’s butcher shop on the west side of Chicago. In this job, he would wear roller-skates when making deliveries.
The 1930 Census shows Gus living with his brother Andrew in North Muskegon, Mich. It indicates that Gus was working as a meat cutter in a meat market.
Gus married Olga Evelyn Larson on Oct. 9, 1935 in Chicago. On their wedding day, Olga’s father broke his arm but didn’t tell anyone until the next day because he didn’t want to ruin the festivities.
Olga was born April 19, 1913, in Chicago to Otto and Bertha Christine (Wiberg) Larson.
Olga dropped out of high school after becoming ill and missing most of a semester of classes. However, she went to business school to learn secretarial skills. She then got a job with Mutual Trust Life Insurance Co. in Chicago, earning $10 a week. (Olga received an equivalency diploma in the early 1960s.
During her vacation in 1930, Olga met Gus at a bonfire social in Twin Lakes, Mich. An older man picked up Olga and carried her over to Gus and dropped her into his lap.
The Kvarnbergs provided a nice middle-class atmosphere for their children. Gus took a job with Teledyne Continental Motors in 1941. During World War II, the company manufactured tank and aircraft engines. Most of the time he was a lathe operator. He retired in 1973.
Gus enjoyed woodworking and building things. Gus did most of the finishing work on his house in North Muskegon, Mich. He also built a playhouse and doll furniture for his daughter and a cradle for his granddaughter, Ingrid. When Gus was younger, he played the violin.
Olga enjoyed maintaining Swedish traditions, such as serving lutefisk for Christmas, and she and Gus belonged to the Vassa Lodge, a Swedish organization.
Both were active at Samuel Lutheran Church, where Gus served as financial secretary for 22 years. They were also volunteers at Hackley Hospital in Muskegon, Mich.
Gus died Jan. 11, 1992.
About two years after Gus’ death, Olga moved into the Chelsea Retirement Community in Chelsea, Mich. She died April 13, 1995.
Gus and Olga are buried at the Elmwood Cemetery in River Grove. Ill.

(1) Information comes from a questionnaire and interviews with Gustaf and Olga Kvarnberg in 1989. Records of Gus’ birth and immigration appear in church records obtained from the Gagnef Pastorate (Pastorsambetet i Gagnef) in Sweden. The birth record spells Gus’ name Gustaf Edvard Qvarnberg.