I have ancestors from the Bishop Hill Colony, and would be interested in any information concerning them. We have had no luck at all in trying to find the biological father of my 2nd great-grandfather, William John Mathews. His mother was Carin (Carrie) Mattsdotter-Matsen. Her name from Sweden was Carin/Karin Mattsdotter. She later used the name Matsen (various spellings appear in different documents -- Mattsen, Mattssen, Matson, Mattson, and first name appears as Carin, Carrie, Karin, Karen). William had a half-brother, Olof Mattson Mathews, born 28 Mar 1845, Norra Finnskoga Parish, Varmland Lan, Sweden, and died 25 Jan 1927, Grand Island, Hall County, Nebraska. His other two half-brothers died shortly after arriving in American (1850). We know that William's half-sister, Marit (Mary) Mattson, born 15 Apr 1840, married Jonas Anderson, and would like to find descendants of Marit's family. Her children were (?) Nellie (Nelly) (1868 ?), Frank (1871 ?), John (1874 ?), Victor (?). No further information on this family has been found. We have written to the historical society at Bishop Hill, and tried to find marriage certificates, but still no luck. I have the death certificate for my 2nd great-grandfather, William John Mathews, but no father is listed. Strangely, his half-brother, Olof Mathews, was listed as his foster father ! The first husband (Matts Danielsson) of my 3rd great-grandmother, Carrie, died shortly after arriving in America (1850), and she had two more children born at Bishop Hill, William (born 15 Jul 1855), and his sister, Helen (Helena) (born 13 Mar 1858). If you have any suggestions, or further contact information, please send me whatever you can. Thank you. ************************************** Jan Roggy wrote: > Village of Bishop Hill > > The Village of Bishop Hill is a prosperous station on the Rock Island > and Peoria Railroad, occupied almost entirely by Swedes, foreign-born, > and the younger generation of them born in this county. Here, among the > old, you will hear only the Swede language, and among the young, a > curious mixture of Swede and English. Page 820 Portrait & Biographical > Album of Henry Co., Illinois > : - ) - Vern Andrews - - - Oregon Trail Descendant * * Please send all attachments to * * < mailto:vjandrews@softcom.net > < mailto:vjafamhist@pacbell.net > For Sending Personal Messages * * * Stop by and visit the Andrews Website * * * * * < http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/VernAndrews/ > * *