Are there any Swedes from the Quinsigamond Village area of Worcester? I haven't seen any references to this and was curious if any of the Swedish relatives are on line with genealogy. My grandmother (Hilda Swenson) was born in the Blekinge area of Sweden and came to Worcester at the young age of 18 approx. 1881. She married twice (Anderson & Jones) and had two children in each marriage. I remember mostly the holidays in Quinsigamond Village and the Swedish meals and Uncle Reinhold playing Santa. With only these memories and the names, I started making contacts and reconnected with a cousin that used to pinch my cheeks every time I saw her. I was also fortunate enough to connect with a helpful soul in Sweden who found my grandmother and her parents and 3 brothers that I didn't know she had. I am new to genealogy searching and this has only served to whet my appetite for more searches. I was also fortunate enough to have records on my father's side of the family (Irish) from a family member who did a lot of research over the years to put together a very comprehensive book of the Wheeler line who came from Maine and settled in East Douglas. She never became computer literate enough to put this information online, so that is what my goal has become (to make this available for all my family members on the www). I would be interested I The Quinsigamond Village area, Emanuel Lutheran Church, Dorcas Society, and The Old Swedish Cemetery all in the Quinsigamond section of Worcester from about 1890 to 1970. This genealogy stuff is time consuming, but exciting.

Dennis, Greetings from Quinsigamond Village. The Village as we refer to the area, was predominantly Swedish during the early part of the century. The Old Swedish Cemetery is located in the Webster Square area of the city. Emanuel Lutheran Church still exists and I am not sure about the Dorcas Society. Up until a few years ago the Vasa Order was still meeting here in the Village. Quinsigamond Elementary School was rebuilt and reopened in 1997 and is now the largest electuary school in the city. There are currently 715 students who attend the school. Last month the Baptist Church on Stebbins Street was moved to Wray Square to be preserved and saved from demolition. My husband is of Swedish descent and his family has been here in the Village for 5 generations. I work for the Quinsigamond United Methodist Church and if there is anything I may be able to help with please do not hesitate to ask. Colleen McDuffie ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dennis Wheeler" <TheWheelerBranches@msn.com> To: <MAWORCES-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, November 15, 2002 4:06 AM Subject: [MAWORCES] Quinsigamond-Wheeler, Jones, Anderson, Swenson > Are there any Swedes from the Quinsigamond Village area of Worcester? I haven't seen any references to this and was curious if any of the Swedish relatives are on line with genealogy. My grandmother (Hilda Swenson) was born in the Blekinge area of Sweden and came to Worcester at the young age of 18 approx. 1881. She married twice (Anderson & Jones) and had two children in each marriage. I remember mostly the holidays in Quinsigamond Village and the Swedish meals and Uncle Reinhold playing Santa. With only these memories and the names, I started making contacts and reconnected with a cousin that used to pinch my cheeks every time I saw her. I was also fortunate enough to connect with a helpful soul in Sweden who found my grandmother and her parents and 3 brothers that I didn't know she had. > > I am new to genealogy searching and this has only served to whet my appetite for more searches. I was also fortunate enough to have records on my father's side of the family (Irish) from a family member who did a lot of research over the years to put together a very comprehensive book of the Wheeler line who came from Maine and settled in East Douglas. She never became computer literate enough to put this information online, so that is what my goal has become (to make this available for all my family members on the www). > > I would be interested I The Quinsigamond Village area, Emanuel Lutheran Church, Dorcas Society, and The Old Swedish Cemetery all in the Quinsigamond section of Worcester from about 1890 to 1970. > > This genealogy stuff is time consuming, but exciting. > > > ==== MAWORCES Mailing List ==== > Worcester GenWeb has many Resources > Check it out!! > http://www.rootsweb.com/~maworces