| Notes |
- Family history is that the Spong surname used to be Forsberg. Forsberg is a Swedish "ornamental name composed of the elements fors "waterfall" + berg "mountain" or "hill."
When and how was this switch made? This entry may provide some clues: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_allotment_system
From the 1680s (army) and early 18th century (navy), all soldiers in a given company were required to have a unique name, to make it easier to give specific orders. This could be problematic when several soldiers had the same name (being usually from rural background, they generally had just a patronymic, and such were often very common, e.g. Andersson, Eriksson, Olsson or Persson), giving rise to the Swedish soldier names.
When a soldier appeared before the military scribe, he was given a soldier's name (often, a rote's new soldier received his predecessor's name), which he kept during his service. Those surnames also tended to become hereditary, as the soldier often retained it when he was pensioned or left the service, and his children were also registered under it in census lists and church booksâ??this is the origin of many present-day Swedish surnames. The name was usually short, consisting of only one syllableâ??to make it easy and rapid to say. The names could be taken from a trait, such as the surname Stolt ("Proud") or from military terms, such as Svärd ("Sword"), but were often related to the rote. A soldier from a rote located in the village of Sundby, for example, could be given the surname Sundin. This meant that surnames often stayed with the croft, rather than with the soldier.
Common practice amongst discharged soldiers in the 18th century was to reassume their original name. This changed in the 19th century, and many soldiers kept their old soldier names, passing it on to their children. Each soldier in the regiment also had a unique number, between 1 and 1,200, the number of the rote and croft he belonged to (for example nummer 15 Stolt, number 15 Stolt).
- http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.scan-balt.sweden.counties.ostergotland/317.1/mb.ashx
Helpful translation of birth record for Christoffer Spong/Forsberg:
"Hello Erik
(Some names are abbreviated)
Parents Life Grenadier Gustaf Forsberg and wife Maja Stina Jonsdotter at the estate of Tistegård
Sponsors Life grenadier Johan Walla at the Walla estate, Life Grenadier Anders Källman at the Pilgård estate, farmhands Lars Jonsson and Anders Andersson in Källstad, wife Stina Greta Benctsdotter at the Walla estate, wife Brita Nilsdotter at the Pilgård estate, maids Maja Stina Andersdotter and Brita Nilsdotter in Källstad
Nils"
- From Reddit user epp07:
Hi Erik! Your family story is correct about the name change as Christoffer got his new surname when joining the military. Christoffer served in Motala First Grenadier Life Company between 1853-1881 while his father was part of Vadstena Second Grenadier Life Company between 1808-1833. Here's a screenshot from the swedish soldier database (https://i.imgur.com/tKx2bvB.jpg)(his original name being written as "Torsberg" is an transcribing error obviously).
As for more information about Christoffers parents you can see him as a child in this document (https://i.imgur.com/xo6TJz4.jpg) living together with his family in Källstad parish at a location called Tistegård during the 1824-1832 time period.
LIFE GRENADIER Gustaf Forsberg (born 21 Nov 1789 in Västra Tollstad parish)
WIFE Maja Stina Jonsdotter (born 17 Dec 1789 in Källstad parish)
DAUGHTER Stina Maja (born 23 Jul 1818 in Källstad parish)
SON Eric (born 27 Oct 1820 in Källstad parish)
DAUGHTER Ana(?) Greta (born 26 Jul 1823 in Källstad parish)
SON Christoffer (born 15 Feb 1828 in Källstad parish)
DAUGHTER Gustava (born 08 Aug 1831 in Källstad parish)
I originally assumed that the father Gustaf Forsberg also had received his last name when he joined the army but I was proven wrong as this birth record for him (https://i.imgur.com/ThYdwGt.jpg)clearly shows that his father was Olof Forsberg (and the mother Stina Jonsdotter).
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1828 - 1915 (86 years)
