Mankell Family History

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Wilhelm August Mankell (1803-1874)

Margareta Igelström (1796-1866)

The second child of Johan and Johanna Mankell was Wilhelm August, born in Christiansfeld Denmark in 1803. Wilhelm was a carpenter, a trade he learned in Christiansfeld, like his older brother Carl Abraham. In about 1820 Wilhelm left Christiansfeld to join his father in Karlskrona Sweden. The family was in the Karlskrona Tyska parish (Karlskrona German Parish). By 1823 he had left Karlskrona and moved to Stockholm, the Klara Parish. Older brother Carl Abraham was the organist and cantor at Klarakyrka in the 1820s. In 1841 Wilhelm married Margareta Igelström in Stockholm. The couple had 4 children, all born in the 1830s in the Klara Parish in Stockholm. (Published information lists Gothenburg as the birth place.) With information from Swedish church records, here is chronology of the places they lived and events in the lives of the family.

Margareta Igelström:

  • Born 17 September 1796, in Udenäs Parish, Skaraborgs County, Sweden. Parents: Gabriel Igelström and Kjerstin Pehrsdotter. Gabriel was a soldier in the Skaraborg Regiment, 1790-1807. Margareta was born at the soldier's cottage, Igelstad, Undenäs parish.
  • 1828, she moved from Vadstena in Östergötland County to the Adolf Fredrik Parish in Stockholm. She was a maid.
  • 1829, she moved to Klara Parish in Stockholm
  • November 1832, she moved to the Mankell household in Klara Parish where she was a housekeeper. (It is not clear if this was Carl Abraham or Wilhelm or both men who lived in this household.)
  • 1833-1840. She gave birth to 4 children and was unwed. Wilhelm was the father.
  • 4 October 1841, married Wilhelm Mankell, Klara Parish, Stockholm
  • November 1841, the family moved to Vadstena, Östergötland County
  • December 1849, family moved to Gothenburg (Göteborg) on Sweden’s west coast, (see maps). Margareta and family were members of the Göteborg Gustavi Domkirkan (Cathedral) Parish.
  • died 11 July 1866

Marriage Bond, September 1841. Wedding date is listed at the bottom.
Wilhelm's profession is listed as Musical Instrument Maker.
(Image courtesy of Karl-Johan Augustsson)

Wilhelm August Mankell:

  • 27 June 1803, born in Christiansfeld, Denmark
  • c1820, moved to Karlskrona Sweden to join his father, Johan Herman Mankell. Karlskrona Tyska parish (Karlskrona German Parish)
  • c1823, left Karlskrona, probably for Stockholm. By 1832 he was in Stockholm
  • 1833-1840, unmarried, he fathered 4 children with Margareta Igelström
  • 4 October 1841, married Margareta Igelström
  • November 1841, the family moved to Vadstena, Östergötland County
  • December 1849, family moved to Gothenburg (Göteborg) on Sweden’s west coast, (see maps) where he built, repaired and tuned pianos. Wilhelm and family were members of the Göteborg Gustavi Domkirkan (Cathedral) Parish.
  • Died 29 November 1874

This document, signed by Wilhelm and Margareta on their wedding day, is a recognition made by both parents to their children.
It states that the children are genuine and lawful heirs.
(Image and translation courtesy of Karl-Johan Augustsson)


Children of Wilhelm and Margareta:

Augusta Wilhelmina Mankell (1833-1891)
Augusta Wilhelmina (1833 – 1891) was the oldest and a music teacher in Gothenburg; she was born in Klara parish, Stockholm and died in Gothenburg.



Klara Parish, Stockholm, record of Augusta Wilhelmina Mankell's 1833 birth.
(Image courtesy of Karl-Johan Augustsson)



Augusta Wilhelmina Mankell, 28 December 1864 in Gothenburg Sweden

Herman Wilhelm Mankell (1835-1889)
Wilhelm and Margareta’s second child was Herman Wilhelm (also known as HW), born in Stockholm in 1835 (Klara Parish). In 1841 the family moved to Vadstena; in 1849, to Gothenburg. In 1857 HW and his wife Elisabeth Olson/Olofsdotter married, left Sweden and set sail for the US, arriving in New York City and were in Northfield, Minnesota by 1857. They homesteaded the farm in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota in 1864, and are my great great grandparents. Separate web pages are devoted to HW, Elizabeth, and their descendants.


Klara Parish, Stockholm, record of Herman Wilhelm Mankell's 1835 birth.
(Image courtesy of Karl-Johan Augustsson)

Otto August Mankell (1838-1885)
Otto August (commonly and professionally referred to as OA Mankell) was born in Klara parish, Stockholm in 1838 and lived most of his life on Lidingö Island near Stockholm. He was an artist—painter and lithographer—and architect. (Several published biographies incorrectly list his birthplace at Gothenburg.)


Klara Parish, Stockholm, record of Otto August Mankell's 1838 birth.
(Image courtesy of Karl-Johan Augustsson)

Julia Hermina (1840-1927)
Their fourth child was Julia Hermina, born 1840 in Stockholm and died in 1927 in Gothenburg. Like her older sister Julia was a music teacher in the Gothenburg area. Hulda Mankell (daughter of HW and Elizabeth) corresponded with “Tante Hermina” and many of these letters are in Jane Hauser Pejsa’s written history about her grandparents, Hulda and Hans Melgaard.


Klara Parish, Stockholm, record of Julia Hermina Mankell's 1840 birth.
(Image courtesy of Karl-Johan Augustsson)


Bibliography: Pejsa; Mankell Family Collection; Swedish Church Records.


Otto August (OA) Mankell

HW and Elizabeth Mankell

Johan Herman Mankell

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Webmaster: Carolyn Mankell Sowinski
Last updated: January 8, 2016