Anna Erika Olsson Jepson (1880-1926)

Early Life

Anna Erika Olsson was the eighth of nine children born in the farming parish of Allerum, Skåne, Sweden. Like most rural girls of her generation, she received a basic education and later worked as a maid in the parish church. Her life was shaped by agriculture, the church, and the close-knit community of southern Sweden.

Why She Left

By the 1890s, opportunities for young women in rural Sweden were limited. Domestic service offered modest wages but little chance for independence. Chicago, home to one of the largest Swedish communities in the world, promised employment, higher wages, and the possibility of building a different future.

At just sixteen years old, Anna made the courageous decision to leave Sweden. She appears to have been the only one of her nine siblings to emigrate.

Journey to Illinois

Anna likely arrived in Chicago in 1896. Although no confirmed passenger list has yet been found, she almost certainly traveled through one of the established Swedish migration routes to America. Whether she traveled alone or with friends or neighbors remains unknown.

Building a Life in Illinois

When Anna arrived in Chicago, she did not immediately establish a home of her own. The 1900 census places her as a live-in domestic servant in the household of a restaurant owner on Chicago Avenue. Several other young Swedish women also worked as servants in the household, suggesting that immigrant networks helped newcomers find employment and companionship.

Domestic service offered more than a paycheck. It provided room and board, an opportunity to learn English, and a first step toward independence in one of America’s fastest-growing cities.

On 16 June 1901, Anna married Martin Jepson at Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church, one of Chicago’s leading Swedish congregations. Together they raised five children. Their family experienced both joy and heartbreak: one daughter died shortly after birth, and their oldest son, Arthur, was killed by a train at the age of fifteen.

Anna died in 1926 at only forty-six years old, leaving Martin to raise their younger children.

Why This Story Matters

Anna Erika Olsson’s story reminds us that immigration was often an act of remarkable courage. At sixteen, she left everything familiar—her language, family, and homeland—to begin again in a foreign country. Like countless immigrant women, she first found work caring for someone else’s household before creating one of her own.

Although her life included personal tragedy, Anna’s journey reflects the resilience, determination, and quiet strength that shaped so many immigrant families in Illinois.

Source Documents

The research documents for the Jepson 1893 migration story:

• Biographical Sketch (PDF)
• Migration to Illinois (PDF)
• Genealogical Summary and Children (PDF)
• Legacy (PDF)

Related Reading

• Newsletter Issue #2: The Jepson Family
• Would You Let Your Sixteen-Year-Old Cross the Atlantic Alone? (blog post)
• Mårten Jeppson, Swedish Stowaway? (blog post)
• Jepson, Martin
• Jepson Migration Story
• Paths to Illinois, Volume I The Jepson Family Story
• Migration Timeline of all sixteen families
• Ancestors & Surnames index

My Blog and Newsletter have additional stories and research related to the Jepson family.