Anders Andersson (Andrew Broden) ^5,6

  General Notes:

See items under the father of Andrew Broden (Anders Andersson) for exp lanation of the history of the Broden name.

The following is taken from: Portrait and Biographical Album of Washi ngton, Clay and Riley Counties, Kansas (USA), Chicago, Chapman Bros.,1 890 . . . . ANDREW BRODEN (ANDERS ANDERSSON) . . . The attention of th e passing traveler is invariably attracted by the beautiful country ho me of this gentleman, which is located in Sherman Township, Clay Count y, and which, tastefully furnished without and cozily furnished within , reflects great credit upon the master hand that contrived it. The re sidence is commodious and conveniently arranged, adapted to the wants of a large family and surrounded by a well-kept lawn, while in the rea r are the granaries, a good, large barn, corn cribs, poultry house an d other outbuildings that contribute to the material property of a far m and a farmer. The estate is neatly fenced, chiefly with hedge andwi re, while the homestead is subdivided into nine lots for the stock,of which he feeds quite a number, making a speciality of hogs and cattle , though he also owns some good horses.

Mr. Broden is the son of ANDREW and CHRISTINA BRODEN (ANDERS ANDERSSO N and CHRISTINA, who were residents of the county of Bollnas in the no rthwestern part of SWEDEN, where their son, our subject, was born, ont he 24th of June, 1830. He was reared in the faith of the Lutheran Chu rch, to which organization his parents adhered, and likewise their pro genitors as far as known.

In 1853, he determined to emigrate to America. Accordingly in the fal l of that year he set sail from the harbor of Christiana, the capitalo f Sweden, on a sailing vessel, which soon became disabled and drifted by the wind, while the crew gazed helplessly around, unable to manage or guide it. After a time, it floated to the vicinity of Londonderry , Ireland, where passengers were transferred to a steamer which convey ed them to Liverpool, whence they took passage by packet ship for New York. In that city they landed in safety, and our subject then proceed ed to Victoria, Illinois, where he arrived eighteen weeks after he ha d embarked at Christiana. Upon his arrival his worldly possession con sisted of only $1, which amount he owed to a man who accompanied him.

Our subject experienced little or no difficulty in securing labor ona farm, where he worked by the day for a short period, and afterward wa s employed by a railroad in Illinois; in Iowa he engaged until the spr ing of 1854 in chopping wood. Returning to Illinois he was again a ra ilroad employee during the summer months, and in the winter was a team ster and drove a coal wagon. The summer of 1855 found him employed o n a farm, while his varied fortunes led him the ensuing year to labori n a coal mine.

In the spring of 1859 our subject started out with a party of men forP ike's Peak, but only proceeded as far as Fr. Kearney, Nebraska; thentu rning backward they stopped for a time in St. Joseph, Missouri, where Mr. Broden worked on a farm until the following autumn. He did not, h owever, remain in the West but retraced his steps to his former home i n Illinois, where he was a miner until 1862.

In the meantime, the great national conflict (Civil War) was excitingp opular feeling, and even foreigners joined in the warfare with an enth usiasm and determination second not even to that felt by native-bornci tizens. Sharing the excitement of the day, Mr. Broden, August 14, 196 2, enlisted in Company I, 102nd Illinois Infantry, in which he served two years and a half. When participating in the Battle of Resaca he w as wounded in the right foot by a gunshot, and on this account wasdisc harged February 7, 1865. After the cessation of hostilities, he retur ned to Knox County, Illinois, which was his home until June, 1869. No t being entirely satisfied with prospects in Illinois, he determined t o seek a home in the growing West, and accordingly, in that year,he ca me to Kansas and homesteaded eighty acres of his present farm, and lat er gained possession of another 80-acre tract of land on his soldier r ight. He has since purchased 160 additional acres, so that he now own s 320 acres in this farm, all being fertile and yielding bountiful har vests to the careful labor of the husbandman.

His first residence was a log cabin, which he bought in Clay Center an d hauled up to his farm, in which he lived for three years; finding i t lonely, however, he persuaded Miss Ann Edling, a native of Sweden t o share it with him. They were united in marriage August 13, 1871, an d she has been his faithful helpmate ever since. Mrs. Broden was a re sident of an adjoining county in Sweden to that in which our subject w as reared, and was a member of the Lutheran Church. A few years afte r their marriage Mr. Broden built a frame addition to the log cabin, a nd this was their home until the summer of 1886. Then feeling the nec essity of a more commodious and convenient residence he erected his pr esent large and attractive home, it being one of the finest in the tow nship. Their family consists of eight children, namely: Edward, Ann a Albertina, John P. William P. Mattie, Minnie, Mabel and Alex. Alla re living and are receiving the benefits of good, practical educations . They are regular attendants of the Methodist Church and Sunday-scho ol, in which our subject is one of the Trustees. He has been an effic ient member of the School Board of his district during almost all the period of his residence here, and politically votes with the Republica n party. As a man of untiring energy, perseverance, benevolence and d evotion to his family, MR. Broden merits and receives the respect of t he entire community.
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NOTE: From Sven-Erik Sundqvist of Bollnas, Sweden (Chairman of the Bo llnas Genealogical Society), who provided Swedish background informati on on names and area: Bollnas is a town 160 miles north of Stockhol m and near the town of Alfta. In this town we have 15,000 persons an d in the town of Alfta maybe 3,000. In Bollnas county, it is 23,000 an d in Alfta 8,000. In the portrait of Andrew Broden, it says that Ann a Edling came from a county adjoining Bollnas and as Alfta county is a djoining Bollnas, I think that Anna came from Alfta. Andrew Broden ha d the name Anders Andersson in Sweden, that's why it was not so easy t o find him. His father was Anders Andersson and was farmer at Rehn s1 , Bollnas, Sweden.
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Clay Center, Kansas newspaper article, 1961: Andrew Broden Almost Did n't Make it Here -- Being adrift at sea in a sailing vessel, with a cr ew which was unable to manage their ship must have been a frighteninge xperience for 23-year old Andrew Broden (Anders Andersson), who had st arted out for America from his native Sweden.

The ship drifted near the cost of Ireland and a steamer took the passe ngers on board and to Liverpool where they were able to get a ship fo r New York. Broden proceeded to Victoria, IL and arrived there 4 1/2m onths after setting sail from Sweden with $1 in his pocket -- and tha t he owed to a man who accompanied him.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Fact 1: Greenlawn Cemetery, Clay Center, KS.

Anders married Anna Persdotter-Edling, daughter of Pehr Pehrsson-Edling and Marghta Pehrsdotter, on Aug 13, 1871 in Clay Center, Kansas. (Anna Persdotter-Edling was born on Sep 25, 1849 in Gaddvik, Alfta, Sweden and died on Apr 14, 1920 in Kansas.)

Anders next married Anna Persdotter Edling, daughter of Pehr Pehrsson-Edling and Marghta Pehrsdotter, on Aug 13, 1871 in Clay Center, KS. (Anna Persdotter Edling was born on Sep 25, 1849 in Gäddvik, Alfta Parish, Gävleborg Län, Sweden and died in Kansas.)