The Croft Lilla Fredrikslund

Pictures and the story of former residents at Lilla Fredrikslund, Helgesta.

(From Hans Eriksson's (born February 6, 1933) family album.

Sometime in August 1997, a car stopped just outside Lilla Fredrikslund and a man looked interestedly at the croft. I walked up to him and asked if I could be of any help. The man introduced himself as Hans Eriksson and told me that his maternal grandfather Johan Larsson had lived at Helgesta Manor. Hans Eriksson was now out with his wife and a sister on a tour to visit his childhood haunts. Hans Eriksson and his parents had lived in Hälleforsnäs and they had often made visits to Helgesta.

My wife Ann-Marie and I invited Hans, his wife, and sister to come onto the property, and we had a long conversation about Fredrikslund. Hans said that he had some pictures at home in Eskilstuna, where he now lived, and promised that I could borrow them to include in the documentation.

In the picture we see Lilla Fredrikslund before it got a veranda built on. The picture is from around 1936 and Hans Eriksson is the little boy sitting in his grandmother's lap. The other people are his maternal uncles and paternal aunts.

In the picture to the left we see a couple of girls dressed in men's clothing. Are they on their way to a masquerade, perhaps? We see that the croft was originally built of horizontal logs. In the background the henhouse is visible; it is from that the gray stone wall originates.

The picture shows Hans Eriksson's maternal grandmother Amanda Larsson. She had 13 children in her marriage to Johan Larsson and they initially lived in Sjöstugan, which was a house below Helgesta Manor near the lakeshore.

It was Lars Johan Larsson who lived at Helgesta. He was both paternal grandfather and maternal grandfather, born January 27, 1874 and died January 1, 1957. He was maternal grandfather to Hans Eriksson. His maternal grandmother was named Amanda Larsson, born December 31, 1874 and died May 1, 1951. Their daughter Margit Larsson was born January 22, 1900 and died in Nyköping on April 5, 1970. The daughter Signe was born to them on December 22, 1909, married Allvar Holmström, and died on August 24, 1973.

A son of the family, Arvid Larsson, died at the age of 33 in Stockholm on November 24, 1936. Amanda and Johan Larsson had 13 children, all born at Helgesta. Initially they lived in Sjöstugan, down by the lake, and Hans does not know when they moved up to Fredrikslund.

One of the sons, Ivan, first lived in Stockholm and then moved to Gnesta. In the 1930s, people thought he was developmentally disabled, but that was probably not the case.

Hans Larsson was born on February 6, 1933. The cousin Britta lives in Eskilstuna and may have some pictures from Lilla Fredrikslund.

Lars Larsson, Vasagatan 3, 642 00 Flen, telefon 0157 10750.

Maja Larsson, Scheelegatan 2D, 642 35 Flen, telefon 0157 – 128 77.

Leif Johansson, Källgatan 21 A, 642 32, Malmköping. Tel. 0157 –21490. Leif has worked at Helgesta and lived at Lilla Fredrikslund. Every now and then he visits the croft and talks about old times.