My grandfather, Anders Nilsson (anglicized to Andrew Nelson when he immigrated to Minnesota in 1885) was born in Hjarsas in 1857. He became a sailor at the age of 19, and we were told he sailed with the British Merchant Marine for seven years. This would have been between 1876 and 1883. According to one obituary I have, he had been a tea-sampler for an American company in China,worked in South Africa, hunted whales in Alaskan waters, and was also in Australia, Japan, and Europe. I cannot verify the source of this information, and assume he told these tales to friends. (He died before I was born and my father just said he had sailed around the world.) Was it common for young Swedish men to join the British Merchant Marine? Where would he have gone to do this? Where could I find out more about the ship? A descendant of his mother's sister sent me a picture of a sailor that was in her grandmother's album without a name. We wonder if it could be Anders/Andrew. There is writing on the cap but I can't read the letters. The photo was taken at the studio of Harold Cohen at Gothersgade 41, and I think that was in Copenhagen. Would there be any way to tell if he is wearing a Swedish navy uniform or British Merchant Marine uniform? I would be grateful for any leads.
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