John Werner Anderson states that he was born in Nagelstad, Hallingeberg Parish, Småland, Sweden. Due to a reorganization by the Swedish the ancient region of Småland was broken up into the smaller counties ("Län") of Jönköpings Län, Kronbergs Län and Kalmars Län. All Swedish counties are divided into townships ("Kommun"). The modern version of the location would be Nagelstad, Hallingeberg Parish, Västervik Kommun, Kalmar Län, Sweden. The main town of Vastervik Kommun is Vastervik, while the administrative center is the town of Gamelby, its older sibling. The entire southeastern coast of Sweden (particularly the counties of Östergötland and Småland) exported many people to the United States between the American Civil War and World War I. The main reason for leaving was economic, though there was also a desire to leave what at the time was a rather hierarchial and rigid social system. At the present time the southeast coast is considered to be an economic development area, and the Swedish government provides economic incentives for companies who build new factories in the region.
Being a Kommun, the Swedish government requires that Västervik have its own website. Västervik is a small town, and its commune land is heavily wooded and filled with lakes and inlets from the Baltic. The pictures are similar to what one would see in coastal Maine - lots of water, pines and granite. Good farm land is not in evidence. Offers of fishing guides and expeditions, campgrounds and scenic tours dominate the commercial links from the website.
According to the English version of its website, Västervik was founded by the Swedish king Eric of Pomerania, who wanted an early-warning site for spotting Viking raiders. The locals preferred to stay in Gamelby (lit. "old town") up at the head of the inlet where the warning of invaders was longer than at the coast. Even the building of a castle to defend everyone was only partially successful in attracting settlers, and to this day many government offices are in Gamelby rather than in Västervik.
Hallingeberg is a parish town and thus has some responsibilities for maintaining civic records. According to the "Blue Map" for that area, Hallingeberg is about 1 km east to west and 2 km north to south. It sits at the south end of a lake named Lång Rammen. The parish itself has an approximate diameter of 10 km.
Hallingeberg has two notable cemetaries, one to the north of the town and one to the south. These cemetaries have engraved tombstones dating from the 17th and 18th century, and many of the inscriptions have been copied into internet accessible versions. These supplement the parish records for genealogical research. Since the Scandinavians did not adopt the European tradition of family names until fairly recently, such research is rather difficult and requires careful matching of child to parent. Common "family" names do not even imply any close relationship.
Hallingeberg's other claim to fame is an iron meterorite which fell in 1944 and was located in 1976.
Nagelstad lies about one kilometer north of the town of Hallingeberg and is also on the lake. It cover an area about four blocks by two blocks. The "Blue Map" shows two buildings of sufficient size to be noted by black squares and two roads worthy of marking. The population can not be very great.
Most of John Werner Anderson's time in the United States was spent in south-eastern South Dakota and north-eastern Nebraska. There were aleady established communities in this area as a consequence of the pull of free land (the Homestead Act) and the push of the Swedish famine of the 1860's. When he arrived, free homesteading land was no longer available, but one could rent farmland on reasonable terms, unlike the Sweden of the time where land had become a scarce resource.
My uncle, Elmer Anderson told me that John Werner Anderson worked two farms near Bristow, both to the north or north-east. He also confirmed something that my father (Edwin) told me, which is that JW (as everyone called him) had a contract with the county to smooth the road between Bristow and Gross. The road was maintained by pulling a heavy sledge over it. Six horses were required to pull the sledge. A strong man was required to manage the whole operation.
Bristow sits on the Ponca Creek, which is the border between the extremely flat land to the north (where the glaciers scraped) and the more rolling land to the south (where the glaciers dropped their scrapings). Ten miles to the south lies the scenic Niobara river valley, which the tourist agency of the state of Nebraska touts as a pleasant place for bicycling.