Swedish Couple Moved to Irvington

     Hulda Paulina Axberg of Karlstad, Sweden bade goodbye to her father, step mother, and numerous siblings on May 4, 1906, as she traveled alone to the coastal city of Gothenburg to board a ship bound first for Liverpool, England and then for the United States. Like millions of other immigrants, she arrived at Ellis Island, New York with little money but with hopes for a new life. Her older sister, Elin, who arrived earlier, served as her sponsor. She listed "servant" as her occupation and in fact, she would serve as a domestic in various American homes throughout her life.

     Three years later, another Swede, Hilding Urban Hendrickson, departed from the small coastal Swedish town of Simrishamn where his father served as a ship captain.  Unlike Hulda Axberg, nearly all of Hilding's siblings immigrated to the United States. Some of his brothers settled in Rochester, New York, while he and his brother, Francis, moved to Indianapolis. Lars Hendrickson, the father of Hilding and Francis, insisted that his sons have a trade. Both Hilding and Francis listed "tailor" as their occupation when they arrived at Ellis Island. 

Hulda Axberg shortly after her arrival in the United States from Sweden c1906 (image courtesy of Donna Sanderson)

Hulda Axberg moved from Karlstad, Sweden, a beautiful city along Lake Vanern (photo--public domain).

Hilding Urban Hendrickson moved to the United States along with several of his brothers. He is shown here as a young man already living in Indianapolis and earning a living as a tailor c1915. (Irvington Historical Society)

The Hendrickson brothers moved from Simrishamn, Sweden, a small town along the eastern coast, to the United States in the early twentieth century. (photo--public domain)

     The Swedish community in Indianapolis in the early twentieth century was not large so it is not surprising that Hulda Axberg met Hilding Hendrickson as they had much in common. They married on May 2, 1914, at the Woodruff Place United Presbyterian Church. Mr. Hendrickson was just beginning to build his reputation as an outstanding tailor. He and his brother opened a shop in downtown Indianapolis providing an income for the two young immigrants and their wives. Hilding and Hulda rented numerous homes on the eastside of Indianapolis before purchasing a beautiful home at 824 North Rural Street.  The couple celebrated the arrival of their two sons, Robert in 1916 and James in 1918. Both young men attended and graduated from Arsenal Tech High School.

     When World War II erupted, Hilding and Hulda, like millions of other American parents watched and likely fretted as their sons went into that conflict. Robert Hendrickson served in the European Theater as a bomber pilot over Germany while James Hendrickson had the grim task of assisting with the clean up of Nagasaki, Japan after the city was destroyed by an atomic bomb. 

Hilding and Hulda Hendrickson posed with their sons, Robert and James, c1919 in Indianapolis. (photo courtesy of Irvington Historical Society) 

James Hendrickson playfully teased his mother while on leave from duty during World War II. Mrs. Hendrickson clearly enjoyed having her son home at 824 North Rural Street in Indianapolis c1944. (Photo courtesy of Donna Sanderson)

James Hendrickson, on leave from his service during World War II, posed next to the family home at 824 North Rural Street in eastern Indianapolis c1944. (photo courtesy of Donna Sanderson)

Google Streetview captured 824 North Rural Street in 2007 shortly before it was demolished. 

     With the war over and their sons now out of the house and starting their own lives, Hilding and Hulda sold their Rural Street home and moved into a small cottage in southern Irvington at 406 South Butler Avenue. Hilding's brother, Francis and sister-in-law, Elizabeth Hornbrook Hendrickson, lived nearby at 47 Whittier Place. Hilding and his brother dissolved their tailor shop and he then worked for Blocks Department Store for twenty years.

      At their little cottage on South Butler Avenue, the couple hosted family celebrations. Donna Sanderson, the granddaughter of Hilding and Hulda Hendrickson, remembers the delicious smells emanating out of the kitchen as her grandmother baked some Swedish specialities. She also remembers staying in the attic-turned-bedroom and listening to the rain hit the roof lulling her to sleep. The tall grandfather clock visible in the photos sat in each of the Hendrickson homes. 

The Hendricksons moved into this southern Irvington cottage at 406 South Butler Avenue after World War II. (photo snapped on June 24, 2021)

Hulda Axberg Hendrickson relaxed in her oversized chair at her home at 406 South Butler Avenue c1957 (photo courtesy of Donna Sanderson) 

The extended Hendrickson family frequently gathered at 406 South Butler Avenue for the holidays. In this photo, likely snapped in 1957, Hulda Axberg Hendrickson (on the end) sits next to her daughter-in-laws, Freda Hendrickson (later Brown), Florence Hendrickson, Jane Hendrickson, and her nephew, Charles Hendrickson. (photo courtesy of Donna Sanderson) 

Hulda Axberg Hendrickson posed next to her grandchildren, Jim Hilding Hendrickson and Donna Hendrickson on Christmas Eve, c1955 at 406 South Butler Avenue. The two kids can also be seen in the photo on the table. (photo courtesy of Donna Sanderson) 

Hilding and Francis Hendrickson, both immigrants from Sweden, looked on as their grandchildren were photographed on Christmas Day, 1957 at 406 South Butler Avenue. The kids in the photo are: Donna Hendrickson, Jerry Hendrickson, Mary J. Hendrickson, and Jim Hendrickson. Note the beautiful grandfather clock in the corner of the room. (photo courtesy of Donna Sanderson)

      In their elder years, the Hendricksons moved to 958 North Hawthorne Lane in northern Irvington in 1962. They likely owned the home before that date and they seem to have rented the residence to Swedish natives, Ellen and Glenn Bertelsmann in the early 1960s. Mrs. Bertelsmann was Hulda's sister. In her later years, Hulda worked as a domestic for the Ruckleshaus family in Indianapolis.

      On May 3, 1964, the extended Hendrickson family gathered at the Hawthorne Lane home to celebrate the fiftieth wedding anniversary of the Swedish couple who took a chance on the United States. Five years later, Hulda Axberg Hendrickson, the immigrant from Karlstad, died in 1969. Tragically, Hilding Urban Hendrickson, the tailor from Simrishamn, met his ending in an auto accident after being struck by a train at the dangerous intersection at Sherman Avenue and Massachusetts Street in 1970. 

The last home for Hulda and Hilding Hendrickson was at 958 North Hawthorne Lane in northern Irvington. (photo taken on June 24, 2021) 

Credits:  I wish to thank Donna Sanderson, the granddaughter of Hilding and Hulda Axberg Hendrickson. Her attention to detail and family history documentation made this an easy post to write.