Mr. Broden (born Anders Andersson in Sweden) is the son of ANDREW and CHRISTINA BRODEN (ANDERS ANDERSSON and CHRISTINA, who were residents of the county of Bollnas in the northwestern part of SWEDEN, where their son, our subject, was born, on the 24th of June, 1830. He was reared in the faith of the Lutheran Church, to which organization his parents adhered, and likewise their progenitors as far as known. (Note from Patricia Adams: Andrew Broden was my great grandfather. His mother's name was spelled Kierstin Nilsdotter. She died March 5, 1852 in the USA. His father died in 1857 in Sweden, while married to his second wife, Brita Olsdotter.)

In 1853, Andrew (Anders) determined to emigrate to America. Accordingly in the fall of that year he set sail from the harbor of Christiana, the capital of 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 conveyed them to Liverpool, whence they took passage by packet ship for New York. In that city they landed in safety, and our subject then proceeded to Victoria, Illinois, where he arrived eighteen weeks after he had embarked at Christiana. Upon his arrival his worldly possession consisted of only $1, which amount he owed to a man who accompanied him.

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

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

In the meantime, the great national conflict (Civil War) was exciting popular feeling, and even foreigners joined in the warfare with an enthusiasm and determination second not even to that felt by native-born citizens. Sharing the excitement of the day, Mr. Broden, August 14, 1962, enlisted in Company I, 102nd Illinois Infantry, in which he served two years and a half. When participating in the Battle of Resaca he was wounded in the right foot by a gunshot, and on this account was discharged February 7, 1865. After the cessation of hostilities, he returned to Knox County, Illinois, which was his home until June, 1869. Not being entirely satisfied with prospects in Illinois, he determined to seek a home in the growing West, and accordingly, in that year, he came to Kansas and homesteaded eighty acres of his present farm, and later gained possession of another 80-acre tract of land on his soldier right. He has since purchased 160 additional acres, so that he now owns 320 acres in this farm, all being fertile and yielding bountiful harvests to the careful labor of the husbandman.

His first residence was a log cabin, which he bought in Clay Center and hauled up to his farm, in which he lived for three years; finding it lonely, however, he persuaded Miss Ann Edling, a native of Sweden to share it with him. They were united in marriage August 13, 1871, and she has been his faithful helpmate ever since. Mrs. Broden was a resident of an adjoining county in Sweden to that in which our subject was reared, and was a member of the Lutheran Church. A few years after their marriage Mr. Broden built a frame addition to the log cabin, and this was their home until the summer of 1886. Then feeling the necessity of a more commodious and convenient residence he erected his present large and attractive home, it being one of the finest in the township. Their family consists of eight children, namely: Edward, Anna Albertina, John P. William P. Mattie, Minnie, Mabel and Alex. All are living and are receiving the benefits of good, practical educations. They are regular attendants of the Methodist Church and Sunday-school, in which our subject is one of the Trustees. He has been an efficient member of the School Board of his district during almost all the period of his residence here, and politically votes with the Republican party. As a man of untiring energy, perseverance, benevolence and devotion to his family, MR. Broden merits and receives the respect of the entire community.

NOTE: From Sven-Erik Sundqvist of Bollnas, Sweden (Chairman of the Bollnas Genealogical Society: Bollnas is a town 160 miles north of Stockholm and near the town of Alfta. In this town we have 15,000 persons and in the town of Alfta maybe 3,000. In Bollnas county, it is 23,000 and in Alfta 8,000. In the portrait of Andrew Broden, it says that Anna Edling came from a county adjoining Bollnas and as Alfta county is adjoining Bollnas, I think that Anna came from Alfta. Andrew Broden had the name Anders Andersson in Sweden, that's why it was not so easy to find him. His father was Anders Andersson and was farmer at Rehn s1, Bollnas, Sweden.

Clay Center, Kansas newspaper article, 1961: Andrew Broden Almost Didn't Make it Here -- Being adrift at sea in a sailing vessel (Australia), with a crew which was unable to manage their ship must have been a frightening experience for 23-year old Andrew Broden (Anders Andersson), who had started out for America from his native Sweden.

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

NOTE: The picture of the young woman below (used as the Return to Biographical Sketches image) is Anna Caroline Englund, the granddaughter of Andrew Broden through his daughter, Anna-Albertina and Henry Englund (son of the Broden's closest friends, Olof Hansson-Englund and Brita Olsdotter), and my mother. Both of these families came from Alfta and Bollnas, Sweden (very close to each other in Sweden and about 150 miles west of Stockholm. We have been able to trace these families back to 1400 Sweden thanks to the gracious efforts of Sven-Erick Sundqvist, Chairman of the Genealogy Society of Bollnas, Sweden. Mr. Sundqvist is listed on the HomePage of The Swedish Connection in Kansas and has graciously volunteered to help those interest in tracing their Swedish ancestry. The developer of this web site is deeply grateful to Mr. Sundqvist for all that he has done. Patricia Downey Adams, 24 February 1999