It is sometimes very interesting to scroll around in the archives of the Great War. I find it interesting to put the different pieces together, to discover what the Swedish born soldiers went through during their service.
In this short story I have tried to follow in the steps of the son of a Wholesale merchant from Stockholm, and how he tragically ended his last days after having survived the war, after been with the Canadian forces in Siberia.
In the Canadian archive I found this little note who looked interesting in itself. What does it mean? Let’s find out.
This is the story of Sergeant Ernest Sune Ekstrom.
Ernest was born as Ernst Sune Ekström in Hedvig Eleonora parish in Stockholm on November 16, 1874. In his Canadian attestation papers it says November 16th, 1879, but that is probably a misread or a typo. Sometimes they wanted to say that they were younger than they were, so it can be like that in this case. We will never know.
He grew up with his mother Christina Elisabeth Ekström and his father Wilhelm Moritz Ekström, together with his two brothers and five sisters.
There is not specific note in any of the church books I have found that says when he emigrated from Sweden, but there is a note that he is moved to the book of absent citizens.
I have found a passenger list that says that Ernst left Sweden for North America in 1901, at an age of 27.
In July 1902 Ernest married a Swedish born girl, Anna Carolina Deurell, born in Adolf Fredrik parish in Stockholm in 1877. Ernest got naturalized in Illinois in 1902. They got married in Berrien, Michigan. According to Canadian census documents from 1910 Ernest lived with Anna in Chicago, Illinois, together with Anna’s family.
It is not known if Ernest was a volunteer or if he was drafted to the Canadian Army, but he signed his Canadian attestation papers on February 28th, 1918, which is after the Canadian Military Service Act. He didn’t mention his wife as his Next of Kin, instead he mentioned his brother, Harold (Harald Moritz), back in Sweden. He seems to have been working at the News magazine Aftonbladet, a very large newspaper site today.
Although, I haven’t found any documents that says that he moved to Canada, and I haven’t found any US draft documents. Who knows what happened before he decided to sign up for the Canadian Forces? He stated that he lived at the Normandy Hotel in Detroit, Michigan, and we can only guess why he did that.
Maybe I will find the reason later on. There are some divorce documents about a Ernest Eckstrom, from 1919, in Michigan, that can be a reason for why he ended up where he did. In this case I am not sure if it is the correct Ernest Ekstrom.
Ernest was a dentist and he was initially attached in the 4th Canadian Advanced Depot Medical Stores, as a dental surgeon. According to his dental history sheet, he may have performed some dental work on himself. No good status according to me.
He left Canada with his unit on October 11th, 1918 and arrived Siberia on October 26th, 1918.
Then he seems to have been into a lot of trouble. According to some text noted in the personal documents connected to Ernest, it seems that he have been involved into some situations according to theft. I have tried to transcribe the document below. At the moment described below the text is written by the Officer in Command of the 16th Field Ambulance in Vladivostok.
“- Awarded 6 months D.H.L (Hard labour?) by the General Court Martial for when on active service committing a civil offence is to say “theft” in that he at Vladivostok on April 12, 1919 under pretence of paying 950 Roubles stole from Henrick Ceren (?) a receipt for the said sum.
– When on active service committing a civil offence that is to say “theft” in that he in Vladivostok on or about March 9, 1919 having received from Kirill Mammayev (?) the sum of 250 Roubles for the purchase of sugar fraudulently converted the same to his own use”
You may recognize the name Mammayev from the note, showed early in this post. Maybe that was one of the receipts?
Could he have been into something within producing alcohol? My guess may have a connection to his fate just a short period after those events.
No matter what he embarked S.S Empress in Siberia to be transported home to Canada on May 19th, 1919. He was later on discharged from the Canadian Army on June 13th, 1919.
Tragically he died in his bed in the Boarding House on Queens Avenue, London, Ontario, Canada, on June 30th, 1919. He was probably poisoned by “drinking wood alcohol” according to the notes.
I can’t help that I feel a bit sad for Ernst Sune Ekström. I wonder why his life had to end like that. I wonder if he did a good job in his service in Siberia. Not many soldier served in the Siberia region, and not many Swedish born soldiers as I know of at this moment.
Ernest Sune Ekstrom is today buried at London Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Ontario, Canada. May he rest in peace.
On his stone the word “Studiosus” is mentioned which can mean “eager, keen, full of zeal”. In Swedish it means “Ivrig, full av iver”.