It was so very kind of you to return my call today. As I was searching on the web yesterday for an African American genealogy site, I happened upon yours and was impressed by your staff of knowledgeable talented people.

My grandfather Karl Johan Sjodin had an uncle Andrew Anderson who emigrated to the United States from central Sweden in 1887 and virtually disappeared. Recently I found him on the US census of 1900. At first I dismissed the entry as his race was listed as Black. Everything else matched up. It shows him living in the household of David S. Killough and his wife Jessie Killough, their children and two other men in Galveston, Texas, who are all listed Black. I know that Galveston at the turn of the century was a 'real' Southern city, racist and segregated, so it didn't seem likely, but certainly possible. I think that his racial identity was due to an error on the part of the census taker who probably never saw Andrew.

I'm convinced that Andrew Anderson is indeed my grandfather's uncle and find the circumstances pretty fascinating. I hope you're able to use the attachment to look up the other members of the household by clicking on them. Not one of them has popped up in all my searches later than 1900. I hate to think that they all perished in the Great Storm of 1900. (census in June, storm in September)

Now I'm almost as interested in finding the Killoughs as I was finding an ancestor. I would be thrilled to shake hands with a living Killough.

I certainly appreciate any help you can give me. If not direct assistance, referrals are most welcome.

Best regards,
Katarina Pettersson

Andrew Anderson, born Anders Johan Andersson, June 15, 1854 in Ulrika Ostergotland, Sweden

Father: Anders Andersson, July 31, 1820 Ulrika, Sweden
Mother: Carolina Carlsdotter Andersson, July 26, 1828 Ulrika, Sweden

1900 Census