Geneology: Holmquist, Swanson, Rinell and ColldŽn

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Lennart Holmquist
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Lennart John Holmquist and his sisters Meilynn and Carolynn and his brother Carey are descended from the families Holmquist, Swanson, Rinell, and Colldén all of Swedish origin. The Holmquist and Swanson families were emigrants from Sweden to America in the late 1800s. They settled initially in the Chicago, Illinois area.

The Rinell family were Swedish Baptist missionaries who emigrated from Sweden in 1893 and arriving to their adopted homeland, China, in 1894. Three generations of the Rinell family were to live in China, two generations of whom were born in that country. The last of the Rinell family left China about the year 1951 when the communist Chinese took over final control of China. Prejudiced against foreigners, the communist Chinese government forced many foreigners out of China through outright expulsion, intimidation, accusations of illegal or unethical behavior, the confiscation of their property or combination of any of the above. The Rinell family left China under adverse circumstances, eventually settling in Sweden and America.

Lennart Holmquist, a great-grandson of John and Hedvig Rinell, is writing, with the help of family members, a book about the Rinell family in China, which at this point is entitled Foreign Devils; a Swedish family in China 1894 - 1951.

John Alfred Rinell
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The Colldén family was from the towns of Göteborg (Gothenburg) and Lindome in Sweden. Most of the Colldén family remained in Sweden except for David Colldén who became a missionary to Africa, and his sister Hellen Colldén who married a Rinell and became a missionary to China.

Though many family members have contributed, these family histories have, for the most part, been written and assembled by Lennart Holmquist along with a significant amount of research and family information provided by Bengt Holmquist of Sweden for the Holmquist section. Chapters written by other family members are noted with their particular contribution.

If you have any more information on any of these families or their descendants or have comments or suggestions to offer, send an email by clicking on feedback. Contributions of family information, photos or general content are, very welcome.

Family are encouraged to print off any web pages of this family history for their own records. Though electronic media is a wonderful way to make information available, paper is in a sense more durable. Websites can come and go in a flash; paper can last thousands of years under the right conditions.

All material in these histories are copyrighted, and can only be used with the written permission of Lennart Holmquist including but not limited to electronic, paper, video, film, DVD, CD and audio. The intention is to keep businesses and other third parties from financially profiting from this material.

However, anyone contributing photos, audio, movies, documents or any other media retain the copyright to that material. The material is used here with their permission.

Last Update: 20-Mar-2009

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