Written by Jeanine Plumer
Pioneer times were an era in America’s past when individuals and families left what was familiar and ventured forth into barely tamed lands in anticipation of a better life. These enterprising people arrived from settled areas in the United States and scattered countries with a large percentage migrating from European soil.
Swen Bergman left his home in Ekjo, Sweden alone in 1852, at age 16. Months later he disembarked at Galveston harbor wandering onto a new continent swarming with people with big dreams and high hopes, just like his. Swen took in his new surroundings. Though the Galveston Harbor was an active port with sailing ships from all over the world, the scene that slowly unfolded as the ship drew close to the dock was nothing like what Swen had anticipated. How could he have known what to expect? Texas was still a wild state compared to the port of Amsterdam where he had embarked on his trip across the Atlantic and then south to the Gulf of Mexico. Swen’s true name, Bergman, would be lost forever once he arrived in Texas. Immigration officials misspelled his ancestral name and documented Swen’s name on his citizenship papers as Beryman.
Now, as a new Texan filled with perseverance, energy and faith. Swen worked as much as he could, doing whatever he could to earn a dollar. He took to the saddle as a cow puncher, labored as a farm hand, became a blacksmith’s apprentice and even drove a freight wagon to and from small towns along state highways that were little more than wagon ruts between sagebrush. During this time he saved his hard-earned wages, and when he had accumulated enough money purchased cattle, horses and land.
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