It is in the walls...

Since the TV-show "Det sitter i väggarna" thought I had done enough research by myself and didn't need their help, I am keep trying to put together the puzzle pieces that are still missing of the quite interesting history of Villa Bellevue.
Finding traces of the owners between 1944 and 1952 has been problematic. This because they had a quite common surname, Pehrsson and the parish books were accessible publicly only up to 1944.
Eventually, I managed to find the woman who, as a girl, lived in our house during that time. Märtha was living in Lund when I contacted her, about 2 years ago. She was 90, so we thought of sending her a letter. After few weeks or months (?), she called us and we organized to meet her.

Märta in front of her house in Kvarnby

Sadly, that meeting has never happened as she is pretty senile and when it was time to pick her up she didn't even remember who we were.
I tried to contact her by calling another time, but she was pretty confused. After that, I decided to let her be.

About a year later, we got contacted by Gerd. She is a relative who, when Märtha got moved to a retirement home, found our letter in her old apartment.
She promised and visit and her, together with Bengt, have brought us some stories, some pictures and a nice good connection.

Nils Pehrsson

Nevertheless, the 1st of November 1944, Nils Pehrsson and family moved into Bellevue.

Move card sent by Nils Pehrson

At the time, he was working as representative (handels resande)for the chocolate factory "Brothers Kanold", but Nils was born of humble origins 1888 and moved a lot, from town to town and changed few jobs as well.

He married Ellen Johansson, who was also born 1888, in 1916. 

Ellen, probably around 1950, in front of the veranda

Towels weaved by Ellen before getting married

Still same woman behind the craft. Ellen Pehrsson

It took a while before they got a child, but eventually Märtha Alexina was born 1927.

As long-waited lonely child, she was very well spoiled and protected by her parents. One of the reasons to move to Åkarp was that Märtha, who was at the time 17, decided to study in Lund as a nurse.

For getting closer to Lund, they moved to Åkarp, so that she could then take the train to go to school. They previously lived in Kvarnby, in a house called Villa Lyckebo,. 

Similarly, they moved to Lund, in a house in Nilstorp, to make it even easier for their daughter. 

But Märtha was forced to abandon the studies since she got tubercolosis by some patience she was curing during her studies. 

She got to be in Hörby, hospitalized, and during the time being, also her parents moved to Hörby.
When she was back on her feet, she started to study social studies instead.

Bellevue. Probably around 1944

Bellevue, front facade

Nils was born in Fränninge. His father, Per Nilsson was an arrendator, married to Matta Bengtsson (Bengtsdotter). They lived in 1891 in Brunslöf 2. Nils' siblings, Ingrid and Anders, were born there 1892 and 1895.

Anders kept the Nilsson surname. He died 1916.

1901 they moved to Vomb, in Bruksgården where Per died. It is then that they moved in Norregård, where Nils is a dräng and Ingrid a piga. Ingrid would never marry and would end up in Lund where she died 1979.

Nils comes back to Norregård 1910 after being in Veberöd a couple of years, for then going back to Veberöd 1912.

Lyckebo (Maryhill) in the background. 

When Nils and Ellen got married, he moved to Limhamn. He was working for Hagerman and Malmgren, who were wholesalers. Nils at that point was a a stock clerk, even working as bookkeeper for this company which later in 1946 would be purchased for entering the ICA domain (at that time EOL).

Hagerman and Malmgren from 1910, predecessor of a modern supermarket

When working for Hagerman and Malmgren, Nils kept his contact with Lorentzon, the farmer he was a worker for in Veberöd. 

In 1919 though, Nils was involved in a small case that ended up at the district court of Torna and Bara. Suspected for perjury, Nils was inflicted of 3 years of punishment work (plus 2).

Basically, Lorentzon together with Julius Andersson did sell 10000 kg of cornflour containing 10% of seashells to Hagerman and Malmgren. 

Later on though, the highest regional court cut out the punishment as Nils was declared not responsible.

Of course, although there was some awareness of this part of the story, details about what had happened to Nils had not been spread to the family whatsoever. Everything points out to the fact that Nils was not involved directly but decided to take the blame for saving his employers. Maybe since he had the connection with Lorentzon he felt somehow responsible? 

We will never know, of course...

Articles about the event

What happened next? Nils moved away from Limhamn towards Malmö 1923, living quite central and starting to work as a business man/trader. It is unclear where directly, but it is obvious that he was quite successfull in the business as when he lived in Åkarp he  was working for a chocolate company located in Göteborg.

Nils business card 

As family Nils and Ellen are described as very neat and a bit strict. Ellen wasn't very happy if someone would be playing around on the piano, for example. 

Ellen and her cousins would spend a lot of time weaving. A part from towels, she had also created a wonderful drapery that hanged over our stairs when the couple was living in Bellevue.

Ellen bringing coffee in

When looking at the pictures of Bellevue from the second half of the 40s and compare with the earlier pictures from the Ingemansson, as well as the later ones from the Edler, it is clear that the house was very well kept still close to its original.

The name of the house probably disappeared when the Edler renovated the facade, although already in this picture it is quite obvious that the color is very white (it should be more light yellow). Of course that is a hard detail to grasp from a black/white picture. The base is clearly very grey though. 

The meridian is shining in front of a facade

Interesting to see how much vegetation was growing on the facade, almost half a window is covered!

On the veranda though one can see the vine half of its size of today, the same plant that Christer Freeberg remembered when he visited us.

When looking at the garden one can see the small gravel walk between the flower beds. It seems that the structure of the garden is closer to the original one, actually. 

Big lime trees existed back then already

Interesting enough the fence that beautifully defined the edge with the road in 1906 is gone and already substituted by a hedge. If it is the same as today or not, I can't judge, but the lime trees, which Inge Edler would cut himself, are still the same.

The hedge

When looking at the facade, I can still see the windows on the very dark and shiny tower. Windows (which we knew already had been kept original until 1958) in white but the door having mullion on the windows. That was a detail I have missed.

The lamp over the door looks quite different than today.

Ellen and Nils just outside the veranda

Nils with their dog outside the veranda

From these pictures we can also see few things that I have especially been curious about. How the balcony looked back then and which door existed on the veranda before Edler modernized it.

For the doors, it looks as a double door which we might have up in the attic - hopefully!

For the balcony, it is clear which was the style of it. Still the front decoration which was hyper visible in the Ingemansson pictures, is a bit blurred here, but possibly, we are getting close to see how it really was.
Over the balcony there are some constructions/poles that are fixated in the walls. We wonder what they were those for?

Sadly there were not much pictures from the Freebergs who bought the house 1952 and nothing about the house from the Larssons, who owned Bellevue 1920 - 1928.

I guess one can hope I will eventually find some traces with the Nilsson (1914 - 1919) or the Berggren (1928 - 1944).