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GRIP from Sweden
A name of a family that has in Sweden a very noble
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The
story about Grip
from Sweden has two extremes in it.
On the one hand there was
the old noble family of Bo Jonson Grip, who has
played such an important role in the history of
Sweden. Although they have died out, their name
lives on in many places, like in that of
Gripsholm castle, not far from Stockholm.
On the other hand there
were the soldiers Grip. When a humble Swede with
a too common name entered the army, he sometimes
was given the name Grip to distinguish him from
his comrades. Later on, some of them passed this
name on to their descendants.
Whether that's the only
explanation of the fact that Grip still exists as
a family name, is not sure. Maybe their is more
to be said about their origin and a possible
relationship between them and the other Griep's
and Gryp's around the Baltic Sea...
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THE
MEDIAEVAL GRIP FAMILY
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THE
GRIP FAMILYWithin
the mediaeval family Grip,
there is a distinction to be made
between the 'old' and the 'young' branch.
Ancestor of the 'old' branch, that has a Griffin
head in his coat of arms, is Tomas Jonson.
Ancestor
of the 'younger' branch is Bo Jonson Grip.
He was governor, large landowner and castle
owner. In his times, he was one of the wealthiest
man of Sweden and the largest landowner ever: he
owned one third of Sweden and the whole of
Finland. He founded Gripsholm castle, but since
1367 he himself lived at Bjärkaholm castle.
After he died, the Swedish king Albrecht of
Mecklenburg tried to get hold of his heritage,
which led to much unrest among the Swedish
nobility.
His
son Knut Bosson (Grip) draw
the attention in 1395, when he claimed his
fathers rights on Finland. In 1399 he gave up
this claim at a meeting with the queen in
Stegeholm castle. His daughter Katarina
Knutsdotter (Grip), married to Nils
Erengislesson, passed the name Grip on to her
son, the 'riksråd' Bo Grip.
Three generations later, baron Moritz
Birgersson Grip (Till Vinäs och Tärnö) was
the last male member of the family. He lived at
Björstter castle, later renamed Mauritsberg
castle, and died in 1591 in Finland.
See
for more about them: the noble Grip-family.
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THE
'GRIFFIN BIRD' ON COATS OF ARMS
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TWO SWEDISH PROVINCES It could
be coincidental, but in both Swedish provinces in
which the Grip family lived -- Östergötland
with Stegeholm castle and Södermanland with
Gripsholm castle -- a Griffin ('Grip') appears in
the coat of arms.
The
same goes for the arms of the province of
Stockholm, established in 1968 as a amalgamation of
the city of Stockholm and the surrounding region.
The
southernmost province of Skåne has, just like
the 'old' branch of the Grip family, a Griffins
head in their coat of arms. The origin, though,
is different. It is derived from the arms of
Malmö. Malmö itself was granted the griffin in
his coat of arms in 1437 by King Eric, son of
Vratislav of Pomerania. So, the griffin of Skåne
is in fact a Pomeranian one.
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Östergotland
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Södermanland
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GRIP AS
SOLDIERS NAME
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SOLDIER GRIP When, in
the 18th century, the original Grip family has
died out, the name Grip becomes more or less 'up
for grabs' to anyone. Several times, when an army
commander had to rename soldiers with too common
names, they were given the name Grip.
In this way a number of Swedish Grip families
have gotten their surname:
-
Lars Grip
(lars.grip@telia.com) from Stockholm has
the following knowledge about his family:
Our family came from Småland, a woody
area in Götaland. As I heard, my
ancestor Nils Samuelsson Grip, born in
1806 in Flodhult, was a simple soldier
who just was given the name Grip by his
superiors. His son, Anders Peter Grip,
was born in 1843 in Frödinge and he had
a son named Axel Werner Grip, born in
1881 in Hycklinge. This Axel Werner Grip,
Lars his grandfather, lived a double
life. He had his family, wife and 5
children, in Malmö, but he spend most of
his life in Portland (Maine) USA. He even
might have some children over there. Lars
his father, Stig Grip, is born in 1915
and Lars himself in 1948.
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Hans Grip
from Söderhamn let
us know:
The oldest ancestor I know is my
grandfather Johan Arvid Grip. He was born
in 1878 in Nyköping, where his father
had a transport-company. When he was 23,
he moved to Eskilstuna and later on to
Södertalje. He had many children, and my
father Johan Arvid Grip is his oldest
son.
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Svante Grip
(svanteg@telia.com) tells us about the
Swedish Grip families:
The noble Grip family, descendants of Bo
Jonsson Grip, has dies out in the 18th
century. After that, the name was 'up for
grabs' for anyone. His branch of the
family, from Stora Åby near Jönköping
at lake Vattern, got the name by
'renaming' drafted soldiers with similar
common names: they were elevated from a
Forsberg to a Grip!
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A forefather of Mats
Grip (mats@grips.se) also got this name
a long time ago, when he served in the
army.
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A 'GRIP'
GOES TO HOLLAND
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GRIP FROM MAGLARP
- In 1797 in Maglarp, small
town in Swedens southermost province of
Skåne, Niels Joranson Grip
was born. In 1820 he married to Hanna
Larsdotter. In 1846 he died. They had a
son:
- Lars Nielson Grip,
was born in 1836 in Trelleborg. He was a
sailor and he married in the year 1869 at
the Dutch island of Vlieland to Aafje
Bruijn. One of their children was:
- George Grip,
born in 1882 at Rotterdam. This George,
also a sailor, had eight children; the
oldest of which was:
- Lars Nielson Grip,
born in 1906 at Rotterdam and also a
sailor.
So
a Swedish seaman from Skåne became the ancestor
of a Grip family at Rotterdam.
Gerda Grip
from Rotterdam is a granddaughter of Lars
Nielson Grip. She is very curious to hear
more
about her Swedish
ancestors. Her address: Hijkerveld 52,
3085 Rotterdam, tel: +31 6 21424391. |
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