Nils P. Frostensson was born January 12, 1854 in Näsum Parish, Kristiansand Province, Sweden. His parents were Per Frostensson, born in Eskakärra March 24, 1787, and Berta Olsdotter, who was born July 14, 1814 in the same house where Nils was born. His grandmother Gunnilla was the midwife when he was born. His father was a farmer. The family had no well, nor even an outhouse. The local one-room schoolhouse, attended by children from Östgard and Drögsperyd, was built in the center of the community, and Nils' first teacher, Sven Rönndahl, lived in the house built for the teacher by the community. It had two rooms, a kitchen, and a cellar.
Nils' father passed away on December 4, 1863. The house and its contents were auctioned off, but his brother was able to buy the farm. Nils recalls that his parents were very religious, and that a deck of playing cards was never permitted in the house. Nils was confirmed May 3, 1868, and that same day he left home to make his own way in the world. He got his first job herding cows, sheep, and hogs. His brother worked on the same farm, but the farmer was unkind and Nils' mother told him to come home. He spent several more years as a herdsman on different farms, but one winter he froze his hands and feet quite badly and had to quit for a time. Later he began working in the woods. He was an avid reader and had been a good student, and eventually he became a teacher. He graduated from Växjo Seminary and five years later married Cecilia Nillson of Ingaberga. She died in 1930, and he passed on six years later. Both are buried in the Vinslöv cemetery.
From the guide to the Nils P. Frostensson - Family History, 1787-1936, (Pacific Lutheran University Archives and Special Collections/Library Services)
