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August and Helen Chingren · research updated October 26, 2026

Two immigrant trails meet in Illinois, then continue west.

The evidence now connects a Swedish parish household, an exact Illinois marriage-license entry, and a Nebraska farm location—while preserving the Ellen/Helen and 1855/1856 conflicts.

The names are part of the story

The Swedish and American records do not use one fixed spelling. Their dates, places, relatives, and migration path are what make the identity match persuasive.

Sweden

Bror August Kindgren in the Högstad church books.

Illinois

August Chingren and Ellen Mohring in the state marriage index.

Nebraska

A. L. / August Chingren and Helen (Mohring) Chingren in directories and cemetery records.

“August Ludwig Chingren” remains a useful American family name, but the Swedish birth record presently supports Bror August rather than Ludwig as the recorded birth name. Chingrin and Moring should remain search variants.

Working timeline

2 April 1854

Bror August Kindgren at Kummelby

Original Swedish citations

The Högstad birth book and household examination identify Bror August Kindgren in Kummelby, Östergötland, with parents Pehr Gustaf Kindgren and Johanna Pihlgren. This is the strongest evidence yet for August’s Swedish identity.

24 May 1855 — or 1856

Helen / Ellen Mohring is born in New York

Date conflict remains

Her Pleasanton gravestone transcription gives 24 May 1855. A compiled family profile gives 1856. The working parent match is George Mohring and Margaret Schwasinger, whose family moved from New York through Mercer County, Illinois, to Buffalo County, Nebraska, but a direct original record naming Helen’s parents is still needed.

6 February 1879

August Chingren marries Ellen Mohring

Official Illinois index

The Illinois State Archives index supplies an exact retrieval key: Mercer County, volume 1, page 15, license 4142. “Ellen” may be the clerk’s form of Helen’s name. The original license should settle its spelling, residence, witnesses, officiant, and whether the indexed date was the license or ceremony date.

1879–1885

The household moves west to Buffalo County

Corroborated migration trail

The 1907 atlas associates 1879 with A. L. Chingren’s Buffalo County entry. An 1885 Rusco Township extraction independently places him in the county. Together they suggest a move to Nebraska very soon after the Illinois marriage, although the exact date still needs a contemporary record.

1890–1907

A Buffalo County farmer

Contemporary directory and atlas

The 1890–91 state gazetteer lists August at Kearney. By 1907 the county atlas identifies his farm in Section 19, Cedar Precinct, using Pleasanton as the post office. That legal location is precise enough for a tract map and deed search.

3 December 1922

Helen dies

Cemetery evidence

Helen is buried at Pleasanton Cemetery. Her stone transcription preserves the Mohring maiden name and the exact 1855–1922 dates now used as the leading hypothesis.

1940–1 January 1946

August in Ogallala; burial at Pleasanton

Indexed census and cemetery evidence

A 1940 index places A. L. Chingren in West Ogallala. His Pleasanton stone gives 1 January 1946 as his death date. The death place and reason for the move west should be confirmed in an obituary or death certificate.

The records most likely to change the story

  1. Mercer County license 4142: order the original marriage packet using volume 1, page 15.
  2. Högstad images: transcribe both cited pages and follow August through the parish moving-out register.
  3. Helen’s parentage: locate Ellen/Helen in the 1860, 1870, and 1880 census images and obtain her 1922 death record.
  4. The farm: map Section 19, Cedar Precinct, then trace county deeds. The absence of a federal patent under “Chingren” would not exclude a private purchase.
  5. Contemporary voices: search the Kearney and Pleasanton papers for wedding, social, land, and obituary items rather than relying only on later family trees.

Jump to the archive sources

Original and official records are labeled separately from transcriptions and compiled profiles. A compiled tree can point to the next document, but it is not independent proof of its own relationships.

Högstad birth and baptism book, image C0016000_00059, page 98

Original Swedish church-book citation for Bror August Kindgren, born 2 April 1854 at Kummelby in Högstad parish. Riksarkivet image; the archive viewer may require its own navigation or sign-in.

Open source ↗

Högstad household examination, image C0015986_00101, page 90

Original parish household-book citation placing August with Pehr Gustaf Kindgren and Johanna Pihlgren. This is the record to transcribe fully for residence, sibling, and movement details.

Open source ↗

Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, 1763–1900

Official index search returns August Chingren and Ellen Mohring, 6 February 1879, Mercer County, volume 1, page 15, license 4142. The state warns that an indexed date may be the marriage or license date; order the original from Mercer County or IRAD.

Open source ↗

History of Pleasanton: 1885 Rusco Township census extraction

A local-history transcription lists A. L. Chingren in the 1885 Rusco Township census. Useful secondary evidence; the census image remains preferable.

Open source ↗

Nebraska State Gazetteer, 1890–91: Buffalo County farmers

The contemporary business directory lists “Chingren August, Kearney” among Buffalo County farmers.

Open source ↗

Standard Atlas of Buffalo County, 1907: patron directory

The atlas locates A. L. Chingren, farmer, in Section 19 of Cedar Precinct, with Pleasanton as his post office. Its final “1879” entry appears to record arrival in the county, but that column should be checked against the original atlas legend.

Open source ↗

Pleasanton Cemetery transcription

Transcribes the stones for August Chingren (2 April 1854–1 January 1946), Helen Mohring Chingren (24 May 1855–3 December 1922), and Benjamin Chingren, their unmarried son.

Open source ↗

George Mohring compiled profile and attached record index

Compiled family material identifies George Mohring and Margaret Schwasinger as Helen’s parents and follows the household from New York to Mercer County, Illinois, and Buffalo County, Nebraska. This is a strong working hypothesis, not a substitute for a census or vital record that names Helen’s parents.

Open source ↗

Majors Cemetery transcription: Mohring family

Records George Mohring (1830–1901), Margaret (1833–1902), and other Mohring relatives in Buffalo County. It corroborates the family cluster, not Helen’s parentage by itself.

Open source ↗

1940 census index: West Ogallala, Keith County

Indexes A. L. Chingren, born about 1854, in West Ogallala. The original census image should be checked for household, residence, and occupation details.

Open source ↗