Örebro Period
In the castle or in a related building, Pehr August Ålund was born on August 3, 1826. His parents were Peter Persson Ålund and Anna Larsdotter Sundstedt. They moved from Almby, just outside Örebro, to the Slottet neighborhood in Örebro in 1821. After their move to Örebro, Peter was referred to as a farmhand, having previously worked for his employer in Almby.
Pehr August was the firstborn of Anna and Peter and the only one of their future siblings born in the Slottet neighborhood. The siblings eventually totaled eight, with two having passed away in infancy.
In 1827, Pehr August and his parents moved to the Waktknektbacken neighborhood, located north of the castle. Upon moving here, his father changed his title to surveyor and worked for the Broms trading firm, possibly as a timber measurer. However, it is unclear what Peter did during his first year in Örebro.
The family lived at four different addresses, all in central Örebro, when Pehr August started school at the age of seven in 1833. They resided at No. 1 Söder courtyard. Pehr August’s first school was a monitorial school on Drottninggatan. This educational method involved older students teaching younger ones and originated from Britain, known as the Bell-Lancaster method.
In 1837, the monitorial school was replaced by Karolinska school. Pehr August joined his classmates in the lower division of the Örebro Apologists’ School, housed in Karolinska school. In this school, students studied practical subjects, acquiring useful knowledge for their livelihoods. According to the class report book from the spring term of 1841, Pehr August’s final term, the following subjects were included:
- German language
- German writing
- French language
- Swedish language
- Christianity
- Biblical history
- Swedish history
- Geography
- Geometry
- Arithmetic
- Algebra
Students were also graded on diligence and behavior.
During his time in the lower division of the apologists’ school, Pehr August attended for four terms (fall 1837, spring 1838, fall 1838, and spring 1839). Unfortunately, records for the fall term of 1839 and the spring term of 1840 are missing. He continued his education in the upper division of the Örebro Apologists’ School during the fall of 1840 and the spring of 1841. After completing this, he finished his schooling and, on June 21 during the graduation day, received a “charta över Skandinavien” (a map of Scandinavia) as a gift for performing exceptionally well during his final year, despite a weak start at Karolinska school. His grades from the academic year 1837-1838 were not outstanding.
Arboga Period
Unfortunately, we do not know what Pehr August did from the fall of 1841 to the fall of 1844. He might have attended a private school. There were possibilities for further studies in Västerås and Strängnäs, and possibly in Arboga.
During the winter of 1844-1845, he resided in the Arboga parish and worked as a shop assistant for merchant Carl Gustaf Stenberg. His employment ended in March 1845.
