Jesse Williams Learns About His Swedish Great Grandmother

Burseryd is a tiny farming parish in Western Sweden.

By 1855, the year Inga was born, her family had lived in the area for centuries.

Inga would likely have spent her life there too, where it not for the fact that she was a gifted singer, and that changed everything.

In the spring of 1871, Inga left Burseryd to study at the prestigious Royal Music Academy in Stockholm.

I drove past the Royal Music Academy, I've seen it.

I did not know that I had a family member who studied there.

So this was not a family story that was passed down.

Not to, not to my- not to me.

She moved more than 250 miles away from home when she was only 16 years old.

Wow.

Can you imagine?

Wow.

What are you feeling?

This is a big deal.

Yeah, it is a big deal.

It is a big deal.

Yeah, it's incredible to imagine.

And, so looking back and understanding what came of, you know, how our family developed, but to think about her having no idea what is to come in generations ahead and just setting out, just setting out to pursue your craft and try to make a life for yourself, especially away from your family, in the arts.

When Inga enrolled in the Royal Academy, the school had only been open to women for 15 years, and opportunities for female musicians were quite limited.

But Inga didn't seem to care about that.

In 1873, when she was still a teenager, she joined what became known as the Swedish Ladies Quartet and began to tour Europe.

Just three years later, the group arrived in America to considerable fanfare.

"It is safe to say that in all its long and honorable career, no performance has occurred in every respect so perfect as was this.

The Swedish ladies sang the difficult part songs of Schumann artistically and with surprising effect, the quaint national songs which they gave in the last half of the concert were charmingly sung and elicited a hearty encore."

Not a bad review.

Not at all.

That's a wonderful review.

See, Inga performed with the New York Philharmonic, the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States, and her quartet was a smash.

What do you think she was feeling, was she terrified, exhilarated?

I think both, I think certainly exhilarated and at some level we're all terrified when you're putting your neck out there.

So, that's bravery, and you know what?

The more I look at her, the more I see a couple members of my family in her face, actually.

Yeah, looks like my cousin.

This concert was the beginning of an extended tour that would take Inga's quartet to some of the largest stages in the United States.

It would also prove to be the high point of Inga's career.

In 1883, 6 years after arriving in America, she married a fellow Swede in Chicago, started a family and saw the quartet disband.

So what does that tell you about what it was like to be a female artist in those days?

Right, right.

You become, I imagine to some degree of a kept woman or your aspirations are subject to the man's aspirations.

Yeah, if she were alive today, do you think she would've wanted to do both work and have a family?

Yeah, I would imagine, especially when it seems to be bringing you joy and success and you're this young.

Mm-hmm.

Wow, this is mind blowing.

I did not know any of this.

Inga and her husband would eventually settle down in Minnesota, where they raised five children.

And though she would never again perform on the big stages of her youth, Inga did not abandon her gift.

Records show that she worked as a voice teacher and even gave concerts as a soloist.

It brings me joy to see that she continued with music, not just as a teacher, but she was able to still perform.

Yeah, despite the fact that she had five kids.

Wow.

Do you think you inherited anything from this ancestor?

I'd like to think I inherited some bravery, some risk-taking, you know, ability and talent.

But I think that, to be able to set a course like that for yourself and take advantage of the confidence and faith of others.

A lot of us can get it and squander it, but to take advantage of it and to honor it and to see it through at that time, as a young woman.

Yeah, that's pretty, that's incredible.