In August of 1881,  Caroline Bodeen and her six children came to America and re-united with John, who had emigrated three months earlier.

We know that from all of these:
   Family folklore,
   At least two independent family historians,
   Two documents from Swedish archives, and
   Two documents from U.S. Archives.

Now,  more evidence has surfaced. Information from two more Swedish archive documents prove that John was indeed a Swedish soldier.  But there's a problem; one of those documents says John was still with his family when they emigrated!

Emibas is a CD database with information from Swedish emigration archives. It contains a record (from a document dated August 24, 1881) listing John August Bodeen with his family at the time they left from Gothenberg on their way to America.  But other documents say he was already in America three months earlier!  How do we explain the contradiction?

Here's one explanation;
     The other Swedish documents were wrong,
     two U.S. documents were also wrong,
     the family stories were made up, and
     my grandma Emma was simply lying when she spoke of the family's tearful reunion.

Here's another explanation;
     A brave man left his country illegally to start a better life for himself and his family, and
     a resourceful wife found a clever way to fool the authorities.

You decide.