Nils Flygare was born 10 June 1811 in Ostro
Grevie, Malmohus, Sweden to Johannes Lorens
Lichtstein Flygare and Elna Rosenburg. Nils father
was an officer in the Swedish army and therefore,
the family traveled around the county of Malmohus,
moving frequently.

Nils himself chose an army career, becoming a
corporal in the Swedish army. He also developed
many other skills such as a stone cutter, a carpenter,
and a ship builder.

The name Flygare (pronounced Flee-ga-ree in
Sweden) means fast runner or (flyer). Nils Flygare's
grandfather was a runner for the King.

It might be enlightening to review some of the
social customs in Sweden at this period in history
in regards to this family. In the middle and lower
class families, it was customary to send teenage
girls off to work as "pigans" or maids for wealthier
families. It was likewise customary to send teenage
boys off to work for other farmers as "drangens" or
farm hands. It proved to be a very unsatisfactory
situation for many young people, as the early
Swedish records are full of "oakta" (illegitimate)
children. Away from the protection of their families,
they very often had moral problems with either
other working teens or sometimes members of the
families that employed them. Illegitimate children
in sweden are almost as common as legitimate
children. The fact that this family traveled with the
army probably compounded the problem.

This Swedish family was plagued with misfortune.
Anna and Nils were parents for the second time on
30 August 1837 when their daughter Ellna was born
in Svedala. A third daughter, Maria was born to them
on 15 March 1840, and a fourth daughter, Johanna,
was born 21 Dec 1842. Johanna lived a little over two
years, and died as an infant on 30 Dec 1844. On 22
April 1845 Anna gave birth to another little baby girl,
and as was often the custom, they named this little
daughter Johanna also. On 17 March 1847, their third
daughter, Maria, who was seven years old, died. On
24 September (Anna's birthday) 1847, the first son
Johannes was born. He survived not quite a year and
a half, and died on 21 Feb 1849. Anna gave birth to
another little boy on 26 July 1851, they, of course, named
it Johannes. The next child was also a son named
August Theodor, born on 9 Sept 1854.

Nils and Anna were introduced to the LDS church in
Sweden and were both baptized on 31 July 1855. They
had all of their living children who were eight years or
older baptized. They were still living in Svedala when
they lost their second little son named Johannes on 24
Feb 1856.

Shortly after this, the family moved from Svedala to
the city of Malmo, Malmohus, Sweden. While living in
the city of Malmo, Anna gave birth to her last two children
(twins), on 25 July 1857, John Whitmore Flygare and
Emma Maria Flygare.

The family began to make preparations to come to
the United States to join members of their faith in Utah.
Anna and Nils and their remaining children, which
included Bengta, Bengta's illegitimate son, Frans August,
Ellna, Johanna, Emma Maria, John Whitmore, and
August Theodore set sail on the ship "John J. Boyd" or
"JoBoy." They were eight weeks at sea, and during this
time their little son August Theodor died on board the ship
and was buried at sea.

nils came across the plains with the William B Preston
company of 1864 according to the Mormon overland pioneer
travel web page in the LDS Church sponsered site.

Anna and Nils arrived in Utah on 28 Aug 1863. They
soon afterwards went to Parowan, Iron county, Utah to
settle. In 1864 their fifth daughter, Johanna died at the
age of nineteen, unmarried.

The Indians were giving the pioneers a difficult time
during these years when this poor little swedish family
suffered their final tragedy. Nils flygare was shot and
killed instantly 9 June 1865, while employed as a
patrolman with a caravan of wagons loaded with wheat
enroute to a flour mill. Cattle were seen with arrows
hanging in their hides, and with flesh wounds from gunfire.
John Whitmore, the only surviving son, was nine years old
when this happened.

Anna's daughter Bengta and her husband Nils Larson
helped Anna through this difficult time. Anna and her
children came to Salem, Utah to live with or near Bengta.
That winter they nearly starved to death because Nils
Larson had lost nearly all of his winter supply of flour
in an accident while trying to ferry it across a stream.
They knew the cries of hungry children that winter.

John Whitmore helped support his mother as soon as
he was able, and remained a bachelor until the age of
twenty seven when he married Eliza Olive Stone 16 Nov,
1884. Ellna, who changed her name to Ellen, married
Nelson Russ, and Emma Maria married James Ainsworth.
Both of them moved to Idaho with their families.

When Anna became unable to take care of herself, she
moved to Carey, Idaho to live with her daughter Emma.
She died there on 31 July 1901, and was buried there