SVEN OLSSON

A definition of witness.

SVEN OLSSON

Clerk To The Swedish Church, Princess Square.

Sven Olsson, the clerk of the Swedish Church in Princess Square, appeared as a witness at the inquest into the death of Elizabeth Stride.

He testified that he had known her for seventeen years, confirmed that she was Swedish by birth, and provided other biographical information about her, mostly gleaned from the church register, which he produced as evidence at the inquest..

The Cardiff Times, published the following report of his testimony on Saturday, 13th October, 1888.:-

Sven Olsson said he was clerk to the Swedish Church in Princess-square.

He had known the deceased for about 17 years.

She was a Swede. Her maiden name was Gustafsdotter, and she was born near Gothenburg in 1843.

She was the wife of a carpenter named John Thomas Stride. He got these particulars from the church register. He thought the deceased married Stride in 1869, the register did not give the date.

She told him that her husband was drowned in the Princess Alice disaster.

Inspector Reid stated that a Swedish bible was found at the deceased's place, and this was given her by the last witness.

Olsson said it was a hymn book, and he gave it to her last winter."

Source: The Cardiff Times, Saturday, 13th October, 1888.