Sebelius and Sibelius
Posted on May 19, 2006
| 13 comments
Filed under: Genealogy, Sibelius (composer)
So, Alex Ross wonders whether Kansas Governer Kathleen Sebelius is related to composer Jean Sibelius.
I haven’t had time this week for my planned “real” post, so ok, I’ll bite. Being a bit of a genealogy nerd, I have access to some resources, and here’s the answer:
I don’t know.
But, I do know these things:
- Jean Sibelius, although known as a Finnish composer, was ethnically Swedish (as many Finns are today; Finland is a bilingual Finnish/Swedish-speaking country).
- Governor Sebelius’ husband Gary is the great grandson of a Christian Sebelius, who identifies Sweden as his birthplace in the 1900 Census
- Gary Sebelius’ grandfather, Carl, was a dentist. No real value here, but isn’t it kind of creepy that I can find that out?
No luck figuring out where in Sweden Christian came from. But, he was a contemporary of Jean Sibelius (whose real name, interestingly, was Johan Julius Christian Sibelius). Jean Sibelius was born in Hämeenlinna, which was part of Russia at the time, not Sweden.
Still, dollars to doughnuts, they are related, if distantly. That’s my educated hunch. Regardless, I agree with Mr. Ross that it would be lovely to have a president named Sebelius.
I do loves me some Sibelius.
There is only one familly Sibelius/Sebelius. In the 17:th century there was a priest (Nils Christiansson SIBELIUS) in Sibbarp in Sweden that took the name Sibelius. One of his children spelled his name with an e instead of an i and that is why there are two different spellings of one familly name. Accordinly, Kansas Governer Kathleen Sebelius is related to the composer Jean Sibelius.
See also webpage:
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:1115051&id=I1952
Sincerely, Sara Sebelius
Greetings from Finland. Fascinating to follow this thread. I would just emphasize the difference between being an “ethnic” Swede and speaking Swedish as a mother tongue: it’s like calling English-speaking Americans “ethnically English”! The Swedish speakers of Finland don’t see themselves as Swedes but as Finns, though they share something together. You might say, at most, that they are ethnically Swedish-speaking-Finns. In any case, Sibelius was a key contributor of the Finnish national awakening and cultural Golden Age and his music is seen as capturing a uniquely Finnish spirit.
I am also related to
Anders Sebelius born 1712 (6th g grandfather)
Jacobn 1742
Anders 1775
Olaf 1802
Isak 1848
Frederik 1883
Graham 1920
My surname changed to Heideman when Olaf took his wifes name she was Brita Christina Heideman
I would also like to know if there is any connection with the composer