Frans August Larson - Background

Background

Larson was born to a poor family as child number eleven. His parents were crofters (tenant farmers) on an estate known as Hällby, Tillberga parish, in the Swedish province of Västmanland. Larson's father died when Larson was three and his mother died when he was nine. He then became a servant boy for another one of the estate's crofters. At first he worked in the gardens, and with the cattle in the barn. Later, he became a stable boy, and he developed a passionate interest in horses which was to shape his life.

At seventeen, Larson wanted to go to Brazil, but was prevented from this by his sister Edla, who told him that he must wait until he had turned 21 and was of age to pursue such adventures. Instead, he was allowed to work at a blacksmith's shop. In 1889 he took the boat from Västerås to Stockholm to visit Edla. She was married to a general contractor, who felt that his young brother-in-law ought to become an architect. Larson began work as a carpenter on his brother-in-law's building projects in order to qualify for architecture studies in Stockholm.

During this period, Larson became interested in missionary work through the influence of his sister. He enrolled in the mission school in Eskilstuna, and rather than begin his studies at architecture school, he accepted employment with an American missionary society which worked in China and Mongolia. In this pursuit, he was driven more by a thirst for adventure and his love of horses than by his religious zeal. Together with other missionaries-to-be, he was sent to England for six weeks of training before his departure for China and Mongolia.