Carl Friman (1781-1862) emigrated from Sweden with five sons in 1838 and purchased 80 acres near Genoa City. The Friman family became recognized as the first Swedes to settle permanently in Wisconsin. After returning to Sweden, Carl Friman corresponded regularly with his sons who remained in Wisconsin, and their letters appeared in Swedish newspapers, stimulating interest in opportunities and conditions in America. The family stood in the vanguard of nineteenth-century Swedish immigration to the United States. By 1900, more than 1.1 million people of Swedish birth or descent lived in the United States, and nearly 49,000 people born in Sweden lived in Wisconsin. Carl Friman’s son Adolph (1826-1871) owned numerous town lots in Genoa City and became a successful businessman there; Freeman Street in Genoa City is named in his honor, and he is buried in Hillside Cemetery. Carl’s son Wilhelm (1823-1911) also owned land that was incorporated into this community, while the other sons lived for a time in the area before moving west.