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[QUOTE="Martin Williams, post: 260512, member: 141861"]
Hi Brian 
 
'...my guess would be that etiquette dictated that she could call herself "Countess Sigrid Lindstroem" but not "Countess Lindstroem", just as Lady Helen Taylor isn't "Lady Taylor"...' 
 
If there were parallels between the Swedish and English hereditary systems, then you are quite correct. Sigrid would have occupied the same position as the daughter of a marquess or an earl, holding a title by courtesy only. 'Countess Lindstroem' (rendered WITHOUT her Christian name) would have implied that she was married to the head of house. Nevertheless, I do find it difficult to believe that she would have dropped her title so casually on occasion. Perhaps the foreign style proved a little too much for the printer of the first-class passenger list?     
 
'I never assume that aristocrats are rich' 
 
Too right - some were, and are, noticeably strapped for ready cash! I like your speculation about the finances of her late husband. If he were an army officer, even a senior ranking one, then the chances are that he was independently wealthy. I too would automatically assume that he was of gentle birth...unless Sigrid married 'out of caste' in which case her story could be even more intriguing! 
 
All the best 
 
Martin
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