Born: October 3, 1832, in the rectory at Fröderyd, Småland, Sweden.
Died: July 27, 1903, Stockholm, Sweden.
Buried: Solna Kyrkogård, Solna, Sweden. On her tombstone is a line from one of her hymns: Tryggare kan ingen vara
(No one could be safer
).
Lina was the daughter of Jonas Sandell, pastor of the Lutheran church in Fröderyd parish (diocese of Växjö), and wife of Stockholm merchant and temperance activist Carl Oscar Berg (married 1867).
At age 26, she accompanied her father on a boat trip across Lake Vättern to Göteborg, during which he fell overboard and drowned before her eyes. The tragedy profoundly affected Lina, and reportedly inspired her to write hymns.
Known as the Fanny Crosby of Sweden, she wrote 650 hymns. Many she signed with the initials L. S.
From 1866–1902, she edited Korsblomman, Christlig Kalender, the children’s publication Korn åt Små Fåglar, and until 1891 Barnens Tidning.