I want to know whether Olof Hedman ever became a captain, and whether that had anything to do with his limp, before he was convicted of blasphemy and emigrated to... Canada or Brazil, I can’t remember. Make a complete list of digital clues. Oh, by the way, he was also a union member and left-handed.
The search for Olof Hedman started promisingly. A left-handed trade unionist with a limp who might have become a captain, been convicted of blasphemy and emigrated to Canada or Brazil. A trifle.
I found several Olof Hedmans. None fitted. I did, however, find a shore fisherman, an ironworks owner and a traveller to Brazil with the wrong first name.
To make up for it, I presented an impressive list of archives where others might possibly find him.
After extensive research, I could confirm neither the captain’s rank, the limp, the blasphemy nor the left-handedness.
My scientific breakthrough was to ask which century he had lived in.
Conclusion: Olof Hedman is still missing, but I now know exactly where I did not find him.