The Swedish Colonial Society is America's oldest organization dedicated to the study and preservation of New Sweden history. In addition to collecting and publishing research on Swedes and Finns in America, the Society maintains parks, monuments, and memorials of historic sites. A unique aspect of the group is its connection to Sweden's royal family and the Swedish government.
In 1906, Dr. Amandus Johnson returned from study in Europe with a wealth of material concerning New Sweden, and was determined that the history of the settlement be recorded. In 1907, Johnson met with Swedish officials in the United States to generate support for the creation of a national organization and, in 1908, several informal meetings with prominent individuals who shared his vision were held at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. On January 20, 1909, the first organizational meeting of the Swedish Colonial Society took place. In the same year, the Society's founders sought the patronage of the King of Sweden. An invitation to King Gustav V was engraved on a solid silver scroll and sent to Sweden through the Swedish ambassador. On July 13, the King accepted the invitation to become the Society's first High Patron.
Early membership roles in the group were filled with the names of many of Philadelphia and Wilmington's leading families, scholars, and industrialists. By 1926, Amandus Johnson had gathered funds from across the country for what would become the American Swedish Historical Museum, a national museum dedicated to the achievements of Swedish immigrants. The Society determined that the project was beyond its own scope, choosing to focus instead on the time before 1800 and to let the museum concentrate on later years. Nonetheless, SCS supported its construction and, by June of that year, the cornerstone of the building was placed. [1] Presiding at the ceremony were then-Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf and his wife, the Princess Victoria.
While the Society was rather exclusive in its founding, the first female associate member was received in 1909 and, by 1929, women were accorded regular membership. In the 1930s, however, there were still only 193 members. Meetings were held in the librarian's office of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, with an average attendance of seven. The meetings, lasting just over an hour, consisted mainly of receiving new members and accepting resignations.
The Society entered a new era under Colonel Frank W. Melvin's tenure as Governor (1936–1946), a period which led to six projects being accepted by the Works Progress Administration. During this time, the Governor sought to turn the Society into a patriotic organization as, during World War II, anyone who supported Swedish neutrality was suspect. The effort proved too controversial, however, and was not approved.
Today, the Society is primarily devoted to research and historic preservation. With the increased interest in colonial history, membership has grown and now totals roughly 1,000 people from across the United States and an ever-increasing number of foreign countries. The current Governor is John B. Tepe, Jr., Esq., who began his tenure in early 2018. [2]
One of the earliest projects of the Society was the 1923 creation of a monument to Governor Johan Printz on Philadelphia's Tinicum Island. The organization assumed responsibility for the property surrounding the monument, supervising the grading and seeding necessary to improve the land's poor condition. A professional archaeological investigation was then conducted on the site, leading to the discovery of the footprint of Printzhof, the governor's residence. Ownership of the area has since been given back to the Tinicum Township.
Following this, the organization pursued an effort to have Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a designation that it achieved in 1946, being the first American religious building to do so.
In 2003, the Society sponsored the Rambo Apple Project, designed to bring the Rambo apple tree species back to Sweden. The tree had been extinct since 1709-10 following a severe winter in Sweden, but had survived in America because a colonist took its seeds to New Sweden in 1640. The first planting in Sweden was financed by the King, and Rambo apple trees were planted in a number of significant locations in Sweden and America.
The Society has also worked with the Pennsylvania state government in preserving the Morton Homestead, valued for its ties to John Morton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
More recently, the Society oversaw the restoration of two Gustavus Hesselius portraits relating to New Sweden — one of Pastor Erik Björk and the other of his American wife, Christina Stalcop. These 1712 paintings are historically significant as the first of their kind in the Delaware Valley. Current projects for the organization include assisting with the preservation of Bartram's Garden in Philadelphia and the rescue of the New Sweden Farmstead Museum in Bridgeton, New Jersey.
Over the past century, the Society's research has become the foundation for the study of New Sweden Colony, and the group remains the foremost forum on the subject. Recently, they have become involved with the Gloria Dei Records Project, an effort to assemble, translate, and publish all of the colonial records of the church. The records constitute the major "missing link" in chronicling the history of Swedish settlement and culture on the Delaware River, spanning from the 1640s, when the first Swedish church was founded at Tinicum Island, to 1787. The Society is also involved with genealogical research, and reserves a genealogist within the organization to study New Sweden family history and the ancestry of members applying for Forefather Member status. The Craig Collection, a complete library of genealogical books and lineage papers relating to the families of New Sweden, is also maintained by the Society.
Its historical archives are stored at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, where they are available for viewing. The archives program began in 2000 and now amounts to more than 42 linear feet of materials, a map collection, and framed paintings, including a large copy of the 17th-century portrait of Governor Printz.
Together with the American Swedish Historical Museum, the Society also hosts the New Sweden History Conference, which every year presents a symposium devoted to an aspect of the history or culture of the New Sweden Colony.
The Society, through the University of Pennsylvania, endows the Amandus Johnson Prize, a travel grant to study in Sweden for a student who excels in language study. [3]
The reigning King of Sweden traditionally assumes the role of High Patron, a practice begun in 1909, while the Swedish Ambassador occupies the Patron position. The current High Patron, King Carl XVI Gustaf, took on the role upon assuming the Swedish throne in 1974. In 2003, Crown Princess Victoria became Deputy High Patron.
The royal family has recognized the contributions of the Swedish Colonial Society by awarding five of the present twenty-five Councillors with an Order of the Polar Star.
| Name | Tenure |
|---|---|
| The Honorable Marcel A. Viti | 1909–1921 |
| Gregory B. Keen, L.L.D. | 1921–1927 |
| Colonel Henry D. Paxton, Esq. | 1927–1932 |
| Dr. Albert Duncan Yocum | 1932–1936 |
| Colonel Frank W. Melvin, Esq. | 1936–1946 |
| Branton Holstein Henderson | 1946–1948 |
| Charles Sinnickson, Esq. | 1948–1950 |
| Issac Crawford Sutton, Esq. | 1950–1952 |
| Colonel Robert Morris | 1952–1954 |
| Frederic Swing Crispin | 1954–1956 |
| Dr. Samuel Booth Sturgis | 1956–1958 |
| Dr. Amandus Johnson | 1958–1960 |
| C. Colket Wilson, Jr. | 1960–1962 |
| Alan Corson, Jr. | 1962–1964 |
| Charles Paist, III | 1964–1966 |
| Donald E. Hogeland, Esq. | 1966–1968 |
| Allen Lesley. Esq. | 1968–1970 |
| Conrad Wilson | 1970–1972 |
| The Rev. Dr. John Craig Roak | 1972–1975 |
| David Hillman | 1975–1977 |
| Dr. Erik G. M. Tornqvist | 1977–1982 |
| Herbert E. Hanson Gullberg | 1982–1984 |
| Dr. Benkt Wennberg | 1984–1986 |
| Dr. Erik G. M. Tornqvist | 1986–1989 |
| Wallace F. Richter | 1989–1993 |
| John C. Cameron, Esq. | 1993–1995 |
| Commander John W. Widfeldt | 1995–1997 |
| William Benjamin Neal | 1997–2000 |
| Herbert Ripley Rambo | 2000–2003 |
| Ronald A. Hendrickson, Esq. | 2003–2005 |
| The Rev. Dr. Kim-Eric Williams | 2005–2009 |
| Herbert Ripley Rambo | 2009–2010 |
| Margaret Sooy Bridwell | 2010–2014 |
| Michael R. D'Andrea | 2014–2018 |
| John B. Tepe, Jr., Esq. | 2018–present |
Generally dues-dependent for its activities, the Society has two types of membership:
New Sweden was a colony of the Swedish Empire along the lower reaches of the Delaware River between 1638 to 1655 in present-day Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania in the United States. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great power, New Sweden formed part of the Swedish efforts to colonize the Americas.
West Jersey and East Jersey were two distinct parts of the Province of New Jersey. The political division existed for 28 years, between 1674 and 1702. Determination of an exact location for a border between West Jersey and East Jersey was often a matter of dispute.
Johan Classon Risingh was the last governor of the Swedish colony of New Sweden.
Peter Hollander Ridder (1608–1692) was the governor of the Swedish colony of New Sweden from 1640 until 1643.
Fort Nya Elfsborg was a fortification and settlement established as a part of New Sweden. Built in 1643 and named after the Älvsborg Fortress off Gothenburg, Fort Nya Elfsborg was located on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River, between present day Salem and Alloway Creek.
Johan Björnsson Printz was governor from 1643 until 1653 of the Swedish colony of New Sweden on the Delaware River in North America.
Gloria Dei Church, known locally as Old Swedes', is a historic church located in the Southwark neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 929 South Water Street, bounded by Christian Street on the north, South Christopher Columbus Boulevard on the east, and Washington Avenue on the south. It was built between 1698 and 1700, making it the oldest church in Pennsylvania and second oldest Swedish church in the United States after Holy Trinity Church in Wilmington, Delaware.
The history of Delaware as a political entity dates back to the early colonization of North America by European settlers. Delaware is made up of three counties established in 1638, before the time of William Penn. Each county had its own settlement history. The state's early colonists tended to identify more closely with their county than Delaware as a whole. Large parts of southern and western Delaware were thought to have been in Maryland until 1767. The state has existed in the wide economic and political circle of the nearby Pennsylvanian city of Philadelphia.
Holy Trinity Church, also known as Old Swedes, is a historic church at East 7th and Church Street in Wilmington, Delaware. It was consecrated on Trinity Sunday, June 4, 1699, by a predominantly Swedish congregation formerly of the colony of New Sweden. The church, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961, is among the few surviving public buildings that reflect the Swedish colonial effort. The church is considered part of First State National Historical Park. The church, which is often visited by tourists, remains open for tours and religious activities.
Måns Nilsson Kling or Mauno Kling was the second governor of the 17th century colony of New Sweden, which he administrated from Fort Christina, now Wilmington, Delaware.
Peter Gunnarsson Rambo was a Swedish immigrant to New Sweden known as a farmer and a justice of the Governor's Council after the British took control of the area. He was the longest living of the original Swedish settlers and became known as the Father of New Sweden. Rambo's Rock along the Schuylkill River is named for his family.
Amandus Johnson was a Swedish- American historian, author and museum director. He is most associated with his epic two volume history The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware 1638-1664, which was also published in Swedish as Den första svenska kolonien i Amerika (1923).
Johan Papegoja was a Swedish nobleman, soldier, and the fifth governor of the Swedish Colony of New Sweden.
Olof Persson Stille (1610–1684) was a pioneer settler of New Sweden, a colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in North America claimed by Sweden from 1638 to 1655. Stille served as the first chief justice of the Upland Court, the governing body of the New Sweden colony following Dutch West India Company annexation from Swedish colonial rule.
Sven Svensson (1636—1696) was a Justice and Legislator in Colonial Pennsylvania. He was born into a prominent family in the colony of New Sweden.
Laurentius Carels (1624–1688) was one of the first settlers of Delaware County, Pennsylvania and one of the first Swedish Lutheran clergyman in New Sweden. As was typical among Swedish ministers, he generally used a Latinized version of his name Laurentius Caroli Lockenius. He is listed in historical records under several different names, most commonly as Lars Carlsson Lock.
Armegot Printz (1625–1695) was a Swedish noble. She was the daughter of Johan Björnsson Printz, governor of New Sweden, and she married her father's successor, governor Johan Papegoja. She is the most well documented and known woman of New Sweden.
Israel Helm was a colonist and soldier in New Sweden who became one of the first settlers in the area of Philadelphia, PA.
The New Sweden Farmstead Museum was an open-air museum in Bridgeton, New Jersey, United States. A recreation of a 17th-century Swedish farmstead, it was located in City Park, and served as a historical remembrance of the history of the Swedish and Finnish people who arrived as part of the colony of New Sweden in early America. Originally opened in 1988, it operated as a living museum for many years. As funding and attendance declined, the log buildings at the complex fell into disrepair, requiring it to close.
Hans Månsson (1612–1691) was a Swedish soldier and a convicted criminal who was sent to New Sweden along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States in 1641. After serving six years on a tobacco plantation, he was freed and became a respected leader in Dutch New Netherland, serving as a spokesman for the settlers, and as commanding officer of the militia at Wicaco. He purchased land and was one of the first European settlers in what is now New Jersey.