Full text of "History of the Swedes of Illinois .."

MARCUS LEE HANSEN

LIBRARY OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

325.2485

v.l
cop. 2

I.H.S.

HISTORY

OF THE

SWEDES OF ILLINOIS

TKe Linne Monument, Lincoln ParK, Chicago

HISTORY

OF THE

PART I

EDITED BY

ERNST W. OLSON

IN COLLABORATION WITH

ANDERS SCHON AND MARTIN J. ENGBERG

ILLUSTRATED

CHICAGO
The Engberg-Holmberg Publishing Company

1908

A/,1

, 'r;>

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

Introduction . 7

Chapter I. Summary of the History of Illinois 9

Chapter II. The City of Chicago 86

Chapter III. The First Swedes in Illinois 172

Chapter IV. The Bishop Hill Colony 197

Chapter V. Other Karly Settlements 271

Chapter VI. The Swedish Methodist-Episcopal Church . . . 356

Chapter VII. The Swedish Episcopal Church 412

Chapter VIII. The Swedish Lutheran Church 423

Chapter IX. The Swedish Baptist Church 544

Chapter X. The Swedish Mission Church 583

Chapter XI. The Swedes in the Civil War 625

Chapter XII. Music and Musicians 705

Chapter XIII. Press and Literature 760

Chapter XIV. Art and Artists 843

Chapter XV. Organizations 888

Bibliographical References 916

Acknowledgments 918

Index 919

PART II

Biographical sketches, Chicago 7

Index 409

PART III

Biographical sketches, Counties at Large 5

Index 264

\ 1 7882

\UllliU

INTRODUCTION

HEN in the forties of the last century the great influx
of Swedish immigrants to the United States began, by
far the largest number settled in Illinois. Even at that
early period Swedes had begun to form sporadic settle-
ments in the territory to the north and west, but these
were of little consequence as compared to the populous Swedish com-
munities that sprang up in the soil of the Prairie State.

The Swedes of Illinois, therefore, rank as the pioneers of this
great migratory movement. In later years they have been out-
numbered by the Swedes of Minnesota, and* nearly all the western
and many of the eastern states now have each a very considerable
Swedish population, yet the Illinois Swedes retain pre-eminence from
a historical point of view.

Illinois was the central point from which the Swedish population
spread in various directions, chiefly to the west and the northwest.
The Swedish settlements in the eastern states and on the Pacific
slope are of more recent date and have no direct connection with the
pioneer history of Illinois.

In intellectual culture as well as in material development the
Swedes of this state led the way for their countrymen in other parts.
In Illinois we meet with the first properly organized Swedish churches
the mother churches of no less than five distinct denominations.
In Illinois was founded the first Swedish-American newspaper of
permanence, and the great bulk of the Swedish publishing business
in this country has always been done here. In Illinois was founded
the first Swedish-American institution of learning, followed in later
years by a score of others, but still remaining the foremost educational
institution among the Swedish people of the United States. In Illinois
were put forth their first endeavors in the literary field, which,
although modest, yet formed the nucleus of a distinct literature. In
the cultivation of the fine arts of music and painting as well as in
manufacture, craftsmanship, invention and industrial art, the Swedes
of Illinois also led, and in the succeeding pages will be found the
names of Swedish pioneers in a variety of fields.

In public life Swedes have been active in this state principally
after the close of the Civil War. In that conflict large numbers of
them fought as volunteers, contributing skillful commanders and
brilliant tacticians as well as gallant soldiers in the ranks. Their

UHtlll

military history goes back not only to the Civil and Mexican Wars,
for there were Swedes also among the Illinois troops in the War
of 1812. In the politics of this state a Swede made his mark while
Illinois was still a territory.

Chicago being one of the first points settled by the Swedes and
having gradually grown to be their greatest center of population,
also became the center of culture, and this city is, in a figurative sense,
the Swedish-American capital.

Illinois having thus become, from the first, the seat of culture as
well as the fountain-head of material development among the Swedish-
Americans in general, it is fair to assume that the Swedes of this state
in the past sixty years have exerted an appreciable influence not alone
upon their fellow-countrymen elsewhere, but also upon the civic life
of the state and the nation.

The story of the Swedes of Illinois, showing the part they have
played in the making of this commonwealth, is here told for the first
time in the English language and thus placed within ready access of
the general*public.

CHAPTER I

Summary of the History of Illinois

Early French Explorations in North America

OT long after the discovery of the West Indies by
Christopher Columbus, in 1492, and the successive dis-
coveries of Central and South America, those regions
were explored and settled by Europeans, while the
colonization of the North American continent was accom-
plished only by slow degrees. Although re-discovered in 1497 by John
Cabot, after having been found originally by Leif Eriksson and his
Norse followers about five hundred years earlier, and explored during
the first half of the sixteenth century by parties landing here and there
on the southern, eastern and western coasts and penetrating into the
interior, it was not until ;he early part of the seventeenth century that
the European nations obtained a firm foothold in this part of the New
World. So slow was their westward progress that the discovery of the
Pacific coast was practically without results up to the latter part of the
eighteenth century, when finally the first successful colonies were
founded.

The Spanish, the French, the English, and to a slight extent, the
Dutch share the credit for the discovery and exploration of the various
parts of the North American Continent. The Spaniards directed their
energies principally to the South, the Southwest and the West, the
French traversed and colonized the extreme eastern part, the region of
the Great Lakes and the Mississippi, the English settled the eastern
coast from Maine to South Carolina and the Dutch a limited area on
the Hudson River.

Sweden also claims a chapter in the colonial history of this
country. Through the colony of New Sweden, founded in 1638, extend-
ing over part of the present territory of Delaware, Pennsylvania and
New Jersey, and conquered by the Dutch in 1655, Sweden contributed

10 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

a noteworthy share toward the earliest development of North American
civilization.

The discovery and primary colonization of the territory now
forming the state of Illinois was the work of the French explorers and
pioneers. Before narrating these events, let us view, in retrospect,
their causes and the historical factors leading up to them.

As early as 1504 the French began to frequent the banks of New
Foundland, attracted by the abundance of fish in these waters. These
fishing expeditions have continued to this day, and but for them the
French government might never have had its attention directed to this
part of America. King Francis I., in 1524, sent an Italian traveler,
John Verrazani, to explore these regions. He sailed along the coast
from the present site of Wilmington, North Carolina, to Nova Scotia
and, without founding any colonies, took possession, in the name of the
French crown, of the entire territory termed New France.

Ten years later, in 1534, a Frenchman by the name of John Cartier,
discovered the St. Lawrence Eiver and on his second expedition sailed
up the river as far as the present city of Montreal. On his third
expedition, in 1541, he founded Quebec, a fort which formed the center
of a penal colony, recruited from the French prisons. In 1541 a French
nobleman by the name of Francois de la Roque had been appointed
viceroy of New France. He arrived and took up his duties two years
later, but finding his province a wilderness and his subjects deported
criminals, he returned to France within a year.

During the next fifty years the public mind of France was entirely
engrossed with the strife between the nobility and the royal house on
the one hand and the equally bitter conflict between the Calvinists and
the Catholics on the other ; meanwhile the colonial interests in the New
World were well-nigh forgotten. Not until the beginning of the seven-
teenth century the project was revived. Samuel Champlain, a noted
naval officer, having explored anew the shores of the St. Lawrence
(1603), Sieur de Monts, a Calvinist, received a large portion of this
territory as a grant from the government. Two years later he founded
Port Royal, which rapidly grew to be a large and flourishing
settlement.

In the meantime the cause of converting the Indians of New France
to the Christian faith was taken up in the mother country, and numer-
ous missionaries, many of them Jesuits, were sent among the natives,
gaining great prestige among them in a short time, owing to their
judicious methods. Missionaries, fur traders, settlers and soldiers soon
found a basis of operation in the settlement of Quebec (1608) and that
of Montreal (1641), from which points they gradually pushed on along
the St. Lawrence River, into the region of the Great Lakes, and through

MARQUETTE AND JOIJET l x

the Mississippi basin, planting the Catholic standard of the Cross and
the flag of the fleur .de lis in the Indian villages as far down as the
Mississippi delta. In a short time France laid claim not only to all of
Canada, but to Maine, Vermont, New York, the two Carolinas, as well
as the entire territory between the Alleghanies and the Mississippi.

It was during this gradual conquest of the West and the South
that Illinois was first seen and traversed by white men. As early as
1641 French missionaries had penetrated to the outlet of Lake Superior,
and in 1658 traders had visited the western end of the lake. Among
French missions founded in these distant regions after the year 1660
was one at Green Bay, Wis., established in 1669, and named after St.
Francis Xavier.

The French learned through the Indians at this and other missions
that a journey of several days would bring them to the banks of a great
river, known among the natives, on account of its size, as the Missis-
sippi, the Father of Waters. This fact was reported to the French
governor at Quebec, who determined to take possession of the river
and adjacent regions. In order to carry out this enterprise without
molestation, it was necessary to obtain the friendship and co-operation
of the tribes dwelling along its banks. For this purpose Nicholas Perrot
was dispatched westward in 1671, with instructions to assemble the
surrounding tribes in council at Green Bay. After this meeting Perrot
set out with an escort of Pottawatomie Indians on his journey south-
ward, traversing what is now Illinois and visiting, among other points,
the present site of Chicago, then included in the territory of the Miami
Indians. Perrot is said to have been the first European to have set foot
on Illinois soil.

In the following year two Jesuit fathers, Claude Allouez and
Claude Dablon, left the Green Bay mission on a journey to western and
northern Illinois, visiting the Fox Indians along the Fox River and the
Masquotin tribe that dwelt at the mouth of the Milwaukee River. These
missionaries claimed to have extended their explorations as far as Lake
Winnebago.

E-xplorations of Marquette and Joliet

Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet, a fur trader, were
subsequently commissioned to continue the exploration of the Missis-
sippi and the territory through which it flows. In the spring of 1673
they entered upon their task, accompanied by five other Frenchmen and
two Indian guides, and supplied with two canoes. Starting from the
St. Ignace mission, opposite Mackinaw Island, they followed the north
shore of Lake Michigan. They soon reached Green Bay and the St.
Francis Xavier mission, the uttermost outpost of French civilization

HISTORY OF

The Departure of Marquette and Joliet on Their First Voyage to Illinois

westward and southward. Here the party rested until June, and then
pressed on into the wilderness. They traveled up the Fox River as far
as the ridge forming the Wisconsin watershed, and, carrying their
canoes across, proceeded down the Wisconsin River to their sought-for
goal, arriving the 17th of June on the banks of the majestic Mississippi.
Enraptured by its grandeur, and mindful of the divine protection of

Jacques Marquette

Louis Joliet

the Virgin throughout his perilous journey, Father Marquette in her
honor named it Conception River.

The exploring party took a short rest on the banks of the great
river, but soon embarked, more eager than ever. Floating down with
the current, they had on either hand vast stretches of prairie, where
the bison roamed in countless herds, but not a human being did they
see. It was like traveling through a mysterious land whose inhabitants

MARQUETTE AND JOUET

" We are Illini"

some strange power had spirited away. The mouth o the Des Moines
River was reached June 25th. On these shores human footprints were
discovered at last. Following up the tracks for about two leagues, the
party came upon three Indian villages, beautifully located on the banks
of the Des Moines, belonging to the Peoria tribe.

As soon as the natives noticed the strangers, four chiefs set out to
meet them. ''Who are you?" demanded Father Marquette, in the
Algonquin dialect. "We are Illini," one of the chiefs replied. The
Peorias belonged to a coalition of tribes, including also the Moingwenas,
the Kaskaskias, the Tamaroas and the Cahokias. The name Illini meant
simply men, and had been adopted by these tribes to distinguish them
from their hereditary foes to the eastward, the Iroquois, whom they
abhorred on account of their cruel and bloodthirsty disposition, deem-
ing them no better than brutes. In course of time the name Illini was
altered by means of the French suffix -ois, and finally this name was
applied not only to the Indian tribes but to all the newly discovered
region. When in recent years this tract was made a territory of the
United States, this name was made official, and later on naturally passed
to one of the states parcelled out of the territory.

The fearless little band still pressed on, arriving in July at the
junction of the Missouri and Mississippi. They shortly passed the
mouth of the Ohio River, reaching the confluence of the Arkansas River
and the Mississippi a few days later, and found there several Indian
villages. From that point the mouth of the great river was to be
reached in a short time, yet Marquette and his party hesitated to pro-
ceed farther, fearing a conflict with the Spaniards, who laid claim to all
the surrounding territory by right of discovery by Ferdinand de Soto
in 1541. Geographically, further progress was unnecessary, Marquette
being already convinced that the Mississippi emptied neither into the
Atlantic, nor the Pacific, but into the Gulf of Mexico. On July 19th,
therefore, he turned back, retracing his course as far as the mouth of
the Illinois River, which he entered and continued up this waterway.

HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

The Death of Marquette

At one of the villages of the Kaskaskia Indians, near the present site
Utica, La Salle county, the party halted. The French named the village
La Vantum, and before departing, Marquette baptized the village chief
Cassagoac, together with several leading tribesmen. Continuing up the
entire length of the Illinois, the party entered its tributary, the Des
Plaines River, carried their canoes across the watershed between this
and the Chicago River, and finally by way of the south branch of the
latter reached Lake Michigan. Here they rested for several days, then
pursued their way along the west shore northward to Green Bay,
returning thither before the end of September the same year. Thus was
the Illinois River traversed for the first time by whites, and the sur-
rounding territory brought within the sphere of civilizing influences.

Joliet immediately returned to Quebec in order to report to Fron-
tenac, then governor of New France, the results of the expedition, while
Marquette was compelled by illness to remain at the Green Bay mission.

In spite of ill health Marquette a year later, on the 25th of October,
1674, revisited the Kaskaskia village, accompanied by two young
Frenchmen, Pierre and Jacques, together with a number of Indians.
Retracing the course of the journey northward, they reached the mouth
of the Chicago River December 4th. Here Marquette 's condition
suddenly grew worse, forcing the party to tarry. Near the head of the
south branch of the river his companions erected a block-house, which
sheltered them until early spring, when Marquette was so far restored
that they could continue their journey, arriving at their destination on
the 8th of April.

In this wilderness, with no sanctuary but the primeval forest, no
choristers but the winged songsters, Father Marquette, with all the
solemnity that the occasion afforded, performed the Catholic mass and
subsequently proclaimed the sovereignty of France ever the explored
territory in the name of the Savior, the Holy Virgin and all the saints.
In the same year he made another tour along the Illinois, exploring
thoroughly its banks and adjacent regions.

Divining that his end was near, Marquette with his companions

LA SALLE FRENCH FORTS ! 5

started on his way back to Canada, following the east shore of Lake
Michigan, but was overtaken by death in the vicinity of present Sleep-
ing Bear Point, in the state of Michigan, and was buried on the shore
by his companions. The next year, however, Indians exhumed his
remains, which were brought thence to the St. Ignace mission and
solemnly interred in the mission chapel. After death, Marquette was
long revered almost as a saint, to whom the sailors on Lake Michigan
would pray for deliverance in the hour of danger.

Journeys of La Salle French Forts Ejected in Illinois

At this time there lived at Fort Frontenac (now Kingston), located
at the point where the St. Lawrence River forms the outlet of Lake
Ontario, a former Jesuit named Robert de La Salle, who had emigrated
to New France in 1667. Devoting himself to fur trading, his vessels
visited almost all the bays of Lakes Ontario and Erie. In 1675 he was
knighted and received Frontenac as a grant from the crown on con-
dition that he erect a fort there. He was rapidly accumulating wealth
through agriculture, cattle raising and a lucrative Indian trade, when
Joliet on his visit to Quebec brought him the first report of the dis-
covery of the Mississippi. This enterprising man immediately conceived
the idea of founding French settlements in the Southwest and opening
up mercantile communications between France and the Mississippi
region.

In pursuance of this purpose he returned to France without delay,
submitted his plan to the government, and was authorized to continue
the exploration begun by Marquette and Joliet, obtaining also the
exclusive right to the trade in buffalo hides. He returned to New
France in 1678, together with an Italian veteran by the name of Tonti,
a Franciscan monk, Louis Hennepin, and carried with him a number of
artisans and sailors and a large cargo of chandlers' supplies and mer-
chandise for the Indian trade. In the fall of the year a small vessel
with a capacity of ten tons was built near Fort Frontenac. In this ship
La Salle and his followers soon sailed across the Ontario to the mouth
of the Niagara River where a small fort was erected as a protection for
a trading post. Above the falls, on the shores of the Erie, he built a
sailing vessel with a tonnage of 120,000 pounds, named it the Griffin
and freighted it with chandlery and ironware, designed for the fitting
out of another vessel to be 1 built on the Illinois River. The Griffin was
launched August 7, 1679, with the firing of cannon and the singing of
songs. This was the first sailing vessel to plow the waves of Lake Erie.
With it La Salle and his crew crossed the lake, passed the straits into
Lake St. Claire, sailed thence across Lake Huron and through the
straits of Mackinaw, where another trading post was established, and

HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

finally down Lake Michigan to Green Bay. Here the cargo was trans-
ferred to smaller boats for further transportation down the Illinois

Rene Robert Cavelier de La Salle

River, while the Griffin took a cargo of furs and returned to the starting
point.

La Salle and his crew navigated Lake Michigan as far as St.
Joseph, Mich., where a trading post was established, protected by

!8 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

palisades and known as Fort Miami. They waited until December for
the return of the Griffin, but were disappointed, the vessel having gone
ashore on its way back to Niagara. Then they prepared to continue
their voyage. There were two routes between Lake Michigan and the
Illinois Kiver, used by the Indians from time out of mind, the one being
that taken by Marquette and Joliet on their return, the other leading
up the St. Joseph River to the turning-point near South Bend, Ind., and
thence across the watershed to the Kankakee and down that river to
the Illinois. La Salle chose the latter. His company consisted of Tonti,
Hennepin, two Franciscan monks, besides thirty sailors and colonists.
Reaching the aforesaid Kaskaskia Indian village, and finding it aban-
doned, they continued the journey -.down the Illinois, not stopping until
they reached, on January 1, 1680$ that expansion of the river called
Lake Peoria. Here they found Illini Indians, with whom La Salle en-
tered into a treaty of friendship, obtaining also permission to build a
fort, which was located on the east shore of the river, near the south
end of Lake Peoria.

The situation of La Salle was, however, far from enviable. Fifteen
hundred miles from the nearest French outpost, his followers despair.-
ing of a successful issue of the enterprise and anxious to return, he was
doubtless himself in deep distress, as evidenced by the name given to
this stronghold, viz., Fort Crevecreur, meaning Broken Heart.

In spite of untoward circumstances, La Salle did not lose heart, but
set about building the intended vessel. The work had not advanced
far when several of his men deserted him, forcing a temporary delay
and necessitating his return to Fort Frontenac to secure other work-
men. With three companions he started March 1st, reaching the
objective point May 6th, after many hardships and perils.

Meanwhile Hennepin and two other Frenchmen, Du Guy and
Michael d'Accault, journeyed down the Illinois to the point where it
empties into the Mississippi, and then started on a new exploring tour
up that river. They pressed on as far as the present site of Minneapolis
and discovered the great falls, named from St. Anthony of Padua,
their patron saint, the St. Anthony Falls. A cross having been erected
here, a mass was held and possession claimed in the name of France.
All that summer they tarried in this delightful region, returning in the
fall, not to Illinois, but to Green Bay.

Tonti, who had been requested 'to build a stronghold on a high cliff
on the south shore of the Illinois, which is now known as Starved Rock,
had left Fort Crevecoeur simultaneously and started for that point.
The fort was completed and received the appropriate name of Rockfort.
While Tonti was engaged in this work nearly all the remaining French-
men fled, after having razed Fort Crevecoaur and thrown all its supplies

LA SALLE FRENCH FORTS

HENRI TONTI

into the river. Only six men of the garrison, including two priests,
remained faithfully at their post. To complete the disaster, a band of
Iroquois Indians arrived Sept. 10th, threatening the fortress with anni-
hilation. The remaining French-
men fled. At Rockfort Tonti was
taken prisoner and upon his re-
lease returned to Mackinaw.

Upon his return the following
year with the advance guard of
his newly recruited force of men,
La Salle, to his dismay, found both
fortresses deserted. He returned
with his men to Fort Miami, where
he met the main body of the new
expedition, and quartered it there
for the winter.

In furtherance of his plans, La
Salle promoted a defensive alli-
ance between the Miami and the
Illinois Indians against their old
enemies the Iroquois. In December
he called a council of tribesmen at

Fort Miami, choosing eighteen out of their number who, together with
his twenty-three Frenchmen, were to accompany him to the mouth of
the Mississippi. In the meantime Tonti 's whereabouts had been
revealed, he was sent for and put at the head of the expedition, which
started southward Dec. 21st. The supplies were carried on sleds to
the Illinois and there stowed into canoes, in which the expedition
embarked for the desolated Fort Crevecceur.

The half finished vessel was found almost intact. It was quickly
completed, whereupon the expedition set sail for its destination. The
mouth of the Mississippi was reached April 6, 1682. At length, La
Salle had thus reached the goal for which he had strived untiringly for
several years. The French possessions in America, which had been
bounded by the Great Lakes, were now extended to the Gulf of Mexico.
Nor was La Salle slow in taking possession of this vast territory with
the customary ceremonies, consisting of the erection of a cross, the
holding of a mass, and the planting of a standard, bearing the royal
arms of France. All of this new territory was named Louisiana, in
honor of Louis XIV.

The expedition returned, doubling on its former course, and at the
mouth of the Illinois, Tonti, with a few men, remained to establish the
claims of France by actual possession. His first work was to erect a
fort as a protection against the Iroquois tribes and a nucleus for the

20 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

contemplated settlements in these parts. In December, 1682, Starved
Rock was for the second time selected as the site of a fort, and the new
stronghold was named Fort St. Louis. The necessity for protection
against the Iroquois was all the more urgent, as these savage tribes
were furnished with arms and ammunition by the English colonial
governor at Albany, on the Hudson River, and sent westward to harass
the French and destroy their lucrative Indian trade in the region of
the Great Lakes.

La Salle now returned to Quebec in order to obtain authority to
colonize the newly explored territory. Unfortunately, he found that
Gbvernor Frontenac had been recalled and replaced by La Barre, who
was his personal enemy and antagonistic to his plans. In vain he
pleaded with La Barre to co-operate with him in realizing the coloniza-
tion plans. Where he had expected to find sympathy, he was met with
derision. La Salle then resolved to return to France in order to obtain
the privileges denied him by the governor, and embarked in the autumn
of 1683. In the meantime, La Barre sent a man named De Baugis to
Illinois to assume the command at Fort St. Louis, which was cheerfully
relinquished by Tonti. Although deprived of the command, Tonti soon
afterwards bravely beat back a savage attack by the Iroquois.

A better location than Starved Rock the experienced frontiersman
could scarcely have found for the building of a fort. It consists of an
isolated and almost inaccessible rock 130 to 140 feet in height. The
side facing north toward the Illinois River is almost perpendicular, the
opposite side forming a steep slope. The rounded top has an area of
three-fourths of an acre. About a mile to the southward was the main
village of the friendly Illinois Indians, called La Vantum and number-
ing at that time 6,000 or 7,000 inhabitants. With these he expected to
carry on a profitable trade, while depending upon them to assist in
repelling the attacks of their mutual enemies, the Iroquois. Further-
more, a fort at this point would form the strategic key to this part of
the lower Illinois valley as well as the Mississippi valley.

Fort St. Louis consisted of earthworks and palisades, surrounding
a storehouse and also a blockhouse, serving the double purpose of trad-
ing station and barracks for the garrison. By means of a windlass
water was hoisted from the river. Two small brass cannon, mounted
on the breastworks in such a position as easily to dominate both the
river on the north and the plain on the south, completed the armament.
The fort was solemnly dedicated by one Father Membre and soon
became the favorite rendezvous of the natives of La Vantum and the
surrounding country.

Although anticipating subsequent events, the history of Starved
Rock may as well at this point be told to the end. Fort St. Louis was

LA SALLE-FRENCH FORTS

garrisoned until 1702, when the garrison was withdrawn. As a trading
post the fort was still maintained until 1718, when it was captured and
burned, supposedly by the common enemy, the Iroquois Indians. The
Illinois were thenceforth left in peace until 1722, when the Foxes made
an unsuccessful attack. In order to avoid further molestation the

The La Salle Monument in Lincoln Park

remainder of the dwellers about the fort removed to their tribesmen
that dwelled along the Mississippi. The few that stayed behind fell an
easy prey to their enemies. In the year 1769 they were attacked by
tribes from the north, and, being severely pressed, sought refuge on the
high rock formerly covered by Fort St. Louis. Here they were besieged
by the enemy for twelve days, and then, exhausted from lack of food and
water, made a desperate night attack with the hope of breaking through
the lines. The attempt failed totally, all but one, an Indian half-breed,

22 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

being slaughtered and scalped. Long afterwards, when the whites
again began to settle here, human bones lay thickly scattered on and
about the rock, as grewsome evidences of that savage battle, and to
this day bones are said to be found here and there in the accumulated
soil. It was this siege and the starving out of the captives that gave the
name to the historic landmark, known ever afterwards as Starved Rock.

Having thus briefly sketched the history of Fort St. Louis and its
famous site, we return to the story of La Salle and his colonization of
Illinois.

La Salle had better success with the king of France than with his
obstinate representative at Quebec. The government set aside a suitable
sum to defray the expenses of colonizing the western territory, and in
July, 1684, La Salle was able to return to America with a flotilla of four
ships, laden with all the necessaries of the prospective settlements and
carrying 280 colonists. Of this number one hundred were soldiers, the
remainder farmers and their families, sailors, and members of monastic
orders. The bulk of these emigrants, however, had been picked up hap-
hazard in the cities and proved to be poor material for colony building.

After a long stay on the island of San Domingo, the expedition at
length entered the Gulf and arrived in the first part of January, 1685,
off the Mississippi delta, where Tonti with twenty Frenchmen and thirty
Indians awaited his arrival. The expedition, however, by some miscal-
culation, sailed past the mouth of the river, and when La Salle dis-
covered the mistake, he was unable to persuade Beaujeu, the command-
ing officer of the fleet, to turn back. He obstinately held to westward
until they reached the Matagorda Bay, where they landed in boats.
When the vessels subsequently entered the bay, the supply ship struck
a shoal. Part of the cargo was landed during the day, but the following
night a severe gale wrecked the vessel and scattered the great bulk of
its cargo over the waves. To add to the disaster, the Indians of the
surrounding region flocked to the shore, intent on plundering the stores
saved from the wreck. A fight ensued in which several natives were
killed. Two of the remaining ships immediately set sail for France,
leaving La Salle and 230 Frenchmen behind, "to shift for themselves as
best they might," according to the obstinate Beaujeu.

After having searched the region in all directions without finding
any of the channels of the Mississippi delta, La Salle determined to
found a colony with fortifications on an eminence west of Matagorda
Bay. The purpose was accomplished and the settlement named St.
Louis. The stores landed would have sufficed for several years, had
the colonists been industrious, provident and peaceful among them-
selves. Being quite the reverse, the colonizing scheme thus forced
upon La Salle by circumstances proved a complete failure.

FRENCH MISSIONS 23

In December, 1685, La Salle undertook another expedition in search
of the Mississippi, but failed again. In April of the following year,
accompanied by twenty men, he made an expedition to New Mexico
in search of gold, but again Fortune frowned upon his undertaking.
On his return the discouraging news awaited him that the colonists
had been reduced to the number of forty, the remaining ship lost, and
the last of the provisions consumed.

Still undaunted, La Salle determined to bring recruits and pro-
visions from Canada. On January 12, 1687, with a company of sixteen,
he started on a march northeast through the boundless wilderness. In
this party he had a stanch friend in a relative of his, a young man by
the name of Moranget, but also two secret enemies, Duhaut and
L'Archeveque, who held La Salle responsible for the loss of all their
property, which they had risked in his enterprise. At one of the tribu-
taries of the Trinity River these men killed Moranget in a quarrel, and
then lay in ambush for La Salle himself, who on his arrival at the spot
was shot down by Duhaut. The slayer and his accomplice then plun-
dered the corpse and left it on the prairie, a prey to the wild beasts.
Thus ended the strenuous career of a brave and illustrious explorer.

Shortly after the foul deed the murderers and the rest of the party
became involved in a fight among themselves, in which Duhaut fell,
whereupon his sympathizers joined an Indian tribe. The remnant of
the expedition, a small group, numbering seven men, reached Canada
after an arduous journey, replete with privation and peril.

The colony thus founded by La Salle in Texas, though originally
intended for Illinois, was destroyed soon afterward by Spaniards from
Mexico, who invaded this region and established their claim on Texas
territory.

French Missions and Colonies in Illinois

Marquette's visit to the Kaskaskia Indian village, near the present
site of Utica, and the baptism of Chief Cassagoac was the first step
towards christianizing Illinois. During his second visit in 1675, this
zealous missionary of the church established the mission of the Im-
maculate Conception and built a chapel of logs and bark, the first house
of worship in Illinois. This missionary work was resumed April 27,
1677, by the aforesaid Jesuit priest, Father Claude Allouez, who in 1686
took up permanent residence at the mission. He died in 1690 and was
succeeded by Father James Gravier who in 1693 succeeded in establish-
ing the mission post on a more permanent basis. A small French settle-
ment grew up gradually on the outskirts of the Indian village.

When the French in 1699 founded a settlement at Biloxi in the
present state of Mississippi, several Indian tribes of Illinois prepared

24 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

to move there and locate in the neighborhood of the colony. Among
those that actually broke camp were the Kaskaskias who, however,
traveled southward only as far as the river that bears their name. Here
they settled down, about six miles above its confluence with the Missis-
sippi, and built a village, to which the old Kaskaskia mission also was
removed, both retaining the old name. At the head of the mission at
this time was a priest named Francis Pinet. A -French colony was
gradually formed, which as early as 1721 had attained such develop-
ment and importance that the Jesuits deemed it expedient to found a
convent and a school at that point. Four years later the village was
incorporated as a town by permission of King Louis XV. of France.

The reason why the French colonies were attracted to southwestern
Illinois is supposed to be a desire to locate near the thoroughfare
between the French settlements in Canada and those at the mouth of
the Mississippi. Travelers and traders alike had now practically
abandoned the route via Lake Michigan and the Chicago River for the
one along the Fox and Wisconsin rivers to the Mississippi. Kaskaskia,
in its most prosperous days, about the middle of the eighteenth century,
numbered 2,000 to 3,000 inhabitants. Toward the end of the century
this number gradually lessened, amounting in 1765, when the town was
taken by the English, to only 450. Of the fate of this town we will
have occasion to speak in subsequent pages.

A few months prior to the founding of the new Kaskaskia, certain
French Jesuits established nearby, at or near the present location of
Cahokia, St. Clair county, a mission, around which there sprang up a
settlement which has the distinction of being the earliest permanent
French colony in Illinois. In 1701 the mission work here was left in the
hands of priests educated at the French seminary in Quebec. These
eventually limited their endeavors to the French settlers, leaving the
spiritual care of the natives to the Jesuits. They continued their work
at Cahokia until that point was surrendered to the English. After
that event this old town also began to decrease in population and im-
portance. Farther on in the course of the narrative it will again claim
our attention.

After the destruction of Fort Crevecceur, friars of the Recollect
Order began a mission on the same site, but the work was soon aban-
doned. In 1711 we find, however, a French missionary station located
on the western bank of the river and surrounded by French settlers.
These were the first inhabitants of the present city of Peoria. It is
positively know that there was a colony at this point in 1725.

Other French colonies grew up around the original three heretofore
mentioned, such as St. Philip, forty-five miles south of Cahokia, Prairie
du Rocher, northwest from Kaskaskia, and west of the Mississippi, in

FRENCH MISSIONS

"0
tr
o

the present state of Missouri, St. Louis and St. Genevieve. As early as
the second decade of the eighteenth century France thus possessed a
considerable colony in the Mississippi valley, midway between its
Canadian settlements and those founded, also in the early part of the
same century, near the Gulf of Mexico. About the year 1730 these
Mississippi settlers numbered 140 French families and about 600 con-
verted Indians, together with quite a number of traders. For the pro-
tection of their midland possessions the French in 1718-20 erected Fort
Chartres, sixteen miles northwest from Kaskaskia. The fort was built
of limestone from an adjacent hill on a very low site, near the river
bank. The ground plan was an irregular rectangle formed on three
sides by stone walls of a thickness of 2 feet and 2 inches and on the
fourth by a ravine which the spring freshets filled with water. This

26 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

was the seat of government in Illinois during the French colonial
period. At the outbreak of the French and Indian War in 1756, the
fort was rebuilt at a cost of a million French crowns and was then
considered the strongest fortress on the North American continent.
Its story will be continued in succeeding pages.

The Fox tribe of Indians vacillated between the English and the
French in disposing of their peltries. They had control of the portages
of the St. Joseph and Des Plaines rivers to Lake Michigan and exacted
toll from the French traders. To remove this barrier to commerce,
the French determined their destruction, and one branch of the Foxes
was exterminated in 1712 by the French and their Indian allies.
Massacres followed in 1716 on the Wisconsin River, and the Foxes were
driven away in 1728. In 1730 they were on their way east to seek
protection from the Wea Miamis in northern Indiana. They were over-
taken by the French under the command of St. Ange, the commandant
at Fort Chartres, and by the Kickapoo, Mascoutin and Illinois tribes.
The Foxes took refuge at the Big Creek of the Rock River, in Kendall
county, and built a fort. But they and their enemies were both starved,
and a part of the besieging force deserted. On September 8, 1730, a
violent storm arose, during which the Foxes made their escape. The
next day they were overtaken and 300 warriors were killed or taken
prisoners, their women and children, numbering one thousand, also
falling into the hands of their enemies. The facts about this massacre
were until recently buried in the archives of France

To the history of the French in Illinois may be added that slavery
was introduced by them at this time. The first slave trader was Pierre
F. Renault, who about 1722 sold a number of slaves to settlers at
Kaskaskia. Henceforth, slavery continued in Illinois for 120 years.
The constitution of 1818, when Illinois was granted statehood, forbade
the bringing of slaves into the state, yet such were found up to the year
1840, when they disappeared, at least from the census records.

Illinois Under English Rule

With envious eye England watched the extension of the French
possessions toward the west and the south, while its own were limited to
a comparatively narrow tract along the Atlantic coast. Before long,
disputes arose over the boundary lines between the English and the
French possessions, resulting in a war which materially reduced the
French dominion in America. The territory thus ceded to England
included the present state of Illinois.

The first cause of dispute was the chartering of a colonizing syn-
dicate, entitled The Ohio Company, consisting of eight members, among
whom George Washington, the man who was to play such a decisive

THE ENGLISH PERIOD 2 7

part in the shaping of the civic destinies of the North American con-
tinent. The charter gave this company the right to colonize a large
tract of land in the present state of Ohio. In order to obtain possession,
the company began erecting a fort on the present site of Pittsburg,
but the men engaged in building it were driven away by a large force
of Frenchmen and Indians. This was the beginning of the French and
Indian War, one of the bloodiest conflicts in the history of our country.

The war lasted from 1754 to 1759, simultaneously and in connec-
tion with the Seven Year's War in Europe. In the colonial war the
Indian tribes of Canada, the region of the Great Lakes and the Ohio
basin fought on the side of the French, while the Iroquois, the Dela-
wares, the Shawnees, the Miamis, the Wyandottes and various other
Indian tribes took up the cause of the English. The French colonists
who fell into the hands of the English or their savage allies were treated
with the utmost cruelty. The war was carried on with ever changing
fortunes, until the English finally gained the upper hand. The last
decisive battle was fought on the Plains of Abraham, south of Quebec,
Sept. 12, 1759, where the English commander, General Wolfe, with a
well trained army corps of 5,000 men utterly defeated the French army
under General Montcalm, which, though numerically equal, consisted
chiefly of militiamen. Of these 500 fell and 1,000 were taken prisoners.
The English loss was, however, almost as great, 600 men being killed or
wounded. Both generals fell. Five days after the battle Quebec, the
main stronghold of New France, capitulated, whereby the key to the
French possessions in America fell into the hands of Great Britain.

The preliminary peace protocol was signed at Montreal, Sept. 8,
1760, by General Amherst, the British commander-in-chief, and
Governor de Vaudreuil of New France. Thereupon the English im-
mediately began to take possession of the conquered domains. This,
however, proved no easy task. From generation to generation the
Indians had become warmly attached to the French and had fought side
by side with them in the war just ended. No Englishman had hereto-
fore settled northwest of the Ohio River; the Indians still held posses-
sion without the slightest fear of being dispossessed by the English.
They were willing, as before, to carry on commerce with English
traders, but this was the extent of their courtesies.

On Nov. 29, 1760, the British under Major Robert Rogers captured
Detroit. The following summer they took possession of Michilimackinac,
at the outlet of Lake Superior, also Green Bay, St. Joseph and San-
dusky, which with their fortifications had remained intact during the
war. This was true also of Forts Vincennes and Ouatanon on the
Wabash River, as well as of the French villages and forts in Illinois.
Far distant as these were from the arena of war, they had not been

28 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

threatened with attack. But before any steps had been taken to sub-
jugate these points, the western tribes determined to drive out the
English from the strongholds already captured. The brave Chief
Pontiac, their leader, headed a secret conspiracy to attack and re-
capture at a preconcerted moment all the strongholds lost to the
English. The plan was carried out and all the forts recaptured, with
the exception of Detroit and Fort Pitt (Pittsburg). The Indians were
again undisputed masters of the entire Northwest. They kept up the
siege of Detroit until August 26, 1763, when General Bradstreet with
a large force of Englishmen came to the relief of the garrison and dis-
persed the Indians, who for one whole year kept the place so completely
blockaded that no provisions could be smuggled in. Fort Pitt was
similarly besieged until General Bouquet, about the time of the relief
of Detroit by Bradstreet, came to the rescue. Nothing more remained
for the English to do to fulfill the terms of the protocol but to capture
Forts Vincennes and Ouatanon and subdue Illinois.

Four years had elapsed since the signing of the protocol, and still
the English made no show of penetrating into the wilderness, hesitating,
no doubt, on account of the vast areas of forest and plain which
stretched between the English colonies in the East and the French
settlements in Illinois. Their first attempt was the sending of a numer-
ous expedition by boat up the Mississippi in order to preclude attacks
by Indians with French sympathies. The expedition, numbering 300
men, was led by Major Loftus. In flat-bottomed boats they left the
English fort, Bayou Manchae, on the Gulf, and proceeded up the river.
They were, nevertheless, soon attacked by natives of the Tonica tribe,
encamped on both sides of the river, and Major Loftus had no recourse
but to return.

Meanwhile, peace had been declared between France and England,
also other participants in the Seven Year's War, and the treaty of
Paris, signed in 1763, advanced the frontier of the English dominion in
America from the Ohio to the Mississippi, thereby subjecting Illinois,
nominally at least, to British rule.

While waiting for the final treaty of peace, French traders in
Illinois, as heretofore, carried on their commerce in hides and furs with
the Indians, disposing of their stock in St. Louis and New Orleans at
high prices. This put new obstacles in the way of the final ratification
of the peace treaty, for as soon as this was done the English traders
would supersede the French and the commerce would seek a channel
over the Great Lakes instead of the Mississippi, and England deemed
the Indian trade of Illinois of so great importance that Sir William
Johnson, superintendent of the British Indian Bureau, was authorized
to secure control of it at once. To gain this end, Sir William Johnson

THE ENGLISH PERIOD 29

appointed George Crogan, an accomplished officer and a man of ex-
perience in similar matters, as his special commissioner. Crogan set
out from Fort Pitt for Illinois in May, 1765. After various Indian
skirmishes, a delegation of natives under the leadership of the haughty
Chief Pontiac met him in council in the month of July, this being the
first time the Indians would meet the British in peaceful negotiations.
After Pontiac had agreed to cease hostilities, to use his influence for
peace with kindred tribes, and in their behalf to guarantee the British
undisputed possession of Illinois, Crogan had no further purpose in
proceeding westward, but turned back and visited Detroit, where
another council with the Indians was held. Thence he returned to
Sir William Johnson, whose headquarters were on th^, Mohawk River,
and reported the successful outcome of his mission.

In accordance with the original plan, the British military forces
started from Fort Pitt in the fall of the same year to take formal
possession of Illinois. It consisted of 120 men of the Forty-second
Highlanders under Captain Stirling. The company arrived at Fort
Chartres near the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers on
October 10th. The same day the French flag was hauled down and
the British colors hoisted in its stead. Henceforth Illinois was British
territory in fact as well as in name.

The first official act after the occupation of ^Fort Chartres was
the issuance of a proclamation guaranteeing to the inhabitants civil
and religious liberty. The latter was all that these Frenchmen coveted,
holding, as they did, that hardly anything could bo done to extend
their political freedom. But the idea of reorganizing their communities
along British lines, with various office holders, did not enter their
mind. They continued their patriarchal form of village government,
with the priest as chief advisor in worldly as well as spiritual affairs.

Three months after his arrival at Fort Chartres, Captain Stirling
died and Major Frazier succeeded him as governor of Illinois. Though
under British rule, the French pioneers continued so peaceful and law-
abiding that the British troops in the spring of 1766 were sent away
as superfluous. The soldiers departed by way of th^ Mississippi, des-
tined for Pensacola, Florida, whence they sailed for Philadelphia,
arriving June 15th.

One Colonel Reed succeeded Frazier as governor, but his despotic
manner brought him into such disfavor with the people, that he was
soon in turn succeeded by Colonel Wilkins, who arrived at Kaskaskia
Sept. 5, 1768. The 21st of that month the new governor was ordered by
General Gage, his superior, to establish a court at Fort Chartres. Seven
judges were consequently appointed and on Dec. 9th of that year the
first English court of law in Illinois opened its sessions. After existing

3 o HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

for a century without a court of law, the French had established such
a court in 1722.

The principles of British territorial government were clearly set
forth in the proclamation of Oct. 24, 1765, by King George the Third,
and in the successive proclamation of 1772. In these acts private
ownership of realty was forbidden, which fact leads one to believe that
the government purposed to divide the land in large estates to be
granted to favorites by the crown. Fortunately, British supremacy
in Illinois did not last long enough to bring about a system so dangerous
to the future development of the territory.

June 2, 1774, the British parliament adopted an act, known as the
Quebec Bill, by which the boundaries of Canada were extended so as to
embrace all of the territory north of the Ohio River. This was the first
action of parliament that aroused actual dissatisfaction among the
colonists, principally those of Virginia. It encroached upon the terri-
tory of that colony, whose original grant stretched across the Ohio, and
was particularly odious to the private colonizing companies which at
that time planned to direct emigration into the valley of the Ohio.
Certain acts of Lord Dunmore, the last colonial governor of Virginia,
angered the people on the frontier, and they made their displeasure
known in a way that unmistakably presaged a coming uprising, long
before any revolutionary tendencies could be discerned in Boston and
Philadelphia.

Captain Hugh Lord seems to have been the last of the English
governors of Illinois, and no more troops were sent there. The popu-
lation, now made up of half-breeds as well as French and Indians, was
left to govern itself under the direction of Philippe Francois de Rastel,
Chevalier de Rocheblave, in the capacity of military commander, terri-
torial governor and judge of the provincial council. Rocheblave was
the last commander in Illinois under British sovereignty, continuing in
that capacity until the Americans claimed possession.

Fort Chartres remained the seat of government until 1772, when
one side of the fort was destroyed by a Mississippi flood. On a hill
near the Kaskaskia River, opposite the town of the same name, the
English erected Fort Gage the same year, making this the administra-
tive headquarters. Fort Gage was built entirely of wood, being in-
ferior to the former stronghold now left to fall into ruin. The river
floods have long since completed the work of demolition, leaving no
vestige of this whilom proud and forbidding citadel.

The American Occupation

The Continental Congress, made up of representatives of the
thirteen colonies, assembled in Philadelphia Sept. 5, 1774. This con-

THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION 3I

gress soon set about forming an American home government to take
the place of the British, which had became oppressive and odious.
On June 13th of the following year three Indian departments were
instituted, viz., the Southern, the Northern and the Central, the last
named embracing Illinois. As its officers were chosen Benjamin Frank-

Brigadier General George Rogers Clark

lin and James Wilson of Pennsylvania, and Patrick Henry of Virginia.
Owing to the remoteness of the territory under their supervision no
practical benefits accrued to it, the plan simply denoting the first
official act in the acquirement of the western territory.

On April 10, 1776, Col. George Morgan, a former trader at Kas-
kaskia, was appointed Indian Agent for this department to succeed

3 2 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

Franklin and Wilson. He resided at Fort Pitt, but his office required
him to visit the Indian tribes of the West for the purpose of befriend-
ing them. The British agents, however, had already obtained their
friendship, and Morgan's efforts proved needless.

In the meantime the revolutionary movement made great strides.
Among its most enthusiastic promoters, and those who made the
greatest sacrifices in its support, were the people on the Virginia
frontier. Prominent among them was Col. George Rogers Clark,
himself a Virginian. He was one of a number of men who had founded
settlements in Kentucky, but had returned Oct. 1, 1777, to submit to
Governor Patrick Henry of Virginia a plan for the occupation of Illi-
nois. After repeated representations the governor finally approved the
plan, and Col. Clark prepared to carry it out.

The utmost precaution was needed, for had the British learned
of the enterprise, they would have immediately sent troops from
Detroit to interrupt the Clark expedition and prevent further progress,
and in all likelihood would have reinforced Fort Gage with a strong
garrison. The expedition embarked at Pittsburg, following the Ohio
River down to a point near its junction with the Mississippi, whence
it proceeded overland to Kaskaskia, then a town of about 1,000 in-
habitants.

In the evening of July 4, 1778, Clark and his men arrived at Fort
Gage. No English were found there, only a handful of French doing
garrison duty under the command of Rocheblave. The inhabitants of
Kaskaskia were completely taken by surprise by the Americans, and
no resistance was offered. A Pennsylvanian who chanced to be among
the occupants of the fort secretly admitted the Americans at night.
So complete was the surprise that the commandant himself was found
by the entering enemy soundly asleep by his wife's side, and was
rudely awakened only to be put in irons, as were also a number of his
men, while the remainder of the population were forbidden to leave
their houses, on penalty of being shot without mercy. To add to the
alarm of the peaceful citizens, the Americans patrolling the streets
marched back and forth, making night hideous by noise and shouting.

Rumor had portrayed the American soldiers as a band of rowdies.
Clark, knowing this, determined to take advantage of the fact. His
purpose was at first to strike terror into the inhabitants by stern,
relentless severity, and afterwards gain their friendship and confidence
by merciful and considerate treatment. He succeeded admirably.
Before they had any inkling of his purpose, the inhabitants sent a
delegation headed by their priest, Father Gibault, with a humble
request that they be permitted to assemble once more at church to bid
each other a last farewell before being scattered in various directions,
as they feared. Their request was granted on the specific condition

THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION

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HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

that no one leave the town. After the meeting in the church Father
Gibault and a committee again called on Clark, praying that, as they
were about to be exiled from their homes, they might be permitted to
take with them provisions and other necessities, and that mothers might
not be separated from their children. Clark listened to their supplica-
tions with visible surprise and then exclaimed: "What! Do you take
us for savages?"

It were needless to say that the reverend father and his com-
panions were equally surprised and elated at this good-natured retort.
Then this fierce colonel and his band of Americans had not come to
drive them from their abodes and deprive them of their property and
religious freedom ! On the contrary, they had come merely to institute
the new government and place Illinois under its protection, the settlers
learning now for the first time and to their satisfaction that this
government had been officially recognized by France. Cahokia and the
other French villages in Illinois willingly recognized the authority of
Clark, and Illinois had thereby all but nominally ceased to be a British
dependency.

Clark's position was, however, rather precarious. Fort Pitt, the
only point from which he could obtain reinforcements in an emergency,
was situated five hundred miles away, with the French village of
Vincennes and Fort Sackville, still held by the British, intervening
between him and his military base of supplies. It was, therefore, of
the utmost importance that this point be taken and that the British be
prevented from sending reinforcements from Detroit. Father Gibault
and one Captain Helm, together with a small number of men, offered
to go to Vincennes and persuade the French to take up the American
cause. Their mission succeeded, and Captain Helm was made com-
mandant at Fort Sackville, but all too soon the fears of Col. Clark
were realized. On Dec. 15th, Henry Hamilton, the English governor
at Detroit, appeared outside of Vincennes with a force of thirty British
soldiers, fifty French volunteers and four hundred Indian warriors.
At the fort Captain Helm stood ready to fire what appears to have been
the only cannon of the fort. When Hamilton and his soldiers had
arrived within hearing distance, Helm shouted a thundering "Halt!"
To this Hamilton replied with a demand on Helm to capitulate. This
Helm agreed to do, on condition that he might depart without the
customary military honors. Hamilton consented, and out marched the
commandant and the entire garrison one lone soldier.

This made Clark's position more perilous than ever, but he proved
himself master of the situation. Having been informed in January,
1779, that Hamilton had somewhat reduced the garrison at Fort
Sackville by sending a small force to blockade the Ohio River in order
to cut off the retreat of the Americans, the fearless Col. Clark deter-

THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION

36 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

mined to take the fort by surprise. Forming a company of French
volunteers, which raised his fighting strength to 170 men, he marched
on Fort Sackville, while a vessel under John Rogers' command, with
a crew of 46 and a cargo of supplies, was dispatched down the Missis-
sippi and up the Ohio and Wabash rivers to co-operate with the land
forces. It was only with the greatest difficulty that Clark and his men
succeeded in crossing the swollen Wabash. The vessel failing to arrive
on time, he temporarily provisioned his forces at an Indian village and
advanced bravely on Fort Sackville. They arrived Feb. 24th, and
after a hard-fought battle of twenty-four hours, the fort surrendered.
This was practically the only battle incident to the conquest of Illinois
by the Americans.

Previous to this battle, the Americans had made preparations for
a system of government for the territory. The legislative assembly of
Virginia in October, 1778, resolved to institute a temporary govern-
ment, and on this act Col. John Todd, second in command under Clark,
based a proclamation, issued June 15, 1779, declaring the entire
territory a county of Virginia, to be known as the county of Illinois.
The same year a fort was erected on the east bank of the Mississippi,
a short distance below the mouth of the Ohio, designed to protect the
territory against the Spanish, who, besides other extensive possessions
in the New World, since 1762 claimed the entire territory west of the
Mississippi. Col. Todd fell in the battle of Blue Licks, Kentucky,
August 18, 1782, and was succeeded by Timothy Montbrun, a French-
man, as commandant of Illinois.

An old trading post named Fort Massac was established about 1700
by the French in southern Illinois, on the Ohio River. In 1758 they
rebuilt it as a bulwark against the English during the French and
Indian War. After having been ceded to the British in 1765, the fort
was left unoccupied. This made it possible for Gen. Clark to float down
the Ohio River unmolested. The fort was rebuilt in 1794 and was
occupied by an American garrison until after the War of 1812, when it
was abandoned. As late as 1843 it was decided to build an arsenal
here, but this was instead established at Rock Island. Earthworks still
mark the site of the fort, which is now a state park.

In 1782 the first American settlement in Illinois was founded
in present Monroe county and significantly named New Design. The
settlers were James Moore, Shadrach Bond, James Garrison, Robert
Kidd and Larken Rutherford, the last two having served in Clark's
little band of soldiers. In the summer of 1781 these men came with
their families across the Alleghany Mountains, boarded a river vessel
in Pittsburg, and were carried down the Ohio to the Mississippi, and
up this river to the point selected for the settlement.

By the treaty of Paris, Sept. 3, 1783, England recognized the inde-

TERRITORY AND STATE

pendence of the United States. The territory thereby ceded to the
new republic included Illinois, and after the ratification of the treaty
of peace by the congress at Philadelphia, on Jan. 14, 1784, Illinois
became an integral part of the United States and passed into a new
d,nd important epoch of development.

Illinois as a Territory and a State in the Union

On July 13, 1787, congress passed the Northwest Ordinance, by
which all the region north of the Ohio River was organized as the
Northwest Territory. October 5th of the same year Arthur St. Glair,

The Old Cahokia Court House (1795)

an officer of prominence in the Revolutionary War, was appointed
governor. July 9th of the following year he arrived at Marietta, a
newly founded settlement on the Muskingum River, designated as the
seat of government. The first county in Ohio was organized under
the name of Washington. In June, 1790, Hamilton county was or-
ganized, and a few weeks later the governor together with Winthrop
Sargeant, the territorial secretary, made a journey to Kaskaskia and
organized the settled portions of Illinois as a county, named St. Clair
in honor of the governor. A court was established at Cahokia, and &
justice of the peace appointed in each village. Five years later the

3 8 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

increase in population necessitated the organization of another county,
which was named Randolph.

By an act of congress May 7, 1800, the Northwest Territory was
divided in two, the one comprising Ohio, the other Indiana, Illinois,
Wisconsin and portions of Michigan and Minnesota. Simultaneously,
William Henry Harrison was appointed governor and John Gibson
secretary of the latter, called Indiana Territory. Vincennes was chosen

Ninian Edwards, Territorial Governor 1 809-1 8. "-'i United States Senator 1818-24.

Third Governor 1827-30.

capital and the new governor arrived Jan. 10, 1801. By order of the
governor a territorial legislature was elected Jan. 3, 1805, and assem-
bled at Vincennes. Shadrach Bond and William Biggs were elected
representatives of St. Clair county and George Fisher representative
of Randolph county. These three men,, the first members of a legisla-
tive body in Illinois, met for their first session July 29th of the same
year.

TERRITORY AND STATE 39

Previously, however, Indiana Territory had already been divided
by an act of congress, passed Jan. 11, 1805, the lower Michigan penin-
sula forming a separate territory. Four years later, in February,
1809, a second division took place, making a new territory, named
Illinois, out of the present states of Illinois and Wisconsin and the upper
peninsula of Michigan. Kaskaskia was made its capital and Edwards,
the first governor, entered upon his administration the following llth
of June. The census of 1810 showed a population of 12,282 in the

Old Kaskaskia house, in which the first Territorial Legislature
is said to have met in 1812

territory. Three new counties, Madison, Gallatin and Johnson, were
organized, and the territorial privileges were gradually enhanced.
Thus it was given a seat in congress in 1812, Shadrach Bond being the
first territorial delegate.

In January, 1818, Nathaniel Pope being the delegate, the territorial
assembly petitioned congress for statehood. The petition was granted,
and out of the aggregation of small and widely scattered settlements
was formed a state of the Union with all the rights and privileges
thereunto appertaining. The boundaries then fixed have remained
intact. The following summer a constitutional convention was held
at Kaskaskia, with attending delegates from all the counties then
existing, viz., St. Clair, Kandolph, Madison, Gallatin, Johnson, Ed-
wards, White, Monroe, Pope, Jackson, Crawford, Bond, Union, Wash-

40 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

ington and Franklin. The constitution was adopted in August and
the first state election took place in September, resulting in the unan-
imous election of Shadrach Bond, the only candidate, as governor,
Pierre Menard as lieutenant governor, and Elias Kent Kane as secre-

Shadrach Bond, First Governor of Illinois

tary of state. These entered upon their duties the 6th of October
following.

In 1820 Vandalia became the capital of the new state, and Kaskas-
kia from that time began to fall off in population and importance.
Today only a small group of dilapidated buildings bear evidence of
its former dignity.

A similar fate befell the still older community of Cahokia. Both
places having for a time shared the functions of county seat in St.
Clair county, Cahokia, after the organization of Randolph county, held

TERRITORY AND STATE 4I

that distinction alone until 1814, when Belleville became the adminis-
trative center. This meant the passing of Cahokia. In 1890 the place
had but 100 inhabitants, a considerable number of whom were descend-
ants of the early French settlers at that point.

Vandalia became, as stated, the capital of the new commonwealth.
The first capitol building was a plain two-story frame structure. The
first story contained a single room, used as the assembly hall of the
House of Eepresentatives. The upper story was divided into two
rooms, the one occupied by the Senate, the other by the Council of
Revision. For the use of the secretary of state, the treasurer and the
state auditor individual offices were rented in the vicinity of the capitol.
The state archives at the time of removal from Kaskaskia to Vandalia
comprised a single wagonload of documents. The legislature at its
first session in Vandalia resolved that this city be the seat of govern-
ment for twenty years, beginning Dec. 1, 1820.

This modest capitol building was destroyed by fire Dec. 9, 1823,
whereupon a larger and more commodious brick edifice was erected at
a cost of $15,000, the citizens of Vandalia contributing $3,000 towards
this amount. Regardless of the resolution pertaining to the location
of the capitol, agitation was begun the very same year in favor of
selecting another capital city, owing to the fact that the northern part
of the state had become so densely populated that Vandalia was no
longer the central point. At the legislative election in August, 1834,
the question was submitted to a popular vote, the city of Alton receiv-
ing the largest number of votes, with Springfield second. One of the
reasons urged in favor of a removal was that the capitol building,
though little over ten years old, did not meet the growing requirements.
The enterprising mayor of the capital was opposed to the plan, and to
stop all talk of removal on account of the inadequacy of the structure,
in the summer of 1836 set about tearing down the old building without
reference to the will of the legislature, and subsequently put up a new
building, utilizing the old and adding new material at a cost of $16,000.
This coup proved of no avail, however, for on Feb. 28, 1837, the legis-
lature, disregarding the popular vote of 1834, resolved to make Spring-
field the capital city. The legislature assembled in the state house at
Vandalia in December, 1838, for the last time, thereupon 'turning the
rebuilt structure over to Fayette county for a courthouse and school
building. Remodeled in 1858-9, this same structure today serves as the
county courthouse.

For the capitol building in Springfield the legislature appropriated
the sum of $50,000 and the city contributed an equivalent amount,
whereupon the cornerstone was laid with appropriate ceremonies July
4, 1837. On the same day two years later the administration moved
into the new statehouse, which, however, was not completed until

42 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

1853, when it had cost the state $260,000 or more than double the
original estimate of $120,000. The building was considered a master-
piece of architecture as well as a structure of extravagant magnitude,
yet fifteen years after its completion the enormous growth of the state
had shrunk it into inadequacy. The legislature, therefore, on Feb.
25, 1867, resolved to sell it to the city of Springfield and the county
of Sangamon at a price of $200,000 and to erect a new capitol, the

The State Capitol at Springfield

fifth in the history of the young state. The cost was fixed at a max-
imum of three million dollars. The cornerstone was laid Oct. 5, 1868,
and twenty years were required to complete the building. It then
represented an expenditure of about $4,500,000. During this long
period the tax payers had repeatedly found fault with the extreme
laxity in building operations as well as the unwarranted waste of the
funds of the state. At all events, a capitol worthy of the state was
erected. It is a worthy monument to the enterprise of a commonwealth
that had so suddenly sprung from an isolated territory to become one
of the most flourishing and influential states of the Union.

Among the early problems that pressed for a solution was the
question of improved transportation facilities. The state had a number
of navigable waterways, such as the Mississippi, the Ohio, the W abash,

TERRITORY AND STATE

the Illinois and the Rock rivers, yet the vast stretches of prairie that
intervened were traversed only with great difficulty. The old commer-
cial route, leading from Lake Michigan along the Desplaines and
Illinois rivers to the Mississippi, again came into extensive use as the
white population increased, but carrying merchandise in canoes and on
horseback was now considered too slow a mode of transportation. The
idea of connecting the Mississippi with Lake Michigan by means of a
canal suggested itself, and the first step in the realization of the plan
was the organization of the Illinois and Michigan Canal Association
in 1825. The following year a memorial was sent to congress by the
legislature, requesting a grant of land by the government toward de-
fraying the expense to be incurred by the project. In 1827 congress
appropriated 224,322 acres of land for this purpose. In 1836, nine
years later, the work of digging was begun, and twelve years later the
canal was completed. This waterway remained for many years one o'f
the principal transportation routes in the state.

During the construction of the canal, an epidemic of speculation
raged throughout the state. Villages, towns arid cities sprang up on
paper, and lots sold rapidly at exhorbitant prices. It proved the golden
age of the real estate agents and promoters. Finally, in 1836, the fever
spread to the legislature itself. The lawmakers devised a plan for the
improvement of transportation facilities which, in point of extensive-
ness, challenges comparison. Bills were passed looking to the building
of no less than 1,300 miles of railways crossing one another in every
direction. Large amounts were set aside for the improvement of rivers
and the building of canals. Counties not affected by these public
enterprises were set at rest by means of an appropriation of $200,000
to be parcelled out among them. The legislature was in such a state
of excitement that it gave orders for beginning work at both ends of
the projected railroads simultaneously. The appropriations for the
enormous enterprises amounted to a grand total of $12,000,000 and
commissioners were sent out to negotiate loans to that amount. Con-
sidering that the railway was still in its infancy and was locked upon
as the greatest of luxuries, that there were entire counties that could
scarcely boast a single settler's cabin, and that the entire population
of the state numbered less than 400,000, the legislature of the young
state certainly expended a tremendous amount of energy in its efforts
to develop the resources of the commonwealth. Meanwhile the legis-
lature established new state banks, the earnings of which were to be
used to defray part of the expense for the new lines of transportation.
This forced and abnormal development was soon followed by the
inevitable crash. This came in the form of the great financial panic
of 1837 which, while it affected the entire country, yet caused the most
serious disturbance in this state. Business was practically stagnant and

HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

all public enterprises had to be abandoned for the time being. The
state banks discontinued cash payments, and the credit of the state was
still further impaired during the next few years by a vigorous
propaganda in favor of repudiating the public debt. So great was the
financial embarrassment that state bonds offered at 14 cents on the
dollar went begging in the money markets. Taxes and state revenues
narrowly sufficed to defray current expenditures. After August, 1841,
no further efforts were made to pay the interest on the state debt, and
in the early part of the following year the state banks went out of bus-
iness entirely. The state debt at this time amounted to $14,000,000, an
enormous sum for a young state with a small population and with its
natural resources still undeveloped.

In 1842 Illinois thus stood on the verge of bankruptcy. From such
a catastrophe it was saved by Governor Thomas Ford, an energetic
man, through whose endeavors a plan for the payment of the state
indebtedness was formed and successfully carried out. This marked
the beginning of a gradual improvement in the finances of the state.

Long before the Illinois and Michigan Canal was opened for
traffic, the first steamboat had appeared on the Illinois River. This
was in 1826, but several years elapsed before steamboats came into
general use for river traffic. In the late thirties railway building was
begun in Illinois as well as in the eastern states. The first railway in
the state was the Northern Cross, with Jacksonville and Meredosia as
its terminal points. This stretch of road, which proved the beginning
of the great Wabash Railway system, was completed in 1839, the first
locomotive having been imported the foregoing year. This railway was
built at state expense.

In 1847 work was begun on the first railway out of Chicago,
namely, the Galena and Chicago Union, which had been chartered
eleven years before. This was the beginning of the great North-
Western Railway system, which has contributed so largely to the
material development of the state. The Chicago and Rock Island
Railway was built in the early fifties, opening an important thorough-
fare from Chicago to the Mississippi and the West.

In the financial crisis of 1837, Illinois was one of the states which
suffered the greatest loss. Business was at a standstill and all public
enterprises were indefinitely postponed. Business operations were
resumed by slow degrees, however, and Illinois swung again into the
path of progress. A new period of prosperity was inaugurated in 1850
by an act of Congress appropriating extensive land grants for the
completion of the Illinois Central Railway. Immigrants came in great
numbers, and towns and villages sprang up quickly along this railroad
as it neared its completion in 1856. The public debt of the state had

TERRITORY AND STATE 45

increased enormously during the panic of 1837 and grew continually,
reaching its highest point, $16,724,177, in 1853.

Another great stride in the development of the state was taken in
1848, when the telegraph system, established a few years prior, was
extended into Illinois.

At this point we may fitly mention an event in the early history
of Illinois which at the time was considered very noteworthy. In the
spring of 1825, at the initiative of Governor Coles, the renowned

General Lafayette

General Lafayette of revolutionary fame paid a visit to Illinois. The
governor had formed the general's acquaintance in Paris, and when
the latter was about to visit the young republic which he had so mater-
ially helped to establish, the governor insisted that the journey ought
to be extended to what was at that time known as the far West.
Lafayette's visit to Illinois was hailed with the utmost enthusiasm by
the Americans and not least by the descendants of the old French
settlers. The expenses of the trip were paid out of the state treasury,
amounting to $6,743, or one third of the tax revenue for the year.

While long and bloody conflicts were raging between the whites
and the Indians in Ohio and Indiana, Illinois was spared the ravages
of Indian warfare, owing largely to the French element, which had
early gained the confidence of the redskins and long exercised a dom-

4 6

HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

mating and wholesome influence over the Indians and the population
in general. During the war of 1812 between England and the United
States, the Indians as allies of the British committed certain outrages,
which were, however, of small significance as against the cruelties
perpetrated before and after in other western territories.

The most serious conflict of this kind in Illinois was the Black
Hawk War of 1832. Black Hawk, who in 1788 had succeeded his father
as chief of the Sac Indians, sedulously guarded the interests of his tribe
against the inroads of the whites.
Bitter rage filled the chieftain's
heart, when certain other chiefs
of the Sacs and Foxes in 1804
disposed of their lands, comprising
a stretch of 700 miles along the
Mississippi, to the whites for an
indefinite amount payable in an-
nual instalments of $1,000. He
held that his fellow chiefs must
have been drunk when signing
such an agreement. Nevertheless,
Black Hawk himself renewed the
agreement in 1816. Having thus
become homeless on their former
domains east of the Mississippi,
the tribesmen were compelled to
withdraw in great numbers to the
government reservation opened

to them in 1823 in Iowa, near the present site of Des Moines. Black
Hawk and a number of others, however, remained on their native soil.*
In 1831 the last tract occupied by the Indians was sold to white settlers.
When these began to plow up the little patches already planted by the
Indians, the anger of the savage chief and his followers knew no
bounds and they swore bloody vengeance. To prevent an outbreak,
the state militia was called out, and Black Hawk and his warriors were
forced to retreat beyond the Mississippi under promise not to return
to Illinois without permission. He soon broke his promise and invaded
the state in the spring of 1832, at the head of a band of fifty warriors,
but was met and repulsed by the militia. The band was broken up into
small groups that attacked the white settlers wherever found, killing,
scalping and devastating. General Scott was sent with a small force
to put a stop to the savagery, but his operations were hampered by an
outbreak of cholera among the soldiers. The Indians were at last
driven up to the Wisconsin Eiver where General Dodge dealt them a
telling blow on July 21st and General Atkinson, on August 2nd, totally

BLACK HAWK

MORMONS AT NAUVOO 47

defeated them. Chief Black Hawk was taken prisoner, and a treaty
was made by which the remainder of the lands claimed by his tribe
were sold and the remaining tribesmen, about 3,000 in number, were
transferred to the aforesaid reservation in Iowa. The chief himself,
two of his sons and seven warriors who were held as hostages by the
government for some time, were taken through a number of the larger
cities in the East and finally imprisoned at Fort Monroe. They were
liberated June 5, 1833, and permitted to rejoin their tribe. This
famous chief of a dwindling tribe died at the reservation on the Des
Moines Kiver on Oct. 3, 1838, at the ripe age of seventy.

The Mormons at Nauvoo

Peace had scarcely been restored, when a new disturbance aroused
the inhabitants. This time the Mormons were the disturbing element.
In the state of New York Joseph Smith had proclaimed the alleged
revelation of the hidden tablets of gold, by the aid of which he had
written a book embodying a new religion. In April, 1830, he had
organized a small band of followers who were called Mormons after
that weird fabric of truth and falsehood, the Book of Mormons. Joseph
Smith and his faithful settled in Kirtland, Ohio, where the sect grew
so rapidly that Smith and his assistant, Sidney Rigdon, soon were
obliged to select a larger tract farther west for the accommodation of
the colony. A suitable location was found at Independence, Jackson
county, Missouri, and here they determined to found a New Jerusalem
and build their temple. Smith and Rigdon returned to Kirtland and
set about raising the funds needed for the removal. They decided to
establish a bank as the easiest means to that end, but omitted, as use-
less, the formality of obtaining banking privileges from the govern-
ment. While issuing bank notes of highly questionable value, they
provided for the numerical growth of the sect by sending out mission-
aries to various parts of the country. In January, 1838, the bank was
forced to close, while Smith and Rigdon escaped being imprisoned as
swindlers by leaving the city by night and making their way toward
Missouri with numerous creditors on their tracks.

In the meantime, large numbers of Mormons assembled there, the
influx being marked by sharp friction with the inhabitants, who, with
or without cause, charged the strangers with robbery, incendiarism
and murder. After numerous conflicts with enraged mobs, they were
driven from one county to another and settled at last in the town of
Far West, in Caldwell county, where Smith and Rigdon rejoined them.
The conflicts with the Missourians continued, while an internal feud
threatened disintegration among the Mormons themselves. This strife
was quickly settled, whereupon the colony again presented a united

4 8 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

front to their neighbors. Toward the close of 1838 the conflict had
assumed the proportions of a rebellion. The Mormons armed themselves
and assembled in large numbers in fortified villages, openly challenging
the authorities. Finally the governor was forced to call out the militia,
and Smith and Rigdon were arrested, charged with fomenting a revolt.

Realizing the fruitlessness of armed opposition to the people of
the entire state, the Mormons now submitted to the authorities and
agreed to leave the state. To a number of 15,000 they crossed over
into Illinois in 1839, receiving a friendly welcome in spite of reports
of the trouble they had caused in the neighboring state. Smith mean-
while fled from prison and here reunited with his flock and his
comrade Rigdon, who had been released through habeas corpus pro-
ceedings. On a tract of .land in Hancock county, placed at their
disposal on speculation by one Doctor Isaac Gralland, the Mormons
began to build the town of Nauvoo. By sharp transactions in real
estate Smith amassed a fortune in a few years.

On the strength of an alleged new revelation, Joseph Smith issued
a decree to his followers in various parts of the world, commanding
them to assemble in Nauvoo, whereby the population of the town in-
creased by thousands in a short time. A charter was issued by the
legislature, entitling the city to certain exceptional privileges, which
placed Smith and Rigdon, together with other leaders, in a position to
assume almost unlimited power over the community. Among other
privileges was that of organizing a military force. This resulted in the
forming of the Nauvoo Legion, comprising nearly all ablebodied men
in the town. Smith assumed the chief command with the title of
Lieutenant General. Besides this, he was mayor of the city and
president of the Mormon denomination. Having thus united in his
own person the civil, the military, and the ecclesiastical power, he was
not slow to exercise the prerogatives voted him by his own followers
and a short-sighted state legislature. He had purposely so worded the
Nauvoo city charter as to deprive the state authorities of almost every
vestige of jurisdiction within its limits. It was a proud moment for
Joseph Smith, when on April 6, 1841, at the head of the Nauvoo Legion
and surrounded by a glittering military staff, he performed the pomp-
ous ceremony of laying the cornerstone of the temple, designed to be
the civil and religious shrine of the dreamed-of Mormon empire.

Up to this time the Mormons had sustained fairly peaceful rela-
tions with the people of the state, but when Smith in 1843 announced a
new revelation instituting polygamy, the situation was at once changed.
The leaders publicly disclaimed and denounced the doctrine but to no
avail, for it was generally known that Smith himself had lived in plural
marriage since 1838. Certain men, whose wives Smith had approached
seeking to induce them to enter into illegal relations with him, estab-

MORMONS AT NAUVOO

lished a newspaper, the "Expositor," which mercilessly exposed the
immoral life of the prophet. The result was that on May 6, 1844, a
number of Smith's faithful attempted to destroy the office and property
of the paper. The perpetrators were ordered arrested but refused to
follow the officer of the law who read the warrant, fortifying them-
selves by the charter of special privileges, and the officer was driven

The Mormon Temple at Nauvoo

out of town by force. The county authorities called for military aid
in preserving law and order; the Mormons also took up arms and
bloodshed seemed imminent. This was prevented by the governor,
who persuaded Smith and his brother Hyrum to submit to a trial. They
were taken to the prison in Carthage where guards were posted for
their protection. In the evening of June 27th the prison was attacked

5 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

by a mob; the guards were overpowered, shots were fired at the
prisoners through doors and windows, and Hyrum Smith fell dead
on the spot. The prophet returned the fire, defending his own life
with a revolver until his ammunition was spent, then made a dash for
safety through a window, but was hit by a bullet and fell dead in his
tracks. This ended the career of Joseph Smith, the religious
adventurer.

Profiting by past experience, the legislature annulled the charter
of the city of Nauvoo the following year, and the Mormons were forced
to seek new quarters. A considerable number broke camp in Febru-
ary, 1846, and gathered in Council Bluffs, whence they travelled afoot
across the plains and mountains to Utah. The remaining Mormons
had a second conflict with their neighbors. In September, 1846, the
city was fired into for three consecutive days and the inhabitants were
finally driven out at the point of the bayonet. In the year following
there was another exodus to Utah, but not until May, 1848, did the
main body of the Mormons break up from Nauvoo and follow in the
path of the advance guards. In the fall of the same year their destina-
tion was reached. In Utah the Mormons soon founded the city of
Salt Lake and various other important communities. Judging from
the continued history of the Mormons, particularly that of the fifties,
the state of Illinois is to be felicitated upon its fortunate riddance,
after but a few years, of this lawless and obstinate element.

The Icarian Community

When the Mormons evacuated Nauvoo in 1846, the place was im-
mediately occupied by a party of French settlers, known as Icarians,
who formed a community, the story of which has a peculiar interest.

Etienne Cabet, born at Dijon, France, the son of a cooper, became
in the time of Louis Philippe one of the leading French jurists and
ultimately attorney-general during the Second Republic. He was a
novelist of some note, his best known works being entitled, respectively,
"Voyage to Icaria" and "The True Christianity." Having lived
through the horrors of the revolution, Cabet founded the Icarian Com-
munity, based on ideas advanced by Victor Hugo in a novel called
"Icaria." A number of his adherents preceded him to America, landed
at New Orleans and planted a colony in Texas, on the Red River,
opposite Shreveport. La. Finding the climate unfavorable, they re-
turned to New Orleans, where they were joined by Cabet, who ap-
pointed a committee of three to sail up the Mississippi to select a site
for final settlement. This committee visited Nauvoo and agreed to
purchase about twelve acres of the Mormons' property, on which the
party subsequently located.

THE ICARIAN COMMUNITY 5 !

On leaving, the Mormons tried to burn their temple, a handsome
structure built largely of massive stone, with the upper portion and
steeple of frame. The fire destroyed only the upper parts, which the
Icarians set about reconstructing. A terrific storm undid their work
and also tore down part of the masonry, whereupon they used what
was left of the temple in erecting other buildings. The principal ones
were a large structure, the lower part of which contained one vast
hall, which served the double purpose of dining room and auditorium,
the upper story containing living rooms. The hall accommodated 1,200
diners, who were all served almost at the same time. The next largest
building in Icaria was a schoolhouse.

The administration consisted of president, secretary, treasurer and
seven directors, styled ministers, all elected yearly by the members
of the community, females of eighteen and males of twenty-one being
entitled to vote. They also elected a General Assembly, a legislative
body which held session every Saturday evening. Pere Cabet, the
founder of the community, was its president for many successive terms.
Admission into the community was conditioned by the payment of 300
francs. The applicant was put on probation for three months, then
voted on and, failing of election, his money was returned. If elected,
the applicant was required to turn over all his property to the com-
munity. The colony was strictly communistic in every detail.

There was a general director of work, with special foremen
appointed monthly for each line of employment, and each man or
woman could select the work desired, with the privilege of changing
occupation at times to relieve the monotony. The children were put
in school at seven and kept there until adjudged competent. In the
highest classes the sciences, astronomy, geometry, etc., were taught to
both sexes. The instruction was liberal in the extreme. So good was
the school considered that outsiders went there to receive their educa-
tion. In religion they were also liberal, most of them being free
thinkers; but church affiliation was no bar to membership. Sundays
were generally set aside for recreation. After dinner the great hall
was cleared and given over to discussion or to music, an excellent
orchestra of fifty pieces being maintained. On Sunday evenings in
winter the colonists were usually regaled with some play, there being
several actors of talent and a stage at one end of the hall. After the
show, adults and children indulged in dancing. There were hospitals
for the sick, an athletic field for public sports and playgrounds for the
children. Civil cases and cases of misdemeanor were tried by the assem-
bly. Criminal cases, if any, were turned over to the municipal author-
ities, for the colonists were loyal subjects of the United States. They
had a periodical, the "Icarian,," issued more for proselyting purposes
than for the news it contained. Copies circulated in France from time

UNIVERSITY OF
ILLINOIS LIBRARY

5 2 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

to time won new members, particularly from the communistic party.
When Napoleon III. ordered the arrest of the communists, many fled
to America and a number joined the Icarians at Nauvoo.

The Icarians were largely skilled workmen, such as mechanics,
tailors and shoemakers. To dispose of the overproduction by the latter
two crafts, a store was opened in St. Louis for the sale of clothing and
shoes. Other surplus products were sold in Keokuk, la. The colony
had flour mills, sawmills, a cooper shop, a wagon factory and a
distillery. Much of their textile goods was manufactured at home.

All told, there were about 1,800 Icarians during their sojourn in
Nauvoo, but never more than 1,200 at one time. Most of the members
were French, with a sprinkling of other nationalities. Early in the
fifties, forty-eight of the colonists were sent to pre-empt government
lands near Council Bluffs, la., and acquired some 8,000 acres, the com-
munity apparently foreseeing the day when its present quarters might
become too cramped. In the course of time the serpent of disruption
entered the Icarian Eden. Though most economically managed, the
maintenance being but iy 2 cents daily, per capita, the colony was going
slowly but surely to the wall. To reduce the constantly growing
indebtedness, the more practical members urged that the plan of keep-
ing skilled workmen on a plane with common laborers should be
abolished and the former set to work in manufacturing goods on a
larger scale for the general market, enabling the colony to liquidate
the debt. This clashed with the theory of "Father Cabet," who held
that commerce and intercourse with the outside world would spoil
community life. He also claimed the position of supreme dictator for
life. When at the next election he was defeated for president, he
withdrew in disappointment, going to Cheltenham, near St. Louis, with
his minority of about 200 colonists. He did not long survive the
defeat; his adherents disbanded or joined the settlement in Iowa; the
community property was sold to pay the debts. Today the only trace
left of the Icarian community is a group of some forty members,
engaged in fruit farming in California.

Having in the foregoing pages followed the material development
of Illinois through its successive stages, we turn now to a brief review
of its constitutional history. The successive territorial governments
were similarly organized, consisting of governor, secretary and judge,
appointed by the president. This same organization was retained
when in 1809 Illinois was separated from Indiana and became a distinct
territory. The governor was clothed with almost unlimited power in
the matter of appointments, the only official not appointed by him
being the secretary. The legislative power lay in the hands of the
governor and three judges appointed by the president. This tribunal

CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES

met June 16, 1809, and framed a code, embodying the principal laws
in force up to that time. ,

This administrative system obtained until 1812, when congress
entitled the territory of Illinois to local self-government, implying the
right of the people to elect their own county and town officials, mem-
bers of the legislature, and the territorial representative in congress.
The franchise was granted every citizen who paid taxes to the territory.
The legislature comprised two houses, called the Legislative Council
and the House of Representatives, and made up o.? five and seven
members respectively. The governor had absolute veto power, en-
abling him to set at naught every act of the legislature at his own
discretion. The first members elected to the assembly met in Kaskaskia
Nov. 25, 1812, and ratified, during their first session, all the laws passed
to date by the Indiana legislature and the governor and judges of
Illinois.

In the year 1818, as we have seen, Illinois was raised to the dignity
of statehood. The state constitution then adopted was a brief docu-
ment, patterned after the constitutions of Kentucky, Ohio, New York
and Indiana. A proper distinction was drawn between the legislative,
the executive and the judicial authorities, the maximum of power being
lodged in the first-named branch of government, while to the second
was allotted a comparatively small share. The governor, the lieutenant
governor, the sheriffs, the coroners, the county commissioners and, as
a matter of course, the members of the legislature and the state
representatives in congress, were elected by the people. The secretary
of state was appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of
the legislature. Almost all other officials were directly or indirectly
chosen by the legislature, which designated them either for appointment
by the governor or election by the citizens of the various counties. The
governor's veto was replaced by a Council of Revision, consisting of
the governor and the members of the state supreme court. This tribunal
was empowered to examine all acts of the legislature and resubmit
all disapproved legislation for further action. An absolute majority
was required for the passage of any bill or act over the veto of the
Council of Revision.

The ever growing demand for local self-government soon forced
the legislature to surrender part of its appointive power to the people.
Thus the offices of justice of the peace and of constable were filled by
election after Dec. 12, 1826, and that of probate justice of the peace in
a similar manner after March 4, 1847.

The right to vote was the prerogative of every white male citizen
having attained to the age of twenty-one years and resided six months
in the state. General elections were held every four years. All voting

HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

was done viva voce. It is a remarkable fact that this, the first consti-
tution of the state, was never submitted to the people for ratification.

As the commonwealth grew and developed apace and new exigen-
cies arose, the need of a new constitution became imperative. This was
spoken of as early as 1824 and again in 1842, but not until April, 1847,
were delegates to a constitutional convention chosen. The convention
met in June of that year and completed its work in August. The new
constitution was submitted to a vote at the next election, March 6,
1848, was then ratified, and went into effect on the first day of April
the same year. The idea of local self-government which had steadily
gained ground throughout the country since 1818, was asserted in the
new constitution through a curtailment of the extensive appointive
power of the legislature. This power was transferred to the people,
who were given the right to fill the great majority of offices at the
general elections, while the right of local self-government was made
almost absolute. The ballot was given to all white males who had
attained their majority and had resided one year in the state. To
the governor was given the right of veto, formerly exercised by the
Council of Revision. Even in other respects the prerogatives of the
legislature were curtailed. The financial experiences of the last decade
which had cost the state dearly, caused the insertion of a clause strictly
forbidding the legislature to use the credit of the state to further
building operations or for other purposes. Henceforth, such public
works devolved upon the various communities singly or in common.
Every county was granted the right to subdivide itself into townships,
this in deference to the wishes of the people of the northern part of
the state, who had come largely from New York and the New England
states.

During the rapid industrial development from 1850 to 1860 new
problems arose, which could not be solved under the constitution of
1848. The increasing number and power of the corporations was gen-
erally considered a serious public menace, in the absence of restrictive
legislation on that point. It was feared that these would abuse their
power in an effort to procure special legislation in their behalf, hence
the desire to place them under state control. A proposed constitution,
formulated by the constitutional convention of 1862, was deemed
inadequate and failed of ratification at the subsequent election; but
the need of a new constitution remained and caused the calling of a
fourth constitutional convention in 1869. This convention labored
with better success than its predecessor, and on May 13, 1870, sub-
mitted the draft of a new constitution, which was accepted at an
election held on the second day of July following, and went into effect
August 8th of that year. It augmented the veto power of the governor,
prohibited special legislation in favor of corporations, limited the

THE SLAVERY QUESTION 55

bonded debt of state, county and municipality to amounts not to over-
burden the taxpayers, enlarged the influence of the people on legisla-
tion, while limiting in a measure the authority of the legislature,
added to the responsibility of the judicial executives, and placed
restrictions upon the operations of railroads and other business cor-
porations.

The Slavery Q\iestion

A remarkable chapter in the history of Illinois is that dealing with
slavery and the attitude of its people toward that question from time
to time.

To the French the credit is due for the discovery and exploration
of Illinois and the founding of its earliest colonies ; theirs is the blame
for the introduction of slavery into its territory. Shortly after the
establishment of the first French settlements, certain Frenchmen,
acting on the supposition that all kinds of valuable ores were to be
found here, organized two companies with a view to exploiting the
ore fields. The second established headquarters in the St. Phillips
settlement, with a Frenchman by the name of Philip Francis Renault
as its representative.

In 1720 Renault purchased 500 negroes in San Domingo and
brought them here to work in the prospective mines. No ore beds could
be found, however, and part of the slaves were put to work in the
lead mines discovered near the present city of Galena, as early as the
year 1700, also near the site of Dubuque, Iowa, and in similar mines
in present Missouri, while the remainder were sold to French settlers
in Illinois. This event marked the beginning of the slave trade in the
state. In the latter part of the eighteenth century, when the English
and the Americans in turn invaded Illinois, protection of life, liberty
and property was guaranteed to the French settlers and their rights
and privileges were safeguarded. The slaves were naturally classed
as property. In the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, by which all the
tract northwest of the Ohio River was made one territory, slavery
was expressly forbidden within its borders, yet the inhabitants, par-
ticularly the French and Canadian settlers, by exemption were per-
mitted to follow their established customs. This stipulation was
commonly interpreted to mean that, while the statutes prohibited
traffic in slaves and the extension of slavery in the territory, they
implied that the slaves already in the territory, and their descendants,
were to remain in bondage forever. However, protests were raised,
questioning the validity of this stipulation in the ordinance on the
ground that congress, in passing it, had exceeded its authority. Others
maintained that all children born to slaves after 1787 were free. Still

5 6 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

another group insisted that no material prosperity would be possible
without slavery. In the course of time a considerable number of
inhabitants inclined to this view. After the division of the Northwest
Territory in 1800, the slave question grew more serious than ever, the
adherents of slavery obtaining strong support in William Henry
Harrison, governor of Indiana Territory. A convention to discuss the
question was called by him at Vincennes in 1804. Then and there a
petition to congress was drawn up, demanding that the section in the
ordinance of 1787 prohibiting slavery in the Northwest Territory be
rescinded or modified. The congressional committee to which this
petition was first referred, reported adversely, but a second committee
recommended that the slavery clause be suspended for a period of ten
years. Congress, however, took no action in the matter. In 1807 a
counterpetition with a great number of signatures was sent to congress,
where it met the same fate. In the meantime the advocates of slavery
kept up a vigorous agitation and succeeded in having a territorial
law passed which, under certain limitations, authorized the bringing
in and enslavement of negroes and mulattoes over fifteen years of age.
According to the same law, slaves under fifteen years of age could be
procured and held in bondage, males to the age of 35 and females to
the age of 30 years. Descendants of registered slaves were to serve
the owner of the mother up to the 'age of 30 and 28 years, respectively,
according to sex. As a result of this law, which was ratified in 1812,
the number of slaves increased rapidly in the territory.

The first state constitution of Illinois, adopted in 1818, prohibited
all form of slave traffic in the future, causing great dissatisfaction
among the slaveholders. An agitation was set on foot in 1822 to force
a change in the statutes, making Illinois a slave state. Their first
effort was directed toward securing a new constitutional convention.
For a year and a half a bitter fight was waged between the so-called
Conventionists and their opponents. At a general election August 2,
1824, the Conventionists were defeated by a heavy majority, this being
the final settlement of the slavery question in Illinois.

The negroes and mulattoes already in servitude remained slaves
during the term stipulated. The census of 1820 thus showed 917 slaves
in the state. Ten years later their number had been reduced to 747
and in 1840, when they last figured in the census report, their number
was 331. Before 1850 the last trace of slavery had been wiped out in
the state.

Edward Coles, who had just become the second governor of Illinois,
had been private secretary to President Madison and was an intimate
friend of Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry. He had inherited a
plantation and a number of slaves in Virginia. Disliking the institution
of slavery, he had removed in 1820 w r ith his slaves to Illinois and set

THE SLAVERY QUESTION

them free, giving to each head of a family 160 acres of land. In his
inaugural address in 1822 he recommended that the legislature revise
the laws so as to prevent the kidnaping of free negroes, a crime then

Edward Coles, Second Governor of Illinois

committed with impunity. He devoted his four years' salary, amount-
ing to $4,000, to the anti-slavery cause. Coles was a forerunner of
Lincoln and his influence was paramount at a critical period in the
preservation of Illinois as a free-soil state.

The champions of slavery continued their efforts, in spite of their
defeat in 1824, fighting the abolitionists at every point and with all the
means at their command. Two eminent leaders in the anti-slavery
movement were Elijah Parish Lovejoy, a Presbyterian minister, and his
brother Owen Lovejoy, a clergyman of the Congregational Church. In
the early '30s Elijah Lovejoy published from St. Louis a religious
weekly, the "Observer," condemning the slave traffic in unsparing

HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

THE SLAVERY QUESTION

terms. His life being threatened by enraged slaveholders, he removed
to Alton, 111., in July, 1836, continuing the publication from that point.
He waged a fearless campaign for the noble cause which he had
espoused, and a year later he and a number of sympathizers organized
a secret league for the abolition of slavery. But not even on Illinois
soil was he permitted to carry on his work unmolested. In the course

Owen Lovej oy

of one year his printing shop was attacked three different times by
violent mobs, which destroyed his presses and other property. After
he had purchased his fourth press, a number of his friends offered to
protect it from the assaults of the rabble. In the evening of Nov. 7,
1837. a mob surrounded the building where it was kept and, to make
short shrift with it, one of their number climbed to the roof for the
purpose of setting the building on fire. Stepping outside, together with
two of his friends, to see what was going on, Love joy was shot from
ambush and died in a few moments. His fellow abolitionists considered
him a martyr to the cause, and his death formed the theme of many a
bitter invective against the slave power. His example became an
inspiration to every friend of the downtrodden serfs and his violent

60 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

death aided materially in strengthening the anti-slavery sentiment at
the North.

Owen Lovejoy lived to take a distinguished part in the great final
struggle for abolition and the preservation of the Union. He was
elected to congress in 1856, and Lincoln had no more faithful and loyal
supporter of his policy in congress than was Owen Lovejoy. It was the
consciousness of this fact, which, after the anti-slavery champion's
death in 1864, called forth from Lincoln the warmest tribute to his
memory.

Abraham Lincoln, the Greatest Illinoisan

At this juncture, there passed from a humble pioneer home out in
public life a man foreordained by Providence to become in due time
the deliverer of the slaves, the great emancipator, Abraham Lincoln.
A review of the history of Illinois would be incomplete and lacking in
value without the name and achievements of him, the noblest of its
citizens.

Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky and came as a young man
of 21 to this state, to the progress of which he gave the best efforts of
his mature manhood. Scarcely two years had passed from the day he
began splitting rails for the enclosure of the homestead the family
selected in Menard county, when, after serving both as a private and
an officer in the Black Hawk War, he appeared as a candidate for the
state legislature. He was defeated, but two years later he reached the
goal of his first political ambitions, having in the meantime successfully
completed a course in law and also worked as a surveyor, showing
skill and aptness for the vocation. In the legislature he was made a
member of the committee on appropriations and accounts. After
re-election in 1836 he was appointed on the committee on finances ; and,
being re-elected again in 1838 and 1840, he was twice the Whig
candidate for the speakership. Recognizing the wants of the state, he
advocated a uniform system of public improvements. In March, 1837,
the Democratic majority in the legislature passed several resolutions
favorable to the slave power ; against these Lincoln went on record by
registering a forcible protest. According to the best information at
hand, this was Lincoln's first public pronouncement on the slavery
question.

The same year Lincoln was admitted to the bar, and henceforth
we often find him in court, defending those charged with assisting
runaway slaves from the South. Owing to the steady growth of his
law practice, he was obliged to decline renomination for the legislature
in 1842. As a candidate for presidential elector in 1840 and 1844, he
electioneered with great energy for the Whig candidate for president.
His debates with Stephen A. Douglas on the burning question of the

ABRAHAM LINCOLN 6 :

times, held before great audiences in a later campaign, are a matter of
history. Lincoln was a warm admirer of Henry Clay, whose defeat
caused him deep regret.

Having up to that time devoted himself to Illinois politics, Lincoln
in 1846 was elected to congress and became a national figure. His Dem-

Abraham Lincoln

ocratic opponent in this campaign was Peter Cartwright, the famous
Methodist clergyman. In congress Lincoln strenuously opposed the
policy of President Polk, and pronounced the war with Mexico a
national infamy. He voted for the anti-slavery petitions laid before
congress, urged an investigation as to the constitutionality of slavery
in the District of Columbia, and in 1849 moved its abolition. He might

62 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

have had the renomination, but declined. In the Whig national con-
vention in 1848 he furthered Taylor's nomination to the presidency
and made a campaigning tour in New England during the subsequent
campaign. In 1849 he stood for election to the senate, but was defeated
by General Shields. President Fillmore offered him the governorship
of Oregon Territory, which was declined.

The repudiation of the Missouri Compromise caused Lincoln again
to enter the political arena, and in a short time he became the
recognized leader of the Republican party, then in process of formation.
At the national convention of that party in 1856 he was by the delega-
tion from his state put in nomination for the vice presidency, but
failed to get the requisite number of votes to confirm the nomination.
In June, 1858, the Republican convention held at Springfield nominated
Lincoln for United States Senator to succeed his old antagonist,
Stephen A. Douglas, who sought reelection. During the campaign the
two held seven public debates, principally on the leading issue whether
Kansas should be admitted to the Union free or slave. It was generally
admitted that Lincoln was the superior of his astute political opponent
in argument. He received a majority of 4,000 votes over him in the
following election, but the legislative districts were so gerrymandered,
that the Democrats succeeded in getting a majority of eight on a joint
vote in the legislature, and Douglas was seated.

Lincoln, however, continued his crusade against the slave power in
forceful speeches, delivered in various parts of the country, including
Kansas and the New England states. Not only his own opinion, but
the prevailing sentiment of the Republican party was thus voiced.

The strain between the North and the South, owing to the slave
question, was ever on the increase. Slavery was, or was claimed to be,
an essential factor in the economy of the South, and the slave owners
looked upon the anti-slavery movement as a danger to be warded off
at all hazards. Fear of economic collapse was the ultimate cause of the
desperate tenacity with which they held fast to the slave system and
fought the abolitionists. The theory of state sovereignty was urged in
behalf of the slave states, and the secessionist movement began in
earnest, aiming toward the establishment of a new confederacy of
states all for the purpose of preserving to the South this institution
on the plea that it was indispensable.

The slavery question was brought to an issue when the Republican
party at its national convention in Chicago in May, 1860, adopted a
platform emphatically declaring that neither congress, nor the state
legislatures, nor any individuals were empowered to legalize slavery in
any part of the United States, and at the same time nominated Lincoln
for the presidency. When he was elected in November of that year,

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

thereby defeating his intrepid opponent Douglas, who was one of the
three presidential candidates of the disintegrated Democratic party,
the slaveholders took this as a sure sign of the impending destruction
of their cherished system of economy, although it was well known that
Lincoln was by no means disposed to precipitate the change.

In- order to prevent the abolition of slavery, the slave states
determined to withdraw from the Union and set up a government of
their own. South Carolina, whence originated the principle of state
sovereignty, led the way by calling a convention, which on the 20th of

6 4

HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

December, the same year, voted in favor of secession. Within six
weeks the states of Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana
and Texas took similar action. These states subsequently united under
the name of the Confederate States of America, and, on the 8th day of
February, 1861, elected Jefferson Davis president. Lincoln thus
entered upon his duties as president in March, 1861, under the most
trying circumstances. He realized from the first that a peaceful settle-
ment af the contest was impossible ; that the Union could be saved
only by an appeal to arms. On March 13th two commissioners of the
Confederacy appeared at Washington offering to treat with the govern-
ment regarding the questions arising out of the secession. The govern-

The Lincoln Family

ment, however, refused to recognize them on the ground that the
secession was illegal and without the consent of the people of the
United States. This reply was made public April 8th, and on the 12th
the rebels fired on Fort Sumter. This was the opening gun of the
Civil War.

The account of that great conflict does not enter into the plan of
this work. Attention may, however, be called to the enormous task that
was thereby thrown upon the shoulders of President Lincoln, as well
as to the tireless perseverance, the lofty statesmanship and the glowing
patriotism he evinced throughout ; how he, with the great goal of
human freedom ever before him, issued, on Sept. 22, 1862, his Eman-
cipation Proclamation, by which slavery was abolished in the United
States; how he was again elected, with an overwhelming majority,
in 1864; how he, with the faithful aid and support of the people,
brought the war to a close, with honor to the North, benevolence to the

RICHARD YATES 65

entire country, and the restoration of the Union, one and inseparable ;
and, finally, how he, after his life had often been placed in jeopardy
by persons seeking revenge for the alleged losses sustained by his great
work of emancipation, died by the hand of an assassin.

The people of Illinois will ever point with pride to the fact that
this man, the peer of Washington in our history, was one of their

Richard Yates, War Governor of Illinois

number. And as long as the human heart cherishes the deeds of the
great, they will visit, with a reverence akin to worship, the mausoleum
at Springfield, where Abraham Lincoln lies entombed.

Among the earnest supporters of the national administration in its
measures for the suppression of the rebellion was Kichard Yates,
governor of Illinois, 1861-4, who was later styled "the Illinois War

66 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

Governor." He served as United States senator 1865-71, and died
in 1873.

One of the military heroes produced by Illinois was John A. Logan,
a member of congress at the outbreak of hostilities. Leaving his seat,
he fought in the ranks at Bull Run. Commissioned colonel of the 31st

John A. Logan

Regiment Illinois Infantry by Governor Yates, he went to the front and
was rapidly promoted to major-general. He was in 1884 an unsuccess-
ful candidate for the vice-presidency with James G. Elaine. Logan
died in 1886 as a United States senator.

The greatest military figure brought out by the Civil War was
furnished by Illinois in the person of Ulysses S. Grant, who was in

UI/YSSES S. GRANT 67

1861 a tanner in Galena. After serving as clerk and drill-master he
was commissioned colonel of the 21st Illinois Volunteers. As brigadier-,
general he captured Forts Donelson and Henry in 1862. He soon had
charge of all western operations and his capture of Vicksburg after a
siege was the chief Union victory of 1863. He became major-general

Ulysses S. Grant

and then lieutenant-general in 1864, taking command of all the North-
ern armies. Grant personally directed the campaign against Richmond
which resulted in the surrender of Lee at Appomattox on April 8, 1865,
and the downfall of the Confederacy. The rank of general was created
for him in 1866. after which the nation chose him president in 1868 and

68 HIvSTORY OF ILLINOIS

again in 1872. During the years 1877-9 he made a tour of the world
and was received everywhere with the highest honors. General Grant
died July 23, 1885.

Illinois during the Civil War contributed to the Union army
214,133 men, 34,834 of whom fell in battle or died of disease during
service in the field or as war prisoners in the South.

In spite of the Civil War of 1861-1865 the economic development
of the state progressed almost unimpeded. In 1860 Illinois already
took first rank among agricultural states, and its industrial progress
was rapid. During twenty years, 1850-1870, Illinois advanced from
fifteenth to fifth place as a manufacturing state. At the present time
it stands third in rank with reference to manufactures and varied
industries. This phenomenal growth was principally due to the rapid
extension of the railroad system, that work going forward at such a
pace that Illinois in 1870 had more miles of railway than any other
state in the Union, a distinction which it still enjoys.

Up to 1870 agriculture was the chief occupation of its people, the
farmers outnumbering those of all other occupations combined. Since
then, however, this condition has changed, and in 1900 those engaged
in manufactures and varied industries outnumbered the agricultural
population. The number engaged in commerce and transportation was
almost as large as the industrial class, there being, however, no material
difference in the numerical strength of the three groups.

With respect to the value of the crops, Illinois in 1900 ranked first

among the states, and in coal production it had second place. Its

banking business gives it a place among the leading commercial states.

No better exponent of the development is found than the census

records, which give the increase in population by decades as follows:

Year No. of Inhabitants Year No. of Inhabitants

1820 .. 55,162 1870 2,539,891

1830 -. .. 157,445 1880 3,077,871

1840 476,183 1890 3,826,351

1850 851,470 1900 4,821,550

I860.... 1,711,951

The Educational System

The first step in establishing free public schools in the part of the
country now comprising the state of Illinois was taken by congress
May 20th, 1785, in adopting "An Ordinance for Ascertaining the Mode
of Disposing Lands in the Western Territory." By this act the
system of survey still in force was introduced into the United States.
The system was the work of Captain Thomas Hutchins, who at the same
time was appointed surveyor-general. The act stipulated that section

THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

16 of every township was to be reserved for the maintenance of public
schools within the township. The same provision was made in all
subsequent ordinances pertaining to the disposal of public lands. In

University of Illinois Library Building

yo HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

the Northwest Ordinance, adopted in 1787, this declaration was made :
"Whereas religion, morals and education are necessary to human
happiness, the establishment of schools and other means of education
should be constantly encouraged." The stipulations regarding land
grants for the support of schools were renewed in an act of congress
April 18, 1818, giving to the people of the Illinois Territory the right
of self-government, and they were formally adopted by the first
constitutional convention. This act also included a provision that,
besides the lands set aside for school purposes in the act of 1804, an
entire township was to be reserved for the maintenance of a seminary
of learning and that three per cent, of the proceeds of the sale of
public lands in the state should be devoted to the promotion of
education as directed by the legislature. One-sixth of this fund was
to be used for establishing and endowing a college or university. These
acts and resolutions form the foundation of the educational system of
the 'state.

Prior to their adoption, however, primary schools had been
established. One John Seeley is said to have begun teaching school in
a blockhouse in present Monroe county as early as 1783, thus being the
first known public school teacher in Illinois. Seeley was followed by
Francis Clark and a man named Halfpenny. Among the early
educators during a later period we note John Boyle, a soldier in the
little army commanded by Col. George Rogers Clark, who taught in
Randolph county some time during 1790-1800; John Atwater, who
taught near Edwardsville in 1807, and John Messinger, a surveyor,
who was a member of the constitutional convention of 1818 and speaker
of the first general assembly. The last named taught in the vicinity of
Shiloh, St. Clair county, at the point where Rev. John M. Peck's Rock
Spring Seminary was subsequently erected. These schools, all of a
primitive nature, were supported privately by the parents of the pupils.

The first effort to establish a general school system for the entire
state was made in January, 1825, when Joseph Duncan, who was after-
wards elected congressman and governor, submitted to the legislature
a bill to appropriate two dollars out of every $100 of state revenue for
distribution among those paying taxes or otherwise contributing to the
support of schools. The revenues of the state at this time were, how-
ever, so insignificant (a trifle over $60,000 per annum), that the sum
thus realized for school purposes would have amounted to about $1,200
annually, if the act had been enforced. It remained a dead letter until
1829, when it was nullified, and the state authorities began to dispose of
the seminary lands and use the proceeds of the sale for defraying
current expenditures. In this manner 43,200 acres were sold, leaving
only four and one-half sections, and the sum realized was less than

THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

$60,000. The first sale of township school land took place in Greene
county in 1831, and two years later the greater part of the school lands

in the heart of present Chicago were sold for about $39,000. These
sales continued until 1882 and brought an average of $3.78 per acre.
Certain lands were sold as low as 70 cents per acre. These meager
results were not chargeable to the system, but to the administration of
it. Had the authorities exercised foresight, the school fund doubtless

72 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

would have grown vastly greater. The first free public school in the
state was opened at Chicago in 1834, the second at Alton in 1837, the
third at Springfield in 1840, and the fourth at Jacksonville the same
year.

The present school system dates from 1855, when a law was
passed creating a permanent school fund by general taxation. Since
then the school law has been frequently amended, yet the fundamental
principle that every child is entitled to the advantage of an elementary
education has always been carefully guarded. It may be said without
exaggeration, that the Illinois school system in the last forty years has
been developed into one of the best in the country. The following
figures will convey a fair idea of this remarkable development :

In 1902 the state had 12,855 free public schools with 27,186
teachers, 6,800 male and 20,386 female, and 971,841 pupils. The cost
of maintenance was $19,899,624.54, including teachers' salaries to the
amount of $12,075,000.14. In the same year the private schools in the
state numbered 3,961 teachers and 144,471 pupils.

There are, furthermore, 350 high or continuation schools, supple-
menting the public schools. These are the natural results of the devel-
opment of the educational system, not the creation of any legislative
statute. Eighty-eight of the 350 high schools own buildings valued at
$4,000,000, and one has a permanent endowment fund, while the others
are maintained by local taxation. They were attended in 1902 by 41,951
pupils, 5,230 of whom were graduated.

Higher education in Illinois dates from the time when it was
still a part of the Indiana Territory. In November, 1806, the territorial
legislature, assembled at Vincennes, resolved to establish at that point
an institution to be known as the University of Indiana Territory. The
necessary funds, estimated at $20,000, were to be raised by means of a
lottery. A board of regents was at once selected, with General William
Henry Harrison as chairman. This enterprise advanced as far as the
erection of a building and then collapsed.

Twenty-one years later, in 1827, the first successful effort at
establishing a higher institution of learning in Illinois was made. The
credit belongs to Rev. John M. Peck, a minister of the Baptist denomi-
nation. Peck was born in Litchfield, Conn., in 1789, settled in Greene
county, N. Y., in 1811 ; took charge of a congregation in Amenia, N. Y.,
in 1814, and was sent in 1817 as a missionary to St. Louis, Mo. During
the following nine years he made extensive journeys in Missouri and
Illinois, and finally settled in Rock Spring, St. Clair county, where he
founded in 1826 the Rock Spring Seminary and High School for the
education of clergymen and school teachers. This was the predecessor
of Shurtleff College, established by the Baptists in 1835 at Upper Alton,

THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

being subsequently merged with that institution. In promoting his
enterprise Peck traveled thousands of miles, collecting meanwhile the
sum of $20,000, a considerable amount in that day. For many years he
continued a member of the board of directors of the school. This
educational pioneer of Illinois was awarded the honorary degree of

74 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

Doctor of Divinity by Harvard University in 1852. He died at Rock

Spring March 15, 1858.

In 1828 a Methodist seminary was established at Lebanon under

the name of Lebanon Seminary. After two years it was made a college

and named after Bishop McKendree. Illinois College was founded in

December, 1829, at Jackson-
ville with the support of the
Presbyterians, and from this
institution the first graduates
in the history of Illinois
schools were sent out in 1835.
These schools of learning
were legally recognized by
the state the same year. Next
in order came Knox College,
founded by Presbyterians in
1838, at Galesburg, and the
Episcopalian Jubilee College,

University of Illinois Campus Scene . .

established in 1847, at Peoria.

Fjor the promotion of general education there were held, during
the thirties and forties, a series of educational conventions, attended
not only by teachers but also by legislators and others devoted to the
cause. The first convention was held in the then capital city of
Vandalia, in 1833. In 1854 these conventions resulted in the organiza-
tion, of the State Teachers' Institute, its name being changed three
years later to the State Teachers' Association. The question of electing
a state superintendent of public instruction had been raised as early as
1837 and debated at the educational conventions, in the educational
journals, and in the state legislature, but not until 1854 did the proposi-
tion materialize in the establishment of that office.

It was during this progressive period that the idea of founding a
state university was conceived. At a farmers' convention, held Nov. 18,
1854, at Granville, Putnam county, one Prof. Jonathan B. Turner from
Jacksonville, 111., proposed the plan for a uniform system of polytechnic
schools throughout the United States, with one scientific school in each
state and territory, and a national institute of science in the federal
capital. The same plan was received with favor elsewhere, especially
in New York and New England, and not without interest in Illinois.
The meeting at Granville was followed by others, and at one of these
conventions, held at Springfield in January, 1852, was organized the
Industrial League of the State of Illinois to further the project and
arouse popular interest by means of lectures throughout the state.
It was decided at this meeting to petition congress for land grants out

THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

of the proceeds of which to support these institutes. In 1853 Illinois,
through its legislature, unanimously recommended the plan and

requested its senators and representatives in congress to promote its
adoption. The matter was taken up in congress and a bill authorizing
such institutions was passed, but annulled in February, 1859, by the

7 6

HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

veto of President Buchanan. The matter was again taken up and a bill
passed, which received the approval of President Lincoln July 2, 1862.

Thus a great movement in the Prairie State, advocated by an
Illinois man, supported by Illinois people, was confirmed by an Illinois
president.

By this act the national government donated to each state in the
Union public land scrip in quantity equal to 30,000 acres for each
senator and representative in congress "for the endowment, support,

University of Illinois Auditorium

and maintenance of at least one college, whose leading object shall be,
without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including
military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to
agriculture and the mechanical arts * * in order to promote the
liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several
pursuits and professions of life."

On account of this grant, amounting to 480,000 acres in Illinois, the
state pays the university, semi- annually, interest at the rate of five per
cent, on about $610,000; and deferred payments on land contracts
amount, approximately, to $35,000.

To secure the location of the university several counties entered
into competition by proposing to donate to its use specified sums of
money, or their equivalent. Champaign county offered a large brick
building in the suburbs of Urbana, erected for a seminary and nearly
completed, about 1,000 acres of land, and $100,000 in county bonds.
To this the Illinois Central railroad added $50,000 in freight.

The state has from time to time appropriated various sums for
permanent improvements, as well as for maintenance. For 1907 1908

THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

it appropriated $305,000 for the College of Agriculture, $900,000 for
ordinary operating expenses, and $502,790 for various extensions, be-
sides which $100,000 was set aside for the Graduate School, $250,000 for
a physics laboratory, and $150,000 for an addition to the Natural
History Hall. The present value of the entire property and assets is
estimated at $3,250,000.

The institution was incorporated February 28, 1867, under the
name of the Illinois Industrial University, and placed under the control
of a board of trustees, constituted of the governor, the superintendent
of public instruction and the president of the state board of agriculture,
as e x-o f f i c i o members,
and twenty-eight citizens ap-
pointed by the governor.
The chief executive officer
was called Regent, and was
made an ex-officio member
of the board and presid-
ing officer both of the
board of trustees and of the
faculty.

In 1873 the board of
trustees was reorganized, the
number of appointed mem-
bers being reduced to nine
and of ex-officio members to

two the governor and the president of the state board of agriculture.
In 1887 a law was passed making membership elective at a general state
election and restoring the superintendent of public instruction as an
ex-officio member. There are, therefore, now three ex-officio members
and nine by public suffrage. Since 1873 the president of the board has
been chosen by the members from among their own number for a
term of one year.

The university was opened to students March 2, 1868, when there
were present, beside the Regent , three professors and about fifty
students all young men.

During the first term instruction was given in algebra, geometry,
physics, history, rhetoric and Latin. Work on the farm and gardens
or about the buildings was at first compulsory for all students, but in
March of the next year compulsory labor was discontinued, save when
it was made to serve as a part of class instruction. A chemical labora-
tory was fitted up during the autumn of 1868. Botanical laboratory
work began the following year. In January, 1870, a mechanical shop
was fitted up with tools and machinery, and here was begun the first

University of Illinois Woman's Building

78 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

shop instruction given in any American university. During the summer
of 1871 the present engineering laboratory was erected and equipped
for students' shop work in both wood and iron.

By vote, March 9, 1870, the trustees admitted women as students.
During the year 1870-1871 twenty-four availed themselves of the
privilege. Since that time they have constituted from one-sixth to one-
fifth of the total number of students.

In 1890 the congress of the United States made further appropria-
tions for the endowment of the institutions founded under the act of
1862. Under this enactment each such college or university received
the first year $15,000, and thereafter $1,000 per annum additional to
the amount of the preceding year, until the amount reached $25,000,
which sum was to be paid yearly thereafter.

On May 1, 1896, the Chicago College of Pharmacy founded in 1859,
became the School of Pharmacy of the University of Illinois. Its build-
ing is located at Michigan ave. and 12th st. in Chicago.

Pursuant to action of the board of trustees, taken Dec. 8, 1896, the
School of Law was organized, and opened Sept. 13, 1897. The course
of study covered two years, in conformity with the existing require-
ments, for admission to the bar of Illinois. In the following November,
however, the supreme court of the state announced rules relating to
examinations for admission to the bar which made three years of study
necessary, and the course of study in the law school was immediately
rearranged on that basis. On Feb. 9, 1900, the name of the School of
Law was changed to College of Law.

Negotiations looking to the affiliation of the College of Physicians
and Surgeons, of Chicago, with the university, which had been going
on for several years, were concluded by the board of trustees in March,
1897. According to the agreement made, the College of Physicians and
Surgeons became in April, 1897, the College of Medicine of the Univer-
sity of Illinois. The college is located at Congress and Honore streets,
Chicago.

In 1897, the matter of the reorganization of the University Library
was considered by the board of trustees, with the result that the School
of Library Economy, which had been established in 1893 at the Armour
Institute of Technology, in Chicago, was transferred to the university,
and the director of that school was appointed librarian of the Univer-
sity Library. In accordance with these plans the State Library School
was opened at the university in September, 1897.

Pursuant to action taken by the board of trustees in March, 1901,
a School of Dentistry was organized as a department of the College of
Medicine. The school was opened October 3, 1901. The name was
changed to College of Dentistry in 1905.

THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 79

The land occupied by the university and its several departments
embraces 220 acres, exclusive of the stock farm, experimental farm, and
forest plantation, which embrace some 400 acres additional. The
principal buildings are: the university hall, agricultural building,
armory, library building, astronomical observatory, chemical labora-
tory, engineering hall, laboratory of applied mechanics, mechanical
engineering laboratory, metal shops, wood shop and foundry, natural
history hall, men's gymnasium, woman's building and auditorium. The
general university library contains 90,400 volumes and pamphlets, and
has a subscription list of 1,100 periodicals. To this is added the library
of the state laboratory of natural history, 6,000 volumes and 16,500
pamphlets, and those of the college of medicine and dentistry, and the
school of pharmacy, in Chicago, and the college of law. The depart-
ment of education has a special collection of 1,500 books and 3,000
pamphlets. An art gallery was established in 1874, the gift of citizens
of Champaign and Urbana.

The appropriations made by the congressional act of March 2, 1887,
were for the purpose of establishing and maintaining, in connection
with the colleges founded upon the congressional act of 1862, agricul-
tural experiment stations, "to aid in acquiring and diffusing among the
people of the United States useful and practical information on subjects
connected with agriculture, and to promote scientific investigation and
experiment respecting the principles and applications of agricultural
science." Under this provision the Agricultural Experiment Station
for Illinois was founded in 1888 and placed under the direction of the
trustees of the university, and a part of the university farm, with
buildings, was assigned for its use.

The federal grants to the station have been liberally supplemented
with state appropriations, until its revenues have become the largest
of those of similar institutions throughout the world.

Investigations are conducted in the growing and marketing of
orchard fruits, the methods of production of meats and of dairy goods,
the principles of animal breeding and nutrition, and in the improve-
ment and the economic production of crops. All the principal types of
soil of the state are being studied in the laboratory under glass and in
the field. A soil survey is in progress which when finished will map
and describe the soil of every farm of the state down to an area of ten
acres. Twenty to thirty fields and orchards are rented in different
portions of the state for the study of local problems, and assistants are
constantly on the road for the conduct of experiments or to give instruc-
tion to producer or consumer. The results of investigation are pub-
lished in bulletins, which are issued in editions of 40,000, and distrib-
uted free rf charge.

HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

The Engineering Experiment Station was established by action of
the board of trustees, in December, 1903. It is the first and, so far as

known, the only experiment station connected with any college of
engineering in this country. Its purposes are the stimulation and

THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 8 1

elevation of engineering education, and the study of problems of special
importance to professional engineers, and to the manufacturing, rail-
way, mining, industrial and other interests of importance to the public
welfare of the state and the country.

Up to the present time, eleven bulletins, of value to engineering
science, have been published. The experiments have related chiefly to
tests of concrete, reinforced concrete beams, tests of high speed tool
steels, the resistance of tubes to collapse, fuel tests, and the holding
power of railroad spikes.

In 1885 the legislature passed a bill transferring the State Labora-
tory of Natural History to the University of Illinois from the Illinois
State Normal University, where it was founded in 1877 by the present
director, Dr. Stephen Alfred Forbes, a noted scientist, who is also state
entomologist. This laboratory was created for the purpose of making a
natural history survey of the state, the results of which should be
published in a series of bulletins and reports, and for the allied purpose
of furnishing specimens illustrative of the flora and fauna of the state
to the public schools and to the state museum.

The herbarium contains about 50,000 mounted specimens of plants.
The flora of North America is fairly well represented, the collection of
species of flowering plants indigenous to Illinois is particularly com-
plete, and a considerable collection of foreign species has been made.
The collections of fungi amount to 32,000 named specimens and include
a full set of those most injurious to other plants, causing rusts, smuts,
moulds, etc. There are specimens of wood from 200 species of native
trees and shrubs, which well illustrate the varieties of native wood.

The work of the state entomologist's office has been done at the
University of Illinois since January, 1885; and by legislative enact-
ment in 1899 it was permanently established at the university. It is
the function of the entomologist to investigate the entomology of
Illinois, and particularly to study the insects injurious to the horti-
culture and agriculture of the state, and to prepare reports of his
researches and discoveries in entomology for publication by the state.
Over 700 pages of reports have been issued from this office. He also
inspects and certifies annually all Illinois nurseries, and maintains a
general supervision of the horticultural property of the state as respects
its infectation by dangerous insects and its infection with contagious
plant diseases.

The chemical survey of the waters of the state was begun in
September, 1895, by Dr. Arthur W. Palmer. In 1897 the legislature
authorized the continuance of the work, and directed the board of
trustees to establish a chemical and biological survey of the waters of
the state. Its purpose is to collect facts and data concerning the water
supplies of the state; to demonstrate their sanitary condition by

HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

examination and analysis ; to determine standard of purity of drinking
waters in the various sections, and publish the results of these investiga-
tions. Analyses of water for citizens of the state are made on request.
An act of the general assembly on July 1, 1905, provided for the
establishment of a bureau to be known as the state geological survey.

University of Illinois Electrical and Mechanical Laboratory
and Laboratory of Applied Mechanics

Its purpose is primarily the study and exploitation of the mineral
resources of Illinois. Field parties are organized for the investigation
of clay, coal, stone, artesian water, cement materials, road materials
and general scientific investigations. The bureau is charged also with
the duty of making a complete topographical and geological survey of
the state. The topographical work will lead to the publication of a
series of bulletins and of maps, eventually covering the entire state.

THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 83

The attendance at the state university increased very slowly year
by year, until the nineties, when an exceptional increase set in. In
1889-90 there were but 469 students. In 1891-2 the number of
students was 583, but six years later it reached 1,582, and in the school
year of 1901-2 the 3,000 mark was passed. Four years later the
number exceeded 4,000, and the summer of 1906-7 showed 4,316 students
in attendance. In 1907-8 the attendance was over 4,700 students.

John Milton Gregory, the first president, came to the university in
1867 and laid the plans for the new type of college whose appropriate
motto was chosen as, "Learning and Labor." His life-work was
fostering the idea of laboratory education. His faith and earnestness
of purpose made the present university possible. He resigned in 1880,
died in 1898, and is buried on the university grounds.

Selim Hobart Peabody, the second president, had been professor ol!
mechanical engineering and consequently was well acquainted with
Gregory's plans. It was in 1885, the sixth year of his presidency, that
the legislature was persuaded to change the name of the institution to
University of Illinois. It was perhaps this as much as any other fact
that awoke the people of Illinois to the splendid opportunities of their
own institution. Dr. Peabody resigned in 1891.

From 1891 to 1894 Vice President Thomas Jonathan Burrill admin-
istered the affairs of the university. He declined the presidency, pre-
ferring to devote his entire time to botany. During this period the
natural history hall and the engineering building were erected.

Andrew Sloan Draper became the third president in September,
1894. The university grew phenomenally, not only in numbers, bui; in
material equipment. Eighteen buildings were erected on the campus
during his term of office. He resigned in 1904 to resume the position of
commissioner of education in New York state, which he had held
before.

Edmund Janes James, the fourth president of the university, was
born May 21, 1855, at Jacksonville, 111. He prepared at Illinois State
Normal School and continued his studies at Northwestern University
in 1873, at Harvard in 1874, and at University of Halle 1875-7,
receiving the degrees of M. A. and Ph. D. Returning to this country,
he was principal of the Evanston. 111., high school 1878-9, then trans-
ferring his activities to the Illinois State Normal School, at Normal,
where he was professor of Latin and Greek, and principal of the high
school department until 1883. After a year of research in Europe Dr.
James was called to the professorship in public administration at the
University of Pennsylvania. He organized the graduate school and was
director of the Wharton School of Finance and Economy at that
university. Owing largely to his efforts similar departments have been

8 4

HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

established in the Universities of California, Chicago, Michigan and
Columbia University. His report on commercial education to business
men in Europe, made in 1892, has become a standard authority on this
subject. Dr. James is the author of more than one hundred papers and
monographs on various economic, legal, educational and historical
topics. He is president of the Illinois State Historical Society, and is a
member of various patriotic, historical, scientific and educational so-
cieties. Dr. James is a man of broad attainments and the University
of Illinois is, under his guidance, rapidly advancing by leaps and

bounds toward its probable
position as the greatest of
the American state universi-
ties.

The development of the
school system necessitated
provision for the education
of competent teachers. The
initiative was taken by the
legislature Feb. 18, 1857, in
authorizing the establish-
ment of the Illinois State
Normal University, at Nor-
mal, which was opened
October 5th of the same

year. This was the first teachers' seminary in the Mississippi
valley, and it has furnished teachers to the majority of the normal
schools since established in various states. At the same time the
legislature established the State Board of Education, comprising a state
superintendent of public instruction and fourteen other members.

The normal school soon proved inadequate to meet the demand for
teachers, and on March 9, 1869, the legislature resolved to found a
second institution of the same order, which was located at Carbondale,
being completed June 30, 1874, and known as the Southern Illinois
Normal University. During the nineties three other normal schools
were established, namely, the Eastern Illinois Normal School at Charles-
ton, and the Northern Illinois Normal School at DeKalb, by act of the
legislature May 22, 1895, both being opened in September, 1899, and
last the Western Illinois Normal School at Macomb, authorized by the
legislature April 24, 1899, and opened before completion in September,
1902.

In addition to the aforesaid institutions, the state maintains four
special schools, viz., the Institution for the Education of the Deaf and
Dumb, and the Institution for the Blind, both at Jacksonville, the

University of Illinois Men's Gymnasium

THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 85

Asylum for the Feebleminded, at Lincoln, and the Soldiers' Orphans
Home at Normal.

The religious denominations maintain a great number of educa-
tional institutions, the mere enumeration of which would require pages.
The most prominent ones are the Chicago and the Northwestern Univer-
sities, which will be dealt with in a subsequent chapter on the City of
Chicago.

With this synopsis of the educational system this outline of the
history of the state of Illinois may fitly end.

CHAPTER II

The City of Chicago

Early History

HICAGO, as a city, date from the year 1837, but its
early history stretches back into the latter part of the
sixteenth century. The name Chicago or Chikagou first
occurs on a map of Illinois drawn by the Frenchman
Franquelin in 1684. It was applied both to a river emp-
tying into the Desplaines just above the mouth of the Kankakee and
to a point on the shore of Lake Michigan identical with the present
site of Chicago. Some years later the French explorers used the name
Chekagou to denote the present Desplaines River.

The next recurrence of the name was in the memoirs left by the
aforementioned Tonti. This explorer, who in 1685 made a journey
from Canada to Illinois, writes: "October 30, 1685. I embarked for
Illinois, but on account of the ice I left my canoe and proceeded by land.
Having traveled 120 leagues, I arrived at Fort Chicagou where M. de
la Durantaye was commandant." There is no doubt that Fort Chicagou
was one of the strongholds erected by the French to secure their
possession of the newly discovered territory, nor is it questioned that
the fort was situated on ground now a part of the great metropolis.
The time and circumstances of its founding are unknown. From the
memoirs of Tonti we learn that in 1699 there was a mission, where the
gospel was preached to the neighboring Miami Indians. It appears
from contemporary reports that adjacent to the mission and the fort
was a French village of modest size, but we find no information as to
how long this settlement was maintained.

The name Chicago is an Indian word, concerning whose original
meaning philologists are not agreed. Some hold that it meant onion or
garlic, others skunk, still others derive it from two Indian words mean-
ing "wood gone." The first interpretation is based on the prolific
growth of garlic along the Chicago River in early days ; the second on
the supposition that skunks were plentiful in the neighborhood; while
the third presupposes that the place at one time had been covered with

EARLY HISTORY

woods which were afterwards cut down. In the absence of definite
knowledge on this point one explanation may be as acceptable as
another.

About 1730 the name was also borne by a chief of the Indian tribes
of Illinois. When these tribes in 1736, through a treaty with the
French, had reached the acme of their power, D 'Artaguette, a French-
Canadian, asked their aid against the Chickasaw Indians of Mississippi,
who were making war upon the French at New Orleans. At the

head of a force of 500 braves
Chief Chicagou accompanied him
to the land of the Chickasaws,
where they were to join a French
force under Bienville. The latter
did not arrive at the time and
place appointed, and the Illinois
warriors together with the fifty
French soldiers proceeded, under
the command of D 'Artaguette, to
capture and occupy two of the
Chickasaw strongholds. In a third
attack D 'Artaguette was wounded
and made prisoner. Chief Chica-
gou then returned with his men to
Illinois, while the Chickasaws, with
the enemies' scalps at their belts,
marched in triumph to Georgia on
a visit to Governor Oglethorpe, with whom they had made a friendly
treaty.

Certain historians claim that the name Chicagou was applied to a
long line of subsequent chiefs of the Illinois tribes. Whether or not
these chieftains had any connection with the place bearing that name
is not established.

Not until a hundred years after Tonti's visit at Chicago, do we
find the place again mentioned in the early accounts. In 1796, we are
told, a mulatto named Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable, who was born
in San Domingo, settled on the north bank of the Chicago River, near
its mouth, built a hut and began trading with the Indians. A short
time afterwards, he sought to become their chief, which would indicate
very friendly relations. His effort failed, however, and in his chagrin
he sold the hut with the surrounding patch of cultivated soil to a
French fur trader, named Le Mai, and moved to Peoria.

CHIEF CHICAGOU

CHICAGO

Fort Dearborn

After the purchase of the Louisiana tract from Napoleon Bonaparte
in 1803, it became necessary for the United States to establish a fort
for its protection. A commission was sent from the war department
at Washington to select a suitable site, and on its recommendation it
was decided to build a fort at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, on
the east shore of Lake Michigan. Preparations for building had al-

S ^^x^

FROM FRANQUELIN'S LARGE MAP, 1684.

Barly Map of Illinois River Basin

ready been made when the Michigan Indians refused to grant the
necessary site. To force their consent was deemed unwise and hazar-
dous, therefore the government chose the alternative of erecting the
fort at the mouth of the Chicago River, where it owned a tract com-
prising six square miles of ground ceded by the Indians as early
as 1795.

To build a fort so far out in the wilderness was a risky under-
taking, but no other site being available, the building orders were
issued in the early summer of 1803. At that time Detroit and Michili-
mackinac were the farthest western outposts of the United States on the
Great Lakes. A military company was in garrison at Detroit under
command of Captain John Whistler, and to him was given the duty
of supervising the erection of the fort as well as the command at the
new outpost. The other officers at Detroit were two lieutenants, his

FORT DEARBORN 89

oldest son, William Whistler, and James S. Swearingen from Chilli-
cothe, Ohio. The latter was ordered to head the soldiers afoot through
the forests to Chicago, while Captain Whistler himself, together with
his wife and their son, the lieutenant, with his young bride, embarked
in the government schooner Tracy for the same destination.

Chicago at this time consisted of three little huts occupied by as
many French fur traders with their Indian wives and half-breed
children. One of these traders was the aforesaid Le Mai, the others
Ouilmette (after whom the town of Wilmette has been named) and
Pettell. The schooner arrived off the mouth of the Chicago River July
4th and anchored at a sand bank just opposite. Here its cargo of arms,
ammunition and provisions was loaded into small boats and brought
ashore at the point on the river bank selected as the site of the fort to
be erected.

Two thousand Indians were assembled on the shore to witness the
landing. The schooner itself was the object of their especial interest
and admiration, and was styled "the great winged canoe." After
debarking, Captain Whistler ordered the crew to return with the vessel
to Detroit, and soon its sails disappeared at the eastern horizon.
The total force left at Chicago, aside from the three commissioned
officers, consisted of four sergeants, three corporals, four musicians,
a surgeon and fifty-four privates, numbering altogether 69 men.

Their first duty was to build a blockhouse for shelter. This would
have been an easy task, except for the fact that the logs had to be
brought from a considerable distance. For lack of horses or oxen the
soldiers themselves were obliged to drag the required timbers from
the nearest woods to the point selected for the blockhouse. This point
was on the south side of the river, on rising ground near present
Rush street. The river did not, as at present, flow directly east, but
curved southward and emptied into the lake at the foot of Madison
street. On the ground within this bend the fort was subsequently
erected. The whole summer and part of the fall had passed before the
building was so far advanced that it afforded shelter for the men, and
the fort was not completed until the following year. The fort then
consisted of two blockhouses, one in the southeastern, the other in the
northwestern corner of a palisaded area sufficiently ?.arge to serve as
military drill grounds. From the palisades a subterranean passage
led to the river's edge. The armament consisted of three small cannon.
West of the palisades was built a loghouse two stories high, with
shingled roof and walls. This was to serve as the warehouse of the
Indian agency which was established simultaneously and served as a
distributing center for large quantities of goods sent by the govern-
ment as gifts to the Indians by way of winning their confidence and
good will. The Indian agent also served as the quartermaster of the

CHICAGO

The First and the Second Fort Dearborn

FORT DEARBORN 9I

garrison. The post was named Fort Dearborn after General Henry
Dearborn, then secretary of war under President Thomas Jefferson.
Life at Fort Dearborn during that first winter was a dreary
monotony, which must 'have seemed like exile or imprisonment, par-
ticularly to Lieutenant Whistler's girl wife of sixteen, formerly Miss
Julia Fenson of Salem, Mass. There was practically no opportunity
to associate with people outside the stockade, there being no whites,
with the exception of the three French fur traders with Indian wives.
The monotony was somewhat relieved by a .number of Americans
settling in the vicinity of the fort in the next few years. In the
following pages we will introduce a few of these Chicago pioneers.

John Kinzie and His Contemporaries

In 1804 John Kinzie, a fur trader, arrived at Fort Dearborn and
purchased from Le Mai the house built by Du Sable and changed by
its second proprietor into a general store. This house was situated on
the north bank of the river, directly opposite the fort. Kinzie enlarged
and improved the building, which may thus be considered the first
American private residence in Chicago.

John Kinzie was born in Quebec in 1763, of Scotch parents, and
came with his mother and stepfather to New York at an early age.
There he was sent to a school on Long Island at the age of twelve, but
he soon ran away from home and returned to Quebec where he went
to work as a jeweler's apprentice. Later Kinzie rejoined his parents
who, meanwhile, had removed to Detroit. Here he established himself
as a jeweler and began trading with the Indians. He wedded a young
girl, Margaret McKenzie, from Virginia, who together with her younger
sister, Elizabeth, had been carried off by an Indian Chief and held
prisoner for years. After McKenzie 's return to Virginia together
with his two daughters, Kinzie removed in 1800 to the St. Joseph River.
No sooner had he heard of the establishment of Fort Dearborn than
he decided to move there with his second wife, Mrs. Eleanor McKillip,
widow of an English officer. He arrived in 1804, as stated, and estab-
lished himself as an Indian trader, gaining and retaining the confidence
of the natives. On account of his craft, they called him Shaw-nee-aw-
kee, the silver man.

Already in 1805 Kinzie had established auxiliary trading posts
in Milwaukee, on the Rock, the Illinois and the Kankakee rivers, and
in the region now named Sangamon county. Every post had its repre-
sentative, its French servants, called voyageurs or engages, and horses,
boats and canoes for the transportation of merchandise. From the
majority of posts furs were carried on horseback to Chicago and goods
for trading purposes brought back in the same manner. Ordinarily,
two sailing vessels arrived at Chicago annually, in the spring and fall.

9 2

CHICAGO

In these the furs were shipped to Mackinaw where the depots of the
great fur companies were located. In other seasons of the year, the
furs were sent in open boats to the same destination. With the excep-
tion of the garrison at Fort Dearborn, everybody at the fort was
directly or indirectly interested in fur trading, and the percentage of
servants in proportion to the total population was exceptionally high.
But the masters themselves- were mostly subordinates of the large fur
companies.

There were two of these companies that early established com-
mercial relations with Chicago. These were the Hudson Bay Company
and the Northwest Fur Company, and a third competitor was the
Mackinaw Company, until John Jacob Astor formed the American
Fur Company, and in conjunction with the Northwest Company pur-
chased the stock of the Mackinaw Company, forming the Southwest
Company, its stockholders being largely English capitalists. In 1815,
however, Congress prohibited foreigners from engaging in the Amer-
ican fur trade, whereupon Astor purchased the stock held by English-
men and two years later formed a new concern named the American
Fur Company.

John Kinzie was doubtless one of the shrewdest fur traders of his
time. Though a frontiersman, he had killed but one man and that an
Indian interpreter, Lalime, whom he. killed in self-defense, in 1812.
Kinzie had several children with each of his two wives, one of his
daughters, Ellen Marion, being the first white child born in Chicago,
and some of these settled at Fort Dearborn, whither other members of
the Kinzie family were gradually attracted, so that in a decade or two
the place had a considerable white population. They dwelt principally
on the north side of the river, near the fort, but in the course of time
huts began to dot the plan at some distance from it.

The first Indian agent at the fort was a Virginian, named Charles
Jouett. He retained the position until 1811 when he was succeeded by
one Captain Nathanael Heald. Jouett was also the superintendent of a
so-called factory established there by the government. The circum-
stances were as follows : When the government learned of the enor-
mous sums earned by the great fur companies in the fur trade with
the Indians, it was deemed expedient, by way of improving the financial
condition of the young republic, to establish factories or trading sta-
tions at the frontier forts with a view to sharing the prosperity of the
private enterprises. The government purposed to make honest pay-
ment for all furs bought of the Indians in the form of necessaries of
life. The presumption was that the natives would rather deal with the
government representative than with traders who usually made them
drunk and then cheated them shamefully. But the government agents
proved vastly inferior to the private traders in shrewdness and ex-

JOHN KINZIE

M**d A. i : } - s-t-*- /4ft^fc

~&j-.. * J ! ( ^ .5 /

v-vEf- </z?_!-l*-J \ H rfflbasm_.

SUP-ILLINOIS IN 1811-181*.

perience, this resulting in the total failure of the factory system. The
American Fur Company, after its reorganization in 1817, swept away
the government factories as well as all the individual traders and for

94 CHICAGO

a time enjoyed a practical monopoly of the fur trade in the Northwest.
The government withdrew from the field none the richer but much the
wiser from its experiment in trafficking with the Indians.

The second, and presumably the last, Indian agent at Fort Dear-
born was one Matthew Irwin of Philadelphia, who occupied that
position from the year 1811 until the destruction of the fort in the
following year.

TKe Fort Dearborn Massacre

Although the relations between the savages and the Americans
were less cordial than the friendship that had existed between them
and the French, yet the Fort Dearborn garrison had nothing to fear
from them during the first few years, and could go about their peaceful
pursuits in and about the fort in comparative safety. Soon, however,
lowering clouds threatened the settlement, its fort and garrison with
the storm and stress of warfare.

During the winter of 1804-5, Tecumseh, the brave, sagacious and
eloquent Shawnee chief, and his brother Elskwatawa, called the Proph-
et, started on a tour from tribe to tribe in the Northwest, persuading
the tribesmen to form a federation for the purpose of driving out the
Americans. In spite of Tecumseh 's glowing eloquence and his brother's
auguries, based on revelations from the Great Spirit, that the campaign
would be successful, the Illinois redskins remained peaceful. In IfJIO,
a council of the Pottawatomies, Ottawas, and Chippewas was held at
St. Joseph, Mich., resulting in a compact not to join the Tecumseh
federation. General Harrison's victory over the Shawnees and other
tribes in the battle of Tippecanoe, Ind., Nov. 7, 1811, highly enraged
even the Illinois Indians against the encroachers, and in April, 1812,
unfriendly hordes of Winnebagoes appeared in the neighborhood of
the fort, terrorizing the settlers, many of whom sought refuge within
the palisades.

After the United States declared war against England in 1812,
numerous Indian tribes allied themselves with the English, hoping
with their aid to drive the hated Americans from their territory. The
fortunes of war at first favored the British. On the 9th of August the
friendly Pottawatomie chief, Winnemeg, came to Fort Dearborn as a
courier from General Hull at Detroit, bearing the message that on July
16th the formidable Fort Michilimackinac, the headquarters of the
fur traders, had fallen into the hands of Indians. He also brought
orders for Captain Nathanael Heald, who a year before had succeeded
Captain Whistler in command at Fort Dearborn, to abandon the fort
and retreat with the garrison to Detroit. Almost simultaneously the
Indian swarmed around the fort, demanding the distribution among
them of supplies stipulated, as they claimed, in previous treaties.

THE FORT DEARBORN MASSACRE

The Fort Dearborn garrison consisted of only 54 regulars, 12 mi-
litiaraent and besides the commander, 2 officers, namely Lieutenant L.
T. Helm and Ensign K. Ronan. Of the men a number were ill, reduc-
ing the available fighting strength to about forty. Besides, there were
about a dozen women and twenty children under their protection.
Captain Heald knew only too well that under such unfavorable cir-
cumstances it would be difficult, if not impossible, to defend the fort,
and equally precarious to hazard a retreat. Contrary to the advice of
John Kinzie, Winnemeg and other friends, to evacuate the fort before

Site of Fort Dearborn Massacre

the Indians had time to complete a plan of attack, he delayed action
for six days, faintly hoping that the formerly friendly Pottawatomies,
through whose territory he planned to march away, would permit him
to depart without annoyance. Meanwhile, 500 or 600 Indian warriors
gathered near the fort. "With these Captain Heald held a parley on
August 12th, promising them all the supplies and other property found
at the fort and the agency in return for safe escort to Fort Wayne,
Ind. The Pottawatomies agreed, knowing that the fort held large
quantities of ammunition and whisky. At this juncture (August 13th)
Captain Wells, the Indian agent at Fort Wayne, arrived with an escort
of 30 friendly Miamis. Captain Wells, who was an uncle of Mrs. Heald,
decried as senseless the idea of abandoning these supplies to the
savages, Kinzie and the officers and men of the garrison joining' in
support of his view. Heeding the advice, the commander had all the
arms and ammunition he was unable to take with him destroyed and
the casks of whisky emptied into the river.

The news reached the ears of the Indian chiefs, who charged
Captain Heald with gross deception and treachery and disclaimed

9 6

CHICAGO

ability to keep their warriors from attacking the Americans. A council
of war was held, resulting in a decision to massacre the garrison and
settlers in the vicinity of the fort just after their departure. At 9
o'clock in the morning of August 15th the gates swung open and the
garrison marched out. At the head rode Captain Wells, followed by 15
of the Miami escort, the remaining 15 bringing up the rear. A number

The Fort Dearborn Massacre Monument, Chicago Black Partridge
Saving Mrs. Helm

of Pottawatomies also joined the party, explaining that they desired to
reinforce the escort. Kinzie, however, having heard that the Potta-
watomies intended to ambuscade the retreating garrison, joined the
soldiers, thinking his influence with the Indians might dissuade them
from carrying out their savage plan. Before starting he left in the
care of two trusty Indians a boat containing Mrs. Kinzie, her younger
children, Grutte, the nurse, a bookkeeper, two servants, two other

THE FORT DEARBORN MASSACRE

Indians and two oarsmen. The soldiers marched slowly southward
along the Michigan shore. Their wives and children followed in
wagons and on horseback. The Pottawatomies soon separated from
the escort and hurried away beyond the sand dunes to lie in wait for
the company.

Captain Wells at once suspected their purpose and rode back to
the main body apprising the soldiers of the treachery and telling them
to prepare for a fight. They did not wait long for the expected attack.
Officers and men resisted the onslaught with great bravery, but what
did a handful of men, however courageous, avail against hundreds of
savages? The provisions soon fell into the enemy's hands; many
women and children were butchered. The Miamis fled in consternation
at the first attack. Of the whites, Captain Wells, Ensign Ronan, and
Surgeon Isaac Van Voorhis fell dead; Captain Heald and his wife,
Lieutenant Helm and his wife, a stepdaughter of John Kinzie, and
many others were wounded. The killed were scalped, and the heart
of Captain Wells was cut out and distributed in small pieces among the
tribes. In a few moments the Fort Dearborn garrison and population
had been reduced to 25 men and 11 women, who were spared through
the magnanimity of Black Partridge, a friendly chief, on condition
that they lay down their arms. The prisoners were subsequently sent
to the British commander at Detroit. The battle here described is
known in the annals of Illinois and Chicago as the Fort Dearborn
Massacre.

On the day after the massacre the Indians, having looted the fort
and the agency during the night, set fire to the buildings, which soon
burned to the ground. The same day General Hull surrendered not
only the fort with its garrison and supplies at Detroit but all Michigan
into the hands of the British and their Indian allies.

While the Fort Dearborn garrison fought the Indians among the
sand dunes, John Kinzie 's craft with its passengers still lay moored
at the mouth of the Chicago Eiver. The purpose had been to depart
at once for St. Joseph across the lake, but the trip was interrupted by
the battle. After the massacre the boat was brought back to the fort,
and the members of the Kinzie family, Mrs. Heald and the rest re-
turned to the Kinzie home under the protection of friendly and faith-
ful Indians. Here they were threatened with destruction by a horde
of Wabash Indians that had arrived for the purpose of participating
with the Pottawatomies in the plunder, but found to their exasperation
that they were too late. The Pottawatomie warriors and their sons
were already disporting themselves in the articles of feminine apparel
left behind at the evacuation.

Through the intervention of several chiefs, and particularly
through the efforts of one Billy Caldwell, a brave and sagacious half-

9 8 CHICAGO

breed, the little company was saved from annihilation, whereupon the
Kinzie family, under the guidance and protection of an Indian escort,
was brought to St. Joseph, thence in November to Detroit, where they
were delivered up as prisoners of war to Col. McKee, the British
commander. During the winter John Kinzie himself also was brought
as a prisoner to Detroit. He was at once set at liberty on parole, but
was again arrested some time afterwards under suspicion of corre-
sponding with General Harrison of the American army, and was then
separated from his family and sent to Canada. Four years later he
returned, together with his family, to the desolated homestead on the

Wolf's Point, Chicago, in 1832. A Trading Post Conducted by Wolf

at the Fork of the North and the South Branch of the

Chicago River

Chicago River. One by one the scattered settlers returned and settled
once more on Chicago's banks.

The second war with England was ended by a treaty signed Dec.
24, 1814. This also put an end to the Indian wars, it being stipulated
in the articles of peace that thenceforth neither power should arouse
the Indians against the other. The American government was now left
to arrange matters peaceably with the western tribes. In 1816, by
a treaty signed at St. Louis, Mo., it purchased from the Ottawas and
Chippewas a tract along Lake Michigan, extending ten miles north
and ten miles south from the Chicago River and back as far as the
Kankakee, Illinois and Fox rivers. In order to keep up communications
with the vast territory purchased thirteen years before from France
and to protect the fur trade and other mercantile interests, a fort on
Lake Michigan was deemed necessary. The following year, therefore,

THE FORT DEARBORN MASSACRE 99

the government issued orders for the erection of a new Fort Dearborn
on the ruins of the old. The commission was given to Captain Heze-
kiah Bradley, who arrived on the site July 4th of that year, just
thirteen years after Captain Whistler, the builder and first commander
of the first Fort Dearborn, landed with his men.

The new fort was built on a larger scale than the old. To the
administration building and barracks were added magazines and a
supply storehouse, and the buildings were protected by a square of
palisades and two bastions in opposite corners. This fort was evacu-
ated in 1823, reoccupied in 3828, and again abandoned in 1831, only to
be taken possession of by a new garrison the following year, at the out-
break of the Black Hawk War. The final evacuation occurred in 1836,
after the Indians had withdrawn west of the Mississippi. The fort
shared the fate of many other historic structures, being left to gradual
decay and final annihilation at the hands of vandals. Thus one Judge
Fuller, some time in the forties or fifties, had part of the administration
building and one other structure torn down and rebuilt on sites owned
by him on the south side. In 1857, one A. J. Cross, a city employee,
had the remaining buildings torn down, except one, and the sandhill
on which the fort had been located, graded to a level with the sur-
rounding grounds. The remaining structure was moved to another
part of the Fort Dearborn site. The great Chicago fire of 1871 re-
moved this last trace of Fort Dearborn.

The development of Chicago in its early stages was very slow.
In 1823 Major Long wrote: "This village offers no promise for the
future, in view of the fact that, although quite old, the place numbers
only a few huts, inhabited by a lot of miserable creatures, little better
than the Indians whose descendants they are. Their loghouses are
low, dirty and uninviting, lacking every requirement of home comfort.
In a business sense, it holds out no inducement to strangers, the busi-
ness of the village being limited to the disposal of the cargoes brought
here by five or six schooners annually." As late as 1825 the village
numbered only 75 or 100 inhabitants, 14 of whom owned taxable prop-
erty. Keal estate being non-assessable, the total value of taxable
property amounted to $9,047. The most well-to-do settlers were, John
Crofts, agent of the American Fur Company, with property worth
$5,000, John B. Beaubien, worth $1,000, Archibald Clybourn, worth
$625, Alexander Wolcott, worth $572, John Kinzie, worth $500. From
the last item it appears that Kinzie, who is improperly called "the
father of Chicago," at this time was a man in very moderate circum-
stances. Kinzie died Jan. 6, 1828, at the age of 65 years.

The village site was first surveyed in 1829 and divided into lots,
a plat of which was made the following year. This survey embraced
three-eights of a square mile. A post office was established in 1831.

100 CHICAGO

It was a primitive affair, according to the report that Jonathan Bailey,
the postmaster, nailed up old bootlegs on the wall as receptacles for
incoming and outgoing mails.

Chicago as a Town and City

In the year 1833 the former Indian village and trading station
entered upon a new stage of development. On August 10th of that
year it was incorporated as a town, and a town council of five members
was elected, with John V. Owen as its president. The town comprised
an area of 560 acres, 175 buildings and 550 inhabitants, 29 of whom
were entitled to vote. The property value was $60,000, with an
assessed value of $19,560, and the taxes for the first year amounted
to $48.90.

Nov. 6th of that year the first newspaper was issued, being the first
issue of "The Chicago Democrat;" and the following year the first
public school was established in Chicago, being also the first in the
state. Several brick buildings were erected, and a bridge was built
across the river, which since 1831 had been crossed by means of a
ferry. In 1835 were added a courthouse and a school.

In four years the town of Chicago grew to be a point of no small
importance commercially, as the following figures will show: In 1833
four vessels with a total tonnage of 700 arrived at Chicago ; in 1834 one
hundred and seventy-six vessels with a tonnage of 5,000, entered this
port; in 1835 two hundred and fifty, with a tonnage of 22,500, and in
1836 four hundred and fifty, with a tonnage of 60,000. A shipyard was
established, and on May 18th of the last named year, Chicago's first
vessel, the sloop Clarissa, went down the ways. On July 4th the entire
population witnessed the turning of the first sod in the work of ("Urging
the Illinois and Michigan canal, a waterway which, completed, became
an important line of transportation for Chicago's commerce and for
general traffic.

The great financial panic of 1837 naturally affected Chicago, but
it could not stop the development so recently begun. Even at this
early date Chicago seemed to possess a goodly amount of that spirit
of enterprise for which it has since become famous. In the midst of the
general crisis, the town sought and obtained a city charter, dated
March 4, 1837. On the 1st of May following the first city election was
held, at which W. B. Ogden, a wealthy and influential citizen, was
elected Chicago's first mayor. The first census was taken July 1st,
when the city was found to number 4,179 inhabitants.

To give a detail account of the city's further development would
require volumes, but a brief outline will answer our present purpose.

In its second year as a city, the foundation was laid for that
enormous line of commerce, the wheat trade, for which Chicago becam

TOWN AND CITY

101

known in the markets of the world. The first cargo of wheat, 100
bushels, was now shipped east from Chicago. Before that time, grain
and flour had been shipped to Chicago from the East. When the
farmers in the vicinity of Chicago learned that there was a market for
their grain, they hauled their wheat to the city by the wagonloads,
and the buyers and sellers made their deals in the street. The im-
practicability of this method led to the establishment of the Chicago

Chicago in 1858. Northeast View, Taken from the Old Court House

Board of Trade, which in a short time did an enormous business. As
early as 1854 Chicago exported more grain than New York.

Other steps in the making of Chicago followed in quick succession.
Its first railroad, The Chicago and Galena Union, was begun in 1847.
The following year telegraphic connection was established, first with
Milwaukee, then with the Atlantic coast cities. The same year (1848)
the Illinois and Michigan Canal was opened for traffic, giving Chicago
through the Illinois and Mississippi rivers a waterway to St. Louis
and the Gulf cities. In another two years a gas lighting plant was
established. Steamer routes between Chicago and other points on
Lake Michigan were established in 1852. During the fifties several
railroad lines radiated from Chicago, viz., the Michigan Southern and

I0 2 CHICAGO

the Michigan Central in 1852, the Chicago and Rock Island in 1854,
the Chicago and Alton in 1855, and the Illinois Central in 1856. A
waterworks system was established in 1854, and in 1859 the first fire
engine was purchased, marking the initial step in introducing a modern
fire-fighting system. The same year the first street railway was built
in Chicago.

The growth of the system of transportation was followed by a
phenomenal business development. The volume of business in 1852
was $20,000,000, in 1856, $85,000,000, and in 1860 $97,000,000.

The manufacturing industry increased correspondingly. In 1850
the value of Chicago manufactures was $2,562,583 ; ten years later it
had increased to $13,555,671. The banking business naturally kept
pace with the increase in other lines of business.

A powerful factor in the speedy development of Chicago was the
influx of immigrants to the West. This began in the early forties and
increased steadily for each succeeding decade. Labor and capital met
in Chicago, making that city, in the course of a few decades, a center of
business enterprise and human activity without a parallel.

Intellectual and spiritual development went hand in hand with
the material growth. Congregations of various denominations were
early established, increasing rapidly in numbers. Imposing church
edifices were erected at short intervals. The public school system was
carefully nurtured and improved; many higher institutions of learn-
ing were founded, among which several medical schools. Various
kinds of charitable institutions sprang into existence. The Chicago
Historical Society was organized in 1856 and the Academy of Sciences
the next year.

The press has been not the least essential factor in the upbuilding
of Chicago. ''The Chicago Daily American," its first daily newspaper,
was established in 1839. During the following two decades several
large newspaper enterprises were launched, such as "The Evening
Chicago Tribune" in 1847, and "The Chicago Times" in 1854.

This progress along all lines continued throughout the sixties.
Figures to show this progress would prove a bewildering array, suffice,
therefore, the bare mention of the principal enterprises of that decade.
First in importance beyond compare was the establishment of the Union
Stock Yards. The packing industry of Chicago dates back to the
forties, but not until the founding of the Stock Yards did it assume
the proportions of a giant industry. The Stock Yards proved a power-
ful stimulus to the stockraising industry of the West and Southwest,
and in a few years Chicago was the leading live stock market in the
United States. The exports of the packing plants increased year by
year, making Chicago a household word abroad as well as at home. The

TOWN AND CITY

103

shipments of cattle to Chicago shows the following increase: in 1857,
48,524 heads, in 1866, 384,251, in 1870, 532,964 ; the corresponding ex-
ports were, 25,502, 268,723 and 391,709 heads. The hog shipments to
Chicago were, in 1857, 244,345, in 1866, 1,286,326, and in 1870, 1,953,372
heads ; the corresponding exports were, 123,568, 576,099 and 1,095,671
heads.

In the iron industry Chicago also made a name for itself. At the
Illinois Steel Works North Chicago plant was rolled in 1865 the first

THE SAUGANASH HOTEL.

Built by Mark Beaubien on the S.-E. Corner of L,ake and Market
Streets, Previous to the Black Hawk War

iron rail manufactured in America. This marked the new birth of the
railway system in the United States.

The constant increase in population made new demands on the
sanitary drainage system. The sewerage, emptied into the Chicago
River and carried by its current out into the lake, made the city's
water supply a source of danger to the health of the inhabitants. To
circumvent this peril, the city in 1864 began the construction of a two-
mile water tunnel, terminating in a crib or intake. This tunnel was
completed in 1866 and opened for use in March the following year.

The bridges spanning the river soon became inadequate for the
lively traffic between the various portions of the city. This led to the
construction of tunnels under the river for the transportation of pas-
sengers. The Washington street tunnel, the first of its kind in the
United States, was built in 1868, and the La Salle street tunnel two
years later. A third street railway tunnel was constructed at Van
Buren street.

104 CHICAGO

During the same decade the laying out of Chicago's extensive
park system was begun. Three park boards, authorized in 1869 by the
state legislature, were appointed and charged with this work on the
north side, the west side and the south side respectively.

In 1866-70 a considerable stretch of the Illinois and Michigan Canal
was deepened and improved at a total expense to the city of $3,251,621.

The Great Chicag6 Fire

As described in the preceding outline, such was Chicago in the
beginning of the seventies. In some thirty odd years it had grown from
an insignificant village with three or four thousand inhabitants to a
great metropolis with a population of 300,000. In point of rapid growth
it had outstripped almost every other city in the world. There yet
seemed to be no limit to its development.

Then came that great catastrophe which with one fell swoop
reduced to charred ruins the structure of three fruitful decades.
Chicago, the young, the undaunted, was vanquished by the fiery fiend.
In a few hours the conflagration completed its work of destruction,
swept over an area of 2,100 acres, or nearly 3% square miles, reduced
17,500 buildings to ashes, made 98,500 people homeless, and destroyed
property to the value of $190,000,000.

Great in its prosperity, Chicago proved itself grander still in ad-
versity. What seemed like a crushing blow only served to spur it on to
greater exertions towards a new and greater development. Ere the
ashes had cooled, preparations were made for rebuilding the city, and
out of the ruins there rose, in less than a year after the fire, a new
Chicago, great in wealth and power, compelling the admiration of the
world.

The Chicago fire was the worst disaster of its kind in history up to
that time, being more destructive than the great London fire in 1666,
those of New York, 1835, Hamburg, 1842, Constantinople, 1852, and
is only surpassed by one similar calamity the burning of San Francisco
in April, 1906.

This terrible disaster occurred on the 8th and 9th of October, 1871.
The main conflagration was preceded by a smaller fire which broke out
in the evening of Saturday the 7th, on Clinton street, near Van Buren,
on the west side, and, fanned by a strong wind, destroyed buildings on
an area of twenty acres, causing a property loss of a.bout $700,000 on
dwellings, lumber yards and coal supplies, and leaving several hundred
families without shelter.

The following Sunday was a bright autumn day. Tens of thou-
sands visited the churches while other tens of thousands preferred to
pace the streets, viewing the splendid decorations in honor of the
expected visitor, Grand Duke Alexis of Russia. Many a devout church-

THE GREAT FIRE 105

goer doubtless breathed silent thanksgivings to the Almighty for hav-
ing averted the visitation that had threatened the city the night before.
The great mass, on the contrary, seemed to have no thought of the
disaster, oblivious as ever of the misfortunes of others, and intent only
on their pleasures.

In the evening the city presented, if possible, a still more animated
aspect. The devout again thronged toward the houses of worship,
while the frivolous in still greater numbers surged to the theaters and
other places of entertainment, how to find the greatest possible enjoy-
ment being the question uppermost in every mind. The inhabitants
of Pompeii and Herculaneum were probably no more light of heart the
evening before they were buried in a rain of ashes and a stream of
glowing lava than were the people of Chicago in the evening of the
fated 8th of October.

At half past nine o'clock in the evening, just as the people were
leaving the churches at the conclusion of the evening services, while
the theatrical performances were nearing the acme of interest and
dancing was in full swing in the halls of social pleasure, the fire alarm
was given anew. The fire fighters, exhausted by the exertions of the
previous day, again hurried with engines, hose carts and ladders to
the field of battle on the west side. This time a fire had broken out at
the corner of Jefferson and DeKoven streets, a point far to the south of
the area devastated the night before. Following is the generally ac-
cepted story of how the fire started. An old Irishwoman, Mrs. 'Leary
by name, who during the day had entertained a crowd of merrymakers,
went out to the stable in the back yard at this late hour to milk her
cow. A lamp which she placed beside her was kicked over by 'the
animal, the litter of the stall was saturated with the oil and set on fire ;
the flames soon reached the fodder supply, and in a few seconds the
stable was ablaze. The flames spread rapidly to neighboring frame
buildings.

During the entire fall no rain had fallen ; the frame structures with
their shingled roofs were very dry and burned like tinder. To add to
the disaster, the strong wind of the previous day had increased almost
to a hurricane, adding to the fury of the rapidly spreading flames.
In vain the firemen tried to stop the spread of the fire northward ; step
by step they were driven back. The fire soon divided its forces into
two mighty columns which raced northward with incredible speed.
The storm flung masses of sparks toward the northeast, and these
advance scouts made independent attacks, setting buildings on fire
far in advance of the main column of the fire-fiend. In this manner the
firemen were repeatedly surrounded and forced to beat a hasty retreat
or perish.

The public as well as the firemen hoped that the fire would die

io6

CHICAGO

out from lack of sustenance upon reaching the burnt area from the
night before. This hope, however, proved a delusion. That point was

reached at half past eleven in the evening, but the flames leaped quickly
over -the charred district, at once attacking the planing mills and fac-

THE GREAT FIRE

107

tories on the west bank of the south branch of the river, which fur-
nished ample nourishment. A sudden shift of the wind now hurled
firebrands across the river to the main business district.

While the fire was limited to the west side, the inhabitants of the
south and north sides felt comparatively safe, trusting to the skill and
perseverance of the fire brigade. Besides, the river was depended upon
to stop the onrushing element. But this last hope fled when they saw
the firemen rushing their engines at top speed across the bridges to
the business district, and flames began to shoot up from the roofs of
buildings in the heart of the city. It was now apparent that this dis-
trict also was doomed, and the work of saving portable property here
was at once begun amid the stampede of the panic-stricken thousands.

Meanwhile the fire grew in extent and fury, being now absolutely
beyond control. As it raged through the business district it afforded a
spectacle well-nigh indescribable in its terrible grandeur. Great six
and seven story buildings of brick and stone melted down like tapers
before the fire. So intense was the heat that an ordinary building
would be leveled with the ground in the brief space of five minutes.
The moment the flames penetrated into a structure the windows would
glow as though reflecting a sunset ; in an 'instant the flames would leap
skyward, forming a colossal pillar of fire which, erect but for a second
or two, would waver in the wind and then be hurled down to ignite
adjoining structures. This process was repeated again and again. A
sea of fire rolled its gigantic waves over the city with nothing to im-
pede their course. Now and then, when the flames reached a shop or
storehouse containing explosives or highly inflammable liquids a series
of explosions would hurl firebrands and redhot rocks high in the air,
as from the crater of a volcano in action. The flames would take
different colors according to the materials consumed, thus producing
a play of color, remarkable for its varied splendor. Like varicolored
snakes flames crept along cornices of copper or zinc, until they mingled
in the fiery blast as the walls fell in. The spectacle was reflected in the
heavens, which for miles around were glowing red, while the darkness
beyond hung as a dark pall about the awful picture.

The noises produced by the fire were infinite in variety and made
a weird concert that no hearer can ever forget. "Writhing flames
hissed, firebrands crackled. When the limestone walls of the buildings
were exposed to the extreme heat, the masonry would scale off, particles
flying in all directions with a sound as of a discharge of musketry.
The roar of the storm and the incessant thunder of falling walls con-
stituted the bass in this infernal orchestra. Through the terrific din
came now and then the mournful sound of a bell. It was the bell in the
courthouse tower, which up to 2 o'clock in the morning kept sounding
the death-knell of the passing city.

io8

CHICAGO

The people of the doomed city became frenzied. Judging alone
from their appearance and actions, one would have been led to the con-
clusion that the entire population had gone mad. The jam and panic
in the streets beggared description. Crowds of men, women and chil-
dren rushed along, howling and gesticulating like maniacs, stumbling
over one another and colliding in great numbers at the street corners.
Not all, however, lost their senses. Some cool heads there were who
took the matter philosophically, some even who looked on the ludicrous
side of it all. Such stoical characters shrugged their shoulders and
drew their faces to a grim smile while witnessing the process of anni-
hilation that plunged them in a moment from opulence to poverty.
Others gnashed their teeth in helpless rage to see the results of years
of toil shattered thus beyond repair. Still others, apparently hale and
strong men, wept like children.

Sidewalks and yards to the south of the burning district were
heaped with furniture and household articles of every description.
The gilded trappings from the mansions of the rich were thrown
belter skelter among the modest belongings of the pauper. Among
these scattered fragments, rescued from a thousand homes, the owners,
men or women, had generally stationed themselves so as to keep a
watchful eye on their chattels. Proud ladies, who ordinarily would
not stoop to the menial duty of lifting a chair, were seen staggering
under the weight of trunks or heavy loads of books, pictures, and other
articles of value. Some decked themselves out in all their jewels and
finery, only to be relieved of their valuables by the first robber they

encountered. Young girls strained
their tender frames in carrying
away pieces of furniture or heavy
burdens of clothing and household
goods, while aged women tottered
along with armfuls of personal
effects. Here and there groups of
children stood guard over the
property of their parents; other
groups were bitterly bewailing the
loss of parents or guardians in the
crush of humanity. At one point
a bareheaded woman would be
kneeling on the ground before her
crucifix, telling her beads with
nervous fingers and mumbling

silent prayers ; at another a man, crazed by misfortune, would shake his
clinched fists in the face of heaven as if challenging the Almighty.
Again a rather peaceful and bucolic scene might be witnessed in the

Ruins after the Great Fire. Clark
St., North from Washington

THE GRRAT FIRE

109

midst of the havoc, for instance, a family, having saved little or nothing
besides the coffee pot and the necessary ingredients, settling down in
the open to enjoy the popular beverage cooked over a heap of glowing
embers in the street.

Numbers, however, sought comfort in far more stimulating bever-
ages than coffee during that grewsome night. The lower elements were
afforded the most ample opportunities to indulge their taste for liquor.
Saloons were recklessly plundered, casks of whisky and wine were
rolled out in the street, the heads were knocked out, and men and boys
crowded about, draining the contents till they staggered and fell, many

The Great Fire. Map of the Burned District

perishing where they lay when the flames reached them. Others suc-
ceeded in crawling out of harm's way, and dropped into sobering
sleep in yards and alleys.

When the fire threatened the jail, the prisoners were set free.
These immediately joined the criminals at large in a riot of loot and
plunder. Without the slightest hesitation they would enter the mer-
chant's shops, hurl articles of value to their accomplices at the door,
and depart with their plunder, with the air of having saved their own
property, not a hand being raised to prevent their escape through the
crowds. However great the losses by theft that night, they were prob-
ably insignificant as compared with the amount of goods and chattels
destroyed in the streets or consumed by the flames. Many purposely
destroyed their own property rather than have it stolen or burned.

With the aid of draymen many succeeded in having their goods
hauled to places of safety far from the burning area, but these men,
who were often unscrupulous, charged a rate of cartage amounting

! I0 CHICAGO

to a high percentage of the actual value of the goods saved. Thus,
a hundred dollars might be demanded for hauling a load of goods only
a few blocks. Early in the evening the bridges leading to the north
side became so crowded with people and vehicles that many were
severely injured in the crush. Many businessmen on the south side had
goods worth millions brought to the river bank, where loads upon
loads of valuable merchandise was destroyed by fire before morning.

At 3 o'clock in the. morning, the fire had practically finished its
triumphal march through the business district, leaving nothing but
smoking ruins behind, and prepared to cross the river to the north side,
having previously sent scouts ahead in the form of sparks and fire-
brands hurled across by the wind. It was also fearel that the flames
would again be directed toward the west side, the main portion of which
was still intact, but the danger was averted by a systematic protection
of the buildings nearest the river. The people of the north side, many
of whom had retired for the night, were in turn, like the inhabitants
of the west and south- sides, routed out of bed and forced too flee for
their lives. It was high time they did, for the flames were already
hovering over their roofs. The gas plant soon caught fire and was
shattered by a tremendous explosion, instantly followed by the ex-
tinction of the street lamps, leaving the district in darkness but for the
reflection from the blazing buildings to the south. In a short time the
flames reached the water works at the foot of Chicago avenue, nearly
a mile north of the river. With that, the fire department was com-
pletely disarmed, all hope of resistance was gone, and the phalanxes
of the fiery conqueror marched on undeterred.

Here was repetition of the scenes already enacted on the south
side, while the terrorstricken inhabitants were engaged in precipitous
flight for safety. Thousands took refuge westward across the north
branch of the river, while other thousands fled to the lake front. The
latter soon discovered their mistake. As the fire approached, they were
enveloped in dense clouds of smoke and exposed to a shower of sparks
and flying embers that ignited the personal property deposited there.
The heat grew more suffocating for every passing minute and finally
became unendurable, forcing those who had not fled north along the
lake front to wade into the water for protection and remain there until
they could be taken away in boats. The flames spared not even the city
of the dead. The Catholic cemetery near Lincoln Park was ravaged,
charred wooden crosses and cracked marble shafts bearing evidence of
the destruction wrought.

Not until 4 o'clock on Monday afternoon had the fire run its
course. Its spread southward had been checked by volunteer fire
fighters, assisted by a military troop in command of General Philip
Sheridan. On the north side, however, the fire raged as long as any

THE GREAT FIRE

houses remained. At Fullerton avenue, where lay a stretch of open
prairie, the flames died out at last.

A host of people were left homeless, penniless, without clothes or
shelter against the cold autumn night. Many camped on the prairies
outside the city or among the mounds of the dead in the cemeteries,
not a few doubtless heartbroken,
and wishing that they too were
asleep under the sod. Their fu-
ture seemed as black and cheer-
less as the area strewn with the
ruins of the Chicago of yesterday.

The one bright spot in the
desolate picture was the energetic
assistance and succor furnished by
city authorities and the people of
the intact portion of the city.
Churches, schoolhouses, station-
houses and other public buildings
were thrown open and turned into
asylums for the distressed, while
tents were furnished to thousands
of other sufferers. The railways
offered free transportation to all
who desired to seek shelter with
relatives and friends elsewhere or simply wanted to leave the stricken
city for anywhere. It is claimed that about 15,000 people availed them-
selves of the opportunity and left on outgoing trains the same day.

While the fire still raged on the north side, the mayor, jointly
with the department chiefs of the city administration, issued a procla-
mation to the effect that the City of Chicago assumed the liability for all
expenses incurred in rendering aid to the fire sufferers, and promised
protection for all exposed personal property. As soon as the disaster
had been telegraphed abroad, money and supplies began to pour in
from all parts of the country, and later from almost every part of the
civilized world. The first outside aid was in the form of provisions,
sent from Indianapolis, reaching Chicago by express at 3 o'clock
Tuesday afternoon. This was followed in a few hours by another
train from St. Louis, bringing clothing and provisions, and a delegation
of citizens bearing this greeting: "Brethren, be of good cheer! All
that we have is at your disposal until you get on your feet again. We
have come to stay and help you." Similar messages were received
from other points. Troops were called in from Fort Leaven worth,
Kansas, to assist a volunteer corps in patrolling the burned district,
and the better to preserve order General Sheridan placed the city under

Ruins after the Great Fire. Honore

Block, N.-W. Corner of Adams

and Dearborn Streets

II2 CHICAGO

military rule. The Chicago Relief and Aid Society was organized
and took charge of the distribution of incoming supplies. On Nov. 7th,
one month after the fire, there had been subscribed for the relief fund
$3,500,000, $2,050,000 of which had been paid in. Sixty thousand peo-
ple were then receiving assistance.

Shortly after the fire, the state legislature was called in extra
session and appropriated a generous sum to the relief work. The
relief funds in cash already amounted to $4,820,148.16, out of which
$973,897.80 had been contributed from foreign countries. The total
value of all funds and supplies aggregated almost seven millions
of dollars.

To the figures given in the foregoing, the following are subjoined
to show the full extent of the disaster. Among the buildings destroyed
were 69 church edifices and convents, 32 hotels, 29 bank buildings, 15
academies and seminaries, 11 public schools, 10 theaters and other
places of amusement, 9 offices of daily newspapers, 7 orphan asylums,
5 hospitals, 5 telegraph offices, 5 grain elevators, 3 railway stations,
besides the courthouse, the customhouse, the postoffice, the board of
trade building, the gas plant and the water works.

The fire loss was estimated at $190,000,000, including $50,000,000
on buildings and $140,000,000 on other property. If the loss by shrink-
age in realty values and reduced incomes be included, the sum total
would pass $200,000,000. All city property, real and personal, was
valued at $620,000,000 just before the fire. Thus about one-third of
this had been wiped out. The loss was partly covered by insurance
totaling $96,533,721, of which $6,000,000 had been written by foreign
companies. The insurance paid amounted to only $44,000,000, owing
principally to the fact that not less than 57 fire insurance companies
were bankrupted by the enormous losses sustained.

The exact loss of life was never determined, the approximate num-
ber of people who perished being set at three hundred.

The setback given to the commercial development of the city was
of short duration. Before winter set in, many businessmen were estab-
lished in temporary quarters in various parts of the city. The home-
less, who could not be otherwise provided for, were sheltered in tem-
porary wooden barracks. Free coal, free provisions and free lumber
was distributed to the most unfortunate victims. Within a year a
large portion of the burned district had been rebuilt at a total cost of
$40,500,000, while the increase in the volume of business and manu-
factures had surpassed all previous records. With remarkable energy,
equalled nowhere, the work was pursued night and day. Wages were
high and laborers were plentiful. In two years the population was
increased by 68,419.

Three years after the fire, almost every trace of the catastrophe

LATER DEVELOPMENT II3

had been erased. A remarkable chapter in the annals of Chicago
closed with the great fire of 1871, and another, equally wonderful,
opened with the rebuilding of the city.

Later Development of Chicago

During the thirty-six years that have elapsed since the great
fire, Chicago has developed into one of the great cities of the world,
with the evil as well as the good features of a metropolis. Following
are a few of the important facts in its latter history.

Lincoln Monument Lincoln Park

Less than three years after the fire the city was again threatened
with destruction. July 14, 1874, another extensive conflagration de-
stroyed property valued at four million dollars before the flames could
be subdued.

H 4 CHICAGO

As has been shown, Chicago early attained importance as a
business center and shipping port. Its industrial phase next added
new activity, giving the city high rank as an industrial community.
Besides the great stock yards and slaughter houses, immense steel
mills, farm implement factories and other similar establishments were
founded. The year 1880 marks a new epoch in the industrial history
of Chicago. Then the Pullman Palace Car Company, organized in 1867.
founded the town of Pullman, twelve miles south of the heart of
Chicago. The new community, comprising the extensive car factories
and cottages for its thousands of workmen and their families, grew
rapidly and soon became, in many respects, a model town.

Workmen from all parts of the civilized world nocked into Chi-
cago, making it pre-eminently a city of labor and of laborers. Here,
as elsewhere in industrial communities, the war between capital and
labor was soon raging. The fight waxed all the more fierce on the
labor side, owing to the fact that the labor movement had been taken
in charge by German socialists in the early seventies, a few years after
the fire, they having emigrated from their native land on account of
the iron rule of Bismarck. Thus Chicago soon became famous for her
labor organizations and their incessant struggle for what they held to
be their rights. Shorter hours, increased wages and legislation favor-
ing the working classes were the demands made by the socialists and
supported by them on the rostrum and in the press. The ballot, they
declared, was their most powerful ally.

Unfortunately, this agitation soon sunk to the level of anarchistic
propaganda. In the late seventies and the early eighties there arrived
from Europe a number persons intimate with the leaders and the
principles of anarchy and nihilism, and these succeeded in acquiring
a controlling influence over the labor organizations. These held the
ballot to be altogether too ineffectual a weapon with which to fight the
capitalists and their hirelings, the civic authorities as well as the un-
organized workingmen being classed with the latter. Guns, revolvers,
bombs, these were the great emancipators of the workers, the means
of overturning the effete social order of the present.

The first great strike in Chicago occurred in 1877, when the rail-
way employees struck work here as in Baltimore, Pittsburg and other
eastern centers. The dragon's teeth sown by anarchy gave its harvest
on July 25th, in the form of a skirmish between the strikers and the
police, the former being worsted in the fight. This had a cooling effect
on the hotheaded leaders, causing all violence to subside and gradually
bringing the strike to a close.

The anarchistic propaganda, however, being carried on unchecked,
brought about conspiracies among labor organizations, designed to
make short shrift with the capitalistic class and every other form of

LATER DEVELOPMENT U5

opposition in the next conflict. The German anarchist papers in par-
ticular openly urged force and bloodshed. In February, 1886, an event
occurred which caused renewed activity in the anarchistic camp. At
the great McCormick Harvester Works a strike of the workmen was
promptly met by a lockout. When the strikers found that their former
employers had arranged to supplant them with non-union workers,
their rage knew no bounds. Two organizations, the Metal Workers
Union and the Carpenters Union No. 1, agreed to arm themselves with
guns, revolvers, and bombs in order to prevent the strike breakers from

The Ottawa Indian Monument Lincoln Park

taking their places. For reasons unknown, the fight never took place,
and on March 1st the new men, protected by a squad of police, went to
work unmolested. Before and after noon of the same day, however,
fighting occurred between the strikers and the police guarding the
factories, resulting in the arrest of several strikers and the discovery
of bombs and other weapons in their possession.

It was believed that the anarchists, after having made such a
lame showing, would take a new tack, but this hope proved illusive.
They operated in secret and were biding their time. The crisis came
on May 1st, when from 40,000 to 50,000 workmen in various trades
struck for an eight hour day. The McCormick works were now running
almost full force, thanks to the strike breakers or so-called scabs. In

n6 CHICAGO

the vicinity of the factory was held a mass meeting attended by about
8,000 strikers, 3,000 of whom were Germans and an equal number Bo-
hemians belonging to the Lumber Shovers Union. August Spies, the
editor of the radical "Arbeiter Zeitung, " and one of the foremost
leaders of the anarchists, climbed into a dray and made a speech to the
crowd, characterizing capitalists and employers as oppressors and
vampires, and the laborers as their slaves. His words struck fire in the
minds of the assemblage, and the speaker had scarcely finished when a
mass of strikers stormed in the direction of the factory, breaking the
windows of the gatekeeper's house and maltreating the workmen first
encountered. The crowd soon forced its way into the factory yards,
with the evident purpose of wreaking bloody vengeance on the "scabs"
and destroying the works. This plan was defeated by the police who
hurried to the scene and, after a brief but sharp encounter, cleared the
grounds and put the strikers to flight. Although firearms and missiles
were freely used, no one was killed. The leaders of the raid were
arrested the same day.

At this sorry outcome of the onslaught on the powers that be, the
anarchists were still more enraged, and swore terrible vengeance.
Spies hurried to his editorial room and wrote a circular in English and
German, urging the strikers to arm themselves and take remorseless
revenge upon the police. Immediately thereupon, he published in his
paper an incendiary article, relating to the disturbance his words had
caused. In this he charged that four strikers had been shot to death by
the police, despite the fact that not a man had been seriously wounded.

In the afternoon of May 3rd, representatives of all the anarchist
organizations in the city held a secret meeting, at which it was resolved
that at the next encounter with the authorities the anarchists at a
given signal would simultaneously blow up the police stations with
dynamite and shoot all surviving policemen. Then they would march
to the heart of the city, where the principal struggle was to take place.
The main buildings were to be burned, the jails stormed and the
prisoners set free, to make common cause with the revolutionists. In
order to arouse the populace to a high spirit of vengeance against the
police a mass meeting was called at Haymarket Square, at Desplaines
and Randolph streets, the following evening. The anarchist delegates
separated after agreeing that the word "Ruhe" (peace) inserted in
the "Letter Box" in the columns of the "Arbeiter-Zeitung" was to be
the signal for a general uprising.

During Tuesday, May 4th, a number of anarchists were busily at
work manufacturing bombs of every description, while others dis-
tributed circulars announcing the great mass meeting. In the evening
"Zeitung" the ominous word appeared, advising every anarchist in the
city that the hour of vengeance had come. The fact that the city had

THE HA YMARKET TRAGEDY uy

a powerful militia at its disposal and that well disciplined United
States troops were at hand, ready to step in at once, should the Chicago
police be unable to cope with their antagonists, evidently had not
entered the minds of the revolutionists.

The HaymarKet Tragedy

It was the evening of May 4th, a memorable date in the history of
Chicago. At 8 o'clock about 3,000 people had gathered at the ap-
pointed place. Editor Spies and the other anarchist agitators were
promptly on hand. A few moments later, Spies mounted the speaker's
stand and entered upon a severe criticism of the McCormick Company 's
treatment of the strikers. This, the speaker maintained, ought to
teach the workingmen to arm for their own protection against the
capitalists and their hirelings. The next speaker was Albert R.
Parsons, editor of the American anarchist paper, "The Alarm." His
speech was also of an inflammable character. Next in order came
Samuel Fielden, a teamster, whose untutored eloquence seemed to
impress the crowd more strongly than the polished harangues of his
predecessors. ' ' The advance guard skirmish with the capitalists forces
has taken place; the main battle is yet to be fought," said he.

Fearing an outbreak, the authorities had detailed a force of 176
policemen to the Desplaines street police station, under command of
Inspector John Bonfield. When he learned through detectives at the
meeting that the speakers were growing extremely bold in their expres-
sions, and the masses showed signs of threatening disorder, he marched
his forces to the square. From his elevated position in a dray wagon,
Fielden saw the police approaching and shouted :

"The bloodhounds are upon us! Do you duty! I will do mine."

A minute later, the front line of police halted a few feet from the
wagon, and Police Captain Ward stepped up, saying :

"In the name of the people of the state, I order you to disperse
peaceably at once."

Fielden, who had meanwhile jumped from the wagon, shouted
aloud: "We are peaceable!" This seemed the secret signal of attack
(compare the watchword, "Ruhe"), for the next instant an object
resembling a lighted cigar was hurled through the air and fell between
the lines of the second platoon of police. One second more, and the im-
pact of an explosion shook the air far around. Numbers of policemen
were hurled in all directions, some dangerously, others slightly injured.

The exploding bomb, thrown by some anarchist, was taken as a
signal for general fighting with revolvers and pistols between the
revolutionists and the police. In a moment the latter force had re-
gained its presence of mind and made a concerted sortie upon the

n8 CHICAGO

masses, which, though armed, were unable to withstand the attack,
and were soon dispersed.

The three agitators were among the first to seek safety in flight.
The projected slaughter at Haymarket Square, the destruction of the
police stations, and the incendiary raid of the business district had been
set at naught. The anarchists, comparatively few and undoubtedly
cowardly as they were, had lost their first and, one may well hope, last
battle in Chicago.

The bloodshed at this encounter was considerable. One policeman
fell dead and seven others were fatally wounded. Besides these, sixty-
seven of the police were injured more or less seriously in the affray. A
number of the rioters were shot and seriously wounded by the police.
The number who died from their injuries never became known, for
their relatives, prompted by fear or shame, refused to make known
their exact loss. It leaked out, nevertheless, that several anarchists
were secretly buried at night shortly after the riot. Of the wounded
policemen two died May 6th, one May 8th, one May 14th, one May 16th.
and the seventh and last on June 13, 1888.

A great number of suspects were at once taken into custody,
among others almost the entire working force of the "Arbeiter-Zeit-
ung. " Other arrests were made later at short intervals. The police
investigations soon revealed the fact that the principal conspirators,
besides Spies, Parsons and Fielden, were Adolph Fischer, foreman of
the printing office, Michael Schwab, assistant editor, Balthasar Ran,
an agent of the paper, Louis Lingg, a carpenter, George En gel, a
painter, Oscar W. Neebe, a yeast dealer, and others. Lingg was found
to be the most energetic manufacturer of bombs, and the one causing
the destruction on Haymarket Square was doubtless his handiwork.
The man who hurled it at the police platoon was Rudolph Schnaubelt,
who was also arrested but again set free on the strength of an impres-
sion made on the police authorities that he was innocent. Schnaubelt
lost no time in leaving Chicago for parts unknown. Thus it happened
that the actual perpetrator of the crime escaped trial and punishment,
while most of the conspirators who had planned the foul deed paid the
penalty with their lives.

Thanks to the thorough work of the police, a mass of evidence
against the prisoners was gathered, and on May 17th they were indicted
by the grand jury. The trial was begun June 21st, and the selection of
a trial jury consumed four weeks, the actual trial of the prisoners
opening July loth, and lasting until the 19th, when the case went to
the jury. The following day they brought in a verdict of guilty and
fixed the penalty at death on the gallows for Spies,' Schwab, Fielden.
Parsons, Fischer, Engel and Lingg as the instigators of the Haymarket
bloodshed, and fifteen years' imprisonment for Xeebe for complicity in

THE HAYMARKET TRAGEDY

119

the crime. The counsel for the defense immediately asked for a new
trial, but on Oct. 7th the motion was denied. The only recourse was
an appeal to the state supreme court. The appeal was taken in March,
1887, and on Sept. 14th this tribunal struck dismay to the hearts of the
anarchists and their sympathizers by sustaining the verdict of the lower
court. But even then the culprits clung to a faint hope, and took an
appeal to the court of last resort, the Supreme Courfc at Washington.

The Schiller Monument Lincoln Park

The appeal was taken up for consideration Oct. 27th, resulting on the
second of November in a decree sustaining the former verdict. Par-
sons, Engel, Fischer and Lingg, still headstrong, then petitioned
Richard J. Oglesby, governor of Illinois, for unconditional pardon,
while Spies, Fielden and Schwab made the more humble request that
the death penalty be commuted to life imprisonment. The governor's
answer, given Nov. 10th, granted the petition of Fielden and Schwab
but denied the request of the other four.

Before the governor's reply came, Lingg seemed to have a pre-
monition that all hope was gone. To go to the gallows and submit to

120 CHICAGO

the authority of law and social order was revolting to this sworn
enemy of the law, and he found another way. In some mysterious way
he had a bomb, consisting of a piece of loaded gaspipe, smuggled into
his cell by a friend, and on the morning of Nov. 10th, he placed this in
his mouth, lay down on his bed and lit the fuse with a candle. The
explosion tore away half of the face. At 2.45 o'clock in the afternoon
of the same day death relieved him from his sufferings.

The remaining four were executed the following day, Nov. llth,

Newberry Library

at the county jail. They were unrepentant to the last, giving vent to
anarchistic sentiments on the very scaffold. On the same day, Fielden
and Schwab were committed to the penitentiary at Joliet.

The general insurrection threatened by the culprits as a sequel
to the execution failed to materialize. Not a sign of a revolutionary
movement could be discerned. The energy and promptness with which
the authorities had acted deprived the lawless league of all inclination
toward a renewal of violence, and in a short time the anarchist prop-
aganda had been silenced in Chicago. The labor movement was again
directed into its normal course.

After six years, Fielden, Schwab and Neebe were pardoned out
of prison on June 26th, 1893. Since that time they have not been
known to plan any new social order to be brought about by means of
bombs and bloodshed.

In the same year that witnessed the anarchist uprising, a strike
was declared on November 7th among the packinghouse workers in
Chicago. Two regiments of the national guards were ordered out to
preserve order. No disturbances occurred and the troops were with-

FACTvS AND FIGURES I2 i

drawn on the 15th of the same month. The next great strike was
enacted April 7th, 1890, when seven thousand carpenters threw down
their tools to enforce their demand for an eight hour day. Four years
later there came a new conflict between capital and labor, when, on the
12th of April, 1894, a general lockout of workmen in all the building
trades was declared, throwing 10,000 workmen out of employment.
The llth of May following, 2,000 employees of the Pullman Car Com-
pany went on strike, and to make this more effective all other labor
organizations were called upon, June 28th, to boycott all railway lines
using Pullman cars.

This move resulted in violence, for the quelling of which President
Cleveland ordered out government troops. This was done July 3rd.
Two days later, Governor Altgeld demanded the withdrawal of the
troops on the ground that their presence was not needed. The Pres-
ident replied to this on July 8th by declaring Chicago under martial
law. This action, together with that of the federal grand jury, in-
dicting Eugene V. Debs, President of the American Railway Union,
for declaring a boycott interfering with the United States mail service,
hastened the settlement of the difficulties. On July 19th both the strike
and the boycott were declared off, and quiet was restored. Since that
time a number of strikes have occurred in Chicago, resulting favorably
to one side or the other, but none has been attended by disorder
necessitating military interference.

Facts and Figures of the CKicag'o of To-day

In the course of time, the city has grown rapidly to the north,
south and west, while new suburbs have sprung up on every hand, in
turn merging with the metropolis according as their interests dictated.
Not less than sixteen annexations have thus been effected. The largest
addition of territory was acquired in 1889, when the towns of Lake
View, Hyde Park, Lake, Jefferson and part of Cicero were absorbed.
Since then considerable areas have been added from time to time,
bringing the total area of the city of Chicago up to 190.6 square miles.

The Chicago River divides the city into three sections known as
the south side, the west side and the north side. These sections are
connected by means of 60 bridges, mostly of the swinging type, which
are gradually being replaced by the more modern bascule bridges.

The total street mileage is 3,946. The longest street is Western
avenue, extending 22 miles, and Halsted street extends nearly the
same distance north and south. The city has fifteen parks, the largest
being Lincoln, Humboldt, Garfield, Douglas, Washington and Jackson
parks. These are connected by wide and attractive boulevards and
thus form as extensive and fine a park system as any city can boast of.
The entire system, including boulevards, has an area of about 3,300

122

acres, the latter having a total length of 48 miles. Under the streets
extends a system of sewers measuring about 1,600 miles in length. The
city's water mains have a combined length of approximately 2,000
miles. By means of enormous pumps the water is forced into the city
from a series of cribs located far out in the lake, through water tunnels
running under the lake and underground a total distance of 38 miles,
and emptying into an extensive network of watermains and smaller
pipes. The pumping stations have a combined capacity of 529,500,000
gallons daily. The lighting system is equally extensive. Numberless
gas mains and electric conduits form an underground mesh extending

Franklin Monument Lincoln Park

far out to the most distant suburbs. There were in 1905 37,000 gas
and electric street lamps.

The preservation of law and order is entrusted to a police force of
3,300 men, distributed among 45 police stations. The fire department
comprises 1,200 men, divided into 92 larger and 27 smaller companies.
About 15,000 people are variously employed in the service of the city.

From Chicago radiate 20 lines of railroad, several of which extend
to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, Lake Superior, and the Gulf of
Mexico. There are six great railway terminals having a system of
common track connections. The incoming and outgoing trains, through
and suburban, number 1,600 per day and carry, on a rough estimate,
several hundred thousand passengers.

The street railway system is one of the most extensive in the world,
comprising about 120 separate lines with a total of 1,000 miles of track.
Including the suburban and elevated system, the trackage is 1,360 miles.

FACTS AND FIGURES I2 i

The principal motive power is electricity. The daily average number
of street car passengers exceeds half a million, but the full capacity
of the system is claimed to be one million and a half. Equally im-
portant as a system of passenger transportation are the four elevated
railway lines, with their branches. One of these, the Northwestern
Elevated, has four tracks, runs express as well as local trains, and is
claimed to have the only complete traction system of the kind. The
elevated railroads have a combined trackage of about 150 miles. In
1905 the daily average number of passengers on surface and elevated
lines was 1,354,450.

Chicago has 235 large and a great number of small hotels, capable
of accommodating 200,000 guests. There are over 1,000 restaurants and
cafes, with a daily capacity of several hundred thousand guests. Many
of the hotels are palatial, famous at home and abroad for the comfort
and luxury they afford. From twenty to thirty thousand people daily
visit the city's theaters, which are 40 in number. Besides these public
entertainment is furnished at a number of other places of amusement.
In the history of Chicago theaters there must be recorded that appal-
ling catastrophe, the fire in the newly built Iroquois Theater, at Ran-
dolph st., on the 30th day of December, 1903, the flames starting in the
scenery and sweeping out over the auditorium, throwing the audience
into a panic, and causing the death of 588 persons by burning, crushing
and suffocation.

There are. fifty clubs of different kinds, many of which having their
own club houses. The sick are being cared for in not less than 68
hospitals. To these must be added fifty other charitable institutions,
such as asylums and homes for the feeble-minded, the crippled and the
aged. For the care of the poor and indigent there are eighteen large
and a number of smaller benevolent associations. Sick benefit societies
and others for mutual assistance in emergencies are too numerous to
be counted, as are also the organizations for social pleasure.

The educational system of Chicago is world-renowned, and rightly
so. The number of public schools in 1906 was 250, with 5,900 teachers
and 287,000 pupils. Higher courses of study are pursued in fifteen
high schools. For the education of teachers there is a normal school,
besides two training schools. The schools founded by religious denom-
inations and public spirited individuals number twenty-two. Principal
among these are the Armour Institute and the Lewis Institute, both
technological schools of a high order. The well-known Chicago Musical
College leads a number of excellent musical schools conducted here.
Higher education is represented by two great universities, the North-
western University of Evanston and the University of Chicago.

Libraries and museums are not lacking. Of the former there are
thirteen, the largest being the Chicago Public Library, 'which on June

124

CHICAGO

1, 1906, contained 323,610 volumes, the Newberry Library, with 218,525
books and pamphlets on Oct. 1, 1906, and the John Crerar Library, with
194,000 volumes and 50,000 pamphlets on Oct. 1, 1906. The museums

are, the Academy of Sciences, containing natural history collections,
the museum of the Chicago Historical Society, with a large historical
collection pertaining to the early history of the city, the Field Colum-

FACTS AND FIGURES

125

bian Museum, with extensive ethnological collections, and the Chicago
Art Institute, comprising a considerable collection of paintings,
sculptures and art objects from the remotest to the most recent
times. The Art Institute includes a school of art with a large annual
attendance.

The Chicago Historical Society was founded in 1856 for the pur-
pose of collecting and preserving the materials of history and to spread
historical information concerning the Mississippi valley. The great
fire of 1871 destroyed the priceless collection of 100,000 volumes and
manuscripts, among them being the original draft of the emancipation
proclamation by Abraham Lincoln. The nucleus of a new collection
was consumed in 1874. A third collection was started which now
numbers more than 140,000 volumes, manuscripts and pamphlets.
Among the manuscripts are the James Madison papers, James Wilkin-
son papers, Ninian Edwards papers and Pierre Menard papers. There
are letters in the handwriting of Joliet, Allouez, Tonti, Frontenac and
La Salle. The collections comprise also many oil paintings, bronzes
and antiquities. A fire-proof granite building was erected 1892-6 at
Dearborn ave. and Ontario st., at a cost of $190,000. Historical lectures
are maintained each winter. Some forty papers on subjects presented
at its meetings have been published, besides which four large volumes
of historical collections have been issued. The library and museum are
open daily to visitors.

Almost every church denomination in the United States is repre-
sented in Chicago. The number of church edifices is about 800. In this
connection may be added that there are forty cemeteries, a number
of which are maintained by church organizations.

About 600 newspapers and periodicals are published in Chicago,
a large number being in foreign languages. The leading daily news-
papers are, "The Chicago Daily Tribune," "The Chicago Kecord-
Herald," "The Inter Ocean," "The Chicago Daily News," and "The
Chicago American." Several of these are issued in enormous editions.

The book publishing business has likewise attained gigantic pro-
portions. A great number of houses are annually putting out immense
editions of original and reprinted works of every description. One
result of this is a high development of the publisher's art and all its
auxiliary branches.

The mail service of the city is excellent. At the central post
office and the 47 district stations, 2,600 persons are employed in hand-
ling the enormous mass of incoming and outgoing mail. The collection
of mail from letter and parcel boxes and the distribution of incoming
mail matter requires the service of 1,650 collectors and carriers. The
free delivery system prevails. In addition to the district post offices
there are 246 sub-stations distributed throughout the city for the

126

CHICAGO

accommodation of the public in the matter of stamps, postals cards,
money orders and the registry of letters. The volume of the Chicago
postal business is shown by these figures : during the year ending June
30. 1906, 1,139,084,480 pieces of mail were handled, the total weight
being 126,542,509 pounds. The total income for the department for
the same year was $12,885,149.

The building and real estate interests are extremely active. Dur-
ing 1905, not less than 8,442 buildings were erected at a total cost of
$63,970,950. The dealings in realty are equally brisk. The year 1902

The Grant Monument Lincoln Park

showed 18,063 real estate transfers aggregating $111,441,112 in value,
those figures having since been materially increased.

The taxable value of realty in Chicago in 1905 was estimated at
$295,514,443 and that of personal property at $112,477,182, Waking
a total valuation of $407,991,625. The tax levy was $27,959,908.

Enormous progress in manufactures and varied industries has been
made since the great fire. In 1900 Chicago had within its limits 19,203
manufacturing establishments with a combined capitalization of $534,-
000,689. These employed 262,621 persons, who were paid $131,065,337.
The cost of materials used amounted to $538,401,562 and that of the
finished product to $888,945,311. For comparison, the value of manu-
factured products in the entire state in 1905 was $955,036,277, and in
Chicago alone about $500,000,000, or more than half of the total.

The greatest of Chicago industries is the slaughtering and packing
industry. During the year named, it embraced thirty-eight packing
plants, with a capital of $67,137,569, 25,345 workers, with wages aggre-

FACTS AND FIGURES

127

gating $12,875,676, a consumption of live stock and other materials
amounting to $218,241,331 and an output valued at $256,527,949, this
latter sum representing 35.6 per cent, of the product of the entire
packing industry of the country.

Second in order of importance is the foundry and machine manu-
facturing industry, represented by 441 separate establishments, capi-
talized at $36,356,168, employing 20,641 workers, paying $11,264,544
in wages, consuming $20,070,516 worth of raw material and showing
an annual production valued at $44,561,071.

The manufacturing of agricultural implements stands third, with
six plants, a capitalization of $36,025,355, 10,245 workers, and an
annual expenditure of $5,180,958 for labor. The materials used cost
$10,842,299 and the finished products sold at $24,848,649.

The tailoring industry ranked fourth with 874 shops, $12,991,669
of capital involved, 13,855 workers employed, $5,551,561 in wages, and
a production of $36,094,310, at a cost of $17,547,665.

In the fifth place comes the iron and steel industry, with nine
plants, a total capital of $24,271,764, 6,112 workers, $4,329,342 paid
in wages, $22,448,511 as the cost of production and an output estimated
at $31,461,174.

Other large industries are, the building of railway coaches and
street cars, with an annual output of $19,108,085, printing and binding,
with $18,536,364, and brewing and distilling, with $14,956,865 as the
value of their respective output.

Chicago is the headquarters for the grain market of the great West.
There are in the city twenty-six immense grain elevators with a total
capacity of 32,550,000 bushels. The grain market shows no steady
increase but fluctuates according to the crops and other trade con-
ditions dependent thereon. For instance, in 1886, 192,778,757 bushels
of grain was inspected here, in 1890, 290,251,109 bushels, in 1895,
265,737,585 bushels, in 1900, 462,758,523 bushels, in 1902, 287,337,599
bushels, in 1903, 237,532,024 bushels, and in 1905, 260,675,693 bushels.

Although not a seaport, Chicago is the greatest shipping point in
the United States, a fact not generally known. Its shipping will doubt-
less acquire still greater proportions when the new waterways in
process of construction shall be completed, giving access to the Mis-
sissippi and the Gulf. During 1897, 9,156 vessels, with a combined ton-
nage of 7,209,444, entered, and 9,201 vessels, with a tonnage of 7,185,-
324, left this port. In 1903, 7,456 vessels, with a combined capacity of
7,603,278 tons cleared out of the Chicago port, and in 1905 the arrivals
and clearances were, respectively, 6,949 vessels, of 7,218,641 tons, and
7,014 vessels, of 7,281,259 tons. The decrease in shipping in later years
is mainly chargeable to the obstructed condition of the river.

These figures regarding Chicago's grain trade and shipping show

128 CHICAGO

the city to be one of the foremost commercial centers of the country.
Some additional figures will serve to substantiate the statement. The
value of goods sold by Chicago's wholesale and jobbing houses during
1903 was more than $1,058,000,000. This includes dry goods and
carpets, $162,500,000, groceries, $115,500,000, iron and steel wares, $70,-
500,000, lumber, $70,500,000, men's ready-made clothing, $66,000,000,
goods sold through mail order houses, $55,000,000, boots and shoes,
$48,000,000, coal, $47,000,000, diamonds and jewelry, $40,000,000, metal
wares, $34,000,000, furniture, $34,000,000, books and music, $20,500,000,
paper, $20,000,000, leather, $17,500,000, tobacco and cigars, $16,500,000,
medicines and chemicals, $16,000,000, musical instruments, $15,500,000,
hats and caps, $15,000,000, furs, $15,000,000, women's clothing, $12,-
500,000, baskets and wickerwork, $12,000,000, millinery, $11,000,000,
china and glassware, $11,000,000, wool, $10,000,000, etc.

During the last-named year the following packing house products
were shipped from Chicago : cured meats, 580,282,643 pounds ; pre-
served meats, 1,835,035 pounds; dressed meats, 1,252,233,792 pounds,
tallow, 373,000,959 pounds; beef, 82,010 barrels; pork, 175,795 barrels.

Farm products were received and shipped as follows : cheese, re-
ceived, 82,129,852 pounds, shipped, 57,277,361 pounds ; butter, received,
232,031,484 pounds, shipped 197,620,859 pounds ; eggs, received, 3,279,-
248 cases, shipped, 1,699,302 cases.

During 1902 imports from foreign countries to Chicago reached
$18,329,390, duties on same amounting to $9,565,452.96.

In that year Chicago paid internal revenue on spirituous liquors,
tobacco, oleomargarine, playing cards, etc., amounting to $8,839,042.06.

It is but natural that a city with so extensive manufacturing and
commercial interests should develop a banking business of great mag-
nitude. In June, 1904, the number of banks was 44, with a total capital
of $50,875,000 and deposits amounting to $550,068,287. The bank
clearings of the year 1902 were $8,395,872,351.59.

The Population of Chicago

In previous pages we have endeavored to show how Chicago grew
from an insignificant Indian village to a trading station, from trading
station to town, from town to city, and from city to metropolis. The
rapidity of this development is best exemplified by figures giving the
population by decades, as follows :

Year Total Pop'n Year Total Pop'n

1837 4,179 1870 298,977

180 4,470 1880 503, 185

1850 28,269 1890 1,099,850

1860 112,162 1900 1,698,575

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

129

Chicago is a cosmopolitan city, nearly every nation in the world
being here represented. More than three-fourths of the inhabitants are
foreign born or descendants of foreigners.

According to the school census of 1902, the city had 2,007,695
inhabitants, as follows:

Nationalities Population. Nationalities Population.

German 534,083 Dutch 18,555

Irish 254,914 French Canadian 13, 533

Polish 167,383 Hungarian 11,658

Swedish 144,719 Swiss 7,922

Bohemian 109,224 French 7,493

English 72,876 Welsh 4,863

Russian 61 ,976 Greek i ,493

Norwegian 59,898 Chinese ii?9

British Canadian 48,304 Belgian 1,160

Italian 42,054 Finnish 416

Austrian 29,760 Miscellaneous 3, 132

Scotch 28,529

Danish 25,355 Total 1,651,079

Subtracting this from the grand total of population, 2,007,695, the
remainder, 356,580, indicates the number of native born Chicagoans.
This, however, includes all descendants of foreign born parents after
the first generation, all persons of mixed foreign and native parentage
and some 35,000 colored. Should their number in turn be substracted,
there would be a very small remainder, denoting the number of Ameri-
cans in the limited sense of the word.

It may be added that the most recent estimates of Chicago 's popu-
lation vary from 2,049,185, the figures given by the health department,
to 2,300,500, the more sanguine estimate based on the city directory.

North-western University

May 31, 1850, three clergymen, three lawyers, two businessmen
and one physician, all members of the Methodist Church, met in the
little office of Attorney Grant Goodrich, on Lake st., near La Salle st.,
in Chicago, to lay plans for the establishment in that city of a univer-
sity, under the patronage of that church. At that time there was not
one higher institution of learning in Chicago, and in the entire state of
Illinois only a few, including McKendree, Illinois, Knox and
Shurtleff colleges. At this meeting three committees were appointed,
one to procure a charter for the projected institution, a second
to enlist the interest and moral support of the various Methodist
conferences, and a third to canvass the field for possible pecuniary
support.

After three weeks the first named committee had the proposed
charter drafted. Northwestern University was the name suggested,

130

CHICAGO

and the charter, being granted by the legislature, was signed by Gover-
nor French on Jan. 28, 1851. The first trustees were a number of
Chicago residents, besides representatives of the Rock River, Wisconsin,
Northern Indiana, Iowa, and Michigan conferences of the Methodist
Episcopal Church.

These held their first meeting June 14th the same year and or-
ganized for the great task before them. A college was first determined
upon, its president to serve as professor of philosophy. Other pro-
fessors were suggested for the chairs of mathematics, natural sciences,
and ancient and modern languages. Another resolution was passed to
establish a preparatory department in the city and to purchase ground
for the necessary buildings. A lot was purchased at the corner of La
Salle and Jackson sts., at a cost of $9,000. September 22, 1852, the

Northwestern University Building, Chicago

board of trustees decided to erect a building accommodating three hun-
dred students, and also appointed a committee to select a site for the
proposed college building. Simultaneously, a request was issued to the
members of all the aforesaid conferences that no other higher institu-
tions of learning be established, but that all energies be concentrated
upon this one, to the end that the university plan might be realized.
At this time, also, the board decided to petition the legislature for
authority to establish branch preparatory schools in various parts of
the Northwest and to merge already existing schools with the proposed
university.

The decision to erect a building in Chicago for the preparatory
school was never carried out. The ground purchased for that purpose
is now occupied by the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank which pays a
large rental to the Northwestern University. At a meeting of the
trustees June 23, 1853, Dr. Clark T. Hinman was unanimously elected
its first president. Being a man of unusual energy, he at once took up
the work with great vigor. A plan to raise funds through the sale

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY I3I

of scholarships was inaugurated. These scholarships were of different
kinds. One kind was a permanent scholarship of one hundred dollars,
entitling the holder, his son, or grandson, to free tuition at the institu-
tion for a fixed term. Another form was the transferable scholarship,
which could be bought and sold, always entitling its holder to the privi-
leges therein set down. The one hundred dollar scholarship entitled
the holder to $500 in tuition, while one quoted at fifty dollars guaran-
teed $200 in tuition. One-half of the income from scholarships was to
be used for paying teachers' salaries, the other half to go to a fund
for the purchase of a tract of land, not exceeding 1,200 acres, partly
to be used as a site for the university buildings, partly to be sold in
lots for the benefit of the building fund. Dr. Hinman filled his grip-
sack with scholarship certificates and started out to peddle them among
the people. So great was his power of persuasion and such the enthu-

Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago

siasm for the prospective university that he succeeded in disposing of
$64,600 worth of scholarships in Chicago and elsewhere in a very short
time. In the meantime, other persons raised $37,000 in the same
manner.

The committee appointed to select a site recommended the purchase
from John H. Foster of a tract of 280 acres situated on the lake shore
eleven miles north of the city hall. The price asked was $25,000, one
thousand to be paid in cash and the balance in partial payments during
the next ten years. The offer was accepted and the deal closed in
August, 1853. The following October the trustees offered for sale
thirteen acres of this tract at a price of $200 per acre. February 3,
1854, the site of the projected university was named Evanston, in honor
of John Evans, M. D., then president of the university corporation.
Soon after, other portions of the tract were platted and put on the real
estate market.

One Eliza Garrett had founded a Methodist theological seminary
called the Garrett Biblical Institute. Upon invitation extended in
February, 1854, by the university trustees, this institution was removed
to Evanston, where it occupies ground leased from the university. It
has always been in close co-operation and has served as the theological
department of the university, but is an independent institution finan-
cially and in other respects.

132

CHICAGO

In June of the same year, the resources of the university, including
real estate, notes and subscriptions, amounted to $281,915, while the
liabilities stopped at $32,255.04.

When the board of trustees met in March, 1855, Dr. Hinman, the
president of the university, was no more. His successful career in the
service of the institution had been ended by death. His last effort had
been to increase the fund accumulated by disposing of scholarships to
$25,000 and the building fund to $100,000, and if death had not claimed
him, he doubtless would have attained the goal. Meanwhile, one build-

Northwestern University University Hall,
Evanston

ing had been erected, being a wooden structure, with suites of rooms
for six professors, a chapel, a small museum, meeting halls for several
literary societies, and a few student's rooms in the attic.

In this building, the college department of the university began
work November 5th of that year. It was a modest beginning : only two
teachers and a small group of students. A year later, in 1856, R. S.
Foster, D. D., was elected president at a salary of $2,000 per year. At
his suggestion, the board proceeded to plan permanent university
halls and a library building.

The same year (1856) steps were taken to incorporate the Garrett
Biblical Institute and the Rush Medical College in Chicago with the
university in order that they might issue diplomas. A girl's school,

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

133

the Northwestern Female College, had also been founded in Evanston,
but the similarity between its name and that of the university caused
the latter so much annoyance that the board requested the girl's sem-
inary to change its corporate name. The request was not granted, the
institute continuing under that name and later under the name of
Evanston College for Ladies until 1873, when it was absorbed by the
university. The proposed absorption of Rush Medical College did not
materialize.

In 1857 the board made arrangements to establish a department of
law, a preparatory department and a chair of science. At this time

Northwestern University Orrington 1/unt Library, Evanston

the library contained 2,000 volumes, and a museum of natural history
had been established. In April, 1859, the proposed law school began
its sessions, not, however, as a part of the Northwestern University,
but of the old University of Chicago. In June of the same year the
college department held its first graduation.

The following year Dr. Foster resigned the presidencj^. Dr.
Erastus 0. Haven, who was chosen his successor, declined the position.

During the Civil War, the activity of the new university was
greatly impeded, several of its professors and many of its students
enrolling in the Union army.

Through wise administration, the university, during this same
period, freed itself of debt, whereupon the board devoted all its ener-

134

CHICAGO

gies to the erection of necessary buildings. The first of these was a
dormitory. In 1865, the sum of $25,000 was set aside for the erection of
a main building to cost, when completed, $100,000. This building,
called University Hall, was begun in 1866 and completed in three years.

Charles H. Fowler was called to the presidency in 1866, but re-
signed the following year before entering upon his duties.

The university now comprised a divinity school, a college and
an academic department, and next was added a medical school in the
following manner. Since 1859 there had existed in Chicago a medical
institution, connected with the Lind (now Lake Forest) University. In
1864, this connection was severed, and the school became independent,

Northwestern University Fayerweather Hall of Science, Evanston

under the name of the Chicago Medical College. This same school in
1869 was merged with the Northwestern University, but retained its
name until 1891, when it was changed to the Northwestern University
Medical School. This branch of the university occupies buildings
specially erected for that purpose at Dearborn street, between 24th
and 25th streets, in Chicago, in close proximity to the Wesley, the
Mercy and the St. Luke's hospitals, where its students obtain their
clinical training.

The same year that the medical school was incorporated with the
university, the library received a valuable addition in the form of a
collection of 20,000 volumes, purchased for the institution by one
Luther Greenleaf. That year also, Erastus 0. Haven was a second time
called to the president's chair, which he occupied till 1872, when he was

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

135

succeeded by the aforesaid Charles H. Fowler, who served with great
credit for four years.

The aforesaid school of law also became a department of the North-
western University in 1873 and then assumed the name of Union
College of Law. It continued in connection with both universities until
1886, when it became an independent institution. In 1891, it was
reorganized and again became a part of the Northwestern University,
being named Northwestern University Law School.

In 1881 Joseph Cummings, senior of the Methodist Episcopal
university professors and for many years president of the Wesleyan
University, was made the head of the Northwestern. During a period

Northwestern University Dearborn Observatory, Evanston

of ten years, he filled this responsible position, gaming, meanwhile, the
highest respect of teachers and students alike. During his presidency,
in 1886, the Illinois College of Pharmacy, just established, was made a
part of the university. In 1891 its name was changed to the North-
western University School of Pharmacy. The Dental School, estab-
lished in 1887, three years later was added to the university. This
department in 1896 absorbed a similar school, the American Dental
College.

A donation of $25,000 by James B. Hobbs in 1888 enabled the
university to erect the Dearborn Observatory, where the valuable in-
struments of the old observatory of the same name, located in Chicago,
were moved and set up.

After the demise of Dr. Cummings, Dr. Henry Wade Rogers was
elected his successor in 1890. He also served for ten years, and like

136 CHICAGO

his predecessor, accomplished much useful work for the institution.
During his term of office, in 1891, the Woman's Medical College, con-
nected with the Chicago Hospital for Women and Children, was added ;
this department, however, was discontinued in 1902 on account of the
great expense to the university.

In 1893, the Orrington Lunt Library, an imposing structure, was
erected, with funds raised by the platting and sale of 157 acres of land
near Wilmette, donated to the university in 1865 by Orrington Lunt,
one of its founders. A musical school was established in 1895, and
two years later a building was erected for its special use.

In the summer of 1899, Dr. Rogers resigned the presidency. He
was succeeded in 1902 by Dr. Edmund James, formerly a member of
the faculties of the Universities of Pennsylvania and Chicago. This
election was satisfactory to all the friends of the university, who
knew Dr. James as a man of erudition and power, of whom much
energetic work might be expected. Dr. James, in 1904, accepted the
presidency of the University of Illinois, the next choice for president
being Dr. Abram W. Harris, who entered upon his duties in July, 1906.
Dr. Harris was born and educated in Philadelphia, studied at the Wes-
leyan University at Middletown, Conn., and in the Universities of
Munich and Berlin. President Harris organized for the Department of
Agriculture the Bureau of Experiment Stations. He spent some years
in teaching and in 1892 was called to the presidency of the Maine State
College. Under his direction it expanded and became the University of
Maine. In 1901 he resigned to become the Director of the Jacob Tome
Institute at Port Dupont, Md., which in five years assumed a high place
among secondary schools.

One of the greatest acquisitions of property of the Northwestern
University was the purchase in 1901 of the old Tremont hotel building,
located at the corner of Dearborn and Lake sts., in Chicago. For this
property the institution paid half a million dollars and expended an
additional $275,000 for changes and repairs. This structure, known
as the Northwestern University Building, now contains the Law school,
the Dental school and the school of Pharmacy. In 1907 the university
property was valued at $9,034,212, and the current expenditures for
educational purposes alone in 1906 amounted to $606,189.

From its college department about 2,000 students have been grad-
uated, from the medical 2,200, from the woman's medical school 559,
from the law school 1,800, from the school of pharmacy 1,500, from
the dental school 1,600, and from the school of music 300, making a
total of 10,000 graduates.

During the year 1905-6 the total number of students attending the
university was 3,863.

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

Tine University of Chicago

This institution, planned, as it is, on a large scale, has a history
dating back to the fifties. Stephen A. Douglas, the renowned states-
man, whose home was in Chicago, in 1854 offered to donate ten acres
of ground at the southern limits of the city as a site for an institution
of learning, on condition that a building costing $100,000 would be
erected for this purpose within a specified time. The cornerstone of the
future university building was laid July 4, 1857, but the general busi-
ness depression then prevailing caused a long delay in completing the
building. The liberal donor, therefore, granted additional time, but
even this did not hurry the work, and finally he concluded to donate
the site without any conditions.

Under the name of the Douglas University and with Rev. John C.
Burroughs as president, the university was opened in 1858. According
to the plan, it was to comprise a preparatory, a college, a law and a
theological department. The university was started under the auspices
of the Baptist denomination. The law department was added the
following year.

The theological department was not added until the following
decade. Its early history reads as follows :

At a meeting of Baptists in Chicago in 1860 a society, called the
Theological Society of the Northwest, was formed. This was followed
by the organization of another society, termed the Baptist Theological
Union, which was incorporated Aug. 27th of that year. February 16,
1865, it was granted a charter to found and maintain a theological
seminary. A beginning was made the same year, when Rev. N. Colver,
D. D., began giving theological instruction to a limited number of
students. The following year this instruction was given at the uni-
versity, where Prof. J. C. C. Clarke was made assistant instructor in
theology. These arrangements were merely temporary. The theolog-
ical department, however, soon was permanently organized, for in
1866 two professors of theology were called, followed, one year later,
by a third, whereupon the regular theological department was opened
in the fall of 1867. Two years later it was provided with its own build-
ing, located at the corner of Rhodes ave. and 34th st. This building,
costing $60,000, had accommodations for sixty students, besides the
lecture halls. The department, having no permanent funds to draw
on, was maintained by private contributions. During the first five
years the Baptist Union Theological Seminary, as it was called, was
attended by 97 students, of whom 37 were graduated.

During the seventies, the school was on the verge of collapse. The
great fire of 1871 made it impossible for its friends to contribute as

138

CHICAGO

generously as before, and the second fire in 1874 still further demor-
alized it financially. The trustees were forced to look about for an-
other location. One was found in Morgan Park, where the Blue Island
Land and Building Company in 1876 donated to the seminary fifty
acres of ground and a large brick building, into which the seminary
moved in the fall of 1877.

During this decade a Scandinavian department was added to the
seminary, designed to equip pastors for the Scandinavian Baptist con-
gregations in America. The history of this department will be told in

The University of Chicago Across the Campus

a succeeding chapter on educational institutions of the Swedes of
Illinois.

Now the seminary owned its own site and its own buildurg, had a
faculty and students, but still funds were lacking. Up to this time all
efforts at establishing endowments had failed. The trustees were
driven to extremes in their efforts to provide the requisite means for
its support from year to year. They had to draw continually upon
the liberality of the congregations. Evidently, this could not go on
indefinitely. The seminary must have permanent funds or cease to
exist. A wealthy Chicagoan, E. Nelson Blake, at this juncture came to
the assistance of the trustees by donating to the institution the sum of
$30,000. With great exertions, they succeeded in raising $70,000 from
other sources, thus creating an endowment of $100,000. But this
proved inadequate, and an equal amount had to be raised in order to

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

139

continue the work of the institution with any degree of success. To-
ward this amount John D. Kockefeller, the oil magnate, contributed
$40,000 and other persons $11,000, whereupon the subscription work
was at a standstill for a long period, threatening failure. Finally,
after nearly ten years' effort, the second one hundred thousand dollar
fund was completed.

Still the requirements of the institution were not fully met. New
buildings were needed. The building donated by the land company had
up to this time housed every department of the institution, containing,
as it did, library, chapel, lecture hall, students' rooms and dining hall.
Owing to the cramped quarters, the library, which then contained
25,000 volumes, was partly arranged on shelves along the walls of the
lecture hall, partly packed down in boxes and thus inaccessible for use.
For the same reason only about half of the students could be housed
at the seminary. In 1886 a call was issued with a request for $50,000
to be used partly for the erection of a building containing lecture halls
and chapel, partly for a library building. Mr. Rockefeller at once
donated $10,000, and promised $10,000 more, provided the remaining
$30,000 were raised before May 1, 1887. The condition was success-
fully met, and the same year the first named building was erected at
a cost of $30,000. It was named Blake Hall, in honor of the aforesaid
E. Nelson Blake, who had given one-third of the required sum. Later
the library building was also erected.

During all these years the inner development of the institution
kept pace with its outward progress. The faculty was reinforced time
and again and the number of students increased until in 1891-92 it
reached nearly 200. During the twenty-five years of its existence, the
seminary had graduated several hundred Baptist ministers, of whom
a large number had gone to distant lands, while the remainder were
scattered throughout the Union. In the new library building the
books were systematically arranged and catalogued, available for use
by students and teachers.

The Baptist Union Seminary was, as stated, a part of the Douglas
University, or, as it was soon called, the University of Chicago. Each
had its own administration, and if the finances of the seminary were in
a bad way, those of the university were still worse. While the former
gradually improved, the latter deteriorated year by year, until the
university found itself in a precarious position. In 1885 its mortgages
amounted to $320,000, and the board could no longer pay the interest
accruing and make payments as they fell due. In these straits the
board turned to the Baptist clergymen of Chicago for advice, and the
matter was taken up at one of the weekly meetings, held Feb. 8, 1886.
President George W. Northrop of the theological seminary then ex-
pressed as his opinion that any attempt to maintain the university

140

CHICAGO

would prove futile. Better, then, rent a few rooms, retain the faculty,
and look about for a suitable president. Further, the sum of $10,000
ought to be raised annually for three years to defray current expenses,
while efforts were made to raise a fund of $250,000. The financial
difficulties experienced by the board would, in his opinion, urge well-
to-do Baptists to come to the rescue of the institution with liberal dona-
tions, so that within ten years an excellent institution might be firmly
established. Dr. Thomas W. Goodspeed spoke to the same purport.
He recommended that ground be purchased ten miles south of the
southern limits of the city, a new charter procured and a new board
of regents elected. Now, said he, is the time to act.

The University of Chicago The i Tower Group

After a lengthy discussion those present gave formal expression
to the prevailing opinion to the effect that it was practically impos-
sible to raise the funds wherewith to lift the mortgages on the univer-
sity property, and recommended that a committee of fifteen, appointed
the previous year at the educational convention held in Farwell Hall,
Chicago, be empowered to plan a new university. The result of these
resolutions was the conveyance of the university property to the mort-
gagees, the Mutual Union Life Insurance Company, the. same year and
the closing of the university.

Thus the old University of Chicago disappeared after an existence
of 29 years of pecuniary embarrassment. Its patrons, however, desired
that it be supplanted by a new institution, and this view was shared by
prominent Baptists in other parts of the country. During the next
two years the project was discussed extensively at meetings and
through correspondence. The first move towards realizing the plan

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO ! 4I

was made in May, 1888, when a society, called the American Baptist
Education Society, was organized in Washington, D. C., for the pur-
pose of establishing a college in Chicago a university they dared not
think of and to raise funds for the support of Baptist institutions of
learning in other parts of the country.

These initiative steps were followed with great interest by Mr.
Rockefeller, who, as already shown, had contributed to the maintenance
of the theological school. He conferred with Professor Willam R.
Harper, of Yale University, a man who then already had attained a
reputation as a scholar and a man of exceptional executive ability.
These two men soon agreed that the Baptist Church should again take
up its educational work in Chicago and on an enlarged scale. Mr.
Rockefeller declared his willingness to contribute several hundred
thousand dollars to such an institution.

In December, 1888, the preliminary work had advanced to a stage,
where the plan could be laid before the directors of the American
Baptist Education Society. The plans were approved, and they pledged
their hearty support in carrying the enterprise forward, instructing
their secretary, Rev. Fred T. Gates,- to do everything in his power to
insure its success. Early the following year Rev. Gates opened nego-
tiations with Mr. Rockefeller, and, after numerous conferences between
them, a committee of nine was appointed to draft a plan for the new
institution, propose a site, estimate the amount of money required for
safeguarding the enterprise financially, and to learn to what extent the
support of the Education Society might be counted upon. Prof. Harper
was the first man appointed on that committee.

After thorough inquiries this committee submitted a full report
on the basis of which the Education Society, at its annual meeting in
Boston, in May, 1889, passed a formal resolution to establish the pro-
posed college in Chicago. Immediately, a letter from Mr. Rockefeller
was read, wherein he pledged himself to give $600,000 as a fund for the
institution, on condition that others contributed $400,000, before June
1, 1890, to be used for the purchase of a site and the erection of build-
ings. Shortly after this meeting, another one was held in Chicago,
attended by fifteen Baptist clergymen, and fifty-five businessmen. At
this meeting a college committee of thirty-six members was chosen to
issue a call for subscriptions toward the $400,000 fund. Before this
meeting was adjourned, one quarter of the amount required had been
subscribed by those in attendance.

In January, 1890, Mr. Marshall Field, the Chicago millionaire
merchant, announced his willingness to donate a tract of land, situated
between Washington and Jackson parks, to the proposed college, pro-
vided the conditions set up by Mr. Rockefeller were met. At the
meeting of the board of the Education Society in the spring of that

I4 2 CHICAGO

year it was announced that the aggregate sum of $402,000 had been
subscribed, books and scientific apparatus valued at $15,000 promised,
and that subscriptions were still coming in at the rate of $1,000 a day.
These numerous and generous responses to the call for funds made
it clear to the committee that the previous plan to establish a college,
which was to be gradually enlarged to a university, had to be aban-
doned and the institution laid out on university lines from the start.
This line of action was subsequently followed. To begin with, ground
was purchased adjoining the tract comprising one and one-half blocks,
donated by Mr. Field. The Education Society board for the sum of
$132,000 bought of Mr. Field an equal tract, making a total of 20 acres,

The University of Chicago The Walker Museum

bounded on the north and south by 56th and 59th streets and on the
east and west by Greenwood and Ellis avenues. Shortly afterwards,
the block located farthest north was traded for one bounded by 57th
and 58th streets, and Greenwood and Lexington avenues, whereupon
still another block was purchased, completing a quadrangle two blocks
square in a beautiful and rapidly developing part of the city. A better
location for a university would be difficult to find.

In order to prevent possible complications, arising from the fact

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

143

that an institution named the University of Chicago had existed before,
the directors of that institution met June 14, 1890, and formally author-
ized the use of that name for the new university. At another meeting
September 8th the same board decided to call their institution The Old
University of Chicago and to turn over all its books and records to the
new university corporation. This was done partly to distinguish the
graduates of the old institution, partly to enable them, if they so
desired, to be recognized as graduates of the new university.

These and other preliminaries having been disposed of, the new
university was chartered September 10, 1890, under the name of the
University of Chicago, the incorporators being John D. Rockefeller,
E. Nelson Blake, Marshall Field, Francis E. Hinckley, Fred T. Gates,
and Thomas W. Goodspeed. The charter stipulated that the university
regents should be twenty-one in number, two-thirds, as also the presi-
dent, to be members of the Baptist Church. On the contrary, church
affiliations were to play no part in the selection of professors and in-
structors.

Scarcely had the institution been incorporated when Mr. Rocke-
feller, on the 16th of September, made an additional donation of one
million dollars, one of the conditions being that the Baptist Union
Theological Seminary should be moved from Morgan Park to the
university grounds, be made its theological department, and furnished
with a special building. These terms were gratefully accepted by the
Baptist Theological Union.

At their second meeting, held September 18th, the trustees elected
as president of the university Dr. W. R. Harper, who after six months
accepted the call and shaped the destinies of this great university with
superior energy and ability.

The working plan of the university had already been prepared
and submitted to the boards of more than fifty different universities
and colleges for approval. Having been thus criticised, the plan was
made public Jan. 1, 1891. According to this plan, the work of the
institution was to be arranged under the following three heads, the
university proper, the university extension work and the university
publication work.

The first-named department was to comprise the following sub-
divisions: (a) Academies, or preparatory departments, the first to be
established at Morgan Park and other branch institutions to be either
formed from existing schools or erected anew, as opportunity offered;
(b) Colleges, as follows, (1) the College of Liberal Arts, with a course
leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts, (2) the College of Science,
leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science, (3) the College of Liter-
ature, giving also the degree of Bachelor of Science, (4) the College of
Practical Arts, with comprehensive courses in practical subjects, lead-

144 CHICAGO

ing to the degree of Bachelor of Science; (c) affiliated colleges, the
nature of whose relations to the university was to be determined by
the conditions in each individual case; (d) schools, as follows: (1) The
Graduate School, to comprise all non-professional post-graduate work,
(2) the Divinity School, with the customary theological courses, (3)
the Law School, (4) the Medical School, (5) the School of Engineering,
(6) the School of Pedagogy, (7) the School of Fine Arts, (8) the School
of Music. The two first-named were to be established at once, the
remaining six in due order, as financial conditions would permit.

The university extension work was to comprise, (a) regular courses
of lectures, to be given in Chicago and elsewhere, according to the
best plans for university extension; (b) evening courses in college
and university subjects in and outside of Chicago; (c) correspondence
courses in college and university subjects for students all over the
country; (d) special courses in biblical subjects, studied from the
original texts and translations; (e) library extension.

The university publication work was to embrace, (a) university
bulletins, catalogues and other official documents; (b) special news-
papers, journals and reviews of a scientific nature, written and edited
by instructors in the various departments: (c) books written and
edited by instructors of the university; (d) collection by exchange of
newspapers, journals and reviews, similar to those published; (e)
purchase of books and disposal of same to students, professors and to
the university library.

In connection herewith the inner organization of the institution
in the matter of faculties, officers, the division of the school year, etc.,
was mapped out. In these respects the University of Chicago was to
differ materially from other universities and colleges in the United
States. For instance, while most of these divide the scholastic year
into three terms, viz., the fall, the winter and the spring term, with a
long "vacation following the latter, its year was to be divided into
quarters, beginning with the first day of July, October, January and
April, respectively, each quarter to comprise twelve weeks, with
intervals of one week's vacation. In order to accommodate those
desiring to spend a still shorter period at the university each quarter
was subdivided into two terms of six weeks.

The advantages of this new arrangement were apparent. In the
first place the waste of time under the old system was precluded; in
the second, it enabled students to attend one or two quarters and
spend the remainder of the year in some profitable occupation, earning
the means to continue their studies ; in the third, it was made possible
to prepare for examinations in shorter time ; in the fourth, the courses
of instruction could be arranged more conveniently for the professors
and instructors. While their term of service was nine months out of

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO I45

the year, they might be granted permission, at any time suiting their
purpose, to pursue special studies or take a vacation for their health.
By serving longer than the prescribed periods, they might earn either
longer vacations or an extra income.

Another result of this division of the university calendar was the
abolition of classes and their names, such as Freshman, Sophomore,
Junior and Senior, and with that the class spirit. The result of the
quarter system was that a student might begin his studies any time of

The University of Chicago The Women's Dormitories

the year and take his examinations at the end of any of the four
quarters.

The University of Chicago held its first convocation October 1,
1892. An imposing corps of professors and instructors had already
been selected, comprising men who had served at American and Euro-
pean universities, and no less than five hundred students had then been
enrolled. Adding to this the fact that the financial position of the
institution had been further strengthened by new donations by Mr.
Rockefeller and others, it will appear that the future of the new uni-
versity was exceptionally bright. The rich promises given at the start
have been most handsomely realized.

The development of the University of Chicago has been phenom-
enal in every respect, and at its present pace the university inspires
the confidence that it will in a short time become one of the best organ-
ized and most largely attended universities in the world. A few

146 CHICAGO

figures may be quoted as showing most clearly the rapid progress
already made during the first decade of its existence. The enrollment
increased during the decade of 1892-02 from 698 to 4,450 and the
endowment funds during the same period from $1,539,561 to $9,165,126,
the value of the real estate, building, etc., from $1,618,778 to $6,000,000
and the total value of all the property of the university to $15,128,375 ;
the number of professors and instructors grew from 135 to 323, and the
current annual expenditures from $109,496 to $944,348.

This magnificent material growth was made possible by continued
donations, aggregating over $18,000,000 for the same period. The prin-
cipal donor is Mr. Rockefeller, whose gifts during this same decade
amounted to more than $10,000,000. Since then he has donated millions
more. Other wealthy men and women, especially Chicagoans, have con-
tributed munificently to the university, such as, Miss Helen Culver, who
gave one million to the department of biology; Mrs. Emmons Blaine,
who donated over a million to the School of Education for the training
of expert teachers; Martin A. Ryerson, who founded the Ryerson
Physical Laboratory in memory of his father and gave large sums
towards its equipment ; Sydney A. Kent, who founded the Kent Chemi-
cal Laboratory; Charles T. Yerkes, who gave to the university the
world's largest telescope and besides contributed liberally toward the
equipment of the university observatory at Lake Geneva, Wis., which
bears the donor's name; Marshall Field, who made large donations to
the general funds; Silas B. Cobb, founder of Cobb Hall; George C.
Walker, who donated the Walker Museum and has shown his generosity
in other ways; Mrs. Charles Hitchcock, who erected the dormitory for
boys as a memorial to her husband, Mr. Charles N. Hitchcock; Mrs.
Caroline E. Haskell, who donated a building and established a lecture-
ship in memory of her husband, Mr. Frederick Haskeil, Mrs. Elizabeth
G. Kelly, who founded Kelly and Green halls for female students ;
Mrs. Mary Beecher, Mrs. Henrietta Snell and Mrs. Nancy S. Foster,
who have each had university halls erected, bearing their names;
Adolphus C. Bartlett, who equipped the Bartlett Gymnasium in mem-
ory of his son, Frank Dickinson Bartlett ; Leon Mandel, who founded
the Assembly Hall; the William B. Ogden estate, which has donated
property, the income from which was used in founding the Ogden
Graduate School of Science; John J. Mitchell and Charles L. Hutchin-
son, who have also remembered the university with substantial
donations.

The university buildings in 1902 numbered 20 and the grounds
comprised 75 acres in Chicago and 65 acres at Williams Bay, Wisconsin.

By an agreement between the directors of the Rush Medical
College, established in Chicago in 1837, and the regents of the Univer-
sity of Chicago, that renowned medical institution in April, 1901,

THE WORLD'S FAIR

147

became identified with the university to the extent that the medical
students during the first two years of the course pursued their studies
at the university proper. A year later the directors of the medical
school proposed a complete merger which, however, has not yet been
effected, owing chiefly to economic obstacles.

On March 11, 1902, the university regents appropriated $50,000
towards the purchase of a law library and the establishment of the
law school already decided upon. Other professional and technical
schools are to be established as the exigencies will permit.

The splendid progress made by this university is proof positive of
the wisdom and care with which the broad and practical plans were
mapped out.

The total attendance for the year ending July 1, 1907, compiled on
the basis of three quarters or nine months to the school year, was
5,070. Of these 2,629 were men and 2,441 women. Since 1893 the
number of grauates has been 4,131.

On Jan. 10, 1906, the university suffered an incalculable loss in the
death of President William Rainey Harper, who had served through
fourteen and one-half years. On the death of Harper, Harry Pratt
Judson was appointed acting president of the university, and on Feb.
20, 1907, he was elected to the presidency. Judson prepared at Williams
College, from which he graduated in 1870 and received the degree of
A. M. in 1883 ; was principal of the high school in Troy, N. Y. ; pro-
fessor at the University of Minnesota 1885-92 ; received the degree of
LL. D. from his alma mater 1893, and has the same title from the
Queen's University, Ontario, the State University of Iowa and the
Washington University, St. Louis; was co-editor of the "American
Historical Review" 1895-1902; became professor of political science
and head dean of the colleges of the University of Chicago 1892 ; after
two years he was made head of the department of political science
and dean of the faculties of arts, literature and science, a position held
until 1907, when elected president of the university.

The World's Fair at Chicago

As the four hundreth anniversary of the discovery of America by
Columbus drew near, suggestions were made from various directions
that the event be celebrated by means of a world's exposition, just as in
1876 the one hundreth anniversary of the independence of the United
States was celebrated. The first step toward the 400th anniversary
celebration was taken in November, 1885, when the directors of the
Chicago Inter-States Exposition Company passed a resolution declaring
in favor of such a plan. The second step was taken July 6th of the
following year, when the Iroquois Club of Chicago invited six other
clubs of the city to co-operate with it in arranging for "an international

148

CHICAGO

celebration, in Chicago, of the four hundreth anniversary of the dis-
covery of America by Columbus." With that the matter rested for
some time.

The newspapers of the country, however, began to discuss the
project and cast about for the most suitable location for a new world's
exposition, Washington, New York, Chicago, and St. Louis being stren-
uously advocated by their respective papers. Then the citizens of
Chicago no longer confined themselves to a discussion in the abstract,
but took action long before the other three proposed cities had closed

World's Fair Administration Building

the debate. Thus Chicago again went on record as a most energetic
and progressive community.

After having advised with men of prominence, such as J. W. Scott,
the editor of the "Chicago Herald," Thomas B. Bryan, the lawyer and
politician, and others, Mayor Dewitt C. Cregier on July 22, 1889, laid
the matter before the city council, which at once requested the mayor
to appoint a committee of one hundred (later increased to 250) citizens
to further the exposition project among the people and hold forth the
advantages of Chicago for that purpose. Pursuant to this resolution, a
large meeting was held August 1st, at which a set of resolutions, framed
by Thomas B. Bryan, were adopted and subsequently published
throughout the United States. An executive committee also was
appointed, consisting of 51 persons, to take active charge of the pre-

THE WORLD'S FAIR

149

liminary preparations for the exposition. Its first act was to form an
exposition company with a capital stock of $5,000,000 in shares of $10
each. So rapid was the progress made that the company, whose cor-
porate name was The World's Exposition of 1892, was legally incor-
porated on the 14th of the same month, and at once proceeded to sell
stock.

The competition among the four cities bidding for the exposition
now grew extremely brisk. From New York and Washington it was
urged that Chicago was situated entirely too far inland to attract
foreign participation. These and other objections were successfully
combated by the Chicago committee, which was ably assisted by the
influential men of Illinois and neighboring states.

On Jan. 12, 1890, the committees of the four cities had a hearing
in Washington before a special committee appointed by the senate.
New York was represented by more than one hundred of its foremost
citizens, whose combined wealth aggregated several hundred millions,
and who lost no opportunity to press the claims of their city. But
the Chicago representatives proved conclusively thai their city had a
greater volume of trade in portion to its population than New York and
had a far more suitable site to offer.

While congress had the matter under consideration its decision
was awaited with the greatest interest. Along towards spring the
question was passed on, and Chicago was the choice.

On April 25, 1890, President Harrison signed the congressional
act by which the quadri-centennial exposition was located at Chicago.
According to the terms of said act, the president named eight com-
missioners-at-large together with two commissioners and two alternates
from each state and territory in the Union and the District of Columbia.
This commission chose as Director-General of the exposition Col.
George R. Davis of Chicago, as President ex-senator Thomas W. Palmer
of Michigan, and as Secretary John T. Dickinson of Texas. The corn-
commission delegated part of its authority to a Board of Reference
and Control, half of its members being appointed by the exposition
company.

Pending the act of congress, stock had been liberally subscribed,
so that at the time congress took action the number of stockholders
had reached about 30,000. These were called to meet in Battery D, on
April 10th, when the organization was completed by the election of
forty-five directors, picked from among the wealthiest citizens. Two
days later the board of directors met at the Sherman House and chose
a committee on finance and a committee to draft by-laws. At the next
meeting April 30th, Lyman J. Gage was elected president of the board,
Thomas B. Bryan first and Potter Palmer second vice-president. On
May 6th the board elected William J. Ackerman auditor and Anthony

150 CHICAGO

F. Seeberger treasurer, and finally on July llth Benjamin Butterworth
secretary. The president of the board appointed a number of auxiliary
committees to have charge of various departments of work.

June 12th the stockholders at an extra meeting changed the name
to The World's Columbian Exposition Company, in accordance with
the congressional act, and also decided to increase the capital stock
from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000, to comply with another condition named
by congress, that the time and place of the exposition should be fixed,
the grounds and buildings assured and ten million dollars subscribed

World's Fair Government Building

for the enterprise before the President of the United States would issue
to foreign nations the official invitation to take part.

Besides these two boards there was still another, the Board of
Lady Managers, consisting of two lady representatives and alternates
from each state and territory and nine for the city of Chicago. Mrs.
Potter Palmer of Chicago, a woman of prominence no less for her high
intellectual attainments than for her great wealth and social position,
was chosen as its president. To this board was entrusted the manage-
ment of everything pertaining to the participation of women in the
exposition and to the woman 's department of exhibits.

In the matter of choosing a site a diversity of opinions arose. Some
of the directors suggested Jackson Park, in the southern part of the
city, while others favored a more central location. The former opinion
prevailed, and building operations were begun as soon as a construction

THE WORLD'S FAIR I $ I

department had been formed, with Daniel H. Burnham as chief, John
W. Root as architect, Abram Gottlieb as engineer, and the firm of
Olmstead & Co. as landscape architects. In order to have the buildings
constructed with a view to artistic beauty as well as practical uses,
a board of consulting architects was picked from among the most
skillful men of the craft in Chicago. Besides, architects from New
York, Boston, and other cities were called in to assist in making the
drawings. The expenditures for the grading of the site and the erec-
tion of the buildings were estimated at $16,075,453.

World's Fair Illinois Building

Ground was broken for the exposition on Feb. 11, 1891. Swamps
were drained, depressions filled, old lagoons and ponds dredged and
new ones scooped out, walks and drives constructed and extensive im-
provements in the landscape planned. Piles were driven, foundations
were laid, and soon the "White City" began to rise in splendor. In
spite of changes that had to be made in the plans from time to time,
the work progressed without interruption, thanks to efficient manage-
ment both of the finances and the actual operations.

It was not an easy matter to raise the necessary ten millions, but
the leaders of the enterprise were equal to the task, Through their
influence, the state legislature was prevailed upon to grant Chicago the
privilege of issuing bonds to the amount of five millions in order to
invest said amount in exposition stock. But besides this amount and

152

CHICAGO

the aggregate amount subscribed by individuals, six or seven millions
were still needed. Numerous plans to raise money were devised, but
none was found altogether satisfactory. Finally, it was proposed to
issue souvenir coins to be sold at an advanced price as a means of
raising the additional amount required. The plan was laid before
congress, which with some reluctance resolved that souvenir half
dollars should be struck to the amount of $2,500,000 and sold at one
dollar each, thus netting the exposition $5,000,000. Furthermore, the

World's Fair Agricultural Building

exposition company issued bonds to the amount of $5,000,000 more,
payable Jan. 1, 1894.

Neither plan brought the desired results, and new exertions were
made. To the railway companies were sold $850,000 worth of bonds
and several Chicago banks made loans to the exposition company tak-
ing unsold souvenir coins as security.

At the annual meeting in April, 1891, Lyman J. Gage resigned the
presidency and was succeeded by William J. Baker.

Despite all preparations, there prevailed in the East and especially
throughout Europe a lack of confidence in Chicago 's ability to manage
a universal exposition. The notion was general that Chicago was
located on the outskirts of civilization and therefore incapable of

THE WORLD'S FAIR

153

producing a world's fair such as had been seen in London, Paris and
Vienna. The exposition management resolved to overcome this preju-
dice and to that end appointed a special commission to visit the nations

of northern Europe and their governments. This commission, con-
sisting of five members, started for Europe in July, 1891, and per-
formed its arduous work systematically and with marked success. As
a result of its efforts, coupled with those of the government in the same
direction, favorable responses to the invitation extended to the nations
were received from a great number of governments and private cor-
porations. To represent the exposition in a similar manner in southern
Europe, Thomas B. Bryan and Harlow N. Higinbotham were ap-
pointed. The first gained an audience with the Pope himself and

154

CHICAGO

succeeded in gaining his co-operation and good will. The Holy Father
with his own hand wrote a cordial endorsement of the enterprise, which

was subsequently translated into a number of languages and published
far and wide. Its reassuming effect on the Catholic nations was un-
questionable. The efforts of the two commissioners were crowned
with success throughout. In recognition of his services, Mr. Higin-

THE WORLD'S FAIR I55

botham, upon his return to Chicago in February, 1892, was chosen vice-
president of the exposition.

While this work was in progress abroad the exposition buildings
were rapidly nearing completion and the time for the opening of the
fair was not far off. Up to this time the board of directors and the
board of commissioners had borne the entire responsibility for the
financial administration. The number of members being equal in the two
boards, a tie might easily result in important decisions. In order to
preclude deadlocks and resultant delays a council of administration
was created, consisting of members from both boards. As representa-
tives of the directors were chosen Harlow N. Higinbotham and Charles
H. Schwab and for the commissioners George G. Massey of Delaware
and J. W. St. Clair of West Virginia. These elected Mr. Higinbotham
their chairman, and he was about the same time chosen president of
the exposition. This council had absolute authority to determine 'all
questions of administrative policy, but were not empowered to pass
appropriations beyond those made by the directors. One of the first
acts of the council was to postpone the date of the dedication of the
exposition from October 12th, the day fixed by congress, to October
21st. This was done partly because the city of New York had fixed
on the former date for the holding of a grand naval review in com-
memoration of the 400th anniversary, partly from a desire to bring the
celebration as near as possible to the date of the landing of Columbus
on American soil.

The dedicatory exercises six months prior to the opening were held
in order to publish to the world the extent of the preparation and the
magnitude of the undertaking. The exercises opened with a salute of
cannon at sunrise. In the forenoon the directors, commissioners, lady
managers and specially invited guests assembled in Michigan avenue,
in front of the Auditorium hotel, where they formed in line, the parade
passing, with flags flying and music playing, down the avenue and on
to the World's Fair grounds. Here they were joined by Vice-President
Levi P. Morton, representing the President of the United States, and
President Thomas W. Palmer of the board of commissioners. In Wash-
ington Park 15,000 national troops from various points passed in re-
view before the guests of honor, the procession then passing along
Midway Plaisance to the entrance to the grounds. The place of assem-
blage was the gigantic Manufacturers' Building, where luncheon was
served to 70,000 people. At the time set for the dedicatory ceremonies
an immense mass of people crowded about the gateways to the ex-
position grounds, and at the command of President Higinbotham the
gates were thrown open and the public given free admittance for that
day.

The order of ceremonies was as follows : Columbian March, com-

156

CHICAGO

posed for the occasion by Prof. J. H. Paine of Cambridge, was ren-
dered by the Columbian Orchestra and chorus. Following a prayer,
offered by Bishop Fowler, an introductory address was made by

Director-General GTeorge R. Davis. Mayor Hempstead Washburne next
welcomed Vice-President Morton and the foreign representatives, offer-
ing them the freedom of the city. Mrs. Sarah Le Moyne then read the
World's Fair Ode, written by Miss Harriet Monroe, portions of the

THE WORLD'S FAIR

157

poem, set to music by George W. Chadwick, being subsequently ren-
dered by the Columbian Chorus. Director of Works Daniel H. Burn-
ham now presented the buildings to President Higinbotham and in-
troduced to him the engineers, architects and artists who had con-
structed and decorated them. President Higinbotham responded, pre-
senting to each of these a special medal in recognition of their work in
behalf of the exposition. During this presentation the chorus rendered
Mendelssohn's "To the Sons of Art."

Mrs. Potter Palmer, president of the Board of Lady Managers,
then followed with an address on the work accomplished by that body,
whereupon President Higinbotham presented the exposition buildings
to President Palmer of the World's Columbian Exposition Commis-
sioners, he in turn presenting them to Vice-President Morton, who
dedicated them to their various uses. The Columbian Chorus sang
the "Alleluiah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah; Col. Henry Watter-
son of Kentucky made an address, followed by another song, "The
Star-Spangled Banner," by the chorus; another address was made by
Mr. Chauncey M. Depew of New York, and the ceremonies were con-
cluded with a prayer by Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore, the singing of
Beethoven's "In Praise of God" by the chorus and the benediction,
pronounced by Rev. Henry C. McCook of Philadelphia. Immediately
following the conclusion of the dedicatory ceremonies, the artillery
post stationed in the park fired the national salute.

The opening of the World's Fair was set for May 1, 1893, and an
enormous amount of work still remained to be accomplished during the
intervening six months. Thanks to the energy and push of the directors
almost all exterior work was finished in the time fixed. The arrange-
ment of exhibits, however, required additional time, and the exposition,
therefore, was not in proper order until the first of June.

The festivities in connection with the formal opening were held in
that part of the grounds called the Court of Honor. Here gathered, in
the forenoon of May 1st, the following guests of honor and officiating
personages, namely, the Duke of Veragua, specially invited as the
direct descendant of Columbus, together with his family ; Grover Cleve-
land, President of the United States; Adlai Stevenson, Vice President
of the United States ; members of the cabinet, of the diplomatic corps
and of congress; the three departments of the exposition management,
namely, the Board of Directors, the Board of Commissioners and the
Board of Lady Managers ; foreign commissioners, members of the
different state commissions and chiefs and other officials of the various
exposition departments.

The opening of the exposition took place according to the following
order of ceremonies: Music, Columbian March (John H. Paine), by the
orchestra ; prayer by Rev. W. H. Milburn of Washington, D. C. ; poem.

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CHICAGO

"the Prophecy," by W. A. Croffut of Washington; music, "Overture
to Rienzi" (Wagner), by the orchestra; address by the Director-
General of the exposition; address by the President of the United

States; starting of the machinery in Machinery Hall, while Handel's
"Alleluiah Chorus" was sung; official reception in the Manufacturers'
Building, by President Cleveland and the World's Fair directors, of
the foreign commissioners.

THE WORLD'S FAIR 159

Immediately after the close of the President's address, the chief
magistrate pressed the button of an electric line connecting with a
great steam engine of 2,000 horse powers, starting the engine and this
in turn bringing the fountains and cascades of the Court of Honor into
play. At the same instant the flags of all the Fair buildings were
unfurled to the breeze, and amid the roar of steam whistles throughout
the city and harbor, the firing of cannon and the thundering huzzas of
the sea of humanity assembled in the grounds, the Columbian Exposi-
tion was opened the the world. Chicago, Queen of the West, had
reached the goal of her ambition: the World's Fair was an accom-
plished fact.

Before describing the further progress of the exposition and the
manner in which the directors managed to carry the enormous financial
burdens laid upon their shoulders, a comparison may properly be
drawn between this and previous world's expositions with reference to
area, number of exhibitors, and visitors, appropriations, etc. This is
given in the following table :

No. of No. of No. of

Year. Place. exhibitors. visitors. Acres, days open.

1851 London 15,500 6,039,195 13. 144

1855 Paris 23,954 6,162,330 22.1 200

1862 London 28,653 6,225,000 25.6 171

1867 Paris 52,200 9,238,967 31. 217

1873 Vienna 42,584 7,254,687 56.5 186

1876 Philadelphia 60,000 9,910,966 236. 159

1878 Paris 40,366 16,032,725 loo. 191

1889 Paris 55,000 28,149,353 173. 183

1893 Chicago '. 27,539,521 645. 183

The capacity of the various buildings of the Chicago exposition is
shown in the following table :

Buildings. Square feet. Acres.

Administration 51,456 1.18

Agriculture 589,416 13.53

Art 261,073 5-99

Electricity 265,500 6.09

Fisheries 104,504 2.39

Government 155,896 3.57

Horticulture 237,956 5.46

Machinery 796,686 18.28

Manufactures 1,345,462 30.88

Mines 246,181 5.65

Transportation 704,066 16.16

Woman's 82,698 1.89

Minor 1,630,514 37.43

State 450,886 10.35

Foreign 135,663 3.11

Concessions (Midway Plaisance buildings, booths, etc.) 801,238 18.39

Miscellaneous 317,699 7.29

Total 8,176,894 187.69

!6o CHICAGO

Midway Plaisance was the name of the narrow stretch of open
space extending from Jackson to Washington parks. This was at the
disposal of the commissioners and was utilized for the extra attractions
or side shows to the exposition. Here various semi- and uncivilized
nations were assigned space for their exhibits and performances, show-
ing the life and customs of various races. Great panoramas of natural
sceneries from foreign lands were exhibited. Products and curios from
every clime were sold, and in numerous variety theaters the plays and
pastimes of the nations were more or less correctly presented. Also a
great number of restaurants and cafes of various kinds were located
there. One of the most original attractions of the Midway was the so-
called Ferris Wheel, constructed by Engineer Ferris and named after
him. It was the Chicago counterpart of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris
Exposition of 1889. From the hanging cars of this gigantic wheel was
afforded a charming birds-eye view of the White City and its environ-
ments.

Thirty-seven states of the Union had their own buildings at the
Fair. The majority of these were a combination of exposition building
for products of a state and meeting place for its citizens. Forty-seven
foreign nations had made appropriations to the exposition and of these
eighteen had their own buildings, besides being represented in one or
more of the seventeen main departments. Exhibitors from no less than
eighty-six countries were present.

Among exhibiting nations was the United Kingdom of Sweden and
Norway, the Swedish riksdag having made an appropriation of 350,000
crowns for the purpose. A national pavilion of a distinct type, capped
by an antiquated steeple, was built in Sweden, the material shipped
over and the building reconstructed on its site at the exposition
grounds. Portions of the Swedish exhibits were arranged in this
pavilion, while the remainder were apportioned among the proper
departments. The royal commissioner of the Swedish exhibit was
Arthur Leffler, the secretary, Axel Welin. Tom Bergendal represented
the Swedish Iron Institute, embracing fourteen industrial establish-
ments, and a large number of manufacturers and institutions and
organizations in Sweden had sent personal representatives to the
exposition.

Besides the $2,500,000 appropriated by the United States in the
form of souvenir coins, the national government set aside the amount
needed for the erection of a splendid government building and $500,000
for a suitable exhibit therein. The total amount appropriated by the
individual states was $6,120,000, Illinois alone expending $800,000. The
total foreign appropriations were approximately $6,500,000. Private
citizens of Chicago signed for shares $5,608,206, and the city of Chicago
purchased shares for the sum of $5,000,000, raised by an issue of bonds.

THE WORLD'S FAIR : 6i

In order to heighten the interest in the exposition a series of inter-
national congresses was arranged by a special board, established Oct.
30, 1890, as the World's Congress Auxiliary of the World's Columbian
Exposition, headed by Charles Carroll Bonney, the originator of the
idea. This work was divided into twenty departments, each of which
was subdivided into various divisions, numbering altogether 224. The
congresses held 1,283 sessions, making a total of 753 days. According to
the printed announcements, there were 5,978 addresses and papers by
5,822 speakers and authors. The most noteworthy one was doubtless
the Parliament of Religions, in which many prominent representatives
of the principal religions of the world in addresses, treatises and discus-
sions endeavored to show their relative positions.

Swedish Day a.t the World's Fair

A great number of festivals, special days set aside for various
nationalities or occupations, memorial days, etc., furnished the addi-
tional events of the Fair. Among the national festivals, Swedish Day,
July 20th, may be mentioned as one of the most successful and pictur-
esque celebrations during the entire exposition.

Swedish Day at the World's Fair was a gala day for the Swedish
nationality in Chicago. The celebration began early in the day with a
street parade in the down-town district, participated in by 10,000
people, according to estimate. On the exposition grounds there was a
second parade, followed by an afternoon concert at Festival Hall,
exercises at the Swedish pavilion at sunset and a pyrotechnic display in
the evening.

Early in the morning Swedish organizations of the north and west
sides began to assemble on Chicago avenue. Marshalled by Dr. S'ven
Windrow and Mr. L. F. Hussander, they marched to Lake Front Park,
to join the south side organizations and other participants. Forming
in Michigan avenue, the parade wound its way through the city, on the
following line of march: Michigan ave., Monroe st., State st., Lake St.,
Fifth ave., Madison st., Market st., Monroe st., Fifth ave., Jackson st..,
Wabash ave., Congress st., Michigan ave.

The parade, headed by Robert Lindblom as chief marshal, with
N. N. Cronholm as adjutant, was made up of three divisions, in the
following order : First division platoon of police ; band ; American
Union of Swedish Singers; distinguished guests and ladies in carriages.
Second division marshals ; band ; John Ericsson Legion, Select Knights
of America; Belmont Legion of the same; First Swedish Uniformed
Ranks. Knights of Pythias ; Svea Society in carriages ; Swedish Glee
Club members in carriages ; First Swedish Lodge of Odd Fellows ; North
Star Lodge, Knights of Honor; band; Svithiod Club members in car-
riages ; Linnaeus Club members on horseback and in carriages ; publish-

l62

CHICAGO

ers and personnel of Swedish- American newspapers, "Svenska Ameri-
kanaren," "Svenska Tribunen" and "Humoristen," in carriages;
band; Gustaf Adolf Society; Court Vega Pleasure Club; Monitor
Council, Eoyal Arcanum, in carriages; Nordenskjold Lodge, Knights
and Ladies of Honor; Gotha Lodge of the same; Thor Society; Led-
stjernan Lodge, Sons of Temperance; Court Stockholm, Independent
Order of Foresters; band; Independent Order of Vikings. Third
division marshals; band; Svenska Gardet, preceded by their band;
Uniformed Ranks, Knights of Pythias, South Chicago; Swedish Gym-

World's Fair Swedish Building

nastic and Fencing Club; ladies in Swedish provincial costumes; Nord-
stjernan Society, preceded by their band; United Brotherhood of Car-
penters and Joiners; Iduna Society; Verdandi Lodge, K. of P., Burn-
side ; Balder Society ; Linnea Society ; Svenska Understodsf oreningen ;
Pullman Band; Harmony Lodge, K. of P., Pullman; Lyran Singing
Club, Pullman ; Phoenix Lodge, No. 7, W. S. A., Englewood ; citizens in
carriages. Scattered through the parade were a number of picturesque
and characteristic floats and groups, as follows : John Ericsson 's ' ' Mon-
itor," furnished by John Ericsson Lodge; "A Feast in Valhall," by the
Svithiod Club; "Svea, Columbia and Fama, " by the Svea Society;
' ' The Bellman Room, ' ' by Mr. Colliander ; group of Laplanders, exhibit-
ing at Midway Plaisance ; groups of ladies in provincial costumes ;

THE WORLD'S FAIR ^3

''Old Time Swedish Iron Smelter"; "Swedes of Delaware in 1638' ; ;
"Swedes and Indians", by Iduna Society.

From the piers on the lake front the paraders boarded the boats
waiting to carry them to the exposition grounds. Upon arrival they
were met by a procession from the Swedish pavilion, headed by the
Swedish commissioner, Arthur Leffler, and his suite, escorted by a detail
of Columbian Guards. At the Casino the paraders again formed m
line and marched through the Court of Honor, past the principal build
ings to the Swedish pavilion where they disbanded and scattered
through the grounds.

Thousands repaired to Festival Hall, which was crowded long
before four o 'clock, the hour set for the grand concert, given under the
auspices of the American Union of Swedish Singers. For this occasion
no less than three celebrated artists from the Royal Opera at Stockholm
had been engaged, namely, Caroline Ostberg, soprano; C. F. Lundquist,
tenor, and Conrad Behrens, basso. Adding to this the Theodore
Thomas Orchestra and the United Singers, led by John R. Ortengren,
a grand chorus of four hundred male voices, and the array of talent
was such as to make this a notable Swedish musical event in Chicago,
rivaled only by the appearance of Christina Nilsson twenty years prior.

Following the concert and after a medley of Swedish melodies had
been played on the chimes in Machinery Hall by A. E. Bredberg of St.
James' Cathedral, the people gathered for a folkfest at the Swedish
pavilion. Addresses were made by Arthur Leffler, Swedish commis-
sioner, T. B. Bryan, of the exposition directors, and Dr. J. A. Enander ;
songs were rendered by Mr. Lundquist and the A. U. S. S. chorus, and
"greetings from fifty thousand Swedish-Americans" were telegraphed
to his majesty, King Oscar II.

All day the flag of yellow and blue was everywhere in evidence,
floating over the parading hosts, draping the interior of Festival Hall
and waving beside the stars and stripes on many a pinnacle in the
White City. The days' celebration added about 50,000 to the average
daily attendance at the fair, raising the total to more than 126,000. It
was a day of national inspiration to all Swedish- Americans participat-
ing and in every way a splendid success, fully comparable to the
celebrations of other nationalities.

The principal historical celebrations were Patriotic Day, Inde-
pendence Day and Chicago Day, the last-named in commemoration of
the great Chicago fire in 1871. This celebration occurred October 9th
and was marked by an enormous attendance from the city and the state
at large. The number of visitors to the Fair that day was 716,880, this
being undoubtedly the greatest concourse of people in the United States
at any one time and place. During the summer the exposition manage-
ment gave several banquets, the most brilliant affair being the reception

1 64 CHICAGO

given to the foreign commissioners October llth. This was held at the
Music Hall and was very largely attended.

During the month of May the total receipts amounted to $583,031,
and during June to $1,256,180. The promise implied in these figures
was made good. Thus the month of August showed the remarkable
total of $2,337,856.25. The receipts of the exposition from all sources,
including city, state and national appropriations, were $28,151,168.75.
The gate receipts amounted to $10,626,330.76 and the special concessions
realized $3,699,581.43.

The expenditures of the Exposition Company, including cost of
organization, construction, and administration, were summed up March
31, 1894, at $27,151,800. If the expenses of the various states and the
foreign nations are added, the total outlay for the Columbian Exposi-
tion will be found to reach almost forty-five million dollars.

Extensive preparations were made to close the Fair October 30th
in a manner befitting its grandeur, but a lamentable event threw a pall
over the city and made it expedient to simplify the closing celebration
to a degree. On October 28th, Carter H. Harrison, the mayor of the
city, fell by the hand of an assassin, an Irish fanatic, named Patrick
Prendergast. In consequence the events of the closing day were
marked by gloom rather than gayety. Festival Hall was packed with
humanity. President Palmer of the Board of Commissioners stepped
forward with the announcement that owing to the sad circumstances
most of the numbers of the proposed program had been eliminated,
whereupon he pronounced the exposition officially closed. After a few
brief remarks, Dr. Barrows pronounced the benediction over the
assembled hosts, which then regretfully departed from the hall to the
strains of Beethoven's "Funeral March." The flags on the pinnacles
of the exposition halls were lowered, the doors were closed, and the
echo of the final artillery salute died as daylight waned on the domes
of the exposition city. A strong sense of the vanity of all things created
by the hand of man pressed home to every thoughtful spectator as he
bade the fabulous beauty and splendor of the White City a last fare-
well. Thus the World's Columbian Exposition, the pride of Chicago
and of the nation, passed into history.

The Chicago Drainage Canal

The growth of Chicago made it apparent to the municipal author-
ities that something had to be done to lead the flow from the extensive
sewer system of the city into some other channel than the Chicago
River, which empties into the lake, or the water supply from this last
named source would eventually become entirely unfit for use. At first
they tried to remedy the matter by deepening the Illinois and Michigan
Canal so as to cause the river to run west instead of east, i. e.. from the

THE DRAINAGE CANAL 165

lake instead of into it. This work was carried out in 1865-1871.
Although a pumping station was established at the juncture of the river
and the canal at Bridgeport, calculated to assist in the reversal of the
current of the river and force it into the canal, yet this experiment
proved unsuccessful.

The intakes of the water works were then located several miles out
in the lake, but even that arrangement was inadequate. Spring floods,
storms and heavy rainfalls would at frequent intervals carry great
volumes of impure water out as far as the cribs, where it would be ab-
sorbed at the intakes and carried back through the mains and be dis-

The Drainage Canal Gates at Controlling Works, Lockport

tributed throughout the city, imperiling the health of its inhabitants.
This condition was not to be tolerated, and other remedies were sug-
gested from time to time, yet no plan, however plausible, pointed out a
way of surmounting the chief obstacle, a lack of funds.

Toward the close of the year 1885, H. B. Hurd, who had served on
the Board of Drainage Commissioners in 1855, was urged by a number
of leading men to make a careful study of the problem. After he had
convinced himself and others that the question offered no legal difficul-
ties, provided the legislature would pass the necessary measures, the
city council on Jan. 27, 1886, passed a resolution authorizing the mayor
to name a commission, consisting of one engineer with a knowledge
of sanitary affairs, and two assistant engineers, to investigate the water
and sewer systems and submit a report on the result. The elder Mayor
Harrison appointed as expert engineer Rudolph Hering of Philadelphia
and as his assistants two Chicago engineers, Benezette Williams and
S. G. Artingstall. At the next session of the legislature, in 1887, two
bills on this subject were submitted. The one, the so-called Hurd bill,

r66 CHICAGO

proposed that the necessary funds for sanitary improvements be raised
by general taxation and by an issue of bonds ; the other, known as the
Winston bill, proposed special taxation, or assessment, for the same
purpose. When it became evident that neither bill had any chance of
passage, a new and simpler one, called the Roche-Winston bill, was
submitted and passed toward the end of the session. This provided for
a commission, consisting of two senators, two representatives and
Mayor Roche of Chicago, to investigate the drainage question still
further, and also proposed a canal running from the Desplaines River
north of the city to Lake Michigan, to carry off the waters of that river

The Drainage Canal The Bear Trap Dam, from Downstream

and the north branch of the Chicago River. Nothing, however, was
accomplished to this end.

In the next legislature (1889) the commission made a favorable
report, and a new drainage bill was submitted, essentially providing
for the organization of a so-called Sanitary District, the digging of a
drainage canal of suitable width and depth through the watershed
between the basin of Lake Michigan and the Desplaines river valley,
the appointment of a drainage board of nine members and the raising
of the requisite funds by general assessment on all taxable property in
the district created. The bill met with strong opposition, principally
from the people dwelling along the Illinois River, who feared, partly
that Chicago's sewage would permanently impair the wholesomeness
of the river water, partly that the volumes of water from the canal
would flood the bottomlands along the river. The friends of the bill
urged to the contrary that if the canal were built and the Desplaines
and Illinois rivers were dredged between Joliet and LaSalle, an excel-
lent waterway between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi would be

THE DRAINAGE CANAL ^

opened. During the eighteen months that this bill hung in the balance,
largely attended conventions were held in Peoria, Memphis and other
cities, at which the bill was warmly endorsed. The fear that the canal
would lower the watermark in the lake was dispelled by experts, who
explained that even with a flow of 600,000 cubic feet per minute, this
being the maximum estimate, the surface of the lake would be lowered
at most three inches.

This bill, so highly important to the city of Chicago, was passed by
the legislature May 29, 1889. At the general election in Chicago Nov.
5th following, the proposition to organize the aforesaid sanitary district
was carried by a large majority. This district comprises all that part of

The Drainage Canal Seventeen Miles of the Canal are Sawed Out
of the Solid Rock

Chicago north of 87th street, together with an area of about 47 square
miles in Cook county, outside of the city limits. It measures 18 miles
north and south, has a maximum width of 15 miles, its area being 185
square miles, with a population of 1,800,000. At a special election Dec.
12th the same year the members of the drainage board were chosen.
Their first important duty was to make the authorized assessment,
amounting to one-half per cent, of the tax value of all property found
in the district. When later it became apparent that the amount thus
realized was inadequate, the board was authorized to raise the assess-
ment to one and one-half per cent, for a period of five years from 1895,
at the expiration of which the former rate was to prevail. In addition,
the board was empowered to raise funds by issuing bonds.

The financing of the entire enterprise was thus assured. But owing
to differences arising among the trustees, actual work on the canal was
delayed almost two years. Four trustees having resigned and other

!68 CHICAGO

men elected to fill their places, the work was begun. The first sod was
turned near Lemont Sept. 3, 1892, by Frank Wenter, president of the
board. Necessary gradings, surveys, condemnations and letting of
contracts had previ6usly been made. The work was now pushed with
vigor towards completion, despite obstacles of one kind or another.
The route was divided into sections, each being let to one or more
contractors according to the nature of the work to be done. For long
stretches the bedrock was being blasted by means of dynamite, fired
night and day by electric contacts, in other localities laborers, busy as
ants, were digging through soil and clay, while still others were work-
ing like beavers constructing costly dams. The work progressed

The Drainage Canal Walls of Solid Stone Artificially Laid

steadily, and seven years after ground was broken the canal was
completed.

The drainage canal starts in the southwestern part of the city, at
the point were Robey street crosses the south branch of the river, and
runs parallel with the Illinois and Michigan Canal in a straight line
southwest to Summit, a distance of eight miles. This stretch of canal
has a width of 110 feet at the bottom and 198 feet at the waterline, and
a minimum depth of 22 feet. At Summit the canal turns southward and
a little farther down takes a westward course to Willow Springs, five
miles from Summit. This section is 202 feet wide at the bottom and
290 at the water's edge, the depth being uniform throughout. From
Willow Springs it runs west past Sag and Lemont to Romeo where it
makes a sharp curve southward towards Lockport, the western ter-
minus, located about fifteen miles from Willow Springs. This stretch
is cut through solid rock and the corresponding measurements are 160
and 162 feet. The entire length of the canal is 28 miles.

THE DRAINAGE CANAL

169

The total excavations comprised 41,410,000 cubic yards, 28,500,000
being earth, clay and gravel and 12,910,000, rock. But other work was
also necessary. The Desplaines River, which was cut or touched by
the canal route at a number of points, had to be led into other channels,
and for this purpose an extra canal, 13 miles in length, was dug and a
levee built for a distance of 19 miles. The new river-bed is 200 feet
wide at the bottom and represents an excavation of 2,068,659 cubic
yards, bringing the total excavations up to 43,478,659 cubic yards. If
all this material had been dumped into the lake it would have formed
an island one square mile in area and 12 feet high above water level.
The total cost of digging the canal was $33,525,691.20.

The Drainage Canal Two Mile Curve at Romeo, 111.

For the regulation of the current costly locks were constructed at
the western terminal of the canal at Lockport. There are seven smaller
locks 20 by 30 feet and one large one, the so-called Bear Trap Dam
with a width of 160 feet and a vertical play of 17 feet. The latter
consists of two huge sheet iron plates joined by means of hinges, the
lower one being firmly fastened to a substantial substructure, while
the upper one is so placed as to obstruct the current. This mechanism
is operated by the power of the current itself, the water being let into
special conduits and regulated by a set of valves placed directly under
the iron dam. This is claimed to be the most ingenious piece of mechan-
ism of its kind in the world. Near the locks there is a basin large
enough to permit vessels of maximum draft to turn.

This gigantic piece of engineering work was completed in seven
years. On Jan. 2, 1900, the current was turned into the canal, and on
Jan. 17th, when this had been filled, the great locks were opened,
causing the interesting spectacle of the Chicago River reversing its

I yo CHICAGO

current. Its waters, thick with filth and sewage, foul-smelling and
almost stagnant, yet sluggishly moving in the direction of Lake Michi-
gan, now suddenly changed their course and began to move with a
speed of a mile and a half per hour in the opposite direction, away from
the river's mouth toward its source. Its color quickly changed from
its traditional mud color to a light greenish tint, lent by the pure waters
drawn from the lake. Thus the constant danger to the purity of
Chicago's water supply was practically averted by reversing the cur-
rent of a navigable stream. At the same time, a portion of waterway
between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi, planned years before, had
been completed.

The Hennepin. Canal

For the sake of completeness, a brief sketch of this latter project
is here subjoined. The old Illinois and Michigan Canal soon was found
too narrow and too shallow for large deep draft vessels, and in the
early seventies the question of building a new canal across the state
was raised. A canal bill was presented in congress and in 1871
government engineers made a preliminary survey. In 1890 an appro-
priation bill, based on said survey, was submitted, and Sept. 19th the
needed appropriation was granted. Work was begun at the western
canal terminus in July, 1892, and at the eastern end in 1894, and has
been in progress ever since.

The Illinois and Mississippi Canal, also termed the Hennepin Canal,
starts at the Illinois River one and three-quarters of a mile above the
city of Hennepin, at the point where the river changes its course from
west to south. Passing the Bureau Creek valley it cuts the watershed
between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers and empties into the Rock
River at the point where the Green River empties into that stream,
thence following the Rock its entire navigable length and reaching
the Mississippi after flanking the rapids at the village of Milan. This
the main line of the canal is 75 miles in length. A branch, or feeder,
constructed at its highest altitude, extends from a point near Sheffield,
located 28 miles from its eastern terminus, in a northerly direction to
Sterling, where it taps the Rock Falls. A dam built at that point to
force the current into the canal makes the Rock River navigable to
Dixon, several miles northeast of Sterling. This feeder has a length
of 29 miles, which, added to the main channel, makes a total of 104
miles of waterway, or seven miles more than the Illinois and Michigan
Canal. From the Illinois River to the highest point there is a rise of
196 feet, and this section has 21 locks, varying in height from six to
fourteen feet. From that point to the Mississippi the incline is 93 feet
which is overcome by means of ten similar locks. The canal is 80 feet
wide and 7 feet deep throughout. Along its entire length the banks

THE HENNEPIN CANAL

171

are reinforced with solid masonry. The sluices are 170 feet in length
and 35 feet in width, admitting vessels 140 feet long, 32 feet wide and
with a tonnage of 600. The locks, bridges and aqueducts are all built
of cement and steel, the smaller culverts of steel mains.

This canal shortens the route by water from Chicago to the Missis-
sippi by no less than 400 miles by cutting across from the great bend
of the Illinois River almost directly westward to the Mississippi. The
extension of the old canal was the Illinois River which, after meander-
ing through the state, empties into the Mississippi not far from the
confluence of the Missouri. But in order to open a deep waterway
all the way from the lakes to the Mississippi it will be necessary to
deepen the old Illinois and Michigan Canal between the terminus of
the drainage canal at Lockport and the city of La Salle, where the
Illinois becomes navigable. The first steamer passed through the Hen-
nepin Canal in November, 1907.

The cost of the Hennepin Canal was estimated at $6,926,000, in-
cluding $1,858,000 for the feeder, but through certain changes in the
course and reduced cost of material, a substantial saving was made.

CHAPTER III

The First Swedes in Illinois

Raphael Widen, the First Swedish Pioneer in the State

HE first Swede in Illinois was, so far as known to a cer-
tainty, one Kaphael Widen. The year and place of his
birth are unknown, but it is a matter of record that at
the age of eight he was brought from Sweden to France
where he was educated for the Catholic priesthood. It is
not known when he emigrated to the United States. It is noted in the
Territorial Records of Illinois that Raphael Widen was appointed
justice of the peace of St. Clair county on Jan. 12, 1814, by the terri-
torial governor, Ninian Edwards. He lived at Cahokia, the county seat,,
where he married, in 1818, into a French family of that place. Remov-
ing to Kaskaskia, Randolph county, he was one of the fourteen terri-
torial justices who conducted the affairs of Randolph county during
the interregnum from December, 1818, to May, 1819, the last meeting
being held April, 19, 1819. Widen continued to act as justice of the
peace as late as 1831 and presumably still longer.

Eleven manuscripts in Widen 's hand are preserved in the Menard
collection of manuscripts at the Chicago Historical Society. The earliest
is a contract for the rent of a piece of land. It is written in French, is
dated May 24, 1819, and covers two pages. The signatures of the con-
tracting parties are made in Widen 's hand, they each marking a cross.
A photograph of a promissory note written in French is repro-
duced on the opposite page. There are four notes in English, two
executions and two summons papers. The latest date on the papers is
Oct. 24, 1831. There is also a trust deed for $409.97 to secure a loan
from Pierre Menard, first lieutenant governor of Illinois, to Maurice
D. Smith and wife, Raphael Widen and Felix St. Vrains being named
as trustees.

Widen became a man of more than local prominence. He was the
representative of Randolph county in the second and third General

RAPHAEL WIDEN

173

Assemblies of the young state (1820-24), and a member of the senate
in the fourth and fifth General Assemblies (1824-28). During the second

s
o

a
P

3
Crq

?
i

session of the fourth General Assembly in 1826, he was president of
the senate.

His career as legislator of the new frontier state was coincident
with the period of heated debate over the question whether the state
was to be slave or free. Widen took a stand by which he deserves

174

THE FIRST SWEDES

lasting honor and respect. He was the sworn enemy of slavery and
expressed his views freely and fearlessly in the legislature. When on
the llth day of February, 1823, while he was serving his second term
as representative, a motion was made in the house to submit to a
popular vote the question of calling a convention for the revision of
the constitution in the interest of slavery, Widen was among those
who voted resolutely against it. This is all the more notable when it
is considered that he was one of the only two anti-convention repre-
sentatives from the middle or southern portion of the state to oppose
the bill. The motion carried with a majority of one vote in the house,
after having passed the senate by a majority of two-thirds, and as told
in foregoing pages, the question was submitted to the people at the
election of August 2, 1824. The pro-slavery convention proposition
was lost by a vote of 6,640 against it to 4,972 in its favor, settling the
slavery question for all time in the state.

Widen lived in Kaskaskia when Lafayette made his visit at that
place April 30, 1825. A reference has been found to "Edward Widen,
the polished gentleman and enterprising merchant," as having been
one of those present at the reception to the French hero. This un-
doubtedly refers to Raphael Widen in spite of the inaccuracy. Widen
died in Kaskaskia from cholera in 1833.

That there were a number of Swedes among those who settled in
Illinois in its territorial period admits of no doubt. Though Widen is
the first of whom we have definite information, most likely there were
others of whom we will never know. In the annals of early Illinois
names characteristically Swedish are not infrequent. One Paul Haral-
son (also written Harrolson and Harelston), is said to have settled
on the west side of the Kaskaskia River, near the mouth of Camp's
Creek, in Randolph county, in 1802. He became a man of prominence
in those early days and is said to have held the office of sheriff for a
short time. In the period of 1803-09 he served as county commissioner,
and also as county clerk of Randolph county, being the third man to
hold that office. The public records make no mention of him as
sheriff, but in the official list of surveyors the name of Paul Harrolson
is third in order. His appointment by Gov. Edwards to the latter
office was dated April 7, 1814. In the absence of proofs of his Swedish
origin, we can merely suppose that he was a Swedish descendant,
whose name was originally written Haraldson.

In looking over the lists of members of the Illinois militia in the
War of 1812, several names instantly impress one as being Swedish.
One is that of Bankson an Americanized form of Bengtson, common
among the Delaware colonists. One of the eminent personages among
the Delaware Swedes was Andrew Bankson. And here we find the
same name, borne by a man who was a lieutenant in the Second Regi-

JACOB FALSTROM ! 75

ment, from St. Clair county, before the war and during the war a
private in a company of mounted riflemen. He was subsequently
promoted second lieutenant under the name of Bankston, manifestly
a misspelling.

On April 5, 1817, Andrew Bankson was appointed major of the
second militia regiment by Ninian Edwards, the territorial governor,
and on March 3, 1818, promoted colonel of the tenth militia. He
resigned his colonelcy Sept. 9th following but the name of Col. Andrew
Bankson reappears in the old records ten years later, in the list of
thirty-three men chosen managers of McKendree College in 1828.

In the military lists are mentioned two other men of the same
surname James Bankson, sergeant of Capt. Nathan Chambers' com-
pany of infantry, and Patton Bankson, private in the same company.
One Elijah Bankson was a brother of Andrew and Patton Bankson.
Not unnaturally the inference may be drawn that these were descend-
ants of Delaware families of the same name, but the probability,
admittedly slight, is not strengthened by the known fact that the
Banksons here encountered came to Illinois from Tennessee.

Among the comrades of Andrew Bankson was one David Eckman.
That he was a Swede or of Swedish descent cannot be doubted. Of
him we know nothing more than this, that he voluntarily shouldered
the musket and risked his life to protect the community against its
foes. Again, in the list of privates in the Fourth Regiment we find
two names with a decidedly Swedish ring John and Andrew Hallin.
These men, presumably brothers, were members of Capt. Dudley
Williams' company of the Fourth Illinois Militia.

Jacob Falstrom, Frontiersman and Missionary

In the Northwest Territory there lived among the Indians for
about forty years, dating from the early part of the nineteenth century,
a Swede by the name of Jacob Falstrom. He seems to have come to
the West contemporaneously with Raphael Widen and is said to have
arrived in Minnesota prior to the year 1819. Falstrom was born in
Stockholm, July 25th in the year 1793 or 1795. He left home at twelve
or fourteen years of age and went to sea with his uncle. Stories differ
as to how he came to emigrate. One version has it that he lost his way
in London and, unable to find his way back to his uncle's ship, took
passage to America ; another that he ran away from his uncle, who was
cruel to him, both agreeing that he landed, in Canada. Col. Hans
Mattson, who met Falstrom at St. Paul in 1854, says that the boy
deserted a Swedish ship in the port of Quebec and, picking his way
through the wilderness, sought refuge among the Indians. He was
content to stay among the redskins and ultimately became more closely

1 76 THE FIRST SWEDES

allied with the natives by marrying into one of their tribes. He was
a man well-known to the Hudson Bay Company, and to the early
settlers in the upper Mississippi valley.

Falstrom, who spoke French and several Indian languages, was
employed by the American Fur Company to trade with the natives
around Lake Superior. With his Indian wife he had several children.
Some of his descendants are still living in Washington county, Minn.,
where Falstrom staked a claim in 1837. In relating his experience to
Col. Mattson, he stated that for about thirty-five years, or until he met
the first Swedish settlers in the St. Croix valley, he had not heard a
word of Swedish spoken and as a consequence had almost completely
lost command of his native tongue. During his later years Falstrom
was very religious and for a long time acted as a missionary among
the Indians, apparently affiliating with Methodism. As a missionary
he probably antedated all other Swedish pioneer preachers in the West.
Falstrom passed away in the year 1859. He exerted but little of a
civilizing influence, and his descendants are said to live in semi-
savagery to this day.

Christian Benson, the First Swedish Farmer in Illinois

In the year 1835 a Swedish pioneer of Illinois arrived in the person
of Christian Benson, who, however, made no mark in public life, but
lived quietly as a farmer.

He was born in Goteborg in 1805, went to sea at the age of seven
and followed that occupation until his thirtieth year. He first came to
America in 1819. In 1827 he married Maria Bantherson at Providence,
R. I. Later he returned to his seafaring life, coming to America for the
third time in 1835. That year he settled in Portland township, White-
side county, Illinois, not far from the present city of Rock Island, and
went to farming. In his old age he was cared for by his two children.
Benson was the first known Swedish farmer in the state. He was
still living in 1880 and was spoken of as a stanch adherent of the Re-
publican party.

Jonas Hedstrom, the First Swedish Clergyman in Illinois

Among the first Swedes to set foot on Illinois soil was Jonas
Hedstrom. As Widen had acquired prominence in the field of politics,
so Hedstrom became renowned as a pioneer in church work. He was
the first man to preach the gospel in the Swedish language here and
became the founder and pioneer of Swedish Methodism in the West.

An elder brother, Olof Gustaf Hedstrom, persuaded Jonas to emi-
grate to America. The elder Hedstrom was born in Tvinnesheda, Notte-
back parish. Smaland, May 11, 1803. The parents were Corporal Hed-

JONAS HEDSTROM

177

strom and his wife Karin, who had four sons besides Olof Gustaf, and
two daughters. The eldest son was put to work as a tailor's apprentice
at an early age, but in 1825, at the age of twenty-two, he left the old
country and came to the United States the following year. His trip
across the Atlantic was made under remarkable circumstances. He
became secretary to the commander of a frigate named "af Chapman,"
one of the Swedish war vessels sold to the republic of Colombia, to be
used by that and other South American colonies in their war for inde-
pendence against Spain. This transaction, as every one familiar with
Swedish history knows, caused international complications and came

Olof Gustaf Heclstrom

near involving Sweden in war. This, however, was averted when a
later sale of three other warships was annulled. The frigate ' ' af Chap-
man," which departed from Karlskrona in the summer of 1825 arrived
safely at Cartagena, Colombia, but orders awaited Commodore C. R.
Nordenskiold, its commander, not to transfer the ship to the Colombian
government. In March, 1826, the frigate was ordered from Cartagena
to New York, where the expedition disbanded after numerous diffi-
culties and complications, and the vessel was sold. Having been fully
paid, the crew were granted passage back to Sweden, but young Hed-
strom and several others chose to remain in New York.

Hedstrom had no intention of remaining permanently, but a mis-
fortune forced him to do so. The same day that the crew was paid and
mustered out of service, Hedstrom and a number of comrades went

I 7 8

THE FIRST SWEDES

ashore to see the city, and at night they took lodging at a hotel for
seamen. When he woke up in the morning he found to his chagrin
that he had been robbed of everything, even to his clothes. He told
Iris hostess, an Irishwoman, of his misfortune and she kindly procured

Jonas Hedstrom

a suit of clothes for him. Destitute as he was, a journey to Sweden was

out of the question, so he submitted to fate and remained where he was.

The trade he had learned in Sweden now proved very useful to

him. He was employed by an American tailor, Townsend by name,

JONAS HEDSTROM ! 79

and after a year or two he secured employment as cutter, earning good
wages. In the same shop was employed a young woman, Caroline
Pinckney, a cousin of Townsend, to whom Hedstrom was married June
11, 1829. She was of the Methodist faith, and through her influence
Hedstrom a few weeks later joined that denomination, becoming at
once an ardent worker in the church. Later he removed to Pittsville,
Pa., where he opened a tailor shop of his own. The venture proved
rather unsuccessful, causing him to sell out his stock. He returned to
Sweden in 1833 apparently with a view to awakening his parents to
their spiritual wants, a mission in which he seemed to have been
successful.

On the return voyage the same year Hedstrom brought with him
his younger brother Jonas, born Aug. 13, 1813, and at that time a
youth of twenty. The trip was a perilous one. One awful night, when
death seemed to lurk on every side, the younger Hedstrom underwent
a total change spiritually, to the great joy of the elder brother. On
their arrival in America, Olof Gustaf Hedstrom began to preach ; in
1835 he was received, on probation, into the New York Conference of
the Methodist-Episcopal Church ; for ten years he labored as itinerant
preacher among the American Methodists in the Catskill region. By
dint of his fiery and convincing eloquence, equalled by few, he met
with great success. It was, however, not among the American popula-
tion, but among his own countrymen and other Scandinavians, that he
was to perform his life-work. In 1844 he entered into earnest corre-
spondence with friends in New York with referenc.e to the opening of
a new Methodist mission among the large numbers of Scandinavian
seamen who annually visit that port and among the immigrants and
the few Swedes that had already settled in New York City. The ship
"Henry Leeds" was purchased with money subscribed for that pur-
pose, the vessel remodeled as a mission ship with chapel and Sunday
school rooms, re-named the "John Wesley" and anchored at suitable
points in the North River. In this mission ship, better known as the
Bethel ship, Hedstrom conducted the first services on Whitsunday,
May 25, 1845. He was ably assisted by several others, among whom
Peter Bergner, a former sailor and ship's carpenter. In 1857 a -new
Bethel ship took the place of the old one, but Hedstrom remained at his
post. Pie made occasional trips to other ports, and founded the Swedish
Methodist-Episcopal churches at Jamestown, N. Y., and Chandler's
Valley, Pa., in 1851, and at Chicago the following year. In the sum-
mer of 1863 he re-visited Sweden, preaching in many places to large
concourses of interested listeners. He labored without interruption
until 1875 when he was forced to retire owing to failing health, but
still retained much of his former fire and vigor even in old age. Hed-
strom died in New York City May 5, 1877, at the age of 74. A hand-

i8o THE FIRST SWEDES

some monument in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, marks his last
resting place. By his side reposes his beloved wife, who died in 1890
at the ripe age of eighty-six years. They had three children, one being
Dr. Wilbur Hedstrom, who is still living.

We have traced the life of the elder Hedstrom thus minutely by
reason of its intimate connection with that of the younger brother, to
whose career we now turn.

Jonas Hedstrom remained for a short time in New York, then
spent some years in Pennsylvania, where he earned his living in the
blacksmith's trade, and a very good blacksmith was he. At this time
he formed the acquaintance of a family by the name of Sornberger
which soon afterward removed to Knox county, 111. The young
Swedish artisan had formed an attachment for Diantha Sornberger, a
daughter in the family, and in 1837 or 1838 Hedstrom followed. After
marrying his affianced, he removed to the little village of Farmington,
in Fulton county, where he opened a blacksmith shop. Shortly after-
wards he began preaching, having been duly licensed by the local
authorities of the Methodist Church. His license was renewed the next
year. Later he removed to Knox county and became one of the found-
ers of the town of Victoria, where he lived at the time of the first
Swedish immigration to Illinois, and continued to reside until his death.
By diligent and skillful application to his trade, he there acquired a
sufficient income to build a rather comfortable home, where many a
poor immigrant and weary wayfarer enjoyed hospitable entertainment.
And he preached as energetically as he sledged. During the years fol-
lowing, he preached in the English language to the Americans in the
various school-houses round about Victoria as well as in the neighbor-
ing towns of Lafayette, Knoxville and others. There being no Swedish
settlers in that region or in any other part of the state at this time, he
had no occasion to preach the Gospel in his mother tongue. By con-
stant disuse, the Swedish language was gradually forgotten by him;
but when in the early summer of 1845 he received a letter from his
brother saying that he had been appointed missionary to the Scandi-
navian seamen and had already begun preaching in the Swedish lang-
uage* it occurred to the younger brother that he also ought to revive
his mother tongue, in order that he might expound the Gospel to the
Swedish immigrants which his brother predicted soon would begin to
arrive and settle in those parts. He, therefore, procured first a copy of
the New Testament in Swedish and English, then a Swedish Bible com-
plete, and fell to study his forgotten native tongue with great assiduity.
His brother's predictions were soon fulfilled. Group after group of
Swedish immigrants arrived at New York, where they were first met
by the elder Hedstrom, who took a keen interest in their temporal as
well as their spiritual welfare. With his knowledge of conditions in

JONAS HEDSTROM !8i

Illinois, acquired through his brother, he was in a position to recom-
mend that region as a desirable place of settlement. Many were they
who followed his advice, journeying westward to Victoria where the
younger Hedstrom stood ever ready to assist. By renewed use, in the
next few years he again acquired the ability to speak the Swedish
tongue fluently.

Although great tracts of good agricultural land were to be had
much nearer, large numbers of Swedish immigrants came all the way
to Illinois, owing to the activity of the brothers Hedstrom. To them is
due also no small share of credit for the continued influx of Swedes
into this state. But there is a third Swedish pioneer who, as we will
presently see, played an important part in directing Swedish immi-
grants to Illinois.

Hedstrom preached his first sermon in the Swedish language Dec.
15, 1846, in a little blockhouse in the woods, about three miles south-
east of the present town of Victoria, the occasion being the organiza-
tion of the first Swedish Methodist Church. This congregation, started
with five members, was also the first church organization of Swedish
nationality in this country since the time of the Delaware settlements.
The Erik Janssonists of Bishop Hill, who will be dealt with in the
following chapter, had begun to arrive in July of the same year and
constituted a sort of religious band, but could not as yet be said to
exist as a church in the strict sense of the word. The Methodist prop-
aganda among the Swedish settlers grew apace under the direction of
Hedstrom, several new churches being founded in the course of the
next few years. This growth will be more fully shown in the chapter
dealing especially with Swedish Methodism in Illinois.

Owing to his restless endeavors and the great privations attending
his constant travels in the service of his cause, Hedstrom 's health
broke down, compelling his retirement in the fall of 1857. His powers
continued to wane, and on May 11, 1859, he ended his useful career,
dying at the age of nearly 46 years. His body was buried in the Vic-
toria cemetery, where a monument was placed upon his grave. His
wife died in 1874 and was buried at his side. The pair had five chil-
dren, two of whom are thought to be still living, viz., Luther Hedstrom
and Mrs. Becker.

Hedstrom has been very differently judged according to the sec-
tarian viewpoints of those making the estimate. By his adversaries he
has been made out a lying, cheating, deceitful, fanatical and selfish
person, while his close friends and brethren in the faith, on the other
hand, ascribe to him every virtue and set him up as a model of per-
fection. Both sides, however, appear to have exaggerated his personal
traits. During this early and formative period in our history,
the lines were sharply drawn between the different religious groups.

1 82 THE FIRST SWEDES

To respect the opinions of others these early settlers had not yet
learned, and intolerance reigned supreme. Hedstrom was fanatically
devoted to Methodism and did everything in his power to disseminate
its teachings among his countrymen. Possessing a greater proportion
of zeal and enthusiasm than of erudition and good judgment, he fre-
quently, by a lack of deference and tact, gave rise to serious contro-
versies with representatives of other denominations, themselves devoid
of spiritual moderation. That he acted from pure motives and with a
sincere purpose of benefiting his fellowmen, no one, however bigoted,
can deny.

As his elder brother, 0. G. Hedstrom, may be styled the father of
Swedish Methodism, and the Bethel ship in New York harbor its cradle,
so Jonas Hedstrom may with equal justice be called the founder and
pioneer of Methodism among the Swedes of the West, and the rude
blockhouse near Victoria the starting-point of his endeavors. Jonas
Hedstrom was not only the first Swedish preacher in Illinois, but the
first Swedish exponent of material progress in these regions. For these
reasons his name will always have a prominent place in the history of
the Swedes in the state and in the entire country.

O. G. Lang'e, tKe First Swede in Chicago

O. G. Lange was another early Swedish pioneer of Illinois, and
he also had the distinction of being the first known Swede in Chicago
and Cook county.

Olof Gottfrid Lange was born July 4, 1811, in the city of Goteborg.
July 27, 1824, he hired as cabin watch on an American brig, bound for
Boston, where he landed Sept. 30th. He remained a sailor for more
than ten years, serving in the American and the British navies.

In 1838 he abandoned the sea for the great West and arrived on
Sept 18th at Chicago, which had received its city charter one year ago.
If there had been any of his countrymen ahead of him, he would have
had no difficulty in finding them, for at that time the city had a popu-
lation of only 4,179. Several Norwegians, however, had settled here,
and these he gave lessons in the English language, meeting his pupils
at Fort Dearborn.

Later he opened a drug store near Chicago, at a point on the
Illinois and Michigan Canal, which was then being dug. A severe
attack of the ague soon caused him to give up the business, whereupon
he went to Milwaukee and became, as in Chicago, the first Swedish
settler in the community. It was his privilege to receive Gustaf
Unonius and his companions, when they arrived in Wisconsin in the
fall of 1841. In Milwaukee Lange became the manager of a hardware
store, owned by a man who later became governor of Wisconsin. After
a short time, Lange went into business for himself in co-partnership

O. G. LANGE

183

with one Hulbert Reed. It was at this time Fredrika Bremer. the
Swedish authoress, visited the United States. When she left Chicago
for Milwaukee in September, 1850, Lange received her into his home,
entertained her for several days, and then accompanied her on a visit
to the Pine Lake settlement founded by Gustaf Unonius.

Afterwards Lange became traveling representative of the Rath-
bone & Corning stove manufacturing company of Albany, N. Y. Hav-
ing lived a short time in Charleston, S. C., he settled in Watertown,

?-r#..*, >

Olof Gottfrid Lange

Wis., and became passenger agent for a section of the Chicago
and Northwestern Railway. Not content with this occupation,
Lange, who had cultivated a taste for change and variety, moved to
Kenosha, Wis., in 1856 and there started a foundry which four years
later was removed to the corner of Kingsbury and Michigan streets,
Chicago. Thus Lange became a Chicagoan for the second time.

In 1866 he made a trip to Sweden for his health. On his return
he brought a library of 500 volumes together with a number of art
portfolios, for the Svea Society, a Swedish association already
existing in Chicago. A large part of the collection was donated by

1 84 THE FIRST SWEDEvS

King Charles XV. of Sweden and his family. For this service to the
society Lange was made an honorary member and presented with a
valuable badge. The library of this society was totally destroyed in
the great fire of 1871.

Lange is said to have tried his fortune at one time on the board of
trade. The fact that he did not continue to trade on the board would
seem to indicate that his venture was not successful. The last twenty-
five years of his life he devoted to soliciting life insurance for various
companies. With reference to the 250th anniversary of the landing of
the Swedes on the Delaware, commemorated in the fall of 1888, Lange,
in the issue of "The Swedish- American " for April 18, 1889, proposed
that his countrymen in America annually celebrate "Forefathers'
Day, ' ' and in many localities the suggestion was carried out during the
next few years.

In July, 1893, the venerable pioneer had an attack of pneumonia
and was prostrated at his home, 292 Irving ave., Chicago. During his
illness he was visited by Rt. Rev. K. H. G. von Scheele, Bishop of Got-
land, who, on his first tour of the United States, took the opportunity
to bring cordial greetings from Lange 's old schoolmates in the old
country. July 13th, two days after this visit, Lange breathed his last.
He reached the ripe age of 82 years. Having taken a deep interest in
the Swedish fraternities, Nordstjernan, Balder and many others had,
like Svea, conferred upon him honorary membership, and now showed
their appreciation by sending large delegations to attend the obsequies.
A bronze bust in memory of him may be seen in the lodge hall of the
Svea Society.

Lange, commonly called "Captain" Lange, presumably on account
of his early career as a sailor, was one of those Swedes who are not
ashamed of their nationality. Although having spent the greater part
of his life away from his native country, he never forgot or concealed
his Swedish ^nativity, but took every occasion to glory in the fact and
extol all that is best in Swedish character and culture. The best proof
of the genuineness of his Swedish patriotism is found in his proposal
of a Swedish "Forefathers' Day" celebration. Being kind-hearted
and generous, he gave freely, but without ostentation, to his less fort-
unate fellows. He was twice married, his first wife dying early. With
his second wife, Catharine O'Brien from Ireland, he was united April
23, 1843, the golden anniversary of that occasion occurring a few
months before his demise. Mrs. Lange was a lady of refinement. Fred-
rika Bremer describes her as "a kindly little Irishwoman." They had
five children, one son and four daughters. The eldest daughter was the
wife of B. A. E. Landergren, deceased, who was for many years chief
deputy in the Internal Revenue office at Chicago.

NELSON FLACK

Sven Nelson., tine Recluse of Andover

The next Swede to arrive in Illinois, following Lange, was doubt-
less Sven Nelson, like two of his predecessors a sailor. He came to the
state in 1840 and settled in Andover, Henry county, a settlement found-
ed five years before by Americans from the East. There he dwelt in
peace and almost perfect seclusion for almost forty years, dying in the
late seventies.

Nelson in the latter forties married a woman known by the name
of Stigs Lena, who in 1849 came over from Hassela, Helsingland, with a
party of Erik Janssonists.

Gustaf FlacR., the First Swedish Merchant in Chioag'o

Following Sven Nelson, the next Swedish immigrant to Illinois
was Gustaf Flack from Alfta parish, Helsingland. The year of his
arrival is unknown, as also his early life here. In the early forties
we find him in Victoria, 111., and in 1843 in Chicago, where he owned a
small store near the ferry landing at Clark st. His stay in Chicago
and America was cut short by his return in 1846, to Sweden, where he
suddenly died on the way from the city of Gefle to his native home.
During his sojourn in Illinois, Flack wrote letters to his friends at
home freely lauding this state and predicting for it great future pros-
perity. His glowing descriptions primarily caused the Erik Janssonists
to emigrate and settle here. Flack thus shares with the Hedstrom
brothers the credit for directing the main current of early Swedish
immigration to the Prairie State.

The Pine LaKe Settlement in Relation to Swedish
Immigration to Illinois

While only individual Swedes kept moving into Illinois, Gustaf
Unonius and others in the early forties founded at Pine Lake, in the
neighboring state of Wisconsin, the first Swedish settlement in America
since the time of the Delaware Swedes. The history of this settlement
and of its founder sustain so intimate a relation to that of the Illinois
settlements as to merit a brief sketch in this connection.

Gustaf Elias Marius Unonius was born Aug. 25, 1810, in Helsing-
fors, the son of Israel Unonius, a barrister, and Maria Gardberg, his
wife. The father came of an old Swedish family in Finland, and re-
moved to SAveden when Finland was ceded to Russia. He became post-
master and revenue collector at Grisslehamn. A military career was
mapped out for the son, who at thirteen became a cadet at the Karlberg
military school. Among his comrades were C. F. Ridderstad, Georg
Adlersparre, and Wilhelm von Braun, whom he joined in literary pur-

186

THE FIRST SWEDES

suits, the results of which appeared in the literary periodicals of that
time.

Young Unonius soon left the military academy for Upsala, where
he finished his college course in 1830 and the course in law three years
later. He subsequently entered upon a course fitting him for practice
before the highest courts of the realm, but when in 1834 a cholera
epidemic caused the closing of the sessions at the university, he took a
position as assistant physician at one of the pest houses of Stockholm
and became interested in that profession. When the epidemic subsided,
he returned to Upsala to take up medical studies, but shortly after-

Gustaf Unonius

wards he again left the university to take a position in the provincial
government offices at Upsala.

In 1841 he was married to Charlotta Margareta Ohrstromer, and
soon afterwards, for reasons known only to himself, he decided to
emigrate. On May llth of that year the couple left Upsala for Gefle to
embark for America together with a small company of friends and
acquaintances. In the party were, an old maid-servant from the home
of Mrs. Unonius, Christine by name, Ivar Hagberg, a young student of
twenty-one, and a relative of Unonius by the name of Carl Groth.
According to the statement of Unonius himself, he and his company
were the first to take advantage of a recent decree granting the right
to leave the country without obtaining a special permit from the crown.

THE PINE LAKE SETTLEMENT ^7

For some reason the vessel did not get ready to weigh anchor until,
June 3rd. The vessel was named "Minnet," and its captain was C. J.
Bohlin, with whom Unonius had contracted for passage for the entire
party to the port of New York for a total sum of five hundred Swedish
crowns, the passengers to supply their own provisions. Before they got
ready to sail, still another person joined them, viz., one Vilhelm Pol-
man, a former university student. The ship carried a cargo of iron.
Having made the ports of Elsinore (Helsingor) and Portsmouth, the
vessel finally reached its destination Sept. 10th, three months and
seven days after weighing anchor. The emigrants stopped for a week

Unonius' Cabin at Pine Lake

in New York, where a Swedish merchant, named Brodell, together with
the captain, who spoke English, rendered them every assistance. In-
quiries were made as to the most suitable location for a Swedish settle-
ment, and upon learning that large tracts of cheap land were to be had
in Illinois, it was decided to settle there, whereupon arrangements were
made for transportation to Chicago at $12 a person.

They started on their journey inland Sept. 17th, going by steam-
boat up the Hudson to Albany, thence via the Erie oanal to Buffalo.
Here they encountered fresh difficulties, the captains of the lake steam-
ers refusing to recognize the validity of their tickets. Finally, through
the good offices of one Morell, a Swedish jeweler who had spent many
years in America, they were able to continue on their way, and went
by boat to Detroit. Here Hagberg separated from the company and
went to Cleveland, while the others proceeded across lakes "St. Clair,
Huron and Michigan, past Fort Mackinaw, to Milwaukee. Being now
weary of travel, and having been told that Wisconsin was preferable.

1 88 THE FIRST SWEDES

to Illinois for agricultural purposes, they determined to stop here, after
having spent two weeks on the way from New York. They took lodg-
ing at the principal hotel, where they found, first a Norwegian servant
girl with whom they were able to communicate, and later met their
countryman, Captain 0. G. Lange, who had emigrated several years
before.

After several days of rest, Unonius left the women in charge of a
German family and, accompanied by Lange, set out to inspect the
country. The date was Oct. 7, 1841. At that time Wisconsin was still
a territory, with a population estimated at 45,000. The prospectors
traveled afoot westward through forests and over prairies a distance
of thirty miles, eventually reaching the dwellingplace of a man named
Pearmain, for whom they had letters from the land office at Milwaukee.
He lived in a log cabin, the first of its kind seen by the prospective
settlers. With Pearmain as guide they traversed the surrounding
country and, after a long and wearisome journey on foot, reached the
shores of a picturesque little lake, called Pine Lake, from the fact that
its shores were fringed with pine.

The lake was about two miles in length, with sloping, well-
drained shores. .Finding the region fertile and picturesque, the travel-
ers determined to search no farther. The soil was found to be a deep
black loam, mixed with clay; near the shores of the lake, the surface
was rolling, gradually changing to a level and easily cultivated prairie.

Here the settlers determined to found their long wished for home.
They selected a tract of land owned by a canal company which, having
discontinued work on the canal, was likely to forfeit its title to the
property, and on the advice of Pearmain and Lange they staked as
their claim the west half of Section 33, Township 8, Range 18, expect-
ing to get full possession under the pre-emption law, when after two or
three years the title should revert to the government.

They now returned to Milwaukee and, having procured provisions,
the pioneers, accompanied by Mrs. Unonius and the maid-servant,
traveled back to the chosen site in a wagon, drawn by a yoke o? oxen.
The women got temporary lodging in the simple home of Pearmain,
located on the present site of the city of Delafield, and the men began
to open a road to the new homestead and to erect a loghouse. For tem-
porary shelter they built a hut of logs, piled on one another in a square,
and with a covering of dried grass. After Unonius had made another
trip to Milwaukee and purchased a stove and other indispensable
household articles, the family moved into their new home Nov. llth,
exactly six months after their departure from Upsala. Of the toil and
the trials of pioneer life these people got their full share. Although
coming from the so-called better class in the old country and being as
such unaccustomed to hard work and privations, they never lost heart.

THE PINE LAKE SETTLEMENT ^9

but labored arduously on, breaking ground, cutting down trees, build-
ing fences, patching up their dwelling, and building a shed for their
yoke of oxen and one cow. The settlers celebrated their first Christmas
in America with joy and contentment over the things already accom-
plished but with tender memories of the old home and those left behind.

The winter was bitterly cold, with severe storms and much snow,
and the cultivation of the soil could not begin until late in April. That
spring Polman, who had shared the cabin with the others, left them to
begin the practice of medicine in a more populous neighborhood a few
miles away. He had studied medicine in Sweden and proved quite
successful, possessing, as he did, a far greater knowledge of the pro-
fession than the average doctor in the West at that time.

The Swedes at Pine Lake gradually formed the acquaintance of
surrounding settlers, and in the late spring they had a visit from an
American clergyman of the Episcopal Church who had started a mission
a few miles distant.

True, these early settlers did not always have food in plenty, nor
of the most nourishing kind, but they never suffered actual want.
Game was plentiful in the surrounding forests, and occasional hunting
trips were made with good results. Fishing in the lake also proved
profitable to the family larder. The cow supplied all the milk needed,
and through barter and trade with the neighbors several pigs, a quan-
tity of corn, potatoes, rutabagas and other necessaries were procured.

One day the settlers were surprised by some very distinguished
visitors viz., Baron Thott from Skane, Mr. E. Bergvall from Goteborg,
and one Wadman, a retired merchant from Norrkoping. The baron
and Mr. Bergvall each purchased a piece of land in the neighborhood,
while Mr. Wadman returned to Milwaukee to seek employment in some
line of business. About the same time one B. Peterson, a shoemaker,
arrived, obtained lodging with TJnonius, and began to ply his trade in
the settlement.

New settlers thus kept coming, but the main influx began when
Unonius in correspondences to Swedish newspapers described the con-
ditions in Wisconsin, and especially the facilities offered emigrants to
acquire their own homes. Not only Swedes, but Norwegians and Danes
emigrated and settled there. Among the first to arrive from Sweden
was a lieutenant in the army, a good singer, who often cheered the
hearts of the colonists by singing the songs and ditties of their father-
land. Ivar Hagberg, his traveling companion, came there for a visit,
bought a piece of land, but for some reason was compelled to return to
Sweden, and never came back. Among other Swedish visitors to the
settlement about this time were one Ihrmark, a man of sixty, who had
settled in Illinois, and a man from Goteborg, by the name of 0. E.
Dreutzer. The latter lived for many years in Wisconsin, attaining a

i go

THE FIRST SWEDES

respected position in his community. Another Swede, named Erick
Wester, a veritable adventurer, whose true name was supposed to be
Westergren, visited the colony in the alleged capacity of a Methodist
minister, preaching here and there in the homes, but without note-
worthy success. Entirely destitute, he left Wisconsin in 1850 for Illi-
nois, settling in Princeton, where he fell into bad repute among his
fellow countrymen on account of repeated acts of fraud and dishonesty
in business. From Princeton he went to Dallas, Texas, and his career
is little known from that time on. This adventurer will reappear in
another part of this history.

Some time later, a student from Vestergotland, Bjorkander by
name, and a number of others arrived from Sweden and settled at Pine
Lake. Simultaneously, many Norwegians, hardy, industrious folk, but
mostly without means, came there directly from their native land. The
Swedes settled east and the Norwegians west of the lake, around whose
wooded shores thus sprang up a miniature Scandinavia. The two na-
tionalities here, as at home, had their petty differences, resulting in
frequent disputes and neighborhood quarrels. The Norwegians sur-
passed the Swedes both numercially and in point of industry and enter-
prise.

As previously indicated, the Swedish settlers were mostly of the
bourgeoisie class, such as army officers, college men, and decadent
noblemen, all of whom were unaccustomed to work in the old country
and, when driven to it by necessity in the new land, soon tired of a
task that seemed to them both odius and barren of immediate returns.
For these reasons many remained in the colony only a short time, leav-
ing for other parts in the hope of better prospects or a change of luck.
Carl Groth went to New Orleans, where he established himself as a
cigar and news dealer. The old maid-servant Christine became the wife
of a Norwegian settler and left the Unonius home to found her own
household. In this manner the settlers were dispersed ; in a short time
the founder of the settlement stood alone with his faithful wife and the
children who had grown up in the course of years. Not long after-
wards, Unonius himself deserted the colony, and the lands formerly
owned by the Swedes came into the possession of Norwegians and
Americans.

To complete the story of this historic Swedish settlement, we take
pleasure in appending some excerpts from the description given by
Fredrika Bremer, the Swedish authoress, of her visit to Pine Lake.

It was on a bright, warm Sunday morning, Sept. 29, 1850, that the
authoress arrived, accompanied by Captain Lange. The little Swedish
colony was already broken up, but a half dozen families still remained,
earning their livelihood by farming. During the one day she spent in
the settlement, several Swedish families were visited. All seemed to

THE PINE LAKE SETTLEMENT

191

be in limited circumstances, most of them living in log cabins. Among
the more fortunate ones was a blacksmith and "one Mr. Bergvall, who
had belonged to the genteel class in Sweden, but turned out an excellent
farmer on American soil." He had, continues the authoress, "the
prettiest, most charming and amiable young wife, with cheeks of a
fresh ruddiness, such as one seldom sees in America. This was a happy

Fredrika Brenier

and cheerful home, a good Swedish home in the midst of the American
wilderness. The dinner of which I partook was delicious in all its
simplicity, better than any I had eaten in the big, pretentious American
hotels. Delicious milk, excellent bread and butter, the most toothsome
seafowl, fine cakes, the hearty hospitality, the bright good cheer, and
the Swedish language well spoken by everyone, all these things com-
bined to make the simple meal a veritable feast." The widowed Mrs.
Petterson, mother of Mrs. Bergvall, lived in the oldest house in the Pine
Lake settlement. There Fredrika Bremer passed the evening and the
following night. There were gathered "one and twenty Swedes who
spent the evening with games, songs and dances, in genuine Swedish

192

THE FIRST SWEDES

fashion. I felt happy to be with these my countrymen, happy to find
them true Swedish folk still, although strangers in a strange land. And
then I read to the assembled company that pretty little Norse 'Tale
of the Pinetree, ' by H. C. Andersen, at the conclusion of which I re-
quested them to sing some Swedish folksongs. The fresh Northern
voices had lost nothing in clearness in the atmosphere of the New
World. My heart filled with tenderness as the men, with strong, clear
voices, sang: 'Upp, svear, for konung och f adernesland, ' and followed
it up with several other old patriotic anthems. Swedish hospitality I
found here as genuine, Swedish mirth and song rang as true as ever in
our native land. Finally all joined in singing the old hymn : ' Nu hvilar
hela jorden, ' whereupon all broke up, bidding each other goodbye with
firm clasping of hands and hearty good wishes. ' '

The first Swedish Lutheran clergyman in America since the time of
the Delaware colony for a time lived and labored in the Pine Lake
settlement. His name was Peter Vilhelm Bockman. He was born
Dec. 5, 1806, and was the son of a clergyman in the parish of Soder-
Hviddinge, in the province of Skane. He was graduated from college
in 1824 and entered the ministry several years later. With the aid of
private persons in Sweden, he came to this country, presumably in
1844, to minister to the spiritual wants of the Scandinavian emigrants,
and eventually drifted to the settlement at Pine Lake. Without suc-
cess, he sought to unite the settlers into one congregation, thereby caus-
ing a conflict with Unonius. After having vainly sought admission to
the American Episcopal Church, he visited various Swedish settlements
as a traveling physician, having studied medicine in his youth. Finally
he returned to Sweden, where he died in Goteborg, Oct. 3, 1850.
Bockman seems to have been a man actuated by pure motives but lack-
ing in energy and the genius of organization, qualities indispensable to
a clergyman, especially in the days of the pioneers.

Before concluding this sketch, we are constrained to add that the
letters of Unonius, which appeared in Swedish newspapers, besides
inducing emigration by members of the Swedish bourgeoisie, caused a
company of fifty persons to emigrate from Haurida, in Smaland. The
voyage was made in the sailing vessel "Superior" which landed them
at Boston after ten weeks. All but one traveled from Boston to She-
boygan, Wis., and thence scattered to various parts of the state. Next
to that of Unonius, this was the earliest company of Swedish emigrants
during the eighteenth century.

Unonius and his family at length removed to Chicago. His further
career will be recounted later in connection with the history of the
Swedish Episcopal Church in Illinois. We now proceed to tell the
story of another member of the Pine Lake colony, one who, like

P. VON SCHNEIDAU I93

Unonius, was destined to play a prominent part among the earliest
Swedes in Illinois.

P. von Schneidau, First Swedish Vice-Consul in Chicago

Polycarpus von Schneidau was born in 1812, being the son of
Major von Schneidau of Kisa, Ostergotland. While still a very young
man, he was enrolled in the Svea Artillery, and was soon made lieuten-
ant. As such, he served at Fort Vaxholm during the summer of 1833,
when he became one of the chief actors in an episode which attracted
much attention at the time.

That summer certain naval surveys were carried on in the Baltic
sea by the mutual agreement between the Swedish and the Russian
governments. The chief of the Russian section, M. Schubert, when the
operations brought them near Stockholm, expressed a desire to visit
the Swedish capital. King Charles XIV. John granted the request and
sent orders to Col. Anders Israel Pancheen, the commander at Fort
Vaxholm, to permit the Russian flagship "Hercules" to pass the fort
unmolested. The royal orders, however, did not relieve the ship of the
ordinary duties of warcraft, such as laying to under the walls of a
fort in order to report to its commander and show its papers.

So one day a warship hove in sight in the channel and approached
Vaxholm with a full head of steam. The Russian flag designated it?.
nationality, but nothing served to indicate that it was the "Hercules."
When the steamer got within reach of the guns of the fort, still going
with full speed, it was signaled to stop, but paid no attention to the
warning. This was a breach of international naval law and a gratui-
tous insult to the flag that waved above the ramparts of the Swedish
fort. Consequently, the commander ordered Lieutenant von Schneidau
to open fire on the foreigner. Two shots were fired as a warning, but
without the desired effect. The man of war steamed ahead undis-
turbed. Then the commander ordered the lieutenant to aim at the
wheelhouse of the intruder and fire. The order was carried out to the
letter. Lieutenant von Schneidau himself fired the shot, which shat-
tered the wheelhouse of the "Hercules" into smithereens. Consterna-
tion reigned on deck, and a few moments later a boat shot out from the
side of the damaged ship and made directly for shore under the walls
of the fort. An officers stepped ashore, hurried to the commander and
explained indignantly that the vessel was the "Hercules," which had
permission to pass. Col. Pancheen shrugged his shoulders and ex-
pressed regret at not being informed of the fact in the regular way. A
quarter of an hour after the Russian officer had returned on board, two
boats, one from the fort, the other from the "Hercules," started in a
race for Stockholm. In the former was Lieutenant von Schneidau, in
the latter the same officer who had carried the message to the fort. The

194

THE FIRST SWEDES

Swedish lieutenant urged his men to the utmost exertion, and won the
race. Arriving in Stockholm, he hastened to Count Magnus Brahe,
the king's interpreter and confidential adviser, told his story, and
requested the count to repeat it to the king. Count Brahe, greatly
excited, at once sought the presence of his majesty. A few moments
later. Lieutenant von Schneidau was called in and asked to give a
minute account of what had transpired. When he told of the effective
shot at the foreigner's wheelhouse, the old monarch showed signs of

Polycarpus von Schneidau

pleasure and requested the narrator to carry back a royal greeting to
Col. Pancheen and tell him that he had acted like a man and that the
king was entirely satisfied with the affair. When von Schneidau left
the royal palace, he met the Russian minister, accompanied by the
officer from the " Hercules," hurrying to lodge their complaints with
the same high tribunal.

Lieutenant von Schneidau was a gallant officer, eminently fitted for
his calling, nevertheless, his military career was soon interrupted. He
was compelled to resign and leave his country almost a fugitive, not on
account of any crime, but for the mere act of marrying a Jewess below

P. VON SCHNEIDAU

195

his station in life, and thereby, as it was held, putting a blot on the
honor of the military corps. It Avill be remembered that at this time
the Jews did not enjoy the rights and the social position and privileges
in Sweden since accorded them. Lieutenant von Schneidau had an
early acquaintance with Unonius, and in 1842 joined his little colony,
purchasing a piece of land at the south end of the lake. His wife and
her mother arrived later and for a time all found a home in the log
cabin of Unonius.

The young officer's prospects of success here were scant. He was
not fitted for farming, an old injury to one of his legs incapacitating
him for physical labor. Circumstances conspired against him, and in
1845 he removed to Chicago, where he hoped more easily to earn a
living. His presumption proved correct. Being a skillful civil engi-
neer, he soon obtained profitable employment. When in 1848 work be-
gan on the first railroad out of Chicago, the Chicago and Galena Rail-
way, now a branch of the Northwestern system, von Schneidau was
made superintendent of construction. On her American tour under
the management of P. T. Barnum, in 1850. Jenny Lind, the great
singer, furnished von Schneidau the money wherewith to purchase a
French daguerreotype apparatus with supplies, and he then established
a daguerreotype studio, the first of its kind in Chicago and, doubtless,
in the entire West. He thus became the pioneer photographer in this
part of the country.

After Swedish and Norwegian immigration to Chicago and vicinity
had acquired greater proportions in the early fifties, von Schneidau
was appointed Swedish and Norwegian vice consul here in 1854, being
the first to hold that office. His official duties he discharged with the
greatest efficiency. The numerous immigrants, many of whom were
poor or afflicted with sickness, found in him a friend and benefactor.
In his work for the welfare of his countrymen he had in his faithful
wife an able assistant, who has been described as a loveable and noble-
hearted woman.

Von Schneidau 's illness was gradually aggravated, and soon he was
unable to attend to his consular duties. He consequently resigned the
office, to which his old friend Unonius succeeded. On Dec. 28, 1859,
von Schneidau died, not quite forty-eight years of age. His wife had
passed away the year before. This venerable pair is still cherished in
loving remembrance by the early Swedish citizens of Chicago.

As the letters of Unonius, published in the newspapers of the old
country, had caused the exodus of a company of emigrants from
Smaland, so von Schneidau 's letters to his father in Kisa, Ostergotland,
early induced emigration from that part of Sweden. The contents of
these letters were reported far and wide throughout the neighborhood,
giving rise to much speculation as to the great West and the promises

196 THE FIRST SWEDES

it held out to settlers. Discussion soon ripened into decision with some
of the most determined ones, who emigrated under the leadership of
one Peter Hassel, a miller. Besides Hassel, the company consisted of
Peter Andersson, his brother-in-law, one John Danielson, a Mr. Berg,
and an old sailor by the name of Dahlberg, the last two from Stock-
holm, and one Akerman, who had served in the American army, making
five families ail told. They made the voyage in 1845 in the brig
"Superb," embarking at Goteborg and landing at New York. Their
original intention was to go to Wisconsin, presumably to Pine Lake,
but in New York they were told that they could find more suitable soil
in Iowa, so they changed their destination. They traveled first to
Philadelphia, thence to Pittsburg, where they took passage on a steamer
down the Ohio River, and then proceeded up the Mississippi as far as
Burlington, Iowa. From that point they journeyed forty-two miles
over the country and founded New Sweden, in Jefferson county, the
first Swedish settlement in Iowa. During the following years new
groups of immigrants from the same part of Sweden kept continually
coming; soon there sprang up neighboring settlements known as Swede
Point, in Boone county, and Bergholm, in Wapello county. This opened
the way to the influx of Swedes into Iowa during the subsequent dec-
ades, both directly from the old country and from the earlier settle-
ments in Illinois.

CHAPTER IV.

The Bishop Hill Colony

ILarly History of EriH. Janssonism

BOUT 1840, there arose in Helsingland, Sweden, a
peculiar religious sect, named Erik Janssonists from the
founder, a farmer by the name of Erik Jansson. In
order that the reader may fully understand the origin of
the sect, it is necessary to describe briefly the religious
conditions in that province just before and at the time of Erik Jans-
son's public appearance.

At that time spiritual decadence was general throughout Helsing-
land. Whisky distilling, as yet a lawful business for the peasantry,
was carried on at almost every farmhouse, and drunkenness aided in
brutalizing the minds and destroying domestic happiness. Particularly
were the young people notorious for their unlicensed behavior. Brawls,
thefts, and nocturnal orgies were common occurrences. The sturdiness
and immutability characteristic of the Helsingland peasantry by no
means served to mollify their brutality. Indeed, there were many
outwardly pious folk, but their piety consisted primarily in observing
certain religious customs, such as attending divine worship and par-
taking of the Lord's Supper. Many of the ministers were persons who
made light of their duties as keepers of the flock. The majority of
them lived a life of outward decency, but others showed even in their
manners by what spirit they were governed, and not a few were steeped
in drunkenness; others were so absorbed in political and municipal
affairs or in agricultural pursuits that they neglected the duties of
their calling.

In all this spiritual darkness, however, there were certain glimpses
of light. For half a century the province had been the field of religious
movements of various kinds, and although these had resulted in strife
and disruption in many places, yet in a part of the population here and
there in the villages they had awakened and sustained a true Christian
life. The better class of ministers took an intelligent view of these

I9 8 THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

movements and encouraged them so far as seemed permissible. Here
as elsewhere the pietistic movement, or revivalism, resulted in religious
gatherings, called conventicles. People began to gather in private
houses for mutual edification, devoting themselves to singing and pray-
ing, studying the Word of God, and discoursing on religious subjects.
These gatherings were styled "samlingar" (meetings), and the par-
ticipants were nicknamed "lasare" (readers), for their zealous study
of religious books. The same name was soon applied to the follow-
ers of any revivalist movement in Sweden, no matter what was its
origin.

While several of the more earnest and devoted clergymen allied
themselves with the "readers," watched over their meetings, and
guided them in their Bible studies and their worship, the worldly-
minded portion of the clergy took either an indifferent or an inimical
position anent the movement. Instead of endeavoring, through instruc-
tion and a kindly disposition, to lead aright the souls .that felt spiritual
hunger and thirst, they looked upon the conventicles as dangerous
manifestations of dissension which ought to be suppressed by the aid of
the law. In many instances the so-called Conventicle Placard* of 1726
was used as a means to this end. These attempts to assuage by injunc-
tions and fines the thirst for spiritual enlightenment, which the people
sought to quench at the fountain of Holy Writ and other religious
writings, since the average clergyman offered them no other spiritual
nourishment than the ordinary sermons, which the common people
found dry and incomprehensible, seemed to the "readers" harsh and
unreasonable ; and there was justice in their complaint over the fact
that while gatherings in private houses for the purpose of gambling,
dancing, and other worldly pleasures were left unmolested, it was
considered a crime to hold private meetings to praise and worship God.

In defiance of the letter of the law, the "readers" held their
private religious meetings, taking the ground that so long as they were
not guilty of heresy, the law did not apply. Holding as they did that
the preaching of an unregenerate clergy could bear no good fruit, they
recognized ministers of proven piety only. Although the conventicle
law charged the clergy with the duty of conducting meetings in private
houses, yet devout ministers who took the conventicles in their own
hands would frequently incur the disfavor of the consistories, and
worldly-minded or bigoted clergymen usually led in the persecution
of the ' ' readers. ' '

It is not surprising that members of congregations having such
ministers sought to satisfy their spiritual cravings by reading such

* A law designed to prevent the spread of heresy by forbidding all religious
gatherings not conducted by the clergy, or by parents, employers or heads of
households exclusively for their own families and subordinates. Infractions were
punishable by fines, imprisonment and banishment.

ERIK JANSSONISM I99

religious books as they had and by listening to preachers who arose
from among the common people and claimed to give that which the
clergy was unable to bestow. The bitter attacks made by some of the
pietist writers ofttimes begot a fanatical hatred of the established
church forms, and their criticisms of the conduct of the clergy
frequently gave rise to wholesale denunciations of the state church.

The consequences of these religious movements were not slow to
manifest themselves. In the parishes where the clergy had taken active
part in the revival and gained the confidence of the "readers" by
superintending and participating in the meetings, a considerable portion
of the population soon became well versed in the Scriptures and capable
of successfully combating any false teachings that self-appointed
preachers might attempt to spread ; but in many places the peasantry
had been left entirely to themselves and had become accustomed to
listen to revivalist preachers of various kinds, men of the working class,
often without culture or experience, but endoAved with a certain readi-
ness of speech and an ample measure of self-assertiveness, who claimed
to have become regenerated and to be under the direct guidance of the
Holy Spirit. By their hideous depictions of hell and the sufferings of the
condemned, and by scathing denunciations of all those whose views
differed from their own, they contrived to hold their followers
completely in their .power, and masses of people followed them untir-
ingly from place to place, from parish to parish. The "readers"
possessed a certain amount of scriptural knowledge, but their reading
was generally limited to modern religious writings; the Bible, being
considered too difficult a book for the unlettered, was read only in
exceptional cases or brought out as authority, when, in the meetings,
some one sought to clinch some particular assertion or give added force
to an admonition. For these reasons the revivalism of the Helsingland
parishes was misdirected and became one-sided. It was not always
characterized by that spiritual soundness, vitality, self-sacrificing love,
kindness and forbearance, inseparable from the true life of faith, but
frequently bred bigotry, intolerance, hypocrisy and self-righteousness.

These conditions had paved the way for a lay preacher of extra-
ordinary power, who at first taught in full accord with the doctrines,
though not the practices, of the state church and the beliefs of the
"readers," but soon departed from the tenets of both, headed a new
sect, was charged with heresy and presently found himself in open
warfare with the authorities of church and state. This religious leader.
a rather remarkable character in Swedish church history, was Erik
Jansson farmer, preacher, self-styled prophet, ambassador of God
and restorer of the true Christian faith.

200 THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

EriK Jansson's Yo\itK and First Public Appearance

Erik Jansson was born December 19, 1808, in the village of Lands-
berga, in Biskopskulla parish, Upland. His parents, Jan Mattsson, a
farmer, and his wife Sara Eriksson, lived in Thorstuna, but after their
marriage in 1802 they rented a small farm in Landsberga. To them
were born four sons, Johan, Erik, Peter and Karl, and one daughter,
Anna Katarina. In 1820 they moved back to Thorstuna, and lived there
until 1838, when Jan Mattsson, who had improved his condition materi-
ally by diligent application, purchased a farm, called Klockaregarden,
in Osterunda parish of the same province, where he lived with his
family until his death in November, 1843, the estate then passing to his
children. His boyhood and youth Erik Jansson spent at home. As a
boy of eight, he was one day engaged in doing some hauling, when the
horse took fright and ran away, overturning the wagon and throwing
the boy violently to the ground, at which he received so hard a blow
on the head that for several weeks he hovered between life and death.
For many years after his recovery the boy suffered from severe head-
aches. This accident seemed to have had a marked effect on his mind.
After that he was different from other children of his age, he avoided
his former companions, and sought out some secluded spot where he
would spend hours in tearful prayer. He claimed to be the most
unhappy of children, for he could not, like them, join with zest in games
and amusements. At the age of seventeen, he was prepared for admit-
tance to the holy communion. To him this was a period of comparative
peace of mind; the youth sought spiritual solace in the reading of the
Bible and other religious books. However, he soon ceased, and when
his old fears returned he vainly endeavored to dissipate them by joining
the young people in dancing parties and similar amusements.

The parents resented the "silly notions" of their son and kept him
hard at work, thinking that this would cure him. But the remedy had
quite the contrary effect. He continued his melancholy ponderings and,
besides, was taken physically ill with a severe attack of rheumatism.
Things went on in this way until the summer of 1830, when Erik
Jansson experienced his conversion proper. While on his way to the
field one day with his father's horse, he had an acute attack of his com-
plaint. Dismounting, he fell to the ground and lay for a while
helpless. Then, according to his own assertion, he heard a voice,
saying: "It is written, whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing, that
ye shall receive, for all is possible to him that believeth ; and when ye
cry, I shall answer, saith the Lord." At that he arose to his knees
and prayed long and fervently ; and from that moment he was entirely
rid of his malady.

In another sense, that moment was of still greater significance to
Erik Jansson, for then and there his spiritual conversion was accom-

ERIK JANSSONISM 2OI

plished, according to the narrative found in his autobiography. Sorely
oppressed by his burden of sin, here in the solitude, he fled to Christ
and felt that he had obtained remission of his sins and mental peace.

It is impossible to ascertain how complete was this regeneration,
but that it was not a mere sham seems evident from the discourses on
divine themes written by him about this time. However, Erik Jansson
was not satisfied with the fact that he himself was awakened to
spiritual life; he wanted others to be similarly awakened and, there-
fore, began the very next day after his conversion to preach the gospel
to those about him. He continued preaching thus for four years.
Meanwhile he sought, by home study, to add to his stock of knowledge,
particularly as regards religious topics. Although Erik Jansson spent
much time in reading, still he did not neglect his work, since he pur-
sued his studies mostly at night. His favorite studies, aside from the
Bible, were the works of Luther, Arndt, Nohrborg, Murbeck and other
religious writers, with whom he thus became thoroughly familiar.

These studies, however, imbued Erik Jansson with a true sense of
his own insignificance in the field of Lutheran teaching, so he deter-
mined to discontinue preaching altogether. It was especially from
reading "True Christianity," by Johan Arndt, that he was, at least
for a time, cured of his desire to preach, for he found a passage
in that work admonishing people to stick to their calling instead of
seeking to become the teachers of others.

About this time, Erik Jansson married Maria Kristina Larsson, a
servant to his parents, who, like himself, was a devoted student of the
Bible. The parents obstinately opposed the match for a long time,
until circumstances forced them to permit the union. At this they
took still greater offense, and when the son set up his own household
they dismissed him curtly, a cow and a pig being the only dower.
He was not discouraged, but began life on his own account by renting
part of a farm in Vappeby, also going into business in a small way as a
grain dealer in company with his oldest brother. He soon earned the
reputation of being the best farmer in the neighborhood, and in spite
of several crop failures he had done so well that in 1838 he was able to
purchase the Lotorp estate, near Sankarby, in Osterunda parish, for
one thousand crowns in cash. Here he is said to have lived in quiet
seclusion for a time, working diligently on the farm, and trying to
live the life of a humble Christian. At times, however, his former
desire to preach returned, when he would publicly expound the
Scriptures with power and ability, acquired doubtless through his
extensive reading.

The ILriH. Jansson Dissenters

In the year 1840 occurred what Erik Jansson himself has termed
his second conversion. Together with his youngest brother, Karl, he

2O2

THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

went to the October fair in Upsala to sell cattle. The rowdy and
ungodly conduct of the people attending the fair impressed him in a
manner to awaken anew his desire to preach. Upon his return home,
he consulted his pastor, Rev. J. J. Risberg, in the matter and from him
received the advice to follow the inner call. About this time he
deserted Luther, Arndt, as well as all other religious authors, for
which he conceived an intense hatred, and kept to the Bible alone.
Then he noted the overwhelming power and simplicity of Holy Writ,
as compared with other writings, and he soon acquired the fixed con-
viction that the Bible alone ought to be read.* In the community where

<W ^^^^^^(Jla^u^ja, . W&r-i; 7/tu L*Ja^ <ya/

r_ '^W + x V / / '/ /0

< duast^^&^??^0ft?+e^ (i / tjb^%&&tv

Fac-Simile of Page from Erik Jansson's Church Prayers

he lived were held meetings at which Erik Jansson often appeared
together with Risberg. This man as w T ell as C. C. Estenberg, the
adjunct clergyman of the parish, publicly lauded Erik Jansson in the
most cordial terms, giving him every encouragement to continue his
activity.

* It will be noticed that he soon changed his mind on this point, by publish-
ing books of his own From wholesale condemnation of other printed interpreta-
tions of the Bible to the publication of his own, the step was easy for Erik Jans-
son, on the ground that his was the divine and only true interpretation.

ERIK JANSSONISM 203

Erik Jansson's religious discourses soon began to show marked
divergences from the doctrines of the Church of Sweden. He taught
complete freedom from sin on the part of the true believer, maintained
the full and complete sanctification of the Christian once and for all,
his inability to do wrong and still remain a Christian, and held that
the trespasses spoken of in the Lord's Prayer have reference only to
the unregenerate. This was Erik Jansson's first serious departure in
doctrine. He defended his view by means of an ingenious combination
of scriptural passages, an art which he had completely mastered. He
further aroused the opposition of the clergy by claiming to be sent as
the special messenger of God to restore the true faith.*

By these contentions he aroused much adverse sentiment in
(Jsterunda. The rumor that the "readers" were very numerous
in Helsingland gave him the idea that there he might find
a more receptive field of operation than at home. For the
alleged purpose of selling wheat flour, but really to gain a better
knowledge of the religious movements in those parts, he made a trip to
Helsingland in January, 1843,f accompanied by a hired man. Arriving
at Soderala socken, at that time one of the hotbeds of revivalism, he
first made inquiries whether there were any prominent religious teachers
in that locality and was promptly referred to the peasant Jonas Olsson
of Ina, who, together with his brother Olof Olsson of Kingsta, was
a revivalist leader in the parish. Erik Jansson and his companion
obtained lodging at the house of the former over night. They arrived
on a Saturday evening. Erik Jansson at once declared himself one of
the faithful, receiving, nevertheless, a somewhat cool reception at the
hands of the devout Jonas Olsson. The following morning the married
sister of the host came to purchase some flour, but Erik Jansson refused
to do business on the Sabbath. This Jonas Olsson accepted as proof
positive that the visitor was a true "reader," and adopted a more
amiable manner toward the stranger. Such was the first meeting
between these two men, who soon were to have so many weighty
interests in common.

That Sunday morning Erik Jansson accompanied the host and his
family to church, and in the evening they attended a meeting held in
the neighborhood. Although requested by Jonas Olsson to rise and
speak to the assemblage, Erik Jansson sat quiet in his seat. After their
return home, the two men had a conversation regarding the meeting,
which the stranger said was not at all to his liking, because he had

* His usual public declarations on this point were these: "The new doctrine
I teach is of God; I am sent by God; since the time of the Apostles there has been
no true preacher before me."

f This accords with all writers consulted, except Eric Johnson and C. F.
Peterson, who say, "in the spring of 1842." If a trip was made prior to 1843, it
was of no apparent consequence.

204 THE BISHOP HI LL COLONY

detected that the participants did not hold themselves to the Bible
alone. At the meeting a portion had been read out of a postil and
subsequently expounded. "What kind of Christianity is this you
have?" Erik Jansson inquired sternly. The next morning he repri-
manded Jonas Olsson for not conducting household worship. Hereby
Erik Jansson made a profound impression on his host, and from that
time the latter and his brother Olof became stanch supporters of Erik
Jansson and pillars of his sect. From his own diary it appears that
Erik Jansson felt great inner satisfaction at having got even with Jonas
Olsson for the haughty manner in which he was received at his first
meeting with the peasant preacher.

Erik Jansson now continued his journey northward. In the next
parish, Norrala, he met Per Norin, a blacksmith, who was the virtual
leader of the "readers" in that locality. His first conversation with
Erik Jansson convinced him that the latter was an impostor. When
they parted he exacted a promise from him never to return. This
exasperated Erik Jansson to such an extent that he broke forth in
execrations over the community of Norrala. Erik Jansson now
journeyed on through Enanger, Njutanger, Hudiksvall and Helsing-
tuna, preaching everywhere and generally winning large numbers over
to his views. This may be accounted for partly by the fact that he
deviated only slightly from the tenets held by the "readers" in these
parts, but what mostly impressed the multitudes was his ability to
speak for four or five hours without signs of exhaustion, his abnormal
memory, enabling him to quote almost any passage of the Bible at will,
and his forcible advocacy of the Bible as the only source from which
truth may be derived. For the time being, he shrewdly concealed his
antipathy to the writings of Luther, Arndt, Nohrborg and others.
After visiting Helsingtuna he returned home, Jonas Olsson accompany-
ing him as far as Gefle. Here several meetings were held, at which
Jonas Olsson invariably was loud in his praise of Erik Jansson. When
in the middle of February he arrived home to Osterunda, he was
warmly received by ' Risberg, who, however, warned him against
spiritual arrogance.

Erik Jansson 's impressions of conditions in Helsingland were so
favorable that he returned there in the latter part of February the
same year. From Soderala he journeyed northward together with
Jonas Olsson to Enanger, Njutanger and Hudiksvall, but did not meet
with the same degree of success as on his former visit. His explanation
of this was that the "readers" in Norrala were opposing him, but the
real reason was found in his more open departures from the teachings
of the state church and his bitter attacks upon the revivalism of
the "readers" and the clergymen who upheld it. Disgusted with his
meager success, he determined to seek other fields for his labors, and,

ERIK JANSSONISM

205

with a girl from Delsbo, Karin Ersson of Nyaker, acting as his guide,
he went to Forssa. From there he went to Bjuraker, where at first he
was well received by A. G. Sefstrom, the parson. But this friendship
did not last, so Erik Jansson soon returned to Forssa, where he was
carrying on a vigorous propaganda during the latter part of March.

Jonas Olson, Trustee and Preacher, in his Later Years

Accompanied by the girl Karin and a few other women followers
he went from place to place, preaching many times a day. The audi-
ences grew apace. His fiery invectives against the general indiffer-
ence on the part of the spiritual guardians of the people mightily
increased his popularity. Yet there were those who opposed him, the
principal opponent being a woman, Karin Jonsson from Utnas, who
traveled from village to village antagonizing and disproving Erik Jans-
son's statements. As a result there arose a vast amount of controversy
over the question of Erik Jansson 's divine mission. His vindictiveness

206 THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

gained the day, however, convincing the majority of the zealots that
he was the special messenger of God.

Late in March Erik Jansson left Forssa. After a brief stay in
Soderala, which brought him many converts, he reached Osterunda at
the end of April. During his absence the "readers" had gained so
great accessions that the king's bailiff of the district was moved to have
an announcement read in the Osterunda church threatening the in-
stigators of the movement with arrest and fines, did they not discon-
tinue their meetings. Risberg, who had encouraged these gatherings,
was warned to desist and urged to counteract the movement by means
of special biblical exegeses in church and the introduction of private
worship in the homes. These warnings were not given without cause,
for tumults had actually occurred in connection with the numerous
meetings. Erik Jansson was also met by the news that in his absence
part of his personal property had been carried away by thieves and
that his wife had been harshly treated by his parents. To add to his
misfortunes, Risberg, in consequence of warnings received, had now
turned against him.

Erik Jansson now staid at home for two months, attending to the
spring work on his farm. About midsummer, he claimed to have
received the same kind of a revelation that King Solomon had, accord-
ing to I. Kings 3 : 5. Like King Solomon, Erik Jansson then prayed for
"an understanding heart to judge thy (God's) people, that I may
distinguish good from bad," and claimed to have been given, like
Solomon of old, an understanding heart in response to his prayer.

Shortly after midsummer, Erik Jansson made another journey to
Helsin gland. This time he traveled through Hanebo, Bollnas and
Jerfso to Delsbo and Forssa, in which latter locality he went about
holding meetings in the pasture fields. In these parishes he spoke with
great assurance, claiming, as a result of the new revelation, ' ' greater
light than ever before." At a meeting in Delsbo he announced that he
and Rev. Estenberg from Osterunda were collaborating on a new trans-
lation of the Bible, for which he was now taking subscriptions.

He had unbounded confidence in himself. In order to command still
greater respect among his followers, he attempted to imitate the Savior
and his apostles by performing miracles. In Svedja. Delsbo parish,
there was an old maid-servant who had been bedridden for years. When
Erik Jansson learned of this he at once went to her bedside in order to
cure her. Standing close to the sickbed he commanded the woman to
take him by the hand and repeat the words, "I believe," when she
would be instantly cured. She did as she was told, but without any
effect whatever; nevertheless Erik Jansson turned to the bystanders
praising God for what had been done, saying he had driven out the

ERIK JANSSONISM 207

devil and quoting the words, "Today hath salvation come unto this
household."

In Kalkbo, Forssa parish, there was a young man aged twenty-
nine, a cripple who had been bedridden from his childhood. After
having made the house his headquarters for some time, Erik Jansson
attempted to heal him in a. miraculous manner. He predicted that on
midsummer day (1844) the young man, suddenly cured of the malady,
would "leap like a young deer." The invalid and his family firmly
believed this, and clothes were ordered for him, but when the day
arrived, there was no perceptible change in his condition. The failure
cost Erik Jansson a number of adherents, and the house was closed to
him from that day.*

During a drouth in the early summer of 1845 Erik Jansson gave it
out that there would be no rain for three years and six months, as a
result of his prayers to that effect. When in July the drouth was
broken by rain, Erik Jansson attempted to save his reputation as a
prophet by explaining that out of pity for the people he had averted
the wrath of God with a new prayer.

On his return to Osterunda, he was met by opposition in many
quarters. Then he determined to sell his farm and remove to Helsing-
land to remain permanently among his followers there. He sacrificed
Lotorp for 900 crowns for that purpose, but his father having died, he
went to live on the paternal estate until April, 1844, before removing
permanently to Helsingland. On this journey he went to Bollnas
and thence to Delsbo and Forssa. About this time Erik Jansson
began his so-called "apostolic pilgrimages." At first he was
followed only by women, but soon men also joined him at the meetings,
sitting in a semi-circle around him as a kind of jury, testifying to the
truth of everything he said. Urged by several of his followers, Erik
Jansson now extended his operations to Alfta parish, in western Hel-
singland. Here he discovered a very grateful field for his labors, it
having been prepared beforehand by traveling evangelists, who had
held meetings of a Methodist character, so that Erik Jansson 's doctrine
of freedom from sin was not entirely new to the people. Besides,
license and contempt for the clergy were prevalent in the localities
where the so-called "readers" were numerous.

Under such circumstances it was but natural that the inhabitants
of Alfta would be impressed by Erik Jansson 's spirited antagonism of
the established church. They were influenced all the more easily by his
strong insistence on their reading the Bible to the exclusion of all other
religious books. Step by step marked his departure from the estab-
lished faith. Gradually he began to pose among them as being especially

* This and the following instance are cited by Landgren.

208 THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

inspired by the Holy Spirit and set up his claim as the restorer of the
pure Christian faith.

Having gained the greatest number of followers in northern Hel-
singland, he decided to make his home there. With his wife and two
children, Erik and Mathilda, he moved to Forssa in April, 1844, shortly
afterward purchasing from Jon Olsson of Stenbo the right of home-
stead at Lumnas, a torp, or tenancy, subject to Stenbo. This marked
a new epoch in the career of Erik Jansson. Prior to this, he had
merely been preaching to his followers, who were scattered throughout
the different parishes. Now these began to form a party or sect of
their own, known as the Erik Janssonists, their leader simultaneously
adopting the title of Prophet and assuming the authority of dictator
and lawmaker for his faithful. One of his first mandates was to
prohibit them from attending the regular church services, commanding
them, instead, to be present at the meetings now regularly conducted
by him.

The clergy and the civil authorities, considering the attitude now
assumed by Erik Jansson all too defiant, called a meeting of the parish-
ioners of Forssa. It was resolved to petition the provincial govern-
men to have him arrested as a vagrant and brought back to
his home parish. Meanwhile, Erik Jansson went to the southern part
of the province, operating mostly in Alfta, with brief excursions to
Ofvanaker, Bollnas and Soderala. He held meetings everywhere,
posing as the "God-sent prophet," "the greatest light since the time
of the Apostles," "the restorer of the true faith," etc. Almost every-
where he was received with high enthusiasm, and great masses,
especially the "readers," believed him blindly. He had now entirely
abandoned the caution observed earlier in his career, and when charged
with preaching doctrines different from his earlier teachings, he
replied in the words of St. Paul, that he had "desired to win them
over by cunning." The theory of sinlessness was all along the central
theme in his doctrine. To anyone who ventured to protest against the
teaching or to dispute the divine mission of the teacher, he had the set
retort: "Thou art of the devil," or, "Thy faith is of the devil,"
proving the statement by the assertion : "It is written in the Scriptures,
the devils believe likewise, with fear." The way of salvation as pointed
out by Erik Jansson grew the more free and easy according as the
number of proselytes increased. Reduced to its simplest terms it was
to confess one's belief in the prophet. Hardened sinners, who showed
no sign of repentance, are said to have been shriven in this manner:
at the meetings he embraced the new converts, with the query,
"Wouldst thou be saved?" If the answer was, "Yes," he gave the
immediate assurance, "Thou art saved," and Avrote the name of the
convert in a book.

ERIK JANSSONISM 209

The suppressive measures of the authorities were like an at-
tempt to fight fire with oil. They served to increase the ardor of his
adherents and caused them to gather all the closer around their leader,
declaring that no evil should ever befall him. They loudly protested
that he was sent by God and threatened blodshed, should the authori-
ties violate his person. So far did they go in their devotion that they
promised to follow him in death and even into hell, should that be his
ultimate goal.

The alleged sinless state of the believers gave them great latitude
in the matter of behavior. The prophet permitted himself the ut-
most freedom of conduct, and his relations with his women followers
were not always above reproach. In the spring and summer of 1843
the aforesaid Karin Ersson traveled about with him, moved by religious
infatuation. She had implicit confidence in this "man of God" until he
began to pay her such attentions as seemed to her improper in a married
man. When she upbraided him, he would own to being tempted and
pray for deliverance from temptation, only to repeat the indecency
with growing boldness. When at length he made her a shameless
proposition outright and was promptly repulsed, he made the insidious
reply: "Yes, but as a true believer in my Savior, Jesus Christ, I might
do this without sinning." He adjured her not to say a word about
the incident, as that would be committing a grievous sin, and the girl
kept the matter secret for some time. When she finally made known
his conduct, the prophet broke into a towering wrath and publicly
denounced her as a liar and a vixen, praying that God might "add
iniquity unto her iniquity." Some time in the winter of 1844, in the
presence of one Isak Rudolphi and five women, one a follower of the
prophet, Erik Jansson admitted the truth of the charge made by Karin
Ersson, as attested by the six witnesses in a signed document dated at
Delsbo, May 6, 1844.* Subsequently the prophet alternately denied
the confession, charged that the girl had been the guilty party, that he
had merely wished to put her to a test, or that his own evil desire had
been sent as a punishment from God.

In March, 1844, Erik Jansson visited Alfta at the invitation of
certain women, including an unmarried woman of Broddlagret, Bollnas,
who also had been his traveling companion. During his sojourn here
the prophet, his former companion and another woman from Bollnas
shared the same room at night. The villagers led a simple life and
were no sticklers on decorum, but this could not pass without comment.
One woman, who with her husband was then devoted to the prophet,

* Landgren: Erik-Jansismen, p. 29.

210 THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

afterwards said of Erik Jansson and the Bollnas girl: "Their wanton
and unchaste behavior made me blush on behalf of our sex."

At Hamre, Forssa parish, Erik Jansson one morning just before
opening a meeting had a frolic with two or three girls, who had
accompanied him from Alfta. His wife, who was present, took offense
and a disagreement ensued, witnessed by a number of the worshipers.
Before these the prophet justified himself in this wise, "Because ye
lack faith, all this befalls me ; faith is not in you, therefore Satan hath
been empowered to winnow her like wheat."

Erik Jansson 's moral character once stained, his enemies sought to
paint the man entirely black. Other rumors were set afloat impeaching
his private and public conduct, but they are branded as false by the
same authority upon which the above incidents have been quoted.
The latter were enough to bring the prophet into ill repute with the
general public, but the faith of his adherents remained unshaken. He
declared himself perfect and holy, like God himself, and they took him
at his word. Even granting the truth of the damaging evidence, some
still held him blameless, maintaining that the heart had no part in the
doings of the flesh.

Many iniquities were committed against the prophet and his
adherents in the name of the law. One of the most flagrant outrages
was perpetrated in August, 1844, at Klockaregarden, Osterunda, by
the parish vicar, N. A. Arenander, one of Erik Jansson 's bitterest
enemies. Shortly after the return of the latter from his fourth apostolic
pilgrimage to Helsin gland, his adherents in Osterunda met one night in
Klockaregarden, the house of Olof Stenberg. Sophia Sjon, an ardent
believer in the prophet, was staying there. At midnight Arenander
arrived, with a number of men, and demanded entry. This being
refused, the door was forced. On the pretense of searching for Erik
Jansson the minister, who is said to have been drunk at the time,
entered the bedchamber, where Sofia Sjon and Anna Maria Strale slept.
He pulled the former out of bed, tore handfuls of hair from her head,
pushed her out to the men in her night garment, and after finishing his
vain search through the house, brought the woman half dressed as a
prisoner to the sheriff's house in Thorstuna, a neighboring village.
To justify his action, the parson charged the woman with vagrancy,
but the officer promptly ordered her release. The injured woman
brought suit against the vicar for disturbing the peace, assault and
battery, false arrest, and sundry minor offenses, for all of which crimes
and misdemeanors she sought damages and urged one year's imprison-
ment and fines. At the preliminary hearing the charges were fully
substantiated by five witnesses. The defendant impeached the wit-
nesses on the ground that they belonged to the "readers" and were
not church members in good standing, and accordingly the court

ERIK JANSSONISM 211

declared two of the witnesses incompetent. The case was continued,
and during preparation for the exodus to America it seems to have
been dropped. This same Arenander was a tireless prosecutor of the
"readers" and Erik Janssonists, but according to an official report of
the magistracy the cases in that district were all dismissed 'for want
of equity.

One explanation of the great influence Erik Jansson wielded over
his followers lay in the hypnotism of his eye, which few were able to
withstand. Thereby he controlled his people with a power and per-
sonal influence that was irresistible. In personal appearance, Erik
Jansson was of medium stature, with brown hair, blue eyes, pale, thin
face, with high cheek-bones, and thin lips, uncommonly long and broad
teeth, especially in the upper jaw; the last joint of the right index
finger was lacking, having been severed with an ax by his elder
brother, Johan, in their boyhood. His voice was harsh and disagree-
able in tone, and his speech rather indistinct, as though he had some-
thing in his mouth while speaking. In meeting he habitually over-
exerted himself, when his voice was transformed to a piercing shriek.
A constant grin, which may have been the result of involuntary
muscular contraction, gave him a repulsive look. Furthermore, he had
frequent recourse to .tears, the abundant flow of which did not tend
to make his appearance more attractive. A portrait of Erik Jansson
cannot be given, he having never sat for his picture, either in photo-
graph or on canvas.

BooK Pyres and Consequent Arrest of EriK Jansson
As we have seen, Erik Jansson ever since his so-called "second
conversion" had a bitter aversion to the writings of Luther and Arndt.
By and by, he conceived a plan to rid himself, once and for all, of these
hated authorities which were continually quoted in rebuttal of his
views by both prospective proselytes and outright antagonists. He
would have liked to make short shrift with the Lutheran catechism
and psalmbook, but these were still held in so high esteem among his
own followers that he dared not as yet do violence to them directly,
but confined himself to scathing denunciations in his sermons, applying
to them such terms as, "an empty barrel with both ends closed" and
the "wails of Satan." The beasts of the Book of Kevelation, he
claimed, were the prototypes of these "false and devilish teachers,
Luther, the demigod, an'd Arndt, the murderer of souls." The follow-
ing excerpt is quoted to give some idea of the tone of the sermons
preached by Erik Jansson at this time :

"The Word of God has lain fallow from generation to generation.
There is no salvation in the sermons usually preached in times past. If
ye believe my words, ye shall be saved ; if ye mistrust me, ye also mis-

212 THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

trust God. Once a man set himself up against my teachings, but what
happened? Within three days he was taken hence and thrust into
eternity. Ye would read the idolatrous books of the accursed Luther
and the devilish Arndt. But hear ye ! Mark well my words ! It was
not the Gospel of the Lord, but of the devil ; it was with the waters of
hell that he deluged the whole world. Hear ye! Since ye will not
believe the pure gospel that I preach unto you, the Lord shall pour out
his cups of burning wrath over you, and ye shall be thrust into nether-
most hell!"

These rantings soon took effect. All that was necessary to set his
followers to destroying their Lutheran books was for the prophet to
point to the words of the 19th verse of the 19th chapter of Acts : "And
not a few of them that practiced magical arts brought their books
together and burned them in the sight of all." A like scene was
enacted on the llth of June, 1844, in the village of Tranberg, in Alfta
parish. People in great numbers from Alfta, Soderala, Ofvanaker and
Bollnas for several days had been engaged in lugging sacks filled with
books down to the banks of the lake where they were piled into a great
pyre near Fiskragarden. Erik Jansson was present in person, encour-
aging the people in this wise: "Satan celebrated a jubilee, when the
works of Luther were first published ; when we now burn them, it will
be his turn to grieve " ; or, " Those who take part shall feel a heavenly
joy when they see the smoke rise." A person who warned them of the
consequence of their act was told by Olof Olsson of Kingsta that so
fixed were they in their determination that blood would flow, ere a
single book would be exempt from the pyre. Some would save the
covers of their books, but Erik Jansson declared in a loud voice, "Who-
soever saves the coverings of his idols shall be damned!"

The pyre was lighted, and books to the value of about 975 crowns,
including the postils of Luther, Nohrborg, Linderoth, Pettersson and
others, "True Christianity," by Arndt, and great masses of temperance
tracts, were consumed by the flames.

"Behold, how Satan opens his jaws!" the fanatics exclaimed when
the books would open from the heat and draft. To the vast assemblage
Erik Jansson read the 18th chapter of Revelations, whereupon two
hired men chanted: "Give thanks and praise unto the Lord," to which
the crowd sang the response : "Glory be unto the Lord."

The heavenly joy predicted by the prophet did not materialize,
however; instead, evil forebodings seemed to haunt the minds of the
spectators as the last flicker of the pyre died out.

The cup of fanaticism was now brimming over and the authorities
could no longer watch Erik Jansson 's operations with indifference.
Two days after the burning of the books, he was arrested after a bloody
encounter between the deputies and the followers of the prophet. Erik

EKIK JANSSONISM 213

Jansson himself was near being killed in the fray. He was imprisoned
first at Gefle, then at Vesteras, until July 12th, when he was released
after a hearing before the provincial governor in the latter city. To-
gether with some of his friends, Erik Jansson then went to Stockholm
and obtained an audience before the king. From the capital he wrote
letters to his disciples in Helsingland, admonishing some of their
number to go out and proclaim his doctrines, which they did. After a
second hearing before the governor at Vesteras Sept. 21st, when Erik
Jansson put up a clever defense, he was entirely cleared of the charges
and at once returned to Helsingland.

If he had heretofore been a prophet in the eyes of his followers, his
arrest and the mistreatment to which they thought him subjected,
crowned him with the halo of martyrdom. He went so far
as to liken his sufferings to those of the Savior himself. Sur-
rounded by eleven men, corresponding to the apostles of Christ, and
a great number of women, he went from village to village, holding
meetings at which "the Passion of Erik Jansson" was recited, includ-
ing all his acts and sufferings from the time of his arrest. He claimed
to be in high favor with the king after his visit to the royal palace;
and all things contributed towards making his fame greater than ever
before. In the height of his arrogance, he now began to grant forgive-
ness of sin to all who at the meetings announced themselves as believers
in him.

On Oct. 28th of that year, at Lynas, Soderala parish, he arranged a
second pyre of theological books, this time including the catechism and
the Lutheran hymnal, with the promise that a new catechism and
hymnal, written by himself, would soon be published. Following the
ceremony of burning, a thanksgiving service was held in a neighboring
farmhouse.

Not quite a month afterwards, Erik Jansson had intended to
arrange still another auto-da-fe, especially for the Forssa and Delsbo
parishes, but he was again arrested, this time by order of a royal letter,
instructing the Upsala chapter to administer a warning. The provincial
authorities at Gefle, where he was again brought, placed him under med-
ical surveillance, on the supposition that he was demented. In the mean-
time, Erik Jansson was writing hymns, founded largely on the books of
Ezra and Nehemiah ; he also sent his wife instructions to have his early
writings copied and prepared for publication. Having been found of
sound mind, he was sent to Upsala, where on December 18th he was
officially warned by the chapter against propagating false doctrines,
and then set free.

Three days later he was back in Soderala, conducting meetings as
before. A meeting was held Sunday, December 22nd, during the time

2I 4

THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

of high mass, but the audience was dispersed by the king's bailiff, who
appeared on the scene with a number of deputies. A great tumult arose
in which several persons, among whom the wife of Erik Jansson.
received bodily injuries. He was now taken back to the Gefle prison
and kept there till April 18th the following year.

EriR. Jansson's Flig'Kt to Dalarne and Norway

While Erik Jansson was in prison, his disciples carried on his work.
Their meetings were now generally held simultaneously with the regular
services in the churches. In expectation of the new catechism and
hymnal promised by Erik Jansson, his followers refused to send their
children to the common schools. Wherever Erik Janssonism gained a
foothold it created more or less disturbance in the parishes. Disagree-
ments were provoked between husband and wife, parents and children,
masters and servants, and naturally those who suffered persecution
had nothing but contempt for the civil and ecclesiastical authorities.

At Forssa occurred a third burning of books in the early morning
of Dec. 7, 1844, when the perpetrators had the audacity to include a
copy of "Sveriges Hikes Lag," the code of the realm. This, however,
was saved in the last moment, as were a number of the other books
doomed to destruction. A trial followed, resulting in the conviction
and fining of the fifteen participants. To illustrate the feeling
towards the clergy: an Erik Janssonist peasant of Delsbo is
said to have offered to have all his timber cut down and made
into headsman's blocks and gallows for the men of the cloth. Equally
fanatical were they in their adoration of the new religious leader. For
instance, a subscription was started in Ofvanaker for the purpose of
purchasing his liberty, his deluded friends believing that the authorities
could be bribed to release him from prison. In Alfta his followers went
from village to village, holding meetings at which the established
church and the clergy were roundly abused, the tenor of the denuncia-
tions being that all churches ought to be burned and all clergymen
hanged, or, leastwise, their tongues cut out. They appropriated two
per cent, of their property "for the restoration of the crumbling church
of Christ." In other Helsingland parishes where the movement had
gained a foothold similar operations were carried on, extending also
into Osterunda and Thorstuna parishes in Upland, everywhere resulting
in more or less violent clashes with the civil authorities.

Immediately after his arrest, Erik Jansson lodged a plea with
the provincial governor's office demanding his release, which was
denied. He appealed to the king's court, which on March 17th found
the charges insufficient to warrant his detention in prison, whereupon
the prison authorities returned him to Forssa on April 23rd.

ERIK JANSSONISM 215

Having been enjoined from leaving Forssa parish, "the Savior
at Stenbo, " as Erik Jansson was nicknamed by the local population,
continued his work there more aggressively than before, and the people
flocked in ever increasing numbers to listen to this "voice in the wilder-
ness." He also proceeded to ordain and send out apostles, to whom
he solemnly delivered the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.

On midsummer day he conducted a largely attended meeting at
Stenbo. J. M. Astrom, the king's bailiff, determined to arrest Erik
Jansson and break up the meeting, ordered out a number of parish-
ioners to assist him. They were told to provide themselves with clubs.
Thus armed, they moved on to Stenbo, where they found the prophet
preaching from the doorstep to the crowd outside. In the act of
making the arrest, the officer was pulled down from the doorstep by a
woman, and Erik Jansson escaped through the crowd and fled, but
those of his believers who remained were terribly beaten and otherwise
mistreated, while defending themselves as best they could. The next day
the bailiff again appeared, now accompanied by the parson and a
large crowd of people, and again ordered the assemblage at Stenbo to
disperse. As soon as the king's officer had left, a desperate fight ensued
between the Erik Janssonists and their antagonists, in which knives
were flourished, windows and doors broken, and much household goods
destroyed. Erik Jansson 's wife, who had taken refuge in the cow-barn,
was discovered by some young fellows just in the act of disappearing
through a dung-trap in the floor and was then and there treated to a
thorough bastinado.

Erik Jansson sought refuge in the home of Jonas Olsson in Ina,
Soderala, then escaped to Osterunda and Thorstuna, and lay in hiding
for five weeks under the floor of a cow-barn in Thorstuna and then for
several weeks more in an attic in the same parish.

These disturbances could not pass unnoticed. A royal decree of
Feb. 17, 1845, had ordered a legal investigation and definite charges
preferred. July 21st, the day set for the trial, came, but the accused
was nowhere to be found. Summons for his capture were again issued,
and in September he voluntarily made known his whereabouts. Service
was at once had, citing him to appear at the county court at Forssa,
Oct. llth. Erik Jansson then pleaded that, having been driven into
hiding by threats against his life, he had received no summons and
consequently had failed to appear in court on the day aforesaid. This
trial was not concerned with the recent disturbances, but dealt with
certain heterodox statements made by Erik Jansson at a meeting in
Hamre, Forssa parish, on Nov. 3rd, the year before. On this as on
prior occasions Erik Jansson 's friends and sympathizers were barred
from testifying, being declared incompetent and untrustworthy on

2I 6 THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

account of their faith, and the witnesses for the prosecution only were
heard. From this resolution of the jury the judge dissented. After an
order for Erik Jansson's detention in prison pending a verdict had
been denied by the court, the case was continued until Oct. 30th and
change of venue then taken to the county court at Delsbo, which
convened in extra session Nov. 18th. The disposition of the case was
that Erik Jansson be sent to the Gefle prison pending a new trial. The
jury rendered this verdict, overriding the judge, who was for acquittal
and is said to have imposed a fine on each of the jurors for contempt.

His followers had begun to suspect that there was a secret plan
to put him out of the way during imprisonment; for that reason they
decided to deliver him from jail at all hazards. Therefore, when the
transport reached the road to Lynas, in Soderala, four men rushed
from ambush, halted the conveyance, cut the reins and, overpowering
the guard, set the prisoner free. This happened Nov. 21st. A rumor
was at once circulated that Erik Jansson had been murdered, and for
the evident purpose of lending credibility to the story, his wife
appeared in widow's weeds at Gefle, making inquiries for her dead
husband. In addition, a woman at Lynas had poured the blood of a
kid in the road, in further support of the rumor. It soon became
evident, however, that this was a pure fabrication to aid in keeping
the prophet in concealment.

After the rescue, Erik Jansson was in hiding at various points in
western Helsingland, or went about in the guise of a woman. This
incognito gave his apostles occasion to liken him to Christ after the
resurrection. His first hiding place was in the house of Peter Kallman
at the Voxna Mills. After having been discovered holding a
secret meeting there one night, when he narrowly escaped
being taken, he was transferred to Ofvanaker, where he was hid
for seven weeks under a barn-floor. Threatened with discovery, he
was soon after brought to the home of one of his followers, Sven
Olsson, in Alfta. While under the influence of liquor, this man divulged
the whereabouts of the prophet, who, being warned, fled to Dalarne.
There he found refuge among his believers, principally in the home of
a well to do peasant, Lin jo Gabriel Larsson in Ostra Fors, Making
parish. In the meantime, his teachings spread quite extensively
in Dalarne, particularly in Mailing and Mora parishes, but
also to Lima parish and the city of Falun. In Herjedalen
Erik Jansson also succeeded in gaining a few proselytes, among
whom Olof Jonsson and Sven Jonsson, two peasants in the
village of Langa, Hede parish. These arranged book pyres
patterned after those in Helsingland. At one of these occasions a copy
of the Bible was included in the mass of books consigned to the flames,

ERIK JANSSONISM

217

but it was snatched from the fire in the last minute by a female relative
of the man who arranged the auto-da-fe. Long after the prophet had
deserted his own country, his disciples continued to spread his

doctrines and gain proselytes in the provinces of Helsingland, Gestrik-
land and Upland.

This same winter and spring the promised catechism and hymnal
were published, entitled, "Commentaries to the Holy Scriptures,
or Catechism, Arranged in Questions and Answers, by Erik Jansson,"

2I g THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

and, ' ' Sundry Songs and Prayers, Composed by Erik Jansson. ' ' These
books were printed at a shop established in violation of the law by a
pay-sergeant, named C. G. Blombergsson, in the village of Ina, Soderala
parish, just outside of Soderhamn. The language used in this catechism,
like that of his other writings, is verbose and incongruous. The ever-
recurring theme is the divine mission of Erik Jansson and the spiritual
perfection of his faithful followers, claims which he seeks to establish
by references to Old Testament narratives and prophecies. In point
of diction and rhythm, his hymns are faulty in the extreme.* Besides
these works, several other writings of Erik Jansson were issued in
print, such as his "Farewell Address," "A Glorious Description of the
Growth of Man," "A Few Words to God's People," "Timely Words,"
and "Farewell Speech to all the Inhabitants of Sweden, who have
despised me, whom Jesus hath sent; or rejected the name of Erik
Jansson."

From Erik Jansson 's catechism, embodying his principal teachings,
a few excerpts may properly be made by way of denning this religious
movement in the words of the founder himself. We translate literally
from a reprint published at Galva, 111., in 1903.

In the foreword we read this authoritative declaration: "Thou,
who taketh this precious treasure in thy hand in order to accept every
word of it as if spoken by God, or as though God himself stood before
thee in visible form and spake to thee all that is herein written -and
everything is written as the Word of God I pray thee to consider
well the import of certain expressions."

On page 22 we find his views on education thus expressed: "It is
not unbeknown to us that all the schools of the times are founded by the
devil, yet they are of some use in teaching that which pertains to a
knowledge, sanctioned by God, of those figures (things) from which
the prophets drew their parables, etc. ' '

On page 24 the author speaks of himself in this wise :

"Question. But how canst thou know that God now shall send
a certain person, when we have God's word in abundance amongst us,
without (need of) any more teachings, by untutored laymen?

"Answer. As regards this, that the canonical books of the Bible
are sufficient to instruct us about the way of salvation, it has already
been said that all other writings and books are needless and devilish
and cannot be considered (in ascertaining) whether the Word of God,
without the faulty interpretations of others, is and shall ever be the
only foundation, on which the one sent by God shall build. But in
regard to this, that Jesus will send some one, who shall restore that

* "So tedious, repugnant and impious a collection of songs no other religious
body has ever had foisted upon it. Among the rudest products of versification in
any literature one will search in vain for anything to match it." (WIESELGREN. )

ERIK JANSSONISM 219

which long hath lain fallow, we know by all the signs of the times that
he hath already been sent, for everyone who believeth, may see that
the same miracles that Jesus wrought are also being performed by him
whom God has sent. Further, we find that the signs of Jonah, the
Prophet, have come to pass in all lands and are being fulfilled in all
the nations under the sun. Therefore I may be sure that Jesus has sent
the one who gives his life for that which is right, or alone for the
salvation of his brethren."

The first commandment is commented thus on page 35 :

"Q. Mayst thou have other gods besides God, when thou dis-
believest him whom God hath sent as the light of the world ?

"A. Not to believe in him whom God has sent is the worst
idolatry of which the Bible speaks; for whosoever toucheth him
toucheth the apple of God's eye."

The eighth (ninth) commandment is thus interpreted (p. 75) :

"Q. Since thy brethren in the faith alone are thy neighbors,
mayst thou bear false witness against the unbelievers ?

"A. Whenever it is required to bear such witness as to promote
the eternal welfare of my neighbor, I cannot but bear witness free from
falsehood. But should I, like Judas, be asked where he, whom I am
sure God has sent, is (hidden), then I cannot testify truthfully, being
convinced that I would thereby bear false witness against my neigh-
bor." The next two pages are devoted to proving that lying is not
only permissible but praiseworthy; quoting Scripture to show that
the Lord's servants often have lied to the glory of God. We are told
(p. 77) that "when the faithful speak falsely and lie before men for
the sake of truth and right, they do so in order to destroy falsehood
and eradicate the tares."

On page 103 Erik Jansson gets down to the bedrock of his
doctrine in these words :

"Q. You believe, then, that the coming of Christ has not been
fulfilled until Erik Jansson came with the true light, just as God in the
beginning created light in the midst of darkness?

"A. It is to be remarked that all prophecies have reference, first,
to Christ, the first-born, secondly, to his believers or those of whom
Jesus says that they shall perform the same miracles that He wrought,
etc. 2. It follows, that we must consider the words of Jesus Christ him-
self on this point, namely, that according to the Prophets the last house
shall surpass the first, i. e., as the second glory (of the) Temple of
Jerusalem surpassed the glory built by the son of David and placed in
said temple a sorry tangle of words for a prophet so also it now
shall come to pass that the glory restored by Erik Jansson in Christ's
stead shall surpass that of Jesus and his Apostles in all lands ; for now
Jesus Christ hath been made manifest in the flesh to all those who

220 THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

believe in the name of the Son of God, and hence it is plain that the
coming of Christ is fully realized through Erik Jansson's obedience

to God." There is much more of this, with frequent repetition of

the name Erik Jansson, which we forbear to quote.

The above excerpts are given as characteristic of Erik Jansson's
mode of thought and literary style as well as of his teachings, but they
do not by far cover all the points on which he was charged with
heresy by the state church.

Emigration of the ILriK Janssonists to America

In his arrogance Erik Jansson had prophesied that within two
years the world would be converted and all his antagonists annihilated.
The prediction seemed all the more unlikely to come true now that the
prophet himself was in dire peril. He had fled to escape punishment
and, when reached by the arm of the law, would face conviction and
banishment for heresy and repeated attempts at proselyting in violation
of the law. When it became manifest that the Erik Janssonists could
no longer operate without constant clashes with the authorities . and
the populace, and when the novelty of religious martyrdom had worn
off, they began to look about for a place of refuge, and their eyes and
hopes were directed to the United States. Gustaf Flack, mentioned
in the foregoing chapter, had highly commended America in
letters to his relatives in Alfta parish, especially dwelling on the
religious liberty enjoyed in the new world. Hence the Erik Janssonists
resolved to transplant the whole movement to this country, or, in their
own phrase, "to turn to the heathen, inasmuch as the inhabitants of
their own country refused to accept the truth and believe in it."

In order to make needed preparations for their coming, Olof Olsson
of Kingsta turned his property into ready money at public auction and
left for America in the summer of 1845, accompanied by his wife, their
two children and a couple of other persons. He and all the other
leaders, including Erik Jansson himself, who from his hidingplaces
sent numerous letters to his faithful, were untiring in their efforts to
paint in the most glowing colors the future that the promised land had
in store for the chosen people. One of the promises held out to them
was that there they would have their fill of "figs, white bread and
pork, hogs being so plentiful that one only had to shoot, butcher and
eat them." They need have no fear for the language, it was claimed, for
upon their arrival it would be given unto them to speak with tongues.
Furthermore, the heathen were to build for them walls and cities. All
the glories of the millennium were to be realized; all were to be as
one large family ; snakes and dragons would be powerless to injure any
of God's chosen seed; the lions were to graze together with the cattle

EMIGRATION AND SETTLEMENT 2 2l

of the fields, these were some of the alluring pictures held up to the
prospective emigrants.

Upon his arrival in New York, Olof Olsson encountered Rev. O. G.
Hedstrom, the founder of Swedish Methodism in America, who received
him with the utmost cordiality. Rev. Hedstrom endeavored to win
his guest over to Methodism, and had no difficulty in so doing, owing
partly to the similarity between that creed and the teachings of Erik
Jansson, partly to Olof Olsson 's previous acquaintance with Methodist
doctrines, acquired through the visit in Helsingland of Rev. George
Scott, a Methodist preacher stationed at Stockholm. To Rev. Hedstrom
Olof Olsson confided the purpose of his trip, stating that he had come
to find a suitable place of settlement for the oppressed Erik Jans-
sonists; and the former was not slow to recommend Victoria, 111., the
home of his younger brother Jonas Hedstrom. After a short stay in
New York, Olof Olsson came on to Illinois in the fall, provided with a
letter of recommendation from Rev. Hedstrom to his brother, looked
him up and enjoyed the same cordial reception accorded him by the
elder brother. From Victoria Olof Olsson early in the spring of 1846,
after having made a prospecting tour of Illinois, Wisconsin and Minne-
sota, wrote back to Sweden, recommending settlement in Illinois.

Among the Erik 'Janssonists at home this aroused great eagerness
for an early start for the new land of Canaan, the sentiment being in
every way encouraged by the prophet and his apostles. At this
juncture Erik Janssonism might have had a backset but for the
proposed exodus which, as an adjunct to their religious fanaticism,
aroused the spirit of adventure and held out the most alluring prospects
of the blessed land beyond the Atlantic. But it was not easy to get
from Sweden to America in those days. In the first place, the Erik
Janssonists had some difficulty in obtaining the necessary passports.
In the second place, vessels suited to the purpose of the emigrants
were scarce. The few Swedish vessels engaged in American trade
carried cargoes of iron and lacked accommodations for passengers.
Some of these were remodeled for the convenience of the emigrants,
but proved very inconvenient at best. Besides, several of the ships
were old and hardly seaworthy.

Erik Jansson had made up his own plan of emigration and decided
to adopt absolute communism.* Accordingly, the members of the sect
sold their real and personal property and formed a general treasury
out of which the expenses of the passage were to be defrayed for all

* On this point authorities differ. "In this plan did not enter *** those
socialistic or communistic principles of society, which were enforced after the

colony was well established. Upon leaving Sweden necessity prompted the

emigrants to put their money into a common fund and to have everything in
common. This community of property they chose to maintain after their arrival
but there was no intention of founding the colony on a socialistic basis. Erik

222 THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

alike. As preparations were going forward, many difficulties arose.
Thus many were in debt, and their affairs had to be cleared up ; others
were soldiers and had to pay large sums for their release from military
service; still others had difficulty in finding buyers and were forced to
sell their property at great sacrifice. Nevertheless, the common fund
grew quite large. Linjo Gabriel Larsson of Ostra Fors, Malung parish,
one of Erik Jansson's chief followers in Dalarne, made the very
substantial contribution of 24,000 crowns; others added twelve, nine,
five or one thousand crowns to the general fund. Even the clothing
not needed for daily use was sold, for all were to be dressed alike. The
prophet appointed four persons as so-called "princes," who were to
keep and administer the general fund, viz., Jonas Olsson and Olof Jans-
son (afterwards known as Johnson) from Soderala, Olof Jonssoa (in
America he changed his name to Stenberg or Stoneberg) from Forssa,
and Anders Berglund from Alfta.* Anyone who wavered in his allegi-
ance to the prophet was expelled without getting back his contribution
to the general fund or any share of it.

While his faithful followers were preparing for the general exodus,
Erik Jansson left the country, f Equipped with the passport of another
family, he set out with his wife and two children and several other
persons. He himself, being a fugitive, traveled secretly at night,
remaining hid by day at the homes of his believers. When he had left
the parts where these lived, he traveled on skis, generally ahead of his
party, and slept in vacant woodchopper's huts or wherever he could
find shelter. After crossing the fjelds into Norway he traveled openly
with the party to Christiania.

Other members of the party were, Olof Norlund, who. to make the
passport tally in Sweden, traveled as Mrs. Jansson 's husband, and three

Jansson spoke of it as a temporary arrangement and it was his purpose, as also
that of the other leading men, to make a change as soon as conditions permitted."
(JOHNSON and PETERSON.)

"It is safe to say, that into his colonization plan did not enter any of those
communistic or socialistic principles, which afterwards found a practical applica-
tion in the colony. These were the fruits of necessity." (SWAINSON.)

"That communism in the Bishop Hill colony originated in this way is quite
likely; but even if no distinctly communistic plan was framed prior to emigration,
yet I recollect that the doctrine of Christian communism was at the time strongly
urged by the Janssonists, and therein lay the seed of the communism that sub-
sequently sprung up at Bishop Hill." (NORELJUS.)

Hiram Bigelow's assumption that Erik Jansson had come under the influence
of the French socialists and adopted their communistic views is not supported by
any known facts.

So much is certain, that the plan was patterned after that of the earlier
Christians, and there is nothing to show that it was to apply only during emigra-
tion.

* The number is sometimes given as seven, but the names of the other three
are nowhere recorded.

f The statement that he left Sweden in January, 1846, does not tally with
other data, which seem to place the event well toward the spring. Capt. Johnson,
who avers that his father "left for America before Christmas, 1845," counts from
his start from Helsingland.

EMIGRATION AND SETTLEMENT

223

women. When Norlund was no longer needed, he returned, as did
also Linjo Lars Gabrielson, who saw Erik Jansson safely out of the
country and is said to have paid the passage to America for the entire
party. From Christiania the party crossed over to Copenhagen and
proceeded via Kiel, Hamburg, Hull and Liverpool to New York.

The rest of the Erik Janssonists took passage on vessels in the
ports of Stockholm, Soderhamn, Goteborg, Christiania, but principally
Gefle. In the latter city they gathered in large numbers and held
public meetings. They likened themselves to the children of Israel
departing from Egypt. As Moses had destroyed the Egyptians in the
Red Sea, so the prophet and messenger Erik Jansson would by the
power of God lay waste all Sweden, that "accursed hell-hole, with fire
and sword. In their eagerness to join in the exodus, wives deserted
their husbands and infants, children their parents, and servants their
employers. The journey was one of severe hardships to most of the
emigrants. The lords of the exchequer, appointed by Erik Jansson,
were to supply provisions and other necessaries, but their inexperience
entailed much illness and suffering. To this was added seasickness.
True, Erik Jansson had assured them of immunity from that nauseous
affliction if they were steadfast in the faith, but subsequent events
showed that either they were misled on that point or else there was a
very general wavering among the faithful.

Many of the emigrants were exposed to great peril. One ship,
which set sail .from Soderhamn in October, 1845, and was the first to
carry any considerable number of Erik Janssonists, was wrecked off
Oregrund, but all the passengers there were sixteen or seventeen in the
Janssonist party were saved and returned to their homes. They re-
embarked on a ship which left Gefle in March the following year. An-
other of the emigrant vessels, commanded by one Captain Eonning,
went down with fifty emigrants on board, not one of whom was saved.
A third ship foundered off New Foundland, the passengers saving their
lives but losing all their property. When the ship "Vilhelmina"
reached New York, in September, 1846, twenty-two children had died
on the voyage. In this and subsequent years altogether one hundred
and seventy Erik Janssonists perished on the way.

Founding' of the Bishop Hill Colony, the First Swedish, Settle-
ment in Illinois

Erik Jansson and his family reached New York in June, 1846. His
wife having just given birth to a son, they were delayed in that city
several weeks. In the interval, Erik Jansson preached to the Methodists
on board their Bethel ship. As soon as his wife was restored to
health, they started for Illinois, accompanied by an American family

224

THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

named Pollock of New York and two Swedish women. In the early
part of July they reached Victoria, where Erik Jansson met Olof Olsson.
who had gone to America the year before. The latter lived on a
forty acre farm in section 22, Copley township, and made a home
for himself and family in a log cabin. In this same cabin the first
Swedish Methodist congregation in America was afterwards organized
on December 15, 1846. The shelter was far from satisfactory, but in the
absence of better accommodations it had to do. Eain poured through
the leaky roof, and snakes crawled in through the holes in the walls,
subjecting the inhabitants to discomfort and danger.

The first meeting in America between Erik Jansson and Olof Olsson
was not a pleasant affair. As before stated, the latter had been con-
verted to Methodism by Rev. 0. G. Hedstrom of New York, and when
Erik Jansson learned of this, there was a hot encounter between the
two men.

Eric Jansson and family shared the log cabin occupied by Olof
Olsson. They had no more than become fairly settled when this same
log cabin was transformed into a theological forum, says Capt. Eric
Johnson, in relating this reminiscence of his early boyhood. Theological
discussions were served up for breakfast, dinner and supper. Between
meals the combatants would sit in the shade of a tree, continuing the
debate, and worst of all for the non-combatants, the wordy battle raged
long after all had gone to bed. The only truce was during morning and
evening prayers. This religious combat had been going on for days,
if not weeks, when one night after retiring the war grew fiercer than
ever. After a rapid exchange of redhot religious broadsides, Olsson
finally lost his temper and threatened to get out of bed and throw Erik
Jansson and his family out of the house. This proved the turning point
in the affray, for next morning the two men were friends and looked at
religion from the same point of view Olof Olsson had become a Jans-
sonist again.

A few days after the arrival of Erik Jansson came the first party
of his followers. They were people from Dalecarlia province who.
under the leadership of Linjo Gabriel Larsson, had left Malung April
9th and 10th for America, via Christiania. From New York they had
taken the route which was used by the great mass of Swedish and other
immigrants for almost a decade before the first railroad was built to
Chicago, viz., up the Hudson to Albany by steamer, thence by canal to
Buffalo, and again by steamer over the Great Lakes from that point to
Chicago. From the latter point, most of the adults traveled on foot to
Victoria, while children and invalids rode on pack horses and in wagons
purchased for transportation purposes. Later parties took the canal
route to Henry or Peru, whence they walked or rode. The very last
comers traveled by railroad the entire distance from New York to

EMIGRATION AND SETTLEMENT

225

Galva. This was in 1854 after the completion of the C. B. & Q. road
to the latter point.

For the sum of $250 out of the common treasury Olof Olsson pur-
chased a sixty acre farm at Bed Oak Grove, in sections 9 and 17,
with a loghouse and a few acres of ground under cultivation.
On August 21st, after the first party of immigrants had arrived, 156
acres of section 8, in the same township, was purchased for $1,100.
The party at once moved upon the land, managing as best they could.
There was a log cabin, a piece of cultivated ground, and some timber.
They now began to plan a small town or colony for those that were to
follow, and after looking over the neighborhood they decided to locate
at Hoop Pole Grove, comprising the southwest corner of section 14,
Weller township. Here Erik Jansson bought 160 acres directly from
the government on Sept. 26th, for $200. The same day a tract of 320
acres in sections 23 and 24 was purchased for $400. It was a fine
locality, with a small bluff, a spring of water, clumps of oak-trees and a
small stream, known as South Edward's Creek. The place was named
Bishop Hill, after Biskopskulla, the birthplace of Erik Jansson. Olof
Olsson had accompanied the others to Red Oak Grove, and before the
end of the year he and his wife, together with two of their children,
were claimed by death;

In readiness for a numerous party that was expected soon, two log
houses were hurriedly put up, also four large tents and one so-called
church tent, built of logs in the form of a cross and covered with
canvas. The entrance and the pulpit were at the north end, while the
south end was occupied by a fireplace and a gallery. This tabernacle
had a capacity of 800 to 1,000 persons. A laudable trait of the colonists
was this, that immediately upon their arrival they built a house in
which to give praise and thanks to God, whom they would serve and for
whose sake they believed themselves persecuted and martyred.

On Oct. 28th Jonas Olsson arrived with a large party, including
Erik Jansson 's two brothers, Johan, or Jan, and Peter. His mother,
who was in the party, died during the voyage.' Many members of this
as well as subsequent parties deserted in New York, the hardships
endured on the voyage creating in their minds a doubt as to the divine
mission of the alleged prophet. There is good ground for the belief,
however, that many of the deserters probably had never professed an
abiding faith in him, having merely taken advantage of the movement
to get rid of their debts and obtain free passage to America. Many
stopped in Chicago, among whom Jan Jansson, one of Erik Jansson 's
own brothers.

At the approach of cold weather, another party arrived, raising the
total number of colonists to three hundred. The existing buildings now
proved entirely inadequate, and many additional loghouses were hastily

22 6 TH E BISHOP HILL COLONY

built, also a large sodhouse which served as kitchen and dining hall,
or, according to the recollection of some, three sod kitchens were built,
one by one, as needed, and later replaced by one large adobe kitchen in
three sections. But even at that, the demand for shelter was not fully
met. In addition no less than twelve so-called dugouts were constructed,
by the process of digging holes, or cellars, in the side of the hill, the
partial earthen walls being completed by a superstructure of logs. The
hut was covered with a layer of thin boards on which was placed a
thatch of sod. The door was at the front end, flanked by a couple of
small windows, and the fireplace at the back wall. These unsanitary
dwellings were 25 to 30 feet long and 18 feet wide and housed from
twenty-five io thirty persons each. These slept in berths built in two
tiers along the side walls, each berth with a capacity of three persons.
During the first winter no less than fifty-two unmarried women are said
to have lived together in a rude wooden structure.

Late in the fall still another company of Erik Janssonists arrived,
swelling the total number to four hundred. Of these seventy lived at
Red Oak Grove. Fortunately the winter proved exceptionally mild, the
ground being frozen for a period of only eight weeks. At times, how-
ever, the cold was so bitter as to prevent outdoor work.

Before undertaking a more detailed description of the Bishop Hill
Colony, some account must be given of subsequent parties of Erik Jans-
sonists that kept coming from time to time. In June, 1847, there were
added to the settlement four hundred men and women and a large
number of children. One hundred and eighty were brought over from
Gefle on the ship "New York." The voyage had taken five months,
the ship having been delayed by storms and laid up for repairs in an
English port for six weeks. Not until March 12th did the passengers
reach New York, much fatigued by sickness and famine. There they
found another party of Erik Janssonists who had set sail from Gote-
borg. Even after reaching New York the members of these two parties
were subjected to indescribable hardships. The effects of their subsist-
ing for so long a time on unwholesome food now became apparent, and
conditions were still further aggravated Toy the necessity of crowding
the emigrants together like cattle into small and unsanitary quarters.
They were attacked by scurvy in its most loathsome form; in many
instances the flesh rotted from the bones and joint was severed from
joint, the poor victims writhing with pain at the slightest touch or
movement. Within a fortnight thirty persons died. The dead were
placed by twos or threes into rough boxes and buried without ceremony.
The most afflicted ones were sorted out and placed in a subterranean
room where scant beds were prepared on the floor. Instead of provid-
ing suitable food and medical attention for the patients, the leaders
prescribed fasting, while they went out in the city and provided them-

EMIGRATION AND SETTLEMENT

227

selves amply with food and drink, maintaining that such a course could
be taken without prejudice to their faith. Instead of giving comfort
and solace to the sick and dying, they preached to them for two hours
every morning and night, harshly denouncing them for their unbelief,
which they declared was the chief cause of their sufferings. The leaders
made daily attempts at performing miracles in the way of healing the
sick ; they compelled the patients to arise and ordered them to believe
that they were healed, invoking dire punishment upon them, when they
fell back powerless on their beds.

Several of the healthy members of the party, moved to compassion
by the sufferings witnessed on every, hand and revolting at the ignor-
ance, hypocrisy and hardheartedness of the leaders, bade their com-
panions farewell, declaring they could no longer endure the sight of
the misery. These deserters the leaders took care to deprive of every-
thing of value that they possessed.*

On April 26th, when the spring sun had melted the ice from the
waterways, the survivors of the two parties were finally able to leave
New York on their way to Illinois, taking the same route as their pre-
decessors. The leaders of the combined parties were Anders Anders-
son from Thorstuna and a blacksmith by the name of Hammarback. All
who were able had to'travel on foot from Chicago to Bishop Hill. This
slow mode of travel consumed ten days. To house the newcomers five
new dugouts were built for the people, and additional ones for the
horses and cattle, while to shut out the rain, the house of worship was
provided with a solid roof of oak shingling.

The sixth party of emigrants reached Bishop Hill in the summer of
1849 under the leadership of Jonas Nylund from Delsbo, a paperrnaker's
apprentice. He had gone to Norway and there induced a number
of people to emigrate and join the new colony. Between Chicago and
La Salle cholera broke oat in this party, which the aforesaid Anders

Andersson found on his return from a business trip to Chicago in a
deplorable condition and, with good intent but lack of forethought,
brought them to Bishop Hill, where the dreaded pest broke out forth-
with.

A seventh party came over in 1850, under the joint leadership of
Olof Johnson and Olof Stoneberg, who had returned to Sweden in order
to collect moneys due and inheritances of minors, as also to gather up
the remainder of the sect. The sum they brought back is said to have
amounted to $6,000. The emigrant party was composed of 160 persons,
who under Stoneberg 's supervision embarked at Soderhamn. On the
ocean ten persons died. At Buffalo the whole company was taken on
board an old propeller steamer bound for Milwaukee. Owing to bad
weather and breakage in the machinery, the trip took two weeks,

* The accuracy of this narrative is doubted or denied by certain survivors.

228 THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

and their provisions gave out. In Michigan, where the steamer
touched, cholera added to their miseries, carrying off fifty to sixty of
the party before Milwaukee was reached. A Swedish-American of that
city, C. Blanxius by name, learning by chance that a party of his
countrymen had arrived, at once provided care and medical service for
the sick. Upon learning afterwards that Stoneberghad several thousand
dollars in his possession, he compelled him to pay the bills.

Later in the autumn of that year one Jons Andersson brought over
the eighth party, numbering eighty colonists who sailed from Gefle on
the ship "Condor." They had one loss by death during the passage.
In 1854 the ninth and last party of Erik Janssonists arrived, numbering
seventy. This ended the actual exodus of the sect.

According to the ecclesiastical records, the Erik Janssonists in the
provinces of Gestrikland and Helsingland numbered 913, all but 36 of
whom lived in the last named province. Of the total number 649 were
adults and 264 children; 409 were recruited from the so-called "read-
ers." The greatest exodus of Erik Janssonists occurred in 1846, when
823 persons emigrated from the two provinces, Alfta alone furnishing
346, Ofvanaker 44, Voxna 40, etc. From the province of Dalarne 99
people emigrated, from Upland an equal number, and from Herjedalen
10 to 15.

Individual immigration to Bishop Hill continued throughout the
period, 1846 1854, swelling the total to about 1,500. While the early
emigrants were actuated solely by a desire for freedom of worship, the
latter presumably were led by mercenary motives, awakened by the
rumored prosperity of the colony.

In Sweden, Erik Janssonism was thus almost entirely eradicated,
those of his converts who did not follow him to America returning to
the established church or going over to other sects almost to a man.
But even to this day persons in these parts have been known to
persevere in their belief in Erik Jansson as "the new light sent by
God." Erik Janssonism was also transplanted to Denmark, but gained
only a mere handful of converts in that country.

Daily Life in the Colony

The daily life in the colony offered many peculiarities, the religious
phase being the most pronounced. That the Erik Janssonists, who
had emigrated in order to gain freedom to worship according to their
own dictates, made sedulous use of their newfound liberty was but
natural. During their first fall and winter in the new land, they held
religious services twice every week-day and thrice on Sundays. Erik
Jansson arose every morning at five and roused his people for matins.
Half an hour later he made a second round, when all were required to
gather immediately in the tabernacle for the morning services, consist-

DAILY LIFE

229

ing of a sermon and prayers, often consuming two hours' time. At
Christmas, 1846, a church bell was procured, which served the double
purpose of calling the people to worship and to their meals. The second
religious service of each day was held in the evening. Along in the
spring of 1847, when work in the fields began, the morning and evening
services were replaced by a short noon meeting, held in a shady spot in
the woods adjoining Bishop Hill on the north. These meetings were
generally conducted by Erik Jansson in person, sometimes by the
assistance of Jonas Olsson, Anders Berglund, Nils Hedin or some other
leader. Erik Jansson 's own hymnbook was used, and in his sermons

Bishop Hill The Old Colony Church

he dwelt incessantly on his God-given mission , the sinless state of his
faithful followers, and similar doctrines.

For the propagation and perpetuation of Erik Janssonism twelve
of the most gifted young men of the colony were selected in 1847 and
given special instruction in the doctrines of the sect by the prophet
himself and the most enlightened of his assistants. The prophet's
prediction about the gift of speaking with tongues still remaining un-
fulfilled, the English language was made one of the studies. The
classes generally met in the shadow of a great oaktree, but a dugout
was also used for school purposes.

In the summer of 1848 the tabernacle, or church tent, was
destroyed by fire, and the colonists at once began to build the edifice
now known as the Old Colony Church, which is still one of the land-
marks of Bishop Hill. It was completed in 1849, being built in three
stories, the third forming the sanctuary while the first and second were

230

THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

partitioned off into dwelling rooms, there being also a couple of such
rooms in the third story.

Erik Jansson continued preaching to his faithful flock as long as
he lived, though with some difficulty in his later years, owing to the
loss of his teeth. The set of false teeth used by him after that formed
such an impediment in his speech that his hearers had to strain them-
selves to the utmost in order to catch his meaning.

Provision was also made for the education of the young. During
the first winter, Mrs. Margareta Hebbe instructed the illiterate elders
in reading and writing, the school sessions being held in the tabernacle.
After Mrs. Hebbe left the colony, Peter Hellstrom succeeded her as
instructor. A similar school was opened at Red Oak Grove, where
Karin Pettersson and a Mrs. Ronnquist acted as teachers. In January.
1847, an English kindergarden was established in one of the dugouts,
and conducted by an American clergyman by the name of Talbot.
assisted by Mrs. Sophia Pollock.

It was with the utmost difficulty that the colonists could procure
flour for bread. The nearest flour mill was at Green River, twenty-
eight miles away, the second nearest at Camden, the present village of
Milan, a short distance from where the Rock River empties into the
Mississippi. To these two points they sent their grain from time to
time, but frequently the mills would be out of repair, necessitating
still longer trips. In the meantime, the supply at home would give
out, a real calamity in those days, when there were no neighbors from
whom to borrow in an emergency. Then some substitute for bread
had to be produced, and a couple of primitive hand mills were
procured in which corn was ground into a coarse meal requiring 10 to
12 hours of cooking to make it palatable. The colonists were many
and the capacity of the mills was small, so they had to grind by shifts
all night in order to- produce meal sufficient for the next day.
In the large common refectory all dined together on food which
was often insufficient and generally unpalatable. The situation was
relieved to a great extent, when in 1847 a flour mill was built on
Edward's Creek, but this stream would sometimes run dry, closing
down the mill. In these emergencies the colonists would be called
into requisition to tread the mill wheel, this arduous task falling prin-
cipally to the lot of the twelve apostles to be. This method, however,
proved too laborious, and man power was soon replaced by horse power.
When this mill nevertheless proved unable to supply the demand, a
windmill with two pairs of mill stones was built in January, 1848.
The following year preparations were made for the erection of a steam
power flour mill, which was completed in July, 1851. This establish-
ment at once proved highly profitable, the farmers from near and far

DAILY LIFE

231

bringing their grain, while all the surplus grain of the colony was
made into flour for the market.

Crq

In the spring of 1847 the colony began to manufacture sun-dried
brick, and several buildings of that material were put up; about the

232 THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

same time a saw-mill was built at Red Oak Grove, where there was a
tract of oak timber. The saw-mill was later traded for a parcel of
land and another saw-mill, located on a small stream in Clover town-
ship. This mill was moved to Bishop Hill and located on Edward's
Creek in 1848. In May the same year, eighty acres of timber land,
with a saw-mill, in Weller township, was purchased from Cramer and
Wilsey for $1,500. Thenceforth the colony was well supplied with
lumber. Limestone was found in a ravine within the domain of the
colony, and a man by the name of Philip Mauk taught the settlers the
art of burning lime, yet large quantities of lime had to be bought. Brick
kilns were also constructed, and gradually large and comfortable
dwelling houses began to supplant the stuffy and unsanitary dugouts.

The rapid increase in- population by immigration made the pur-
chase of more land peremptory. Nov. 18, 1847, a quarter of section 17,
in Weller township, was purchased of W. H. Griffin for $380, and
before the end of the year other purchases were made as follows : 80
acres in section 17, 240 acres in section 16, and 39 acres additionally.
Moreover, pieces of land were rented here and there in the neighbor-
hood, some as far away as present Woodhull. Farming was carried on
with great energy. Part of the lands bought were already planted to
corn; other portions were turned into wheat fields. After the last-
named land purchases no less than 350 acres were under cultivation.
During that and the following years the colonists surrounded their
domain on three sides with an earthen wall or fence.

The grain crop of the first year (1847) was cut with scythes in
Swedish fashion; the next year so-called cradles came into use. In
1849, during harvest time, thirty cradles were kept working night and
day, but on finding the dews injurious to the health of the harvest hands
night work was discontinued. Each cradle had a capacity of six acres
per day. Women generally worked in the field binding the grain, while
young boys and girls were employed to gather the sheaves
and the aged to do the shocking. The last named year a reaper
was procured from La Grange, but it was sent back as unsatisfactory
and the cradles again brought into use, several of the men having
acquired great skill in handling this implement. Anders Kilstrom and
Hans Dahlgren, for instance, each cradled 14 acres of wheat from sun-
rise to sundown.

The harvest over for the season, a pleasant spectacle was enacted.
The two hundred laborers formed in a double line, with the men in
the lead, the women following, and the children bringing up the rear,
and marched ba'ck to the village to the tune of merry folksongs.
Arriving home, the reapers arranged themselves around the long tables
in the largest dining hall, where a feast was spread, and thus was

DAILY LIFE

233

celebrated their first harvest festival with merrymaking and thanks-
giving.

In the year 1852 improved reapers were introduced, replacing
the inferior cradle and giving a different character to the work of
harvesting the crops.

The threshing of the crop of 1847 was left to one Broderick, who
used a very simple and imperfect threshing contrivance. The machine
afterwards became the property of the colonists who proceeded to
build a new one of the same type but with many improvements.

The colonists did not, however, confine themselves to the cultiva-
tion of wheat and corn. Flax was raised, especially at first, with
still greater success, owing to the fact that this was one of the staple
products of Helsingland from time out of mind, and the emigrants
from that province were experts in flax culture. The flax was prepared
and woven by the colonists themselves and the linen products found
a ready sale in the neighborhood. From the flax crop of 1847 12,473
yards of linen was woven and sold. The production increased
yearly, reaching 28,322 yards of linen cloth and 3,257 yards of carpets
in 1851. The linen industry was continued until 1860, but it was
reduced in 1857 on account of competition with the eastern factories,
who dominated the western market as soon as shipping facilities were
improved. Up to that time the colony had produced for the general
market a total of 130,309 yards of linen goods and 22,569 yards of
carpets, together with all goods needed for domestic use. From these
figures it appears that this industry was an important source of income
to the colony during its first decade. After 1857 flax was raised only
for home consumption. The total, including 1860, was 169,386 yards.

To the women and children, as well as to the men, belonged the
credit for this flourishing industry. The latter cultivated the flax and
prepared it, but the women did the spinning and weaving, while chil-
dren were employed in the spooling and other minor processes. The
first few years, while the number of looms was very limited, the weavers
were divided into shifts who kept the looms going day and night. Thus
the women were employed during the winter months. In summer the
women, as they were accustomed from the old country, took part in
the outdoor work with an endurance equal to that of the men.

Though zealots in the matter of religion, the colonists were no
temperance fanatics. Whisky was used to some extent among them,
and in order to supply the growing demand a still was established.
Their indulgence in liquor, however, was repugnant to the neighbors
and brought the colonists into ill repute.

For the sake of greater variety in the matter of food, and possibly
with an eye to extra profit. Erik Jansson in 1848 established a fishing

234

THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

camp on Rock Island, in the Mississippi, near the present site of the
city of Rock Island, and placed it in charge of N. J. Hollander and
a half dozen other colonists. Fish was also obtained from the Illinois
River.

The lack of wholesome food, especially during the first year, com-
bined with the unhealthy conditions in the overcrowded dugouts,
caused a very high death rate. Fevers, ague and diarrhea, the most
prevalent diseases, claimed many victims. In Red Oak alone 50 per-
sons died during the winter of 1846 and the winter months of 1847
claimed no less than 96 lives in Bishop Hill. The dead bodies were
loaded into wagons and buried without any ritual or ceremony what-
ever. Many corpses were not even provided with coffins. These grew-
some conditions drove many of the healthy colonists from Bishop Hill
in spite of Erik Jansson 's efforts to prevent desertions by posting
armed pickets at night. The sick were not permitted to call in a
physician : they were to be healed by faith alone. Those who did not
believe, the prophet condemned to "the stones of hell." Jonas Hed-
strom of Victoria was so shocked by the brutality and stolidity of Erik
Jansson towards his people that he threatened legal proceedings, unless
medical attendance was provided. Thereby Erik Jansson was ultimate-
ly induced to engage an American physician, whom he also consulted
in his own behalf. When the people were famished from lack of
nourishment, the prophet evinced the same stolid indifference to their
wants and sufferings. He sought to relieve their hunger not by
supplying food, but by imposing repeated fasts. To their prayers and
complaints he replied that if they had faith they could very well
subsist on an eighth less than the rations they had been accustomed
to in the old country, arguing that their lack of faith was the primary
cause of their maladies.

The continued misery of the colonists again moved Jonas Hed-
strom to protest. He called the attention of the colonists, and rightly
so, to the fact that there was absolutely no necessity for all the suffer-
ing and privation to which they were subjected at the behest of Erik
Jansson. The country was large, he argued, land was to be had almost
for nothing; settlers in other localities were prospering on their well-
kept farms, and the same opportunity was open to all. In the fall of
1848 these representations resulted in probably two hundred persons
leaving the colony, mostly joining the Methodists, a step which led to
long and bitter religious warfare between the Erik Janssonists and the
Methodists. The deserters settled at Victoria, Galesburg, and neigh-
boring localities. The great majority of the colonists, however, were
not to be shaken in their faith, but continued under the harsh rule of
the prophet with remarkable patience and forbearance.

DAILY LIFE

235

Another decree of Erik Jansson in the early stages of the colony,
causing much adverse comment, was one forbidding marriage.* This
interdict soon had very damaging results, many young persons who
desired to get married simply leaving the colony for other parts, where
they were free to establish a home and family. When the prophet saw
how his ban on matrimony worked, he declared that it had been
dictated by "present need," meaning the lack of individual dwellings
and other untoward conditions. He now alleged that he had received
a new revelation to the effect "that the sons and daughters of Israel
should marry and take in marriage, multiply and fill the earth. ' ' Now.
therefore, all those that God had given a desire to marry should enter
wedlock without delay, on peril of being condemned to "the stones
of hell." Erik Jansson himself and all the subordinate leaders became
extremely active as matchmakers among the young people, causing a
veritable marriage epidemic throughout the colony. On several suc-
cessive Sundays between 20 and 30 marriages were solemnized, but
the fever ultimately subsided and normal conditions were restored.

The material as well as the spiritual interests of the colony were
looked after by Erik Jansson personally. He exercised the same
arbitrary despotism in the one field as in the other. This man 's chief
ambition was to rule and govern, no matter how. In the administration
of the colonial affairs he was supremely arbitrary, his incompetence
and recklessness bringing the community to the verge of ruin, as will
be presently shown.

When it had been decided to call in a physician, an Englishman
by the name of Kobert D. Foster made application for the place and
was accepted, but afterwards discharged by the colonists. Erik Jans-
son then made a secret agreement with Foster to this effect : he was to
be the body physician of the prophet at a compensation of $2,000 per
annum, with the privilege of extra charges for services rendered other
members of the colony.

Foster, who seems to have been a sharp and crafty fellow, in a
short time won the unlimited confidence of Erik Jansson. At La
Grange, in Western township, 18 miles from Bishop Hill, he owned a
tract of 1,116 acres of land, only a small part of which was under
cultivation. This he desired to dispose of to Erik Jansson, but at first
offered for sale only the growing wheat crop. Without making a
thorough investigation Erik Jansson closed the deal at all too high a
price. The harvesting and threshing of the wheat had to be done by
the colonists without compensation. But Erik Jansson did not stop
at this. Before he knew whether he had gained or lost by the deal,
he bought the land itself for $3,000. These transactions as well as the

* Landgren quotes testimony to the effect that Erik Jansson from the outset
urged strict sexual abstinence in wedlock.

236 THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

previous agreement with Foster were made without a word to the
colonists, and the same secrecy was observed in the matter of payments.
The money in the treasury not sufficing, Erik Jansson turned over to
Foster much of the property of the colony, consisting of horses,
oxen, cows, hogs and calves, together with wagons, implements, cloth-
ing, bedding, grain, provisions, etc., leaving the people almost destitute
of what they needed for their subsistence and by which to cultivate
the soil. Actual want resulted for all but Erik Jansson, who maintained
his own household and took about all that was left for his own use.

This disastrous deal was made, and its consequences were felt, in
the summer of 1849. About the same time the colony was visited with
another and greater affliction, but not even that could touch the im-
pervious heart and shake' the imperturbable self assurance of Erik
Jansson. The sixth immigrant party, under the leadership of Jonas
Nylund, had just arrived. Cholera had broken out among them en
route, and they brought the contagion to the colony. The pest began
to spread July 22nd and raged till the middle of September, sometimes
craving as high as twelve victims per day. Dr. Foster was totally
helpless. This man, who had boasted his ability to cure ninety-nine out
of a hundred cholera patients, failed to save a single life. The prophet
himself now proved lacking in that firm faith which he had demanded
of others by fleeing with his family to La Grange. After a short stay,
he ordered those colonists still immune from the pest to follow him
thither, but these brought the contagion, resulting in the death here of
seventy cholera victims.

No longer safe in La Grange, Erik Jansson took his family and
several women to the fishery camp he had established on Rock Island,
in the Mississippi, but even here the plague pursued him, carrying off
his wife and two children. In spite of his incompetence, Dr. Foster
still enjoyed the full confidence of Erik Jansson and was permitted to
accompany him to Rock Island. As an instance of the blind faith he
reposed in this impostor and his cool indifference in the midst of dire
misfortune, it may be stated that while his wife lay in the death-throes
which a few hours later put an end to her untold sufferings, Erik
Jansson offered to wager $10,000 with certain physicians of the city of
Rock Island that Dr. Foster would save her.

Just after his wife's death, Erik Jansson began to plan a new
marital union, ' ' in order to give a new spiritual mother to the children
of Israel, " as he put it. On a Sunday some three weeks after her demise,
the prophet in his sermon made known his purpose without reserve.
The inner testimony of all the faithful, said he, was to determine the
choice of this new "spiritual mother," and she also was to receive such
assurance within her own heart. After services, all should come to

DAILY LIFE

237

him and make known what the inner voice had spoken. The general
verdict is not known, but this much is true, that two women appeared
as claimants for the vacant place. Sophia Pollock, who had accom-
panied Erik Jansson and his family from New York, was the successful
candidate, and the same day she assumed the management of the
domestic work of the colony. She also acted as Erik Jansson 's secre-
tary. A week later the wedding was solemnized with joy and hilarity
on the part of the prophet but with a feeling of uneasiness among the
guests, who were unable to forget that only a month had elapsed since
his first wife died.

Sophia Pollock, the second wife of Erik Jansson, was the daughter
of a merchant of Goteborg and was born in that city. Her father
having become bankrupt, she was adopted by a well to do family that
moved to New York, where she was married at an early age to a sailor,
who soon after went to sea and never returned. She was remarried
to one Pollock of New York, principal of a private school, who after
giving her an education, engaged her as his assistant. When Erik
Jansson arrived in New York the couple made his acquaintance and
afterwards accompanied him to Victoria. The Pollocks were prominent
in Kev. Hedstrom's flock in New York and her going over to Erik
Jansson was no small triumph for the latter. At the founding of Bishop
Hill Mrs. Pollock joined the colony against the wishes of her husband.*
Being widowed for the second time shortly afterwards, she subsequently
married Linjo Lars Gabrielsson, who after a brief union succumbed to
the cholera. She is said to have been a personable and gifted woman,
and proved an invaluable helpmeet to Erik Jansson during the
remainder of his life.

In the meantime, the straits to which Erik Jansson 's rash business
transactions had brought the colonists opened the eyes of the prudent,
who contemplated with fears and misgivings the desperate state of
affairs. The day after his wedding, Erik Jansson had a visit from
three persons, Jonas Olsson, Nils Hedin, and E. U. Norberg, the latter
remonstrating with him on his reckless extravagance in the manage-
ment of their common property. The people, said he, had toiled beyond
their power of endurance in order to accumulate wealth for the common
good, but their wishes and opinions as to the disposal of it had not
once been consulted. Instead of being treated as friends and brothers,
they were held as slaves, bound to obey blindly his every beck and nod,
Norberg concluded.

The lecture, however, had not the slightest effect on the despotic

* Her husband, who loved her as he did his life, went with her and tried to
persuade her to return. But for the sake of her soul she dared not, for Jansson
preached that there was no salvation outside of his New Jerusalem, and her
husband died in Victoria, of a broken heart. Mrs. Pollock lost her reason over her
husband's death, but shortly recovered. (MIKKELSEN.)

2 3 8

THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

THE ASSASSINATION 2 39

prophet. He replied briefly that he simply acted in accordance with
his "inner testimony," meaning the dictates of his conscience, and that
all who complained of his actions were the dupes of the devil.

Norberg was from Ullervad, Vestergotland, where he had held the
office of king's bailiff, and had preceded Erik Jansson to America.
Being a just and clearsighted man, he appeared time and again as the
spokesman of the oppressed colonists and the defender of their rights
as against the tyranny of those in power. Had they taken his advice,
the colony doubtless would have met a better fate.

John Ruth, the Adventurer, and the Assassination of
EriH. Jansson

In the autumn of 1848 there came to the colony a trio af adventur-
ers, viz., the aforementioned Erik Wester, one Zimmerman and John
Ruth, alias Root, the latter destined to figure prominently in a tragic
episode in the history of Bishop Hill.

John Ruth was born in Stockholm, supposedly of a family from
Norrland, and served there as sergeant in the army. He emigrated to
America, presumably on account of some crime or breach of discipline,
enlisted in the United States army and served in the Mexican War.
When Ruth and his confreres arrived at Bishop Hill the aforesaid
"marriage epidemic" was at its height, and he took advantage of the
situation by marrying Charlotta Lovisa Jansson, a cousin of the
prophet. Being of a rowdyish disposition and an unruly temperament,
he presently had a disagreement with Dr. Foster. Erik Jansson sided
with the latter, giving rise to a feud between himself and Ruth, which
brought disaster to both. Not more than a month after his marriage,
Ruth wished to leave and take his wife with him, but Erik Jansson
would not permit it, basing his prohibition on a written agreement,
drawn up and signed by the contracting parties at their marriage,
requiring the husband to obtain a divorce and let his wife remain,
should he ever desire to leave the colony. She dared not desert the
colony contrary to the prophet's wishes, fearing thereby to incur the
wrath of God, for so Erik Jansson had taught. When all his per-
suasions proved in vain, Ruth went his way alone, but remained for
several months in the neighborhood in the hoj>e of ultimately inducing
his wife to accompany him.

At the end of that time he returned to his wife, who had given
birth to a son in the interval. When at the prophet's behest she still
refused to come away with him, Ruth became enraged, making dire
threats against them both, and resolved to force his wife into obedience.
In order to give the act an appearance of legality he engaged a couple
of county officers and, accompanied by a fourth person, a man from

240

THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

Cambridge by the name of Stanley, he appeared one Sunday in the fall
of 1849 to claim his wife, who agreed to follow him, fearing to offer
resistance. Kuth departed at once, with his wife and child, Stanley
accompanying them, while the two county officers went another way.
He left Bishop Hill just as the people came from church and sat down
to their common meal. He had been detected, however, and less than
two miles off a number of armed pursuers caught up with him, barred
further progress, and commanded him to give up the woman and child
to be returned to the colony. Ruth drew his revolver and threatened
to shoot, but Stanley dissuaded him, deeming it the part of discretion
to bow to a superior force.* In a special conveyance, which soon
reached the spot, the wife and child were brought back to Bishop Hill.

Thus thwarted in his, attempt to carry off his wife, Ruth on the
very next day swore out warrants for the arrest of Erik Jansson and
others and had his wife summoned as a witness at the trial, which was
to take place at Cambridge. She was brought there by a county officer
who had a secret understanding with Ruth, and confined in a room
in the hotel, where she was not permitted to see any of her friends.
Neither Erik Jansson nor Ruth were present at the trial. The latter
was represented by his counsel. That night Ruth took his wife away
to the home of some friends in the Rock River settlement. Several
Erik Janssonists stated under oath that Ruth had violated the right
of domicile during the hour of worship and secured a warrant for
his arrest. When this was to be served, the friends of Ruth interfered
in his behalf, preventing the arrest.

At Bishop Hill various plans for the rescue of the abducted woman
were evolved. Erik Jansson asserted that this must be done, even
though half of Bishop Hill should be sacrificed. Not to be taken by
surprise, Ruth secretly left Rock River with his wife and went first to
Davenport and from there to Chicago, where they arrived on March
15th, 1850, the woman finding asylum for herself and child in the home
of a married sister. By stealth, Erik Jansson succeeded in discovering
her whereabouts and sent five trusty henchmen to bring her back. The
scheme succeeded: the woman and child were returned to Bishop Hill
and so carefully concealed that few knew her hidingplace.

Deprived of his wife a second time, Ruth broke into a furious
rage and swore to wreak bloody vengeance on Erik Jansson and his
colony. He proceeded to Green River, and, by describing the Erik
Janssonists as a band of criminals that ought to be annihilated, he

* Another version of the story has it that while Ruth was holding down
his wife in the bottom of the rig, his revolver, which he had placed beside him,
was snatched by one of the colonists (who were unarmed) and leveled at his head,
when Ruth surrendered the woman, "who, upon being given her choice, accom-
panied her rescuers back to Bishop Hill.

THE ASSASSINATION

241

succeeded in raising an armed posse of about 70 men, with which he
advanced on Bishop Hill in order to capture Erik Jansson and rescue
his wife. A thorough search was instituted, yet neither was to be
found. The posse then gave the colonists one week in which to deliver
the wife of Ruth to them, under penalty of having Bishop Hill burned
to the ground. Frightened by this threat, Erik Jansson did not dare
to remain at Bishop Hill, where he had been in hiding, but went to
St. Louis with his family, Mrs. Ruth and several others.

The economic state of Bishop Hill continuing desperate, the
colonists conceived the idea of relieving the situation at one stroke
by fitting out an expedition of goldseekers for California, where rich
gold fields had been discovered two years before. As members of the
expedition the following nine men were selected : Jonas Olson,* P. O.
Blomberg, P. N. Blom, Peter Jansson, E. 0. Lind, C. M. Myrtengren.
C. G. Blombergson, Sven Norlin and Lars Stalberg. A number of
these having taken part in the rescue expedition to Chicago, and
fearing the revenge of that dangerous man Ruth, they arranged to
leave the colony simultaneously with Erik Jansson, starting for Cali-
fornia on March 28th. f After a journey replete with perils and hard-
ships, they reached Hanktown, Cal., Aug. 12th, hale and hearty, except
Blombergson, who died after two weeks. Of the other eight, all but
Stalberg, who remained in California, returned home in the course of
the year 1851, having found barely enough of the precious metal to pay
the cost of the expedition. The plan to put the colony on its feet again
by means of Californian gold thus fell through. Nothing now remained
for the colonists to do but to continue work in the fields, in house and
yard, at sawmill and brickyard, and by redoubled energy repair the
losses.

About this time Jon Olsson Stenberg of Stenbo removed from
Moline to Bishop Hill and upon joining the colony is said to have con-
tributed a substantial amount of money to the community.!

Late in the evening of April 1st, Ruth returned at the head of the
same armed posse and demanded the surrender of his wife. Her
absence making that impossible, a respite of several days was again
given, coupled with a renewed threat of burning the village, should the
colonists fail to fulfill the condition. When the time was up, the crowd

* This and similar names are henceforth given in the form their bearers
wrote them in this country.

t According to the diary of Jonas Olson, three of the men set out March
23rd, going via Rock Island, through Iowa, etc., the others apparently on March
29th, going by way of St. Louis. The two parties joined bn the way and reached
Hanktown (Placerville), Cal., Aug. 12th, according to Olson.

J In "Sverige i Amerika" Peterson, writing about Jonas Olson, illustrates
that man's great persuasive powers with a story of how he "discovered" Sten-
berg and "dug up" $50,000 in gold, while the California party were in the gold
fields and found nothing. Stenberg's fortune, it is safe to say, could not have
reached such a figure. Besides, the author apparently forgets that Jonas Olson
himself was the leader of the party of goldseekers.

242 THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

again appeared, with reinforcements, evidently with a grim determina-
tion to carry out the threat. The Mormon colony at Nauvoo had been
wiped out by fire three and a half years earlier, and that event was still
fresh in the memory of all. The passions of the incendiaries were keyed
to a high pitch, but fortunately the catastrophe was averted just as they
were about to throw out the firebrands. Norberg, who had been driven
from the colony by the odium heaped upon him by Erik Jansson, got
word of the intended outrage and the day set for it, and, quickly
mustering another posse of well armed men, he marched to Bishop Hill
and in a parley with the mob dissuaded them from violence.

Again thwarted in his plans, Ruth swore vengeance on Erik Jans-
son personally and sent him word that he would shoot him down at the
first opportunity. . The prophet was living high at St. Louis while his
deluded followers at Bishop Hill were haggard from hunger and priva-
tion. Erik Jansson succeeded in obtaining considerable loans on the
strength of ingenious newspaper articles setting forth the flourishing
condition of his colony and putting himself in the most favorable light.
For the evident purpose of strengthening his credit, he subscribed
for $50,000 worth of railway stock at this juncture.

His fear of Euth was somewhat allayed on hearing that the attack
on Bishop Hill, planned by that desperado, had failed, so he returned
home on May llth. He arrived on a Saturday, and while preaching
his sermon the following day in the colonial church, he seemed agitated
by fear, as evidenced by his quoting II. Timothy 4: 6-8 and at the
subsequent communion service Matthew 26 : 29 in reference to himself.
A large number of law suits had been entered against him in the
county circuit court during his absence, and in order to defend his
interests he went to Cambridge the following Monday, May 13th.*
That morning he seems to have had a definite presentiment of danger,
for on starting from home he is said to have asked his driver, one
Mr. Mascall, "Well, will you stop the bullet for me today?"
About one o'clock p. m., during the noon recess of the court, Erik
Jansson stood near a window in the court room, conversing with At-
torney Samuel P. Brainerd. Suddenly Ruth appeared outside the win-
dow and put the question to Erik Jansson, whether he would give him
back his wife and child, t The prophet retorted that a sow would be a
more fit companion for Ruth than a woman. Maddened by the insult,
Ruth rushed into the building and the next instant stood in the door-
way leading to the courtroom, loudly calling Erik Jansson by name.
When the prophet turned to look, Ruth fired a pistol shot directly at

* An examination of the clerk's record disproves the assertion made by
almost every writer on this subject that the case of Ruth vs. Jansson was before
the court on that day.

t According to Mikkelsen, friends of Erik Jansson claim no words were
exchanged between the slayer and his victim prior to the firing of the shot.

THE INCORPORATION

243

him, the bullet piercing the chest of Erik Jansson, who fell backwards
and expired in a few minutes. As his victim fell, Ruth fired a second
shot, which only tore a hole in the wounded man's clothing. Such was
the tragic end of the checkered and peculiar career of Erik Jansson,
the Prophet.

His death created a tremendous sensation and deep sorrow in the
colony. Nils Hedin and Jacob Jacobson, who had witnessed the
tragedy in the courtroom, brought the dead body to Bishop Hill, where
it was interred several days later. Many of the simple-minded colonists
could scarcely believe that their master was really dead, some even
hoped that he would rise forthwith from the grave. A simple wooden
cross at first marked the last restingplace of Erik Jansson, the self-
appointed ambassador of God on earth. This was replaced later by
a handsome monument of white marble.

At the time of the assassination, the courtroom was filled with
people, who had no difficulty in catching the assassin. He was arrested
and, after a trial pending two years, convicted and sentenced to three
years in the penitentiary. After having served half of his term he
was released in response to the numerous petitions for his pardon that
were sent to Governor Joel A. Matteson. Kuth then went to Chicago
where he spent the remainder of his life among the scum of the city.
His stormy life ended in a revolting tragedy. While engaged in a
drunken brawl with two other ruffians in a saloon, he was badly bruised
and finally knocked to the floor, when one of his assailants jumped
upon his chest and broke several ribs, the injuries causing his death
shortly afterwards. Among the few Erik Janssonists in the old country
the belief was general, however, that the murderer of the prophet was
"consumed by worms" while in prison.

The Incorporation of Bishop Hill and the Administration of
Jonas Olson and Olof Johnson

After the murder of Erik Jansson the property of the colony, which
was all in the leader's name, devolved upon his widow. Mrs. Sophia
Pollock Jansson knew more about the colony's affairs than any other
person and took the reins of government into her own hands. But
women were not allowed to speak in public, therefore Andrew Berg-
lund, one of the assistant preachers, was appointed the spiritual leader,
as also guardian of Erik Jansson 's son, who, according to the expressed
wish of the prophet, was to become his successor. At the funeral Mrs.
Jansson stepped forward and placed her hand on Berglund's bowed
head, creating him guardian of the heir to the leadership of God's
chosen people until the boy should have attained his majority. Berg-
lund thus became nominally both the temporal and spiritual head of

244

THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

the community, but in matters of business no important step was taken
without the knowledge and consent of Mrs. Jansson. The affairs of the
colony were very much involved, and the creditors caused the new
management much worry. The situation was somewhat relieved when
Olof Johnson and Olof Stoneberg returned from Sweden with the afore-
said $6,000 in inheritances collected. Then the farming and industries
of Bishop Hill were pursued with renewed vigor.

Berglund was not permitted long to exercise leadership. A rival
soon appeared in the person of Jonas Olson, who was on his way to

Andrew Berglund

Preacher and Leader

Jacob Jacobson

Colony Trustee

the gold country at the time, and did not learn of the death of Erik
Jansson till after his arrival in California. Actuated by a desire to
succeed to the leadership he decided to return forthwith. He abandoned
the expedition, having had no faith in it from the outset, and started
back home with a couple of the men, leaving the rest to follow at their
leisure. Arriving in Bishop Hill in February, 1851, he at once began
to set matters right. He persuaded several of his friends that Erik
Jansson 's prophetic dignity was not to be handed down as a heritage,
for the reason that no other man could receive the Holy Spirit in like
measure; consequently, he argued, the present leadership ought to be
abolished for a complete equality of rights. His friends were easily

THE INCORPORATION

245

won over, and his views gained ground, being disseminated guardedly
at first, but soon without any pretense of secrecy.

The guardians of Erik Jansson's son could not claim infallibility
of judgment, and many were dissatisfied to be governed by a woman.
A respectable minority, while admitting Jansson's other claims, were
not disposed to recognize those in behalf of his heir. It was this
growing sentiment of dissatisfaction, which Jonas Olson voiced w r hen
he denounced Berglund as a usurper and demanded his abdication.
Jonas Olson's standing added weight to his words, and ere long the
democratic spirit which he represented prevailed. The movement also
gained strength from the operation of another circumstance. The
affairs of the community were in such a condition that a strong and
able man was needed to conduct it through the pending crisis. Jonas
Olson was such a man, and to him the people instinctively looked for
guidance. Thus it happened that, although no formal election or
transfer of power took place, the leadership passed from the guardians
of Erik Jansson's son into the hands of Jonas Olson. With his advent
into power the claims of the family of Jansson retreat into the back-
ground until, upon the' adoption of the charter in 1853, they practically
disappear. In the struggle between autocracy and democracy the latter
prevailed, but it carried with it the supremacy of Jonas Olson in
spiritual and temporal affairs for years to come. This man's ambition
to rule was probably as great as that of Erik Jansson, but it must be
said to his credit that in general he made more discreet use of his
power.

During the troublous times of religious persecution in Sweden
Jonas Olson's knowledge of men and affairs had more than once
rescued the sinking cause of the Erik Janssonists. After the flight of
their leader he had been the chief agent in bringing about their emigra-
tion. Now his gifts and attainments, which latter were not inconsider-
able in an untutored farmer, once more came to be of service to the
people and to himself.

A democratic form of government was now established, quite
different from that to which the Erik Janssonists had been accustomed.
Special superintendents or foremen were appointed for the various
departments of work, these to be discharged at the discretion of the
colonists themselves. These foremen, who also constituted the govern-
ing body, met at brief intervals to deliberate and act on matters of
common concern. Important questions were referred to the people for
their decision. This form of government proved beneficial in every
respect. Agriculture and manufacture flourished, the most pressing
debts were paid, want was followed by plenty, and the future looked
bright and full of promise. The cultivation of broomcorn, begun in

246 TR E BISHOP HILL COLONY

1851, under the direction of an American named Davenport, proved
particularly profitable. One large brick structure after another was
built, and maples and other shade trees were planted to beautify the
landscape. Many of the colonists were expert artisans, whose products
found a ready sale.

Although the colony was governed by the will of the majority,
Jonas Olson was the controlling spirit. This man did not flaunt his
ambition, but gained favor with the people by showing great zeal
for the common welfare.

From the first the colonists had owned all property in common ;
not even the arbitrary conduct of Erik Jansson had suggested the
necessity of a change in that respect. But the more the wealth of the
community increased, the more evident was the need of specific
regulations governing the ownership of property. The only way to
obtain a satisfactory basis seemed to be to incorporate the community
under the laws of the state. Under the existing order, the colony
could not legally own property in its own name; in every instance
property was acquired through purchase made in the name of some
individual, at whose death the transfer to the community would meet
with legal obstacles and entail trouble and expense. This fact Jonas
Olson made to serve his ends. In conjunction with a few intimates,
he drafter a charter for the Bishop Hill Colony, for passage by the
state legislature. Signatures to this document were obtained from
the majority of the adult members of the colony without any explana-
tion save that the list of names was to be appended to a petition asking
the legislature to grant the charter.

Two of the colonists, the aforementioned E. U. Norberg and
August Bandholtz, a German, who had married into the colony, being
more prudent than the others, asked to see the proposed charter before
affixing their signatures. After some hesitation, the draft was shown
to Norberg, who made the pertinent objection that the trustees therein
nominated had not been duly elected by the colonists but had
arbitrarily placed themselves at the head ; furthermore, a number of
them were interrelated by blood or marriage, a circumstance presaging
the rise of a family autocracy prejudicial to the rights of the individual.
These objections, publicly made, caused the colonists to rise in protest
against the proposed charter, which for the moment seemed doomed
to defeat.

Jonas Olson, however, was master of the situation. After being
closeted with Olof Johnson for several hours of secret deliberation,
he declared to the assembled colonists that the proposed charter ought
by no means to be changed. He insisted that the trustees would need

THE INCORPORATION

247

all the power it conveyed, but suggested that the colonists might
restrict this power and control their acts by passing special rules.
Norberg protested that no special rules could be enforced at variance
with a constitution once ratified. Jonas Olson maintained his point,
adding that, after all, the charter would be a mere formality, inasmuch
as the colonists were God's people, with the divine precepts inscribed
in their hearts and consciences and with the Holy Writ for their
fundamental law, making all temporal laws superfluous. So convincing
arguments by the foremost leader silenced the opposition all but the
obstreperous and heretical Norberg, who continued to object.

Olof Stoneberg

Peter Johnson

Trustees of the Bishop Hill Colony

The proposed charter, together with a petition for its passage,
was sent to the legislature, and, after some pressure from the trustees
to be, it was granted on Jan. 17, 1853. The seven self-appointed trustees,
who were named in the articles of incorporation and whose appoint-
ment was thus ratified by the legislature, were the following: Jonas
Olson, Olof Johnson, Jonas Erickson, Jacob Jacobson, Swan Swanson,
Peter Johnson, a brother of the prophet, and Jonas Kronberg. The
first five were from Soderala and were all related by blood ; Kronberg
was from Alfta. Peter Johnson was succeeded in 1859 by Olof Stone-
berg, one of the colony preachers. According to the wording of the
charter, they were to hold their positions for life, or during good
behavior. They were removable by a majority vote of the male
members of the colony.

248 TR E BISHOP HILL COLONY

The conduct of affairs by the seven trustees for the first few years
offered no ground for complaint. They seemed desirous of convincing
the colonists that their mistrust had been entirely groundless, and the
people were thus led to repose the fullest confidence in the trustees.
The danger of arbitrary action, implied in the charter, was entirely
forgotten, being obscured by incessant preaching of the theocratic
doctrine. The members of the community were persuaded to adopt, on
May 6, 1854, a set of by-laws, providing for the holding of an annual
business meeting, when the trustees were to submit a full and complete
report of the past year's business, but in no sense limiting the authority
of the trustees or extending the privileges of the colonists. A draft
previously submitted by Norberg and Jonas Olson had been rejected
by the trustees for the good and sufficient reason that it would have
had the opposite effect. The principal necessity for the early adoption
of by-laws lay in the fact that the charter contained no provision for
the admittance and expulsion of members of the colony. On this point
the by-laws stipulated that insubordination in faith, teaching or living
was punishable by expulsion with no compensation to banished mem-
bers, except as the trustees might see fit to make. By this time it could
be easily perceived that the popularization of the form of government
had been more apparent than real. The colonists were unaccustomed
to self-government. Their leaders hardly looked upon themselves as
servants of the people, but rather as authoritative interpreters of the
will of God. The seven self-constituted trustees were all persons who
had been appointed to positions of trust under Erik Jansson and who
considered that they had a perfect right to formal recognition of the
power which they already virtually enjoyed. In reality the distribution
of authority remained very much the same as before. Through the
tireless industry of the colonists, the wealth of the community was
materially increased during the first years of the administration of the
trustees. All realty (except the Foster tract) owned by the colony in
the time of Erik Jansson, but subsequently sold, was re-purchased and
new extensive tracts of land were added to the colony's holdings. The
reputation of the colony and its financial credit also improved.

According to the annual report submitted by the trustees on Jan.
21, 1855, the colony owned 8,028 acres of land, improved and un-
improved, 50 building lots in Galva, valued at $10,000, and ten shares
of stock in the Central Military Tract Railroad, valued at $1,000. The
live stock numbered 109 horses and mules, 586 head of cattle, and 1,000
hogs. All other assets such as wheat, flax, broom corn, provisions and
general merchandise, were valued at $49,570.

While the colony enjoyed marked material progress, it suffered
spiritual decadence. The former religious zeal had apparently cooled.

THE INCORPORATION

249

while the material interests pressed to the fore and engrossed the minds
of the people. The Erik Janssonists formerly had sharply criticised
the state church for its formalism and lack of spiritual ardor. Now that
their own zeal had subsided, they were guilty of the same faults. Never-
theless, regular divine services were held, the principal preachers being
Jonas Olson, Anders Berglund, Nils Hedin, Olof Osberg and Olof
Stoneberg. Yet, any member who so desired had the right to preach.
The services consisted of prayers, singing and the reading and expound-
ing of passages from the Scriptures.

Olof Johnson Swan Swanson

Trustees of the Bishop Hill Colony

Under Jonas Olson 's leadership the religious tendency was in some
measure one of conservative retrogression. He eliminated some of the
excesses of the Janssonist theology and effected a partial return to
the devotionalism of the Pietists and Readers, abolishing Erik Jansson 's
catechism by degrees and thoroughly revising his hymnbook in 1857.
As modified, the religion of the colony had a close resemblance to
Methodism. The singing at divine service was particularly beautiful
and inspiring, owing to the fervor evinced by the young people. The
spoken language used, in the sermons, however, was not always the best,
being sometimes a mixture of provincial Swedish and bad English.
Many colonists had learned to speak the latter language fluently, and
a school was maintained, where instruction was given in the subjects

250

THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

of reading, writing, ciphering, and other branches.* Higher education
was odious to the colonists; they feared that "learning might tend to
vanity." Several of the trustees and spiritual leaders, however,
realizing their ignorance, began to acquire knowledge on their own
account. A large schoolhouse was built in 1860, that being the last
structure erected by the colony as such. From principle, the trustees
were opposed to newspapers, yet a weekly Swedish paper called "The
Swedish Republican" was started by them at Galva, in July, 1856,
with S. Cronsioe as editor. The paper ceased publication after a
short period.

Success and prosperity made Jonas Olson and Olof Johnson vain
and led them to believe and to proclaim openly that the material wel-
fare of the colony was the result of the wise administration and success-
ful speculations of the board of trustees, rather than the fruit of the
labors of the people themselves. As their ambition grew, so did their
independence. Great enterprises would be started and large contracts
entered into without previous notice to the colonists, often, it is claimed,
without the knowledge of any one besides Jonas Olson and Olof John-
son. Should any one inquire into the common affairs, he would be
sharply rebuked for his mistrust of the administration.

The despotism of the trustees, like that of Erik Jansson, showed
itself in a proclamation forbidding marriages for a certain period.
This prohibition provoked constant irritation and eventually proved
one of the chief factors of disintegration. The edict was brought
about in the following manner: Nils Hedin, the only one of Erik
Jansson 's twelve apostles who possessed the ability of propagating
his master's teachings, had made missionary journeys to Hopedale.
N. Y., 'to the Perfectionists in Oneida, N. Y., and to the Rappists in
Economy, Pa., and persuaded 25 or 30 persons in Hopedale to move
to Bishop Hill. In 1854 he made a trip to the Shaker Colony at Pleasant
Hill, Ky., and there also succeeded in gaining many converts. His visit
to the latter settlement had convinced Hedin of the advantages of
celibacy. This conviction he succeeded in imparting to Jonas Olson,
who thereupon issued a marriage interdict on alleged moral grounds
and on the further plea that if all young women became wives much
of the outdoor work performed by them would be left undone to the
detriment of economic progress. After the edict had been in force
for about a year, arousing strong resentment, Jonas Olson began to
preach against the marriage institution as belonging solely to the Old

* Mikkelsen states that Swedish was not one of the subjects taught in the
school, its study being limited to the meager instruction given in the home.
In the early fifties Capt. Wickstrum is said to have plugged the keyhole so as not
to be detected burning the midnight oil over his English books.

THE INCORPORATION

251

Testament period. It is a union, based entirely on the lust of the flesh,
he held, therefore, those who already were married ought to abstain
from connubial intercourse.

Before the promulgation of the celibacy edict, ten members, among
whom the widow of Eric Jansson, had left the colony and joined the
Shakers. When it became a law without being submitted to a general
vote, many others deserted Bishop Hill to settle elsewhere. Discontent
was general among those who remained; but should any one dare to
give vent to his disapproval, he would be summarily dismissed from
the colony, according to the fifth article of the by-laws. On this ground
eleven persons were expelled on May 7, 1855. Of the remaining
colonists a number formed a secret league under the leadership of
Norberg with a view to oppose the new doctrine and, whenever the
organization should become sufficiently strong, to depose the adminis-
tration. Certain ones weakened and betrayed the movement, and a
rigorous investigation followed. Many of the conspirators were in-
duced by threats again to accept the views of the leaders. Only
Norberg himself remained steadfast in his opposition. For the leaders
Norberg had long been a thorn in the flesh, and by continued vigorous
opposition to their measures, he was largely instrumental in under-
mining their power.

In the meantime, the temporal and spiritual leaders sought to
conceal from outsiders both the doctrines of the sect and the conditions
obtaining in the colony. At the annual meeting held in 1856, it was
resolved on motion of Jonas Olson that all persons visiting relatives or
friends at Bishop Hill should put up at the hotel. In case of over-
crowding, lodging was to be provided by the trustees, no member being
permitted to house an outsider except by their permission. In spite
of all this secrecy, the true condition became known to the neighboring
American population, many of whom spoke their mind to the leaders
without reserve. - One of the points of comment was the fact that the
women whose husbands, willingly or by expulsion, left the colony,
neither dared nor desired to accompany them, having been persuaded
that to leave Bishop Hill, the only place where religion was being
preached pure and unalloyed, were to commit a mortal sin. In order
to clear themselves, Jonas Olson and Olof Johnson invited their
American neighbors to appoint a committee to institute a thorough
investigation. This was done, but the report of that committee, was
far from complimentary to the leaders. Besides substantiating the
charges made, it laid bare the prevailing social conditions. Not even
by these disclosures could the leaders be persuaded to change their
policy. On the contrary, they renewed their efforts still further to
alienate the wives from their banished husbands.

252

THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

THE INCORPORATION

253

T're draslL' m^r: i ige ii terdict. which not only prohibited new
marriages but forbade conjugal relations between man and wife,
created much strife and caused irreparable damage to the reputation
of the colony. Scandal followed upon scandal, heaping opprobrium
on the Erik Janssonists and Bishop Hill. In sheer exasperation, a
number of colonists determined to come out in open warfare against
the leaders and their tenets. These persons^ were Sven Johan Nordin,
Olof Molin, and Hans Nordstrom, headed by the intrepid Erik U.
Norberg. Fearing that their antagonists might eventually bring about
a dissolution of the colony, the leaders decided to call a public meeting
at which the boldest of the disturbers were to be publicly excom-
municated for their own punishment and as an example to other mal-
contents. This meeting was held October 31, 1856. In direct violation
of the express stipulation in the by-laws, it was resolved, on motion
of Olof Johnson, to give every woman and child a vote. Then a resolu-
tion was passed directing members desiring to marry to obtain per-
mission from the board of trustees. That being granted, the contracting
parties were to leave the colony for other parts before consummating
their union. Persons entering wedlock without asking permission in
due order were to be summarily expelled. Norberg and three others
positively refused to submit, and in consequence were banished from
the colony. Furthermore, all members were strictly forbidden to have
any intercourse whatever with them. No one of those expelled had
any part of his property returned to him, although they had toiled from
eight to ten years for the common good.

The actions of the leaders were sharply attacked in the public
press ; a number of Americans took the part of Norberg and his friends
and proposed to get justice for them by force if no other means availed.
It was proposed to invade Bishop Hill with an armed posse and force
the trustees at the point of the musket to grant restitution to the men
they had banished. Norberg, however, objected to this method and
proposed a settlement by legal process. His plan was to petition the
legislature for the revocation of the charter of the Bishop Hill Colony
and the appointment of a committee to distribute its property equitably
among the colonists. Thereby the dissatisfied members would receive
their just portion, and be left free to leave the colony, while those who
so desired might remain loyal to the leaders, reorganize the corporation
and change its laws to suit themselves. The Americans approved this
as a wise and equitable solution of the mooted question. A petition
was drawn up and circulated, receiving no less than 1,500 signatures,
and was then submitted to the legislature. Norberg appeared in person
and by the assistance of Senator Graham urged the granting of the
petition. The Bishop Hill leaders were represented by Attorney Ram-

254

THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

say and Senator Henderson. After three weeks the matter had been
brought to the point where the fate of the Bishop Hill charter hung on
the vote of a single senator. That senator had the matter postponed
from time to time, demanding more time for consideration. Meanwhile
Senator Graham began to waver. One day he inquired in guarded terms
whether Norberg would withdraw his petition for a consideration of
one thousand dollars. Suspecting foul play, Norberg refused the money

-Jonas Kronberg

Jonas Erickson

Trustees of the Bishop Hill Colony

point-blank. A few days after, Graham stated that urgent private busi-
ness made a trip home necessary, adding the assurance that he would
soon return to push the matter through. The same day Graham left the
capital, Olof Johnson arrived in response to a telegram, and the matter
was hurriedly disposed of in the legislature to the entire satisfaction of
the trustees. That bribery had been resorted to was patent to all.*

This victory, though a rather costly one, raised the courage and
enterprising spirit of the leaders to a high pitch. They persuaded the
colonists that, God being on their side, all opposition was doomed to
failure. The one man who was not to be imposed upon by these fine
phrases was Norberg. Assisted by the dissatisfied element, he strove
energetically for a division of the property. This was a thing worth
while, for in the year 1857 the property held in common doubtless
aggregated over $700,000 in value. The individualizatioii of the
property, however, did not take place until great losses had been

* It is reported that the thing- was done by judicious use of the sum of $8,000.

RETROGRESSION

255

sustained in the panic of 1857 and through unfortunate business
ventures.

Olof Johnson's Business Ventures and the Downfall
of the Colony

As has been shown, Jonas Olson was the dominant spirit in the
council of seven, but at his side stood Olof Johnson, whose power and
influence was ever on the increase, undoubtedly with the approval of
his chief. These two men were each the complement of the other.
Jonas Olson was shrewd, but conservative, and cautious in the extreme ;
Olof Johnson, on the other hand, bold and enterprising. The admin-
istrative work they divided between them in accordance with natural
gifts and capabilities. All matters pertaining to worship and the
administration of domestic affairs were in the hands of Jonas Olson,
who laid particular stress on the development of the extensive agri-
cultural pursuits, while Plof Johnson looked after the business affairs
of the colony, his activities in this line dating back to about the time
of the change in the administrative system.

The opportunities for speculative enterprise were very favorable.
In 1854 the town of Galva was founded five miles from Bishop Hill.
When the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railway was completed in
1855, giving Galva a railway station, the little town had a great boom,
which Olof Johnson took advantage of. He started a number of
business enterprises there, under the auspices of the Bishop Hill
Colony, calculated to bring sure and abundant profit. In a short time
he sat in his office at Galva and directed practically the whole economic
machinery of the colony, all the more easily done since he controlled
four of the seven votes in the board of trustees. At first he had the
most pronounced success. The Crimean War had caused a sharp rise
in the price of such commodities as wheat, corn, and other produce.
But his reckless passion for speculation grew even more rapidly than
his successful business enterprises. Overspeculation was epidemic at
this time, and Johnson was soon drawn into a veritable whirl of diverse
ventures, such as dealing in grain, lumber and general merchandise,
meat packing, coal mining, banking, railroad building, etc. Together
with several other persons he signed a contract to grade the roadbed
for the Western Air Line Railroad for the sum of five million dollars,
and pledged the Bishop Hill Colony to take stock for one million in
the road. This was his most extensive undertaking. Ere long, Olof
Johnson found himself in too deep water, and when the panic of 1857
came, the colony suffered loss upon loss, rapidly reducing the wealth
which the colonists had produced in the sweat of their brow and

256 TH E BISHOP HILL COLONY

sweeping away the earnings of the successful business ventures. The
period was marked by great financial disasters, and the Bishop Hill
Colony was early drawn into the vortex, heavy losses compelling the
colonists to submit to some sacrifice in order to raise money to stand
off the creditors. Attempts made to start new enterprises invariably
failed, owing to the prevailing hard times.

All too late, the colonists now began to realize whither the specula-
tions of Olof Johnson had carried them, and they urged measures
wherewith to control the actions of the board. That body obstinately
refused to surrender a single prerogative. The only man on the board
who was willing to admit the justice of the demand was Peter Johnson,
who resigned as trustee in 1859 and was succeeded by Olof .Stoneberg.
The involved financial affairs added to the general discontent, and all
things conspired to bring about the collapse of the whole system of
religious and economic communism. Conditions grew still worse in
the latter half of the year 1859, when it leaked out that the trustees
had negotiated large loans to cover business losses. Questioned on this
point at a public assemblage, the trustees laid the blame on Olof
Johnson, who had sole charge of the finances. He finally admitted that
he had borrowed $40,000 from one Mr. Studwell of New York, but
protested that this was a private transaction of his, not in the least
affecting the interests of the other colonists.*

Under the circumstances, the division of the property proposed by
Norberg in 1857 naturally came to be favored by many. Evidently
the only avenue of escape from complete ruin was to be found in
amending the by-laws and repealing the communist pact. At the
annual meeting held in January, 1860, a resolution to this effect was
passed. The annual report rendered showed that the colony owned
between 13,000 and 14,000 acres of land, partly improved, real estate in
Galva. stocks and credits in various enterprises, and other resources,
making a total of $846,270, while the liabilities amounted to $75,644
all told. This report aroused suspicion, and the colonists demanded
that the books be audited. The trustees refused to show their accounts,
and a storm of indignation was about to break, when Jonas Olson
quieted the murmur of the people by declaring that their demand was
just, whereupon he had an auditing committee appointed, with the
proviso that the accounts of the lasts two years were to be submitted
to them after a period of three weeks.

On the 7th day of February, new by-laws were adopted at a

* The official statement of colony debts in 1861, included in the "Answer of
the Defendants," recognized as a corporate .liability a mortgage loan of $40,000 obtained
from Alexander Studwell in February, 1858. When in 1861 the loan was renewed, this debt
exceeded $5O,OOO. This fact seems to account for a statement that at about that time
Johnson borrowed such a sum from Studwell.

RETROGRESSION

257

meeting, the legality of which the trustees denied. These by-laws
deprived them of the right to buy and sell realty, make contracts or
incur debts on the general account, except upon formal resolution
of the colonists and \vith their express sanction. After much strife
and discord, a resolution to divide the property was carried into
effect on Feb. 14th, each of the 415 colonists receiving one share of
stock in approximately two-thirds of the total resources. This portion

of the property consisted of near-
ly 10,000 acres of land, valued at
$400,000, buildings and realty in
Bishop Hill, worth $123,208, and
personal property, worth $69,585,
making a total of $592,793. The
undivided property was estimated
at $248,861. The stockholders split
up into two groups, the Olson and
Johnson parties, the former repre-
senting 265, the latter 150 shares.
But Olof Johnson managed to get
control of the stock of Olson's
friends as well as of his own, and
soon directed the entire business.
The audit of the accounts of the
corporation had a disheartening
effect. Among the disclosures made
was the fact that the trustees,
during the three weeks' respite
given them, had opened an entire
new set of books, and that, according to the " corrected" accounts, the
colony owed $42,759 over and above the reported indebtedness of
$75,647, or a total of $118,403. The discoveries made shook the con-
fidence of the colonists in their trustees and hastened the end. Olof
Johnson was in a sorry plight. By a resolution of Nov. 13, 1860, he
was deposed from the office of trustee for arrogating to himself the
management and control of the colony's affairs, violating the by-
laws and betraying his trust. By intrigue he managed to get himself
reinstated as trustee on May 24, 1861, and proved himself almost
indispensable to the board in the work of clearing up the muddle.
In a short time he was again almost solely in charge of affairs. He was
clothed with power of attorney to make the best bargains possible with
the creditors of the corporation and served as attorney in fact
until 1870.

Shortly after the division of property had taken place, the

Mrs. Mary (Malmgren) Olson,
First Child Born in Bishop Hill

2 5 8

THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

remainder of the common estate, valued at $248,861, was placed in
the hands of the trustees with instructions to use it to clear the colony
of debt. They were given five years in which to clear up the affairs,
with instructions to report annually. Part of the assets being found
valueless the amount proved inadequate and a lot of cattle, broomcorn,
etc., to the value of $52,762 was subsequently set aside to make up for
the deficit.

In the spring of 1861 the Johnson party divided up their holdings
so that each got his or her share of the property. To every person,

Major Eric Bergland Capt. Eric Johnson

Well-known Descendants of Bishop Hill Leaders

male or female, who had attained the age of thirty-five years, was
given one full share, comprising 22 acres of farm land, one timber lot
of nearly two acres, one town lot and an equitable share of all barns,
horses, cattle, hogs, sheep and other domestic animals and of all farm
implements and household furniture and utensils. All under this age-
received a share corresponding to the age of the individual, the
smallest being 8 acres of land and other property in proportion. After
another year's trial the Olson party, now split up into three groups,
known respectively as the Olson, Stoneberg and Martin Johnson
groups, took similar action, the shares received by their members
being somewhat smaller. Thereby all economic community of interest
had ceased, and each colonist could dispose of his property as he saw
fit. This new order of things for a time made Bishop Hill flourish

THE COLONY CASE 259

as never before. Handsome residences and other buildings sprang up
in rapid succession, and the colonists seemed hopeful and confident of
the future. If not now relieved of the debt, for the payment of which
they had already made so great sacrifices, they firmly hoped to be
rid of the burden inside of five years. But their hopes were to be
rudely shattered. At the end of the period, the trustees came in with
a request for an additional $100,000 to satisfy the creditors. An assess-
ment was levied. The majority being prosperous, they decided to pay
rather than go to law, but about half refused or neglected to pay.
The sum of $54,858, or $56,163, was raised and turned over to the
trustees. Those who refused to pay their assessments held the former
appropriation ample. That, however, had been decreased about
$100,000 by assets found worthless, making the total appropriation for
debt-paying purposes, inclusive of the receipts from the last levy,
about $260,000.

The years passed by; the people toiled on as before, and their
labors were blessed with rich returns. The trustees also labored on
in a way, but as no reports were forthcoming, the people were left in
the dark as to what progress they made in paying off the debt.
Finally, when in 1868 the trustees again requested a large sum of
money $123,835 the sorely tried patience of the people gave out.
At a public meeting on May llth, the malcontents appointed a com-
mittee, composed of Norberg and five others, to bring the trustees to
an accounting, and on July 27th, legal proceedings were instituted.
A special master in chancery was appointed who, after due examination
of the books, certified that the trustees since 1860 had received money
and property to the value of $249,763 and paid out on account of the
colony $140,144, the sum of $109,619 remaining to be accounted for.

The Bishop Hill Colony Case

In this famous lawsuit, renowned among the legal fraternity of
Illinois as the "Colony Case," there were many facts brought out,
favorable to the defendants, which are usually ignored by writers who
have dealt with the history of Bishop Hill. While the trustees as a
body cannot be exonerated from blame for th sins of commission and
omission charged to their executive head, Olof Johnson, printer's ink
has tended to make them out rather blacker than they deserve. It is
only common fairness to assume that the truth in this case was not
all on one side.

When the Erik Jansson family ceased to dominate the colony's
affairs, it naturally went over to the opposition, and thus we find
Erik Jansson 's son making common cause with Norberg, his father's
old antagonist, against those in control. The suit against the trustees

260 THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

was filed by Erik U. Norberg, Eric Johnson, Olof Olson, Andrew
Norberg, Lars Lindbeck and Andrew Johnson, complainants, acting
for themselves and in behalf of other persons dissatisfied with the
manner in which the trustees were winding up the common affairs.
Being a party to the suit and one who thereby sought redress for old
grievances, Eric Johnson was not free from bias, and his published
account of the case, though quite generally accepted without question,
cannot be considered impartial.

The bill of complaint charged the trustees with malfeasance on
a large number of counts, such as, exercising undue and improper
influence over the legislature in securing the passage of the charter
and coercing the colonists into joining the corporation ; illegal con-
struction of the charter and by-laws; diverting colony property to
their own use ; violating the revised by-laws ; sinister purposes in sub-
dividing the property ; failure to make the required reports ; collusion
in fraudulent lawsuits to waive just defense, procure judgment and
decree against the colony and deprive it of money and property under
color of judicial proceedings; gross neglect of duty; misuse, waste and
unlawful disposition of corporate funds ; concealment of the true state
of the colony 's pecuniary affairs ; unlawful use of the corporate funds
for private speculation; mortgaging property without good and
sufficient consideration on all of which and other grounds the com-
plainants asked for a writ enjoining the trustees from further exercise
of their authority.

In answer, the trustees urged a formidable array of facts, allega-
tions and denials, many of them well-grounded. Without this admis-
sion, the progress of the case can hardly be understood. In fairness
to the memory of those of the trustees who did act in good faith and
whose principal fault was lack of vigilance, the chief points in their
defense, touching the various charges of maladministration, are here
outlined. As to the diversion of real estate to private uses, reference
was had to the county records to show that all colony lands, formerly
vested in individuals, had been duly conveyed to the colony upon its
incorporation, no real estate being illegally retained by or conveyed to
any trustee individually for his private use and enjoyment prior to
or after the general subdivision ; and it does not appear from available
accounts that this specific charge was substantiated.

The individualization of the property was stated to have been
planned and carried out on a just and fair basis, without any other
motive than a desire to meet the wishes and subserve the interests of
all concerned, the express condition being that the corporation should
not be dissolved until after the payment of all corporate debts. The
debt was understood at the time to be $100,000 and upward, and the
individuals were to remain charged with the lien of this debt, the deeds

THE COLONY CASE 261

to their respective pieces of land not to be given until they had paid
their proportionate share of the same.

After the sub-division had been made, and certain property had
been exempted to apply on the payment of the debt, part of this
property, to the value of $40,000 or thereabouts, was destroyed by fire
in September, 1861, the available capital being thereby reduced so
much, that, too, at a time of pressing want to meet corporate obligations
and to equip the colonists for individual farming the next year.

From the year 1861 on the colonists cultivated their respective
tracts, enjoying the issues and profits therefrom. As they needed all
the fruits of their labors, the corporation determined to procure
extensions from the creditors until the members should be better able
to contribute their share toward the payment of the debt. In August,
1865, the trustees levied an assessment of $200 per share, and deeds
were made out and placed in escrow, to be delivered to the shareholders
upon completing payment of the assessment. The trustees stated that
if those assessments had been promptly met, it would have enabled
them to avoid costs, save the sacrifice of property and nearly or quite
discharge the colony debt. But only a part of the required amount
was realized, namely the sum of $54,858, which was disbursed by Olof
Johnson, as attorney in fact, in part payment of debt.

The defendants, further answering, stated that since the chartering
of the colony, it had been engaged in many lawsuits and was especially
so involved after proceedings were inaugurated for a sub-division of
the property; creditors then became restive and outsiders sought by
legal strategy to take advantage of the corporation and speculate upon
its misfortune. The rights of the colonists, they averred, had been
defended to the utmost, and against the charge of collusive and
fraudulent lawsuits, defaults, combinations to waive just defense and
other legal strategies, entailing losses to the colony, they entered
positive denial. A schedule of some 120 lawsuits was given, not
including many suits before justices of the peace and other inferior
courts, nor all of the cases brought before courts in Chicago and it is
a safe inference that these suits cost the corporation a large amount
of money.

The loans negotiated are stated to have been solely for the benefit
of the colony, in time of pressing need ; the mortgages in every instance
having been given for good and sufficient consideration, and the money
thus secured turned into the common treasury to be disbursed for the
common good, wherefore, the trustees averred, to attempt to avoid
these just obligations, as suggested by the complainants, would be
bald repudiation and dishonesty.

In March, 1868, the trustees, desiring to complete the individualiza-

262 THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

tion, pay all obligations and dissolve the corporation, levied a new
assessment, aggregating $123,835, which sum, together with remaining
assets, was thought adequate for the payment in full of the colony
debt, now amounting to about $158,000. But the majority of the
members were unable to pay their pro rata share without hardship.
The trustees therefore made an arrangement with Elias Greenebaum
of Chicago whereby he was to loan them the respective amounts, on
mortgage security, giving such terms as to prevent sacrifice of property.
Had all availed themselves of this arrangement, which they did not,
the debt might have been fully liquidated, the trustees asserted, and
each member would have obtained clear title to his or her allotment
of property.

The trustees accounted for the size of the debt of 1868 in the
following manner: To the amount due in 1861, estimated at $112,000,
should be added interest at 10%, commissions, costs incurred in litiga-
tion, sums paid in compromise, in cases where legal advantage had
been obtained over the colony, payment of taxes, and other legitimate
causes of increase of corporate debts; it would then be readily seen
why the debt had become the debt of 1868, although $54,858 had
been paid thereon. Furthermore, a claim of about $60,000 against the
Western Air Line Railroad, counted as an asset in 1860 and 1865, had
been found worthless, except as to the sum of $6,500, which had been
received in settlement. It was further estimated that undivided
property remaining unsold would bring at most $20,000.

As to contracting, banking and other enterprises, into which the
trustees engaged on the initiative of Olof Johnson, they offered a
plausible defense of their acts. In 1854 they contracted for the grading
of part of the roadbed of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy and
earned $37,000 under that contract. Two years later the colony was
awarded a contract to grade the projected Western Air Line Railroad,
and a large sum of money ($60,000) had been earned, when the railway
company failed as a result of the panic. As the failure could not be
foreseen at the time when the contract was made and labor thereon
performed, and as the claim was watched for some ten years prior to
its settlement for $6,500, the trustees disclaimed responsibility for the
loss sustained. This contract, which involved no less than five million
dollars, and promised to yield the colony a very handsome profit, was
by no means a bad speculation, as has been freely admitted even by
Eric Johnson himself.*

In 1856-1858 Olof Johnson represented the colony in a copartner-
ship with Samuel Remington, in a bank at Galva, known as the
Nebraska Western Exchange Bank, through the failure of which as a

* See "Svenskarne i Illinois," page 66.

THE COLONY CASE 263

result of the panic the colony incurred losses. The trustees, while
admitting this, declared that the undertaking had been reported to
the members of the colony and approved by them, adding that a settle-
ment was had in 1860 with Olof Johnson, who was then discharged
from liability for the failure.

While on many points the defense of their acts offered by the
trustees seems valid, the manner of handling the accounts of the colony
by them does not appear equally defensible. In 1849 Olof Johnson had
raised in Sweden about $6,000 for the colony. In the schedule of debt
submitted in 1868, we find this item, "Notes and interest due parties
in Sweden for money loaned, etc., $12,000." This was either a part of
the same item or another loan, which through neglect had been allowed
to accumulate, notwithstanding intervening years of prosperity,
one of which alone showed an increase of $238,334 in the value of
personal property, according to the trustees' report. The Studwell
loan of $40,000 in 1858, which three years later represented a liability
of $66,570, is another case in point, though the prevailing financial
stringency no less than lack of vigilance may account for this increase.
The summary of accounts submitted by the trustees in 1868, showing
receipts of $171,964 and disbursements of $195,837, was not convincing,
and Olof Johnson's claim for reimbursement in the sum of $23,873 for
money paid out in excess of receipts was naturally viewed with
suspicion.

From the answer of the defendants we gather, in conclusion, that
the complainants were not all legal members of the corporation, and
that they had in almost every instance failed to assist in paying off
corporate obligations, while the trustees, with a single exception, paid
both assessments, amounting in the case of Jonas Olson to as much as
$3,120. The revised by-laws were, the trustees declared, illegally
passed and therefore could not be binding upon their acts, and they
were in fact never so held by them.

After a long and aggravating legal contest stretching over five
years, the case was left to the judge, who delayed his decision for a
like period. Finally in 1879 some sort of settlement of the case was
effected. The trustees were not held accountable for the $109,619 ;
Olof Johnson's claims of $23,873 and salary for the years he had acted
as attorney in fact were disallowed; all other claims against the
corporation were held valid and ordered paid, in addition to which
$57,782 in new obligations, including a contingent fund of $16,000
and costs on both sides, were saddled on the colonists. This "so-called
decree." like others caustically referred to in like terms by the
Supreme Court at a later occasion, was the result of a compromise
between the attorneys in the case and was doubtless signed by the

264 THE BI SHOP HILL COLONY

judge merely as a matter of form. Under the decree, entered April 25
and July 28, 1879, many tracts of land were sold by the special master
in chancery (William H. Gest), the owners of "which were not parties
to the suit. The most of the lands were not redeemed from the sale,
and deeds were made out to the purchasers, who had been notified at
the sale that possession would not be voluntarily yielded by the owners.
Petitions were filed by the grantees in some of the deeds for writs of
assistance to put them in possession of the lands, among them the
lands of John Root, a son of the man who killed Erik Jansson, now a
prominent attorney. This proved the test case, on the outcome of
which hung the fate of the entire colony case. Root's land had been
sold for $2,868.50 and was purchased for the benefit of Charles C.
Bonney, the attorney who prosecuted the suit against the trustees.
The judge who tried the case granted a writ of assistance directing the
sheriff of Henry county to put the petitioner, Lyman M. Payne, acting
for Bonney, in possession of the land. Root appealed the case to the
Appellate Court, where the judgment of the lower court was reversed.
Payne appealed his case to the Supreme Court, where the judgment
of the Appellate Court was affirmed. The opinion of the Supreme
Court, rendered May 12, 1887, by Mr. Justice Mulkey, reads in part
as follows :

"Numerous orders and so-called decrees were, from time to time,
entered in the cause, even a cursory examination of which, we think,
fully justifies the claim of appellant that it is ' a case sui generis. ' Under
the compendious title of The Bishop Hill Colony Case, after the manner
of Dickens' celebrated case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, it has been
'dragging its slow length along' for a period of over eighteen years,
and, as far as we are able to perceive, those who have been chiefly
benefited by it are the immediate parties to the suit, their counsel and
the officers of the court notably the master in chancery, who has
received some $9,000 out of the fund, as fees in the case . . . The con-
clusion sought to be drawn from the circumstances pointed out as
sustaining the claim (against Root) find no sanction in law and just as
little in reason or logic. Viewed from a legal aspect, or, indeed, from
any other aspect, we have seldom, if ever, seen a case so entirely des-
titute of merit."

The law governing the remaining cases being thus determined, the
cases were dismissed and never resurrected. The original Bishop Hill
case then remained, deserted by those who brought it and by their at-
torney. When the clerk of the Circuit Court of Henry county was
making up the docket for the February term, 1888, a member of the bar
of the county suggested to him that the case be omitted from the docket,

THE COLONY CASE 265

which was done, and thus the last remnant of the Bishop Hill Colony
was given a quiet burial.

To estimate the losses to the colonists incurred by Olof Johnson's

Old Settlers Monument at Bishop Hill, Erected in 1896, in Memory of
the Founders of the Colony

administration and through the resultant litigation is not possible, in
the absence of reliable figures. Up to and including the year 1879 there
seems to have been an expenditure in money and property, to pay debt,
aggregating $300,000, and a loss of more than $100,000 in bad accounts,

266 THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

worthless notes and other doubtful assets.* What remained of the old
corporate debt was paid with the proceeds from the subsequent land
sales. After the death of Olof Johnson in 1870, the affairs were
managed by Jonas Olson, with the assistance of Swanson and Jacobson,
Stoneberg and Kronberg taking little part.

The Final Fate of EriK. Janssonism

The decisive steps in the dissolution of the colony having been
taken in the years 1860 to 1862, many of the Erik Janssonists left
Bishop Hill and settled elsewhere. Jonas Olson sought to form a con-
gregation that would remain true to the doctrines of Erik Jansson, but
failed in the attempt, the colonists already having been divided in the
matter of creed. In 1867 the Seventh Day Adventists made a successful
effort at proselyting among them, establishing a church in 1870 with
150 members, among whom was Jonas Olson. Shortly afterwards, the
congregation was divided on certain doctrinal points, the one faction
being headed by Jonas Olson and Martin Johnson, the other by John
Hellsen, Peter Wexell and others. The rupture was not permanent and
the members have worshiped together for many years. Not a few of the
former colonists have gone over to Methodism. A Methodist Church
was organized as early as 1864 with fifteen members, which number
rapidly increased. Olof Stoneberg and Anders Berglund became the
local preachers of this flock. A small number accepted Swedenborgian-
ism ; beyond that the colonists largely preferred to remain outside of all
denominational pales.

Sept. 23 24, 1896, the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of
Bishop Hill was commemorated. Over two thousand people were in
attendance, among whom were no less than ninety-nine of the incorpor-
ators of 1853. Of the trustees two were still living, Jonas Olson, aged
ninety-four, and Swan Swanson.

A granite monument had been erected bearing this inscription :

184(5

Dedicated to tKe Memory of the Hardy Pioneers
who, in. order to secure

RE.L1GIOUS LIBERTY,

left Sweden, their native land, with all the endearments
of home and Kindred, and founded

BISHOP HILL COLONY,
on the uninhabited prairies of

ILLINOIS

Erected Joy surviving members and descendants
on the 5OtK Anniversary, September twenty-third

1896

* A statement in "Svenskarne i Illinois," p. 51, that by 1879 it had cost the colonists
$672,910.61 to pay their debt of $118,406.33 is clearly erroneous, the enormous total hav-
ing been reached by duplicating items aggregating a quarter of a million.

268 THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

At the present time Bishop Hill is a small village with a population
somewhat in excess of three hundred. The large buildings erected at
the time of its greatest prosperity are still occupied, though some-
what dilapidated. But few of the early colonists now remain alive.
Berglund, Norberg, Hedin, Stoneberg, Olof Johnson, and Jonas Olson,
all these leaders have passed away and the second generation sprung
from them and their contemporaries is already growing old. Sophia
Jansson, the widow of the prophet, died in the Henry County infirmary
in 1888; Erik Jansson 's son, Captain Eric Johnson, is now living in
California, and the daughter, who was married to Captain A. G. War-
ner, a veteran of the Civil War, and later became Mrs. Rutherford, also
survives.

In the evening of his life Jonas Olson, although confined to his
invalid's chair by decrepitude, continued to preach. His eyes were
dim, and it was better so, for his flock had grown pitifully small and
looked grotesquely out of place in so capacious a house of worship as
the old colony church. In 1871 he lost his first wife, whose maiden
name was Katrina Wexell. The following year, at the age of seventy,
he obtained a second helpmeet in Miss Katrina Johnson, a girl of
twenty-eight. He passed away at his home in Bishop Hill on Nov. 18,
1898, at the ripe age of ninety-six years.

Olof Johnson, born in Soderala parish, Helsingland, June 30, 1820,
died at Galva, July 18, 1870, in the midst of difficulties attending the
famous lawsuit. He left an insolvent estate, and but for his life insur-
ance, it is claimed, it would have fared hard with his family.

Andrew Berglund, born in Alfta parish, Helsingland, Jan. 10. 1814,
departed this life at Bishop Hill, Aug. 17, 1896. In 1867 he joined the
newly organized Swedish Methodist Church at Bishop Hill, which he
served as local preacher until his death. His son, Major Eric Bergland,
U. S. A., retired, of Baltimore, Md., is one of several descendants of the
original colonists, who have attained eminence.

Olof Stoneberg, elected colony trustee in 1859 to succeed Peter
Johnson, joined the local Methodist church in 1868 and became local
preacher and an eminent member of the denomination. At his death,
which occurred Jan. 8, 1892, he left a generous bequest to the Swedish
M. E. Theological Seminary at Evanston, 111., on whose board of
directors he had served for many years. Stoneberg was a native of
Helsingland, born in Forssa parish on Feb. 17, 1818.

Swan Swanson, the last surviving trustee of the colony, died in
Bishop Hill Mar. 24, 1907. He was born May 25, 1825, in Soderala,
Helsingland. Swanson served as colony bookkeeper and storekeeper
prior to 1860 and subsequently with Jacob Jacobson became joint
owner of the store. He was for many years postmaster of the village.

THE FINAL FATE

269

Eric Ulric Norberg, whose conspicuous connection with the Bishop
Hill Colony has been shown in the preceding pages, was born June 22,
1813, at Ullervad, Vestergotland, Sweden, and graduated from the
college at Skara at the age of eighteen, after which he became private
secretary to the provincial governor, serving until the age of twenty-

Eric U. Norberg in Old Age

three, when he was appointed Clansman" for Skaraborg and one other
"Ian." This office he held until 1842, when with his sister he emigrated
to America, settling first in Michigan, then moved to Wisconsin and
afterwards to Minnesota. This region at that time was scarcely
inhabited by any white people, and. he lived near the Indians and had
very friendly relations with them. In 1847 he joined the colonists at
Bishop Hill, where he married and lived in the colony off and on for
about ten years, then left and came to Chicago, where he lived for
some two years, but returned about the time that the colony broke up
and the division of property took place. Part of the time he was with
the colony, he was secretary and kept the records of the meetings of
the corporation. He also had charge of the colony warehouse at Galva.
Prior to that time he also had charge of the warehouse at Henry on

270

THE BISHOP HILL COLONY

the Illinois River, where the colonists did a large portion of their
shipping. In 1863 he moved with his family on a farm near Toulon,
where he lived for a number of years until he moved to Galva, with
his daughter, Mrs. Carrie N. Jones, where he died at the age of nearly
86 years. A son of Eric Norberg is Gustaf Norberg, an attorney, of
Holdrege, Neb.

CHAPTER V.

Other Early Settlements

Character and Condition of Settlers

N the latter forties and the early fifties, when Swedish
immigration to the West showed a marked increase,
these immigrants either settled in communities already
established by Americans from the East or founded new
settlements of their own. All who were able to do so
purchased a piece of land and some live stock. The others had to
hire out for work until they had saved up enough money to buy land.
Simple dwellings, mostly log cabins, were built. One of the first cares
of the immigrants was to organize a congregation and build a church
edifice in which to worship God in the manner of their fathers.
After having provided for these most urgent temporal and spiritual
wants, they began to acquaint themselves more thoroughly with the
new country and to prepare themselves for the proper exercise of the
rights and duties of citizenship.

These settlements flourished rapidly, their progress largely due to
the industry and hardiness of the settlers. The fertile prairie soil,
under careful cultivation, yielded rich harvests; large herds of cattle
soon grazed on the green bottoms; the rude little loghouses gradually
gave way to larger and more commodious dwellings; the small, strug-
gling congregations grew to be a great factor in the mental culture of
the settlers ; the settlements grew steadily more extensive and populous,
due partly to their own enterprise, partly to continued immigration.
In many of these settlements agriculture, combined with the raising of
live stock, was then, and continues to be, the principal occupation, while
in others industrial plants were established which have since developed
so as to rank with the largest of their class.

At that time the American settlers in Illinois, composed largely of
New England yankees, had purchased tracts of land, not so much
from a desire to become farmers as from a penchant for speculation.
When Swedes in any considerable numbers flocked to a certain spot,
these original settlers usually retreated, leaving the newcomers as lords
of all they surveyed. Hence, certain settlements, almost from the
outset, became exclusively populated by Swedes, and have retained

272

EARLY SETTLEMENTvS

that character. In others there was a mixture of Americans and
Swedes, the two nationalities getting on well together and making
united efforts for the development of their communities. In still others
the Americans were numerically stronger, yet the Swedes pushed to
the front in various lines, thus forming an important factor in the
community.

Although it is not our present purpose to write the local history of
the Swedish settlements in Illinois, yet, for the sake of obtaining a
connected story and a survey of the historical field, brief sketches of the
rise and development of the principal early settlements, founded prior
to the outbreak of the Civil "War, are here given, commencing with
Andover, in Henry county, next to Bishop Hill the oldest Swedish
settlement in the state.

ANDOVER, HENRY COUNTY

The first white settler in Andover was a Dr. Barker, who arrived
May 6, 1835, remaining there only a short time. In June of the same
year three other Americans, viz., Rev. Pillsbury, Mr. Slaughter and
Mr. Pike, came there for the purpose of looking up a site for a colony
that was being organized in New York. They selected an extensive
tract, part of which was platted as a town site. Streets, alleys and a
public square were laid out, and the place was named Andover, after
the Massachusetts city where the renowned Congregational theological
seminary is located. The land company in New York evidently worked
with the pious intention of building up a Christian community, and
making money incidentally, but the plan was not realized as originally
framed, for in the place of a strong colony of American Puritans there
sprang up a populous settlement of Swedish Lutherans.

One of the first buildings erected in the place was a flour mill.
During the first few years the population was small, and the settlers
experienced all the hardships of pioneering. The nearest post office
was at Knoxville, thirty odd miles distant. The letter postage at that
time was 25 cents.

The first Swede in Andover and Henry county at large was Sven
Nilsson, a 'sailor, who arrived as early as 1840. The next arrival of
Swedish descent was Miss Johanna Sofia Lundqvist, born Jan. 15, 1824, ,
at the paper mill Perioden, near Jonkoping, her parents being J. E.
Lundqvist, a paper manufacturer, and his wife Brita Maria, nee Floden.
The factory having been destroyed by fire, Lundqvist in 1842 moved
with his wife and four children to Helsingland, where he purchased
the Lund paper mill in Forssa parish. Together with many others,
Lundqvist and his wife were drawn into the religious movement started
by Erik Jansson. Mrs. Lundqvist appears to have been a particularly

ANDOVER

273

zealous member of the sect, judging from the fact that she was one of
the fifteen persons who on Dec. 7, 1844, made a bonfire of Lutheran
books, near Stenbo, in Forssa parish. For this alleged sacrilege these
persons were tried at Forssa Feb. 24, 1845, and fined each 16 crowns,
32 shillings banco. The verdict no doubt had something to do with
Lundqvist 's determination to emigrate to America with his family in
company with Erik Jansson's followers. He sold the paper mill and
with wife and three children, including the oldest daughter, joined a
company of Erik Janssonists who emigrated in 1846. The youngest
daughter, Mathilda Gustafva, remained in Sweden to clear up the
estate.

While the parents settled at Bishop Hill, the oldest daughter early
in 1847 hired out as a domestic in the family of a Mr. Townsend in
Andover. She was the first Swedish woman to live in Andover. The
year of her arrival she formed the acquaintance of P. W. Wirstrom, a
Swedish sea captain, whom she married. This was the first Swedish
family in Andover. Captain Wirstrom, born at Waxholm in 1816,
seems to have emigrated at an early date. The year of his arrival is
not known, but it is known to a certainty that he was here as early
as 1846, when he sailed on the Great Lakes. In the fall of that year
he learned that a company of his fellow countrymen had arrived at
Buffalo, N. Y. Going there, he found that the emigrants were Erik
Janssonists headed by Nils Hedin. At their request he accompanied
them as interpreter on their journey to Bishop Hill. After their arrival
he became almost indispensable in the capacity of physician, possessing,
as he did, a smattering of medical learning. He remained there till
July, 1847, when he removed to Andover.

After his marriage to Johanna Sofia Lundqvist, they made their
home in a log cabin in Andover until the fall of the same year, when
they removed to New Orleans, where Captain Wirstrom hired out as
a slave driver. The following spring the couple returned to Andover,
but went back to New Orleans in the fall, Wirstrom returning to his
former occupation there. One day, in weighing up the cotton on the
plantation where he was employed, it was discovered that the day's
harvest was too small, and Wirstrom got orders to urge the slaves to
still greater exertions. This he refused to do, and, having already had
enough of the slave driver's job, he once more returned to Andover in
1849. The same summer the cholera epidemic ravaged Andover as
well as Bishop Hill, and Lundqvist 's two sons were among its victims.

This was also the year of the great California gold fever. Among
those who went west to seek their fortune in the newly discovered gold
fields were Captain Wirstrom and his young wife. In company with a
number of others from Andover, they set out April 6, 1850, on their

274

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

long journey across the prairie wilderness to the golden land. They
traveled mostly on foot, and many were their sufferings en route. For
Mrs. Wirstrom, who had to do the cooking for eight men in the
company, the journey was especially hard and toilsome. She stood it
manfully, however, and late in August all arrived safe and sound at
Beadville's Bear. A few weeks later, the Wirstroms bought a hotel.
Adversities now came in rapid succession. Their only child died, and
an attack of consumption compelled Captain Wirstrom to return to
Illinois in 1854. He died Feb. 25, 1855, at Bishop Hill. Then Mrs.
Wirstrom sold the hotel in California for $8,000 and removed to
Bishop Hill.

Nov. 4, 1856, Mrs. Wirstrom was wedded to an American by the
name of M. B. Ogden, of Galva, and they settled on a farm which she
purchased at Victoria, living there for more than twenty years. In 1881
they removed to Riverside, California, where she resided until her
death, June 10, 1904.

The younger sister, who had been left behind when the Lundqvist
family emigrated, came over in 1850, was married to one J. W. Florine
and moved to Andover in 1855 with her husband, who became the
first physician, druggist and photographer of that place. Florine
served as second lieutenant in Company H, 43rd Illinois Volunteers
in the early part of the Civil War, but asked for his discharge Feb. 4,
1862, and died the same year. His wife, born at Nykoping in 1829, is
still living.

Returning to the early settlers of Andover, we meet here the
aforementioned Peter Kassel, who emigrated from Kisa, Ostergotland,
to Iowa in 1845, and corresponded with friends in the old country
with the result that another company emigrated in 1847 from the same
part of Sweden. They arrived in New York with the fixed intention
of going to New Sweden, Iowa, but Rev. 0. Gr. Hedstrom succeeded in
persuading them to go by way of Victoria, Illinois, where his brother
Jonas Hedstrom was located, and investigate conditions in that locality.
Jonas Hedstrom referred them to Andover, where they went to live.
In the company were N. J. Johnson with wife and an adopted daughter,
all from Jareda, Smaland, and Anders Johansson with wife and three
children, from Linneberga in the same province. Johnson and his
family obtained temporary lodging in the home of Rev. Pillsbury, later
on moving into a loghouse that stood on the present site of the
Andover orphanage.

At the same time, or possibly somewhat later, came a family by
the name of Friberg, one Nils Nilsson, a family named Hurtig, and in
1848 John A. Larson from Oppeby, Ostergotland, who was to play a
prominent part in the public affairs of Andover and vicinity.

ANDOVER

275

N. J. Johnson and Nils Nilsson were the first Swedish landowners
in Andover. As early as 1848, they each purchased ten acres of land at
$1.25 per acre. Johnson's rude hut, the first Swedish home in the
settlement, stood as a landmark for many years and may have been
preserved to this day.

Anders Johansson died in 1849, but his widow was married again,
to Samuel Johnson of Orion. In her younger days she was a strong
and sturdy woman, in physical prowess the match of any man. N. J.
Johnson and his wife were still living in the year 1880, and Nils Nilsson
in the latter part of the eighties. Friberg removed to Colfax, Iowa;
Hurtig, who lived south of "Deacon Buck's place," died in 1849, his
wife surviving him by many years. In 1880 she was residing in Polk
county, Neb., where she had moved in 1875. John A. Larson did not
long remain at Andover, but went to Galesburg and there learned the
wagonmaker's trade. In 1850 he went to California in search of gold,
of which he found little or none, whereupon he returned in 1851, taking
up his former trade in Galesburg two years later, and shortly after-
wards removing to Andover, where he built a carriage shop of his own
and was engaged in that trade for fifteen years. During that time he
purchased the homestead of Eev. Pillsbury, which he made his home.
Having early acquired a knowledge of the English language, he was
of great assistance to his countrymen in legal or business matters
and thus earned their lasting gratitude. In time he became a large
landowner. In 1880 he owned no less than 587 acres of fertile land.
His wife, who died in 1879 after a union lasting twenty-six years, bore
him eight children. This honored and distinguished pioneer passed
away at Andover in April, 1903.

The little Swedish settlement was reinforced in 1848 by two un-
married men, Gabriel Johnson and Gustaf Johnson, and five families,
viz., Samuel Johnson from Sodra Vi, Smaland, with wife and three
sons ; Halland Elm from Gammalskil, Ostergotland, with wife, one son
and two daughters; Erik Peter Andersson from Kisa, Ostergotland,
with wife, two sons and three daughters; Samuel Samuelsson, also
from Kisa, with wife and four children, and Mans Johnsson from the
same place, with wife and one son.

These five families were part of a party of 75 emigrants who
left Sweden in 1846, embarking at Goteborg on the sailing vessel
"Virginia," Captain Johnson, for New York. The entire company
were bound for New Sweden, Iowa, but their plans were frustrated.
In Albany, N. Y., the modest sum set aside for their traveling expenses
was stolen, and all the way to Buffalo, N. Y., the emigrants had to
subsist on wild plums growing on the banks of the canal, and anything
edible that they could pick up. Reaching Buffalo, they were unable

276 EARLY SETTLEMENTS

to proceed farther, but remained in that city for two years in order
to earn the money needed for reaching their final destination. In the
meantime, friends and kindred at Andover had learned of their where-
abouts and their sorry predicament, and sent letters urging them to
come to their settlement. The five families just enumerated obeyed
the call. One of the party, Mans Johnsson, had died during their stay
in Buffalo.

The balance of the party proceeded to Sugar Grove, Warren
county, Pa., and became the pioneer Swedish settlers there and in the
vicinity of Jamestown, N. Y. The aforementioned Samuel Johnson,
who eventually settled at Orion, Henry county, died in 1887. Erik
Peter Andersson passed away in 1854 and his wife in the latter
seventies. Samuel Samuelsson and his wife removed to Galesburg, 111.

In 1849 Andover received a substantial addition to its population.
That summer a party arrived from Ostergotland and northern Smaland,
originally consisting of 300 persons who had left Gb'teborg in the spring
on the sailing vessel "Charles Tottie," Captain Backman. After seven
weeks and four days they arrived in New York, whence they were
carried by three canalboats to Buffalo. On board one of the boats
cholera broke out. At Buffalo they took passage on a steamer for
Chicago. There they met Captain Wirstrom, who escorted them to
Andover, their final destination. The trip was made by canal from
Chicago to Peru, from which point the emigrants and their effects
were carried across the country in nine wagon loads at $18 per load,
arriving at Andover July 31st. Their original intention also had been
to look up Peter Kassel at New Sweden, la., but the cholera epidemic
and other diseases in the party cut short their trip and compelled them
to stop at Andover and neighboring points. Among the members of
the party were the following : Nils Magnus Kihlberg and family, from
Kisa, who settled at Swedona, where Kihlberg was still living in 1890 ;
the brothers Carl Johan Samuelsson and Johannes Samuelsson from
Vestra Eneby, Ostergotland, who with their families settled at Hickory
Grove, Lynn township, south of Andover township. When the railroad
was built through that country a station was located at Hickory Grove
and named Ophiem. after Johannes Samuelsson 's old home, Opphem in'
Tjarstad parish, Ostergotland. The two brothers had great success in
farming and accumulated considerable wealth. In 1880 their combined
estates were valued at $130,000. Both were earnest churchmen, con-
tributing liberally to churches, schools and benevolent institutions.
Johannes Samuelsson died June 11, 1887. at the age of 72, the younger
brother Apr. 23. 1900. nearly 78 years old. He bequeathed to Augus-
tana College and Theological Seminary a sum amounting to nearly
$15,000. The same year, on August 20th, his wife Carolina, nee Persson.

ANDOVER

277

whom he had married in Sweden, followed him in death and was buried
at his side in the Swedish cemetery at Ophiem.

The same year that the last named party of immigrants came to
Andover, there arrived also the following : Nils P. Petersson and wife,
from Lonneberga, Smaland; Anders Peter Larssoii; A. P. Petersson;
Pehr Svensson from Djursdala, Smaland, with his wife, son and
daughter. The daughter died of cholera at Princeton, while en route
to Andover, and shortly afterward the mother fell a victim to the same
disease. The first wheeled vehicle made in Henry county was con-
structed by Svensson. It was an extremely primitive affair, drawn by
a yoke of oxen. In it Svensson and his son were often seen riding to
the little church of a Sunday morning.

Still another party of immigrants from Sweden arrived in Andover
in 1849. This consisted of 140 persons from the provinces of Gestrik-
land and Helsingland, headed by Eev. L. P. Esbjorn, a man destined
to play a prominent part in the history of the Swedes in America. The
party left Gene on board the sailing vessel "Cobden" June 29, 1849,
and arrived in Andover in the late summer. The majority of these
people were soon induced by Rev. Jonas Hedstrom to go to Victoria.

Among those in Esbjorn 's party who remained in Andover were,
Jonas Andersson, with wife and three children ; Matts Ersson and Olof
Nordin with families, all from Hille. Jonas Andersson and Matts
Ersson were members of the party of goldseekers that left Andover
for California, returning in 1851, short on gold but long on experience.
Andersson later engaged in the merchandise business in partnership
with G. E. Peterson, but was forced into liquidation by the panic of
1857. Two years later he removed to Colorado with his sons, his wife
and daughter remaining in Andover. Olof Nordin and his family also
left shortly afterward and their fate is not known. Matts Ersson lived
in Andover until 1901 and died June 3, 1905, at the Bethany Home in
Chicago, an old folks' home supported by the Swedish Methodists,
where he spent the last four years of his life. Among the new arrivals
from Sweden in 1849, not members of the Esbjorn party, were, S. P.
Strid, an old soldier from Ostergotland, and Ake Olsson from Ofvansjo,
Gestrikland, the last-named having accompanied a party of Erik
Janssonists to America in 1846, but separated from them in New York,
remaining three years in the state of New York before proceeding
farther west.

Disease was prevalent in many forms, the worst of which was the
cholera. That dreaded epidemic made annual visitations from 1849
to 1854, making great inroads on the population. As an example of
its ravages may be mentioned that in 1849 one John Elm worked with
two different harvesting gangs of sixteen men each, and of the thirty-

278 EARLY SETTLEMENTS

two all but Elm and two others were stricken down and died of
the pest.

To obtain profitable employment at this time was no easy matter.
A day's wages varied from 35 cents to 50 cents, and in many instances
it had to be taken out in the form of pork and other provisions, cattle
or anything of value. On the other hand, live stock and merchandise
were very cheap. A good cow could be bought for $8, and a first class
working horse for $40. The price of pork was 1% cents, and potatoes
were to be had for the trouble of digging them. This was the golden
age of topers, whisky selling at 12% to 15 cents per gallon. These
prices ruled until 1853, when railway building began in western Illinois.
This brought more money into circulation, increased the demand for
labor, and raised the pric6 of agricultural products. Economic con-
ditions thus kept improving up to 1857, when the panic struck the
Andover settlement as it did the country at large.

Better times came about 1862 when the Civil War put large
amounts of money into circulation and farm products began to com-
mand enormous prices. At this juncture, many of the Andover Swedes
became independent farmers. They bought farms, often on time, but
generally the returns from the first year's crops would suffice to clear
them of debt. The more provident ones continued similar purchases
until they became the owners of many hundreds of acres. The less
enterprising ones were contented with farms of ten to eighty acres.
The soil was carefully tilled; even the small farmers made more than
a living off their acres and had no need of going farther west in search
of larger farms. Thus Andover early became a well-to-do Swedish-
American community, whose prosperity has been on the increase
ever since.

What has been said of the prosperity of the farmers applies in like
measure to the artisan and the tradesman. By industry and thrift
they also have acquired economic independence. The first Swede who
obtained a deed to a building lot in the village the place never reached
the dignity of a city was C. Larsson, the paper being dated Dec. 15,
1849. The first Swedish mechanic was the aforesaid John A. Larson,
who in 1853 built a blacksmith and wagon shop. The first Swedish
merchants were Jonas Andersson and Georg(e) E. Petersson, who in
1854, under the firm name of Andersson & Petersson, opened a general
store, which they conducted until 1857.

The name of Andover early became known in many parts of
Sweden, and the place long continued to be the destination of Swedish
emigrants westward bound. The conceptions of its size and importance
were highly exaggerated. It is told of the emigrants of the forties
and fifties that when they came to Chicago and noticed the bustle

VICTORIA

279

and activity of that progressive city they would give vent to their
surprise by exclaiming, ' ' If Chicago is so large, just think what a place
Andover must be!" There must have been a fresh surprise in store
for them when, on their arrival in Andover, they found neither a city
nor a town, nor even a village. Nevertheless, the early Swedish
emigrants bound for other points than Andover were comparatively
few. From there, however, they soon scattered over the state in
every direction. Although they did not leave Andover in great num-
bers at any time, yet from various aspects that settlement must be
considered the second mother colony in Illinois, Bishop Hill holding
first place.

Andover early became known as a conservative and reliable
Swedish-American community, a reputation which has followed it to
this day. The reasons for this conservatism are doubtless to be found
in the teachings imparted to the settlers by their early pastors, prin-
cipally Eevs. L. P. Esbjorn, Jonas Swensson and Erland Carlsson, who
labored in this field for a long term of years. The first two, in
particular, exercised a very marked influence on the character of the
settlers.

As stated before, a Swedish Lutheran congregation was organized
here as early as 1850. This was the first regularly organized Swedish
Lutheran church in America since the days of the Delaware Swedes.
Two years previously, pastoral work had been begun in New Sweden,
Iowa, but no fully organized church was established there until a later
date. Also a Swedish Methodist church was very early established in
Andover, but the year of its founding is in dispute. Some claim 1848,
others 1849, and still others 1850 as the correct date. The Baptists
and the Mission Friends, on the contrary, have not deemed it worth
while entering this old community, nor has any fraternal organization
met with encouragement in Andover.

At the close of the year 1905, the total Swedish population in the
Andover settlement, extending over three townships, was roughly
estimated at from 1,500 to 2,000 persons.

VICTORIA, KNOX COUNTY

Victoria is located on a rolling prairie in the northeastern part of
Knox county. Its first white inhabitants were Edward Brown, John
Essex, and one Mr. Frazier, all of whom settled there in 1835. The
first marriage solemnized there took place in 1838, between Peter
Sonberger and Phebe Wilbur. The first house was built in 1837 on a
plain near the subsequent site of the town. The first sermon was
preached in Victoria in 1836 by Rev. Charles Bostie. a Methodist
minister.

2 8o EARLY SETTLEMENTS

In course of time, a number of other settlers arrived, the first
Swede among them being Jonas Hedstrom, the Methodist preacher.
He came in 1838, from Farmington, Fulton county, his first place of
residence on Illinois soil. For several years Hedstrom was the only
Swede in Victoria, but after the Erik Janssonists began to settle at
Bishop Hill, a number of these were by him attracted to Victoria. We
have already related how Olof Olsson, their first envoy, with his family
came there in 1845 and was housed in a rude hut of logs situated in
Copley township ; also how Erik Jansson himself and his kindred found
shelter in the same log cabin the following year. Not long afterwards,
Sven Larsson, Olof Norlund, and Jonas Jansson arrived from Soderala,
Helsingland, and Jonas Hedin from Hede, Herjedalen. Norlund and
Jansson soon succumbed to the cholera, and the others left Victoria
for Ked Oak Grove after a stay of only a few weeks.

Among the earliest settlers here may be mentioned Olof Olsson
from Ofvanaker, Helsingland, who came to Bishop Hill in 1846, but
after three months bade farewell to the prophet and his colony and
moved to Victoria, where he bought a small farm. Olsson also died
shortly after his arrival. Jonas Hellstrom, a tailor, left Bishop Hill
in 1847 and opened a tailor shop at Victoria, where he plied his trade
until 1850, when he caught the gold fever and went to California.
After a year he returned to his old trade at Victoria. At the outbreak
of the Civil "War, he enlisted as sergeant in Company C, 83rd Illinois
Volunteers, being advanced in 1864 to the rank of first lieutenant in
the 8th U. S. Artillery. He died shortly afterward, leaving a wife and
one son. "Old Man Back" from Bollnas, Helsingland, an eccentric
character, was another of the Bishop Hill settlers who moved to
Victoria, where he purchased a small farm in Copley township. He is
said to have considered himself the most important personage in the
entire community. Olof Olsson from Alfta, another Erik Janssonist,
simultaneously with Back moved to Copley township and became one
of Victoria's first landowners. Then came in rapid succession Hillberg,
Hans Hansson, Carl Magnus Pettersson, Sven Larsson, Lars Larsson,
and Peter Kallman. The last named accompanied the first party of
Erik Janssonists to Chicago, remaining in that city a few years, sub-
sequently living three years in Galesburg, finally settling in Victoria
in 1853. He died in 1877, leaving a family. Furthermore, we find
among the Swedish pioneers at Victoria Charles Pettersson from
Osterunda, Upland, who also came with the first Erik Janssonist party,
remaining two years in New York, and coming to Victoria in 1848.
He also went to California in 1850 as a gold seeker, and eventually
settled on the coast. John E. Seline was another Erik Janssonist who
deserted Bishop Hill, going to Galesburg in 1849, whence he moved to
Victoria, where he was employed as a building contractor until 1856,

GALESBURG 281

when he purchased a farm. This man was one of Erik Jansson's twelve
apostles. Seline later in life became an agnostic and a stanch follower
of Robert G. Ingersoll. One Fetter Skoglund, who came over with the
Esbjorn party of emigrants, settled down in Victoria as a tailor, but
later went to farming. He was still living in 1880, in comfortable
circumstances. Peter Dahlgren from Osterunda severed his allegiance
to Erik Jansson after half a year's stay in the colony and established
himself in Victoria township as a farmer in 1853. He was accidentally
killed in 1856 by falling earth.

The Town of Victoria was organized May 11, 1849, by John Becker,
John W. Spalding, G. F. Reynolds, A. Arnold, Jonas Hedstrom, W. L.
Shurtleff, Jonas Hellstrom, Joseph Freed and J. J. Knopp. The site
then selected was not the same as the present one, being a mile and a
half southeast, where Hedstrom had a blacksmith shop, Becker a gen-
eral store, and Reynolds a hotel. The present village of Victoria
slowly grew up to one side of this starting-point.

The large Swedish settlement of which Victoria forms the center
early grew to be one of the most flourishing localities in the state.
Prosperity was general owing partly to the fact that the Swedes almost
from the start became owners of the soil, partly to the circumstance
that Methodism gained a firm foothold there from the first, making for
industry, temperance and good morals. Furthermore, this settlement
is the most Americanized Swedish community in the whole state,
resulting from early stoppage of immigration, the great majority of its
present inhabitants having been born and reared in this country. From
the very start Methodism became a power in that community and is
still firmly rooted there. The Swedish Methodist church is the only
house of worship in the place and almost the entire population of the
village and the surrounding country are members of that congregation.
Neither Lutherans, Baptists, nor Mission Friends have sought to
establish missions there, and encroachment by secular organizations
in this stronghold of Methodism is out of the question.

The population of the town of Victoria in 1900 was 329. The
number of Swedish-Americans in the village proper together wih the
surrounding settlement we have been unable to ascertain.

GALE1SBURG, KNOX COUNTY

The city of Galesburg is situated on a rolling plain, 164 miles
southwest of Chicago, on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railway
line. It was named from George W. Gale, who, together with several
others, came there from Oneida county, N. Y., in 1836 and purchased
11,000 acres of land in Knox county. On this tract he laid out a town
site, the sale of lots and the building of houses progressing nicely at

282

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

first, In one year the population increased to 232. From 1837 to 1850
progress was slow, owing to lack of communications. The outlook for
a railroad line through the place brightened during the latter year,
however, causing increased business activity in the little town.

During the first decade of its existence Galesburg had a formid-
able rival in the neighboring town of Henderson, now Knoxville, which
had certain advantages through permitting the sale of liquors, a traffic
absolutely prohibited in Galesburg. So strict were the authorities in
this respect that they inserted in every deed to property sold within
the town limits a clause specifically prohibiting the sale of
spirituous liquors on the premises. In the meantime, the liquor traffic
flourished in Henderson, where the Galesburg people also had to go
when in need of the cup that cheers. The rapid growth of the town

Galesburg Main; Street

soon inspired dreams of greatness in the Hendersonites, mingled with
pity for Galesburg, which town seemed doomed to perpetual stagnation.
A certain Swede, who was particularly hopeful for the future of Hen-
derson, bought two building lots there for $200, although he might
have got them in Galesburg at a much lower figure. Only a few years
later, he sold his two lots for $20. The slump in realty values in
Henderson came when Galesburg got its railroad. On Dec. 7, 1854, the
first locomotive steamed into Galesburg over the Chicago, Burlington
and Quincy road, which was then almost completed. On Jan. 1" 1849,
the town got its first newspaper, "The Knox Intelligencer." In 1873 it
became the county seat of Knox county.

The Galesburg of today is a live, wide-awake and somewhat aristo-
cratic city, whose population of 18,607 at the census of 1900 had

GALESBURG 283

reached 20,000 at the close of 1905. It is one of the chief railway
centers of the state, being the intersection of the main line of the
Burlington, with several branches, and the Atchison, Topeka and
Santa Fe railways. The city has several beautiful parks, and its streets
are shaded by avenues of trees giving to the entire city the aspect
of a park. The pavements are of brick throughout. The city has
a splendid street railway system, excellent waterworks, is well lighted,
and has an efficient fire department. Although not a factory center,
yet Galesburg has a number of manufacturing plants, including two
foundries, an agricultural implement factory, flour mills, wagon
factories and a broom factory. The railway shops of the Burlington
road are located here, also extensive stock yards. Coal mines are
found in the vicinity. Galesburg has a handsome opera house, five
banks, nineteen churches, several of them Swedish, and ten public
schools, including one high school. It is also a notable educational
center, having several higher institutions of learning, namely, Knox
College, Lombard University, and one or two Catholic schools. The
courthouse, which is the seat of the Knox county government, is one of
the largest and handsomest buildings of its class in the state. The
city is situated in the center of one of the most fertile and prosperous
farming districts in Illinois, with which it stands in direct and intimate
communication. The townspeople as well as the farmers of the sur-
rounding country are well-to-do, and, taken all in all, Galesburg is as
fortunately situated and as prosperous as any of the smaller cities of
the state.

The first Swedish settlers in Galesburg arrived about the middle
of the forties. In 1847, as far as known, the only Swedes there were
the following: John Youngberg and family, one of the early Bishop
Hill colonists, who later removed to Galva, but returned to Galesburg
and went from there to California in 1860; Nils Hedstrom, a tailor
by trade, who afterwards settled in the Victoria colony; Anders Thor-
sell, a shoemaker from Djursby, Vestmanland, who came over in 1846
with one of the first parties of Erik Janssonists ; a family by the name
of Modin; Kristina Muhr, a widow, and Olof Nilsson, a shoemaker.
Thorsell, who is said to have been a very skillful workman, plied his
trade for some time w r ith so great success that he accumulated a small
fortune. Had he stuck to the last and shunned the bottle, he would
have become the wealthiest Swede in Galesburg, but unfortunately
he became a slave to the liquor habit. He died in 1870 leaving a widow
and one child.

The majority of Swedes who settled in Galesburg earlier than 1854
were such as had deserted Bishop Hill, having become dissatisfied with
conditions in that colonv. In the vear last named, however, the influx

284 EARLY SETTLEMENTS

of immigrants brought many Swedish settlers directly to Galesburg,
and from that day its Swedish population has constantly grown, num-
bering at the close of 1905 about 5,000, American born descendants
included. That this numerous element has made itself felt in the
development of the city and set its impress on its general character
goes without saying. In every line of activity in Galesburg Swedes
are engaged. We find them as city and county officials, as merchants,
and in all the various trades. They are employed in considerable
numbers on the railroads and at the Burlington shops.

In the Swedish colony here different denominations early began
missionary work. As early as 1850 Swedish Methodist class meetings
were held, and the following year Jonas Hedstrom organized a Swedish
Methodist congregation.. Simultaneously, Rev. L. P. Esbjorn, the
Swedish Lutheran pastor at Andover, began work in this field, and a
church was established in 1851. This, the First Swedish Lutheran
Church of Galesburg, in 1853 secured as its pastor Rev. T. N. Hassel-
quist, another pioneer of Swedish Lutheranism in America. The
Swedish Baptists in 1857 organized a church, which had dwindled
down to seven members in 1880 ; a few years later, however, work was
pushed with renewed vigor, resulting in a reorganization in 1888.
In 1868 a second Swedish Lutheran church was organized, composed
of former members of the first church, and other persons. We are
creditably informed that the present Mission Church was formed from
its membership. A third Swedish Lutheran congregation in Galesburg
was organized several years ago, which now seems to have disbanded.
There is also a Swedish Episcopal church in the city.

The fraternal movement was started among the Galesburg Swedes
in 1866 when a sick benefit society, named Skandia, was organized.
The society was soon forced out of existence by church opposition. A
lodge of Good Templars, organized the following year under the name
of Svea, was almost equally shortlived. In 1871 a Scandinavian lodge
of Odd Fellows was formed. Among the present Swedish population
of Galesburg we find no great interest in fraternal movements based
on nationality.

In local politics the Swedes of Galesburg have taken aggressive
part, many having served the city or county in various capacities. At
least one of their number, M. 0. Williamson, has been honored with a
high state office, having served as state treasurer for the term of
1901-1903.

Galesburg has the distinction of being the cradle of the Swedish-
American press. Here was started in 1854, by Rev. Hasselquist, the
first Swedish- American newspaper of permanence, viz., "Hemlandet, "
its first number being issued Jan. 3, 1855. This paper was published

MOLINE 285

at Galesburg. until the close of 1858, when it was removed to Chicago.
In the early part of 1859, "Frihetsvannen," another Swedish paper,
was launched in Galesburg, but was discontinued in 1861. This journal
was started to champion the cause of the Baptist denomination, which
was the object of continuous attacks by "Hemlandet." A third
Swedish organ, "Galesburgs Veckoblad," started in 1868, shared the
fate of "Frihetsvannen," being discontinued after a short time. A
couple of religious papers in the Swedish language have also been
published here for short periods, and after the great fire in 1871,
"Nya Verlden, " a Swedish weekly newspaper of Chicago, was pub-
lished for five months in Galesburg.

The Swedish colony of Galesburg furnished a proportionate num-
ber of recruits to the Union army during the Civil War. Company C,
43rd Illinois Volunteers, was made up exclusively of Swedish-Ameri-
cans from Galesburg and vicinity.

These data establish Galesburg 's claim to an eminent place in
the history of the Swedes not only of Illinois but of the country at
large.

MOLINE, ROCK ISLAND COUNTY

This community dates back to the year 1843, when the first houses
were built on the site of the present city of Moline. The place made
little progress until the late forties, when John Deere and others laid
the foundation for the local plow and agricultural implement manu-
facturing industry which caused the place to develop with enormous
strides during the next few decades and which has given the city
world-wide fame. The plow works of Deere and Company are said to
be the largest in the world and their products are sent annually to
the uttermost parts of the earth. The Moline Plow Company is the
name of a younger concern which manufactures plows and other agri-
cultural implements on a large scale. Besides these, Moline has a large
number of industrial plants, making it one of the greatest manu-
facturing cities in the state. The chief reasons for the subsequent
location of so many factories at Moline were its water power facilities,
its location on the border of two of the most flourishing agricultural
states in the Union, and its unexcelled communications by land and
water with all parts of the country.

As an industrial city, Moline naturally has a large population of
laborers. A large percentage of its many thousands of workingmen
are Swedes, many of whom have established economic independence
and a respected station in the community by their traditional industry,
thrift and good habits. The greater number have homes of their
own and some are quite wealthy. The Swedes of Moline are a power

286 EARLY SETTLEMENTS

in the community not merely by dint of numbers but owing to their
splendid citizenship. While conscientiously fulfilling their duties as
citizen, they cautiously guard their rights as such, and as a result they
will obtain the majority in the city government from time to time.
A large number of them belong to one church or another. Almost
every religious denomination pursuing work among the Swedish
people is here represented. The fraternity movement also has made
great accessions. The neighboring Augustana College has exerted
considerable influence on the numerous Swedish population of Moline,
giving out powerful impulses to religious and intellectual endeavor.

Moline Bird's Eye View from City Hospital

While the great mass of the Swedish workmen are common factory
hands, not a few of them have forged ahead by skill and competence
to become foremen, superintendents and mechanical experts in the
works, and in rare instances they have gone so far as to found their
own industrial establishments.

The earliest Swedish settlers in Moline were Olaus Bengtsson and
Carl Johansson, the former coming over from Sweden in 1847, the
latter in 1848. Bengtsson landed with wife and children in Chicago
and, being unable to find work, left his eldest son there and came on
to Moline on foot, accompanied by his wife and three of the children,
the parents taking turns in carrying the smaller ones when their
strength gave out. The family settled on a farm in Moline township,
near the Eock River, and did well at farming. Olaus Bengtsson died
before the eighties. The son left behind in Chicago after three years
rejoined the family, when he had to learn his mother tongue anew,

MOUNE 287

having completely forgotten it while living exclusively among English-
speaking people.

Carl Johansson, a tailor by trade, came from Kampestad, Oster-
gotland, to Andover in 1847 and from there to Moline the next year.
The place was at that time a bit of a village with a grocery and sundry
other little stores where the farmers of the neighborhood exchanged
their farm products for merchandise and provisions. A flour and saw
mill combined was located on the river bank, and from the Illinois
side, stretching across the south branch of the Mississippi to the
island opposite, was a wooden dam which served until 1858. A large
portion of the present site of the city was under cultivation, and at
the foot of the hills which now comprise a fine part of its residence
district grew thick woods from which the early inhabitants derived
their fuel supply.

During the years 1840 to 1850 came the following Swedish settlers :
Sven Jacobsson, a carpenter from Vermland, with family, who sub-
sequently moved to Vasa, Minn., but returned to Moline after a few
years ; Carl Fetter Andersson, who purchased land on the bluffs where
he was still engaged in farming thirty years later; Gustaf Johnson,
with family, he and Jacobsson dying before the eighties; Erik Forsse
with family, who later joined the Bishop Hill colony, was a major in
the 57th Illinois Eegiment during the war, removing to Falun, Salina
county, Kansas, some time after the close of the war ; Jonas Westberg,
who died prior to 1880; M. P. Petersson, who began farming on the
bluffs, then conducted a small store, removed to Altona, thence to
Iowa, where he was still living in 1880 ; Petter Soderstrom, who moved
to Minnesota and from there to Swede Bend, la. ; Sven J. Johnson,
who for thirteen years ran the ferryboat across the Mississippi between
Eock Island and Davenport ; Abraham Andersson from Gnarp, Helsing-
land, a hired man who bought a small property in Moline and at his
death in the early fifties willed to the Swedish Lutheran Church a
house and lot as a parsonage for its future pastor.

A unique character among the immigrants was Jon Olsson from
Stenbo, Forssa parish, Helsingland, who came to Moline in 1850. In
the old country he had lived like a peasant king on a fine, well
cultivated estate. When Erik Jansson, the prophet, came to Forssa
and began preaching, the "Old Man of Stenbo," as he was commonly
called, was among the first to embrace the doctrines of the prophet
and open his home for his meetings. His sons also early affiliated
with the new sect, one of them, Olof Stenberg, or Stoneberg, which
was the American form of his name, becoming one of its leaders.
During the winter of 1849-50 he and Olof Johnson went back to
Sweden in order to gather together the remaining followers of Erik

288

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

Jansson and bring them to America. Then it was arranged that the
old man, who wa,s now a widower, also should emigrate, but he did
not accompany his son, preferring to travel alone. After having sold
his estate, he chartered a steamer at Hudiksvall, took a cargo of iron
and, in addition, all his household goods and utensils, down to tho
dough-troughs and wooden bowls and spoons. The voyage across the
Atlantic was successful. He took with him a small party of emigrants,
part of whom, at least, were not Erik Janssonists. In New York he
sold his cargo, but brought with him inland the whole odd collection

Moline Fifteenth Street

of partly worthless wares, which no doubt cost him a pretty penny
in freightage.

He made straight for Bishop Hill, but apparently did not take a
fancy to the locality and its prospects. Besides, he probably hesitated
to turn over his considerable fortune to the common exchequer. Be
this as it may, he made his appearance in Moline early in January,
1851, having already purchased two houses there, one a brick, the other
a frame building, with large lots appertaining. It was rumored that
he deposited $20,000 in gold in a bank in Rock Island ; whether or not,
he was looked upon as a mighty rich man.

"The Old Man of Stenbo" was an odd character in every respect.
He stuck religiously to the manners and customs of his old home.

MOLINE 289

He wore an old fashioned coat, its skirts reaching almost to his heels,
and a leathern apron of nearly the same length. Dressed in this
fashion, he circulated about the streets of the little village with an
agility quite unusual for a man of his years. If he found a chunk of
coal, an old shoe, a broken dish or a stick of wood he would pick it up,
carry it home and place it on a pile of similar rubbish in the middle
of the floor of the living room. In the basement he had arranged the
appurtenances of a blacksmith shop brought over from Sweden, and
the smoke from the smithy, which penetrated the whole house, did not
bother him in the least. In the basement he also had an oven of
masonry in the Swedish style, where he baked thin loaves of hard
bread in the manner of the Helsingland peasantry.

The old man practiced genuine old time hospitality, and would
always urge his friends to partake of his repast, were it only a pot of
cabbage soup served in wooden bowls. Having broken the thin bread
into the bowl he would invariably dust the flour from his hands into
the bowl so as not to waste any of his God-given substance.

At length, the old man was lured back to Bishop Hill. Though
advanced in years, he was hankering after another matrimonial venture,
and what induced him to go was the assurance of friends that a suitable
bride had been picked out for him. The match was made, and so he
moved to Bishop Hill with all his earthly belongings, which presumably
went the way of all other small fortunes invested in that enterprise.
A few years after his removal the "Old Man of Stenbo" breathed
his last.

While he was still in Moline, there lived with him for some time
Per Andersson from Hassela and Per Berg from Hog, Helsinglaud.
These men went to Minnesota in the spring of 1851 and there founded
the Chisago Lake settlement. One Peter Viklund from Angermanland,
who also lived in Moline at the time, accompanied them, settling in the
vicinity of Taylor's Falls, where he died. Another of the early Swedish
settlers in Moline was Daniel Nilsson from Norrbro, Helsingland, who
about the same time founded the settlement of Marine, near Marine
Mills. Along in the summer of 1851 Hans Smith and his family moved
to Moline from Princeton. He also left for Minnesota, going to Chi-
sago Lake.

The first attempt at organization among the Swedish population of
Moline was the founding of the Swedish Lutheran Church, which still
prospers. The founder was Rev. L. P. Esbjorn of Andover. The or-
ganization meeting was held in the home of Carl Johansson, the tailor,
this being a small room, 14 by 10 feet, in which those interested in
the movement had habitually met to worship. But Esbjorn was not
long to be alone in the field of religious endeavor among the Moline

290

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

Swedes. Shortly after his first visit, the enterprising Kev. Jonas Hed-
strom appeared and, being cordially received by the other pioneer
Swedish resident, Olaus Bengtsson, at once began to hold Methodist
meetings in the equally primitive home of that pioneer. In the latter
part of the year 1850 or the beginning of 1851, he organized here a
little Swedish Methodist church, which, like the Lutheran, grew and
prospered apace with the influx of Swedish immigrants.

A third Swedish church, called Gustaf Adolf, now a part of the
Swedish Mission Covenant, was organized in 1875, and in the following

Moline Third Avenue

year a fourth one, the Swedish Baptist Church. A little flock of
Swedish Episcopalians, formed in recent years, worked with but scant
success, and soon disbanded.

The fraternal orders have operated very successfully in Moline,
ever since the latter sixties. The first Swedish fraternal society organ-
ized there was Freja, in 1869, which flourished for a number of years.
During the seventies a couple of other fraternal bodies came into
existence, and during the last two decades a number of different
societies have been formed, including a Swedish singing club, the
Svea Male Chorus.

Three secular newspapers in the Swedish language have been pub-
lished at Moline, viz., "Skandia, " issued from December 1876 to April

ROCK ISLAND

291

1878, "Nya Pressen," from 1891 to 1897, and "Vikingen," published
for a short time in the early nineties. At the present time, the city
has no Swedish newspaper. In the seventies and eighties, the firm of
Wistrand and Timlin published a number of books and papers in the
interest of the work of the Augustana Synod.

The Swedes in Moline in 1880 numbered 2,589 ; at the close of 1905
their number was approximately 8,000. The total population according
to the census of 1900, was 17,240, succeeding years showing a sub-
stantial increase.

ROCK ISLAND, ROCK ISLAND COUNTY

The prosperous city of Rock Island had its origin in 1816, when
the national government planted a fort on the island of the same
name, known as Fort Armstrong. As its commander was appointed
Col. George Davenport, who, together with his wife and the garrison,
for thirteen years were the only white inhabitants of the locality. The
arrival in 1823 of the steamer "Virginia," with a cargo of provisions,
from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, made a welcome interruption in
the monotony of frontier life. This vessel was the first to traverse this
portion of the Mississippi. In 1825 Col. Davenport was appointed
postmaster on the island and about the same time formed a co-partner-
ship with Russell Farnham, a fresh arrival, to engage in fur trading
with the Indians. For the purpose the partners put up a building
which afterwards was occupied as the first court-house of Rock
Island county. In 1828 a few whites, among whom was John M.
Spencer, arrived and settled there. Oct. 19, 1829, Davenport and
Farnham purchased a tract of land in the present county of Rock
Island, that being the first realty transaction in the county.

In 1831 the little settlement had grown sufficiently strong to equip
a troop of 58 men to engage in fighting the Indian chief Black Hawk
and his tribe. Two years later, or 1833, Rock Island county was organ-
ized and on July 5th of the same year its first county election was
held. After another two years Stephenson, as the place was then
called, was selected as the county seat. Its name was subsequently,
changed to Rock Island. The first prison, a two story blockhouse,
was erected in 1836. The same year work was begun on a county court-
house, which was completed the following year. The first incorpora-
tion of Rock Island was effected in 1841. Late in the sixties the federal
government established on the adjacent island a large arsenal to-
gether with factories for small arms, the plant having since reached
an extensive development. During the Civil War a large number of
prisoners taken from the Confederates were kept on the island, and a
burial ground for soldiers dates from that time. The entire island,

292 EARLY SETTLEMENTS

together with extensive establishments, is under the control and strict
surveillance of the federal government, and the buildings and Avell-
kept grounds are among the interesting sights in this part of the
United States.

The west arm of the Mississippi at this point is navigable while
the east and smaller arm is closed by a dam Avhich furnishes
water power for industrial plants in Moline and Rock Island and for
the government works. A combination railroad and public highway
bridge facilitates traffic between Rock Island and the city of Daven-
port, situated on the Iowa side, directly opposite, and named after the

View of Rock River from Black Hawk Watch Tower

first commander of Fort Armstrong, who together with several others
in 1835 purchased the land on which the city was built.

Rock Island is at the present day a lively manufacturing and
business center. Here are located large lumber mills, an agricultural
implement factory, a glass factory, iron works, wagon factories, etc.
The city has several banks and four newspapers, two of which are
published daily. A new courthouse, one of the largest and most im-
posing structures in this part of the state, was erected a few years
ago. In the surrounding public square stands a monument in honor of
the men from Rock Island who fought in the Civil War. In a pretty
park in the western part of the city is a statue of Black Hawk, the
Indian chief, whose name is intimately combined with the early history
of the city and its surrounding country. A charming point of vantage
south of the city bears the name of Black Hawk Watch ToAver.
It is a high bluff rising steeply from the Rock River and crowned
with a pavilion, the verandas of which afford a charming panorama

ROCK ISLAND

293

of the vicinity, northwest over the Mississippi and the wooded bluffs
disappearing in the blue distance, southward and eastward over the
fertile valley drained by the winding Rock River and cut at this point
by a section of the Hennepin Canal. This prominence Chief Black
Hawk is said to have often sought at the head of his warriors when
on the lookout for the hated palefaces who took possession of the rich
hunting grounds of his tribe. The census of 1900 gives the city of
Rock Island 19,493 inhabitants.

The beginning of Swedish immigration to Rock Island was in 1848,
when the founder of the Bishop Hill colony established a fishing camp
on the island, managed by the aforementioned N. J. Hollander as fore-
man for a half dozen colonists. At this point Erik Jansson's wife and
the youngest two of their children, together with several other persons,
succumbed to the cholera in 1849.

Among the earliest Swedish settlers at Rock Island was A. J.
Swanson, who came there in 1850 and made a small fortune in the boot
and shoe business. Swanson, or Svensson, hailed from Odeshog, Oster-
gotland. When he died, Jan. 8, 1880, at the age of fifty-one, he left
an estate worth $40,000. Other Swedish settlers about this time were :
J. Back and Peter Soderstrom, both sons-in-law of Rev. J. Rolin of
Hassela, Helsingland; Jonas Strand, Jonas Norell, and Erik Thomas-
son, all from Northern Sweden ; A. T. Manke, and Fredrika Boberg.
Manke is supposed to have been among those who perished at the
burning of the steamer "Austria" on the Atlantic Sept. 13, 1858.
Fetter Soderstrom and Fredrika Boberg moved to Iowa before the
eighties. In the fifties came August Linder, a tailor, Erik Akerberg,
a jeweler, N. J. Rundquist, a wagonmaker by the name of Envall,
Israel Johansson, a shoemaker, one Hofflund, the brothers Carl and
Peter Stjernstrom, the one a tailor, the other a day laborer. Hofflund
moved to Osco township, and the Stjernstrom brothers to Iowa
previous to 1880. Not until the sixties and more especially in the
seventies, however, did the Swedish immigrants come to settle in Rock
Island in any great number.

The little colony of Swedes that existed there in the fifties is note-
worthy in this that it was the origin of the first Swedish Baptist
Church in America, organized there Sept. 26, 1852. The founder was
Gustaf Palmquist, a former school teacher from Stockholm who had
joined the American Baptists in Galesburg in June of that year, and
its first members were : A. T. Manke, A. Boberg and Fredrika, his wife,
Petter Soderstrom. Carl Johansson, mentioned among the Moline
pioneers, and Anders Norelius, a brother of Eric Norelius who later
became a pastor of the Swedish Lutheran Church in America and is
now president of the Augustana Synod.

294

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

The few Swedish Lutherans in Rock Island at first belonged to
the church in Moline, but in 1870 they tired of going to the neighboring
city to worship, and that year an independent congregation was or-
ganized, with a membership of only twenty-eight. The few Swedish
Methodists and Mission Friends who reside in Eock Island are mem-
bers of their respective church organizations in Moline. Eock Island
has little or nothing in the way of Swedish fraternal societies.

The oldest and principal Swedish-American educational institu-
tion, Augustana College and Theological Seminary, is located at Eock
Island, having been removed there from Paxton in 1875. Under the

Rock Island Spencer Square

guidance of zealous and competent educators, the institution has
developed far beyond the aspirations of its founders. Besides being
a complete college and a theological seminary, Augustana embraces
an academic department, a normal school, a commercial school, a
musical conservatory, and a department of art. For several years
past the work of gathering large endowment funds for the institution
has been carried on. These and other signs point to a period of new
and greater prosperity for this old and venerated institution of
learning. In immediate proximity to the institution lies the Augustana
Book Concern, the publishing house of the Augustana Synod.

The Swedish-American population of the city of Eock Island at
the close of the year 1905 was estimated at 3.500.

PRINCETON

PRINCETON, BUREAU COUNTY

295

On the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railway, 105 miles west
of Chicago, is situated on a plateau the pretty little city of Princeton.
Its history dates from the year 1832, when the site was mapped out
and the first houses were erected. A log cabin, here as in most of the
other settlements, formed the first human habitation. It was built by
one S. D. Cartwright near the spot where the Congregational Church
now stands. The sale of lots was not brisk, and it took a number of
years to dispose of the entire plat. Bureau county was organized
Feb. 28, 1837, when Princeton was made the county seat. The county
court held its first sessions there the followingAugust. In 1845 the
first courthouse was built, with county jail and sheriff's residence
in connection. The structure was remodeled in 1860.

Prior to 1850, only five known Swedes resided in Princeton. Doubt-
less the first to arrive was a man named Burgeson, who later settled
at Andover. He came to Illinois in company with the Rev. Pillsbury
mentioned under the head of Andover, and for some time was in his
service. Simultaneously, a young Swede was in the employ of Owen
Lovejoy, the renowned abolitionist, who in the later forties and early
fifties was stationed in Princeton as minister of the Congregational
Church and afterwards was elected to Congress. In the city hotel a
Swedish girl was employed, supposed to have been Sigrid Norell from
Bergsjo, Helsingland, who in 1859 became the wife of A. J. Field
from Ostergotland. The name of the fourth one is not known to a
certainly. It may have been the aforesaid Field.

The fifth one was Captain Erik Wester, the adventurer spoken
of in Chapter III. This man 's career is of sufficient interest to warrant
a fuller account. His right name was Westergren, shortened to "Wester
for convenience. The year and place of his birth and the date of his
arrival in America are not known. It is a matter of record, however,
that he emigrated to escape punishment for a crime. Wester, who
was employed as guard in the riksbank in Stockholm, was once sent
to Helsingor to purchase a large lot of old rags for the Tumba paper
mills, where the paper for the Swedish national currency has been
turned out for years. Instead of closing the deal, he fled to America
with the money entrusted to him. Landing in New Orleans, he re-
mained there for an indefinite period. In the fall of 1848 he made
his appearance at Bishop Hill in company with two other adventurers,
one being John Ruth, who later became notorious, the other a man
by the name of Zimmerman, who, like Ruth, claimed to have a military
training from Sweden, and to have served in the French army during
the campaign in Algiers. Bishop Hill and its plodding life had no
charm for the three soldiers of fortune. Zimmerman soon departed

296 EARLY SETTLEMENTS

for California, presumably in quest of gold, while Wester went to the
Pine Lake settlement in Wisconsin, and Ruth, who had been enamored
of a young woman at Bishop Hill, remained there a few months, after
which time he resumed his roaming career.

At the outset, Wester masqueraded at Pine Lake as a very devout
person, going around preaching in the different homes. Finding that
this line of endeavor among the few Swedish settlers yielded but
poor returns, he established himself as a barber, securing friends and
customers among the more numerous Norwegians, many of whom are
said to have been victimized by this smooth stranger.

Having reached the end of his rope in Wisconsin, Wester returned
to Illinois. He first appeared in Peru, whence he came to Princeton
in the spring of 1850, so utterly destitute that he was unable to pay
the freight on his barber's chair. Though short of money, he was enter-
prising and resourceful in his own peculiar way, and soon found
Princeton a splendid field to exploit. A prosperous merchant helped
him to a supply of cigars and with that he opened for business in a
shanty. When business grew a trifle dull, he turned his cigar store into
a grog shop. This attracted more customers, the business grew, and
presently Wester had to look around for larger quarters. Soon the
place grew to be quite a large department store, considering Princeton 's
stage of development at the time. He sold goods of every description,
such as clothing, eatables, boots and shoes, hardware, tobacco and
whisky. Wester subsequently extended his business beyond the limits
of Princeton, establishing a branch store at Galesburg.

For a time it appeared as though the quondam bank messenger,
evangelist and barber would finish his career as a rich and respected
businessman. Such might have been the case, but for wild speculations
and a decided decline in general business. In the young neighboring
town of Galva, Olof Johnson, the financier of Bishop Hill, was at this
time actively engaged in the management of its affairs, and looking
forward to a highly roseate future. Why not join with him in one of
his numerous enterprises and get rich in a trice? With this object in
view, Wester went into partnership with him and Samuel Remington
and started the Western Exchange Bank at Galva. No one knows
how much money Wester furnished, but it is more than likely that
the bulk of the capital was taken out of the Bishop Hill funds. This
was in 1857, while the speculative fever, especially in the West, was
still at its height. The same year the reaction came a panic that
swept the entire country, wrecking countless business enterprises vastly
more solid than those of Olof Johnson and Wester. The latter was
caught in the crash, so was his financial institution, and in this failure

PRINCETON

297

a large bulk of the money that the Bishop Hill colonists had earned
by the sweat of their brow is said to have been lost.

But Wester persevered with dogged tenacity. The next year he
made a new start, but failed again. In 1859 he started in business
for the third time, but only to court another catastrophe. This time
he appears to have made a fraudulent assignment, it being reported
that he withheld more than enough property to pay his debts, had he
been so inclined. With $1,700 in his pocket and a trunk packed with
revolvers it will be remembered that he also dealt in hardware
Wester left, stating that he was bound for Chicago, but going instead
to Dallas, Texas, where he was still living in 1880, but in reduced
circumstances. What afterwards became of the adventurer, whether
he again got on his feet or went down in the struggle for existence,
there are no records to show.

In the summer of 1850, A. P. Anderson came to Princeton from
the parish of Horn, Ostergotland. He had come over the year before
and gone to Peru, whence he came alone to Andover in the hope of
finding certain relatives, but on his arrival he learned that they were
all dead. He then returned to Peru and moved with his family to
Princeton. Anderson still lived in 1880 at the age of seventy-one.
His eldest child, a son, had then lived in California for many years.

In the autumn a whole party of Swedish settlers arrived from
northern Helsingland and southern Medelpad. They had sailed from
Gefle August 17th on the Swedish ship ' ' Oden, ' ' Captain Norberg, and
arrived in New York October 31st, coming on to Princeton November
21st, after a difficult journey. In the party was Erik Norelius from
Hassela, Helsingland, then a mere youth of seventeen, whom Providence
had destined to take an eminent part in Swedish-American religious
progress. In his valuable work entitled, "The History of the Swedish
Lutheran Congregations and of the Swedes of America," he has given
a vivid and graphic description of the whole journey.

Of this party of immigrants a few stopped in Princeton while
the rest, Norelius among them, proceeded to Andover. Among those
remaining at Princeton were : Hans Kamel, Olof Jonsson, Staffan
Berglof, and Anders Nord with their families, all from Bergsjo,
Helsingland; Per Soderstrom from Norrbo or Bjuraker, Helsingland;
Hans Smitt from Hassela, Helsingland; Anders Larsson from Torp,
Medelpad ; Olof Nilsson and one Simeon from Attmar, Medelpad. The
Kamel family died out before the eighties, Soderstrom after a few
years moved to Iowa or Minnesota and Simeon went away, leaving no
trace. Olof Jonsson became the first Swedish property-holder of
Princeton, living and prospering as a farmer for more than twenty-
five years, afterwards removing to Humboldt, Kansas, where he is

298

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

said to have owned large country estates. Anders Larsson also went
west in the late seventies.

In 1851 came Lars Magnus Spak and Nils Johan Nilsson from
Djursdala, Smaland, and Jacob Nyman from Tjarstad, Ostergotland,
the first and the last named with their families. The Spak family had
come to this country in 1849, living for a time in Chicago, where they
are said to have taken part in the organization of the Swedish Episcopal
Church of St. Ansgar (Ansgarius.) The family head passed away
long before 1880, but his widow was then still living, also their elder

Princeton Main Street Looking North

son, who was engaged in business. The younger son was living in
Galesburg, as also the daughter, who was married to one A. J. Anders-
son. Jacob Nyman also passed away in the late seventies, his widow
and their son Johan still living in Princeton after his death. Nils J.
Nilsson was also conducting a business of some kind in the eighties.

The year 1852 brought large acquisitions of Swedes to Princeton.
Among the new arrivals were the following: C. M. Skold, a tailor,
from Vestra Ryd, unmarried, and Anders P. Damm, with six children,
from Asby, both in Ostergotland; Anders Petter Larsson from Vad-
stena, Ostergotland; J. 0. Lundblad from an unknown locality in the
same province; S. Frid and wife from Wa, Skane; Ake Nilsson with
wife and two children ; Nils Lindeblad with wife and son, all from
Skane, but localities unknown; P. Fagercrantz from Brosarp, Skane;

PRINCETON

299

Lars Andersson fran Gingrid and Johan A. Westman from Bb'rstig,
both located in Vestergotland; Pehr Christian Andersson, also from
Vestergotland, locality unknown; Johan Gabriel Stahl with wife,
son and daughter from Smaland, place unknown; Johan Andersson
and Henri k Norman from Stockholm. Of these Skb'ld was still
living in 1880; Nilsson lived on his own farm near Wyanet; Pehr
Christian Andersson was employed by a railway company since twenty-
five years back ; also Westman, Stahl and his wife, Fagercrantz, Anders
Fetter Larsson, Lars Andersson and J. O. Lundblad, the latter living
in Aledo, Mercer county, were among the survivors in 1880. Norman
removed to Monmouth in 1856. Damm, who changed his name to Stem,
died in 1878, leaving a widow and several children; Frid died before
1880, also Lindeblad, while the wife and son of the latter were still
living in Princeton in that year. Johan Andersson, who had been
foreman in the printing office of "Stockholms Dagblad" died of the
cholera in 1853, his wife returning to Stockholm the following year.

Another Swedish pioneer of Princeton was Jonas Andersson from
Farila, Helsin gland. He emigrated in 1849, remained a short time in
Chicago, spent the following winter in St. Charles, went to Wisconsin
in the spring, returning to St. Charles after working a few months in
the woods, and remained there until 1853, when he moved to Princeton.
Here he settled permanently and became the father of a large family.
He was still living in the eighties and was a prosperous building
contractor.

Almost simultaneously with Jonas Andersson came A. A. Shenlund.
He was born at Toarp, Vestergotland, and was engaged in the mer-
chandise business in his native land. He emigrated in 1853 to Prince-
ton, where he went to work on Rev. Pillsbury's farm, his wife being
employed there as housekeeper. Having worked for some time at
sawing wood, he next got a situation as bookkeeper with the afore-
mentioned Wester, but disapproving of the loose business methods of
his employer, he went into business on his own account, opening a small
grocery store near the railway station just two days before the first
railway train rumbled into Princeton. A few months later he removed
with his stock to Bureau Junction, but moved back to Princeton after
five months. When Wester failed in business, the administrators per-
suaded Shenlund to take charge, and he conducted the business until
1865, when he retired. In 1868 he resumed business in partnership
with one Clark who withdrew from the firm in 1876. After that
Shenlund ran the business alone for a number of years with so great
success that he grew moderately wealthy. He was highly respected
by his townsmen. Americans and Swedes alike. Shenlund died many
years ago.

300

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

Speaking of the early business men of Princeton it may be noted
that S. Frid in 1854 established a boot and shoe store, conducting the
business for some years, afterwards going into farming. Having no
success as a farmer, he soon returned to the last and stuck to it, being
successfully engaged in the shoe business to his death. J. O. Lundblad
had early left for Missouri, but returned when the Civil War broke out,
engaging in the same line of business but soon afterwards removed to
Rock Island, going from there to Aledo to live. P. Fagercrantz in 1853
established himself in Princeton as watchmaker and jeweler, conducting

Princeton Main Street Looking South

the business for a period of twenty-five years, after which he surprised
his friends by going bankrupt. Although well advanced in years, he
made a new start in business. In the vicinity of Princeton a number
of Swedes settled and soon became prosperous farmers.

Religious activity was begun early among the Swedish people of
Princeton. A Swedish Lutheran congregation was organized in 1854,
a Swedish Mission church in 1870, a Swedish Baptist church being
added seven years later.

According to the city directory, there were 1,200 Swedish-Amer-
icans in Princeton at the close of 1905, but well informed townsmen
believed that figure too low, holding that the actual number was 1,400.
The Swedes living in the surrounding locality are about equally
numerous. Besides, there are Swedes in considerable numbers living

CHICAGO

301

at other points in Bureau county, viz., Wyanet. Tiskilwa, Providence,
Spring Valley, Ladd. Seaton, New Bedford, Walnut, and other places,
adding about 1,200 more to the Swedish population in the county and
bringing the total up to about 4,000.

CHICAGO, COOK. COUNTY

There have been Swedish people in Chicago almost from the
earliest days of the city, and their number has constantly increased
until, at the last general census in 1900, it was 48,836, or greater than
the population of Norrkoping, the fourth city in Sweden in point of
size. The same year there were in Chicago 95,883 persons born of
Swedish parents, making a total Swedish-American population of
144,719. Counting as Swedish- Americans 6,707 persons, one of whose
parents was born in Sweden and the other in some other foreign
country, we would obtain a total of 151,426 Swedish-Americans in
the city. During the last seven years this number naturally has grown
according to the usual ratio of increase. This is further evidenced
by the school census of 1904 which set the number of Chicagoans born
in Sweden at 55,991. A comparison of various estimates would indicate
a Swedish- American population in Chicago of not less than 170,000 at
the close of 1907.

A large proportion of the Swedish- Americans have engaged in
business and thereby laid the foundation for prosperity and economic
independence. The great mass of their male population, however, is
composed of skilled workmen. In almost every trade they are found,
and everywhere they have the reputation of being highly intelligent,
skillful and conscientious in their work. Not a few have distinguished
themselves by making ingenious and practical inventions. Especially
in certain trades, like that of the cabinetmaker, the architect and
builder, the custom tailor and the mechanical artisan, they are
found in the front rank. In many instances they have succeeded in
building up comparatively large industrial establishments of their own ;
others are engaged as engineers and foremen in large industrial plants
owned by Americans and men of other nationalities.

The majority of Swedish-American skilled workmen in Chicago
doubtless are members of the labor organizations, their coolness and
conservatism making them a desirable and wholesome element thereof.
The unskilled laborers among them are few in proportion both to the
entire number of Swedish-American workmen and to the proportion
of unskilled laborers among other nationalities. As a consequence,
the Swedish working class in Chicago stands on a higher economic
plane than the corresponding class among the average foreign nation-

302

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

ality, and is able to lead an existence more in keeping with the Amer-
ican standard of life.

The Swedish workingmen are in the main industrious, orderly,
temperate, and thrifty. Generally, their first care is to get a home
of their own, and for this purpose they have usually placed their
savings in some one of the Swedish building and loan associations,
obtained loans, purchased lots and built their own houses. Probably
few other nationalities can show so large a proportion of property
owners and home builders. Long ago the Swedes of Chicago solved
the question of workingmen 's homes which is agitating industrial
communities everywhere, thus setting an example worthy of emulation
in other parts of the world. Many of the Swedish householders have
two houses on their lots, the older one a frame structure built during
pioneer days, the new one usually a brick building erected after the
children grew up and the family began to prosper.

A number of Swedish skilled workmen and men in business and
the professions put their earnings into realty; others deposit them
in the banks or put them out at interest elsewhere. There are two
Swedish banks in the city, viz., the State Bank of Chicago, founded
in 1879, and the Union Bank of Chicago, founded in 1905. The
majority prefer the latter method of keeping capital growing, as
against the more risky one of speculating.

The Scandia Life Insurance Company is a Swedish corporation
with head offices in Chicago, and the Swedish Methodists and Baptists
each have a mutual life insurance society with headquarters here.

The Chicago Swedes have been criticised for their lack of political
activity, and to a certain extent the criticism is deserved. True, they
have always cast their votes in great numbers at elections and fulfilled
their duties as as citizens in the intervals, yet when nominations and
appointments were to be made they have not insisted on the repre-
sentation due them in consideration of their numbers and their civic
standing. This fact possibly is due to the prevailing opinion among
them, that the office ought to seek the man and not the reverse.
Furthermore, they seem to take greater pride in upbuilding and main-
taining the community than in the governing of it. In other words
they would rather be producers than consumers. The great mass
of the politically interested among them are Republicans. In the
wards where they are numerous they form political clubs, and evince
great political activity, especially prior to important elections. These
ward clubs are combined into a central organization known as the
Swedish-American Central Republican Club of Cook County, which
in turn forms a part of the Swedish- American Republican League of
Illinois. Many Swedish-Americans of Chicago have held political

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303

offices in the city and the county, and not a few have represented
the community in the state legislature during the past thirty years.

A trait characteristic of the Swedes in Chicago, as elsewhere, is
their obedience to law and the high order of their citizenship. While
they deprecate the wholesale manufacture of laws, they believe that
good laws, dictated by the people's own sense of justice and equity,
should be absolutely obeyed.

They believe in education and culture. They keep their children
in school regularly, and the great number of prizes and distinctions
awarded them from time to time bear witness to the fact that they
rank with the best pupils both in point of diligence and of intelligence.
Many of them continue their studies from the public to the high
school, while others enter commercial schools in order to fit them-
selves for a business career. Still others in considerable number
attend technological institutions, such as the Armour and Lewis in-
stitutes, pursuing courses in engineering or other technics, or go to the
universities, the medical colleges, the law schools, the dental colleges,
the musical conservatories, where they are graduated year by year in
ever increasing numbers.

It would seem that so large a Swedish population would be
capable of supporting a common institution of learning in the city.
The absence of -such an institution must be ascribed to the fact that
from the first the nationality has been divided into numerous reli-
gious and fraternal organizations, each striving in its own way to
make the greatest possible acquisitions and accomplish the best re-
sults in behalf of its own adherents.

Without exaggeration, it may be said that the traces of Swedish-
American activity are most marked in the field of church and
fraternal organization. The principal denominations and sects that
have gained a foothold among them are the Lutherans, Methodists,
Baptists and Mission Friends. Less numerous are the Episcopalians, the
Salvationists, the Seventh-Day Adventists, and a few still smaller
religious groups.

At the close of the year 1905, there were in Chicago and vicinity
41 Swedish Lutheran congregations having a total membership of
15,000 and owning property to the aggregate value of $517,300. The
Swedish Methodists had 18 congregations with 2,520 members and
property valued at $249,600; the Swedish Baptists, 11 congregations
with 2,588 members and $159,975 worth of property, and the Mission
Friends, 12 congregations with 2,036 members and property to the
value of $131,940. As to the other denominations there are no statistics
at hand.

These denominations carry on a relatively extensive work along

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

educational and charitable lines. The Lutherans control and maintain
the Augustana Hospital, one of the prominent institutions of its kind
in the city. Martin Luther College, an institution of learning, was
founded by them in 1892 but discontinued in 1896. In Evanston the
Swedish Methodists have their own theological seminary, and in
Chicago they maintain a home for the aged, named Bethany Home.
The Swedish Baptists also conduct their own theological institute,
located in Morgan Park, and support an old people's home, known as
"Fridhem. " The Mission Friends not only own a school, North Park
College, but a hospital and an old folks' home. In addition to these
institutions there is in Englewood a Swedish- American hospital owned
and controlled by the people of the various Swedish churches in that
part of the city.

As far as it has been possible to ascertain, the Swedish fraternal
societies and lodges in Chicago number about one hundred. In the
total absence of common statistics exact information concerning them
cannot be given. These organizations, designed for the pleasure as
well as the pecuniary benefit of its members, annually disburse large
sums in the form of sick benefits, funeral expenses and mutual life
insurance. Two lodges, "Svithiod" and "Vikingarne," have branched
out in recent years so as to form large independent orders, with branch
lodges as far west as the Missouri River. The Independent Order of
Svithiod now embraces 38 lodges and has 16 ladies' guilds. The Inde-
pendent Order of Vikings is composed of 30 lodges in addition to
which there are 15 ladies' guilds. The Svithiod and the Viking
lodges of Chicago are included in the above total. There are 10
lodges of Good Templars, four other temperance societies, and a
number of lodges of the Scandinavian Brotherhood of America. Other
fraternities, including a couple of lodges each of Free Masons and
Odd Fellows, together with nondescript organizations approximate
twenty in number. Many churches, moreover, have their own sick
benefit and benevolent societies.

A number of different societies have associated themselves for
the common purpose of charity and benevolence. One is the Swedish
Societies' Old People's Home Association (formerly the Swedish
Societies' Central Association), which founded and maintains an old
people's home at Park Ridge. The other is the Swedish National
Association, which conducts a free employment bureau and carries on
charity work in a measure.

A significant movement among Chicago's Swedes is the organ-
ization and maintaining of singing societies, chiefly male choruses.
Such have existed for several decades and they now number a
dozen, exclusive of male or mixed choirs connected with the churches.

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305

They all form a part of the American Union of Swedish Singers and,
in order to further their local interests, they have united into a
local organization named the Chicago Union of Swedish Singers.

In the field of culture, the Swedish-Americans here have ac-
complished noteworthy results, aside from the work of their churches,
schools and singing organizations, this city being as far back as the
'60s the Swedish-American literary producing center and for decades
the location of a considerable publishing and bookselling business.
At present no less than eight large weekly Swedish newspapers are
published in Chicago, four being secular, viz., "Hemlandet", "Svenska
Tribunen-Nyheter, " "Svenska Amerikanaren, " "Svenska Kuriren;"
the remaining four religious wholly or in part, viz., "Sandebudet"
(Methodist), "Nya Vecko-Posten (Baptist), " Missions- Vannen"
(Mission Church), and " Chicago-Bladet " (Free Mission Church).
In addition to those mentioned, a large number of monthly church
and society papers are issued in this city. A general pub-
lishing business was first started in Chicago by the Swedish Lutheran
Publication Society and is still continued by The Engberg-Holmberg
Publishing Company. In connection with the church paper "Sande-
budet" a Methodist Book Concern has more recently been established,
in connection with " Missions- Vannen " a book store for the Mission
Covenant, and in connection with "Chicago-Bladet" a similar store
to meet the needs of the Free Mission churches. To this should be
added that the American Baptist Publication Society has established
a Swedish book department. Several small book stores are conducted
by private persons.

It should not be forgotten that from time to time there have
existed in Chicago various Swedish dramatic companies which,
although composed largely of amateurs and not to be compared with
the standard theatrical companies of Sweden, yet have served to
acquaint Swedish-Americans with the Swedish drama of past and
modern times.

These various lines of activity pursued by the Swedish people of
Chicago are more fully treated in subsequent chapters.

Somewhat later than Flack and Von Schneidau. mention of whom
has been made, one Astrom came to Chicago from Norrland. In South
Water street, not far from the spot where Old Fort Dearborn stood,
he and another man from Norrland by the name of Svedberg, who
came here from Buffalo, opened a restaurant, conducting that business
for several years. This was in the latter forties. In 1850 Svedberg.
doubtless smitten with the prevalent gold fever, went to California,
and Astrom returned to Sweden. He came to America a second time ;
after that nothing is known of him.

3 o6 EARLY SETTLEMENTS

In 1846 the first party of Swedish immigrants to Chicago arrived.
There were fifteen families, and the newcomers seem to have had no
connection with the emigration movement directed by Erik Jansson.
Not one among them understood a word of English, not one had a
relative or friend here, all were poor to the verge of destitution.
But von Schneidau befriended them, acting as their interpreter and
counselor, and soon procured work for the men in the employ of two
Americans, W. B. Ogden and A. Smith. They were set to clearing a
piece of ground just north of the present Division street, at 50 cents
per day, without board, which, nevertheless, they considered fairly
good pay. That winter and all the following year (1847) those Swedes
are said to have worked at sawing wood for a daily wage of from 50
cents to 621/2 cents. Tho women took washing in American families
and thereby earned 10 to 25 cents a day, with board.

Oct. 3, 1846, Jonas Olsson arrived in Chicago at the head of a
party of Erik Janssonists bound for Bishop Hill. Many of the
emigrants, having begun to doubt the divine mission of Erik Jansson,
now refused to go any farther and decided to remain in Chicago.
Among these recalcitrants was Jan Jansson, the prophet's own brother.
He afterwards became the owner of a fertile farm situated one and
one-half miles from Montrose, Cook county. Among the others were,
Anders Larsson, John P. Kallman, Pehr Ersson, Petter Hessling,
A. Thorsell and Kallstrom. They all lived together for a time in a
house in Illinois street, between Dearborn avenue and State street.

The year after, forty Swedish immigrants came to the city, and in
1848 one hundred more. Times had now improved noticeably, so that
a good laborer could earn 75 cents a day. But the necessaries of life
were high, a barrel of flour costing $6 to $7, while pork sold at 6 to 8
cents per pound.

One of the earliest Swedish settlers in Chicago who, like Astrom
and Svedberg, had a business of his own, was a man from Gotland by
the name of Lundblad. He came over in 1847 and the year after started
a soda water factory which he ran for some months and then went to
Quincy, where he died. His widow returned to Chicago and died here.
At the close of the year 1848, the Swedish population of Chicago
could not have exceeded 300, all of whom waged a hard fight for
existence. In 1849 no less than 400 Swedish immigrants were added
to Chicago's population. If conditions had been bad before, things
now grew still worse, for the newcomers of that year brought the
cholera, the epidemic causing indescribable suffering and misery
among them.

In some instances the plague broke out on board the emigrant
ships, and many victims were buried at sea. The majority of cases,

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307

however, occurred on the tedious journey from the eastern ports to
the western points of destination, and after the arrival. The canal-
boats were stopped ever and anon to permit the emigrants to go ashore
and bury their dead. Conditions grew little better after the railroad
from the East to Chicago was completed. Then the emigrants were
packed like cattle in uncomfortable cars whose doors were opened
seldom, if at all, during the entire journey.

The cholera raged unabated for several years till 1854, inclusive,
apparently claiming more victims that year than any foregoing, in-
creasing immigration furnishing a favorable field for its ravages. In
1850 Chicago received 500 Swedish immigrants and in 1851-52 1,000
each year. We quote a few examples of the dreadful effect of the
scourge among these people during 1854. One large party from Karl-
skoga and Bjurtjarn, in Vermland, brought with them six corpses,
when the train arrived at the Michigan Central railway station. Seven-
teen of the party, afflicted with the disease, were brought to the pest-
house, where more than half of their number died before morning.
Of the older members of the Immanuel Swedish Lutheran Church,
organized the year before, about one-tenth died of the plague, the
percentage of deaths among their children being still greater. Among
the newcomers the death rate was so great that two-thirds of the
immigrants arriving that year are believed to have succumbed to the
cholera.

Poverty, unspeakable misery, absolute wretchedness such was
the lot of the families of the deceased. Fortunately, there were
charitable people among their fellow countrymen here, who took pity
on these victims of pest and penury. Chief among these were Consul
von Schneidau, and three clergymen, Gustaf Unonius, Erland Carlsson
and Sven Bernhard Newman. The names of these four noble-hearted
men shine in the annals of the Swedish pioneers in Chicago like stars
in a dismal night. One's heart is warmed and the pulse is quickened
in reading the accounts of what these men accomplished in behalf
of the suffering immigrants.

Actuated by his goodness of heart as well as by his sense of duty,
Consul von Schneidau obtained permission to use the United States
Marine Hospital for the accommodation of the plague victims. As soon
as they were fairly restored to health, the question of getting work
arose. Yet this was sometimes a difficult problem, and if they did
obtain employment, being weak and emaciated, they were not always
equal to the task. In either event, they turned to von Schneidau for
assistance, and he helped them as far as it was in his power to do so.
Having exhausted his own resources, he appealed to public benevolence,
nor was this done in vain, for donations poured in in such quantities

3 o8 EARLY SETTLEMENTS

that the residence was turned into a veritable supply depot, where his
good wife acted as distributor of the accumulated provisions.

TJnonius was equally energetic in the cause of charity. In 1849.
the very first year of his residence in Chicago, it fell upon him to
render assistance to the cholera victims. He was untiring in his efforts
to solicit among well-to-do citizens money, clothing and food for the
relief of the sufferers. When the pesthouses could no longer hold the
plague victims he opened the second story of his parsonage as a
temporary hospital. His wife had the welfare of the patients equally
at heart, giving them her service as nurse. When parents died, Unonius
would see to it that their children were cared for, either in some
orphanage or by adoption in private families.

Rev. Carlsson also, immediately upon his arrival in Chicago, be-
came entirely engrossed in relief work among the cholera sufferers.
Not only among the members of his flock, but among the immigrants
as well, his energy proved equal to the emergency. Scarcely an immi-
grant train arrived but he was at the station to assist and advise his
fellow countrymen. After having spent all that terrible summer of
1854 on a constant mission of relief among the sick, he himself was
attacked by the plague in the fall, but rallied after a few weeks. Even
after the cholera epidemic subsided, Rev. Carlsson continued his mission
of benevolence among the Swedish immigrants.

What has been said of these three, in their relation to the cholera
victims, applied equally to Rev. Newman. Without the slightest fear
of the epidemic he went about ministering to his stricken countrymen,
sat at their bedsides, comforting the sick and dying by word and deed,
buried the dead and gave advice and succor to the survivors.

Sometimes Revs. Carlsson and Newman cooperated in the work.
Thus, one day the former made the suggestion, "Brother Newman,
suppose you take one street and I another, and we solicit for a common
fund." The memory of the unselfish exertions on the part of these
pioneer clergymen in the days of dire calamity will be ever dear to the
hearts of succeeding generations of their countrymen.

Another example of prevalent conditions among the immigrants
of those days may here be given. In 1855 Swedish and Norwegian
paupers cost the city of Chicago and Cook county no less than $6,000,
exclusive of assistance rendered by individuals aggregating a still
larger sum. During the month of October that year, which was by no
means the most unhealthy period, 35 Swedes who had died in private
houses were buried at public expense because of the destitution of
their families. During the same period the county defrayed the expense
for the interment of about double that number of Swedes who died in

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309

hospitals and the poorhouse. Yet health conditions and the death rate
were no worse in Chicago than in Milwaukee or other neighboring cities.

The city of Chicago at this period was a mere nucleus for future
development, and as yet few, if any, anticipated or dared hope for
the enormous progress it was destined to make. The north side being
the original location of the Swedish colony in Chicago, that part lays
claim to the especial interest of Swedish-Americans.

In 1850 that part of the city was an open, almost uninhabited
prairie, the only objects that broke the monotony of the scene being
large stumps or individual trees still left standing. The locality was
low and swampy, with here and there pools of stagnant water, inhabited
by snakes and other reptiles. To the north from the present Division
street line stretched an extensive swamp covered with underbrush and
vines. Although the district was platted and the streets were laid out
on paper, there were in fact no other thoroughfares than Kinzie street,
North Clark street and Chicago avenue, if indeed those might be so
styled in their almost impassable state. They were practically very
badly kept country roads, unworthy of the name of city streets. But
what could be expected of the north side at a time when the streets
on the south side, in the very heart of the city, were at times little
better than quagmires. Ordinarily they were like rough country roads
flanked at intervals with narrow planks in lieu of sidewalks. In the fall,
winter and spring they were especially wretched, not to say perilous
to life. Then the mud would be knee deep throughout, while in places
there would be bottomless mudholes. It was no uncommon sight to see,
on Clark, Lake and other principal streets, a pole stuck hi the middle
of the street and on it a cross board bearing the legend : "No Bottom. ' '
In the north and west parts of the city as well as to the south of the
"down town" district weeds man-high skirted the driveways on both
sides, while the vacant blocks were the stamping ground of tethered
cows and goats, and flocks of cackling geese, not to mention pigs,
chickens and turkeys innumerable. Add to this that dead dogs and
cats and other carcasses graced the roadsides and perfumed the air as
they lay putrifying in the ditches, and you will have a true picture of
Chicago and its immediate environments at this period.

On the north side the buildings were as yet few and primitive.
Standing at the Clark street bridge you had an unobstructed view of
a two-story house and an adjoining blacksmith shop erected by one
Sheldon, a Norwegian, at Ohio street, just west of Market street. From
the same point of observation one had a free prospect all the way to
Hubbard street, where R. B. Johnson, another Norwegian, had built a
house. So few and far apart were the houses in this neighborhood.
The price of a building lot in those days was a mere bagatelle in

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

comparison with present day realty values. Tracts north of Division
street could then be bought for $100 per acre, which was considered
quite high enough. At Chicago avenue lots could be had for nothing,
provided the applicants agreed to put up two-story houses on them, this
stipulation being designed to attract people to the neighborhood and
raise the value of realty. A few years before, or in 1847-49, any one
eould become the owner of lots 140 to 150 by 25 feet on the north and
west sides, a few blocks from the river, for the mere trouble of sawing
a few cords of wood for the owners of the ground. Many of the
pioneers took advantage of this offer to procure cheap building lots.
Not many years thereafter the price of such lots had risen to $1,000
and over. Today an immigrant who desired to earn one of these lots
in the same manner would be sawing wood for the better part of his
natural life.

The Swedes who had become established in Chicago at this time
had located between Indiana and Erie streets, on an island formed by
the two arms of the north branch of the river, the west arm following
the present river bed while the eastern came about to present Orleans
street. The place was known as "Swedish Town" and formed the
nucleus for the populous north side Swedish community. The buildings
on this island, as elsewhere in the outskirts of the city, were small
frame houses or primitive log cabins, or shanties built of rough boards
set on end. The latter style of architecture was much in vogue in the
large stretch of swamp between Indiana street and Chicago avenue.
The neighborhood was literally filled with these shanties, put up
without respect for compass or street lines, by poor immigrants who
could afford no better shelter. In these rude huts hundreds of Swedes
lived and died during the terrible years of the cholera scourge in
the early fifties.

After a- few years the east arm of the river was filled in, whereby
the island became part of the north side district. When the owners
of the land on which the Swedes were squatters in the years 1853 and
1854 began to assert their property rights, the settlers were forced to
move. They then bought lots here and there on the north side, the
entire district being owned by two men, W. B. Ogden and W. L.
Newberry. Both grew immensely rich from the sale of real estate.
Mr. Newberry donated a part of his wealth for a library to be estab-
lished in that -part of the city and to bear his name. This was done,
the present library building having been completed in the nineties.

The early Swedish colony on the north side embraced principally
that part bounded on the north by Division street, on the south by
Indiana street, on the east by Wells street and on the west by the river.
Within these limits their first churches, the Ansgarius Episcopal, the

CHICAGO 311

Immanuel Lutheran, and the Methodist-Episcopal, w r ere built. Little
by little, the Swedish people, however, scattered over the entire north
side, but before that another rapidly growing Swedish colony had been
started on the south side. In a short time there were Swedish settle-
ments in all three of the older divisions of the city, while thousands
of Swedes poured into the outlying districts or suburbs that grew up
in rapid succession. W T hile none of these suburbs bears a distinctively
Swedish stamp, still it is only the plain truth to say that the Swedes
have taken a leading part in the work of building them up.

Time and change have long since erased every vestige of the afore-
said island and its "Swedish Town," but to following generations of
Swedish-Americans it will always retain an historic interest.

The calamity that befell Chicagoans through the great fire of
Oct. 9, 1871, probably fell more heavily on the Swedish inhabitants
than on any other nationality, from the fact that these still lived
almost exclusively in one locality, that being swept by the flames,
while other nationalities, being generally distributed over the whole
city, partly escaped. It has been estimated that three-fourths of the
Swedes that had established homes up to that time were residing on
the north side, principally along Market, Sedgwick, Townsend, Bremer,
Wesson and Division streets and North avenue. This whole area was
swept by the fiery tornado, and Swedish homes were destroyed by the
hundreds. Four Swedish churches, as many newspaper offices and
numerous shops and stores owned by Swedes were leveled with the
ground. Of the 50,000 people who during the nights following the
catastrophe slept out of doors with no protection from the cold but
the few garments they had snatched from the flames, probably 10,000
were Swedes. True, they were left under the open sky practically
destitute, but all was not lost, for they still possessed the power and
the will to work and an unflinching trust in the future. Like all the
other fire victims, they took up the task of building a new and greater
Chicago on the smoking ruins of the old. By industry and thrift they
succeeded after a few years in retrieving their fortunes. An instance of
the enterprising spirit of the fire sufferers was given by the members
of the Immanuel Swedish Lutheran Church who gathered around the
still smoking ruins of their fine, neAvly built house of worship and, in
the name of God, decided to continue work and rebuild the edifice as
soon as possible, a resolve all the more sacrificial as the members' own
homes were in ashes. So promptly was the resolution carried out
that the congregation on Christmas Day, 1872, could worship for the
first time in the new edifice which, however, was not fully completed
until the winter of 1875.

The total loss sustained by Swedes in the Chicago fire was not far

312

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

from one million dollars. Few of them received any insurance money,
most of the local insurance companies being forced to the wall. In this
and other countries a relief fund of $7,500,000 was raised, but of this
only an insignificant share fell to the modest and unobtrusive Swedes,
while less numerous but more aggressive nationalities claimed more
than their rightful share. The sums that were sent from Sweden for
the relief of their countrymen here were designated for the "Scandi-
navians," and had to be divided in brotherly fashion among Swedes,
Norwegians and Danes alike, although the losses sustained by the last
two nationalities were not to be compared to those of the thousands of
Swedes. Our countrymen, together with other sufferers, were sheltered
in hastily built wooden sheds where they endured great hardships
during the severe winter of 1871-72, despite the free distribution of
coal and provisions. The free building materials placed at the disposal
of those who would avail themselves thereof, enabled many of the
Swedes to rebuild at once, their new houses being in many instances
larger and more commodious than those burned. Thus the Swedish
district on the north side was rebuilt in a short time, the inhabitants
gradually resuming their former functions in business and daily life.

ORION, HENRY COUNTY

This flourishing little town is the center of a prosperous farming
community in Western township, which was organized in the early
days of the Bishop Hill Colony. Erik Jansson visited the locality in
1849 and, finding the soil very fertile, determined to locate an auxiliary
colony there. Another point in its favor was its location halfAvay
between Bishop Hill and its fishery and nearest trading station on
Rock Island. He purchased a tract embracing 1,116 acres. When the
colony built its steam power flour mill, the authorities took a loan of
$2,000 from Hall & McNeely of St. Louis, offering this property as
collateral. The colony failing to meet payments, the mortgage was
foreclosed and the land, together with several primitive buildings, was
sold at auction in 1851 to satisfy the creditors.

But before Erik Jansson 's visit a Swede named John Johnson is
said to have lived there, removing to Iowa in the late seventies. When
the cholera broke out at Bishop Hill in 1849 many of the colonists
sought refuge in this locality, but were pursued by the plague, which
raged here with such fury that as many as sixteen persons died in one
day. Fifty cholera victims among the refugees lie buried in the south-
east corner of section 25, with nothing to mark the place where these
pioneers sleep.

One of the earliest permanent settlers was William A. Anderson,
who came over in 1851 and died here in 1858. He is said to have been

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313

very helpful and accommodating towards Swedish newcomers. Other
pioneers were Anders M. Pettersson, from Sodra Vi, Smaland, who
arrived in 1852, and N. P. Pettersson.

John Samuelsson was one of the prominent Swedish settlers here.
From Vestra Eneby, Ostergotland, he came as an immigrant to Andover
in 1852. During the Civil War he served for three years in the 43rd
Illinois Infantry and was in several battles, including Shiloh and the
siege of Vicksburg. With the small savings from his pay as a soldier
he made the first payment on a small farm which he purchased and
kept adding to and improving until in 1880 it comprised 400 acres, with
splendid farm buildings.

Peter Westerlund is another prosperous pioneer settler in these
parts. He was born at Hassela, Helsingland, Aug. 10, 1839, emigrated
in 1850 and settled at Andover. There he lived for seven years, where-
upon he made a trip to Pike's Peak, Colo., with a party in search of
gold. From there Westerlund and eleven others started on an
adventurous expedition to the southwest without a guide, through a
territory without roads or trails. Their vehicles were drawn by oxen.
They eventually reached the Rio Grande and followed the river to
Albuquerque. Here they sold their oxen, built three boats and, con-
trary to the advice of the townsmen, started to float down the un-
explored waterway, ultimately arriving at El Paso. Up to that time
the Rio Grande was supposed to be impassable, one reason given being
that it ran through a mountain at a certain point. The intrepid Swedes,
however, exploded that tradition.

The town of Orion was founded in 1853 by Charles W. Deane, and
at first bore the name of Deanington, which was subsequently changed
to Orion. Three years later it got railroad communications and entered
upon a new stage of development. Orion has a Swedish Lutheran
church, organized in 1870.

According to the census of 1900 the town then had a population
of 584. At the close of 1905 the number of Swedish- Americans living
in and around Orion was 800, of whom 298 were born in Sweden
and 522 in this country.

ST. CHARLUS, KANE: COUNTY

That part of Illinois now comprising Kane county was first settled
by whites in 1833 when a party of colonists from Indiana came there
to live. The next year another party arrived from New York, and in
1836 the county was organized and named after Elias K. Kane, who
became one of the early United States senators from Illinois.

St. Charles, on the Fox River, was one of the first settlements in
the county. In 1834 the place had only six houses, but the following

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

year the growth of the population necessitated the building of a school-
house. In another year a hotel was erected and a bridge was built
across the Fox River.

Almost from the first, the Swedes have formed an important,
though not the dominating, element of the community. They were
there in the latter forties, it being a matter of record that at least
three Swedes, viz., Nils Jansson, w r ho ran a turning lathe, and two
storekeepers, Bjorkman and Baker, settled in St. Charles prior to 1849.
The latter, w r ho changed his name to Clark, failed in business and then
removed to Chicago.

Nils Jansson, who hailed from Horby, Skane, emigrated to America
in 1830 as a young man. He was a hard drinker and somewhat of an
adventurer, having traveled in Mexico and roamed at large over the
western continent for some time before settling down here. When the
number of Swedes in St. Charles increased, he assumed a sort of
guardianship over them, started raising money for a little church and
sometimes tried his ability as a preacher, which was none too great.
The church was built in 1852, and Swedish clergymen of different
denominations, among them Gustaf Unonius, the Episcopal pastor in
Chicago, made occasional visits. The wife of Nils Jansson is said to
have been a pious woman who often warned her husband to mend his
ways. One morning she took him severely to task, pointing out his
fate in the hereafter, if he persisted in his sinful course. To this he
replied, it is said, that she need not worry about his soul, for half an
hour was all he wanted to prepare for death. That same day Nils
Jansson was killed by lightning in the country, a short distance from
St. Charles. This seems to have occurred in 1850, though the year is
not positively known.

The Jonas Andersson from Farila, Helsingland, who is mentioned
among the Princeton pioneers, was one of the first Swedes to settle
in St. Charles. He came from Chicago in 1849, remaining over winter,
and left for Wisconsin in the spring. After a few months, he returned
to St. Charles, lived there till 1853, then removed to Princeton.

Such were the beginnings of the Swedish colony in St. Charles.
In 1852 several hundred Swedes arrived directly from the old country.
Most of the immigrants came from Vestergotland, being persuaded to
come by the glowing accounts of St. Charles and surrounding country
given in letters from Anders Andersson, a blacksmith and wagonmaker
from Timmelhed, who had emigrated in 1847. Some years later he
moved to Taylor's Falls, Minn., where he died. He left two daughters,
one of whom was married to Daniel Fredin, living near that place, the
other to Dr. Erland Carlsson, one of the pioneer clergymen of the
Swedish Lutheran Church in America. Other arrivals in 1852 were.

ST. CHARLES

315

Lars Fran (Frenn) from Timmelhed and his brothers, Sven Thim, and
Anders Larsson, and a half-brother, Carl Larsson; the first-named
moved to Wayne Station, a few miles from Geneva, after a year, and
from there in 1880 to Vasa, Minn., where he died the same year at the
age of eighty-one ; Thim died in Geneva ; Anders Larsson moved to Red
Wing, Minn., in 1855 or 1856, and died at Vasa in 1871, fifty-eight
years old. Still others were, a shoemaker named Bowman, who served
in the Union Army during the war and died several years thereafter;
his stepson, P. G. Boman, who moved first to Chicago, then to Rock-

St. Charles West Main Street

ford ; J. Sannquist ; Carl Samuelsson and Carl Sjoman from the Tim-
melhed neighborhood, the former, who was somewhat of a spiritual
leader, moving to Elgin, the latter to the neighborhood of McGregor,
la. ; Abram Swensson and his sister, later removed to Hastings, Minn. ;
Anders Svensson and his brother-in-law Hedelin from Rangedala.
Vestergotland, both removing later to Faribault, Minn. Among the
early settlers was also one Jonas Hakanson, thought to have moved
from there to Rockford.

These immigrants also brought the cholera, the plague having
broken out on shipboard and pursuing them to their destination. Had
they taken the necessary precautions upon arrival, such as obtaining

3I 6 EARLY SETTLEMENTS

clean and airy lodgings, the danger of contagion might have been
minimized. Unfortunately, however, few houses were to be had, and
the immigrants had to be packed into small and unsanitary rooms that
became the hotbeds of the disease. The first case of cholera in St.
Charles appeared July 3, the victim being a man. An Irish physician
named Crawford, who was called in, advised the immigrants to scatter
so as not to give the epidemic a chance to spread to the others, but
instead of heeding his counsel, a dozen newcomers occupied a vacant
cooper shop, which was turned into a pesthouse, all the occupants being
attacked by the epidemic. Immigrants living elsewhere in the place
also were taken sick. Dr. Crawford and a volunteer nurse were at the
bedsides of the plague victims night and day for one whole week,
exerting their utmost power to save the stricken ones. Meanwhile
the contagion spread among the older settlers, five of whom died.
Among the immigrants the plague at this first outbreak claimed
ten lives.

At length the local authorities awoke to the necessity of strenuous
and systematic measures to check the ravages of the disease. For that
purpose a temporary hospital was hastily erected of boards at a healthy
and picturesque spot in the woods north of St. Charles. Several women
volunteered as nurses and provided everything needed for the patients.
But despite the best efforts of the community the epidemic was not
checked until seventy-five persons had succumbed.

A small party of Swedes came to St. Charles in 1853, including
Peter Lundgren, from Bottnaryd, Smaland, John Carlsson, from Aske-
ryd, in the same province, Peter Lundquist, Fredrik Pettersson, and
August Nord. Lundquist afterwards removed to Rockford and Pet-
tersson to Nebraska. In the surrounding countrj T a number of Swedes
early settled down as farmers.

In 1853 a Swedish Lutheran congregation was organized in St.
Charles, but its growth was deterred by litigation over the question of
ownership of the aforesaid church. An Irishman named Marvin took
almost forcible possession of the edifice in settlement of claims against
the congregation, so that when its members came to celebrate early
mass on Christmas morning, 1854, they found the doors of the little
church tightly nailed up. One of the intending worshipers, named
Jonas Magnusson, broke open the door and let the people in. When
the congregation came to worship on Easter Sunday the following year
they discovered that the edifice had been moved away on rollers, and
from that time Marvin seems to have had undisputed possession.

From this time until 1882 the Swedish Lutherans in St. Charles
worshiped together with their brethren in Geneva. That year a new

KNOXVILLE

317

congregation was organized in St. Charles, and a church was built the
following year. During 1905 a new and larger edifice was erected.

As early as 1853 S. B. Newman, a Methodist clergyman, organized
a small Swedish class in St. Charles, which soon disbanded owing to
the prevailing hostility to Methodism among the Swedish settlers.
Again in 1890 the Methodists began work, resulting in the organization
of a small congregation. A church edifice was erected in 1904.

During the last two decades the Swedish population of St. Charles
has slowly but steadily grown, partly by immigration from Sweden,
but principally from people moving in from other localities. At the
close of 1905 they numbered about 1,500, out of a total population
of 2,675.

KNOXVILLE:, R.NOX COUNTY

Knoxville is the oldest town in Knox County, having been founded
in 1831. During the first two years of its existence the place was
known as Henderson. For many years it was the county seat until the
more prosperous city of Galesburg laid claim to the honor. A bitter
fight ensued, Knoxville vigorously defending the right once granted,
while Galesburg claimed it as the prerogative of the principal city in
the county and was ultimately victorious. One day in 1873, the ques-
tion having been settled, the archives of the county were removed to
Galesburg, where they have since remained. In the fight for the county
seat none took a more active part than Sven Pettersson of Knoxville,
who sacrificed both time and money in behalf of Knoxville as the seat
of the county government. The part played by the liquor traffic in the
rivalry between the two communities is described under the head of
Galesburg.

Prior to 1849, there were no Swedes in Knoxville, but that year
several located there, among whom were two shoemakers, Adolf An-
dersson and one Bostrom. The latter left in 1850, Andersson remain-
ing until 1853. Simultaneous with these two were other settlers,
among whom one Tinglof with his family, Kristian Johnson, A. Berg-
quist, a farmer, and Trued Persson, a schoolmaster from Stoby, Skane,
known as Granville among the Americans of Knoxville and Galesburg.
He removed to Vasa, Minn., in November, 1855, where he attained
prominence, was elected to the state legislature and held other positions
of trust. He died there Dec. 27, 1905. One Daniel J. Ockerson came to
Knoxville in 1851, went to California in 1859 and removed to Red Oak,
la., in 1880. The same year Ockerson came, John Gottrich located in
Knoxville and in 1880 was the only one of the early Swedish settlers
still living there. The aforesaid Sven Pettersson arrived in 1852 as did
a considerable number of Swedes. The influx was steadily on the

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

increase, and in 1854 the Swedes formed a considerable part of the
population.

That year the cholera broke out in Knoxville, its ravages being
mostly confined to the Swedes, forty of whom died of the pestilence.
The fact that the Americans generally escaped is attributed to their
more sanitary dwellings. As poor immigrants, the Swedes, on the
contrary, had to be satisfied with little stuffy huts ; besides, they were
unaccustomed to the climate and did not know how to accommodate
their diet to the circumstances. The lack of proper sheltering resulted

Knoxville Street Scene

from the lack of money, for while there was plenty of work to be had,
the pay was usually in the form of cows, calves, sheep and pigs.

For a period of about twenty years, from 1852, there was a rapid
increase of the Swedish population. But in the latter seventies came a
stagnation which has continued to this day. The descendants of the
old pioneers, as also the Swedes who have located there in later years,
are generally prosperous and belong to the best portion of the Swedish
population of the state. During the Civil War the Knoxville Swedes
displayed their great loyalty to the flag by enlisting to the number of
forty to fight for the perpetuation of the Union.

The city has a Swedish Lutheran church, one of the oldest in the
state, founded in 1854. In Knoxville there was printed, in December,
1854, the first issue of "Gamla och Nya Hemlandet," the oldest
Swedish newspaper in the West and the next oldest in the United
States. The first number was dated Jan. 3, 1855.

From 1873 to 1885, Knoxville had a Swedish institution of learn-

WATAGA

319

ing, the Ansgarius College, owned and controlled by the Ansgarius
Synod. The total population of Knoxville in 1900 was 1,857. The
number of Swedes cannot be precisely stated. The membership of the
Swedish Lutheran Church at the beginning of the year 1905 was 280,
and the total number of Swedes in the city will not exceed 850.

WATAGA, K.NOX COUNTY

The little town of Wataga is situated in Sparta township, its first
white inhabitant having been Hezekiah Buford, who located there in
1834. Two years later came three brothers, Cyrus, Levy and Reuben
Robbins, who planted a grove of shade-trees and a large orchard,
known as Robbings Grove.

The first Swedish settlers arrived in 1849. They were : Lars Ols-
son, with family, from Bollnas, Helsingland; Peter Ericksson, with
wife and two sisters-in-law, from Alfta, Helsingland ; Olof Palsson and
Anders Danielsson from Ockelbo, Gestrikland. The first named died
in 1864, having lived long enough to reap the fruits of his labors as a
pioneer. One of his sons, Win. H. Olson enlisted as a volunteer in
Company I, 102nd Illinois Infantry on Aug. 9, 1862. He was soon pro-
moted to corporal and died March 26, 1865, from wounds received in
battle. His brother, L. W. Olson, died in 1907. In 1880 he was a
member of the firm of Olson and Bergman. Two of his sisters were
also living at that time. Peter Ericksson, his wife and one of her
sisters after a few years moved to Bishop Hill, where all died prior to
1880. Olof Palsson moved first to Minnesota and then to Kansas.
Anders Danielsson was still living in Wataga in the early eighties.

In 1850 N. J. Lindbeck came over from Ockelbo and settled two
miles east of Wataga; also Jonas Pettersson and his wife from Alfta,
the Williamson family from Jerfso, Helsingland, and Lars Williams
from Ljusdal, in the same province. Lindbeck left after nine months'
stay, subsequently moving from one place to another, finally settling
at Victoria, where he was still living in 1880. Jonas Pettersson died
after a few years, but his widow and children, two sons and three
daughters, were still living there in 1880. The head of the Williamson
family died in 1885. His five sons all became prominent citizens in
their respective communities. William Williamson went to farming on
a large scale near Wataga, owning over 400 acres of land in 1880, a
general merchandise store in Galesburg and a large interest in the
grocery store of Nelson Chester & Co., in Moline. Jonas Williamson
at that time also owned a large farm near Wataga. The third brother,
Peter Williamson, had a valuable farm in Lucas county, la. The fourth,
John Williamson in 1862 enlisted in Company K, 83rd Illinois Infantry,
was wounded and received honorable discharge the following year.

320

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

dying shortly after his return home. Moses 0. Williamson, the fifth of
the brothers, born on the Atlantic during the voyage of the family to
America, began his career as a harness-maker and later devoted himself
to politics, rising from one position to another until elected to the office
of state treasurer. After serving one term, 1901-1904, he retired fron?
public life and established himself in business in Galesburg where he
has resided for a long period. A sister of the Williamson brothers
married W. C. Olson, who, after many years' residence in Wataga,
where he held several public offices, removed to Wakeeney, Kans., some
time in the seventies.

Wataga was founded in 1855 by an American by the name of
J. M. Holyoke and a Swede named A. P. Cassel, who jointly established
a general merchandise store. The next year the place got a railway
station and a hotel. Rich coal veins were early discovered in this
vicinity and the work of mining began forthwith. The coal mining
industry was at its height here about the middle of the fifties, when
the mines employed 250 workingmen ; after that it declined, causing
the floating population, a large percentage being Swedish laborers, to
drift away to other localities. Those of the Swedes who had been able
to purchase land remained, as a rule, and in time became well-to-do.
A few engaged in business with uniform success.

A Swedish Lutheran church was organized here in 1856 and a
Swedish Methodist church the year following. Neither church is
numerically strong, the former numbering 245 and the latter only 26
members. In 1900 Wataga had 545 inhabitants. The percentage of
Swedish- Americans in the town and the surrounding country can only
be conjectured.

SWEDONA, MERCER COUNTY

The town of Swedona was first known as Berlin. It is situated
on a plateau commanding a view of the plains stretching to the south
and drained by the Edward's Creek. The growth of Swedona was
stunted from the first by the lack of railway communication, New
Windsor, Lynn and other neighboring towns developed at its expense,
a number of houses being moved from Swedona to these places. No
other factors requisite to development having since came into exist-
ence, the place is still but a small village. The country around is popu-
lous with successful farmers, largely Swedes.

The first Swede in Swedona, undoubtedly, was Nils Magnus Kihl-
berg from Kisa, Ostergotland, who came over with a party of 300
emigrants on board the sailing vessel "Charles Tottie," in the summer
of 1849, after a seven weeks' voyage from Goteborg to New York.
Their original destination was New Sweden, la., where Peter Cassel

ALTONA

321

had settled, but the cholera and other diseases crossed their purpose
and compelled them to stop in Andover and vicinity. Late in the
autumn, Kihlberg started for New Sweden, but while in Rock Island
awaiting a boat for Burlington he changed his mind and returned to
Andover. Shortly afterwards he located at Swedona with his family,
consisting of wife and three sons. In 1880 Kihlberg and his wife were
still living. The year following the arrival of Kihlberg, other Swedes
settled here. They were Gustaf Larsson and Anders Samuelsson from
Sund, Ostergotland, the former with wife and three daughters. Lars-
son died in the seventies. Samuelsson later removed to the vicinity of
Cambridge, Henry county. In 1857 still another family was added,
that of Peter Magnusson from Ydre, Ostergotland, with wife and five
children. Magnusson died late in the seventies ; one of his sons became
one of the most prominent farmers in the locality, and two daughters
successively married Rev. L." P. Esbjorn.

After 1870, parties of immigrants, mostly from Smaland, began to
arrive and settle in Swedona. The largest influx seems to have oc-
curred in 1865, or thereabouts, when a number of fairly well-to-do
families arrived and made extensive land purchases in the neigh-
borhood.

The Swedish Methodists were on the ground as early as 1855,
when a mission was established, but not until 1863 did the congrega-
tion get its own pastor.

The Swedish Lutheran Church in Swedona was founded in 1859.
Among its early pastors was Rev. A. Andreen, one of the pioneers of
the Augustana Synod, and father of Gustav Andreen, president of
Augustana College, and Revs. Philip and Alexis Andreen, all ministers
of the Augustana Synod.

While Swedona had a population of 111, the Swedish Lutheran
Church there numbered 490 at the close of 1905, the majority living in
Cable and Sherrard and in the country roundabout Swedona. The
Swedish Methodists are 36 in number, some living in New Windsor.
In the Swedona neighborhood there were in 1905 approximately 250
people without church connections.

ALTONA, HENRY COUNTY

The first white man in Altona was John Thompson, who came
there in 1836. His nearest white neighbor was living in Franker 's
Grove, eleven miles away. After a few years a number of Mormons
located in the neighborhood. Joseph Smith, their prophet, had had a
revelation to the effect that here an auxiliary colony of the Latter Day
Saints was to be founded, the principal one being at Nauvoo. The
branch colony numbered about one hundred persons. The neighbors

322

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

having given the Mormons due notice that they could not count on
security of life and property, the prophet had another revelation with
orders to the branch colony to reunite with the main body at Nauvoo,
which was done.

The first schoolhouse in this vicinity was built in 1841. When
the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Kailway was built through this
locality one J. B. Chambers, who furnished the railroad laborers with
provisions, built a store on the present site of Alton a, which was sub-
sequently platted in 1854 by the heirs of John Thompson, who named
the place La Pier, the name of Altona dating from 1863.

Altona Main Street

The first Swede to settle here was Anders Snygg from Bergsjo,
Helsin gland, with wife and four children. The family had emigrated
in 1849 and settled in Victoria. The year following Snygg bought 40
acres of land three-quarters of a mile north of Altona and moved there
with his family. Shortly after the removal, Snygg was taken sick and,
after a lingering disease of five years' duration, died. His widow was
still living in 1880, at the age of seventy. One son, Anders Peter
Snygg, was then living in Dayton, la., one daughter was married and
lived in Des Moines, and another daughter was married to an American
by the name of Shade, in Oneida, 111.

The first Swedes to settle in Altona next after Snygg were P.
Petterson and his brother G-. A. Ericksson from Djursdala, Smaland.
The former had been living for some years in Moline, where he was
farming for a time and then engaged in business. These men, who

ALTONA

323

located here in 1850, proved very enterprising, their first concern after
arrival being to erect a combined flour mill, sawmill and planing mill
run by steam. A little later they built a blacksmith shop, a wagon
shop and a cooper shop. Not satisfied with this, they started a large
general store, which supplied the neighborhood with all the necessaries.
After nine years Ericksson moved to Iowa. His brother Petterson con-
tinued all the various lines of business until 1862, when he sold the
flour mill to Olof Andersson, shortly afterwards rejoining his brother
in Iowa. One Anders Johnson for a time had charge of the wagon
shop, which was subsequently removed to Andover. One A. M. Lonner,
who later removed to Andover, was bookkeeper for the Petterson
brother and Ericksson from 1853 to 1859.

Another early Swedish settler in Altona was Nils J. Lindback, who
came in 1854, remaining only a few years and then moving to a farm
east of Victoria. The marriage interdict in effect in Bishop Hill at this
time caused many young people to desert that colony and settle in
surrounding places, including Altona. Among the Erik Janssonists who
located in Altona in 1855 were Erik Lindvall and his wife Helena,
John Soderstrom and his wife Louisa, Erik Hart, Hans Lindgren, John
Granat and G. E. Rodeen. This party at first engaged in brickmaking
near Altona. The two married couples made their homes in Altona
proper. In 1858 Lindvall got work in a flour mill, very likely that of
Petterson and Eriksson, and afterwards established a wagon shop,
which he conducted so successfully that it made him wealthy in a
modest way. Soderstrom for some years had owned and operated
a brick yard west of Altona, then moved to the Galva neighborhood
and rented a farm, still later removing to Osage county, Kansas, where
he was living for many years as one of the most prosperous farmers
of the state. Erik Hast went to California; Hans Lindgren moved to
a farm near Ulah, Henry county; John Granat went to Galesburg,
where he was still living as late as 1880, and G. E. Eodeen died in the
Civil War, while serving in Company D, 57th Illinois Infantry.

In 1858 Mr. and Mrs. Youngstrom moved to Altona from Pleasant
Hill, Ky., where they had belonged for a few years to the Shaker sect,
after leaving Bishop Hill in 1854. Youngstrom still lived in Altona in
1880.

The first Swedish church in Altona was the Lutheran, organized
in 1854. In the sixties its membership grew very large, but in the
seventies a general exodus to the West caused a material decrease
which, however, has been more than outweighed by normal growth
in the later decades.

A Swedish Baptist church was founded in 1858, and is still extant,
according to the records of the denomination, but no statistics are

324

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

therein given. This church also lost members during the emigration
farther westward. In 1887 a Swedish Mission church was organ-
ized, but meeting with no success, the little flock soon disbanded.

In the Alton a country district there was an early influx of Swedish
farmers. The first was George Chalman, who came in 1851 or 1852,
and was still living in 1880. Other of the earliest settlers were Peter
Newberg, Nils Hedstrom, L. Carlsson, E. Kraus, P. Olsson and Georg
Eriksson. Shortly after 1860 a considerable number of Swedes settled
to the north and northwest of Altona.

In 1905 the Swedish Lutheran Church in Altona numbered 450 out
of a total Swedish population of 700. Altona 's total population was
633 in 1900.

ROCKFORD, WINNE1BAGO COUNTY

That portion of the state which is now Winnebago county was,
like the whole northern part of Illinois, little known to the whites prior
to the Black Hawk War of 1832. The first spot in this territory
settled by whites was Galena, then named La Pointe. One Col. Johnson
from Kentucky came there in 1824 with a number of miners and
opened a coal mine about a mile from the present site of the city. The
enterprise proved very successful and when the news spread hundreds,
not to say thousands, in 1826-7 flocked there from all parts of Illinois
and neighboring states to seek work in the coal mines.

Partly in this way, partly through those who fought in the Black
Hawk War, which extended to these parts, the Rock River valley was
made known. One of the first white men who set foot on the present
site of Rockford was Ira Parker, who came in 1824 with a party of
landseekers from Terre Haute, Ind. On their way to Galena, they
crossed the Rock River here and at this point found an Indian village
with 300 to 400 inhabitants. Only the women and children and a few
of the men were found at home, all the others being on the war path.
The hills on both sides of the river were covered with thick timber and
in the valleys the grass grew to a man's height. The scenery that met
the party of whites at this point was inviting and highly picturesque.

But Ira Parker and his party were not the only whites who visited
this place before the settlement of Rockford began. Shortly after the
Black Hawk War, Abraham Lincoln, possibly in the capacity of
surveyor, and a party of government officials camped on the Rock
River at this point, and he afterwards said that both he and the
party were charmed with the natural beauty of the locality.

In the summer of 1833, one John Phelps resolved to explore the
Rock River valley throughout. Accompanied by a Frenchman, he left
Mineral Point in a canoe and made a stop on the present site of the

ROCKFORD

325

city. One of the explorers was in favor of settling on the spot at once,
but there being no building material at hand, they proceeded on their
way down stream. These two men became the first white settlers at
Oregon, in Ogle county.

Several years before Phelps made his tour down the river, the first
white had settled in Winnebago county and built a cabin one and
one-half miles from the mouth of the Pecatonica River, at a point
afterwards known as Bird's Grove. This man was Stephen Mack, a
son of an ex-officer in the army who lived in the East and carried on
an extensive fur trade. Stephen Mack was born in Vermont, where
he received his early education, afterwards entering Dartmouth
College at Hanover, N. H. Being a roysterer to whom discipline was
irksome, he soon left for home. His father then sent him to the West
to superintend his fur trade there. One day while alone in his cabin,
he was attacked by Winnebago Indians, and left for dead. He would
doubtless have perished, had not the daughter of Chief Ho-no-ne : gah
remained and given him the most tender care. She afterward became
his wife and bore him four sons and four daughters. Two of the
daughters later attended the Rockford Seminary, but their wild dis-
position and their hatred of the w T hites soon caused their dismissal
from the institution. They then rejoined the Winnebago tribe which
had been compelled to withdraw to Minnesota.

Stephen Mack was a tall, stately looking man with the air and
manner of the man of the world. His Indian wife died in 1847. The
following year he was married to a white woman. She was addicted to
drink and made life miserable for her husband. One day, while under
the influence of liquor, she set fire to their cabin, which was partially
destroyed. These sorrows and perplexities proved too much for Mack,
who was laid on a sickbed from which he never arose. He was buried
side by side with his first wife in a spot near his cabin.

Among the early settlers here we find Germanicus Rent from
Alabama, Thatcher Blake from Maine and Daniel Haight, who lived
on what is now known as the east side. A dam constructed across
the river by Rent was swept away in January, 1835, but rebuilt the
following July. At that time there were only eleven persons living in
Midway, as the place was called on account of its location half-way
between Chicago and Galena. By fall the number had increased to
twenty-seven. Ephraim Wyman, born in Lancaster, Mass., in 1809
was one of the early settlers, coming here Sept. 21, 1835. In the woods
on the east side of the river there were living about 750 Pottawatomie
Indians and on the Pecatonica River about 700 Winnebagoes. For-
tunately for the settlers, these redskins were very quiet and peaceable.
The nearest garrison was at Fort Winnebago on the Fox River, in

326 EARLY SETTLEMENTS

Wisconsin, and from there assistance could not have been dispatched
in time to protect the whites in the event of an uprising.

The number of settlers steadily increased, and in 1836 they were
sufficiently numerous to organize the county, which was named Winne-
bago after the neighboring Indian tribe. For some time afterward,
the settlers were subject to hardships and dangers of frontier life here
as elsewhere in the western wilderness. A band of outlaws, known as
the "Red Robbers," or "Prairie Bandits," operated in these parts
from 1836 to 1839, striking terror to the settlers and making the
neighborhood generally unsafe. Robberies and other flagrant crimes
were of frequent occurrence, travelers between Midway and Galena
being especially exposed to outlawry.

The first merchandise store in Rockford was opened by John E.
Vance on the east side of 'the river, not far from the spot where the
railway station now stands. Shortly afterward, E. H. Potter and one
Preston opened a store in a frame building near the present corner of
State and Main streets. These were soon followed by others, mostly
located on the east side. Year by year business grew, and in 1848 a
bank named the "Winnebago Bank was established by the firm of
Robertson, Holland and Coleman. Two years later, or only about
sixteen years after the arrival of the first white settlers, the place had
1,500 inhabitants, and in the next three years this number was trebled,
owing doubtless to the completion to Rockford of the Chicago and
Galena Railway, now a part of the Northwestern system. Realty values
rose rapidly. A new and larger dam was constructed across the Rock
River in the fifties for the generation of water power for mechanical
purposes. A couple of saw mills were the first industrial establish-
ments, but gradually various small factories grew up the modest
forerunners of the big industrial plants of modern Rockford. During
the first few years the inhabitants wishing to cross the Rock River
generally forded the stream, entailing many accidental drownings.
Fatalities were not materially decreased by the subsequent system of
ferrying. When a bridge was built in 1840 the river could be crossed
with some degree of safety, but this bridge was far from satisfactory.
The structure was a rickety affair that undulated like thin ice under
the feet of passengers and sagged like a hammock under heavier
weight. In spite of constant threats to give way, it stood all tests until
replaced by a more substantial wooden structure, which in turn gave
way to a modern steel bridge.

In 1880 the city had 13,129 inhabitants; in 1890 the number had
grown to 23,584 and in 1900 to 31,051. In the last named year the city
had 246 industrial establishments of different kinds, with an aggregate
capitalization of $7.715,069, 5.223 workingmen and an annual produc-

ROCKFORD

327

tion valued at $8,888,904. The chief products of the Rockford in-
dustries are furniture, hosiery, agricultural implements, pianos, sewing
machines and machinery and tools. Secondary in order are, paper,
flour, grape sugar, matches, plated ware, etc.

To the Swedish-Americans it is a satisfaction to know that of all
foreign nationalities represented in Rockford the Swedes have had the
greatest share in the rapid development of the city industrially, com-
mercially and otherwise. It is even a question whether they have not
surpassed the native Americans in these respects. All the way from
the early fifties, Swedes have been living here. During the last three

Rockford River View

decades they have formed the pith of the working population in the
city, and from twenty years back the Swedish- Americans constitute a
considerable percentage of the manufacturers and businessmen of
Rockford. Industrious and thrifty as a rule, they have generally worked
in the employ of others until acquiring a competence, when they have
combined into co-operative companies for the purpose of furniture
manufacture or carrying on other lines of industry, thereby becoming
employers and themselves reaping the profits. Wide-awake and intel-
ligent, as they are, they have made many practical inventions, thereby
simplifying processes, reducing the cost of production and increasing
the efficiency of labor and machinery. Naturally saving and provident,
they have established a building and loan association whereby many
have become the owners of comfortable homes. A number of sick
benefit and funeral aid societies have been organized, lending econom-
ical assistance of no mean importance to families suddenly stricken
by misfortune.

328 EARLY vSETTLEMENTS

The spiritual care of the Rockford Swedes is well provided for.
Religious work has been carried on among them ever since pioneer
days, and there are now no less than half a dozen Swedish churches,
most of these having a large membership and owning valuable
property.

They have always evinced a live interest in educational work and
given liberal support both to the purely American schools and the
specifically Swedish-American institutions of learning. Many are the
Swedish young men from Rockford who, after completing the pre-
scribed courses, have entered the service of the church or devoted
themselves to the teacher's calling or the learned professions. Several
Swedish newspapers have been published in Rockford at different
periods. Swedish song is here cultivated with as much zest as any-
where in the United States.' Although not a Swedish- American center
of culture in the same sense as Chicago, Minneapolis, New York, and
Rock Island, yet Rockford is an eminent factor for Swedish- American
progress. Its Swedish colony is more homogeneous than most similar
communities, making the Swedish characteristics more pronounced here
than elsewhere.

In 1854 the Swedes of Rockford numbered approximately 1,000,
in 1862 about 2,000, ten years later about 3,500, and in 1885 about
6,000. At the close of 1905, their estimated number was 16,000. Assum-
ing that the total population increased in the five years of 1901-5 in the
same ratio as in the foregoing census period, the Swedes of Rockford
would now constitute nearly half the population.

After taking this general survey, we will review the story of the
Swedish pioneer settlers of Rockford. About 1852 the first Swedish
settlers came here. When John Nelson from Karrakra, Vestergotland,
subsequent inventor of a celebrated knitting machine, came to Rockford
from St. Charles that year, he found ahead of him a few Swedish
families and single men who had arrived shortly before. Among these
were Abraham Andersson with his family and a young man named
Clark, possibly the same person mentioned in the early history of St.
Charles. Anderson soon left for Minnesota, and Nelson removed to
Elgin a few months later, and from there to Chicago in the spring of
1853. The following autumn he formed the acquaintance of Erik Nore-
lius, then a divinity student, lived together with him for several months
and attended the private English school taught by him in the winter
of 1854. The same year Nelson returned to Rockford, accompanied
by Anders Johnson who later removed to New Mexico, where he lived
for many years.

During Nelson's absence from Rockford in 1853 a number of
Swedes had moved in, including the following: Sven August Johnson <;, . ..

ROCKFORD

329

from Ving, Vestergotland, who came over in 1852 and subsequently
became a prominent business man of Kockford where he is still living,
loved and honored by all; C. J. Carlsson, a tailor, and P. Pettersson,
with their families, both from Ving ; Peter Johansson, or Johnson, and
two men, Lindgren and Lundbeck, both from Vestergotland, who died
as pioneer settlers in Minnesota ; Jonas Larsson and Johan Sparf , with
families, both from Olmestad, Smaland ; Isak Pettersson, a tailor from
Bello, Smaland, all of whom came in one party from the old country.

The Rockford pioneers were beset with the customary trials and
hardships on their way to the new country and after their arrival.
According to the story told by Jonas Larsson, they left Goteborg in a
small, filthy sailing vessel, in which the emigrants were packed together
in most uncomfortable quarters. A terrific storm at sea still further
aggravated their misfortune, tossing the little vessel about on giant
waves, momentarily threatening to swallow up the frail craft. The
ship took the route north of Scotland, and the captain asserted that
he had never encountered so heavy seas during thirty years of sailing.
The ship was driven toward the coast of Ireland, apparently doomed to
imminent destruction. So great was the despair on board that the
cook ceased to prepare and serve food to the passengers. When they
complained, they got the grewsome reply: "You have no further need
of food: by tomorrow morning we will all be at the bottom of the sea."
There was nothing to do but prepare for death. But the storm sub-
sided, providentially averting shipwreck, and after a voyage of five
weeks the ship made port at Cork, Ireland. Here the passengers were
detained for two and one-half months while the ship was lightened
and repaired. Then they set out anew, on an equally stormy voyage,
reaching the American coast after another ten weeks spent on the
ocean.

Ultimately the party reached Rockford in the fall, after a journey
lasting six months; but even then their hardships were not at an end.
Poor food, still poorer dwellings, sickness and lack of work prolonged
their misery. Wages were very low, ranging from 25 cents to 50 cents
per day. Fortunately, however, the price of commodities was cheap,
butter selling at 5 cents per pound, and meat at 3 to 4 cents. Single
men could obtain board for $1.50 per week. Even bibulousness
was not an expensive habit in those days, when whisky was to be had
at 15 cents per gallon.

Larsson and Sparf with their families secured common lodgings at
North Second street, near the present public square, at a rental of $3
per month. Larsson went south that fall in search of better em-
ployment, but returned in a few months and remained in Rockford.
About 1890, he was engaged by the Zion Swedish Lutheran Church as

3 3

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

parochial school teacher. Johan Sparf, after living in Rockford
for some time, purchased a farm near Davis Junction, where he suffered
from crop failures, but ultimately bettered his condition and in 1868
bought a second farm at Cherry Valley, seven miles from Rockford.
Now everything went well, and about 1885 Sparf was considered one
of the most prosperous farmers of Winnebago county. He died in
the nineties.

During the years of 1854-5 many Swedes came to Rockford
directly from their native land, others after a brief stay in Chicago.
Among others we mention the following: Johannes Anderson, shoe-
maker, arrived from Chicago in 1854; John Erlander, tailor, arrived

Rockford River Front

in Rockford in 1855, having emigrated from Slatthog, Smaland, the
year prior; Peter Lindahl, later a grain dealer; A. P. Petterson, a
mechanic, from Vadstena ; G. Bergquist, painter, and Gustaf Berglund,
dyer, both from Vermland ; the former remained in Rockford, the latter
removed first to Norwegian Lake, Minn., thence to Water Valley, Miss.,
where he engaged in manufacture; Anders Hedin, hatter, and Edvard
Wallborg, both from Vermland, who accompanied Berglund to Minne-
sota and from there to Mississippi, where Wallborg was drafted
for service in the Confederate army, but escaped to Chicago,
going from there to Beloit, Wis., where he died; Gustaf Scott, Johan
Abrahamsson and A. Johnson, all of whom removed elsewhere ; Adolf
Andersson, who lost his life in the war; Peter Hakansson, shoemaker,
died in 1880; A. C. Johnson from Torneryd, Blekinge, who came to
St. Charles in 1854 and to Rockford the following year, becoming the
pioneer furniture manufacturer of the city; Gustaf Lundgren from

ROCKFORD

331

Smaland and Isak Lindgren, who removed to Andover, still living
there in 1880.

In the fifties Kockford, like Chicago, was a stopping-place for
Swedish immigrants going west to buy land and establish homes.
This was especially the case in the years 1852 to 1856. The greatest
influx of Swedes to Rockford occurred in the decade of 1856-66.

Here, as elsewhere, the immigrants were subject to disease, chiefly
the cholera, which claimed most of its victims in 1854. A few examples
of the ravages of this messenger of death may be here noted. At this
time Inga Christina Persson from Vernamo, who later married John
Erlander, was a domestic in an American family. One day she saw
a cholera victim carried past the house on the way to the grave. It was
the body of her own mother. She had not been notified of her death
for fear that she would hasten to the deathbed, contract the disease
and spread it to others. Her father also died of the plague about
the same time, no notice being given the daughter, who learned of his
death accidentally, when a friend called to express her sympathies for
the orphaned girl. The daughter herself had a slight attack of the
cholera, from which she soon rallied. Johannes Andersson, the afore-
said shoemaker, one morning visited a woman engaged in doing the
family washing. That very evening he was requested to order a casket
for her, she having been suddenly stricken down by the pestilence. An
aged immigrant one day brought home a piece of pork and placed it
in the frying-pan, with the remark: "Now that we are in America, I
reckon we'll have some pork." That was his last meal. The next
morning he was carried to the grave, having died of cholera in
the night.

Fortunately there were in the city many charitable people whose
hearts went out to the sick and the suffering. Among those who in this
dark hour showed themselves most sympathetic and self-sacrificing,
Sven August Johnson, John Nelson and Clark, then young men,
deserve special mention. Among the Swedish settlers, they were the
most proficient in the English language. Without fear of contagion,
they went from house to house, bringing help and comfort to their
stricken countrymen. Clark is said to have solicited means among
the Americans for the support of the sick and the destitute. The Amer-
icans, too, showed great kindness toward the unfortunate newcomers.
An old schoolhouse, situated near the present public square on the
east side, was turned into an emergency hospital, and one Col. Marsh
had a barn adapted to the same purpose.

Along in the late autumn of 1854 the epidemic began to subside,
and conditions generally improved. Though nearly all poor, the Swedes
were industrious and saving, enabling them not only to earn a bare

332

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

living, but to lay by something for future use. By their capacity for
work and their integrity they soon gained the full confidence of their
American neighbors.

At first the Swedish settlers had no means of common worship in
their mother tongue, but this want was supplied without great delay.
The first Swedish preacher to visit Rockford was doubtless Gustaf
Unonius of Chicago, but the year is not known. Most probably his visit
took place in the late summer of 1852, for in September of that year he
took a trip to Minnesota and very likely went by way of Rockford.

The first Christmas matin services celebrated by the Swedes of
Rockford were described by survivors in the eighties as having been

Rockford Seventh Street

extremely impressive. There was no house of worship, where the gospel
was preached in the Swedish language, no bells chiming out the hour of
worship, yet the settlers desired to celebrate the "julotta" as best they
could. Before daylight, a little company of them gathered in a small
cabin, where a Christmas tree had been provided and tallow candles
placed in the windows. The order of worship was gone through some-
how, but simple and unassuming as was this service, it made so power-
ful an impression on those present that at its conclusion they embraced
one another amid tears. The solemnity of the occasion forcibly brought
home to them the fact that they were children of a common land and
a common faith.

In October, 1853, Rev. Erland Carlson made his first visit to Rock-
ford and formed the acquaintance of the Swedish settlers there. He
returned the following January and then organized the congregation
known as the First Swedish Lutheran Church of Rockford. now one of

GENEVA

333

the largest Swedish churches in the United States. In 1882 members
who left this church organized another, the Emanuel Church, which uses
the English language in its public worship and for some time belonged
to the English Lutheran General Synod, but is now a part of the
Swedish Augustana Synod. In 1883 there was a second withdrawal
from the First Church to form another Swedish congregation, named
the Zion Church.

About 1854 or 1855 a Methodist preacher by the name of P. Chall-
man visited Rockford, preaching to his countrymen there. S. B. New-
man, another Methodist preacher, also made a visit, forming a class,
which, however, disbanded shortly after. Not until 1861 was a
permanent Swedish Methodist church organized.

In 1875 the Mission Friends of Rockford had become sufficiently
numerous to form a congregation of their own. Still later the Free
Mission Church was added, and in 1880 the Swedish Baptist Church.
The independent Swedish Evangelical Church, which was founded in
1882, dissolved after a few years.

Among the Swedish population of Rockford a large number of
fraternal societies and lodges have sprung up in the course of years.

It is but natural that the energetic and aggressive Swedish people
of Rockford should play an influential part in local and state politics,
and a number of them should attain to high positions of public trust,
as numerous instances have shown.

GENEVA, KANE COUNTY

The city of Geneva is situated in the township of the same name,
only two miles from Batavia and the same distance from St. Charles,
the three cities being of nearly the same age. In 1836 a party of
colonists from the East settled on the site of Geneva. The year after,
a town site was laid out and the first courthouse was built. The first
bridge across the Fox River was constructed in 1836, the year of first
settlement.

Swedes came to Geneva somewhat later than to St. Charles. When
the first Swede settled here is not known, but in 1832 several came
here, viz., D. Lindstrom, who later removed to Paxton, his son John P.
Lindstrom, who removed to Moline, and his grandson, A. P. Lindstrom,
who became a minister of the Augustana Synod and died in 1895.
These came from Bone, Vestergotland. In 1854 the following Swedes
were living in Geneva: G. Lindgren, Samuel Pettersson, who sub-
sequently removed to Aurora; John Rystrom, removed to Oregon, 111.;
Goran Svensson, removed to DeKalb ; Gustaf Pettersson, removed to
Chicago; B. Kindblad and A. P. Andersson, who located in Batavia
later; Julius Esping, an anchor smith, who removed later to Fremont,

334

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

Kans. ; Carl Samuelsson and Sven Andersson, both subsequently
removed to Elgin; Ericksson and C. P. Gronberg, removed to Water-
town, "Wis. ; Jonas M. Pettersson, removed to Galesburg, and Olof
Svensson, who remained in Geneva to his death.

In 1880 John Pettersson was the oldest living Swedish inhabitant
of Geneva. He came over in 1854 from Gallaryd, Smaland, and spent
several years in Chicago, working at the shoemaker's trade. In 1856
he came to Geneva, establishing himself as a shoemaker, with a
branch shop at St. Charles. After seven years on the shoemaker's
bench, he tired of the awl and last, and changed to the watchmaker's
trade.

Geneva State Street

In 1853 a Swedish Lutheran church was organized in Geneva. Not
long afterward, a parochial school was opened to give the children
religious instruction in their mother tongue. The first schoolmaster
was John Pehrson, subsequently a clergyman in the Augustana Synod.
He was succeeded by M. Munter, a schoolmaster of the olden type from
Sweden, who flogged his pupils mercilessly for every offense, while
his ability to impart instruction was questionable. The interest he took
in the work of teaching may be illustrated with the following incident
of Swedish-American pioneer life. One day the schoolmaster, wishing
to kill a sheep, brought the animal with him to the schoolroom and
then and there, before the eyes of the pupils, went through the uncanny
process of butchering and quartering the sheep, all the while continuing
to hear the classes in a perfunctory manner. This same Munter later
went to Wapello county, la., where he became one of the founders of
a settlement named after him Munterville. There he died some time

GENESEO

335

in the eighties. About 1870 a Swedish Methodist church was organized
in Geneva, and in 1894 a Swedish Baptist church.

During the last twenty or thirty years Swedes in large numbers
have moved into Geneva and the neighboring cities on the Fox River.
The Swedes of Geneva in 1905 were estimated at 1,200, the enumeration
of 1900 giving a total population of 2,446.

GENESE1O, HENRY COUNTY

Like Andover, Geneseo was founded by American colonizers from
the state of New York, with headquarters at Genesee, from which
place the new settlement was named. In 1836 a company sent three
men west to look up a locality suitable for a settlement, and this was
the choice of the emissaries. A tract of land, embracing the present
site of Geneseo, was purchased, whereupon the committee returned
home to report the results of their expedition. Fifty settlers imme-
diately started for the new colony site, arriving in the middle of
winter, subject to many hardships. Two thousand acres of land were
bought up and parceled out among the settlers, who provided their
own dwellings according to their means. In the spring they began
tilling the soil, gathering their first harvests the following summer
and fall.

Geneseo dates back to 1837, when the first houses were erected
there. The place did not receive a postoffice until 1839. Its growth
was slow until 1853, when the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Rail-
way was built through the place, stimulating a more rapid development
for the next few years.

In the early fifties Swedes began settling in Geneseo. In 1852
John Gustus, Lewis Johnson and Carl Johnson were living there The
first named, who was from Opphem, Ostergotland, first had a shoe-
maker's shop, then opened a store, and in 1862 sold this business to
N. P. Rosenstone. In the late seventies he removed to Iowa, where he
was not particularly favored by fortune. Lewis Johnson came from
Smaland and Carl Johnson from Vermland; the latter settled on a
farm just outside the town.

In 1853 Lars Jonsson came over from Skarstad, Smaland, and
bought a farm of 80 acres north of Green River. Carl Toline, who
served as a volunteer in Company D, 57th Illinois Infantry, was among
the early Swedish settlers here, and was still living in Geneseo in 1880.
Another pioneer was Adolf Safstrom from Ostergotland who lived on
a farm not far from Geneseo.

Most of the Swedes who came to Geneseo to farm were poor and,
in consequence, had to be satisfied with the low, badly drained lands,
the early colonists having picked out the most desirable tracts. Never-

33 6 EARLY SETTLEMENTS

theless, the Swedish farmers in this neighborhood have been doing well.
The Swedish people in Geneseo engaged in business and the trades also
have prospered and have as a class attained a respected and prominent
place in the community.

In the spring of 1855 Swedish Lutheran mission work was begun
in Geneseo but not until 1859 was a church organized. Five years later,
a Swedish Methodist church was established. This congregation began
to decline in the eighties, and is now dissolved.

At the close of 1905, there were approximately 560 Swedish-
Americans living in Geneseo and vicinity. The total population at the
last census was 3,356.

DEKALB, DEKALB COUNTY

In . 1853 DeKalb consisted of merely a couple of stores, a small
hotel and a blacksmith shop. But at that time a railroad was built
through, and the town began to grow apace. Building after building
was erected and changes were made so rapidly that farmers who visited
the town only once a month would hardly recognize the place. An
enterprise that contributed largely to the development of the town was
the location there of a barbed wire factory, which has since grown to be
the largest industrial plant in this locality, employing thousands of
workmen, a large percentage of whom are Swedes. In 1873 DeKalb
got its village charter.

The first Swede in DeKalb was one Jonas Olsson, who came there
from Dixon, where he had owned a farm. He was soon followed by
his brother and two young men, the sons of a clergyman by the name of
P. Bark. Of the Olsson brothers, who came from Slatthog, Smaland,
the former was still living there in 1880 while the latter had farmed
for twenty years near Sterling. In 1853 three more emigrants from
Slatthog came over and settled here, namely: Nils Magnus Johnson,
Johan Johansson and Jonas Johnson. All three were well-to-do farmers
near DeKalb in 1880. Simultaneousuly with these, came John Olsson
from Hjortsberga, Smaland. These four were poor emigrants who at
first were employed by Americans as day laborers.

In 1854 Peter Mansson came with his family from Vislanda. Sma-
land. He became the first Swedish householder in DeKalb, whence he
moved to Salina, Kans., in 1879. Simultaneously with Mansson came
Peter Jonsson, also from Vislanda, with a party of eleven others, all of
whom settled in this vicinity, Jonsson and several of the others still
living there in 1880.

The Goran Svensson mentioned among the early settlers of Geneva
was also one of the earlv Swedes in DeKalb. He was born in the citv

GALVA

337

of Ulricehamn, emigrated in 1852, coming to Chicago, where he lived
for three years before removing to Geneva and establishing himself
there as a shoemaker. In the early sixties he came to DeKalb, where
he plied his trade for many years.

In 1858 a Swedish Lutheran church was organized in DeKalb, and
thirty years later a Swedish Baptist church. There is also a Swedish
Mission church of more recent date. The Lutheran congregation is
numerically one of the strongest of its kind in the state while the latter

I)e Kalb Main Street

two are quite small. The city has a number of Swedish fraternal
organizations. The Swedish population of DeKalb and vicinity is now
approximately 3,500, the total population in 1900 being 5,904.

GALVA, HENRY COUNTY

Of the origin of Galva, which dates back to the fifties, the following
is told. In 1853 two Americans, J. M. and Wm. L. Wiley, took a
trip from Peoria to Rock Island, passing through this locality. Pleased
with the natural prospect, they decided to pitch their camps here, select-
ing for that purpose a grove which was afterward named College Park.
As they reached the top of the hill one of the men, standing erect in the

338 EARLY SETTLEMENTS

wagon and surveying the surrounding country, exclaimed, "What a
glorious country! Let us buy the land and found a town here !" Said
and done. Negotiations for the purchase were opened at once and soon
the land was theirs. But some time elapsed before any sign of the
future town appeared, there being but three human dwellings in the
neighborhood, and these small and far apart. The thing needed to give
the place a start was a railroad, and the Chicago, Burlington and
Quincy Railway company in the fall of 1853 agreed to build its line
through that point and locate a station there, provided land for that
purpose was donated. This the owners agreed to, and the following
autumn its trains thundered through the town of Galva, which then
existed only on paper.

This was at the time when the Bishop Hill Colony five miles away
was at the height of its prosperity. The Wileys had purchased forty
acres of land just south of the new town site and subsequently sold part
of it to the colonists and another part of it to one Jacob Emery. In this
wise the Bishop Hill people obtained a voice in the affairs of the new
town, which they named Gene, after the capital of the Swedish province
of Gestrikland, from which they came. The name is said to have been
first suggested by Olof Johnson, one of the leaders of the colonists. The
Americans of the neighborhood, however, corrupted this to Galva, which
was retained as the permanent form.

Galva was developed with a rapidity almost without precedent
among the booming towns springing up in the new country. Three
years after its founding, the place had 1,500 inhabitants, a large num-
ber being Swedes, whose industry and enterprise contributed to its
development. The largest share toward its upbuilding in the first few
years was contributed by Bishop Hill. As soon as the railway had
been completed,- the colony erected a large warehouse at Galva, and
shortly afterward a large business block of brick. Other business
buildings followed, one of which was first used as a bank but was later
turned into a hotel. The first comfortable dwelling house in the place
was also erected by the colony.

In the foregoing chapter the extensive business enterprises of Olof
Johnson have been described. The large warehouse was used to store
grain which was bought up and shipped in large quantities, making
Galva, at least for a time, one of the principal grain shipping centers
in the state. The other large structure was used as a packing house
for pork. It is related that at one time when the colony had $60,000
worth of pork from hogs raised at Bishop Hill stored here, the whole
stock spoiled from careless packing, and was carted away and buried
in a lot purchased for that purpose, together with many barrels of
pork returned from eastern markets. The colony also carried on a

GALVA

339

general merchandise business and banking at Galva, and had a lumber
yard there. Most of these enterprises, if not all, proved failures,
entailing great loss to the colonists instead of being, as they ought to
have been, great sources of income to their community.

Among the early Swedish business men of Galva were one Young-
berg, who owned a small store, and Erik Quick, a watchmaker, who
tinkered with innumerable side lines of business. Both of these men
later went to California. Afterwards the number of Swedes in busi-
ness increased, so as to make them predominant in many lines.

Among the more notable men who have resided in Gralva are,
Jonas W. Olson, son of the aforesaid Olof Olsson, and John Root, son

Galva Central Park

of John Ruth, the assassin of Erik Jansson ; both these men are lawyers
and still live in Galva.

In Galva was founded one of the first Swedish-American news-
papers, the full title of which was "Svenska Republikanen i Norra
Amerika. " It was first issued in the spring of 1856 and discontinued
in the summer of 1858, after having been moved to Chicago that year.
Late in the following decade, or in 1869, a Swedish and English news-
paper, "The Illinois Swede," was started at Galva. Simultaneously
an all-English newspaper, "The Galva Republican," was published by
the same firm. Late in 1870 "The Illinois Swede" was re-christened
"Nya Verlden" and published exclusively in the Swedish language.
The paper was moved to Chicago early in 1871, and in the fall of 1877

340

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

it was combined with "Nya Svenska Amerikanaren, " resulting in a
new paper, entitled ''Svenska Tribunen. "

In 1867 Galva obtained its village charter. The town had 2,682
inhabitants in 1900. There are three Swedish churches, the Methodist-
Episcopal, founded in 1867, the Lutheran, founded in 1869, and a
church of the Mission Covenant. In 1905 the first-named church had
175 members, the second 420 and the last 14 members. It has not been
possible to ascertain the number of Swedish- Americans in Galva, but
with the aid of the above figures it may be stated with a reasonable
degree of accuracy that at least half of the population is of the
Swedish nationality.

ONEIDA, K.NOX COUNTY

The little town of Oneida is situated in the most fertile part of
Knox county. Although not among the first settlers there, the Swedes
have had a large share in the development of the locality. The first

Oneida

white settler in Ontario township, where Oneida is situated, was
Alexander "Williams, who came there in 1833. The same year G. W.
Melton settled there and built the log cabin which was the first
permanent human habitation in the locality. The first schoolhouse
was erected in 1839 and the first church edifice, a Presbyterian one,
in 1840.

BATAVIA

341

The town of Oneida was founded in 1854 by C. F. Camp and B. S.
West, who built a hotel in the place. At Christmas time the same year
the railroad came through, giving the place its real impetus for growth.

The first Swedish settler in the township was Georg Bostrom, who
came to America as a boy and was reared in an American family. The
year of his arrival in Ontario township is not known, but that he
removed from there to Wataga in the seventies is a certainty. After
Bostrom came D. Danielsson and his wife from Ockelbo, Gestrikland.
They had come to Bishop Hill as young unmarried people, and were
there subjected to bitter persecution on account of a love corre-
spondence carried on in defiance of the drastic rule against marriage
and every form of courtship. Disgusted with the petty annoyances
following their innocent correspondence, they removed to Oneida in
1855 and were married. A few years later the pair located in Clay
county, Kansas. Simultaneously with Danielsson, E. J. Pettersson
from Tjarstad, Ostergotland, settled in Oneida, after living for five
years in various parts of the United States. He established himself
as a watchmaker and jeweler and was engaged in that business for at
least twenty-five years. A number of Swedes early moved into the
surrounding neighborhood, where they have become successful farmers
and added materially to the wealth of the community. The population
of Oneida was 785 at the last census. . No Swedish church has been
organized here.

BATAVIA, KANE COUNTY

The Swedish colony of Batavia is of a later date than those of
the neighboring towns of St. Charles and Geneva, but its members are
numerous and active, and the place amply deserves a mention among
important Swedish communities.

The very first settler in Batavia was Christopher Payne, who came
in the summer of 1833. He was soon followed by other settlers who
came in such numbers that a school was built and a merchandise store
opened the next year. In 1844 settlement of the opposite bank of the
Fox Eiver was begun after a bridge had been constructed. The
splendid water power afforded by the rapids at this place was gradually
exploited for manufacturing purposes and thus this bustling little
manufacturing center came into existence.

One of the early Swedish settlers here was A. P. Andersson, who
figured also among the pioneers of Geneva. He came from Bone,
Vestergotland, and was a tailor by trade. In 1854 he removed to
Batavia, where he established a tailor shop of his own in the middle
sixties. Andersson, however, found several Swedes ahead of him,
men engaged in cutting timber for a railroad company. Following

342

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

A. P. Andersson came August Andersson, from Halland, who removed
to DeKalb after a short stay. A little later Gustaf Svensson, a moulder,
joined the Swedish settlement. By 1880 he had made himself known
as the inventor of a new kind of fence which was used extensively
in the West.

In the late sixties there was a considerable influx of Swedes to
Batavia, most of the newcomers obtaining work in the stone quarries
situated just outside of the town. Since then Swedes have constantly
kept moving in. A large number are employed in the factories, while
not a few are in business for themselves. Several have gone to farming
in the immediate neighborhood.

Batavia

Until 1872 the Swedish Lutherans of Batavia had belonged to the
church in Geneva, but that year they withdrew and organized a local
congregation, now one of the largest in the Illinois Conference. In
1870 a Swedish Mission church was founded and about the same time
a Swedish M. E. church. There is considerable activity in the matter
of fraternal organizations in Swedish circles here. Batavia had a
population of 3,871 in 1900 and at the close of 1905 the Swedish-
Americans of the city numbered about 1,600.

MONMOUTH, WARRE1N COUNTY

The city of Monmouth was founded in 1852, but made little
progress up to 1855, when it got its railroad. The following year the
Presbyterians founded Monmouth College, an institution which grew
to be largely attended. The Swedes have been on the ground since the

MONMOUTH

343

early fifties, but never in such numbers as to cut much of a figure in
the municipality.

The first Swede in Monmouth was, it is believed, Johan Lund from
Helsin gland, who came here in 1853, but soon moved away and is
known to have died somewhere in Missouri while on a journey to
Pike's Peak, Colo. In 1854 came J. 0. Lundblad, from Oppeby, Oster-
gotland, who was also among the pioneer settlers of Princeton, and
Erik Engvall. The two were for a time partners in the shoe business,
and after the firm dissolved Engvall, who died in 1876, conducted a
shoe store of his own for a number of years, prospering in the business.

Monmouth South Main Street

The brothers Hakan and Lewis Nelson from Skane arrived the
same year and a year later Mans Cassell, also from Skane. In 1855
John Johnson came from Helsingland and Jakob Soderstrom from
Visby. The former left for Iowa in 1879, while the latter continued
into the eighties as a shoe dealer in Monmouth. Carl Lundgren from
Xykoping located here in 1856 and served in a Minnesota regiment in
the Civil War. One year after Lundgren came Jonas Larsson from
Skane, who moved out to Iowa in 1871. One Holmberg, who had a
military education from the old country, settled in Monmouth in 1859,
enlisted in the Union Army at the outbreak of the war, and the last
that was heard of him was his promotion to the rank of major.

So few were the Swedes in Monmouth that a Swedish Lutheran
congregation could not be organized here until 1868, and then there
was onlv a verv small flock, which, however, has increased materiallv

344

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

in the last twenty years. In 1888 a Swedish Baptist church was
established with a limited membership, which has grown but little
since.

In 1900 the population of Momnouth was 7,460. At the end of 1905
the Swedes in Monmouth proper were about 450 and in the surrounding
country about 2,000.

KEWANEX, HENRY COUNTY

The first white settlers in Kewanee township were John Kilving-
ton, Robert Coustes and Cornelius Bryant, who came there in 1836.
Through the efforts of these men and others the Chicago, Burlington
and Quincy Railway Company was induced to build through the little
village of Kewanee, which then developed greatly to the detriment of
the neighboring village of Wethersfield, whose inhabitants had the
mortification of seeing building after building placed on rollers and
hauled to Kewanee. Within eighteen months, the place had 1,500
inhabitants. After rich coal veins were discovered in the vicinity and
mining had begun, the young city grew still more rapidly. Several
factories sprang up as the beginning of industrial plants which have
been growing larger year by year.

Erik Eriksson from Nora parish, Upland, is believed to have been
the first Swedish settler in Kewanee. As a member of the Bishop Hill
Colony he had grown weary of the irksome yoke laid upon the
shoulders of the faithful and removed to Kewanee in 1855, setting up
a saddlery shop which he conducted for ten years, whereupon he
removed to Altona. From there he went to Nekoma. Quite a number
of Bishop Hill colonists located in Kewanee in 1856, among whom
another Erik Eriksson from Nora, with his two sons, Erik and Fetter,
Erik Bengtsson, Anders Barlow and Hans Lindgren. About the same
time there came from other localities Fetter Berglund, John Hedberg,
Fetter Vestlund, hailing from Gestrikland, and John Carlsson and
John Pettersson from Smaland, who were followed the year after by
A. Johnson from Gestrikland.

The last named of the two Erikssons returned to Sweden in 1867
where he died a ye.ar later. His two sons in 1857 went to California
where they worked for several years digging for gold without success.
Prom there they went to British Columbia, where fortune smiled upon
them so lavishly that in a year and a half they could return to Sweden
with 100,000 crowns. They chose for their wives the two daughters
of Erik Eriksson of Nekoma, and made their homes, the one in Upsala,
the other in Nora. Barlow later became a storekeeper at Bishop Hill.
Of the early Swedish settlers, A. Johnson, Fetter Berglund. Fetter

KEWANEE

345

Vestlund and John Petterson were mentioned in 1880 as still living in
Kewanee.

In the early seventies, when coal mining had been fully developed,
there was a generous influx of Swedes to Kewanee. Many of them
subsequently removed to Bloomington and vicinity, but in later years
immigration has brought others who more than make good the loss,
and at present the Swedish population is quite large in proportion to
the total.

Kewanee Tremont Street

The city has a vigorous Swedish Lutheran congregation, organized
in 1869. The Swedish Methodist Church was founded twenty years
after. Such a church was organized here as early as 1859, but
before 1880 its membership was decimated by removals to the point
where the field had to be abandoned and the church property sold.
Later the Swedish Methodists got a new foothold in Kewanee, the
result being the organization of the second church. There is also a
small Swedish Baptist church which has been in existence since 1901.

The census of 1900 gave 8,382 as the total population of Kewanee.
The Swedish-Americans there at the close of 1905 were from 2,000 to
3,000 in number.

346 EARLY SETTLEMENTS

PAXTON, FORD COUNTY

Ford county was organized in 1859. Two years before there
arrived the first Swedish settler, Sven Hedenskog, superintendent of
a large country estate in Halland, Sweden, who emigrated in 1857,
settling a few miles west of the site of Paxton. Being a poor man, he
was obliged to undergo the severest hardships, but his fortitude stood
the test and he had succeeded in accumulating considerable property
before removing in the latter seventies to Nebraska, where he died not
long after.

In 1859 a sailor by the name of Carl Andersson and one Anders
Olsson, both from Helsingland, settled in the vicinity of Paxton.
Andersson in the seventies removed to Colorado, leaving a daughter
in Paxton. Olsson was still living on a farm three miles south of the
city in 1880 and was then in comfortable circumstances. There was no
great influx of Swedes to Paxton until 1863, when they began to settle
here in considerable numbers, for reasons presented in the following.

In 1860, the year of its organization, the Augustana Synod estab-
lished in Chicago the Augustana Theological Seminary for the purpose
of preparing young men for the ministry. While the synod was still
small, its members few and there was difficulty in raising the money
needed for the support of the seminary by free contributions, some of
the leading men conceived the idea of purchasing a large tract of land
and by selling farms to prospective settlers procure the funds needed to
secure the permanence of the institution. The directors of the seminary,
who were authorized to look up a suitable tract, after visiting a couple
of states for that purpose, without arriving at any conclusion, received
from the Illinois Central Kailway Company an offer of a suitable
tract of land at Paxton. The offer was accepted and an agreement
signed by both parties in February, 1863. This brought quite a number
of settlers to the place, yet they did not come in such numbers as to
insure the success of the plan, causing the authorities after a few years
to cast about for a new location for the school. A more detailed
account o^ these transaction will be found in the historical sketch of
Augustana College and Theological Seminary.

Among the settlers was Erik Rasmusson from Gammalstorp.
Blekinge province, who had emigrated ten years before, locating near
Galesburg in 1853. Other contemporary settlers of Paxton were. Carl
Larsson, Erik Carlsson, John Andersson and A. M. Hansson. who all
bought farms and located there permanently. In 1864 J. H. Wistrand
came to Paxton and was in business there until 1875, when he removed
to Moline and opened a store in that city. Simultaneously with
Wistrand came Petter Hedberg from Attica, Ind., who established a
lumber yard. He became justice of the peace and later was elected

PAXTON

347

tax collector. Ill health compelled him to remove to Denver, Colorado,
in 1873, where we find him serving as Swedish-Norwegian vice consul
in 1880.

From Attica, Ind., where Swedes had settled in the early fifties,
a number of these removed to Paxton in 1865, among whom Fredrik
Bjorklund, Carl Fager, John Svan, John Johnson, Carl Pettersson,
Petter Larsson, Carl Johnson, Adolph Johnson and John Nelson, all
farmers, except Larsson and Nelson, who were merchants.

Paxton Market Street

The influx of Swedish settlers continued steadily until 1870, but
not on so large a scale as the Synod and the directors of the institution
had hoped. The removal of the institution to Rock Island in the
seventies naturally worked to the detriment of the Paxton colony,
many of the Swedish settlers leaving for other places farther west.
During the next few years, however, the exodus was partly counter-
balanced by an increased immigration from Sweden.

The Swedish element in Paxton has predominated in many respects
from the first. This is especially true with respect to local politics and
business pursuits. Around Paxton Swedish farmers are living in great
numbers, most of them being in very comfortable circumstances.

.In church matters the Swedes of Paxton have taken a prominent

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

part. The Swedish Lutheran congregation there dates back to 1863.
In 1878 a Swedish Mission church was organized, but the Methodists
and Baptists have not seen fit to enter this field.

In 1900 the population of Paxton was 3,036, and in 1905 there
were approximately 3,000 Swedish-Americans living in and around
the city.

SYCAMORE, DEK.ALB COUNTY

The city of Sycamore, county seat of DeKalb county, is situated
on a plain at some elevation over the surrounding country and is the
center of one of the most fertile regions in Illinois, if not in the entire
country. The plain, or plateau, which at its highest point has an
elevation of 772 feet above sea level, constitutes the watershead
between the Fox and Rock rivers and slopes quite abruptly toward the
Kishwaukee River, an insignificant stream which bends around the
north and east side of the city at a distance of half a mile.

DeKalb county was organized in 1837 and named after Baron John
DeKalb from Alsace, who was a general in the Revolutionary War and
fell in the battle of Camden. Three years before organization, the area
had a population of 1,697. The land was not opened to settlers until
1843, being comprised in an Indian reservation, but landseekers were
on the ground as early as 1835 selecting their claims. But in those
lawless times to defend one's right to his claim was far from easy.
Quarrels and fights were the order of the day throughout that period,
followed by protracted lawsuits after definite property rights had
been established.

In the early days of the county, the neighborhood was infested by
a numerous, well organized band of outlaws, who made a specialty
of stealing horses and saddles, not, however, disdaining to carry away
other personal property. So great was the general uncertainty, that
for a period of four years the settlers were compelled to keep their
places guarded by night. Ultimately, when conditions had grown
altogether intolerable, they organized themselves into vigilance com-
mittees for their OAvn protection and for the summary punishment of
the outlaws. The settlers acted with such vigor and promptness that
the county was cleared of horse-thieves and robbers in a very short
time.

The early history of Sycamore does not differ much from that of
other towns. The first white man to settle there arrived in 1835; his
name was Lysander Darling. The same year a Norwegian physician
named Xorbo took possession of a tract of timber land which is known
as Norwegian Grove to this day. Simultaneously, a Frenchman settled

SYCAMORE

349

here, giving his name to the place known as Chartres Grove. A year
later a New York land company took possession of a tract in this neigh-
borhood, comprising two square miles. The same company laid out
the site of Sycamore, built a dam across the Kishwaukee River and
erected a flour mill.

The original Sycamore settlement consisted of a group of three
loghuts on the north side of the Kishwaukee. With that, building was
discontinued on account of the unsanitary location, and the new site
was laid out, the first house to be erected there being built by Captain
Eli Barney at the southeast corner of the present courthouse square.

Sycamore State Street

The first courthouse was erected in 1839. At the end of one year the
little village consisted of about a dozen rude dwellings scattered over
a large area.

The early growth of the place is shown by the following figures :
in 1848 Sycamore had 262 inhabitants ; in 1849, 320 ; in 1850, 390 and
in 1851, 435. From 1855 on its growth was more rapid. In 1858 it
received its town charter, and in 1869 it became a city with Reuben
Ellwood as its first mayor.

Sycamore has a picturesque, healthful location. It has unusually
wide streets and large building lots and, especially in summer, the
comfort of the inhabitants is enhanced by the double or treble rows of
shade trees that surround the houses or skirt the streets and, walks,
giving to the entire city a park-like appearance. Here and there above
the masses of foliage a church steeple points toward the sky, giving
mute evidence that the inhabitants are devoted to other than merelv

350 EARLY vSETTLEMENTS

material interests. Persons familiar with many different localities
in the state say that Sycamore is one of the prettiest of the smaller
cities of Illinois.

The city has three large industrial establishments and a number
of smaller ones. The former are the Sycamore Foundry and Machine
Company, the Chicago Insulated Wire Company and the Sycamore
Preserve Works. The first named employs about 100 men, the second
an equal number, while the third during the summer season gives work
to 200 to 300 persons, Among the smaller plants are a cigar factory,
dairies, stone quarries, wagon and agricultural implement factories,
flour mills, brick yards, a soap factory, a varnish factory, a furniture
factory and others. The city has water works and electric lighting
systems. Eleven churches, three public schools and one girls' seminary
are located here.

In 1880 the population of Sycamore was 3,028, in 1890 it had been
reduced to 2,987 and in 1900 again increased, the census giving 3,653
as the total number.

The citizens carry on various lines of business, liberally patronized
by the prosperous population of the surrounding country. The city
has excellent communications, the North-Western and Great Western
railways crossing each other at this point. The distance from Chicago
is 56 miles.

The first Swedes in Sycamore were Peter Johnson from Mjellby,
Blekinge, and Andrew Johnson and Anna Carlsson, a widow, both
from Skatelof, Smaland. Somewhat later came the brothers Daniel
and Sven Gustafsson and Anna Andersson, a widow whose husband
had lost his life while serving in the Civil War. Peter Johnson was
still living in 1898, a venerated member of the Swedish Lutheran
church. His wife and a daughter died in 1897. Andrew Johnson, who
was a brother-in-law of Peter Johnson, removed to Colorado in the
late seventies and died there as the owner of a goldmine. His widow,
nee Anna Carlsson, who returned to Sweden, was still living there in
1898, and Daniel Gustafsson was then living in Iowa. His brother Sven
died prior to that time.

When the Civil War broke out there lived in Sycamore a Swedish
ex-artillery officer by the name of C. J. Stahlbrand, engaged in the
business of abstract examiner. He obtained a commission from
Governor Yates to recruit a battery of artillery, was chosen captain
of the battalion formed by this and a couple of other batteries,
was promoted major and then brigadier general for bravery, served
in the army for about a year after the close of the war, then made his
home in Beaufort, S. C., died in Charleston Feb. 3, 1894, and was buried
in Columbia, in the same state. To this prominent Swedish-American

SYCAMORE

351

citizen we will revert in a subsequent chapter, dealing with the Illinois
Swedes who took part in the Civil War.

In front of the courthouse in Sycamore the people of DeKalb
county in 1896 erected an imposing monument in memory of the men
from this county who fought and died for the Union cause on Southern
battlefields. Among these men were a number of Swedish-Americans.

Another early Swedish settler here was Carl Carlson from Moheda,
Smaland, arrived in 1869 and subsequently the most successful and
prosperous Swedish farmer in the county. He was still living here in
1898, enjoying a considerable fortune accumulated during a life of

Sycamore Court House and Soldiers' Monument

toil and prudent husbandry. During the period covered by the late
sixties and early seventies the number of Swedish inhabitants was
substantially increased through direct immigration from Sweden. In
1870 they were strong enough to organize a Lutheran church, which
was for a time the only Swedish church in the place, being followed
in 1888 by a Baptist church, which, however, has made but small
acquisitions. The Swedes of Sycamore have taken active part in local
politics, and several of them have held public office. In the matter of
fraternal orders the Sycamore Swedes will not bear comparison with
other Swedish-American centers.

In the year 1880 there were in Sycamore and vicinity about 1,000
Swedish people and in 1905 some 1,500. Those living in the city are

352

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

engaged in various commercial pursuits, many of them being in
business for themselves. A number of the retired farmers of the
neighborhood are now residing in town, enjoying in their old age the
fruits of their labors in earlier years.

Before closing this brief historical sketch of the Swedish colony at
Sycamore, we desire to give an account of the interesting visit paid
to Sycamore years ago by Christina Nilsson, the renowned Swedish
singer. In December, 1870, the Swedish nightingale appeared in
Chicago, captivating the moneyed aristocracy of the city at a grand
concert, and being herself feted at a splendid banquet given by
Swedish- Americans headed by the Svea Society. The Swedes in Syca-
more, hearing of these affairs, were seized with a natural desire to see
and hear the prima donna. This desire was strengthened by the fact
that relatives of the great singer were living in Sycamore, as well as
other persons who knew her from the time when, as "Stina from
Snugge, ' ' she traveled around singing at country fairs in Smaland.

But there was still another reason why they wished to have her
visit Sycamore, and that a weighty one. Twenty years before, Jenny
Lind had given a handsome sum to the fund for the building of the
St. Ansgarius Church of Chicago and subsequently donated a valuable
communion service to the same church. Why, then, they reasoned,
should not Christina Nilsson visit her own people at Sycamore and by
her voice assist in raising the money needed for a church for the
congregation organized that same year? They met and counseled,
resulting in the appointment of a committee to go to Chicago and make
their wishes known to the singer. In order to make assurance doubly
sure, they appointed on this committee Anders Ingemansson, a man
whom Christina Nilsson well knew. In former days while Anders was
living at Lofhult, a part of the property belonging to the iron works
at Huseby, Smaland, he often hauled loads of ironware from the factory
to Vexio or Ljungby, and many a time the little flaxen-haired violin
player from Snugge got a ride with him to and from the fairs held in
these towns. Would she have the heart to refuse a request made
by him ? Hardly.

The other two members of the committee were one Gustafsson 'and
Andrew Johnson. Through the kind offices of Rev. Erland Carlsson
they obtained an audience with the singer, who consented instantly.
Certainly she would come and sing for them ! But Strakosch, her
impresario, said no. Suppose she would catch a cold and become
indisposed but for one evening it would entail the loss of thousands
of dollars. Or if there should be a train wreck and she would break an
arm or a leg, what a dilemma they would all be in ! Such was his
reasoning, concluding with a repeated refusal to let her go.

MISCELLANEOUS 353

But the singer made light of the objections of her manager, mildly
ridiculing his foolish arguments, until he had to submit. Not wanting
to break her engagement in Chicago, Christina Nilsson was compelled
to go to Sycamore on Christmas Day, which fell on a Sunday. She was
accompanied by the singers and musicians of her company, a number
of prominent Swedish citizens of Chicago and, last but not least,
Strakosch himself, who went in order to see that no harm came to his
Swedish nightingale.

The concert in Sycamore was given in the American Methodist
church. Christina Nilsson, as usual, made an absolute conquest. Prob-
ably never before had she sung Gounod's "Ave Maria" with such
profound feeling as at this occasion. She gave two other numbers,
besides. Her American hearers were as charmed as her own country-
men. But the concert given in the church, to which an admission fee
of three dollars was charged, had to be supplemented by a popular
concert, in order to give the poorer classes an opportunity to hear her.
At this concert, held in Wilkins Hall, she again sang "Ave Maria" and,
in order to get into complete touch with her audience, now almost
exclusively Swedish, rendered several Swedish ballads in the most
approved style of little "Stina from Snugge." The net profit of these
two concerts amounted to about $1,000. The amount appropriated to
the church building fund we cannot exactly state.

Ingemansson, the old friend of Christina Nilsson, who had engaged
in the carpenter's trade in Sycamore, died there about 1890. Her
relatives, who doubtless are still living there, are Anna, Magni, Gustaf,
Emil, Ida and Oscar Nilsson, the children of Fetter Nilsson and Eva,
his wife, now deceased. She was a cousin of the great singer. Another
relative of the latter is Mrs. Carrie Bohlin, who bears the same relation-
ship to the singer as the children of Fetter and Eva Nilsson.

MISCELLANEOUS SETTLEMENTS

The previous sketches deal with the history of only the older and
larger Swedish settlements in Illinois. But there are quite a number
of later ones, large and small, many of which, especially those of
recent date, by reason of rapid growth and the importance attained,
would deserve a place in this series. But we are constrained to limit
ourselves to the bare mention of their name and the time of founding.
In many cases it has been possible to give the year with absolute
certainty, while in many others the time can only be approximated.
In the latter instances, the year stated is the earliest in which Swedes
are definitely known to have lived in the respective localities, not,
however, precluding the possibility of earlier settlement by individual
Swedes.

354

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

Following are the older of the smaller Swedish settlements of
which the time of first settlement is positively known :

Settlement County Founded

Lafayette Stark 1846

Henderson Grove. . Knox 1849

Beaver, Iroquois 1853

Pecatonica Winnebago 1854

Avon Fulton 1854

Toulon Stark 1855

Wyanet Bureau 1855

New Windsor Mercer 1859

New Boston, Mercer 1859

Following are the smaller Swedish settlements of more recent date,
the year of first settlement being definitely known :

Settlement- County Founded

Coal Valley Rock Island 1863

Farmersville McLean 1863

Bloomington McLean 1865

Woodhull Henry 1865

Aledo Mercer 1866

Roseville Warren. 1867

Nekoma Henry 1867

Evanston Cook 1868

Lockport Will 1768

Danville Vermillion 1869

Ophiern Henry 1870

Lynn Henry 1870

Osco Henry 1870

Cambridge. . Henry 1870

Donovan Iroquois 1872

Earlier Swedish settlements where the year of founding is doubt-
ful are :

Elgin, Kane County 1852

Aurora, Kane County 1857

More recent Swedish settlements of doubtful date are as follows:

Settlement County Founded

Neoga Cumberland 1862

Varna Marshall 1868

Joliet Will 1870

Biggsville Henderson 1872

Lemont.. Cook 1872

Kirkland, DeKalb 1872

Highwood Lake 1874

New Bedford. ... Bureau 1874

Rankin Ford 1875

Port Byron Rock Island 1875

Prophetstown Whiteside 1875

Morrison Whiteside 1875

Oregon Ogle 1876

MISCELLANEOUS 355

Settlement County Founded

Sibley Ford 1879

Gibson City Ford 1881

Peoria, Peoria 1883

Streator La Salle 1884

Putnam. Putnam 1885

La Grange Cook 1887

Clarence Ford 1887

Morris Grundy 1889

Gladstone Henderson 1889

Canton Fulton 1890

Stronghurst Henderson 1892

Waukegan Lake 1892

Wenona Marshall 1892

Lily Lake Kane 1894

Belvidere Boone 1894

Cable Mercer 1895

Utica Fulton 1900

Granville Putnam 1902.

Sandwich DeKalb 1904

Beyond this individual Swedes with or without families are to be
found in almost every part of the state.

CHAPTER VI.

The Swedish Methodist-Episcopal Church

Preparatory WorK

T was through Olof G. Hedstrom that Methodism first
was introduced among the Swedes and other Scandi-
navians in New York and later by his brother Jonas
Hedstrom among the Swedish settlers in Illinois. A
sketch of the life and work of Jonas Hedstrom has been
given among those of the first Swedes in Illinois. We proceed to
give a brief account of the church founded by these two brothers,
the earliest Swedish religious denomination in America.

Jonas Hedstrom preached his first Swedish sermon December 15,
1846, in a little blockhouse in the woods about three miles southwest
of Victoria, the same house where Olof Olsson, the advance representa-
tive of Erik Jansson, and later Erik Jansson himself, received the first
shelter after arriving at their destination in the West. At this same
occasion the first Swedish Methodist congregation was organized,
consisting of five members, namely, Hedstrom and his wife, Andrew
Hjelm and wife, and Peter Newberg. At Christmas time, a couple
of weeks later, the first Swedish Methodist quarterly meeting was held
in the same cabin, when several new members were welcomed. For
some time Jonas Hedstrom continued as the spiritual leader of the
little group of Swedish Methodists, meanwhile pursuing his black-
smith's trade. But as the flock grew larger, he gave way to the urgings
of the members to devote his whole time to gospel work.

In August, 1848, he was received on probation into the American
Rock River Conference and appointed missionary among the Swedish
settlers. Thereafter he devoted himself almost exclusively to preaching
and soon had ample opportunity to display his great capacity as an
organizer. After making a few visits to a certain place he would
proceed to organize a congregation there, and soon had to divide his
time among a number of places. He labored with such untiring energy
that within the year he had founded churches at Andover and Gales-

PREPARATORY WORK

357

burg and was able to report to the Conference in 1849 no less than
six charges, viz., Victoria, Andover, Galesburg, Lafayette, Moline and
Rock Island, aggregating sixty members in full connection and thirty-
three on probation.

At first Jonas Hedstrom was entirely alone in the work in this
mission field. Until the arrival of L. P. Esbjorn, the Lutheran minister,
in 1849, he \vas also the only Swedish clergyman in the entire West.
Soon afterward he received his first assistant in John Brown, who
became itinerant preacher among the widely scattered settlers. In the
autumn of 1849 Hedstrom got a second assistant, C. P. Agrelius, who
came on from New York with a letter of recommendation from the

The Log Cabin in which the First Swedish M. E. Church
in America was Organized

elder Hedstrom. In the spring of 1850, this man was sent to a Nor-
wegian Methodist mission in Wisconsin, but the same year he received
new reinforcements in the persons of Andrew Ericson and A. G. Swed-
berg, who soon after their arrival from Sweden in the late fall of 1849
joined the Methodist Church and subsequently became traveling mis-
sionaries. In May, 1850, a new mission field was opened in New
Sweden, Jefferson county, Iowa. The records of the conference meet-
ing of 1850 show that the Swedish mission in connection with the Rock
River Conference at that early date comprised four circuits with six
preachers and 195 church members. The preachers were the five
already mentioned, together with Peter Cassel, who was stationed at
New Sweden, la.

In 1852 two more preachers were added, viz., Peter Challman, or
Kallman, and Erik Shogren, or Sjogren, who at the behest of Hedstrom
devoted themselves to church work after having returned from a gold-

35 8 THE METHODISTS

seeking excursion to California late in the summer of 1851, but were
not accepted on probation by the Kock River Conference until Septem-
ber, 1853. In January of that year the number of workers was again
increased by the addition of S. B. Newman, who for two years had been
assistant to Eev. 0. G. Hedstrom on the Bethel ship in New York
harbor. Now he was sent to Chicago to take charge of the Swedish
Methodist Church which had been organized there the previous month,
December, 1852. The next addition was made in 1854, when Peter
Newberg, Hedstrom 's former helper in the blacksmith shop at Victoria,
where he had been under the spiritual influence of his employer,
exchanged the anvil for the pulpit. The following year the corps of
preachers received in Victor Witting a very valuable member who.
after diverse experiences in this country, was won over to Methodism
while on a visit to New York, having become familiar with the church
during his previous residence in Illinois. All these preachers labored
principally within the state, but incidentally extended their operations
to Indiana and Iowa.

In spite of these reinforcements, the work of Hedstrom himself
rather increased than lightened, as the enlargement of the field com-
pelled him to make frequent long journeys to the widely scattered
churches in order to exercise proper supervision of the work. His field
now extended from Chicago west as far as New Sweden, la. Opposing
forces notwithstanding, the progress of Methodism among the Swedish
settlers was continuous. In 1856, at the conference meeting held in
Peoria, all the Swedish churches of Illinois, Indiana and Iowa were
combined into a special district with Jonas Hedstrom as its presiding
elder. However, he was not long to hold this position, for in his work
as pioneer missionary and on the long, difficult journeys he was
constantly compelled to make, his health had been undermined to such
an extent that he was forced to retire after one year. On May 11, 1859,
less than two years later, death ended his career.

Tine Co-WorKers of Jonas Hedstrom John Brown

The first assistant of Jonas Hedstrom in the missionary field was
John Brown. He was of Danish descent, born on the island of Als
Dec. 23, 1813, but having been brought up among German-speaking
people, he acquired that language and spoke Danish or Swedish with a
marked German brogue.

Brown came to America as a sailor prior to May 14, 1843, when he
was married in New York city to Johanna Baden, a German woman
from Altona, who proved a true helpmeet to him.

In New York, presumably, he came in contact with one of the
early emigrant parties of Erik Janssonists, joined tlje sect, and in 1847
we find him in Bishop Hill. Dissatisfied with the prophet and his

JOHN BROWN

359

colony, Brown soon left, together with a number of others, the deserters
settling at Lafayette, Stark county, eight miles east of Victoria, where
they obtained employment from an American named Hodgeson. The
energetic sailor at once joined the Methodists, whose tenets he favored.
His slight acquaintance with Hedstrom, formed during the visits of the
latter to Bishop Hill, was now deepened by more intimate intercourse
with him. Finding Brown suitable timber for the ministry, Hedstrom
lost no time in urging him to enter that vocation.

Ere long, Brown was in the field as a missionary, preaching first
in and around Lafayette and Victoria, then in Andover and Rock
Island. In the last-named place his efforts were especially successful.
After having been received into the Conference in 1852, he was sent
to labor among the Norwegians in Leland and Fox River, LaSalle
county. As a consequence of overwork and privations his health soon
broke down, compelling him to retire from active service after three
years. He was subsequently employed as bridge tender at Freedom,
halfway between Leland and Ottawa, having charge of the local church
in the meantime. Some time later he removed to Iowa, locating in the
little town of Nevada, Storey county. Despite ill health he traveled
about the country preaching in English, German and Swedish in the
new settlements, even now gathering many into the Methodist fold.
Brown was a man of great zeal, a live, vivid and warmhearted
preacher, and a very successful revivalist. When he got especially
warmed up, both by his text and the summer heat on the prairies, he
would throw off his coat and neckwear, and sometimes his vest, and go
on preaching with a vim that was overpowering. Although sincerely
devoted to Methodism, he was not fanatical or intolerant. "Let others
stand by their flag; I'll stand by mine," was his motto, expressed in
his bluff seaman's vernacular.

While engaged one day in painting a fence at his home in Nevada,
he suffered an apoplectic stroke which ended his life. This was in 1875,
presumably in the month of September.

Rev. Carl Patter Ag'relius

The second in order of the ten assistants of Hedstrom during the
first decade was Carl Fetter Agrelius, in temperament, energy and
mental make-up a complete contrast to Brown. He also had been
assistant to Rev. O. Gr. Hedstrom on the Bethel ship in New York,
serving there 1848-49. and subsequently as Jonas Hedstrom 's assistant
in the Victoria circuit. He became the first Swedish Methodist preacher
among the Scandinavian population in Wisconsin. Agrelius was born
in Ostergotland Oct. 22, 1798, studied at the University of Upsala and
was ordained to the ministry, very likely in 1822. After serving for

360 THE METHODISTS

twenty-six years as a minister of the state church of Sweden, during
the latter years as curate of the parish of Pelarne, in northern Smaland,
he felt an inner call to go to America and take up Lutheran missionary
work among the growing masses of emigrants. Together with a large
party, he arrived in New York in 1848, probably in the month .of
October. Kev. Hedstrom and his alert assistant, Peter Bergner, who
were constantly on the lookout for Swedes, went on board at once to
bid the newcomers welcome, give advice and assistance and invite
them to attend the service on board the Bethel ship that evening. By
his dress and general appearance Agrelius at once attracted their
attention, and on addressing him they learned that he was a minister
of the Swedish state church.

Agrelius stopped in New York, where he attempted to build up a
Swedish Lutheran congregation, an enterprise which, however, proved
for too great for his capacity. He was devout, forsooth, and had the
best of intentions, but lacked energy, enthusiasm and other qualities
requisite to leadership. To him it was more natural to be led than to
lead. Finding himself unable to organize a Lutheran church, he began
to associate more intimately with Hedstrom, attended class meetings
and services on board the missionary ship and preached there occasion-
ally, at the request of Hedstrom. Before long he was a Methodist, heart
and soul, joined their church, was licensed as local preacher a short
time afterward and was engaged as Hedstrom 's assistant on the Bethel
ship for a year, or till the fall of 1849, when he was sent to Victoria to
assist the younger Hedstrom. Together with E. Shogren and other
recent arrivals from Sweden who, upon Hedstrom 's advice, decided to
settle at Victoria, he left New York, arriving at his destination in
October. During the following six months he went from place to place
in the surrounding circuit, preaching in the houses of the settlers.

At the solicitation of an influential American Methodist in Chicago
or Evanston, who took a great interest in the Scandinavians and
guaranteed support to the preacher for one year, Agrelius was sent
to Spring Prairie, Wis., in the early part of 1850 in order to begin work
among the Norwegian settlements thereabout. In July, 1851, he was
received into the "Wisconsin Conference on probation and sent as
missionary to the Norwegians in Primrose, in that state. Here he
remained for three years, till the fall of 1854, when he was sent to the
Swedish Methodist mission in St. Paul and, a year later, to Marine,
Chisago county, Minn. At this place he built a log cabin for himself
on a piece of land he had purchased near Big Lake, and remained here
for a number of years, preaching to his countrymen in the large sur-
rounding settlements.

In the spring of 1860 he moved back to Wisconsin and served the

ANDREW ERICSON 361

churches of Coon Prairie, Hart Prairie, Primrose and Highland ; in 1866
he was declared superannuated, but continued for another year in
charge of the Norwegian Methodist church of Willow River, whereupon
his pastoral career ended. He now went back to live in retirement on
his little farm in Marine, Minn., remaining there until 1878, when he
removed to the home of his youngest son at Deer Park, St. Croix county,
Wis. At that place he died August 18, 1881, at the mature age of
eighty-three. On the same date twelve years after, his widow, Anna
Elisabet, died at the age of eighty-four.

Agrelius was a man of tractable and peaceful disposition. Among
his associates he was talkative, benign and social. Hospitable almost to
a fault, he was ready to entertain in his little log cabin every wayfarer
who passed, whether stranger or friend. He was a man of thorough
education but limited executive ability. His sermons were dry and
wearisome to listen to, their contents being in substance good, but
lacking in depth.

Rev. Andrew Ericson

The third in order of Hedstrom 's co-laborers was Andrew Ericson.
Born at Roste, Bollnas parish, Helsingland, July 8, 1815, he was
converted in early youth and soon thereafter began to preach. He
and his wife were among those who accompanied Rev. L. P. Esbjorn to
America in 1849 and came with him to Andover. Ericson did not long
remain there. Urged by Rev. Hedstrom, who soon after their arrival
visited Andover, he, together with a number of other newcomers,
decided to locate at Victoria. Almost immediately he joined the
Methodist Church and became a faithful and ever willing assistant in
whom Rev. Hedstrom reposed implicit trust. Though not naturally
brilliant, he proved a very able preacher. The partisanship so prevalent
in those early days did not enter into his mental make-up.

After laboring for a few years in Illinois, he was sent to New
Sweden, la., in 1854, to assume charge of the Swedish Methodist con-
gregation at that place and to exercise general supervision of the
surrounding field, which at first was very large, extending from
Burlington west to Swede Bend, a distance of two hundred miles.
It is doubtful whether any other Swedish Methodist clergyman ever
kept up services at points so far apart as those regularly visited by
Andrew Ericson during the first part of the time he labored in this
field.

At the close of April, 1854, the year of his coming to the state,
a church had been organized in Swede Bend, Webster county, 175 miles
west of New Sweden. No less than thirteen times in two years he
traveled from New Sweden to Swede Bend, a distance both ways of

362 THE METHODISTS

more than three hundred miles through wild and for the most part
unsettled country. Not infrequently his own countrymen would refuse
to shelter him, compelling him to spend the nights under the open sky
all because he was a Methodist preacher. Such was the partisan zeal
among the church people at that time.

In 1856 Ericson was sent to Swede Bend and labored there ex-
clusively until 1860, when he was sent back to Illinois and stationed
at the Norwegian settlement in Leland. The following year he was
minister in charge at Andover, which position he held for two years.
At the conference of 1863, he requested that he be placed on the retired
list, which being done he returned to Swede Bend, la., where he owned
a farm. Here he spent his last days. Sept. 11, 1878, he was found dead
just outside of his house, evidently struck down by apoplexy.

Andrew Ericson was a -plain man of the people, with little book
learning, his opportunities for study having been limited. Yet by dint
of zeal and great devotion to his calling his labors were richly blessed.
He was a man of peaceful and benign disposition, who made no
enemies.

Rev. Anders Gustaf Swedberg'

Anders Gustaf Swedberg, the fourth of Rev. Jonas Hedstrom's
auxiliary workers, was born in 1827 or 1828 in the city of Hudiksvall
or near there. In early age he joined the so-called "Luther Readers,"
or Hedbergians, and occasionally appeared as exhorter at their meet-
ings. He accompanied Rev. L. P. Esbjorn to this country in 1849. When
they arrived at Andover, an epidemic of sickness was raging there, and
lodging could not be secured, so Swedberg and others proceeded to
Ghlesburg. There he at once came in contact with the Methodists and
soon came to feel at home among them. In the spring of 1850 he joined
the Methodist Church and became exhorter and subsequently local
preacher. The following year he was received on probation into the
Rock River Conference. It was then resolved that Swedberg and
Andrew Ericson should alternately have charge of the congregations
of the Victoria-Galesburg circuit, principally that of Galesburg, where
Swedberg resided.

At this time Swedberg was a young man, only twenty-one years
of age; he possessed a good education, was a gifted speaker, had a
pleasing manner, was full of fire and enthusiasm, qualities by which
he won the hearts of all. It was the general opinion that in him Rev.
Hedstrom had obtained one of his most valuable aids. But these
expectations were not fulfilled. In the spring of 1852 an American
Baptist clergyman by the name of Barry, a very eloquent man, came
to Galesburg and by his sermons on the doctrine of baptism quickly

CASSEL CHALLMAN 363

stirred up the whole community. Among quite a number of Swedes
who were converted to the Baptist faith was Swedberg. He left the
Methodist Church, was baptized anew and in 1853 was appointed
minister of a newly organized church at Village Creek, la. He at first
served for two years, or until 1855, when the church was left without
a preacher until the autumn of 1856 ; then Swedberg was again called
there, accepting the charge. In 1864 he was still in charge of this
church, but since that time little is known of him and it is not known
whether he is still among the living.

Rev. Peter Cassel

Peter Cassel, to whom frequent reference has been made, also
was one of Eev. Hedstrom's co-workers. He was born in Asbo parish,
Ostergotland, Oct. 13, 1790. In his native place he was a miller and
afterwards foreman on a large country estate. From 1825 to 1830
this locality experienced a general revivalist movement in which Cassel
joined. Cassel later became the leader of a party of emigrants who
left Kisa, Ostergotland, in 1845, destined for Pine Lake, Wis., but on
reaching New York decided to change their route and went to Iowa,
where they founded New Sweden, the first Swedish settlement in that
state.

When in November, 1850, the Swedish Methodist Church in New
Sweden was organized, Cassel was one of the first, if not the very first,
to sign for membership. He soon became local preacher. The following
year he was appointed minister in charge, serving in that capacity for
three years, till the fall of 1854. Two years later he was ordained
deacon of the Methodist Church. His strength soon failed, however,
compelling him to resign. Cassel died March 4, 1857.

"Father" Cassel, as he was reverently styled by the people of New
Sweden, was a man of the old stock, honest and true. He was the
soul of the church as well as of the community, and was looked up to
by all with respect and confidence.

Rev. Peter Challman

Among all the co-workers and assistants of Hedstrom, Peter Chall-
man, or Kallman, both as a revivalist and a pioneer preacher, took
foremost rank. Being a man of exceptional energy, he would un-
doubtedly have attained still greater prominence under more favorable
circumstances. He was born at the Voxna factory, in Helsingland,
1823. In the fall of 1844 he joined the Erik Janssonists and the folloAV-
ing spring began to conduct religious meetings, preaching in accordance
with the tenets of the sect. He was soon chosen one of Erik Jansson's

364- THE METHODISTS

apostles and sent out by him to preach. By Kallman's preaching many
were won over. But to preach Erik Janssonism was fraught with
grave peril. Kallman was twice mobbed by the enraged populace;
once he wasnear being killed, another time he was arrested and brought
to the Gefle prison, the trial however, resulting in his release. These
experiences impelled him to leave the country. With a party of other
Erik Janssonists he left Stockholm for America June 26, 1846, arriving
at Bishop Hill Oct. 28th, four months later.

Here he found conditions altogether at variance with the claims
of the prophet and others, and in June, 1847, he left the colony in
disgust, taking up a temporary abode in Lafayette. There he became
acquainted with Hedstrom and other Methodists. In the fall of 1847
he removed to Galesburg, where he worked as a carpenter for two
years, preaching occasionally to his fellow countrymen at the request
of Hedstrom. It was at this time that the gold fever was at its height.
Following the discovery of gold in California in 1848, the newspapers
were filled daily with wonderful stories of marvelously rich strikes.
The air was full of wild rumors. Wherever people met, whether in the
street, in their homes or in church, they talked of gold, nothing but
gold. Everywhere, people were seized with an irresistible longing
for the glittering gold fields.

Many Swedes were among those smitten by the epidemic. We
have noted that a Swedish party of goldseekers set out from Andover.
In Galesburg another similar party was organized under the leadership
of the energetic Challman. This party of twelve young Swedes, formed
in January, 1850, started on March 14th on the 2,000 mile journey
to the gold country. Following are the names of the men composing
the party: Peter Challman, Erik Shogren, Jonas Hellstrom, George
Challman, Victor Witting, Louis Larson, Peter Newberg, Charles
Peterson, Olof Hedstrom, C. Alexander, Peter Magnus (surname un-
known) and one Gustafson. On Sundays the party rested, Peter
Challman, the leader, conducting divine services for his men. On July
14th the party reached their destination in California.

The result of the adventurous trip fell far short of expectations.
Gold was found, to be sure, but not in such quantities as they had
hoped for and far from sufficient to repay them for the hardships
and perils of their long journey. Victor Witting remained until 1852,
and Charles Peterson and Gustafson staid permanently, but the main
party returned in July, 1851, after one year's work in the gold mines.
In Chagres, now Aspinwall, on the return trip Alexander lost all his
money in gambling and then disappeared. In despair over the un-
satisfactory result of the trip. Peter Magnus drowned himself by
jumping overboard shortly before the steamer by which the party

PETER CHALLMAN .565

returned reached Chicago. Charles Peterson died in Los Angeles in
1898 at the age of eighty. He was a member of the Swedish Methodist
Church of that city. George Challman is still living in Galesburg.
Olof Hedstrom died in 1904, near Victoria. Erik Shogren died Jan. 2,
1906. Of him and Newberg we will speak later. Upon his return Hell-
strom located at Victoria, engaging in business, from which, proving
unprofitable, he soon retired. He enlisted at the outbreak of the Civil
War, served in the Union army as a non-commissioned officer for a
time and succumbed in the Arkansas campaign at a time and place
unknown. Gustafson was taken ill after working in the diggings that
summer and remained in California until his death. Louis Larson
separated from the party at Salt Lake City, but proceeded to Cali-
fornia, whence he returned to Victoria after a few months, bought
land and became a prosperous farmer. He married Christin Olson,
who bore him four sons and one daughter. He died a few years ago
at his old homestead, about a mile from Victoria, where his son Just.
A. Larson now lives with his wife, Nancy Elizabeth, a daughter of
George Challman. The Larson family were worthy and respected
members of the Methodist Church in Victoria.

Peter Challman returned via Panama and New York to Illinois,
settling in Victoria, where he was at first employed as a house builder.
The Methodist mission work among the local Swedes having grown
quite extensive, Rev. Hedstrom, who knew Challman both from La-
fayette and Galesburg, requested him to devote himself exclusively
to this work, although Challman was not even a member of the
Methodist Church. Challman acceded and began preaching. On Dec.
31, 1851, he joined the church at Victoria on probation, was later
accredited as local minister, was accepted into the Rock River Con-
ference on probation in 1853, at Chicago, and ordained deacon, was for
a year itinerant preacher, then served the churches at Andover and
Rock Island in 1854-5 and during the next two years preached in
Victoria, Galesburg and the neighboring district. Together with Sho-
gren he took a trip to Minnesota in 1854 or 1855 to visit the Swedish
settlements there.

When all hope that Hedstrom would recover sufficiently to resume
work was at an end, Challman was appointed presiding elder of the
Swedish district in 1857, at the recommendation of Hedstrom himself.
In this capacity Challman served with credit until 1865, when he waa
assigned to Bishop Hill. Here he labored for a year until the fall of
1866, when he undertook a trip to Sweden, "not for Christ, but in his
own interest," he explained.

On his return to America he settled on his farm in Knox county,
left the Methodist Episcopal Church for the Free Methodists and began

366 THE METHODISTS

missionary work in and about Victoria in behalf of the latter denom-
ination. He remained with the Free Methodists for four years, preach-
ing and laboring at his own expense. During this time he built a
Free Methodist church for the Swedes at Center Prairie, seven miles
southwest of Victoria. When the Swedish congregation was dissolved,
this edifice passed into the hands of an American congregation. Sub-
sequently Challman gradually transferred his interests from the mission
field to the corn field. In his ambition to acquire large tracts of land,
he incurred heavy debts which, during and after the panic of the early
seventies, he had great difficulty in paying.

In 1884 he removed to northwestern Iowa. He now regretted
that he ever deserted his pastoral calling and the "old Methodist
Church," as he styled it. In order to correct his error, in part at least,
he joined the American M. E. Church at Galva, la., in 1890, subsequently
taking part in several annual meetings of the Iowa Conference. A
severe siege of influenza undermined his health, and after having been
confined to the sickbed for half a year, he died in Challer, la., July 8,
1900, aged 77 years. His remains were borne to the grave by his
six sons.

In several respects Peter Challman was a remarkable man. He
seemed a born leader. He was a man of imposing personality, designed
to attract attention in any company. Picture to yourself a man broad
of shoulder and of powerful build, massive head, wide forehead, a
bushy head of hair, lively dark-blue eyes, heavy eyebrows, a beardless
face, the expression of which indicated energy, resoluteness and fear-
lessness, add to this a powerful bass voice that easily filled the largest
edifice, and you have a fair image of Peter Challman in his prime. To
those who did not know him well he appeared somewhat coarse and
lacking in the finer sensibilities. But this was far from true. Under
the rough surface of the man there beat a warm, sympathetic, benev-
olent heart. He was a forceful speaker, though not a finished orator,
and knew better than most preachers how to deal with hardened
hearts. Among the Methodists stories are still being told of the
revivals that followed upon his strenuous preaching. During his clerical
career Challman is said to have taken part in the organization of no
less than twenty-two churches. In the course of a single year, it is said,
he gained 800 converts to the Methodist belief. It was while he was
presiding elder that the Swedish denominational organ, known as
"Sandebudet, " was established.

Rev. EriK Shog'ren

In Erik Shogren Jonas Hedstrom obtained one of his most eloquent
and popular co-workers. There was something about his manner of

ERIK SHOGREN

367

presenting the gospel truths that appealed irresistibly to his hearers.
This pioneer among Swedish Methodists doubtless was instrumental

Rev. Erik Shogren

in gaining large numbers for the church during his long period of
activity.

Shogren was born Jan. 26, 1824, at Gnarp, Helsingland. As a
boy he attended the village school and at the age of fourteen became a

368 THE METHODISTS

blacksmith's apprentice, afterward following that trade for many
years. In the summer of 1849 he left Gefle on board the brig ' ' Solide, ' '
bound for America, arriving at New York sixty-three days later. Here
he was met by Peter Bergner, assistant to Hedstrom, and invited to
attend services on board the Bethel ship. Hedstrom conducted the
meeting with his usual vivacity. Shogren, being one of the "readers"
from the old country, had attended many of their conventicles, but this
was something altogether different. Notwithstanding the strange
method of preaching, Shogren felt strongly drawn to Methodism, and
Rev. Hedstrom easily persuaded him to join his brother, the younger
Hedstrom, at Victoria. On his arrival he was unfavorably impressed
with the primitive appearance of the settlement. He had expected
to find something quite different, and soon left in disappointment,
departing for Galesburg after a few weeks and remaining there for
three months. In February, 1850, he joined the Methodist Church,
becoming a member of the congregation there organized by Hedstrom
' the foregoing autumn. In March he joined the party of goldseekers
organized in Galesburg and made the trip to California, returning the
following year. He then settled in Victoria and began to conduct
meetings and preach throughout that circuit, which then embraced
Victoria, Galesburg, Andover, Rock Island, Moline and many other
points.

At Hedstrom 's suggestion he abandoned his trade and devoted
himself wholly to ministerial work. The following year he was received
on probation into the Rock River Conference, to which the Swedish
missions in Illinois and Iowa belonged at that time. In 1854 he was
ordained deacon and was made elder the year following. During the
first two years he lived at Victoria while spending almost all his time
traveling about the extensive circuit. In 1855 he was sent to preach
in Chicago, where, despite stubborn opposition, he met with splendid
success. In 1859 he was transferred to the Minnesota Conference,
acting as minister in charge at St. Paul the first year and subsequently
for three years as presiding elder of the Scandinavian district. In
1864-5 he served in Chicago, going from there to Boston, where, as
assistant at the Seamen's Mission, he endeavored to organize a Swedish
Methodist church, a task cut short by an illness which compelled him
to return to Minnesota. During the years 1866-9 he had charge of the
little church at Marine, then took a rest for one year, subsequently
going back to Illinois. He was stationed at Bishop Hill until 1876.
when he was transferred to the California Conference and placed in
charge of the newly organized church at San Francisco. There he
remained for over five years, and was then at his own request trans-
ferred to the Swedish Northwestern Conference and sent to Beaver.

SVEN BERNHARD NEWMAN 369

In this field he labored for only a year, subsequently serving the church
at Galesburg in 1883-4 and the one at Rockford in 1884-5. Having
been made presiding elder for the Chicago district the latter year, he
served as such for two years and afterward as pastor in South Chicago,
his last charge, for the same length of time.

In 1889 age and illness compelled him to retire from active work.
He withdrew to his little country place near Red Wing, Minn., where
he resided until 1903, when with his wife he removed to Napa, Cal.,
joining their youngest daughter, Mrs. Emma Farman, who is living
there. He died in Napa on Jan. 2, 1906, after a short illness.

Like most other pioneers of Swedish Methodism in America, Sho-
gren was a self-taught man. By assiduous studies and self-culture
he sought to fill the gaps in his education. His favorite study was
history, and from its pages he often drew valuable lessons for himself
and his hearers. By nature eloquent, and possessing a pleasing voice,
he trained himself year by year until attaining a high degree of skill
and finish as a public speaker. This together with his rare affability
gave him his remarkable power and influence over those who
heard him.

Rev. Sven Bernharci Newman.

In January, 1845, the same year that Rev. 0. Gr. Hedstrom, on
Whitsunday, May 25th, preached his first sermon in broken English on
board the Bethel ship in New York harbor, a young Swede appeared
for the first time at a place near Mobile, Ala., and preached Methodism
in equally faltering English to the Americans of that place. This
Swedish pioneer preacher in the sunny south, who later became one
of the pathfinders and standard-bearers of Methodism, both east and
west, was Rev. Sven Bernhard Newman.

Newman was born Sept. 15, 1812, at Hoganas, Skane, had a
careful bringing up and obtained employment as salesman with one
of his brothers, a merchant of Landskrona. After working there eight
years, he returned to his birthplace and taught private school several
years. Another of his brothers had emigrated long before and estab-
lished himself in business at Mobile. Sven followed in 1842 and for
two years dealt in clothing and groceries not without success. Through
his brother he was brought in contact with the Methodists, whom he
joined in 1844. Without much knowledge of English, he shortly
afterward began speaking at Methodist meetings. Friends who
thought they detected in the young man more than ordinary ability
urged him to consecrate his life to the pastoral calling. After some
hesitation he took the advice and began to study theology under the

370

THE METHODISTS

guidance of an American Methodist clergyman. In 1845 he was
received on probation into the Alabama Conference, was ordained
deacon in 1847 and elder in 1849.

Newman's first field of labor was the Campbelltown circuit in
Florida, where he was stationed from 1845 to 1847. Subsequently
assigned to another field, with headquarters at Milton, a pleasant little
town not far from Pensacola, he labored zealously there for two years
until transferred to Landerdale, Miss. In 1851 Newman was called
to assist Rev. 0. G. Hedstrom on the Bethel ship at New York, this

Rev. Sven Bernhard Newman

being the beginning of his work among Swedish people, a work which
he pursued with untiring zeal as long as his physical strength per-
mitted. After spending two years in New York, he was assigned to
Chicago in 1853 to gather the scattered members of the Swedish
Methodist Church organized several years before by the Hedstrom
brothers. With his characteristic zeal and energy he took up the
task, succeeding not only in collecting the dispersed flock but also in
having a house of worship erected. The edifice was built at Illinois
street and dedicated in 1854. Part of the building funds were solicited
in his former fields in the South. With headquarters in Chicago, he
made regular trips to other points, both in Indiana and Illinois, found-
ing churches in Poolsville and Attica in the former state, and St.

PETER NEWBERG 371

Charles and Beaver in the latter. In Chicago, together with Consul
Schneidau and Revs. Unonius and Carlsson, Newman labored ardu-
ously among poor plague-stricken Swedish immigrants, a task trying
indeed, but productive of blessed results.

In September, 1855, Newman was again assigned to New York
to assist Rev. Hedstrom on board the Bethel mission ship. After four
years he was sent to Jamestown, N. Y., where he was placed in charge
of an extensive circuit, comprising the neighboring points Sugar
Grove, Wrightsville, Frewsbury and others. He remained in James-
town for seven years, 1859-66, afterwards going to the Central Illinois
Conference on assignment to Galesburg, where he was stationed for
two years. At the conference of 1868, he was appointed presiding
elder of the Chicago district, then including Indiana, Illinois, Iowa
and Kansas. He held this position for five years, in the meantime
acting as solicitor for the Swedish Methodist Theological Seminary at
Evanston, for whose benefit he raised a considerable amount.

Rev. Newman's subsequent assignments were: Rockford, 1873-5;
Wataga and Peoria, 1875-7; Batavia and Geneva, 1877-9; Evanston,
1879-82; Moline, 1882-4; Omaha, 1884-5; Chicago, as city missionary,
1885-8 ; Evanston, as solicitor for the seminary, 1888-90.

In 1890 he was declared superannuated, but continued to serve
until 1899, preaching at Moreland, in the Emanuel Church of Chicago,
at Austin and, lastly, at Ottawa. Having lost his first wife in 1885, he
remarried in old age. In the early nineties, at the request of the
Swedish Northwestern Conference, he published his autobiography,
a very minute account of his life and labors. Enfeebled by the burden
of years, he died in his home in Chicago on Oct. 27, 1902, at the mature
age of ninety.

In his years of activity Newman was a faithful laborer in the
Lord's vineyard. While not an orator in the common acceptance of
the term, yet his words left a deep and lasting impression. What he
lacked in brilliancy and scholarly attainments was amply made up in
zeal and devotion to his calling.

Rev. Peter Newberg'

One of the first five members of the first Swedish Methodist
church was Peter Newberg, afterward one of Jonas Hedstrom 's most
faithful and reliable fellow workers. Newberg was born at Lulea,
Jan. 7, 1818. At the age of eight he lost his father, a sailor, and as a
boy of fourteen he also went to sea, driven by the necessity of
contributing to the support of his widowed mother. For fifteen years
he shipped with merchantmen under various flags.

372

THE METHODISTS

In the spring of 1846 he mustered at Gefle as ship's carpenter on
a vessel bound for New York carrying a large party of Eric Janssonists.
On reaching harbor he left the vessel and accompanied the emigrants
to Bishop Hill, but soon left the colony in disappointment, going first
to Lafayette and then to Victoria, where he remained with Hedstrb'm
over winter as his helper in making plows. The following spring he
left for Peoria, where he was employed for some time in the building
trade, working for a Swedish contractor or architect named Ulricson,
who had lived there for so many years that he had forgotten his mother
tongue. In the fall he returned to Victoria and was there married.

Rev. Peter Newberg

In the spring of 1850 he joined the aforementioned party of goldseekera
and went to California. Returning in 1857, he located at Victoria,
where he had a farm, and also engaged in house building in partnership
with Peter Challman. In 1853, when the latter left his trade to devote
himself exclusively to preaching, Newberg continued as building con-
tractor on his own account. Among other buildings erected by him
was the Swedish Methodist Church edifice at Victoria, dedicated at
midsummer, 1854.

While en route to America, he was subject to the religious influence
of his fellow travelers, the Erik Janssonists; upon his arrival he came
under the influence of Hedstrom, and at a camp meeting in the Victoria
grove, in the summer of 1853, he was converted and accepted the
Methodist faith. Thereafter he began to take turns with the other
preachers in making circuit visits, and in 1856 he was received on
probation by the Peoria Conference and assigned to New Sweden, la.,

VICTOR WITTING

373

as minister in charge. There he labored for two years, besides estab-
lishing a small congregation in the country just west of Burlington,
For a year, 1858-9, he served the Andover circuit and the following
year, 1859-60, that of Galesburg. His ordination as deacon took place
in 1857, and in 1860 he was promoted to the office of elder. From
Galesburg he was transferred to Victoria, where he served for two
years, until 1862. His subsequent fields were: New Sweden, la.,
1864-5, Eockford 1865-6, Victoria 1866-72, Swedona 1872-3. After that
he was not directly .in charge of any church, but lived on his farm
at Victoria. When occasion required, however, he would assist the
other preachers in their work. Thus, in 1881, he went to Texas to aid
Rev. Victor Witting in the mission field. He died Jan. 13, 1882, at
Austin, aged 64 years.

Newberg was a man of but mediocre mental equipment, lacked
education and mastery of speech, yet was a rather popular preacher
withal. The secret of it lay in his originality, his art of presenting
old truths in new garb and of drawing striking applications from his
own varied experience. He was a devout man, who lived in strict
accordance with his teaching.

Rev. Victor Witting

The tenth, and last, of the co-workers of Hedstrom, was Victor
Witting. This man was to play a prominent and many-sided part in
the work and progress of the Swedish-American Methodist denomina-
tion. Alike as an eminent preacher, a skillful organizer, a journalist
and author, this venerable pioneer has made himself a name that will
ever rank with the foremost in the history of Swedish Methodism.

Witting was born in Malmo on March 7, 1825. His father, Anders
Johan Witting, captain of the Vendes artillery regiment, was a
descendant of a Finnish family, which had originally immigrated from
Livonia and in the seventeenth century had been raised to noble rank.
His mother, Gustafva Helena Rydberg, was a daughter of Postmaster
Rydberg in Malmo. In the early thirties, Captain Witting removed
to Landskrona, having been made chief officer of a battery of his
regiment assigned to service in that ctiy. His son Victor now entered
the Latin school there, and in 1836, when his father retired from mil-
itary service and moved back to Malmo, Victor entered the collegiate
school there. He left this school intending to prepare for college
graduation and admittance to the university of Lund, but instead oi!
carrying out this plan he obtained a position with an apothecary and
began to study pharmacy. In his early youth he had acquired some
knowledge and more admiration of this country through reading the

374

THE METHODISTS

history of the United States and the novels of James Fenimore
Cooper and other writers, and when in the summer of 1841 the neAvs^
papers related that an Upsala student by the name of Gustaf Unonius,
heading a small party, had departed for the new and wonderful western
world to found a settlement there, young Witting 's longing for America
became stronger than ever and he began devising plans of his own for
reaching the New World. To him the only possible way was to become
a sailor. He brooded over the matter incessantly for two years, until
one day, Easter morning, 1843, just as his apprenticeship was at an end
and he was about to take the apothecary's examination, he suddenly
deserted the drug store with its pills and powders and went across to
Helsingor, whence he hoped to ship as a sailor. For want of a passport
the plan miscarried and he was obliged to return home. Having
obtained his. father's permission to go to sea, he soon afterward shipped
from Malmo, making several trips to England in the next two years,
after which he entered the school of navigation at Malmo and passed
the shipmaster's examination in 1845. In May he went to Gefle hoping
to be commissioned for a long trip on some large merchant vessel.
After making a short summer trip to England with the bark "Fama."
when he formed the acquaintance of the aforesaid Peter Newberg.
who was the ship's carpenter, he engaged to take the ship "Ceres,"
with a cargo of iron, from Soderhamn to New York. Thus at last his
long cherished desire to get to America was to be fulfilled.

On board this vessel was a small party of Erik Janssonists, fore-
runners of the subsequent exodus of that sect. Off Oregrund, during
a dark and stormy night, the ship grounded and all on board probably
would have perished but for the fact that the vessel was so firmly
wedged between two rocks that the heavy seas which broke over it
could not dislodge it. The passengers and crew spent the night in the
forecastle amid indescribable horrors. That night young Witting
received impressions that gave to his life a different course. Profoundly
impressed with the resignation and Christian fortitude shown by the
Erik Janssonists in the very face of death, he made a resolve to become
a Christian, should he survive that dreadful night, and, if he ever
reached America, to look up these people.

The following day they were taken off the wreck, and Witting
went to Gefle, where he mustered on the ship "Gustaf Vasa," bound
for the Mediterranean. Returning, he sailed for two years between
Gefle and other ports. While at Stockholm in the summer of 1847.
he heard that a brig was about to sail for America with a party of
Erik Janssonists. Witting engaged to earn his passage by acting as
steward to the passengers. In October, after a voyage of six or seven

VICTOR WITTING

375

weeks, they reached New York, and the one chief goal of his longing
had been reached at last.

He accompanied the Erik Janssonists westward. At Chicago
Witting was taken sick and brought to a hospital. After having
been restored to health, he obtained work in a drug store and formed
the acquaintance of his fellow countrymen in that city. Late in the
summer of 1848, he accompanied a newly arrived party of Erik Jans-
sonists to Bishop Hill, thereby fulfilling his solemn promise on the
night of the shipwreck. With the very best opinion of the Erik Jans-
sonists and with high expectations of their colony, Witting arrived at
Bishop Hill. He had supposed that all was harmony there, and that
the colonists "lived secure in dwellings of peace," but he found quite
the reverse strife and discontent over Erik Jansson's despotic rule
and the miserable state of affairs. Witting therefore remained only
about a year and a half. In the late fall of 1849 he began planning
for his departure and left on Christmas Eve, leaving behind him his
young wife, whom he had wedded in the colony. He repaired to
Victoria, and through Rev. Hedstrom obtained a position with a
druggist in Galesburg, where he began work on New Year's day, 1850.

At that time there were in Galesburg about twenty Swedish
families and quite a number of unmarried Swedes of both sexes,
probably a total of a hundred persons, nearly all of them former Erik
Janssonists. Not a few already had been won over to Methodism.
Hedstrom and Challman in turn conducted the meetings. Witting and
his wife attended regularly, joining the little Swedish Methodist
Church in February. It was in the days of the gold fever, and Witting
joined the party of Swedish goldseekers. The journey as well as the
stay in California was rich in adventures and novel experiences.
Reaching the gold country he went to digging like everybody else and
once was about to ' ' strike it rich ' ' but failed on account of the irresolu-
tion of his comrade. From the diggings which they abandoned a
Scotchman and his two sons subsequently took out a small fortune in
a few weeks.

Tired and disappointed with life in the gold fields, Witting left
California in April, 1852, with just enough gold to pay his way back,
arriving in Galesburg just before midsummer. In July he removed to
Victoria, where he and Erik Shogren attempted to make a fortune by
cultivating medicinal herbs. After two years they gave it up as a
failure. The first year a shipment of herbs to Cincinnati was lost in
transit ; the second year Witting, who was now alone in the enterprise,
had to sell a large New York shipment at great sacrifice, leaving him
without money enough to get home. These reverses almost drove the
sanguine and energetic young man to despair. But when all his plans

TH E METHODISTS

failed, he sought comfort in religion. A few visits to an American
Methodist church in New York set his troubled mind at ease and
inspired him with new courage. Having obtained a sum of money from
the kindhearted Rev. O. G. Hedstrom, he returned to Illinois.

His trip to New York proved the turning-point in Witting 's life.
Almost immediately after his return to Victoria, he began to preach
at small Methodist gatherings in private houses and was shortly after-
wards appointed class leader. In the fall he obtained employment in a
drug store in Peoria and began preaching to the handful of Swedes
then found in that city. At the suggestion of Presiding Elder Henry
Summers he now resolved to devote himself wholly to pastoral work
and, having been admitted to the Rock River Conference on probation,
in September, 1855, was stationed at Andover. Thus, after a varied
career on land and sea, he finally found his proper sphere and settled
down to his life's work, spending a long term of years in fruitful
labor in behalf of the Methodist Church.

From now on Witting devoted himself unsparingly to his calling.
In 1858 he was appointed to the charge at Victoria and in 1860 trans-
ferred to Rockford. In 1859 the idea of establishing a seminary for
the education of ministers and founding a newspaper as the organ of
the Swedish Methodists was advanced, but not until the spring of 1862
did the latter plan materialize, and then chiefly through the efforts of
Witting. At a meeting of ministers in Chicago he volunteered, if a
paper were started, to edit it for one year without salary. It was
unanimously resolved to launch the enterprise and Witting 's offer was
gratefully accepted. This paper was named "Sandebudet" (The
Messenger) and was published at Rockford, the first number appearing
July 18th of that year. After occupjnng the editor's chair for some two
and one-half years, having resigned from his pastoral charge in 1863,
Witting left the paper, which in November, 1864, was moved to
Chicago. The foregoing year he had taken up the school question for
discussion in its columns and was gratified to find his plan so generally
favored that during the year 1866, the centenary of Methodism, a
school fund was subscribed. The school was not opened until New
Year's, 1870, Witting serving meanwhile partly as the financial agent
of the school project, partly again as editor of " Sandebudet. "

In 1865 the Methodists began missionary work in Sweden, but
their efforts met with little success. Witting was the first to put life
into that work. After having obtained leave of absence, Witting went
to Sweden in May, 1867, at the expense of a private individual. He
soon attracted large audiences there, and in a short time Methodism
became firmly rooted, especially in the capital. At the instance of
Bishop Kingsley of the Methodist Episcopal Church, who was then

VICTOR WITTING

377

visiting Sweden, Witting resolved to remain to prosecute the work
which he successfully started. He hurried back to America to bring
his family over, returning to Goteborg in November.

Rev. Victor Witting

It would carry us far out of our way to describe in detail Witting 's
mission in Sweden. Suffice it to say that with him as superintendent
the work was prosecuted with great energy, several congregations
being organized and churches built. But it was not all smooth sailing.

378 THE METHODISTS

The authorities made trouble for the Methodist workers, several of
whom were fined for disregarding the injunctions of church councils
against public preaching by dissenters. But these obstacles were
removed by the passage of the Dissenters Law of 1873, proposed by the
government, passed by the riksdag with certain modifications relating
to obligatory religious instruction of the young, and finally sanctioned
by the king, its effect being materially to extend religious liberty in the
country. The following year the Methodists of Sweden resolved to
avail themselves of the right granted by that law to leave the state
church and organize a denomination of their own, with government
sanction. In February, 1875, a delegation of ten Methodist clergymen
and laymen had an audience with the king, laying before him a petition
with about 1,200 signatures, asking the privilege of uniting into a
separate church body. The petition was granted March 10, 1876, that
act securing forever the rights of the Methodist Church in Sweden.
As may be readily understood, this was a day of triumph for Witting
himself. On the 22nd of August following the Methodist missions were
combined in a conference.

After ten years' work in Sweden, during Avhich period Methodism
made headway and gained permanence, Witting in 1877 returned to
the United States. After preaching for a short time in Chicago, he
was sent back to Sweden in the capacity of superintendent of the
Methodist Church of Sweden. His term of service was, however, cut
short by his leaving the Methodist Church, for reasons unexplained,
and returning to America in the spring of 1879. The following year
he founded a devotional monthly, entitled "Stilla Stunder," which
was published in Chicago for two years. This breach between him and
the church he had served for a quarter of a century was of brief
duration. Having again joined the church, he was for the third time
made editor of its organ, " Sandebudet, " serving as such from 1883
to 1889. In the latter year he was appointed pastor of the Swedish
Methodist Church at Quinsigamond, Mass., where he resumed publica-
tion of "Stilla Stunder." The following Christmas he published an
annual entitled, "Bethlehemsstjernan, " which never again appeared.
In 1895, at the age of more than seventy, he was made editor of a
weekly, known as "Osterns Sandebud." While laboring as pastor
and editor, Witting found time for quite extensive literary pursuits.
As a writer and translator of religious songs he has undoubtedly
rendered his church greater service than any other Swedish clergyman.
The hymnal used by the Methodists of Sweden for many years contains
a large number of hymns written or translated by him, and it is gen-
erally conceded that the best Swedish translations of the well-known
songs of Charles Wesley have been made by Witting. He has published

EARLY CHURCHES 379

at his own expense several excellent collections of songs for prayer
meetings, and for home devotion, which are still extensively used. His
chief literary work, however, comprises his memoirs, embodied in a
volume entitled, "Minnen fran mitt lif som sjoman, immigrant och
predikant." The first edition of this work was published in 1901,
followed in 1904 by a second edition, revised and augmented. This
work is especially valuable for its rich contributions to the early
chapters of Swedish-American history.

Witting, who spent his later years at his home in Quincy, Mass.,
died July 2, 1906, his wife having passed away a few years earlier.
Two of his daughters are married to Methodist ministers.

Other pioneers of the Swedish Methodist Church of America ar<*
Olof Hamren, whose field of labor was western New York, and Samuel
Anderson and John Fridlund, both of Minnesota.

The ILarly Swedish Methodist Churches

At the period here dealt with the preacher's calling was no
sinecure. The country was sparsely settled, with small settlements
from ten to twenty miles apart, the settlers were poor, dwelling in
small, stuffy huts or dugouts, and the absence of roads and bridges
made traveling difficult. The daily routine of a frontier preacher was
somewhat on this order: a wearisome journey, mostly on horseback,
but often afoot; arriving towards nightfall at some lone settler's cabin,
a blockhouse at best, with a single room ; preaching in the evening to a
score of persons, children included ; sharing with the inmates their only
bed; breakfasting on cornbread and molasses; then proceeding on his
way to the next settlement, there to repeat the selfsame experience,
and so on for weeks and months. Owing to the suspicion, not to say
hostility, anent the Methodists prevailing among the Swedish settlers,
they would ofttimes shut their doors in the face of the itinerant
preachers, who were thus compelled to spend their nights in the woods
or on the open prairie. With Christian fortitude they submitted to al)
this, looking upon their calling as a work of love, not a means of liveli 1
hood. The majority of them sustained serious financial losses from
chosing the minister's calling, being able to earn more at their
respective trades than afterwards in the ministry. The highest annual
salary received by any of them did not exceed $400. Some got only
$100 to $150 a year. A certain preacher with a wife and three children
had to get along on $90 for the first year, averaging 25 cents a day.
With this modest competence went the duty of serving an entire circuit,
viz., Moline-New Boston, involving monthly trips of some two hundred
miles with horse and buggy. He was able to make only an occasional
visit to his family, living in a blockhouse forty miles away.

3 8o TH E METHODISTS

During these early days it was customary for a clergyman to
preach three times every Sunday and three or four times on week days,
going from place to place, stops being made five to eight miles apart.
In the spring and fall in particular, the roads would be extremely heavy,
in fact impassable for vehicles, and then horseback riding was the only
possible mode of travel. Sometimes the deep, sticky mud proved too
much even for the saddle horses, and as a last resort the preacher, with
his trousers tucked into his boot-tops, had to foot it through miles of
mud and water. Under such strenuous conditions a Methodist minister
naturally did not put on flesh, but these daily constitutionals kept his
body agile and his spirits fresh and buoyant.

Such was the preacher's life in those days. All the Methodist
ministers traveled about in like manner the year around. That was
quite different from present conditions, which permit the preachers to
remain for at least two years in each place, enjoying comfortable homes
and other advantages.

TKe First Swedish Methodist ChurcK in America

It was during the period just described that the first Swedish
Methodist churches were organized in Illinois. As stated in foregoing
pages, the very first was that at Victoria, founded Dec. 15, 1846, by
Jonas Hedstrom, who on that occasion preached his first sermon. The
first members were five all told. This was the small beginning of a
movement which soon extended to all the surrounding towns and settle-
ments, wherever Swedes were living, and from these districts came
many of the pioneer clergymen. The early settlers at Victoria, with
few exceptions, had been Erik Janssonists. Possessing more than
ordinary knowledge of the Scriptures, they soon became firmly rooted
in the Methodist faith. They took religion seriously, these pioneer
settlers. The entire settlement of Victoria became so thoroughly imbued
with Methodism that to this day all attempts of other denominations
to gain a foothold there have proved futile.

The little church after two years numbered ninety members. At
first the meetings were held either in a schoolhouse or in private
houses. In the latter instance, it was customary for those attending
the meetings to bring their own chairs and candles. In the late summer
of 1853 the church building was begun, and it was completed and
dedicated the following spring. This, the first Swedish Methodist
church in the state, still stands as a landmark and reminder of Swedish
pioneer days in Illinois. A steeple was added to the structure in later
years. In the late fall of 1858 the adjoining parsonage was built. In
1857 the large Victoria circuit was divided into three, Victoria, Gales-

EARLY CHURCHES

381

burg and Andover forming independent congregations, each with its
own pastor. A year later three new fields were taken up, viz.,
Kewanee, Nekoma and Oneida. The mother church at Victoria in 1905
numbered 105 adult members. The baptized children are not counted
as members in Methodist statistics as the case is in some other churches.

The WorK at Andover

The second in point of age among the Swedish Methodist churches
of Illinois is that of Andover. The date of Jonas Hedstrom's first visit

The Swedish M. E. Church in Victoria

to the Swedes of Andover is not known, but it might well have been
as early as 1847, while the settlers were still few in number. When in
1849 Rev. Gustaf Unonius visited Andover he found cause for complaint
in the fact that "a large part of the people had been converted to
Methodism and much religious strife and disorder prevailed." In the
latter part of July the same year, Jonas Hedstrom was in Andover to
meet a party of immigrants ravaged by cholera. After having dis-
tributed food and medicines among the sick and emaciated newcomers,
he was kept busy night and day procuring lodgings for them. On
Sunday, Aug. 12th, he preached a touching funeral sermon at the biers

382

THE METHODISTS

of the latest victims of the pest, and two weeks later, Sunday, Aug. 26th,
while the hearts of the immigrants were still pliant from suffering, he
chose as the opportune time to organize a Methodist congregation.
Those who joined were, Anna Lovisa Gustafsson, who had just lost both
her parents, her husband, three children and a brother ; Nils J. Johans-
son and wife ; one Froberg and wife ; Helena Hurtig, a widow whose
husband also had recently died of the cholera; Marta Olsson; Nils
Olsson and wife; Ake Olsson and wife; E. P. Andersson and, on the
following day, Mrs. H. Aim.

The congregation was organized at "Captain Mix's place," a large
farm with good buildings, located near the southeast corner of the

The Swedish M. E. Church in Andover

village. This was now purchased by the widow Gustafsson, on the
advice of Hedstrom, and became the home of herself, her daughter
Mary, a girl of seven, her sisters Caroline and Mary and her brother
John M. Ericksson. She was born in Hagerstad, Ostergotland, April
13, 1821 ; at twenty she married Gustaf Gustafsson and in the summer
of 1849 they emigrated to America, with the aforesaid party. Being
widowed shortly after reaching Andover, she remarried in 1851, becom-
ing the wife of Otto Lobeck, a Pomeranian, removed with him to
Omaha, Neb., in 1884, became a widow again in 1890, and died in
Fremont, Neb., March 30, 1903. At her home in Andover also the
Swedish Lutheran Church of that place was organized March 18, 1850.
Mrs. Lobeck to her death remained faithful to the Swedish Methodist
Church by which she was regarded as a venerable mother and held in
high esteem.

EARLY CHURCHES 383

The Swedish Methodist flock of Andover increased rapidly, num-
bering in 1850 no less than 74 members, mostly residents of that place.
A church edifice was begun and almost completed in 1854 and the
following year the parsonage was erected. In August, 1855, the first
Swedish Methodist camp meeting held in this country took place here.
Two years later Rev. Hedstrom, at the annual camp meeting in
Andover, preached his farewell sermon to his Methodist brethren, it
being probably the most stirring address ever made by that fiery leader
and organizer: During this early period the Andover minister had
pastoral charge of eight other places, namely, Rock Island, Moline,
Berlin (now Swedona), Hickory Grove (now Ophiem), LaGrange (now
Orion), Geneseo, Pope Creek (now Ontario) and New Boston. In 1862
Moline was made a separate charge, as was Swedona in 1864. In 1905
the Andover church numbered 117 members.

The Galesburg' Church

The third oldest Swedish Methodist congregation is that of Gales-
burg. As early as 1848 Rev. Hedstrom began his visits there and in
September the following year he organized a church, despite
religious indifference on the one hand and direct opposition on the
other. Its first members were, Linde, a shoemaker, and his wife,
Erik Grip and wife, Gustaf Berglund and wife, Mrs. Thorsell, widow
of a shoemaker, Christina Muhr, married later to A. Cassel of Wataga,
Nils Hedstrom and wife, besides others. The opposition grew still
more bitter when half a year later a Swedish Lutheran church also was
organized in Galesburg. In the spring of 1852, a powerful Baptist
movement arose to shake the little Methodist church in its very
foundations. Several of its members were re-baptized. Even its young
pastor, Rev. A. G. Swedberg, was converted to Baptism and took the
sacrament of immersion. This movement, however, was of short dura-
tion and so superficial that several of the converts soon returned to
their former church.

In spite of continued opposition both from Swedes and Americans
the latter being chiefly the Presbyterians and the Congregationalists,
who thought their own churches sufficient for the needs of the com-
munity the struggling little church continued to grow, making a
house of worship a necessity. In 1850 a subscription was started for
that purpose. Jonas Hedstrom 's most formidable opponent was
Jonathan Blanchard, president of Knox College. Through his influence,
it was said, many Americans withdrew their subscriptions to the
Swedish Methodist church building fund. As a side light on Hed-
strom 's character the following instance may be quoted. During a hot

384 THE METHODISTS

set-to between Blanchard and Hedstrom, the latter is reported to have
said to his opponent, "Do you see the sun in the heavens? You might
as well try to stop him in his course as to attempt to shut the Methodists
out of Galesburg. We have come here to stay."

The Swedish Methodists could not be made to abandon their plan
to build a church. At the suggestion of some of the leading men in
the American Methodist Church, which was not much larger than the
Swedish one, it was decided in the fall of 1851 that the two congrega-
tions should erect a common edifice, in which both should worship in
turn, according to specific agreement, so that on the days when the
Americans held their services in the morning, the Swedes were to hold
theirs in the afternoon or evening, and vice versa. The edifice was
built and dedicated the following year. It was a light and cheerful
sanctuary, with a seating capacity of about 200. Great was the joy
of the Swedes over the new house of worship, which they justly con-
sidered theirs in part. But their joy was soon spoiled. Some sharp
individual among the members of the American congregation soon
made the "discovery" that, according to the wording of the papers,
the Swedish people legally had no claim to ownership whatever. This
caused much friction, and at a subsequent meeting of the trustees, two
of whom were Swedes and three Americans, it was resolved, in the
presence of Hedstrom, and over the vigorous protests of himself and
the Swedish trustees, that the church was the exclusive property of the
American Methodist congregation, and that the Swedes had no more
property right in it than any other people who, by subscription or other
efforts, had assisted in its erection. By that decision the Swedish con-
gregation was ousted and again stood without a church home.

This misfortune befell the church at the time when its pastor,
Rev. Swedberg, and about half of its membership, twelve to fifteen
young and energetic persons, deserted the flock and joined the Baptists.
The remaining ones, however, continued the work, hoping for better
days to dawn, and their hopes were not in vain. New members were
added, and nearly all of the deserters returned to the fold. In the
surrounding country missionary work was begun in the years 1855-7 at
the following points, Knoxville, Wataga, Abingdon, Monmouth and
Oquawka. Late in the year 1856 a small church was erected which
was dedicated New Year's Day, 1857. That same year the congregation
was made independent, then numbering 69 members. In 1863 the little
church building was moved to a larger lot in a more desirable location,
and two years later an addition was built at a cost of a little over
$1,300. In 1872 the present large and imposing edifice was erected at
a cost of $18.000. In the middle sixties an independent church was

EARLY CHURCHES

385

formed at Wataga, decreasing the membership by fifty. In 1905 the
Galesburg church had a total membership of 300.

Operations in Moline and RocH. Island

Swedish immigration to Moline and Rock Island had scarcely
begun when the wide-awake Rev. Hedstrom went there to preach to his

countrymen. The first man that took kindly to him was Olaus Bengts-
son, one of Moline 's Swedish pioneers. Rev. Hedstrom lived in his
house whenever he visited Moline, and in that same house the Swedish

3 86 TH] B METHODISTS

Methodist Church was organized, presumably in September, 1849, and
held its meetings there during the first ten years of its existence. Only
seven persons joined the church at its organization, these being Olaus
Bengtsson and his wife, three other persons in Moline and two from
Kock Island. During the first few years the growth was very slow,
the total number of members in 1855 being only 18 or 20, and three
years later showing only a slight increase over that figure. The chief
reason for this slow progress lay in the energetic work done by th6
newly arrived Swedish Lutheran pastor, Rev. 0. C. T. Andren, causing
the majority of immigrants with religious interests to join his church.
In 1859-61, after immigrants had arrived in great numbers, things
began to look brighter for the Methodists in M61ine, their services
were better attended, and in 1860 they could dedicate a little church
which had just been erected.

In 1862 the Moline Swedish Methodists were organized into a
separate congregation, independent of the Andover church, and with
a pastor of their own. The subsequent year, Moline was combined
with Swedona,and in 1867 Geneseo was also added to the circuit, a small
congregation having been organized in the latter place in 1864 and a
little church erected. In 1871 the Moline congregation sold its church
building, which was now inadequate, and purchased from an American
congregation a larger building which was moved to a new location,
where it was used until 1889, the year of the erection of the present still
more commodious temple of worship. In 1871 a parsonage was built
which four years later was rebuilt and enlarged. The total member-
ship in 1905 reached 202.

During the years 1852-5 there existed in Rock Island a small but
vigorous congregation of Swedish Methodists, consisting largely of
girls in the employ of American families, but soon most of these girls
left the city, almost depleting the church as early as 1856. In 1854 this
congregation is said to have owned a small church building which
seems to have been disposed of long ago.

The Chicago Field

Swedish Methodism in Chicago dates back to 1852. In the fall of
that year Rev. 0. G. Hedstrom of New York visited that city on his
way to his brother in Victoria. Here he had an opportunity to preach
for several successive days in the Norwegian, subsequently Swedish
Lutheran church on Superior street. Large crowds went to hear him,
and Hedstrom is said to have preached with such power that " there
was weeping throughout the church, from the pulpit down to the last
pew." In December, on his return to New York, he again visited

EARLY CHURCHES 387

Chicago, accompanied by his brother Jonas. Here they stopped a
couple of weeks. The Superior street church being now closed to them,
they conducted their meetings in the Bethel Chapel, or Seamen's Mis-
sion, on Wells street, between Michigan and Illinois streets, and here,
in December, 1852, the foundation was laid for a Swedish, or rather
Scandinavian, Methodist church in Chicago. There is no doubt that
this work tended to hurry the organization of the Swedish Lutheran
Immanuel Church of Chicago, which took place in January, 1853. Rev.
Jonas Hedstrom remained in the city a few days after his brother had
left for New York, in order to encourage the little flock, and give it a
good start, services doubtless well needed in a congregation made up
of many heterogeneous elements. The membership at the beginning
is said to have reached 75, but hardly had Jonas Hedstrom left the city
before more than two-thirds of these deserted and joined the Swedish
Lutheran Church just then in process of organization. A mere handful
of them remained in the Methodist fold.

In order to save the wreckage, Rev. 0. G. Hedstrom, shortly after
his return to New York, sent his assistant, S. B. Newman, to Chicago.
His task consisted in gathering the remnant of the church and, with
that as a nucleus, form a practically new congregation. In the latter
part of January, Rev. Jonas Hedstrom returned from Victoria,
and the two worked so earnestly that in February the number of new
members received on probation reached 65. In September of the same
year this number had grown to 123, this, however, including a few in
St. Charles, 111., and about 30 in Poolsville, Ind., where a church had
been organized in August.

Captain Charles Magnus Lindg'ren

Among those joining the congregation that year was C. M. Lind-
gren, a sea captain, who almost immediately became one of the chief
supports of Swedish Methodism in Chicago. Lindgren Avas born in
Dragsmark, Bohuslan, Nov. 28, 1819, went to sea at the age of 14, and
sailed until 1849, when he went to California, remaining there for three
years, first as a goldwasher and later engaged in the freight traffic.
In the spring of 1852 he returned to his native land, was there married
to Johanna Andersson, returned to America in September and arrived
in Chicago in November of the same year. Here he opened a livery
stable on Illinois street, but. finding this unprofitable, entered into a
railway project together with the Erik Janssonists of Bishop Hill and
settled in 1854 at Toulon. Henry county, a few miles from Galva. In
the spring of 1856 he came back to Chicago, bought a couple of freight
vessels and contracted with a lumber company for shipping lumber

388 THE METHODISTS

from Michigan to Chicago. At first this proved exceedingly profit-
able, but suddenly the company failed, involving Lindgren in heavy
losses.- Subsequently he removed to Montgomery, a small town on the
Burlington railroad, about fifty miles from Chicago, where he set up as
a manufacturer of machinery, but soon failed. In the fall of I860 he
again came to Chicago and engaged in shipping, first with a good-sized
freighter with which he succeeded so well that he was soon able to

Capt. Charles Magnus Lindgren

exchange it for a still larger vessel. Fortune now steadily favored
him, and he gradually added vessel after vessel until in 1870 he owned
half a dozen ships with a combined tonnage of 4,500. Several of these
were among the largest in the lake trade at that time. The following
year he had three more large freighters built at Manitowoc, Wis., one
of which was named "Christina Nilsson," after the great Swedish
singer who visited America that year.

Failing health in 1877 compelled his retirement from business.
That summer he took a trip to the old country. His condition, however.

EARLY CHURCHES 389

grew worse and on September 1, 1879, he died at his home in Evanston,
aged 60 years.

Captain Lindgren was a man of extraordinary activity and a kind
and philanthropic man withal, who did much for his less fortunate
fellow countrymen. His wife was equally kind-hearted. Lindgren was
particularly liberal toward the struggling little Swedish Methodist
Church in Chicago. Without his aid it would not have accomplished
what it did. When in later years the Swedish Methodist Theological
Seminary was founded here, Lindgren contributed generously toward
its erection and maintenance.

In the spring of 1854 the young Methodist congregation decided
to build a church of their own. During the summer Rev. Newman
made a trip to his former field of labor in the South to solicit funds for
that purpose, and met with great success. The edifice, which was
erected on Illinois street, near Market, was completed in the fall and
dedicated in October or November, by Rev. O. G. Hedstrom. The back
part of the structure constituted the parsonage.

In those days it was a common occurrence that the meetings of the
Swedish Methodists in Chicago and elsewhere were disturbed by
drunken rowdies. Frequently the preacher would be interrupted in
the midst of his discourse by hideous yells or by the hurling of stones
or other missiles, aimed at the speaker, through the windows. After
services, crowds of hoodlums would gather outside the sanctuary,
jeering and molesting the worshipers as they were coming out. Time
and again, these people, both ministers and laymen, were the objects
not only of threats, but of open attacks. The aforesaid Captain Lind-
gren, who was a man possessed of both courage and physical strength,
was often obliged to act as a sort of special policeman at the meetings.
On one occasion, when he undertook to escort the leader of a gang of
disturbers out of the church, the culprit drew a knife, seriously wound-
ing Captain Lindgren. This brutal crime, committed in the house of
God, was brought to trial and the perpetrator was severely punished,
while several other disturbers were arrested and fined. This example
had a wholesome effect, disturbances became less frequent, and soon
the Swedish Methodists were permitted to worship unmolested.

The summer of 1854, when the cholera broke out in Chicago, was
fraught with many trials for Rev. Newman and his flock. The noble
work of relief accomplished by Newman and other Swedish pastors of
Chicago is recounted elsewhere in these pages. About this time, also,
his field was widened by work being begun in Beaver, St. Charles and
Rockford, 111., and at Attica, LaFayette, LaPorte and other points in
Indiana.

In September, 1855, Newman returned to his former place in New

390

THE METHODISTS

York as assistant to Rev. O. G. Hedstrom, Rev. Erik Shogren succeeding
him in Chicago, where he labored for four years, until 1859, when he,
in turn, was succeeded by Jakob Bredberg. At this time two young
and gifted men, A. J. Anderson and N. O. Westergreen, joined the
church, both of whom in later years became prominent clergymen in
the Swedish Methodist Church.

Rev. Jacob Bredberg'

The aforesaid Jakob Bredberg was in some respects one of the
notable men in the Swedish Methodist clergy. He was born in the city
of Alingsas, Sweden, May 1, 1808, completed his college course at
twenty-one and was ordained minister in 1832. Having served for
twenty years as curate in Sweden, he emigrated in 1853. Like his
former colleague, Rev. C. P. Agrelius, a few years earlier, Bredberg
became acquainted with Rev. Hedstrom in New York and joined the
Methodists, was subsequently in charge of the Swedish Methodist
Church at Jamestown, N. Y., for four years, until 1859, when he came to
Chicago. During his first year here the work progressed nicely, Rev.
Bredberg 's eloquence and his reputation for great learning attracting
good audiences. But the second year marked a complete change. Then
it was discovered that he was indifferent to the interests of his church
even to the extent of planning to leave the Methodists and join another
denomination. This lost him the confidence of the parishioners and
caused a falling off in attendance and a gloomy outlook generally. In the
fall of 1861 the anticipated flop took place, when Bredberg went over
to the Episcopalians and became pastor of the St. Ansgarius Church in
Chicago, occupying that pulpit until 1877, when old age and sickness
compelled his retirement. Alongside of his pastoral work, Rev. Bred-
berg engaged to some extent in literary pursuits, such as editing a
Swedish Methodist hymnal, the contents of which were partly compiled,
partly translated by him, and later translating the English Episcopal
ritual and a number of English, French and Bohemian tracts into
Swedish.

In the condition just described A. J. Anderson found the Swedish
Methodist Church when he took charge of it in the fall of 1861. The
church edifice was in so bad repair as to be almost condemnable. Sun-
day school had been discontinued, class meetings, prayer meetings and
the customary forms of Christian activity had been abandoned.
Furthermore, the congregation was still heavily in debt from the time
the church was built. Rev. Anderson succeeded, however, in putting
new life into the work : the church was rebuilt in 1863. and through his
efforts the membership increased by 160 in the period from 1861 to 1864

EARLY CHURCHES

391

392

THE METHODISTS

making a total of 210. The Sunday school numbered 130 pupils and
the church property, now free of debt, was valued at $8,000.

During the following year, while Rev. Shogren was in charge,
another hundred members were added, and the attendance at services
was so great that the congregation had to choose between securing
a larger house of worship or dividing into two flocks. They chose the
latter alternative ; an American Methodist church on the west side was
purchased and moved to the corner of Fourth and Sangamon streets,
and thenceforth regular services were held also in this part of the city.
This was in April, 1865. The next fall Shogren was succeeded by Rev.
N. O. Westergreen, whose three years of service, 1865-8, were character-
ized by steady progress. Up to 1867 Swedes and Norwegians had
worshiped under one roof as members of the same church, but about
that time it became apparent that it was better for all concerned that
the Norwegians separated and formed a congregation of their own.
This was done and the second church building was turned over to the
Norwegians, most of whom were living on the west side. This marked
the beginning of Norwegian Methodism in Chicago.

During the years 1868 to 1870 Rev. Nils Peterson was pastor of the
church. The congregation at that time purchased the lot at the corner
of Market and Oak street where later its present church was built.
Rev. Peterson was succeeded by Rev. A. J. Anderson, who labored here
for three years up to 1873. In the great fire of 1871 the church on
Illinois street was destroyed, as were the other Swedish churches of the
city. This disaster was the turning-point in the history of the Swedish
Methodists of Chicago. For a time they held their services in the newly
built Norwegian Methodist church on Indiana street. But after the
fire the influx of Swedes to the west side increased, and for that reason
it was found expedient also to make it the religious center. In pur-
suance of this purpose the lot on Illinois street was traded for one on
May street, where the present Swedish Methodist church on the west
side was then erected. A small dwelling-house situated on the lot was
remodeled into a parsonage. The basement of the church was finished
in 1872 and the entire edifice was not completed until 1878.

On the north side a temporary chapel was built simultaneously. In
the summer of 1875 it was removed to make room for the Swedish
Methodist church, which was not completed until 1879, during the
incumbency of Rev. D. S. Sorlin, when a parsonage also was built.
From 1873 to 1875 its pastor was Rev. E. Shogren, assisted by Rev.
Alfred Anderson, and in 1875-6 Rev. N. 0. Westergreen was in charge.
Although there was a church on the west side, Swedish Methodists
living there still belonged to the north side church until 1875, when a
formal division of the congregation took place and the westsiders

EARLY CHURCHES

393

formed a separate church and received their own pastor, Rev. D. S.
Sorlin, the following year. In 1876 Rev. Witting, just returned from
Sweden, was assigned to the north side church, serving it for one year.
On the south side work was begun by the Swedish Methodists about
this time, resulting in the organization of a congregation in 1876, with
Rev. Fredrik Ahgren as its first pastor. The progress of these churches
up to the present time can only be indicated here by means of the
following statistics of membership for the year 1905, to-wit : the First
Swedish Methodist Episcopal Church 425, the west side church 168 and
the south side church 200.

The Beaver Settlement

About 75 miles southeast from Chicago, in Iroquois county, a
Swedish settlement, named Beaver, was founded in 1853. There a
Swedish Methodist church was started May 4, 1854, with nine members.
The next year the missions in Indiana were organized into a separate
circuit, comprising Attica, Poolsville, LaFayette, Yorktown and Buena
Vista, with Attica as the headquarters. To this circuit Beaver was now
added. In 1863 the congregation in Attica disbanded, the church was
sold, work ceased entirely and the pastor removed to Beaver, which
thus became the principal missionary station of the circuit. A church
had been built there in 1860. Work at this point grew still more
difficult when in 1870 a Swedish Lutheran congregation was founded
there, its church edifice and parsonage being built the following year.
The Lutherans, however, had little success owing to the fact that their
members arrived later to Beaver and consequently had to settle on
poorer land, where they hardly could make their living. Therefore they
had to sell their farms and move to other parts of the country, their
number was gradually decimated, the pastor left and finally the church
closed its doors. The field was thus abandoned to the Methodists, who
have worked persistently with the result that the Beaver church is now
one of their best country congregations. A new church was erected
there in 1890, the parsonage has been rebuilt since 1877, and in 1905
the congregation had a total of 165 members.

Methodist WorK in RocKford

Methodism was first preached to the Swedes of Rockford in 1854,
doubtless in the month of February, by Rev. S. B. Newman, who went
there on a visit to the parents of Rev. N. 0. Westergreen, they having
moved there from Chicago. A class was started, in charge of the elder
Westergreen. Early in 1855 the younger Westergreen, at the sugges-
tion of Rev. Newman, began preaching, continuing until the following

394

THE METHODISTS

spring, when the family removed to Evanston in order to give the son
an opportunity to study. In May he visited Eockford only to find
the class dissolved, and when Rev. E. Shoerren visited the city in 1856

The Swedish M. E. Church in Rockford

the outlook for Swedish Methodism in Rockford was still very dark.
No further visits were made by Methodist clergymen until the year
1859, when Westergreen again came there. The year after, Rockford
had visits from Revs. Challman and Erik Carlson. At that year's
conference it was resolved to begin operations in Rockford with Victor

EARLY CHURCHES

395

Witting in charge. A little old church owned by the American Pres-
byterians was rented for the meetings and in October that year Witting
began preaching there, at first to audiences of four or five persons, but
the attendance steadily increased. Wednesday, Jan. 30, 1861, a congre-
gation with a membership of 12 was organized. Prejudices and active
opposition for a time deterred the growth of the church, but when at
length the ice was broken more rapid progress was made. A year later,
when Rev. Witting began to issue his paper " Sandebudet, " there was
renewed opposition, but he was not the man to give up in dismay. He
stuck to his post of duty, and in 1863 the congregation was able to
purchase the little church they had hitherto hired, and renovate it, all
without incurring any considerable debt. That year the congregation
had 43 members; its pastor was Rev. Albert Ericson, who was also
assistant editor of ' ' Sandebudet. " The following year N. N. Hill, a
local preacher, was in charge. When he resigned in 1865 and was
succeeded by P. Newberg the membership had decreased to 40. Sub-
sequently the church was served for two years, 1866-8, by two local
preachers, August Westergreen and Oscar Sjogren, each for one year.
Meanwhile the membership grew to 68. The last-named year the con-
gregation purchased a lot in a good location on First avenue to which
the church was moved.

Rev. 0. Gunderson \vas in charge of the church during the years
1868-71, when there was an increase of thirty members. After Gunder-
son there was the following succession of ministers: John Linn, 1871-2;
A. T. Westergreen, 1872-3; S. B. Newman, 1873-5, and John Wigren,
1875-7. During Rev. Wigren 's incumbency the old church, being found
inadequate, was replaced in 1877 by a new and larger one. At the
conference that year the congregation reported a total of 165 members.
In 1905 this church, which at certain periods has been one of the largest
in the denomination, numbered 210 members.

Tine Swedona and Bishop Hill Churches

A Swedish Methodist society, or congregation, was founded in
Swedona in 1857, being made up partly of members of the Andover
church. An edifice was erected and dedicated in the period of 1859-61,
and in 1864 a parsonage was built, this being moved and remodeled in
1874. In 1863 the Swedona church was made entirely independent of
the Andover circuit, its membership being then about 50. This church,
which embraces also the Swedish Methodists of New Windsor, in 1905
had 36 members.

The Bishop Hill congregation is also numbered among the oldest
of the Swedish Methodist churches. It had its inception in the summer

396

THE METHODISTS

of 1860 when A. J. Anderson was asked by Jonas Olson to come .and
preach in the old colony church. While in Andover, Anderson made
regular visits to Bishop Hill. When and by whom the church was
organized is not known. It figures in the list of assignments for the
first time in the year 1863, apparently having been started that year
by Rev. Peter Challman. In 1865 the so-called "Smedjevinden"
(Blacksmith's attic) was purchased and turned into a meeting hall.
Three years afterward, quite a large church was erected, as also a
parsonage.

The Swedish M. E. Church in Bishop Hill

Several of th'e former leaders of the Erik Janssonists about this
time joined the Methodists. Galva and Kewanee, both belonging to
the Bishop Hill circuit, were separated in 1860 and given their own
pastors. In 1905 the Bishop Hill church numbered 124 members.

Eminent WorKers and Leaders Rev. Anders Johan Anderson

One of the pioneers of Swedish Methodism was Anders Johan
Anderson. He was born in Quenneberga, Smaland, June 9, 1833, the
younger of two brothers. The elder was Carl Anderson, who became
known over a large part of Sweden as a prominent lay preacher.
Having obtained an elementary education, A. J. Anderson emigrated
to America in 1854, at the age of twenty-one. Landing in Quebec, he
came on to Chicago, where he was employed for some months in a drug
store. Toward winter he went south, remaining in New Orleans until
spring, when he returned to Chicago. Here he obtained lodging with

ANDERS JOHAN ANDERSON

397

a family of Methodists who induced him to attend their church on
Illinois street. There he made the acquaintance, first of Rev. S. B.
Newman, and later of Rev. Erik Shogren. After attending services
for a time, Anderson, in the spring of 1856, joined the church.

He possessed natural talents of a high order, and these, coupled
with his newly awakened interest in religious matters, soon attracted
the attention of his brethren in the faith, who called him to important
positions in the church. Thus he became, in rapid succession, class
leader, local preacher, Sunday school teacher and leader of the church

Rev. A. J. Anderson

choir. He preached his first sermon in July, 1856, at a camp meeting
in Forest Glen. In 1857, on the advice of Rev. Shogren and after a
lengthy consultation with Jonas Hedstrom, the Methodist patriarch,
Anderson resolved to enter the ministry.

His first pastoral charge was at Galesburg, where he labored for
two years, till 1859, his subsequent assignments being as follows:
Andover, 1859-61; Chicago, 1861-4; Galesburg, 1864-6; Bishop Hill,

398 THE METHODISTS

1866-70; Chicago, 1870-73; presiding elder of the Swedish district of
the Central Illinois Conference, 1873-7 ; Chicago, 1877-9 ; Andover,
1879-80; Immanuel Church of Brooklyn, N. Y., 1880-93; Lake View,
Chicago, 1893-7; presiding elder of the Chicago district, 1897-1902.
He died in this city Dec. 19, 1902.

Anderson was a talented preacher, a successful pastor and a man
of unusual executive ability. This latter gift was especially valuable
to him during his first and second term of service in Chicago. He was,
furthermore, a clear-sighted and experienced church leader, whom his
brethren in the work regarded with love and confidence. Few of the
Swedish Methodist clergymen in this country can look back on so long
and so successful a career as that of Rev. Anderson. His memory will
long be cherished among the people whom he so devotedly served.
When he was pastor of the church at Lake View, Chicago, he was
offered the honorary degree of D. D. from a German Methodist college
at St. Paul, Minn., a courtesy which he politely declined.

Rev. JoKn Wig'ren

John Wigren, another prominent Swedish Methodist pioneer
preacher, was born in Grenna parish, Smaland, Oct. 1, 1826. He left his
childhood home at the age of seventeen to serve a mason's apprentice-
ship. After seven years, he received his master mason 's certificate from
the Grenna council. June 19, 1852, he emigrated to America with his
wife and two children, reaching New York Aug. 27th. On the day of
his arrival he visited the Bethel mission ship and was converted then
and there. From New York he went to La Fayette, Ind., to rejoin some
acquaintances from his youth. After a^short stay here and in Pools-
ville, he removed to Attica in the spring of 1853 and joined the Swedish
Methodist church that was organized there in August of that year by
Rev. Newman.

Wigren at once became a zealous church worker, doing everything
in his power for the upbuilding of the congregation. In 1885 he was
appointed class leader, in 1856 exhorter and in 1857 local preacher.
The pastor in charge being unable to visit the place more than every
third Sunday, it devolved upon Wigren to conduct most of the services.
With this he continued for five years, or until 1863, when he abandoned
his trade to devote himself exclusively to the service of the church. He
was then assigned to the Beaver- Yorktown circuit, which he served for
two years. Soon after his arrival he set to work to have a parsonage
built at Beaver.

At the conference in 1865, he was ordained deacon, a year later he
was received on probation into the Central Illinois Conference, and in
1868 he was ordained elder. His subsequent assignments were : Swedona-

JOHN WIGREN

399

Moline, 1865-6; Swedona alone, 1866-7; Andover-Swedona, 1867-9;
Andover alone, 1869-71 ; Moline-Geneseo, 1871-3 ; Swedona 1873-5 ; May
street church in Chicago, also presiding elder of the Chicago district,
1878-81; south side church in Chicago, 1881-2; Bishop Hill, 1882-5;
presiding elder of the Biirlington district of Iowa, 1885-7, and of the
Chicago district, 1887-91; Lake View, 1891-3; Forest Glen, 1893-4;
Aurora, 1894-7, and La Grange, 1897-9, after which he retired from
active work in the ministry.

Rev. John Wigren

In his prime, Wigren was a very practical man, whose energies
were especially directed toward the building of churches and parson-
ages and soliciting funds for various purposes. Under his direction the
church in Rockford was built in 1877, the west side church in Chicago
was completed in 1878-81, and the basement of the south side church
was built in 1881-2. While he was stationed at Bishop Hill in 1882-5
his executive talents again stood him in good stead when the camp

400

THE METHODISTS

meeting grounds at Hickory Grove, between Bishop Hill and Galva,
were purchased.

Rev. Wigren is, moreover, a successful evangelist and has
added many new members to the churches he served. Being a man
of good judgement and considerable business acumen, he was often put
in charge of important undertakings and has always been a dominant
figure at the conference meetings. He worked energetically from the
very start in behalf of the theological seminary at Evanston and was
for nineteen years a member of its board of trustees. Rev. Wigren is
living in retirement in Chicago. Three of his sons have followed in his

Elim Swedish M. E. Church, Lake View

footsteps and devoted themselves to the ministry in the Swedish
Methodist Church.

Rev. N. O. Westerg'reen

Another of the Swedish Methodist preachers to be numbered with
the pioneers is N. 0. Westergreen. He was born in Bjararyd, Blekinge.
Sweden, July 25, 1834. Together with his parents and four brothers
he came to the United States Sept. 29, 1852. The parents and two of
his younger brothers proceeded to Chicago, while he and his two elder
brothers remained in the East. The first winter he lived with an
American family named Washburn, at Minot, Me., where he attended
district school. After spending the spring and summer in Boston he
came to Chicago in November, 1853. Here he met Rev. Newman,
through whose influence he was converted about Christmas time and
embraced the Methodist faith.

N. O. WESTERGREEN

401

Not long afterward Westergreen together with his parents removed
to Rockford. He now experienced a desire to enter the ministry, and
an opportunity to preach was offered when Rev. Newman, who had

Rev. N. O. Westergreen

begun the work in Rockford, appointed him leader of the meetings. He
preached his first sermon in February, 1855, in his parental home. In
order to prepare himself for his calling he entered the Garrett Biblical

4 02 THE METHODISTS

Institute at Evanston the same year and was enrolled at Knox College,
Galesburg, a year later. In 1859 Westergreen was assigned to the Vic-
toria church. Thence he was sent to serve the Norwegian congregations
in Leland and Norway, and in 1860 he was assigned to Beaver, 111., and
Attica, Ind. After two years he went back to Leland, whence he was
transferred in 1863 to the Galesburg church. This assignment suited
him all the more as it made it possible for him again to take up studies
at Knox College. After serving a year at Bishop Hill, Wataga and
Kewanee he was in charge of the north side church in Chicago during
the years 1865-8.

The Old Swedish M. E. Tabernacle at Desplaines Camp Grove

In 1870, when the projected theological school was ultimately estab-
lished, Westergreen became its first teacher, meanwhile having charge
of the church at Galesburg for four years. Having subsequently served
as editor of ' ' Sandebudet ' ' for three years, Westergreen became pastor
of the north side church of Chicago ; he was next stationed at Geneva
and Batavia for one year, and at Moline for a like term, acting at the
same time as presiding elder of the Galesburg district. From here he
was sent to the Fifth avenue church in Chicago, where he remained for
three years. After four years ' service as presiding elder of the Chicago
district, he was pastor of the Evanston church for a like period, of the
Fifth avenue church one year, at Humboldt Park two years, at More-
land, Melrose and Oak Park one year and at Ravenswood one year. In
1895, at his own request, Westergreen was declared superannuated,
but still continued to serve the small congregations at Waukegan and
Lake Forest, and acted as teacher at the theological seminary during
the school year 1896-7.

ALBERT KRICSON

403

Westergreen enjoys the reputation of being a profound thinker
and a good speaker. He is well versed, especially in the subjects of
theology and church history. As a champion of Methodism among the

Rev. Albert Ericson

Swedish-Americans he has exerted a powerful influence. His ability
as scholar and preacher has been recognized by a Methodist institution
of learning, which some years ago gave him the degree of D. D.

404 TH E METHODISTS

Rev. Albert ILricson.

The fourth of this group of eminent Swedish Methodist workers
is Albert Ericson, a distinguished preached and educator, a biograph-
ical sketch of whom is found elsewhere in this work. He began preach-
ing shortly after his coming to the United States in 1857. After having
served as editor of "Sandebudet", the mouthpiece of the denomination,
for two years, Ericson was called in 1866 as teacher of Swedish in the
proposed theological seminary and went abroad to prepare himself for
this work. Finding upon his return that the school was not yet opened,
he again assumed the editorship of the official church paper. After
laboring as a preacher in the eastern field for some ten years he was
called to the presidency of the Swedish Theological Seminary in Evans-
ton. In this responsible position, held by him for a quarter of a
century, he continues to render efficient service to his church and to
wield great influence in the training of its teachers.

The Swedish Theological Seminary

As early as 1865, a year before the Methodist Episcopal Church of
America celebrated its one hundredth anniversary, steps w r ere taken
toward the establishment of a divinity school for the Scandinavian
element of the denomination. The initiative was taken by Eev. Victor
Witting. In October of that year a general convention of all Scandi-
navian Methodist preachers and a number of laymen was held to discuss
the matter. The meeting resolved that a Scandinavian seminary be
founded at the earliest possible time. Rev. Witting and other pastors
were appointed as solicitors of funds, and teachers were designated.
The project met with favor everywhere and a considerable amount was
subscribed. When Witting, who was the soul of the movement, was
sent to Sweden, the work lagged, and more than half of the amount
promised was lost through negligence in making collections.

Ere long it proved impracticable to carry out the original plan
of a common institution for all Scandinavian Methodists. A separation
between the Swedish and Norwegian brethren followed, each group
continuing to carry forward its plans, after an equal division of the
existing funds had been made. The split delayed the establishment of
a Swedish seminary until 1870, Avhen it was finally founded at Gales-
burg. On Feb. 28th of that year it opened with two students and Eev.
N. 0. Westergreen as teacher. During the entire first year the attend-
ance stopped at a total of four. The upper story of a private house,
belonging to one Peter Hillgren, was at first used for studies and
recitation rooms. From there the school moved into another private
house and then occupied rooms on the second floor in the private

INSTITUTIONS

405

406 THE METHODISTS

residence of Rev. Westergreen. Not more than a dozen persons availed
themselves of the instruction given while the school was in Galesburg,
but this number includes not a few of the leading members of the
Swedish Methodist clergy. From that time the school has had a per-
manent existence, although the location has varied. In 1872 it was
removed from Galesburg to Galva, and Westergreen was succeeded by
Rev. C. A. Wiren. Three years afterward, in 1875, the institution was
located in Evanston, in organic connection with the Northwestern
University. At this time Dr. William Henschen was placed at its head,
a position retained by him until the close of the school year in the
spring of 1883. Part of this time the first class had been maintained
and taught partly at Galva, partly in St. Paul and Minneapolis,
Fredrick Ahlgren acting as teacher at the former place in 1877-9, and
J. 0. Nelson at the latter in 1879-82. After that the institution was
consolidated at Evanston, with Prof. Albert Ericson at the head. He
was the sole teacher up to 1889, when C. G. Wallenius was elected
assistant professor. He resigned in 1896, and was succeeded by
Westergreen, but returned to the position after an interval of three
years, and remained with the institution until 1906.

Many of the students of the seminary have availed themselves of
its connection with the university to take special courses in its various
departments, a number graduating from the college. From 1886 a
special teacher of English has been a member of the seminary faculty.

The control of the institution is vested in a board of nine directors,
five clergymen and four laymen, representing the Central, the Western,
the Northern and the Eastern Swedish Methodist Conferences.

The institution was started on a fund of $4,000, which has since
grown to $45,000. This does not include the sum of about $8,000
expended on the building erected in 1883 on ground owned by the
university. This building was a three story structure, containing recita-
tion rooms, dining room, kitchen and 16 living-rooms for students. The
money expended on the building was raised chiefly through the efforts
of Rev. Charles G. Nelson.

Recently a more commodious building has been erected at a cost
of $35,000, the dedication of which on Sept. 21, 1907, marked a great
stride in the progress of the institution. The new building is located at
Orrington avenue and Lincoln street; on a campus, 246 feet front by
211 deep, costing $12,000. The present valuation on the seminary
property is $47,000, on which rests a debt of about $14,000.

The Bethany Home

The question of establishing a Swedish Methodist home for the
aged in Chicago was first broached at the annual meeting of the minis-
terial association of the Chicago district, held at Donovan, 111., in 1889.

INSTITUTIONS

407

A committee appointed to present plans for such an institution included
Mr. John R. Lindgren, the banker. At a subsequent meeting, held New
Year's Day, 1890, he gave a promise of $5,000 to the proposed home,
conditioned on the raising of a like amount. Rev. Alfred Anderson set
to work soliciting donations, and when through his efforts the con-
dition had been fully met, Mr. Lindgren promised another substantial
donation on the same terms.

With such a lift at the start, it was comparatively easy to acquire
the funds needed for the early realization of the plan. In February,
1891, a house in south Evanston was rented and on the 3rd of March
following the home was formally opened. In August of the same year
ground was purchased in the Ravenswood district, Chicago, for the sum

The Bethany Home, Chicago

of $13,000. A building was erected thereon, at a cost of nearly $15,000.
Upon its completion, the temporary quarters were abandoned and the
wards transferred to the new building. This contained mainly living-
rooms for the aged, but two rooms were set aside for the accommodation
and care of the sick, and two physicians and a trained nurse were
engaged. In this way charity was extended in the form of medical
attendance free of cost, wholly or in part, until the entire building was

408 THE METHODISTS

needed for its original purpose, when the hospital department was dis-
continued.

In the year 1896 a six-flat building was erected on the grounds, the
rental of which goes toward the maintenance of the home. This was
ready for occupancy in April, 1897, and has since yielded the institution
a handsome steady income, supplemented by gifts and contributions
from churches, societies and individuals, and an annual offering in the
churches on Thanksgivings Day. Applicants for admission have paid in
various sums, varying from $50 to $500 a person, no specified fee being
required.

The affairs of the Bethany Home are in the hands of a board of
trustees, with Rev. Alfred Anderson as president and Rev. John Bendix
as financial agent, the latter having filled that position for the past
eleven years. The institution, now free of debt, owns property valued
at $75,000.

At the close of the year 1907 the number of inmates of the home
was thirty. The total number of persons cared for since the opening
was 179, of whom 41 have passed away.

GrowtH of Swedish Methodism

In 1875 Swedish Methodism in the West had grown to such an
extent that its ministers, with two or three exceptions, all deemed it
not only desirable but absolutely necessary to hold a Swedish confer-
ence comprising all the Swedish Methodist congregations in the states
of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin
and Michigan, and to this end a petition was submitted at the Gen' ^al
Conference which convened at Baltimore in May, 1876. The petition
was granted, and Sept. 6th the following year Bishop Jesse T. Peck
organized in Galesburg. the Swedish Northwestern Conference. From
its inception the conference embraced three districts, those of Gales-
burg, Iowa and Minnesota, with a total of 36 ministers, 39 pastorates,
4.105 members, 44 church edifices, valued at $121,750, and 22 parson-
ages, at $19,225.

In 1893, after 16 years of progress, there were five districts in all,
viz., Chicago, Burlington, Kansas, Nebraska, St. Paul and Superior,
with 85 ministers, 105 pastorates, 9,800 members, 131 church edifices
and 61 parsonages, with a total property value of $564,880. After
three years of preparation, the Northwestern Conference at a meeting
in G-alesburg was divided into three conferences, the Central, the
Western and the Northern Swedish conferences. The Central Confer-
ence included Illinois, Indiana. Ohio, western New York, western
Pennsylvania, and the city of Racine, Wis. It was divided into three

PROGRESS

409

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p Q .^ i_ O
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a 2 5

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8SS8

THE METHODIvSTvS

districts, Chicago, Galesburg and Jamestown, numbering altogether
43 ministers, 43 pastorates, 5,321 members, 47 church buildings and
22 parsonages.

The Western Conference embraced Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and
Nebraska and was divided into two districts, Iowa and Kansas-
Nebraska, with a total of 27 pastors, 29 pastorates, 2,299 members, with
39 church edifices and 19 parsonages, worth altogether $100,500.

The Northern Conference comprised Minnesota and Wisconsin,
with the exception of the city of Racine, and the northern peninsula
of Michigan. The following year, this conference was organized into
three districts, Lake Superior, Minneapolis and St. Paul, and had at
that time 32 ministers, 39 pastorates, 2,634 members, 52 church build-

Swedish Methodist Tabernacle at Desplaines,
Dedicated 1907

ings and 23 parsonages. At the seventh annual meeting of the con-
ference in Calumet, Mich., in 1900, it was reorganized into a regular
annual conference called the Northern Swedish Conference. In 1903 it
numbered 30 ministers, 43 pastorates, 2.906 members, 64 church build-
ings and 40 parsonages.

The Swedish Methodist work in the East is of a more recent date
than that in the West. With a couple of exceptions, the eastern
congregations have all been organized later than 1878. Originally
these belonged to the various American annual conferences, but in 1900
they petitioned for permission to form a conference of their own. This
being granted, the Eastern Swedish Conference was organized April
24, 1901, at a meeting held in the Immanuel Church of Brooklyn, N. Y.
The conference was divided into the four districts of Brooklyn, New
York, Worcester and Boston, these embracing a membership of 3,642,
with 26 ministers, 28 pastorates, 28 churches and 10 parsonages, the
property being valued at $343.200.

PROGRESS

411

In Texas work was taken up among the Swedish people as early
as 1873. At first this was carried on under the direction of the
American Texas conference of the Southern M. E. Church, but in 1881
a Swedish district was formed, as a part of the Austin Conference of
the Northern M. E. Church. In 1903 this district had 10 ministers,

10 pastorates, 572 members, 13 churches and 9 parsonages, the property
being valued at $51,400.

The Swedish Methodist work in California dates from the early
seventies, but not until 1892 was a Swedish district formed. This
numbered in 1903 seven congregations, .with 342 members, and had 7
churches and 2 parsonages. The value of its church property was
$45,050.

In the summer of 1881 the Swedish Methodists extended their
endeavors to the states of Oregon and Washington, and in 1890 a
Swedish district was formed, embracing these two states and Idaho.
Its statistics in 1903 were as follows : 12 congregations, 395 members,

11 church buildings and 8 parsonages. The total value of the church
property was $39,935.

Eliminating the Jamestown, N. Y., district from the Central Con-
ference, its statistics will practically cover only the state of Illinois.
The strength of the Swedish Methodists in the state will then appear
from the following figures, compiled in 1907, covering the Chicago and
Galesburg districts : regularly ordained ministers, 47 ; churches, 49 ;
members, on probation, 383, in full connection, 5,222 ; church buildings,
49, the estimated value of which was $372.200 ; parsonages, 27 ; estimated
value. $102,000, making a total church property value of $474,000.

CHAPTER VII

The Swedish, Episcopal Church

The First Swedish Episcopal Clergyman in the United States

HE story of the founding of the Pine Lake settlement in
Wisconsin, the first Swedish colony in the Northwest, by
Gustaf Unonius, has been recounted in previous pages.
In the history of the Swedish- Americans this man is re-
markable also for being the first Swedish Episcopal
clergyman in this country and the organizer of the first Swedish church
of that denomination. This congregation was followed in later years
by others, in various parts of the country. Although these do not, like
those of the other Swedish denominations, have an organization of their
own, but are merely part of the respective American bishoprics, yet
they are not without influence on the religious development of the
Swedish-Americans. That influence increases in direct ratio to the in-
creasing number and size of the congregations, most of which up to the
present time are few and comparatively small.

Already during his pioneer days, Unonius, then a mere layman,
acted as pastor for the surrounding community. Every Sunday he
would conduct services in his rude dwelling, the order of service con-
sisting of the singing of hymns and reading of a sermon from some
postil brought over from the old country. These services gradually
attracted the neighbors throughout the settlement, even those living at
considerable distance, and in all their simplicity these hours of worship
grew to be spiritual feasts to the settlers. In the meantime the Episco-
pal Church had started a mission in the vicinity of the colony, where
its ministers, at the invitation of the settlers, would administer the
sacraments and perform other official acts. But since the English
language was still incomprehensible to most of the settlers, who con-
stantly required the services of Unonius as interpreter, they soon rec-
ognized the demand for a man who could officiate in their own language
and requested Unonius, in whom they had implicit confidence, to enter
the ministry. He hesitated at first, but finding himself gradually drawn
to the ministry and discovering his unfitness for the farmer's vocation,

UNONIUS SMITH

he finally gave way to their gentle persuasion and resolved to study for
the priesthood.

Of all the religious denominations with which the settlers had come
in contact up to this time, they considered the Epicopalian the nearest
approach to their own faith, both in the matter of creed and of polity.
They therefore urged Unonius to seek ordination in that church, and
he acceded to their wishes the more readily as he himself was convinced
of the superiority of the Episcopalian over other churches. Entering
the theological seminary just established by the Episcopalians at Nash-
ota, Wis., he was after three years of study ordained in 1845 by Bishop
Kemper and assigned as missionary to the Swedish and Norwegian
immigrants in Pine Lake and vicinity. According to his own state-
ment, Unonius was the first Episcopal clergyman ordained in Wis-
consin. He soon discovered that the ministry also had its drawbacks.
Things went fairly well so long as he was in the pay of the missionary
board, but when he endeavored to form an organized congregation
and asked its members to contribute regularly to the support of the
minister, he was met with the reply that "in this country the gospel
is free."

Under such circumstances the ministry became a hard and dis-
agreeable task, but undismayed he continued the work under great
privations until he became pastor of a newly organized American
church in Manitowoc, Wis., when his cares were somewhat lightened.

The First Scandinavian Church in Chicago

In the meantime, religious needs had begun to be felt among the
few Swedes of Chicago, but at least for a time, these needs were only
imperfectly supplied. As early as the fall of 1847, there appeared
among them a certain Gustaf Smith who claimed to be a Lutheran
minister but who seems to have been an adventurer and a mere im-
poster. Nevertheless, he succeeded in gaining the confidence both of his
own fellow countrymen and of the Norwegians of the city so as to be
able to organize a congregation. A lot was purchased at Superior
street, near La Salle avenue, on the spot where the Passavant Hospital
is now located, and a small church building was begun, whereupon
Smith, accompanied by one of the leading members of the church, went
to St. Louis to solicit money for the building fund among the German
Lutherans of that city. They succeeded well, bringing back no less
than $600. The resultant joy soon turned to sorrow and regret when
"Rev." Smith absconded with the greater part of the funds. About
the same time another misfortune befell the congregation in that the
still unfinished edifice was torn from its foundations by a storm and

414

THE EPISCOPALIANS

badly damaged. Worst of all, strife and dissension arose, which tore
the congregation itself to pieces.

Among the Norwegians of Chicago there were at this time several
intelligent Christian men who had not been duped by Smith and his
followers. These organized in the winter of 1848 the first Norwegian
Lutheran church in Chicago and called a student of their own nation-
ality, named Paul Andersen, as their pastor. The same year this con-
gregation purchased the half -ruined church belonging to Smith's con-
gregation and restored it to its foundation. The same church was sold
in 1854 to the Swedish Lutheran Immanuel Church organized the year
before and was used by them until 1869.

The aforesaid Smith afterward joined the Swedish Methodists and
operated for several years in Iowa. In 1852-53 he was in charge of
their church in New Sweden and in 1854 organized the churches of
Dayton and Stratford. Suspicious actions soon caused his expulsion.
He then joined the American Free Methodists and in his efforts to win
his former brethren of the Swedish church over to that sect, caused a
good deal of disaffection and disorder among the young Swedish Meth-
odist congregations of Iowa. He met with little success, however, and
when he was no longer able to support himself among his countrymen
in Iowa, he went still farther west where the tracks of the ' ' evangelist ' '
are lost.

Unonius and the EriK Janssonists

After these adversities, the Swedish members of the congregation
founded by Smith decided, on the advice of P. von Schneidau, to
call as their pastor his friend Unonius, whom they knew from his former
visits to Chicago. In the summer of 1848 he had visited the city and
conducted the first religious meeting in the Swedish language ever held
in Chicago. That meeting took place in a hall in a medical institute
on the north side and was attended by 30 to 40 persons.

On this occasion an episode took place which deserves to be record-
ed. A party of Erik Jassonists which had just arrived from Sweden
was stopping in Chicago awaiting the arrival of one of the apostles to
guide them on their way to Bishop Hill. In a few days the expected
apostle arrived, accompanied by five or six other men, bringing horses
and wagons. It was Anders Anderson from Thorstuna. Upon learn-
ing that Swedish religious meetings were held in the city, he went there
with some of his men. After the sermon, Unonius, knowing that there
were Erik Janssonists in the audience, attempted to direct a few words
of admonition to these deluded persons. Had he been aware of the
trouble the Erik Janssonists had made for the Swedish clergy for the
past four years, he would wisely have desisted from addressing them,

THE FIRST CHURCH

415

but as he had been in the United States since 1841, he had not been in
a position to follow the career of the sect. He was quickly made aware
of the utter uselessness of engaging in a discussion with these people,
infallible as they were in their own eyes. Hardly had he closed his
remarks when Anders Anderson arose and began to defend the doc-
trines of Erik Jansson. A long debate on the subject of dead and living
Christianity ensued between the two men, and Unonius was igpomin-
iously defeated in the tilt, his opponent Anderson being almost the equal
of Erik Jansson himself in the art of fencing with passages of Scripture
as weapons. With an inexhaustible supply of memorized scriptural
concordances and parallels, literally interpreted, these fanatics were
capable of proving with the words of the Bible any proposition what-
soever. As against this volubility and mass of evidence all the learning
and theological armament of Unonius availed nothing. Although An-
derson worsted his opponent in argument, yet it does not appear that
he made a single proselyte among the Swedes of Chicago, who were
pretty well acquainted with the Erik Jansson movement.

Founding' of the First Swedish Episcopal ChurcK

"Rev." Smith's congregation seems to have been altogether too
loosely organized to hang together for any length of time without re-
organization. Besides, it appears to have lacked all connection with
the Lutheran Church in general. One thing and another tended toward
disintegration, and the Swedish members, at the instance of Von
Schneidau and with the advice of Unonius, undertook to organize
an Episcopal congregation. The original purpose was to make it all
Swedish, but the Swedes being few and the Norwegian members of the
church preferring to make common cause with them in church matters,
it was decided to make it Scandinavian. A committee, known as the
church committee, was appointed to draw up a constitution. This com-
mittee, consisting of Von Schneidau, Anders Larsson. Pehr Ersson and
J. Fr. Bjorkman, Swedes, and And. B. Jonsen, Battolf Markusen, and
Knut Gundersen, Norwegians, met at the home of Von Schneidau March
5, 1849. The name proposed was the St. Eric and St. Olaf Church, to
indicate its Scandinavian character and to do honor to the patron saints
of the countries of Sweden and Norway.

The congregation at first held its services in the basement of the
American Episcopal Church of St. James where the organization was
completed in May, 1849. For reasons unknown the proposed name was
not adopted, the church being named St. Ansgarius, from the first
Christian missionary in Sweden. The constitution was now adopted
and signed by 34 voting members, the Swedes and Norwegians being
about equally divided. Rev. Unonius was present and his name and

416

THE EPISCOPALIANS

that of his wife head the list as it appears in the earliest church records.
The first trustees were, Polycarpus von Schneidau, W. Knudsen, Battolf
Markusen, Anders Jonsen, Anders Larsson, John Bjorkman, A. S.
Sheldon and John Andersson.

Immediately on his removal to Chicago, Rev. Unonius undertook
the laborious task of gathering funds for a church building. Accom-
panied by his faithful friend Von Schneidau, he made a trip to
Delaware and Pennsylvania to visit the descendants of the Delaware
Swedes and among these people he succeeded in soliciting for his church
fund a sum amounting to between $4,000 and $5,000. Early in the

Rev. Gustaf Unonius

spring of 1850 two building lots, located at the corner of Franklin and
Indiana streets, were purchased for the sum of $400. The work of
building was at once begun and progressed nicely so long as the funds
lasted. These, however, soon were exhausted and again Unonius and
Von Schneidau were obliged to begin soliciting. At this juncture Jenny
Lind, the great Swedish singer, visited New York city, and Unonius
succeeded in persuading the prima donna to donate the sum of $1,500
to his church building fund. After her departure in 1851, she added to
her munificence by donating, through one Max Hjortsberg of Chicago,
an altar service consisting of a beautifully worked communion cup and
plate, valued at $1,000. For the funds now available a handsome and

THE FIRST CHURCH 4! 7

commodious church and a comfortable parsonage were built. The
church was a frame edifice, provided with a semi-circular gallery, and
had a total seating capacity of 300. Its dimensions were 33x50 feet.
The parsonage was a two story frame house.

Unonius as a Pastor

For nine years Rev. Unonius carried on an energetic and richly
blessed pastoral work combined with tireless endeavor in behalf of the
needy. At this time the Swedish people of Chicago lived under con-
ditions entirely different from those of today. They were few in number
and generally poor, unable to give any material aid to other poor im-
migrants who followed. The latter, therefore, in the first place turned
to the Swedish minister for assistance, demanding not only that he act
as their spiritual adviser and teacher but also as their commissioner,
assistant and adviser in all worldly matters. Unonius, who warmly
sympathized with the poor, and mostly sick, Swedish immigrants, never
spared himself, but was at their service at all times, so far as his
strength and ability would permit. The cholera, which broke out
epidemically almost every year, caused him much work and anxiety.
The hardest part of his task was how to procure homes and foster-
parents for all the children of immigrants who lost one or both parents
in the epidemic.

After only four years of labor for the temporal and spiritual wel-
fare of his countrymen, this warm-hearted philanthropist was so broken
down by over-exertion that he was compelled in 1853 to seek rest and
recreation in a trip to Sweden. He returned just in time to resume with
renewed strength the arduous and self-sacrificing duties imposed by the
terrible cholera outbreak of 1854 among the Swedish newcomers.

The membership of his church continually changed. In 1850, his
second year, the congregation numbered 163, the following year it grew
to 195, in 1855 it dropped down to 117, but in 1857 it had again in-
creased to 142. In 1856 the little church was so prosperous as to be able
to purchase an organ costing $700.

Notwithstanding his many duties at home, Unonius found time to
pay occasional visits to neighboring places to serve his fellow country-
men by preaching and officiating at various religious acts. During his
very first year in Chicago, he made an official trip westward, visiting
almost every point where Swedes had settled. The main reasons why
he did not afterward attempt to organize Swedish Episcopal congrega-
tions at these various places are the following : In the first place there
was not sufficient material at hand at these points to found churches, in
the second, he was the only Swedish Episcopal pastor in the whole
country and had his hands more than full of work right in his home

Communion Chalice and Paten of solid silver, presented by Jenny Lind to

the St. Ansgarius Church, bearing the inscription, "Gifvet till den

Skandinaviska Kyrkan St. Ansgarius i Chicago af en

Landsmaninna A. D. 1851."

THE FIRST CHURCH

419

field, and in the third place, after a few years the religious needs of the
immigrants began to be provided for by the Swedish Lutheran clergy-
men who organized congregations wherever an opportunity offered.
Had the American Episcopal Church, from the very encouraging be-
ginning made by Unonius, displayed a warmer interest in mission work
among the Swedish settlers it might then have obtained that foothold
among them which it has, with partial success, sought to gain in later
years. It must be admitted, however, that Unonius did his part in serv-

St. Ansgarius Episcopal Church and Rectory

ing his fellow countrymen who at that time, if ever, were in need of
spiritual advice and comfort as well as material help. The exceptional
zeal and unselfish efforts of Unonius in behalf of the early settlers
entitle him to an honored place in the history of the Swedes of America.
At the time of his visit to Sweden in 1853, Unonius harbored the
desire to remain in the old country and enter the service of the state
church, but his duties called him back to Chicago. For several years
more he labored here with his customary energy. His work was still
further increased by his appointment to the office of vice consul for
Sweden and Norway to succeed Von Schneidau who, after a few years
of service, was compelled to retire on account of an incurable disease.
Finally, in the year 1858, Unonius was able to realize his desire to
return to Sweden.

420

THE EPISCOPALIANS

He there sought admission as minister to the state church, but
encountering various obstacles, he was forced to choose another calling
in order to earn a living for himself and family. He entered the cus-
toms service and in 1863 was promoted to the position of collector of
the port of Grisslehamn, an office which he held until 1888. Both before
and after his retirement from the customs service Unonius would en-
gage in pastoral work whenever called upon, and he retained to his old
age the ecclesiastical office in the Anglican Church.

In 1859, the year after his return to Sweden, the riksdag voted him
a gift of three thousand crowns in recognition of his long and useful
service in behalf of his fellow countrymen in the United States.

Rev. Jacob Bredberg

During his last years Unonius was living at Hacksta, in the pro-
vince of Upland, a country seat placed at his disposal by his son-in-law,
Hugo Tamm, a landed proprietor and member of the riksdag. There he
died October 14, 1902, at the high age of 92 years.

Alongside of his official duties, Unonius devoted himself quite ex-
tensively to literary pursuits. His best known works, both in Swedish,
are: "Mormonism, its Origin, Development and Creed," published in
1883, and "Reminiscences of Seventeen Years in the American North-
west," published in 1861-2. At the age of 86, he added a supplement
to the latter volume.

ST. ANSGARIUS CHURCH

421

The St. Ansg'arius Church

After the return of Unonius to Sweden the St. Ansgarius Church
for several years had to pass through many hard struggles. No Swedish
pastor was to be had, and it was for a time served by American Episco-
pal clergymen. During this period it was known as the St. Barnabe's
Mission, and its membership seems to have been very small.

This stagnation period lasted until 1862 when Rev. Jacob Bredberg,
a former curate from Sweden, who for several years had been in the
service of the Methodist Church, assumed the pastorate. Its member-
ship was very materially reduced that same year by the withdrawal of
the Norwegian members, but it rallied from the stroke and added quite

Rev. John Hedman

Rev. Herman Lindskog

a number of new members during the many years that Rev. Bredberg
was in charge. In 1868 the church was extensively remodeled and en-
larged at an outlay almost equal to the original cost of the edifice. The
renovated temple had not been long in use when it was destroyed in the
great fire of 1871. Three of the trustees, Schonbeck, Norstrom and
Lind, succeeded in saving the altar-piece, painted in 1868 by the Nor-
wegian artist Clason, and also the church records, which were taken to
the cathedral of the Episcopal bishopric of Illinois, located on the west
side, and there placed in safe keeping. The communion service donated
by Jenny Lind was kept in the safe of one of the church members who
saved it from destruction, and it is used at the communion services of
the church to this day.

Before the end of the disastrous year of 1871 the congregation had
begun to erect a new church which was ready for occupancy on Christ-

422

THE EPISCOPALIANS

mas morning, 1872. This was the same church that is still used by the
St. Ansgarius congregation. It is situated on Sedgwick street and is built
in the Gothic style, its cost being approximately $30,000. To that sum
the Illinois bishopric of the American Episcopal Church contributed
$20,000. Adjacent to the church a spacious parsonage was erected.

Old age and resultant illness in 1877 compelled Rev. Bredberg to
resign. His successor was Nils Nordeen who was replaced by P. Arvid-
son the following year. Arvidson was succeeded by John Hedman in
the fall of 1879. Rev. Hedman was a native of Krokstad parish, in
Bohuslan, where he was born June 25, 1848. He studied in Sweden and
Germany before coming to America in 1873, and in 1877 he entered the
Episcopal institution of Seabury Hall, at Faribault, Minn., where he
finished his theological course in June, 1879. The following September
he was ordained in the St. Ansgarius Church to which he was assigned
as assistant pastor. In May, 1880, Hedman was unanimously elected
rector and served in this capacity until 1887.

From that year the rectorate of the St. Ansgarius Church has been
entrusted to Rev. Herman Lindskog whose biography appears else-
where in this volume.

There are three other Swedish Episcopal congregations in this
state, but these are of quite recent date. The largest doubtless is that
of Galesburg; next in point of size comes the Immanuel Church of
Englewood. The third in order is the Woodhull church which during
the last few years has shown but faint signs of life.

The Swedish Episcopal churches in the eastern states are not the
fruits of the fundamental work accomplished in Illinois and Wisconsin
and therefore cannot properly be mentioned under this head.

CHAPTER VIII

The Swedish Lutheran Church

Lars Paul Esbjorn, Founder and Pioneer

HE Swedish Methodists had already organized two con-
gregations and the Swedish Episcopalians one, when the
first Swedish Lutheran clergyman began religious work
in Illinois in a modest and unassuming way. It did
not take many years, however, until the Lutherans
had outdistanced both the Methodists and the Baptists, who soon ap-
peared in the field. Born and raised as members of the state church of
Sweden, a large part of the Swedish immigrants eagerly embraced the
opportunity to group themselves into congregations around former
ministers of that same church who, out of interest in the spiritual wel-
fare of their fellow countrymen in the West, had sought them out to
preach to them the word of God and administer the sacraments. Its
many faults notwithstanding, the Swedish state church was still dear
to the hearts of serious-minded persons among them, and they were
all the more willing to adhere to the faith defended by the blood of
their fathers since they could here organize their congregations in-
dependently of the government and without any form of state super-
vision. The innate force of the Lutheran Church here, as earlier among
the German Lutherans in the East, got an opportunity to develop under
the benign influence of untrammeled religious freedom, and the result
has been wonderful indeed. In a very short time Swedish Lutheran
churches were organized not only in various parts of the state of Illi-
nois but also in the adjoining states of Iowa and Indiana. This was
the comparatively small beginning of the large and powerful Swedish
Lutheran Church of America, known as the Augustana Synod, which,
in little more than half a century, has extended its work and influence
over a large part of the United States, over parts of Canada and to
Alaska and Porto Rico.

The first Swedish Lutheran minister in Illinois was Lars Paul
Esbjorn. With the exception of Peter Wilhelm Bockman, in Wiscon-

424 TH E LUTHERANS

sin, and Carl Peter Agrelius, in New York, both of whom were failures
as such, Esbjorn was also the first Swedish Lutheran preacher in
America in modern times. He may properly be styled the father of the
Swedish Lutheran Church in this country. He not only founded the
Augustana Synod, but also began the Swedish educational work in the
United States. As a pioneer and founder, Esbjorn 'for all time will
hold first place in the annals of Swedish- American Lutheranism.

Lars Paul Esbjorn was born in Delsbo parish, in Helsingland, Oct.
16, 1808. His parents were Esbjorn Paulson, a country tailor, and
Karin Lindstrom, his wife. When the boy was five years old his mother
died, and two years afterward he lost his father. An old maid-servant
named Stina took the motherless boy in charge before the death of his
father and was a tender foster-mother to him until he reached his
twelfth year. It was she who taught him to read, and after she dis-
covered the boy's aptness in his studies, she did not rest until she had
him entered, in the fall of 1820, in a school in the city of Hudiksvall.
Like all other poor boys, he suffered great privations in trying to get
an education. Being a boy of weak constitution, want had a telling
effect on him, yet he proved a diligent and hard-working pupil, who
stood high in the estimation of his teachers. With good scholarship
marks he entered the gymnasium at Gefle in 1825, and there took up
astronomy, higher mathematics and navigation alongside of his pre-
scribed studies. Having taken notice of his predilection for mathe-
matics, his guardian advised him to join the topographical engineering
corps of the army in order to raise funds for continued study, but Lars
Paul was fixed in his resolve to become a minister, and nothing could
swerve him. He had inherited three hundred crowns from his parents,
but that sum did not go far. His noble-hearted foster-mother, however,
exerted herself to the utmost to provide the necessary means and his
home parish gave him assistance in the same way that Luther was
helped when a boy. He was accustomed at Christmas time to make a
round of the well-to-do farmers, singing a stanza or two of some hymn
at every house, and received in compensation various gifts, according
to the circumstances of the giver, ranging from money and grain down
to dried meat and tallow candles.

At midsummer, 1828, aged nineteen, Esbjorn passed examination
for admission to the University of Upsala and was enrolled as a theolog-
ical student of the university. After completing a four-year course
in theology, he was ordained minister June 11, 1832, probably in the
Upsala Cathedral by Archbishop Carl von Rosenstein, and became
assistant pastor in Oster-Vahla parish, in Upland, where he served for
three years. Subsequently he was chosen pastor for the Oslattfors

L. P. ESBJORN 425

factory and also school-teacher in Hille, Gestrikland, filling both posi-
tions for fourteen years.

During this time he was perceptibly influenced by Rev. George
Scott, the English Methodist preacher at Stockholm, not, however, in a
sectarian sense, but in the direction of deepening his religious convic-
tions. From this time on Esbjorn was a strict and earnest pietist of the
old school, and he became known as a zealous " lasareprest " (revival--
ist preacher), while still a strict conformist to the church. The earnest

Rev. Lars Paul Esbjorn

and gifted young pastor early devoted himself to literary work, partly
original, partly translations and revisions of older religious books and
tracts. In the early forties, when the great temperance agitation
stirred the country, Esbjorn became one of the foremost temperance
advocates in northern Sweden, contributing by speaking, writing and
forming temperance societies toward that change of public sentiment
which ultimately made it possible for the lawmaking power to stop the

426 THE LITHERANvS

private distillery system and thereby stem the flood-tide of drunK
enness.

Actuated by his great enthusiasm in behalf of temperance, Esbjorn
at times probably went too far, for instance in forcibly depriving far-
mers whom he met in the road of the whiskey kegs they were bringing
home. But even where he acted with the utmost caution he did not
escape bitter persecution, for the dram was dear to the hearts of the
people and whiskey was a power in the land. His enemies sought in
every way to make trouble for him, and even went so far as to threaten
his life. One night when Esbjorn attended a religious meeting, sev-
eral men lay in ambush for him under a bridge he was expected to
cross, evidently for the purpose of beating or killing him. Luckily for
him, the meeting lasted so long that the ruffians got tired of waiting
and went home, thinking that their man had been forewarned and had
taken another route.

As a consequence of his stern piety and strict ideas on temperance,
Esbjorn aroused much opposition among the clergy of the archbishop-
ric, who did everything to prevent his obtaining a rectorate. Having
passed the pastoral examination in 1839, he was nominated for that
office in several places, such as Regnsjo, Soderhamn and Loos, but in
every instance he was bitterly opposed by the whiskey interests. In
the last-named place it is claimed he received a majority of the votes,
but was deprived of the position by trickery.

No wonder, then, that this energetic and profoundly earnest min-
ister of the gospel wearied of the ungrateful treatment accorded him
at home and began to look about for another field. He had no difficul-
ty in finding one. The emigration of the first party of Erik Jansson's
followers to America in 1846 had directed the attention of all
Sweden to the great western land of promise. In the years next follow-
ing one large party of emigrants after another had embarked for
America. Esbjorn could not have failed to notice this movement, for
it was in his own native district that Erik Jansson obtained his prin-
cipal following and whence the sect gradually emigrated in larger or
smaller parties, which were soon followed by others of their country-
men who longed for America for economic reasons equally as urgent
as were the religious considerations of the Erik Janssonists. The latter
class of emigrants, who were still devoted to the creed and doctrine of
the Swedish Lutheran Church, in letters to their friends and relatives
at home complained bitterly of their religious needs, their situation
being all the graver as they were surrounded on all sides, not only by
the Erik Janssonists and the Swedish Methodists but by all sorts of
American religious sects with which they did not wish to affiliate, and

L. P. ESBJORN 427

in this predicament they did not have one single Lutheran pastor to
minister to their spiritual wants.

Realizing the pressing needs of these people, Rev. Esbjorn decided
to emigrate and become their pastor. The question of earning a liveli-
hood from the start caused him a great deal of worry. His knowledge
of Methodism, gained from Rev. Scott of Stockholm, had given him a
high opinion of the unselfish motives of that church, and he seems to
have had assurance that the same church in America would be found
equally unselfish, relying on it to render some aid in his work as a
Lutheran pastor. A correspondence appears to have been carried on
between him and Rev. Jonas Hedstrom of Victoria on this subj-ect,
Hedstrom being known to him through letters from emigrants. But
this did not lead to any direct results, wherefore Esbjorn turned to the
Swedish Mission Society with a petition for official recognition and
financial aid from that source. He received both, the financial aid,
however, being quite insufficient.

After having received leave of absence to engage in clerical work
in foreign territory, Esbjorn, accompanied by 140 emigrants from the
provinces of Gestrikland and Helsin gland, embarked June 29, 1849, on
the sailing vessel "Cobden," bound from Gefle for New York. The
voyage, besides being fraught with difficulty and peril, craved the life
of one of Esbjorn 's children, and the body was interred in Helsingborg,
where the vessel touched. This was but the first of a series of sorrows
and reverses that were to follow. The party arrived at New York in
the latter part of August or early in September, with the intention of
proceeding to Victoria, 111. Their plan was frustrated, however, for
when Esbjorn met Rev. O. G. Hedstrom in New York he was informed
that the American Methodists would give him no aid as a Lutheran
minister, but only on condition that he join the Methodist Church.
This Esbjorn would by no means consent to do. In his predicament he
turned to the headquarters of the American Board of Home Missions
in New York with an inquiry whether they would for a time support
him in his work among the Lutherans. Having apparently received a
favorable reply, he had no further reason to look up Rev. Jonas Hed-
strom in Victoria, but began to make inquiries for some other western
settlement where he might take up missionary work. He did not have
to look long for just such an opportunity. While in New York, he had
the fortune to meet the aforementioned Captain P. W. Wirstrom, who
for a short time had been living in the new Swedish settlement at
Andover, in Henry county. Wirstrom seems to have been the agent of
the land company in New York that founded Andover, and it was no
doubt through his influence that this company promised Esbjorn ten
acres of land for a church on condition that he and his party would

428 THE LUTHERANS

settle there. After careful consideration, Esbjorn resolved to go to
Andover to stay.

With Captain Wirstrom as guide and adviser, the party now
started on their tedious journey westward. They traveled by canal-
boat to Buffalo and thence by steamer to Chicago. Shortly after
having passed Detroit, another of Esbjorn's children died and was
buried in a very primitive coffin in a sandbank on the shores of Lake
St. Clair. Rev. Esbjorn himself took sick with the cholera and was
compelled to stop in Chicago with his family, only two of his sons going
with the rest of the party to Andover. Three weeks later, when
Esbjorn arrived there he discovered to his great sorrow that the alert
Jonas Hedstrom had already been there and succeeded in persuading
most of the newcomers to leave Andover and come with him to Victoria.
Before, this same Hedstrom had recommended Andover as a suitable
place of settlement for the Swedes, but now that he had learned of
Esbjorn's unwillingness to become a Methodist he changed his tone,
disparaging the place and doing everything to induce his countrymen
to move away.

In Andover Esbjorn had to contend with all the customary trials
and reverses of pioneer life, such as sickness, poor shelter and lack of
suitable food. He succeeded in renting for himself and family a couple
of small, stuffy rooms in the attic of Captain Mix's place, a farmhouse
situated just outside of the little village, and now owned by the widow
Anna Lovisa Gustafsson from Ostergotland. The first Sunday Esbjorn
preached in Andover, the Francis schoolhouse serving as the meeting-
place, he was still so weak that he had to speak seated in a chair. He
spoke with intense feeling, taking the words, "In my weakness I am
strong," as the text for his introductory remarks. During the ensuing
winter, Esbjorn occupied the crowded and uncomfortable quarters
aforesaid, but in the meantime he purchased a little farm of ten acres,
with primitive buildings, situated south of the timber, down toward
Edwards Creek, and moved there in the Spring of 1850.

The Swedish Lutheran Church at Andover

In his work as Swedish Lutheran pastor at Andover, Esbjorn from
the very start met with bitter opposition from Jonas Hedstrom, the
Swedish Methodist pastor, who naturally was desirous of retaining the
advantage he enjoyed on account of his long term of service in this
vicinity. Nor did he miss a single opportunity to poison the minds of
the settlers against Esbjorn and his work. In conversations held with
individual members of his flock he would make the assertion that the
Lutheran Church was spiritually dead; that it was the Babylonian
harlot, which every one must shun who would be saved; that the new

THE ANDOVER CHURCH 429

Swedish pastor had come to put the free settlers under the bonds of the
Swedish state church; that there were no Lutheran congregations in
America; that the Methodists were the true Lutherans, etc. Clearly,
these and similar utterances from a man who had gained the confi-
dence of the settlers in both wordly and spiritual matters would gain
credence among them to a certain extent and hurt Esbjorn in his work.
Hedstrom had the advantage of being backed by the American Meth-
dist Church, from which he received a salary, small as it was, while
there was no Lutheran congregation, conference or synod of any kind
in this part of the country from which Esbjorn could get aid and ad-
vice. He stood entirely alone, and was thrown on his own resources
both as to the methods and the means by which to prosecute the work.
In this isolated and difficult position, Esbjorn was obliged to turn
to the Illinois branch of the Congregational American Board of Home
Missions, at Galesburg, with a request to be taken care of and to get the
recommendation of the mission board for aid from its funds. This was
in December, 1849. His request was given favorable consideration, and
after Esbjorn had personally met with the board, explaining his relig-
ious tenets and showing his credentials, the Central Association for its
part granted the petition on the following conditions : that Esbjorn, as
a member of the association, was to be responsible to that body ; that he
was to work as a Lutheran pastor, preaching and administering the
sacraments, and that his assigned field was Andover and Galesburg,
where respectively 180 and 100 Swedes already had settled. It is es-
pecially worthy of notice that the association did not impose the con-
dition that Esbjorn should join the Congregational Church, but that he
was permitted to continue a Lutheran pastor. An appropriation of
$300 was recommended by the association and referred to the mission
board in New York which in turn granted the request of Esbjorn. In
its letter, dated Jan. 14, 1850, the board stipulates that Esbjorn be
appointed to preach the gospel to the Swedish people in Galesburg,
Andover and surrounding country for a term of twelve months, under
the direction of the Mission Board of the Central Association. The
Swedish people in this district were expected to contribute $100 to his
support, making a total salary of $400 for the year. He was- directed to
make a report of his work at the end of each quarter. This appoint-
ment was accompanied by a personal letter from Dr. Milton Badger,
corresponding secretary of the board of missions, with instructions id
Rev. Esbjorn not to admit as members of any congregation persons
unable to give evidence of the new birth nor permit such to participate
in the Lord's Supper. In his communication Dr. Badger criticises the
German Lutherans for admitting members to their congregations by
confirmation.

430 THE LUTHERANS

On the ocean voyage and on the journey inland Rev. Esbjorn had
preached twice every Sunday to his fellow passengers and daily con-
ducted morning and evening prayers accompanied by brief biblical
expositions. This practice he continued after the arrival at Andover,
and soon extended his ministerial work to Galesburg, Berlin (Swedona)
and Rock Island. At the end of February, 1850, he reported to the
aforesaid mission board in New York that he had preached every other
Sunday at Andover and Galesburg, respectively, usually twice at each
place, conducted evening prayers and Bible exegeses in the private
homes, visited the families and the sick, held monthly mission meetings
and temperance lectures and circulated religious tracts. From this it
appears that from the very outset Esbjorn entered upon his duties with
great zeal. In this same report he says that the people in Galesburg
had begun to build a Swedish Lutheran meeting-house, toward which
$550 already had been subscribed. He expressed the hope that a similar
edifice would soon be erected in Andover. He complained, however,
about the poverty which was general among his countrymen, causing
them so great worry over the question of earning a living that their
minds were not sufficiently open to the truth of the gospel ; also of the
general exodus to California of goldseekers, a movement creating such
a stir among the people that they found no time to think about the
salvation of their souls. Another cause for complaint was the open
avowal of Rev. Jonas Hedstrom of his purpose to convert all the
Swedes to Methodism and bring them into his congregation. Further-
more, former Erik Janssonists living in Galesburg were giving him
much trouble by their self-righteousness and spiritual pride.

In the first part of March of the same year Esbjorn could report
that the number of persons attending the public services were, at An-
dover about 70, at Galesburg 80, at Rock Island 30, at Berlin 12, of
whom 12 to 15 could be regarded as true Christians ; that a temperance
society with 43 members had been organized in Andover, and that the
proposed Swedish church in Galesburg was in course of erection.

These reports show the actual condition among the people about
the time that Esbjorn, on the 18th of March, 1850, in the house of
Widow Anna Lovisa Gustafsson, organized the Swedish Lutheran
Church of Andover, the first of its kind since the time of the Delaware
Swedes. The first members were only ten in number, viz.. Rev. Esbjorn
and his wife, Jan Andersson, Mats Ersson, O. Nordin, Sam. Jans-
son, And. Pet. Larsson, Mrs. Jansson, "Christina at Knapp's" and
Stina Hellgren. The small number shows how anxious Esbjorn was to
follow out his instructions with respect to church membership. But on
the 23rd of the same month there was an addition of 30 to 40 members.
Among these were Captain Wirstrom and his wife, also Eric Ulric

THE ANDOVER CHURCH

431

Norberg, known for his prominence in the schisms of the Bishop Hill
Colony. In the beginning of December the church numbered 46 mem-
bers and its meetings were attended by an average of 50 to 60 persons.
Sunday schools were organized both in Andover and Galesburg
simultaneously with the churches.

At first the meetings were held in Esbjorn 's home, south of the
timber, where the audiences were accommodated in two or three rooms
provided with chairs and improvised benches, or else in the Francis
schoolhouse. Occasionally, prayer meetings were conducted at the
house of Mrs. Gustafsson, known as Captain Mix's place. These peo-
ple were actuated by a certain degree of religious zeal, a kind of imita-
tion of the enthusiasm of the Methodists. The order of service con-
formed in the main to that of the Swedish state church, and Kev. Es-
bjorn retained the ministerial garb of that church. The prayer meetings
were frequently attended by Methodists, but the spiritual arrogance
displayed by them made their appearance rather disagreeable to
Esbjorn. His dependence on the American Congregationalists as well as
the fact that he was surrounded by Methodists who lost no opportunity
to decry everything that savored of the Swedish state church, caused
Esbjorn gradually to accommodate himself to the Reformed order of
service to the extent of discarding for a time certain portions of the
Swedish church ritual as well .as the use of the Pericopes. Not until
the e"arly sixties, after the Swedish Lutherans had become an independ-
ent church, did Esbjorn resume the position he held at the time of
his arrival, that of a strict conformist to the practices as well as the
doctrines of the Swedish church. His departure from those practices
under the circumstances should not be too severely judged. It was the
result more of necessity than of inclination. He was never a noisy
revivalist, his religious convictions and Christian experiences being
deeper and more temperate than those of his puritanical American
associates.

Despite opposition, the little congregation at Andover steadily
grew and soon the question of a church building arose. The members
were all poor settlers, unable to defray the cost without outside aid.
Consequently, Rev. Esbjorn, according to the common" custom, was
obliged to start out on a soliciting tour. In April, 1851, he left on a
trip through Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts. Dur-
ing the eleven weeks he was out he succeeded in raising not less than
$2.200, of which sum Jenny Lind, the renowned Swedish singer, con-
tributed $1,500. Upon his return home in July, he at once began pre-
parations for building. All the members of the church, men and
women, were set to work making brick, and the foundation was laid
for a structure 45 feet long and 30 feet wide, with basement designed

432

THE LUTHERANS

for school room and sacristy. It was hoped to get the basement ready
by Christmas, but rainy weather prevailing during the summer and
fall interfered with this plan. The brick was spoiled by the rain and
the sawmills in Andover were damaged by floods, whereby the con-
gregation was compelled to go elsewhere for its building material, pay-

ing a high price for it, besides having to haul it a distance of thirty
miles. Cold weather soon put a stop to the work, but not until the
basement had been so nearly finished that services could be held there
during the ensuing winter. The basement was still unplastered and
only partly under roof, no floor having been laid above and a large
opening having been left for the tower.

The next summer work was resumed but under still more unfavor-

THE ANDOVER CHURCH

433

able conditions. The corn crop failed, no work was to be had, and, to
add to the misery of the settlers, a terrible cholera epidemic broke out
in the community, making such inroads among the settlers that much of
the lumber bought for the church had to be used for coffins for the
victims of the scourge.

On Advent Sunday, Dec. 3, 1854, after more than three years of
work and sacrifice, the congregation finally dedicated its church edi-
fice, now almost finished. This was a day of great rejoicing, praise
and thanksgiving being offered by grateful hearts to the Highest. The
church, which seated 300 persons and could accommodate a larger num-
ber in an emergency, was considered a great structure for the times,
although quite insignificant as compared with the large, handsome
Swedish- American churches of our day. It was not built according to
any particular style of church architecture, the congregation being
contented just so they had a house of worship of some kind. The
church was in the form of a long rectangle. The basement was like a
dark cave; but was nevertheless used to house newcomers, many of
whom died there of the cholera. The pulpit, placed at the middle
of one end of the building, and surrounded by a semi-circular altar
railing, resembled an old-fashioned Swedish scullery. The upper part
of the pulpit, not much larger than a salt barrel cut in half lengthwise,
stood crowded back against the wall.

This old church still stands, and, having been recently remodeled,
now serves as schoolhouse and meeting hall for the young people's
society. When it was proposed several years ago to tear down the old
landmark the women pioneers still living arose in protest, calling atten-
tion to the part played by them in its construction, and thus the old
relic was spared. In front of the church lies the old churchyard where
rest so many of the Swedes of Andover.

Up to the autumn of 1852, Esbjorn was the only Swedish Lutheran
minister in Illinois. He was then in charge of a pastorate extending
about fifty miles from end to end, including Andover, Galesburg, Knox-
ville, Henderson, Moline and Rock Island. He spent a great deal of
time traveling between these points. Roads were bad and bridges few,
and traveling in all kinds of weather and under contingent difficulties
had a bad effect on his health. In the fall of that year he received well-
needed assistance in the work when T. N. Hasselquist arrived from
Sweden and took charge of the Galesburg field and a lay preacher
named C. J. Valentin was stationed in Moline and Rock Island. There-
by Esbjorn 's field was practically limited to Andover and vicinity. But
the Andover congregation even then was scattered far and wide over
the prairies, including, as it did, Berlin (Swedona), La Grange (Orion),
and Hickory Grove (Ophiem), or, in short, all the Swedish Lutheran

434

THE LUTHERANS

settlers in the neighborhood of Andover. Berlin and La Grange soon
were made separate charges and subsequently independent congrega-
tions. In the fall of 1853 the church numbered 210 communicant mem-
bers, who contributed a total of $80 to the salary of the pastor.

Rev. Esbjorn and his parishioners at the outset had many bitter
feuds with the Methodists led by Rev. Hedstrom, and several other
religious groups. Ere long, however, the Lutherans and Methodists
had to stop fighting between themselves and turn toward their com-
mon opponents and competitors, the Baptists, who in the summer of
1852 commenced operations, led by Gustaf Palmquist, a former school-
master, who had come over the year before and at first served as
Lutheran preacher in Galesburg. Palmquist made a few converts among
the Lutherans, but the principal harvest was reaped among the Meth-
odists. Although the hotbed of the Baptist movement was at first
Galesburg and afterward Rock Island, the Andover congregation did
not entirely escape being influenced. But Rev. Esbjorn proved to be
a wide-awake shepherd who successfully thwarted the efforts made to
scatter his little flock.

After a series of hot encounters with Methodists and Baptists,
from which the Lutheran pastor and his flock seem to have emerged
with a deepened sense of the worth of the evangelical Lutheran con-
fession, the congregation grew both in numbers and in inward stability.
The order of service and ecclesiastical practices of the old country were
more fully adhered to, while greater importance was attached to sound-
ness in spiritual life. Peace having eventually been restored in the
church, renewed disturbances occurred when one B. G. P. Bergenlund,
in the summer of 1855, after having been appointed assistant pastor
and school teacher, began to cast aspersions on Rev. Esbjorn and his
work, at the same time giving offense and scandalizing the church by
conduct unbecoming a pastor and a Christian. Bergenlund, apparently
a native of Ignaberga, in the province of Skane, and a man of educa-
tion, had come to this country in January, 1853, stopping in Jamestown,
N. Y. There and in Sugar Grove, Pa., he began preaching to his fellow
countrymen and in the fall of the same year came to Illinois at the
suggestion of Rev. Hasselquist. Having passed examination, he was
licensed by the Synod of Northern Illinois as a regular preacher, where-
upon he returned to Jamestown and Sugar Grove. By his unseemly
behavior he spoiled his reputation in less than a year and was forced to
leave. In May, 1855, he appeared in Moline, where he took ministerial
charge of the Swedish Lutheran congregation without notifying
Esbjorn. When the congregation showed a disinclination to receive him,
he left for Andover where he insinuated himself into the confidence and
friendship of the people by going from house to house. In this manner

THE ANDOVER CHURCH

435

Esbjorn had forced upon him an assistant whom he had not asked for
and did not want, but whose functions he endeavored to restrict by
means of written instructions. Bergenlund, who had so little regard
for the proprieties that he would preach high mass in highly inappro-
priate dress, including heavy gloves, nevertheless gained a firm foot-
hold in the community and soon began to act in total disregard of his
written instructions. At the annual meeting of the Synod of Northern
Illinois in 1855, Esbjorn was appointed traveling solicitor of funds for
a Scandinavian professorship at the Illinois University at Springfield,
the theological school of that synod. From the "early part of the year
1856, when Esbjorn engaged in that work, Bergenlund had free hands.
Tiring of the arrogant and arbitrary actions of this man, Esbjorn after
a couple of months resigned his pastorate. In March he was seriously
considering a removal to the new Swedish settlement of Stockholm,
now Lake Pepin, Wis., but later in the spring he received a call from
the Swedish Lutheran Church in Princeton, 111., which he accepted, re-
moving there in August. Bergenlund continued operations in Andover,
but before the end of the year the parishioners had their eyes opened
to the eccentricities of their pastor and resolved to call Rev. M. F.
Hokanson, of New Sweden, Iowa. Bergenlund still had a small party
back of him, which made it possible for him to hold on for a short time,
but he had lost confidence generally. In the summer of 1857, he was
compelled to leave Andover and the next fall the Synod of Northern
Illinois refused to renew his preacher's license. After drifting about
from place to place, mostly in Minnesota, he came back in 1860, after
the Scandinavian Lutherans had separated from the Synod of Northern
Illinois and formed the Augustana Synod. He was then re-admitted
into the Synod of Northern Illinois and ordained minister. He now
began to make vehement attacks on the Augustana Synod, but more
particularly on Esbjorn. After a few years he returned to Sweden
where he succeeded in gaining admittance to the state church and
obtain a charge in the bishopric of Goteborg, where still perserving
in his erratic ways he gave old Bishop Bjork a great deal of annoyance.
The Andover church, having been disappointed in Bergenlund,
called as its pastor Rev. P. Petersson of the bishopric of Vexio, Sweden,
who promised to accept, but was unable to keep his promise. After
having been served temporarily by Rev. 0. C. T. Andren of Moline,
the church in the spring of 1858 issued a call to Rev. Jonas Swensson
of Sugar Grove, Pa., who had arrived from Sweden two years before.
After due consideration, he accepted the call and removed to his new
field in September of that year. His arrival marked the beginning of
a new epoch in the history of the Andover church. But before enter-
ing on that period we will briefly review the further career of his
predecessor.

436 THE LUTHERANS

Rev. Esbjorn's Later Career

From Andover Esbjorn removed to Princeton. Here he remained
only two years. During this short period he accomplished much, in-
cluding the work in connection with the erection of a church. In spite
of illness, he worked strenuously and with marked success for the spirit-
ual development of bis congregation. The people became more interested
in churchly affairs and listened more attentively to the sermons; fur-
thermore, the services were made still more attractive by means of
better singing, resulting from earnest practice, encouraged by the
pastor himself, not to mention other improvements.

At the task of collecting funds for the Scandinavian professorship
of the seminary, Esbjorn, who was an experienced solicitor,
succeeded admirably. When the time arrived to appoint the incumbent
of that chair, Esbjorn was chosen as the most suitable man available
and assumed the position in the fall of 1858. After two years a com-
bination of circumstances compelled him to resign. He then went to
Chicago in April, 1860, accompanied by all but two of the Scandinavian
students, and there continued teaching. Dissatisfied with their re-
lations with the Synod of Northern Illinois, the Scandinavian Lutherans
in June of that year met near Clinton, Wis., and organized an independ-
end synod, called the Augustana Synod, and resolved to establish a
theological school of their own in Chicago, the Augustana Theological
Seminary, virtually a continuation of the school conducted for the
past few weeks by Esbjorn. Rev. Esbjorn was formally chosen head
of the institution, continuing his work as teacher with good results for
three years.

With all his soul Rev. Esbjorn had thrown himself into the work
of raising his fellow countrymen in America to a higher level, and
in his tireless endeavor in various fields he scarcely took notice of
the rapid flight of time. At first he had felt no symptoms of home-
sickness, being too busy to think of that, but with advancing years
he was now past fifty he began to long back to the country of which
he was part and parcel through birth and early training. There were
also economic reasons for his home-sickness. For all these reasons Es-
bjorn in 1863 returned to his native land after fourteen years of fruit-
ful work among his countrymen in America. During this period great
changes had taken place in Sweden. That temperance legislation for
which Wieselgren, Fjellstedt and, last but not least, Esbjorn had fought
was now an accomplished fact, the private distillery system having
been abolished by the riksdag of 1854, and the work for spiritual
enlightenment no longer meeting with the same stubborn resistance as
before. Thoroughly tried in life's battle, the stern reformer, who
before his departure from Sweden failed to obtain a certain pastorate

ESBJORN'S LATER CAREER 437

on account of his temperance views and other "newfangled notions,"
was now met with open arms and was given the very lucrative rectorate
of Oster-Vahla parish, in Upland, thus being recompensed even in a
pecuniary way for all his privations in a foreign land. In this quiet
spot he labored for seven years, dividing his time between his pastoral
duties and private study and research, which had been his hobby from
early youth, such as mathematics, chemistry and astronomy, besides
theology. In the meantime he closely followed the rapid progress made
by the church he had founded in America, and nothing gave him
greater pleasure than a visit by some one of his former co-workers
in this country.

Esbjb'rn was the author of ten published books and pamphlets on
various topics.

The burden of years grew steadily heavier, health and bodily vigor
gave way, and soon the eve of rest for this indefatigable laborer had
arrived. After only a month of actual illness Rev. L. P. Esbjorn
passed away in the Oster-Vahla parsonage, July 2, 1870, in the sixty-
second year of his life, and was buried in the parish churchyard. A
few years ago a handsome monument was erected on his grave to mark
the last resting-place of this eminent Swedish- American pioneer.

The sermons of Rev. Esbjorn were highly edifying, but he was by
no means an orator in the ordinary sense of the term. His voice was
ruined in the early part of his career through sickness and over-exertion,
and he never affected eloquence. His discourses were nevertheless very
captivating by dint of his lucid logic, his clear and profound ideas and
the simplicity of his diction. He was a man of clear and well-balanced
mind, pre-eminently fitting him for the profession both of preacher
and educator. As a man Esbjorn was devout and warm-hearted, un-
selfish almost to a fault, righteous, unaffected and without pride or
vainglory. He was translucent, so to speak, and in his character there
was nothing to hide. Although not really credulous, and being a good
judge of men, he would sometimes be imposed upon, owing to his sheer
goodness of heart.

Before emigrating to America, Esbjorn was married to Miss Amalia
Maria Lovisa Planting-Gyllenbaga, a devout and refined lady, who
held the same religious views as he. Poverty, illness and numerous
reverses had given her a despondent and melancholy disposition. Their
children were: Paul, who died in the Civil War in 1861, while on duty
in Missouri: Johannes, who returned to Sweden in 1863, entered the
railway service and is now living in Karlskrona; Joseph, who also
served in the Civil War, was retired as captain, and is now living
in Minneapolis, Minn. ; Maria, who married a German Lutheran clergy-
man named Schnur, and died many years ago, and two sons, twins,
who died on the voyage to America. July 11, 1852, Mrs. Esbjorn died

438 THE LUTHERANS

in Andover and lies buried in the old churchyard. Subsequently, Es-
bjorn was twice remarried, first to Helena Catharina Magnusson, who
was born at Sund, Ostergotland, June 29, 1827, and died in Andover,
Sept. 15, 1853; afterward to her sister Gustafva Albertina Magnusson,
born at Sund in 1833. The children of the latter union still living
are: Rev. C. M. Esbjorn, Ph. D., minister of the Augustana Synod;
Prof. C. L. E. Esbjorn, of Augustana College, at Rock Island, 111.;
and two daughters, Maria and Hanna. Another son, Paul Oscar
Esbjorn, a physician of Stanton, la., died in 1908.

Rev. Jonas Swensson

Jonas Swensson, wiio supplanted the erratic Rev. Bergenlund as
pastor of the Andover church, where he labored for a long term of
years, is another pioneer and early leader of the Swedish Lutheran
Church in America. He was born at Snollebo, parish of Vathult, Sma-
land, Aug. 16, 1828. His parents were Sven Mansson and his wife
Catharina Jonasson. In the parental home he received a careful Chris-
tian training, the foundation for his subsequent career. In his early
youth he had a desire to study for the ministry, but such a course
seemed to have been closed to him by his father's death when he
was but nine years old, together with the fact that there were six
other children in the home to be provided for. But later on the outlook
cleared. After his confirmation he became a blacksmith's apprentice,
but abandoned that occupation to enter the teachers' seminary at Vexio
in 1846. While there, his early plan was revived and that summer he
took up private studies in theology with his teacher. Rev. Josef Bexell,
and in 1847 continued these studies for the curate of Bredaryd parish.
At the end of August he went to Jonkoping, entering the rector's class
at the school in that city, and was very favorably received by the
rector, Rev. Fileen. In two terms he finished his courses and entered
the gymnasium at Vexio in the fall of 1848. Here he studied for two
years, until September, 1850, when he passed his final examinations.
July 29, 1849, in the Hemmesjo church, Swensson preached his first
sermon, and after that he frequently, while still a student, filled the
pulpits of other churches in Smaland.

Sept. 24. 1850, he was graduated into the university of Upsala
with high standing. He at once took up the theological course at the
university and passed final examination in June, 1851. The following
October he was examined for entry into the ministry before the Vexio
chapter and, on the 8th of the month, was ordained minister and
assigned as curate to Rector Andren at Unnaryd. Swensson 's excep-
tional capacity for study is shown by the fact that he finished both
elementary and theological studies in about five years. Many who

JONAS SWENSSON

had known the tall and sturdy youth as a blacksmith's apprentice or
as a pupil at the elementary school at Vexio were greatly surprised to
find him in the ministry in so short a time. At Unnaryd and Jallun-
tofta Swensson now labored for four and one-half years, till the spring
of 1856.

Himself an earnest Christian from his school days, Swensson
strove zealously to awaken and maintain the new life among the mem-
bers of his church. His own Christianity being most profound, he had
little sympathy for the superficial new evangelism that was gaining
ground in Sweden about this time. From the very beginning of his
pastoral career he carefully prepared his sermons and committed them
to writing, thereby laying the foundation for that system and order
which characterized his work throughout life. From many neighboring
parishes people flocked to hear him, and, young as he was, he became
the spiritual father and counselor of many. In spite of a severe affec-
tion of the lungs, he continued his work with undiminished vigor and
was eventually restored to health, contrary to the expectations of him-
self and his friends.

His reputation as an earnest and devout preacher had crossed the
ocean with the emigrants, and on the 24th of June, 1855, he received
a letter from Dr. Peter Fjellstedt containing a call for him to become
pastor of the Swedish Lutheran congregation at Sugar Grove, Pa. His
first thought was to decline positively, but the more he considered the
matter, the more clearly he discerned it as his duty to accept. In August
the same year he had a personal meeting with Dr. Fjellstedt, when that
devout and warm-hearted divine urged him to go to the assistance of his
countrymen in the West. Dr. Fjellstedt promised to help him procure
the needed funds and to render every assistance. Finally Swensson,
after much trepidation, decided to accept the call, although still very
much worried over the pecuniary phase of the situation, which seemed
all the more grave as he was about to marry his betrothed, Miss Maria
Blixt of Unnaryd.

The marriage took place March 29, 1856, and on April 6th he
preached his farewell sermon in the Unnaryd church, followed by
similar sermons in various churches in the vicinity. Everywhere his
many friends contributed more or less freely toward his traveling ex-
penses, so that on reaching Goteborg with his bride he had no less than
800 crowns at his disposal, without having borrowed a penny. Here
the young couple were detained from April 22nd to May 20th, before
embarking on the ship "Minorca" for America. With prayers and
bjessings for friends left behind, he sailed away from his native land
which he was never to see again. After a voyage of six weeks' dura-
tion, they reached New York on the very birthday of the republic, July
4th. The llth of the same month he arrived at Sugar Grove, and preach-

440

THE LUTHERANS

ed his first sermon there two days later. His first impression of the peo-
ple was not entirely favorable. Even those who confessed themselves
Christians seemed strange to him. On every hand liberty seemed to
have been turned into license. All this set him wondering whether,
after all, his field of greatest usefulness did not lie in the old country.
His doubts as to his calling and the resultant melancholy were
somewhat relieved when in the fall of the same year he visited Illinois

Rev. Jonas Swensson

and here met elder brethren whose acquaintance and fellowship gave
him new courage. During the conference and synod meetings he at-
tended he sat quietly listening to the proceedings, never uttering a
word. But no one followed the transactions more attentively than he.
After having preached in several of the Swedish churches here, he re-
turned to the East and took up his work with renewed energy.

In Sugar Grove a little frame church had been built before Rev.
Swensson's arrival, but it was not yet finished, and the parsonage was
still in course of erection. In Jamestown, where Swensson was also to
preach, there was no church edifice. Strife and differences existing
with respect to the temporal affairs of the churches were a constant

JONAS SWENSSON 44:

source of worry and sorrow to a man of his sensitive nature, but what
affected him still more was the spiritual indifference and the bitter
partisanship stirred up by the aforesaid Bergenlund and by the Meth-
odists. Such a condition naturally revolted against Swensson's strict
sense of propriety and his devotion to good order in the church. His
concern for the welfare of the congregations, however, kept him at his
post. Not even the flattering call to become assistant to Rev. Erland
Carlsson of the Immanuel Church in Chicago could induce him to leave.
But there came a time when he thought it his duty to leave his
first field of labor in this country. The church at Andover was about
to be torn asunder by internal dissensions fomented by the intrigues
of Bergenlund, and stood in great need of an able and energetic pastor.
Such a man was found in Rev. Swensson, to whom a call was extended
in June, 1858. At the earnest solicitations of his brethren, who were
familiar with the sad state of affairs, he accepted the call and re-
moved to his new charge the following September. Here, as in Sugar
Grove and Jamestown, he had to reap the bitter fruits of Bergenlund 's
operations. With his installation as pastor of the Andover church
Sept. 19th, Swensson's main life work began. For fifteen years he
remained here, doing a great work not only for the local church but
also in behalf of the entire Augustana Synod. For this reason the
Synod classes Rev. Jonas Swensson as one of its founders and pioneers.
The Andover congregation which had a membership of 356 when
Rev. Esbjorn left, had increased to 400 when Swensson arrived. The
settlement developed rapidly in every direction. As early as 1858 a
church was built in that part of the locality known as Berlin, situated
eight miles away, and on the 17th of February, 1859, a congregation was
organized at that place. Next in order the Woodhull congregation was
organized in 1868, followed by the New Windsor church in 1869, that
of Orion in 1870, and finally the Cambridge congregation in 1875. At
all these places Rev. Swensson alone preached for many years. At
Berlin he held services regularly every other Saturday until 1866 when
the church obtained a pastor of its own. Considering that Swensson
usually preached two or three times each Sunday, held catechetical
meetings at certain seasons of the year in the various districts of the set-
tlement, made numerous visits to the sick, attended synods, conferences
and other church conventions, often visited and preached in vacant
congregations, and also looked out for the financial interests of his own
church, meanwhile being almost constantly hampered by sickness in his
own family, it appears that Swensson was a very busy man. The wonder
is that he found time for it all. During the last three years of his life,
he was also president of the synod, an office which alone would give

442

THE LUTHERANS

the average clergyman all that he could do. For several years prior,
Swensson held the position of synodical secretary.

Although in good health, it seems a miracle that Swensson, stren-
uously as he worked, did not give out much earlier than he did. It
never occurred to him to husband his strength. He considered it his

The Present Swedish Lutheran Church, Andover

duty to sacrifice himself in the service of the church and at no time
could he be persuaded to take a few months' rest. Often, after spending
eight or nine hours in church, preaching, catechising and administer-
ing the sacraments, as on confirmation days, he would sit up till twelve
o'clock with a few intimate friends, talking, singing and playing: yet
the next morning would find him up at four and busy currying) the

JONAS SWENSSON 443

horses in order to be ready to start out on his official rounds immedi-
ately after breakfast.

The little church which had been erected during Rev. Esbjorn's
term of service at Andover, shortly after Rev. Swensson's coming was
found too small, and in 1864 it was decided to erect a new one. The
work on the new building, which was not begun until 1867, gave Rev.
Swensson, as well as the church council and the building committee, a
great deal of additional work and worry. On Nov. 15, 1868, the con-
gregation moved into the new edifice, this being made the occasion of
an impressive jubilee celebration. The new church, however, was not
finished until 1874, the year after Rev. Swensson's death, when it was
dedicated with solemn ceremonies on the 23rd day of August. The
church completed represented an outlay of $30,985, not counting the
work performed gratuitously by members of the congregation. This
church still stands as a fitting monument to Rev. Swensson and his
noble endeavors, in the same sense that the old one was a testimonial to
the energy of his predecessor, Esbjorn. During the last year of Swens-
son's life, the congregation attained to a membership of 1,855, of whom
951 were communicants.

As a preacher, Swensson was always popular. When he got
thoroughly warmed up on a certain text, he would preach for two or
three hours without a sign of physical exhaustion or waning interest in
his topic. He never affected oratory or poetic nights of imagination,
his sermons, simple and logical, addressing themselves to the reason and
not to the feelings of his audience. His preaching was principally of
the didactic order, bearing a striking resemblance to that of the famous
Swedish preacher Anders Xohrborg. Swensson had an aversion to
preaching or speaking at public celebrations and festive occasions. He
was a model shepherd of his flock. The sick he visited with a regularity
prompted by large-hearted sympathy rather than a sense of official
duty, and he was never known to neglect a sickbed on account of incle-
ment weather, bad roads or unseasonable hours, day or night. In his
frequent travels between the distant points under his spiritual charge,
he became an expert driver, with few rivals in the art of handling
horses. He was generally in a hurry, this good parson, and when he
whizzed by on his regular tours between Andover and B-erlin, puffing
great clouds of smoke from his pipe, he bore more than a remote resem-
blance to a railway locomotive going with a full head of steam. He was
equally conscientious and businesslike in his attention to his duties as
president of the synod. Its sessions were conducted in an orderly,
parliamentary manner and with scrupulous fairness to all sides. He
had a tender heart and, although a man of meager income, he would
invariably give a helping hand to those in need. Swensson was of tall

444

THE LUTHERANS

stature and fine build, and possessed a powerful, though rather in-
flexible and unmusical voice, which carried well even in as large an
auditorium as that of the new Andover church. In his personality he
combined dignity with artlessness and simplicity. He abhorred hypoc-
risy and affectation. While reticent in a crowd, he was a good talker
and an entertaining companion among his intimate friends.

During his later years, Swensson was subject to attacks of gout
accompanied by spasms, followed by fainting spells. This affection
caused his death. He passed away in his home at Andover Dec. 20,
1873, at the early age of forty-five. His wife survived him by only one
year. A monument erected by the congregation marks the spot in the
old church-yard where reposes this energetic and faithful pastor of the
Andover church. He left four children, three sons and one daughter,
viz., Rev. Carl Aron Swensson, Ph. D., renowned as the founder and
president of Bethany College, at Lindsborg, Kans., who died in Los
Angeles, Cal., Feb. 16, 1904; John Swensson, manager of the Gustaf
Adolf orphanage at Jamestown, N. Y. ; Luther Swensson, former post-
master at Lindsborg, Kans., and Mrs. Anna Carlsson of Lindsborg.

Rev. Swensson 's duties as preacher and pastor left him no time
for literary work. A modest little pamphlet on a religious topic, pub-
lished by him while still in Sweden, is the only published product of
his pen.

Omitting details, the further story of the Andover church may
be briefly told. After a vacancy of one and one-half years, Rev. Swens-
son 's place was filled in the spring of 1875 by Rev. Erland Carlsson, of
Chicago, another of the venerable pioneers of the Swedish Lutheran
Church of America. He had charge until 1884, when ill health com-
pelled him to resign. In 1875 a parsonage was built at a cost of $3,600.

Rev. Carlsson devoted himself to the watering of the spiritual seed
sown by Swensson in this field, and in this as well as in his efforts to
educate the children and keep the young people in the church he suc-
ceeded remarkably well. After being three years without a permanent
pastor, the church in 1887 called Rev. Victor Setterdahl who labored
here for a period of eighteen years, or until the spring of 1905. In
March, 1900, the fiftieth anniversary of the Andover church was
celebrated with festivities befitting the occasion. The successor of
Setterdahl is Rev. Carl P. Edblom. In 1906, the church had a total
membership of 1,120. of whom 684 were communicants.

The Andover church is not only the oldest of the Swedish Lutheran
churches in this country but also one of the richest, most stable and
most conservative. It would be hard to find a church anywhere whose
members are so generally well-to-do and financially independent as are
the parishioners of Andover. A visitor today does not easily realize

T. N. HASSELQUIST 445

that little more than half a century ago the first Swedish settlers began
to build homes in this locality, organize themselves into a congregation
and erect a church, all this under the most discouraging conditions.

Rev. Tuve Nilsson Hasselquist

The second in order of the ministers of the Swedish state church
who came over during the pioneer days in order to minister to the
spiritual wants of their poor and widely scattered fellow countrymen
in Illinois was Rev. T. N. Hasselquist from Skane. He came here in the
autumn of 1852 and for almost forty years aided in framing and up-
building the Swedish Lutheran Church of America in various capacities,
as pastor, as editor of the church paper and for a period of thirty years
as president of its college and theological seminary. Esbjorn and
Hasselquist are the central figures around which are grouped all the
principal events of the early days of the Swedish Lutheran Church of
this country. While the work of Esbjorn, the founder, is of primary
importance to Swedish Lutherans in Illinois and all America, that of
Hasselquist was no less significant, including, as it did, both the task
of developing and establishing the church on the foundations already
laid and of taking up new lines of work, for instance, the founding of
the first Swedish newspaper in the United States as the organ of that
church.

Tuve Nilsson Hasselquist was born in the parish of Ousby, in north-
ern Skane, March 2, 1816. His parents were country folk of the sub-
stantial sort. Their sons were given a fairly thorough education at
home. Rev. Collin, the rector of the parish, having noticed that the
boy Tuve had a good head for study, urged his father to send him to
school to fit him for a learned career. Consequently, at the age of
fourteen, he entered a school at Kristianstad and there adopted the
name of Hasselquist, from that of his native place Hasslarod.

After only five years, young Hasselquist passed the examination
for admission to the university of Lund, where he began his theological
studies after being engaged for some time as a private tutor. He was
examined for the ministry by the Lund chapter and ordained by Bishop
Faxe the day before midsummer, in 1839, being at once appointed
curate of the parishes of Everlof and Slimminge. Here he remained
for one year, and was subsequently assigned to Kristianstad. After
another year, he was transferred in 1842 to the parishes of Glimakra
and Orkened in the northeast corner of the province.

Young as he was, Rev. Hasselquist was already widely known for
his true Christian character and his devotion to his pastoral calling.
His sermons were full of spirit and power. Not confining himself to
the Sunday morning sermon, he held Bible study meetings on Sunday

446 THE LUTHERANS

afternoons and other religious meetings here and there in the parish
during the week. He had the reputation of being a very earnest
" revivalist preacher," and was a zealous temperance advocate, often
appearing on the same platform with that warm-hearted temperance
agitator Pehr Wieselgren.

In 1845, after serving there for three years, he became curate under
old Rector Nordstrom of Onnestad, after whose death he became tem-
porary rector of the church. The arrival of Hasselquist to Onnestad
marked the beginning of a period of spiritual revival for that locality.
He labored assiduously, sowing the seed of truth, and was gratified to
notice that it bore rich fruit. Toward the end of the forties, Hassel-
quist was assigned as curate to Akarp and Wittsjo, in northern Skane,
where he labored for several years. His time of service as assistant
pastor was thirteen years in all. His frequent transfers from place to
place gave him the advantage of an extensive personal acquaintance
throughout a large part of northern Skane. He thus became widely
known for his Christian zeal and sincerity, his ability as a preacher and
his earnest efforts to substitute good morals for the prevalent license
of the times.

Had he remained in Sweden. Hasselquist would doubtless very
soon have occupied a prominent place among the clergy. But provi-
dence had decreed that he was to serve, not the state church of Sweden,
but the Lutheran Church at large by becoming a pioneer of Lutheranism
and of general culture in a foreign land. It was a trifling circumstance
that primarily brought about Hasselquist 's emigration. Rev. Esbjorn
greatly needed an assistant in his work among the Swedes of Illinois,
and was casting about for a suitable man. The outlook was not en-
couraging, and for a time it seemed as though these people were to be
left to the choice between joining American churches and living with-
out any church connections whatever. At this juncture, a settler named
Ola Nilsson, hailing from Onnestad, came to the assistance of Rev.
Esbjorn. He knew Hasselquist well and suggested that he would un-
doubtedly come, provided he were fully convinced of the urgent need
of spiritual workers among his fellow countrymen here.

Rev. Esbjorn promptly followed his friend's advice. He arranged
to have the newly organized congregation in Galesburg call Hassel-
quist as pastor, with the promise of a small salary. In addition, Esbjorn
obtained a small appropriation from the American Board of Home
Missions. Rev. Hasselquist received the call in the early part of the
year 1852. Looking upon it as a call not only from the Swedes of
Galesburg, but directly from God, he accepted it without hesitation,
although his chances for promotion in the state church were the best.
Before starting on his long and significant voyage, he was united

T. N. HASSELQUIST 44 y

in marriage to his heart's choice, Miss Eva Helena Cervin of Kristian-
stad, a woman of exceptional strength of character, who was to be of
inestimable assistance to him in the great work he was about to under-
take in the new country.

Accompanied by his bride and a party of sixty emigrants from
northern Skane, Hasselquist left for America late in the summer of
1852. The party arrived in New York Sept. 28th, thence taking the
usual route to Chicago. The Synod of Northern Illinois was just in
session in the latter city, and there Hasselquist and Esbjorn now met
for the first time. We can readily imagine the cordiality of this meet-
ing. Hasselquist was at once admitted to the synod and soon thereafter
preached his first sermon in this country. After adjournment of the
synod, he left for Andover, whence Esbjorn took him and his wife
across country to Galesburg, a twenty-five mile ride over the worst
kind of country roads.

The reception accorded the new pastor by his church was rather
discouraging. It was a raw and drizzly autumn day. Everything
about the place had a poverty-stricken appearance. There was no
delegation of church members to bid him welcome, and no home in
readiness to receive him. Just outside the town, Esbjorn with his
guests met a Swedish settler, and, thinking to please the man, intro-
duced Hasselquist as the new Swedish pastor. Instead of politely
bidding him welcome, the Swede rudely inquired, "What business has
he got to come here?"

The congregation in Galesburg was a very small one. Organized
in 1851, just a year before, it had only a few members, all poor, and
neither a church nor a parsonage. All this might have been ignored,
however, had it only been what it purported to be, a Lutheran church,
but such was not the case. It was more Congregationalist than any-
thing else, being under the influence of the American Congrega-
tionalists, with students from Knox College, a Congregationalist in-
stitution, conducting its Sunday school.

Eev. Hasselquist and his bride were assigned quarters in a little
shanty, half of which was occupied by a former Erik Janssonist,
addicted to drink. The man was comparatively peaceable, but his wife
was a veritable virago who kept lecturing and cursing her liege lord
from morning till night. Here, indeed, extremes met under one roof:
on one side of the partition there was quarreling and cursing, on the
other, praying and singing. The Hasselquists occupied two rooms, the
one fair-sized, the other a mere closet. The first was made to serve as
sitting-room, study, parlor, kitchen and bedchamber combined. The
furniture was in keeping with some of these functions, while most of
the things making for home comfort were lacking. At first they had

448

THE LUTHERANS

no bed, but slept on the floor; the trunk in which Hasselquist had
brought his books had to do duty as a dining table, ""he roof of this
primitive dwelling leaked so badly that the floor was flooded every
time it rained.

Thus Rev. Hasselquist began his labors in Galesburg under any-
thing but favorable auspices. Not only was the congregation a small
and poor one, and split up by divergences in religious beliefs, but worse
still, there was a general opinion decidedly antagonistic to Swedish

T. N. HASSELQUIST 449

Lutheran church work in this locality. From the neighboring Bishop
Hill colony many persons who had tired of the Prophet Erik Jansson
and now were indifferent to religion in any form had moved into
Galesburg. On the other hand, there was the Swedish Methodist strong-
hold at Victoria which had extended its operations to Galesburg and
there made many converts. And after the year 1852 the Baptists
added a third element of opposition. To all these people a Swedish
Lutheran clergyman, in the garb of the state church and following its
prescribed ritual, was not much better than a Catholic. The Methodists,
in particular, made Esbjorn and Hasselquist out to be spiritually dead,
although in the old country these same men had been looked upon as
altogether too zealous and devout in their Christianity to suit the free
and easy church members.

By his preaching and his living, Hasselquist, however, soon dis-
proved the statements of his antagonists. But he found greater
difficulty in overcoming the prejudices entertained against him by the
professors at Knox College. These men evidently held a poor opinion
of the Swedish clergy to whom they considered themselves far superior
in every respect. Eventually, they learned to know him as a man of
erudition, zeal and earnestness in his calling, qualities which compelled
their respect.

Among the very first cares that fell upon Hasselquist 's shoulders
was the task of raising funds for a church building. With much
difficulty the means were procured and a church erected, which not
long after was found inadequate and had to be enlarged. The field
was constantly being extended, so that at the synodical meeting of
1853 Hasselquist could report that his pastorate consisted of no less
than four congregations, with a total of 191 communicants. The four
congregations referred to were those of Galesburg and Knoxville and,
supposedly. Wataga and Altona. The Sunday school of the Galesburg
congregation, which up to that time had been in the hands of the
Congregationalists, was reorganized in August, 1853, and at that time
consisted of five teachers and 27 pupils.

Rev. Hasselquist remained at Galesburg for eleven years. During
this period, besides his pastoral work in the local field, he carried on an
extensive missionary work both in Illinois and in adjacent states.
Numberless were his journeys during these eleven years, and beset
with the hardships that attended travel in those days, when railroads
were still unknown in this territory. A number of new congregations
were founded by him, among which the Immanuel Church of Chicago.
His missionary field extended eastward all the way to New York and
to the north as far as Minnesota. In the new country Hasselquist
evinced the same qualities that distinguished him in Sweden, only in

450

THE LUTHERANS

a more potent degree. His zeal was increased and his love of his
fellow countrymen grew in warmth when he saw Avhat was their con-
dition, spiritually and materially.

Rev. Tuve Nilsson Hasselquist

In the intense opposition he encountered, even within his own
church, he had ample cause for not strictly adhering to the ritualism
of the state church of Sweden. Within and without his congregation
there were many who cherished not the slightest respect for the re-

T. N. HASSELQUIST 45I

ligious usages of their forefathers, but had the greatest admiration
for everything that they knew or supposed to be American.

Among the growing number of Swedish Lutheran churches of
America Hasselquist early came to be recognized as a very efficient
man. And when the Augustana Synod was organized he was chosen
its first president. To this responsible position he was subsequently
re-elected each year for a decade. This was the patriarchal period in
the history of the synod. Hasselquist was no stickler on parliamentary
law, the main thing with him being to get a clear and many-sided view
of the subject in hand for the purpose of arriving at a good, sensible
decision. "Whether or not such decision was in accord with the intricate
rules of debate caused him no worry. Nevertheless, he could not be
accused of despotism or arbitrariness. He was simply a father among
the brethren. Though not in name, yet in fact he was the bishop of the
widely scattered congregations of the synod, among which he made
frequent official visits, learning to know his people and becoming
known by them.

The life work of Hasselquist, however, was neither that of a pastor
nor of a synodical president ; it was to be performed in the capacity of
president of the Augustana Theological Seminary, to which was sub-
sequently added a complete college. In 1863 Hasselquist was elected
the successor of Rev. Esbjorn as president of that institution, a position
in which he was destined to exert a far-reaching influence.

Previous reference has been made to Hasselquist as the founder of
the Swedish press of the United States. He earned that title in the
autumn of 1854 when he began preparations for publishing from Gales-
burg "Garnla och Nya Hemlandet, " the first Swedish- American news-
paper, whose first issue appeared on Jan. 3, the following year. Hassel-
quist held the position of editor for four years, until 1858. In 1856 he
also founded a religious paper, "Det Ratta Hemlandet," from which
sprung "Augustana," the present organ of the Augustana Synod.
From 1868 to 1889 this paper was published under the name of
"Augustana och Mission aren," Hasselquist continuing these twenty-
one years as its editor. He is also author of several books of a
religious character.

In 1881 Rev. Hasselquist lost his wife through death, their
daughter Hanna having died four years before; and ten years after
his wife's death the venerable patriarch himself passed away. He died
Feb. 4, 1891, and at his funeral both the speakers and the great silent
assemblage bore testimony to the great loss sustained by the Swedish-
American nationality. Hasselquist left two sons, Nathanael and
Joshua, and a daughter. Esther.

Among the marks of distinction conferred upon Hasselquist may

452

THE LUTHERANS

mentioned the title of Doctor of Divinity by Muhlenberg College and
the order of the Polar Star by King Oscar of Sweden.

Lutheran WorH. in Galesburg'

The foundation for Swedish Lutheran church work in Galesburg
was laid in November, 1849, by Eev. L. P. Esbjorn. In the early part
of 1850, the building of a small meeting-house was begun at his sugges-
tion and with his cooperation. The sum of $550 was subscribed as
early as Feb. 28th. Although many Americans interested themselves
in the undertaking, the work was delayed, and not until the latter part
of May the foundation, outer walls and steeple were constructed. The
foundation was of brick, the superstructure of frame and the dimen-
sions of the building were, length, 40 feet, width, 30 feet, and height,
18 feet. As yet, the congregation had not been organized, owing to the
opposition of the Methodists.

Aug. 24, 1851, Rev. Esbjorn, on request, held communion services
at Galesburg and after services the names of those wishing to become
members of a Swedish Lutheran congregation were asked to give their
names. Forty persons responded and these constituted the first
Swedish Lutheran congregation of that city. In the fall of the same
year, Rev. Esbjorn designated Gustaf Palmquist, a former school-teach-
er from Sweden, as pastor of the church. He gained the confidence
of the people, but being a Baptist at heart, although not a confessed
one, his work was not calculated to strengthen, but rather to disrupt
and weaken the church, whose members were already wavering between
the Methodist and the Congregational faith. In June, 1852, Palmquist
joined the Baptists and celebrated the event by calling a jubilee meet-
ing in the Lutheran meeting-house, at which he declared that not until
now had he obeyed the will of God in receiving the Christian baptism.
To show the nature of the Methodist opposition to Lutheran work in
Galesburg it may be stated that Rev. Jonas Hedstrom, by spreading the
report that the Swedish Lutherans in the place were a mere handful,
that they differed very little from the Catholics, succeeded in dampen-
ing the interest of the Americans in the Lutheran meeting-house to the
extent that many of them repudiated their subscriptions toward its
erection. By intrigue, the building, before completion, fell into the
hands of the American Methodists, the Lutherans, however, being
privileged to use it. After the arrival of Rev. Hasselquist, the Swedish
Lutheran congregation purchased the building for the sum of $1,600,
and shortly afterward had it enlarged. This first church edifice stood
on the same spot where the present church is located. Having now a
house of worship of their own, the Swedish Lutherans were in a better
position to avoid undue influence from the other denominations. The

WORK IN GALESBURG

453

church was neither lighted nor provided with seats, making it .neces-
sary for the churchgoers to bring their own chairs and tallow candles.
In spite of the latter, the gloom that pervaded the edifice of a Sunday
night was so dense that the preacher was scarcely able to distinguish
his hearers.

In the cholera epidemic of 1854, the church suffered the loss of a
number of members. The scourge, however, had the effect of causing a
spiritual revival among the survivors, and Hasselquist seized this favor-
able opportunity to work upon the hearts of his flock by holding meet-
ings every evening for one week during the month of August. He was

The First Swedish Lutheran Church of Galesburg, Erected in 1852

assisted by Rev. M. F. Hokanson of New Sweden, la. The result of
the week's work was that about one hundred persons applied for mem-
bership in the churches at Galesburg and Knoxville. In the latter
place the ravages of the pest were greater than at Galesburg, craving
no less than forty victims among the Swedes.

In the fall of 1855, Rev. Hasselquist obtained an assistant in the
person of P. A. Cederstam, a theological student from Chicago who was
licensed to preach the following March. Owing to the great lack of
ministers, he was not long permitted to remain here, but was sent to
Minnesota the following May. A year later Hasselquist received a new
assistant in his brother-in-law, A. R. Cervin, a teacher from the old
country, who aided him in the work for more than a year.

454 THE LUTHERANS

There was much ungodliness to contend with during this period,
necessitating a very strict application of church discipline. The warn-
ings and admonitions of these men being left unheeded, excommunica-
tion was resorted to. Drunkenness and licentiousness were the vices
most prevalent. Dancing, improper conduct in church and negligence in
attending divine services were also causes for disciplinary measures.

Surrounded on all sides by those who hated everything savoring
of the cult and practices of the Swedish state church, Eev. Hasselquist
was driven too far in his concessions to the customs and usages of the
American Reformed churches. Thus, it was no uncommon thing for
him to make his appearance in church of a Sunday morning dressed in
a white linen duster in place of the black clerical coat, and walk down
the aisle singing one of Ahnfelt's songs in which the congregation
would join. He would then go directly to the pulpit, read a text, offer
a prayer and then commence preaching. Suddenly he would interrupt
himself by singing another familiar song, subsequently picking up the
thread of his discourse where he had dropped it. The services would
end as unceremoniously as they began. These concessions to arbitrary
usage were not without effect on the congregation. A faction was
formed that held it to be wrong for the minister to wear a coat of
clerical cut, read the confession or follow the ritual. These persons
also considered it wrong to remain standing during the reading of the
gospel and epistle text before the altar, and consequently remained
seated when the congregation arose. They demanded that the pastor
should sit r and not stand, before the altar, and insisted that he discard
the clerical neck-band. They made so much of this that when Hakan
Olsson, one of Hasselquist 's pupils, after ordination appeared with
that mark of the ecclesiastical office, one of the deacons stepped up to
him with the evident intention of tearing that innocent little article of
apparel from his neck. This movement, which at first seemed insignifi-
cant, developed to such an extent that even before Hasselquist left
Galesburg lists were circulated for the purpose of soliciting members
for a free church. Such a one was established in 1869 under the name
of the Second Lutheran Church of Galesburg. Such was the result of
Hasselquist 's thoughtless departure from a strict conformity to or-
thodox usage in the church of his native land.

When Rev. Esbjo'rn returned to Sweden, Rev. Hasselquist became
his successor as president of the Augustana Theological Seminary, tak-
ing his new position in 1863. In the fall of the same year Rev.
A. W. Dahlsten assumed charge of the Galesburg church, preaching
there once a month until New Year's, 1864, when he removed to Gales-
burg. The influence of the saloons and the dance halls at this time was
a great source of worry to the pastor and the church council. The

WORK IN GALESBt'RG

455

disturbing element from the time of Hasselquist was still active and
had acquired added strength. Certain persons worked with might and
main against the pastor and to have the existing order of services
abolished, demanding that any clergyman, no matter of what denomina-
tion, should have the right to preach in their church. When this was
refused, they sent a petition to the synod, setting forth these demands,
adding the request that part of the liturgical service be abolished.

The synod positively refused to grant the petition, whereupon the
petitioners set to work on a plan to secede from the synod. They failed
again. At a special meeting of the church, a large majority of the
congregation resolved to abide by the decision of the synod.

The First Swedish Lutheran Church of Galesburg, Erected in 1870

In 1868 the old church, which had been enlarged by an addition
during Hasselquist 's time, was found to be too small and a new edifice
was planned. At first it was decided to build a second addition at one
end of the old structure, but as this would involve a considerable ex-
pense without affording the space needed either for the present or for
the future, this plan was given up. Next it was resolved to widen the
church by moving the side walls, but this plan also fell through.
Finally, the congregation resolved to erect an entire new edifice, to be
100x60 feet, but only $400 being subscribed, the whole enterprise was
abandoned for the time being. The following year the matter was
again taken up and on the 4th of April a resolution was passed to begin
building as soon as $2,000 had been subscribed.

Rev. Dahlsten having resigned after serving the church for six
years, the congregation, a few days after deciding to build a new
church, extended a call to Rev. A. Andreen to succeed Dahlsten. Fif-

456 THE LUTHERANS

teen members left the church and, together with a few others, organized
the proposed free church. During the ensuing vacancy, several others
deserted. This had the effect of cleansing the church from that un-
wholesome and pernicious element which for some time past had
created disturbances and stunted the growth of the congregation. Rev.
Andreen declined the call, and the church again called Rev. Hassel-
quist only to receive a negative answer. Next a call was extended to
Rev. N. Th. Winquist of DeKalb, who accepted and remained in charge
for somewhat over three years. During his term, the new church was
finished and the final report of the work was rendered March 4, 1870.
The edifice was found to have cost $13,371.75, of which amount $6,784
had been raised by subscription, the balance representing debt. This
church, which for many years was the largest in the city, is still used
as a house of worship. Its dimensions are : length, 100 feet ; width, 60
feet ; height of side walls, 22 feet ; height of steeple, 165 feet. The task
of reducing the church debt was next taken up, and much was accom-
plished, partly by subscription, partly by the collection of pew rents.
At this juncture, the members living at Henderson left and organized a
congregation of their own. The schoolhouse was moved and provided
with new seats, and new life was injected into the work of construc-
tion; a church bell was purchased; the parsonage was renovated, and
about this time the new constitution for the churches, revised by the
synod, was adopted.

Rev. Winquist left in 1873 and was succeeded in the fall of the
same year by Rev. S. P. A. Lindahl. The peace and harmony that had
prevailed during the time of Rev. Winquist was disturbed by one F.
Lagerman, who filled the pulpit in the interval, sharply criticising in
his sermons everything that fell below his exalted standard of Luther-
anism. By coolheadedness and a conciliatory policy, the new pastor
succeeded in restoring peace, the work progressing smoothly there-
after. In 1878 the church purchased an organ at a cost of $2,350 and
built a new parsonage. A house and lot was bought, the old house was
sold and a new one erected, the total outlay for the new property stop-
ping at $3,000. During Rev. Lindahl's time in Galesburg, the church
carried on a vigorous campaign against the secret societies, but in
spite of this and other disturbing influences the church, on the whole,
made steady progress.

In November, 1884, Rev. Lindahl resigned his .charge. He was
succeeded by Rev. C. A. Backman of Ishpeming, Mich., who moved to
his new field July 1st, the following year. In the summer of 1885 a
large and commodious schoolhouse was erected. A year later, the
church was renovated at an outlay of $1,300, and in 1887 a hall was
provided for the young people by raising the schoolhouse, the total

WORK IN GALESBURG

457

expense amounting to $1,300. Societies were organized and several
new lines of endeavor were taken up.

Rev. Backman, however, was not permitted long to labor in this
field, death cutting short his promising career on March 6, 1888, before
he had completed his thirty-fifth year. The vacancy was temporarily
supplied by a student who by his personal conduct created the most
serious disruption in the stormy history of the congregation, resulting
a couple of years later in the expulsion of no less than 236 com-
municant members. The effects of this schism were felt for years
afterward.

This movement was headed by C. A. Nybladh, who subsequently
became a minister of the Episcopal Church. From his following the
Swedish Episcopal Church of Galesburg was organized.

The permanent successor of Rev. Backman was Rev. C. J. E.
Haterius whose installation took place April 11, 1889. His first years
at Galesburg were made disagreeable by the effects of the foregoing
dissension. In 1891, an addition was built to the church affording
space for the organ and the choir, besides a pastor's study. The cost
of these improvements amounted to $1,276.

The question of starting English work within the church now
began to be much ventilated, resulting in the calling of an English
assistant April 18, 1896. Having received a negative answer, the con-
gregation, at a second business meeting, called for the same purpose
June 19th, was advised to permit those especially interested in the
English work to take up such work under the auspices of the church
council with a view to organizing an independent English Lutheran
church. The young people's hall was set aside for the English services.
This plan was not carried out, but the English question in this instance
was solved by arranging for the holding of divine services in the
English language at certain intervals during the year.

In the summer of 1898, Rev. Haterius resigned and was succeeded
Nov. 1st by Rev. Peter Peterson of Essex, la. The next summer, the
church edifice underwent a thorough renovation at a cost of $1,894,
and besides a number of old debts were paid. From this time on the
work has progressed without friction.

Rev. Peterson left the charge in 1905, removing to St. Paul. His
successor is Rev. F. A. Johnsson, one of the abler young pastors of the
Illinois Conference. At New Year's, 1907, the church had a membership
of 1,672, including 1,198 communicants. The church property was
valued at $36,450.

45 8 THE LUTHERANS

The Lutheran Congregation in Moline

As previous pages will show, Rev. Esbjorn at an early day took
up mission work at Moline and Rock Island. When visiting Moline,
he generally stopped at the home of Carl Johansson, a tailor, the second
Swedish settler in the place. Johansson occupied a 14 by 16 room in
a brick house belonging to one Mrs. Bell, and here the first Swedish
Lutheran services were held. Johansson later became a very zealous
Baptist and a bitter antagonist of the Lutherans.

At first the Swedish Lutherans of Moline were enrolled in the
Andover church. This arrangement being found impracticable, a
separate congregation was organized in Moline Dec. 1, 1850, with
fifty charter members. This number soon increased. There being
as yet no book of record for the church, the names of applicants were
recorded on loose slips of paper.

The first question arising after the organization of the congre-
gation was how to get a church edifice. A lot was purchased for the
sum of $100, and the next summer they began to build, having received
for this purpose $340 out of the $2,200 solicited by Esbjorn in the
East. The balance was raised among the Americans and the Swedish
settlers of Moline. This little church, a frame structure 36 by 24 and
15 feet high, was situated on the same spot where stands the present
one, and was built at a cost of $646. The building was not finished
for many years, yet served its purpose. On Sunday, Jan. 11, 1857, it
was ultimately dedicated as a house of worship, the steeple having
been finished just the day before and provided with a bell purchased
at a cost of $50. This was the first church bell of any Swedish
Lutheran church in America since the days of the Delaware Swedes.
It is now the property of the Swedish Lutheran church of Port Byron,
111. The year after the dedication, a fourteen foot addition to the
church w T as built, and in 1866 a 12 by 14 addition was made. The
structure was finally sold to the plow manufacturing firm of Deere
and Company and moved across the street, where it is used as a
storehouse for agricultural implements.

The first parsonage owned by the congregation consisted of a
small house and lot, donated in 1854 by a bachelor, Abraham Andersson
from Gnarp, Helsingland, on condition that it be used as the home of
the Swedish Lutheran pastor. This property was located in the north-
east corner of the block lying just north of the block in which the
church is situated. This modest little parsonage was rebuilt in 1856.
In 1858 the church property was valued as follows, church, $14,000;
parsonage, $850.

Rev. Esbjorn was himself in charge of this field for the first
five years, but was obliged to leave part of the work to others. In the

THE MOLINE CONGREGATION

459

summer of 1852, he formed the acquaintance of a young man by the
name of C. J. Valentin, from Stockholm, a former salesman, possessing
very little schooling but much religious fervor and great zeal in behalf
of the Lutheran Church. In October, 1852, at a time of great lack
of ministerial timber, Valentin was examined before the Synod of
Northern Illinois and given a license to preach and administer the
sacraments in Moline and Rock Island. Valentin almost immediately
clashed with the Baptists in Rock Island, the conflict growing so
bitter during the early part of 1853 that Valentin had to leave the
community.

From Moline Valentin went to Princeton, where he served the
Swedish Lutherans for a short time. At the synodical convention in

The First Swedish Lutheran House of Worship in Moline

Galesburg in the fall he was absent but appears nevertheless to have
had his license renewed. At the subsequent synod in Peru, his license
was again renewed, on condition that he take up studies under the
direction of Esbjorn. Instead of so doing, he returned to Sweden
without leave of absence, remaining there for a few years. At the
synod of 1855 he was suspended and deprived of his license until he
should return to the synod, provided, however, that the license would
be renewed, should he be found worthy of reinstatement into the
ministerial office. Nothing was now heard of him for several years.
During the Civil War, he reappeared in this country and enlisted as
a volunteer in Company D, of the 57th Illinois Infantry. He proved,
however, no better a soldier in the ranks of the Union army than in
those of the church. As he had deserted his little flock in Princeton,
so he now deserted his regiment, fleeing to Sweden, whence he sent
a written statement declaring that his conscience would not permit

460 THE LUTHERANS

him to fight for the Union cause, his sympathies being on the side of
the confederates. After the close of the war, he is believed to have
again returned to this country.

After Valentin left Moline, the services were conducted by one
of the deacons, named Carl Lindman, a native of Jersnas parish, in
Smaland. This man, who was a mason by trade, was exceptionally
gifted mentally and spiritually, was well informed and ready of speech,
and was uncompromising in matters of right and wrong. In his
capacity of deacon he did a greac aeai of good for the church.

The congregation, nevertheless, was greatly in need of a pastor,
surrounded as it was by Methodists and Baptists, who made every
effort to gain proselytes among its members. In 1854, Rev. P. A. Ahl-
berg of Sweden was called and promised to come, but subsequently de-
clined. Through the medium of Dr. Peter Fjellstedt a call was then
extended in 1855 to 0. C. T. Andren, curate 'of Carlshamn, who ac-
cepted and came over on July 3, 1856, to take charge.

Rev. Andren remained in Moline only four years, but in that short
time accomplished much for the good of the church, the fruits of his
efforts being apparent for a long time to follow. When he came there,
the congregation was small and its members poor, giving him much to
do and meager recompense for his work. Moline and Rock Island at
that time, and for many years after, were included in one pastorate ;
besides, he was in charge of churches at Geneseo and other places. One
year after his arrival, the church had 172 members. Rev. Andren was
more strict than his predecessors in the exercise of church discipline
and was no respecter of persons. He fostered a greater interest in the
common affairs of the church body. "When the question was put to
each of the congregations whether they would be willing to contribute
$25 each toward the salary of a Scandinavian professor at the seminary
in Springfield, provided such professorship were established, and
the matter was presented by Rev. Andren to his church, the request was
at once granted, the amount to be raised by collection. This resolution
was passed Sept. 18, 1857. On the 15th of April, 1860, the congrega-
tion resolved to withdraw from the Synod of Northern Illinois and
declared in favor of organizing an independent Scandinavian synod.
The revenues of the church at this time were quite modest. At the
annual meeting in May, 1858, the income was reported at $114.14, while
the outlay footed up to $124.75, not including the salary of -the
pastor. The next year the resources had grown to $284.49 and the
expenditures to $277.70, but in 1860 the figures dropped to $109.29 and
$129.45, respectively, while the church had a debt of $70.15.

Having been chosen by the newly organized Augustana Synod as
its representative to solicit funds in Sweden and Norway for the sem-

THE MOLINE CONGREGATION 46 1

inary to be established, Rev. Andren with his family left Moline early
in September, 1860, with the intention of returning after accomplish-
ing his mission. This plan was later given up, and on Aug. 11, 1861, he
sent in his resignation. Rev. Peters, who had been called to fill the
temporary vacancy, was called as regular pastor on the 21st of the
same month. Rev. Peters was also in charge of the missions in Rock
Island, Geneseo and Fulton. He removed from Moline to Rockford
Dec. 29, 1863, leaving the place vacant for two years, during which
time the parsonage was rented out and the neighboring pastors, Jonas
Swensson, John Johnson and A. W. Dahlsten, took turns in preaching
and officiating at ecclesiastical acts. Elections were held time and
again, but no call was accepted. Finally, J. S. Benson, a student of
the theological seminary at Paxton, was called as preacher and school
teacher in 1865. On petition by the church, Benson was ordained the
following year and then became its regular pastor. He inspired his
congregation to renewed efforts; the church was enlarged and in 1868
a schoolhouse was erected on the vacant portion of the church lot. The
members living in Rock Island in 1870 were authorized to organize
their own congregation which up to May 1, 1873, remained a part of
the same pastorate. In the fall of 1872, Rev. Benson resigned his
charge, remaining, however, until August of the following year. He
passed away in Marathon, la., March 13, 1889.

After several fruitless attempts, the church finally, in the spring
of 1874, obtained a new pastor, Rev. A. G. Setterdahl. With him came
a period of renewed activity and extensive external improvements were
made at considerable cost. All the old buildings were razed to give
room for new ones. The old parsonage was sold for $210 and moved to
the other side of the street and in its place a more commodious house
was erected. On Dec. 8, 1875, the congregation resolved to build a new
church, and now, more than ever before, harmony and unity of action
was needed. But quite the contrary occurred. That very decision
caused a dissension, and a number of dissatisfied ones withdrew to
form a new congregation, named the Gustaf Adolf Church, and built
their own house of worship in the western part of the village. This
congregation later joined the Mission Friends. The old church build-
ing was sold and moved off the lot. The cornerstone for the new edifice
was laid June 15, 1876. The new building, a brick structure, was 116
feet in length and 62 feet in width, and was provided with a tall, im-
posing steeple. The building, costing $19,551, was enclosed before Dec.
1st of that year. The following summer Rev. Setterdahl visited Sweden
on a leave of absence, with Prof. 0. Olsson in charge. The first high
mass in the new edifice was preached by him Oct. 13, 1878. In 1879

462

THE LUTHERANS

Rev. Setterdahl resigned and removed to Sweden, where he has been
rector of a parish in the province of Ostergotland for many years.

In the fall of 1879, Rev. H. 0. Lindeblad assumed charge. His was
the onerous task of getting the church building completed and fur-
nished. Being a man of business acumen, he proved equal to the occa-
sion, successfully piloting the church through its financial straits.
Weary of the burden, he resigned in the fall of 1887, but was prevailed
upon to stay, and subsequently completed the work, making it possible

The Present Swedish Lutheran Church in Moline

to dedicate the edifice free of debt June 9, 1889. Besides the financial
ones, Rev. Lindeblad had numerous other problems to solve. At the
annual meeting of the church in 1887, the faculty of Augustana College
in the adjacent city of Rock Island petitioned for permission to organ-
ize an English Lutheran congregation at the institution. The petition
being denied, the church was nevertheless established and is known as
the Grace Lutheran Church, with its house of worship situated in the
east end of the city of Rock Island. In 1890 members of the Moline
church who resided at or near the college and in the neighborhood
lying between the institution and the church in Moline petitioned the
annual meeting for permission to organize a new Swedish Lutheran
congregation in that same territory. This plan also was realized, the
new congregation, named the Zion Church, building a small church
near the boundarv line between the cities of Rock Island and Moline.

O. C. T. ANDREN

In the spring of 1892, two lots were purchased, one in the east, another
in the south part of Moline and chapels were erected where regular
weekly services were conducted for the benefit of members residing
in those localities.

Rev. Lindeblad again resigned in the spring of 1892 and left the
charge Oct. 16th, following. Just one week later, he was succeeded by
Rev. C. A. Hemborg. The enlarged field and consequent increase of
work necessitated the engagement of theological students from the
nearby seminary to assist the pastor. The new minister also had his
share of extra work. Both the church and the parsonage were ren-
ovated and an addition was built to one of the chapels. A new par-
sonage was purchased July 1, 1895, at a cost of $5.000, and in 1899 the
old one was sold for $4,000. During Rev. Hemborg 's term of service
the church records were collected and properly arranged in an archive
by Mr. G-. Lindahl. The church celebrated its fiftieth anniversary Dec.
1, 1900, with appropriate festivities and in connection therewith pub-
lished an attractive and interesting historical memorial.

In 1904 Rev. Hemborg gave place to Dr. L. A. Johnston of St. Paul,
Minn., who still remains in charge. At New Year's, 1907, this church
had a total of 1,529 members, 1,110 being communicants. The value of
the church property is estimated at $55,000.

Olof Christian TelemaH. Andren

Rev. 0. C. T. Andren, although remaining only a few years in this
country, by his successful achievements earned an honorable place
among the Swedish Lutheran pioneers in the state of Illinois. Olof
Christian Telemak Andren was born in Malmo Sept. 21, 1824, the son
of a merchant named Christian Andersson and his wife Johanna, nee
Malmquist. After his father's death in 1828, his mother endeavored
to make a living for herself and her two children by teaching school,
By hard work and great privations she incurred consumption and died
in 1830, two years after the death of her husband.

A near relative who had taken the widow and her children into
his home sent Olof to the Latin school of Malmo three years later,
providing meals for him in a number of families in rotation. He con-
tinued his studies under the same arrangement until 1841 when he
entered the university of Lund. During these eight years, he had been
the laughing-stock of the rich men's sons at the school on account of
his poverty and wretched appearance. Mortified by their taunts, the
poor orphan repeatedly laid plans for flight, which circumstances, how-
ever, prevented him from carrying out.

Leaving the school in his home city about midsummer, he went to
Lund and there passed the collegiate examination the following spring.

464

THE LUTHERANS

Not having the means to continue his studies at the university, he
gladly accepted a proffered position as private tutor in the province of
Smaland, where he remained for three years, meanwhile preaching his
first sermon in the Hestra parish church. In the autumn of 1845, he
returned to Lund entering upon his theological studies. Again he
faced a financial struggle during which he often had to go without the
common necessaries of life. But his strenuous industry and unflinching
energy carried him through, enabling him in the short time of two
years to complete his courses and passing his examinations both in
theoretical and practical theology in 1847, the former in the spring,

Rev. Olof Christian Telemak Andren

the latter on Dec. 17th of that year. On the 19th of the same month he
was ordained at the early age of twenty-three, by the venerable
Bishop Faxe.

During the first three or four years in the ministry, Andren
served as assistant pastor under four elderly clergymen. The last was
Rector C. M. Westdahl of Carlshamn, where Andren remained from
February, 1851, to the summer of 1856, when he left for America. At
Carlshamn his spiritual life and experience attained to greater fullness,
the home of Rector Westdahl, pervaded as it was by taste, tact and
refinement, ennobled by Christian culture, furnishing a splendid school
for a young clergyman. Andren also had an extensive field for his
pastoral labors, the charge comprising, besides the city of Carlshamn,
the large parish of Asarum.

THE MOLINE CONGREGATION 465

Oct. 3, 1855, Andren through Dr. Peter Fjellstedt received a call
to become pastor of the Swedish Lutheran Church in Moline. After
much reflection and hesitation, he finally accepted and left for
America the following summer with leave of absence for six years.
On May 26, 1856, just before emigrating, he was married to Miss
Mathilda Pihl, daughter of Henrik Pihl, adjunct pastor of Ousby parish.
The couple traveled by way of Liibeck and Hamburg, landing in New
York July 18th and reaching Moline the 31st. An account of his four
years' service there having been given in previous pages, it may be add-
ed that Andren also gathered the Swedes of Geneseo into a small con-
gregation of 32 members who built a church at a cost of $1,300.

On Aug. 21, 1860, Rev. Andren left his charge in Moline never
to return. He went back to the old country, arriving in the middle of
September. There he immediately set to work soliciting funds for the
theological seminary just founded by the Swedish Lutherans of
America. He made stirring appeals in Lund, Stockholm, Upsala and
other cities, setting forth the need of an educational institution in so
convincing a manner that the response came in the form of a fund of no
less than 36,000 riksdaler. In order to present the matter to the king in
person, he was granted an audience before Charles XV. who listened
with favor to his request and tendered as a personal gift to the new
institution 5,000 volumes out of his own private library, leaving the
choice of books to Rev. Andren himself. This liberal contribution of
money and books from Sweden was of the greatest value to the young
Swedish- American institution.

Andren worked constantly in behalf of Augustana Theological
Seminary till the fall of 1861 when he was appointed pastor of Billinge
and Rostanga parishes in Skane to fill a vacancy. While there, Rev.
Andren became involved in a long and disagreeable feud with the
organist, Nils Lilja, doctor of philosophy and an author of note, who
was finally discharged on the ground of immorality. Lilja appealed
from the parish to the Lund chapter which rescinded the action of the
congregation and reinstated Dr. Lilja in his former position where he
remained until his death.

After having taken the pastoral examination at Lund Jan. 31, 1863,
Andren was elected minister of Asarum, now separated from Carlshamn
and made a distinct pastorate, taking charge in the fall of 1866 and
laboring with signal success for nearly four years. "While visiting
typhus patients in several families in May, 1870, Rev. Andren was
smitten with the disease and died on the llth of the following month.
His demise was deeply felt both in Sweden and in this country, Rev.
Andren having everywhere left the impression of a faithful, pious and
self-sacrificing pastor.

466 THE LUTHERANS

The Immanuel Church of Chicago

The Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Immanuel Church of Chicago
had a peculiar origin. A small party of emigrants from Vestergotland
arrived in Chicago in the summer of 1852, and from here they left by
boat for Sheboygan, Wis., where they were left helpless, finding no
one who was able to understand them and willing to help them. Men,
women and children were in hopeless distress. They spent a couple of
days among their bags and baggage on the boat landing, and when the
boat returned from Chicago, they piled on board again bound for the
city whence they had just come. Here they succeeded in obtaining
lodging with certain Norwegian families belonging to the Lutheran
church organized as early as 1848, and served by Eev. Paul Andersen.
Cholera was raging at this time, reaping its greatest harvest among the
newly arrived immigrants. One night when several members of the
party were attacked by the pest, one of the victims expressed a desire
to see a Lutheran minister. Rev. Paul Andersen was sent for at once
and did what he could to cheer and comfort the sick and dying, as well
as to speak words of encouragement to those in good health and giving
them advice and aid.

A firm and fast friendship was thus established between these
strangers and the benevolent divine, resulting in most of them, includ-
ing a few earnest Christians, joining the Norwegian church. Rev. An-
dersen, however, at once began to lay plans for the organizing of a
Swedish Lutheran church, whose first members were to be the Swedish
members of the Norwegian church.

When T. N. Hasselquist came to this country in October, 1852, he
passed through Chicago and was the guest of Rev. Andersen for a few
days. When he left, his host exacted a promise that Hasselquist should
return at his first opportunity to preach to his fellow countrymen here
and to organize a church among them. After having attended a con-
ference meeting at Moline early in January, 1853, Hasselquist started
on his way to Chicago, crowded into a stage coach packed with travel-
ers. He now preached several times to the Swedes in Rev. Andersen's
church, and on Sunday, Jan. 16th, he organized the Swedish Lutheran
Immanuel Church.

Eighty persons applied for membership at the time. The plan was
to call as pastor Rev. J. P. Dahlstedt, of Hofmantorp, Vexio chapter,
in Sweden, but the call was sent through Dr. P. Fjellstedt of Lund,
authorizing him to call another man in the event that Rev. Dahlstedt,
whose health was poor, should not see fit to accept. Dr. Fjellstedt was
obliged to extend the call to Rev. Erland Carlsson, who had served for
four years in the chapter of Vexio. After obtaining his passports from
the government, he started on his way to America on the 3rd day of

THE IMMANUEL CHURCH 467

June, 1853, from Kalmar, via Liibeck, Hamburg, Hull and Liverpool,
in a company of 176 emigrants. The ship anchored in New York
harbor on Saturday, Aug. 13th, and the party reached Chicago on the
22nd of the same month. Rev. Carlsson was met at the railway station
and was given a cordial welcome by members of the church he was to
serve. On the following Sunday, being the 14th after Trinity Sunday,
he preached his first sermon to his countrymen in Chicago.

The Immaimel Church Edifice on Superior Street

While the joy over the new pastor was intense, yet the outlook was
far from bright. Of the eighty people who had joined the congregation
at the outset, there were only thirty-six left, including eight families
and twenty single persons. The others had either moved away from the
city or joined other churches. Those remaining were all newcomers
in poor circumstances. There was not a family among them capable
of housing the new pastor, who for that reason was subjected to addi-
tional discomfort. In October, 1853, the church joined the Synod of
Northern Illinois to which Paul Andersen, L. P. Esbjorn and T. N.
Hasselquist, with their churches, already belonged.

468 THE LUTHERANS

The congregation held its first annual business meeting Jan. 27,
1854. At the time of the organization, no minutes had been kept, no
church council elected and no constitution adopted. There was no
record whatever, beyond the mere list of names of the persons who
pledged themselves as members. At this meeting, therefore, it was
decided to enter, first of all, in the newly procured record-book, a
brief account of the origin of the church. Also a constitution was
adopted, which afterward was used as a model for the constitution
drawn up for adoption by the congregations of the Augustana Synod.
It may be said that the church was legally organized now for the first
time, by the election of the following officers : deacons, C. J. Anderson,
John Nilson and Isak Peterson; trustees, Johan Bjorkholm, Goran
Svenson and Gisel Trulson.

The same week that Rev. Carlsson arrived, and before he had
preached his first sermon, several leading members of the church visited
him to consult with regard to the order of services. The question was
very guardedly put whether he intended to don the ecclesiastical garb
of the Swedish state church, and when he stated that to be his purpose
his visitors expressed great satisfaction, explaining that because
neither Esbjorn nor Hasselquist had done so when they appeared in
Chicago, many had openly declared that they were certainly no
Lutheran clergymen, and that if they ever were they had doubtless
deserted Lutheranism and its established order.

But these men had had their reasons for departing from established
usage. In Andover and Galesburg, at this time, certain groups of church
members claiming to correspond to the so-called "readers" of the old
country, made much ado about ritualism, attacking Esbjorn and
Hasselquist as being spiritually dead, on the ground that they recited
prayers out of the churchbook, and characterizing them as superstitious
and papistical, believing, as was alleged, that the word and the sacra-
ments would not be efficacious without the use of ecclesiastical garb.
For these reasons the pastors in question deemed it a duty to use their
liberty as Lutherans in discarding both the ministerial garb and the
churchbook. Rev. Carlsson, on the contrary, used both when officiating
at high mass, as well as at all ministerial acts. A couple of years later,
however, a compromise was agreed on, Rev. Carlsson discarding the
gown while the other two pastors returned to the use of the church-
book and the ecclesiastical neck-piece. Such has since been the custom
in the Augustana Synod until in recent years the gown has been re-
adopted to a great extent in the East, as also by many clergymen
in the West.

The Immanuel Church had great financial and other difficulties to
contend with from its inception. The year 1854 was especially fraught

THE IMMANUEL CHURCH 469

with trials and terrors for this church and for the Swedish immigrants
in general. The cholera epidemic was then at its height in this country,
and the newcomers more than any other class were subject to its
ravages. About one-tenth of the communicant members of the church
died of the pest and among the children the death rate was very much
higher. Next, the congregation was seriously affected by the financial
panic of 1857. many of its members being compelled to leave the city in
order to look for employment elsewhere. But common afflictions
brought the people closer together, and the pastor gladly shared the
poverty and sufferings of his flock. During the first three years he had
no fixed salary, being dependent on free-will offerings, amounting in
1854 to $116, in 1855 to $180, and in 1856 to $240, as shown by the
records of an annuaf meeting held on the "Thirteenth day of Christ-
mas," 1857, when the salary was fixed at $350 for the coming year.
That year the church numbered 204 communicant members.

In 1860, with an adult membership of 220, the church entered upon
a new era of its existence. The same year the Augustana Synod was
organized, and the Augustana Theological Seminary was established
in Chicago and located within the confines of this church. These im-
portant steps in advance naturally stimulated the people to increased
activity. The times improved. The outbreak of the Civil War caused
a great advance in the prices of all commodities. In all lines of em-
ployment work became more plentiful, and as a natural result immigra-
tion increased. All these things tended to promote the growth and
prosperity of the church, which in 1865 had no less than 525 com-
municant members.

The church edifice which had been purchased of the Norwegian
Lutherans in 1854 for the sum of $1,500, had grown too small, although
enlarged in the latter year. Mission work was therefore begun on the
south side, where services were held every Sunday morning and one
evening a week, in a schoolhouse at 21st st. and Arnold avenue. In con-
nection herewith, Rev. Peter Erikson was called as assistant pastor.
In 1868 the Salem Church was organized on the south side. At the time
the Immanuel Church lost to it a considerable number of its members,
yet numbered 1,020 communicants. A new church edifice was needed
and in 1869 steps were taken to build one. An imposing structure was
built at Sedgwick and Hobbie streets, at a total cost of $34,400. It was
dedicated Nov. 7th, that year, but was not completed until 1870. That
winter a great revival took place, giving joy to the heart of the pastor
and to all faithful Christians within the church. But new trials and
difficulties were in store. The great fire destroyed both church build-
ings, and the majority of the members were made homeless, some being
reduced to penury. Many of them left the city and for a time it looked

470 THE LUTHERANS

as though the congregation was to be entirely wiped out. But the very
first Sunday after the fire, quite a number gathered for worship
in a Norwegian church on the west side, and a few days later the
church authorities resolved that the church should continue to exist
under its legal name, constitution and charter and that, -with the help
of God, every cent of its debt would be paid. This was a heroic step,

The Immanuel Church Second Edifice

considering that the debts amounted to $22,600 after deducting the
insurance received on the old church building. On the new structure
no insurance could be collected.

Not long afterward, the work of clearing away the ruins of the
newly built temple was begun. A large number of members volun-
teered to aid in this work, women and children vying with men and
boys. On New Year's Day, 1872, the congregation at its annual meet-
ing appointed a building committee with authority to erect a church
similar to the one destroyed in the fire. Work on the new building was
not to be begun until at least $10,000 had been raised. When Rev.
Carlsson returned home after having visited a number of Swedish

THE IMMANUEL CHURCH

471

churches in the West and both Swedish and other Lutherans in the
East for the purpose of soliciting funds, he brought back a little more
than the stipulated amount, making it possible to go ahead with the
work at once. On Christmas morning following, the congregation was
enabled to worship in the basement of the new church, fitted up as a
temporary meeting hall. The edifice was not completed until the
spring of 1875. It was dedicated on April 4th, and on the same day
Rev. C. A. Evald, its new pastor, was inducted into office to succeed
Rev. Carlsson, who had resigned by reason of ill health, after serving
the church for a period of 22 years. The new church, with steeple,
bells and organ still lacking, represented a cost of $31,845. At the
annual meeting that year the church debt amounted to $21,558. This
was a pressing burden for a long term of years, retarding progress and
weighing down the spirits of the members. Subscriptions were taken
from time to time in an effort to reduce the obligation. At the annual
meeting, Jan. 1, 1885, the trustees were pleased to report that the last
remnant of the debt, amounting to $6,700, together with the interest
thereon, being $534.33, had been paid off. To commemorate the joyous
event, a thanksgiving festival was arranged which took place on the
18th of January. Since that time extra funds have been raised for the
church from time to time for various purposes, such as renovating,
erecting a steeple and providing it with a clock and church bells, and
purchasing a new pipe organ. The steeple was built in 1886 at a cost
of $2,579 ; at the same time a tower clock was procured for $600 and
three church bells weighing 5,900 Ibs. and costing $1,174.35. A new
pipe organ was installed in 1892 at a cost of nearly $6,000.

In 1897 the house at 218 Sedgwick street was purchased for a par-
sonage at a cost of $8,500. The basement of the building was turned
into a library and reading room for the use of the young people's
society. From March, 1890, the church has published a monthly paper,
named "Forsamlings-Vannen," ed