A rough timeline of Swedish emigration to North America

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New Sweden, the colony (1638-1655)

In the time of the the Swedish Empire there were (quite naturally) some Swedish colonial aspirations. The shortlived colony of New Sweden, in the time of Queen Kristina was founded in the Delaware Valley in 1638 and lost in 1655. The number of emigrants from Sweden and Finland in those years was insignificant compared to later waves of emigration, but the number of elapsed generations since then means that there are a substantial number of New Sweden descendants.

The New Sweden Project maintains a list of New Sweden Forefathers.

After the time of the Swedish colony, the Church of Sweden still provided the Swedish-speakers in Delaware with ministers. The last of them, Nils Collin died in 1831. The list below is far from complete. There were many who stayed only for a short time, and many gaps in the succession.

• Eric Björk (1668-1741), Andreas Rudman (1670-1720) and Jonas Aurenius (1666-1713) were sent out in 1697 by bishop Jesper Swedberg (1653-1735).
• Andreas Hesselius (1677-1733) in America 1712-1723.
• Israel Acrelius (1714-1800) - in America 1749-1756
• Johan Eneberg
• Petrus Tranberg - The records of Holy Trinity
• Johannes Dylander (1709-1741) to America 1737 SBL
• Gabriel Näsman
• Johan Sandin (1711-1748) died in Swedesboro
• Lars Girelius (1739-1805) - in America 1767-1791. By the time he returned to Sweden no new clergymen were sent to America by the Church of Sweden.
• Nils Collin (1746-1831) - the last Swedish minister in New Sweden - SBL

The years of travellers and trade (1655-1840s)

From 1655 to the emigration of the Eric-Janssonists in 1846 there was only a trickle of individual emigrants from Sweden to North America, if there was anything at all. Sweden was a sparsely populated country; the many years of war had taken their toll of young men sent away to die for the glory of the empire. The Swedish population was growing, but child mortality was still very high. For a long time the agricultural improvements were enough to feed the growing population.

The economic policies of the 18th century encouraged population growth and the building of national strength. Emigration was feared and discouraged by passport fees and other legal and economic means.

Trade relations between Sweden and the Americas, however, were good - presumably offering opportunities for sailors to jump ship. Many indviduals from "the better classes" visited America and wrote about it.

• There were travellers and explorers like the naturalist Pehr Kalm (1716-1779).
• There were adventurers like Jacob Fahlstrom (1794-1859), the "Swede Indian", who came to North America in 1811.
• Gustaf Elias Marius Unonius (1810-1902) spent the years 1841-58 in America and wrote eloquently about his experiences
• Fredrika Bremer (1801-1865) travelled in America 1849-51 and published Homes in the New World in 1853.
• Lars Johan Hierta (1801-1872) published traveller's reports from America in Aftonbladet. He campaigned in riksdagen for freedom to emigrate, which resulted in the cancelling of the requirement for a deposit to ensure the return of travellers abroad. However, the required passport fee was still too much unless you were well-to-do.
• Early emigrants like Sven Magnus Svensson (1816-1896) played an important role in the coming years of mass emigration. Svenson emigrated in 1836 and became a wealthy Texas rancher, importing manpower from his home area in Småland.
• Olof Gustaf Hedström (1803-1877), working on a ship that was sold, was stranded in New York in 1826. He became a Methodist and founded a mission on Bethelskeppet. He sent his brother, Jonas Hedstrom (1813-1859), to Illinois to found the core of a Scandinavian settlement.

The start of group emigration (1840s-1850s)

The 1840s and 1850s were years of religious awakening in Sweden. The culmination of revivalist movements brought many groups in conflict with the Church of Sweden and the Conventicle Act, which outlawed religious meetings outside the state church. This resulted in group emigration to America by adherents of the charismatic Eric Jansson, of Mormons and of Baptists, all of whom clashed with the Conventicle Act. Eventually these movements also resulted in an increased religious freedom in Sweden.

• Eric Jansson (1808-1850) - emigration 1846
  • Erikjansare from Söderala - There will have been followers of Eric Jansson emigrating from other places in Sweden, and they did not necessarily all end up in Bishop Hill. Nor will everybody who ever lived in Bishop Hill necessarily be a descendant of an Eric-Jansonist.
• John Erik Forsgren (1816-1890) - Latterday Saint pioneer
  • John E. Forsgren Company 1853 (mostly Danes)
• Baptist Fredrik Olaus (Nilsson) Nelson (1809-1881) was, among other things, the leader of a group of Swedish Emigrants in 1853.
  • In 1858 the Conventicle Act was replaced with a somewhat more lenient law. It was still forbidden to have religious gatherings at the same time ast the ordinary church service.

The 1850s also saw significant group emigration for economic reasons: families seeking a better life on fertile American soil, facilitated by the Homestead Acts. Typically the whole family emigrated, never to return to Sweden.

• Carl Friman (1781-1862) - went to America with five sons in 1838. He returned to Sweden in 1839, leaving his sons in America. The letters from his son Carl Johan were among those published by Hierta in Aftonbladet.
• Peter Carlsson Cassel (1790-1857) - emigrated in 1845
• Anders Petersson (1818-1898) - emigrated alone in 1850, but was joined by his sister and her family. His diaries were important as source material for Vilhelm Moberg's Emigrant series.
• Joris-Pelle Andersson (1817-1881) led a group of 100 emigrants from Hassela in 1850. His fate as reported in the diaries of Erik Norelius was also a source for Vilhelm Moberg.

The journey across the Atlantic at this time was usually strenuous - there was no regular traffic with passenger ships, emigrants just piggybacking on the established cargo traffic. The followers of Eric Jansson may have had particularly bad luck, ships foundering and cholera reaping whole families, but they were probably not unique.

The start of mass emigration (1860s)

While the American Civil War (1861-1865) had a dampening effect on the emigration of non-military Swedes, the Swedish famine 1867-69 became somewhat of a kick start for mass emigration.

• 1867 - extreme cold and an extremely short summer caused crop failure and famine in Norrland
• 1868-1869 - drought caused crop failure and famine on the South Swedish highlands

In the 1860s the established Swedish settlements served to attract more Swedes - individuals as well as families. Swedes also paricipated in the general westward migration. By this time transport had been improved - there were regular passenger lines across the Atlantic - and a network of emigration agents grew on both sides of the ocean. Transport in America was also improving by the construction of railways.

• Emigration booster Hans Mattson (1832-1893) - emigrated in 1851, played an important role as promoter and organizer in the burgeoning mass emigration years.

The industrial years (1870s and on)

Probably most Swedes have not-too distant relatives (like first cousins twice removed or second great grand uncles) who emigrated between 1870 and the 1920s.

By now emigration was more or less a routine business. There was a smaller proportion of families emigrating, since so many young singles went to take their chances Over There. It was also much easier (and comparatively cheaper) to go back and forth across the Atlantic, and many did: they worked in America for a few years, returning to Sweden with their savings.

Emigration fluctuated with the business cycles and so did the ticket prices: in time of low demand, the prices went down.

Sources

• Beijbom, Ulf (1995) Mot löftets land: den svenska utvandringen, LT, Stockholm
• Hans Högman Swedish emigration to USA
• Burr, Horace (1890) The records of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church, Wilmington, Del., from 1697 to 1773 at FamilySearch
• Gust. Arén — Sigurd Petri, De Svenska Församlingarnas i Nordamerika anslutning till den Anglikanska Kyrkan 1736—1786, Kyrkohistorisk årsskrift 1900. at runeberg.org
• Västerbro, Magnus (2020). Svälten: hungeråren som formade Sverige. [Stockholm]: Albert Bonniers förlag
• Olsson, Nils William (1967). Swedish passenger arrivals in New York 1820-1850. Stockholm: Norstedt