Jonas Swensson was a noted minister of the Lutheran Church and president of the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church

Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church

The Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church was a Lutheran church body in the United States that was one of the churches that merged into the Lutheran Church in America in 1962...

.

Swensson was born in Snollsbo, in Småland, Sweden. He attended high school at Växjö

Växjö

Växjö is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden with 64 200 inhabitants in 2010. It is the administrative, cultural and industrial centre of Kronoberg County. Furthermore it is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Växjö. It has a population of about 64 200, out of a...

. He was ordained at the Växjö Cathedral on October 8, 1851. His Swedish pastoral service was at Unnaryd, situated in Hylte Municipality, Halland

Halland

' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:...

 County, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 (1851–1856). He married Maria Blixt in 1856 and emigrated the same year to begin work at Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania

Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania

Sugar Grove is a borough in Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 613 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Sugar Grove is located at ....

 and later at Jamestown, New York

Jamestown, New York

Jamestown is a city in Chautauqua County, New York in the United States. The population was 31,146 at the 2010 census.The City of Jamestown is adjacent to Town of Ellicott and is at the southern tip of Chautauqua Lake...

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The organizing meeting of the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church was held at the Jefferson Prairie Settlement

Jefferson Prairie Settlement

Jefferson Prairie Settlement was a pioneer colony of Norwegian-Americans located near the village of Clinton, in Rock County, Wisconsin. This site and the nearby Rock Prairie settlement outside Orfordville, Wisconsin served as a center for both Norwegian immigration and developments within the...

, near Clinton, Wisconsin

Clinton, Wisconsin

Clinton is a village in Rock County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 2,162 at the 2000 census . The village is located within the town of Clinton...

 from June 5–8, 1860. Jonas Swensson was part of the quartet of pastors, together with Lars Paul Esbjörn

Lars Paul Esbjörn

Lars Paul Esbjörn was a Swedish-American Lutheran clergyman, academic and church leader. Esbjörn was a founder of Augustana College and of the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church.-Background:...

, Tuve Hasselquist

Tuve Hasselquist

Tuve Nils Hasselquist was a Swedish American Lutheran minister and church leader.-Biography:Hasselquist was born in Hasselröd, Osby Municipality in Skåne County, Sweden....

, and Erland Carlsson

Erland Carlsson

Erland Carlsson was a Swedish-American Lutheran Minister. He was one of the founders and served as President of the Augustana Lutheran Synod.-Background:...

who pioneered the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church also known as the Augustana Synod. After serving as secretary of the church for several years, he was president of the Augustana Synod from 1870 to his death December 20, 1873.

Primary Source

• Eklund, Emmet E. His Name was Jonas, a Biography of Jonas Swensson (Rock Island, IL: Augustana Historical Society. 1988)

Additional Sources

• Swensson, Jonas Two primary sources for a study of the life of Jonas Swensson (Rock Island, IL: Augustana Historical Society. 1957)
• Gross, Ernie This Day in Religion (New York: Neil-Schuman Publisher. 1990)
• Arden, G. Everett Half a Million Swedes (America's Lutherans. (Columbus OH: Wartburg Press. 1958)