Sven Svensson
Encyclopedia
Sven Svensson was a prominent citizen of the New Sweden
colony and was from one of the colony's founding families.
, a forefather of the New Swedish colony. His father was sent to the New Sweden colony by the Swedish government to help form the colony. They left in 1639 from Göteborg on the Kalmar Nyckel
, and eventually arrived in the new world near present-day Delaware
.
, and would serve a term as a representative in the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly in 1683. In 1683, Svensson, along with his brothers, were forced to surrender portions of their father's plantation at Wicaco to William Penn
, who was planning the city of Philadelphia. He died at Wicaco in 1696, leaving behind 5 children: Lars, Brigitta, Margaret, Barbara, and Catharina.
New Sweden
New Sweden was a Swedish colony along the Delaware River on the Mid-Atlantic coast of North America from 1638 to 1655. Fort Christina, now in Wilmington, Delaware, was the first settlement. New Sweden included parts of the present-day American states of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania....
colony and was from one of the colony's founding families.
Early life
Svensson was born in 1636 in Sweden to Sven GunnarssonSven Gunnarsson
Sven Gunnarsson was a founder of the New Sweden colony, owner of land which today is most of present-day Society Hill in Philadelphia, and a progenitor of the Du Pont family in modern-day Delaware.-New Sweden colony:...
, a forefather of the New Swedish colony. His father was sent to the New Sweden colony by the Swedish government to help form the colony. They left in 1639 from Göteborg on the Kalmar Nyckel
Kalmar Nyckel
The Kalmar Nyckel was a Dutch-built armed merchant ship famed for carrying Finnish and Swedish settlers to North America in 1638 to establish the colony of New Sweden. A replica of the ship was launched at Wilmington, Delaware, in 1997.-History:The Kalmar Nyckel was constructed in about 1625 and...
, and eventually arrived in the new world near present-day Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
.
Later life
Svensson would marry Catharina Larsdotter, daughter of Lars Svensson, the Finn, in 1658. He would become a Justice in the Upland CourtUpland Court
Upland Court was the governing body of the New Sweden colony following Dutch West India Company annexation from Swedish colonial rule. In 1655, Peter Stuyvesant, governor of the Dutch colony, allowed the colonists to remain an independent Swedish nation through Upland Court, allowing freedom of...
, and would serve a term as a representative in the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly in 1683. In 1683, Svensson, along with his brothers, were forced to surrender portions of their father's plantation at Wicaco to William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
, who was planning the city of Philadelphia. He died at Wicaco in 1696, leaving behind 5 children: Lars, Brigitta, Margaret, Barbara, and Catharina.