Måns Andersson
Encyclopedia
Måns Andersson was a pioneer in the Swedish
colony of New Sweden
.
on the ship Kalmar Nyckel
heading to New Sweden
. He had been hired as a laborer at the rate of 50 Dutch guilders per year. He, his wife, and one daughter, Britta, arrived in New Sweden in April 1640. When a tobacco plantation was established at Upland (now Chester, Pennsylvania
) in 1644, Andersson became a tobacco
farmer.
After the death of his first wife, Måns Andersson married a daughter of Christopher Rettel, about 1646. They established their own farm, named Silleryd in present Delaware County
, possibly named after the village Sillerud
in Värmland
. That same year he became a freeman
, leaving the employ of the New Sweden Company. Like the other settlers, he was prohibited from trade with native Indians, and forced to do business at unfavorable rates with the company store or Governor Printz
's private warehouse. By March 1648 he had accumulated 160 guilders of debt.
Måns Andersson was one of the 22 freemen submitting a complaint to the governor on 27 July 1653, protesting the dictatorial rule and asking for more freedoms. Printz termed this petition a "mutiny" and threatened severe reprisals. For his own safety, Måns Andersson fled New Sweden for the new Dutch colony founded in 1651 near Fort Casimir
, known as Swanwick
(Swan Cove). But he had not escaped Swedish rule. In May 1654 in a bloodless coup, a new Governor sent from Sweden, Johan Risingh took Fort Casimir. Risingh, however, was a less dictatorial governor, and bought Silleryd from Andersson on 10 July 1654. In September 1655, Fort Casimir was retaken by the Dutch and Andersson signed an oath of allegiance to Governor Stuyvesant
with his mark. Anderson was appointed inspector of tobacco in 1656 and remained at Swanwick until 1661, when he immigrated to Maryland
to a 150 acre (0.607029 km²) plantation named "Mountsfield" near the mouth of the Elk River
on Sassafras Neck in Baltimore County (now in Cecil County).
Andersson is last mentioned in the diary of a Dutch traveler, Jasper Danckaerts, who wrote, on 4 December 1679, that "towards evening we came to a Swede's named Mouns, where we had to be put across a creek, where we spent the night with him, and were entirely welcome. He and his wife and some of his children spoke good Dutch and conversed with us about various matters concerning the country."
Finnish author and emigrant researcher K-G Olin claims that there is circumstantial evidence that Måns Andersson in fact was a Finn. At the time of his emigration from Sweden there were many Finns living in Värmland in Sweden. No conclusive evidence of Måns Andersson's place of birth have been found so far.
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....
colony of New Sweden
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....
.
Biography
During October 1639, Måns Andersson left GothenburgGothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
on the ship 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...
heading to New Sweden
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....
. He had been hired as a laborer at the rate of 50 Dutch guilders per year. He, his wife, and one daughter, Britta, arrived in New Sweden in April 1640. When a tobacco plantation was established at Upland (now Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...
) in 1644, Andersson became a tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
farmer.
After the death of his first wife, Måns Andersson married a daughter of Christopher Rettel, about 1646. They established their own farm, named Silleryd in present Delaware County
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....
, possibly named after the village Sillerud
Sillerud
Sillerud is a parish in Årjäng Municipality, western Värmland, and partly in Dalsland, Sweden, with a population of approx. 1.100.It is believed that Måns Andersson, an ancestor of the Bush family, was from Sillerud, because he named his farm in North America Silleryd...
in Värmland
Värmland
' is a historical province or landskap in the west of middle Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland and Närke. It is also bounded by Norway in the west. Latin name versions are Vermelandia and Wermelandia. Although the province's land originally was Götaland, the...
. That same year he became a freeman
Freeman (Colonial)
Freeman is a term which originated in 12th century Europe and is common as an English or American Colonial expression in Puritan times. In the Bay Colony, a man had to be a member of the Church to be a freeman. In Colonial Plymouth, a man did not need to be a member of the Church, but he had to be...
, leaving the employ of the New Sweden Company. Like the other settlers, he was prohibited from trade with native Indians, and forced to do business at unfavorable rates with the company store or Governor Printz
Johan Björnsson Printz
Johan Björnsson Printz was governor from 1643 until 1653 of the Swedish colony of New Sweden on the Delaware River in North America.-Early Life in Sweden:...
's private warehouse. By March 1648 he had accumulated 160 guilders of debt.
Måns Andersson was one of the 22 freemen submitting a complaint to the governor on 27 July 1653, protesting the dictatorial rule and asking for more freedoms. Printz termed this petition a "mutiny" and threatened severe reprisals. For his own safety, Måns Andersson fled New Sweden for the new Dutch colony founded in 1651 near Fort Casimir
Fort Casimir
Fort Casimir was a Dutch settlement in 17th century colonial province of New Netherland. It was located on a no-longer existing barrier island at the end of Chestnut Street in what is now New Castle, Delaware...
, known as Swanwick
Sussex County, Delaware
Sussex County is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of 2010 the population was 197,145, an increase of 25.9% over the previous decade. The county seat is Georgetown. The Seaford Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Sussex County.Sussex County is...
(Swan Cove). But he had not escaped Swedish rule. In May 1654 in a bloodless coup, a new Governor sent from Sweden, Johan Risingh took Fort Casimir. Risingh, however, was a less dictatorial governor, and bought Silleryd from Andersson on 10 July 1654. In September 1655, Fort Casimir was retaken by the Dutch and Andersson signed an oath of allegiance to Governor Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant , served as the last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664, after which it was renamed New York...
with his mark. Anderson was appointed inspector of tobacco in 1656 and remained at Swanwick until 1661, when he immigrated to Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
to a 150 acre (0.607029 km²) plantation named "Mountsfield" near the mouth of the Elk River
Elk River (Maryland)
The Elk River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula. It is about long, and as the most northeastern extension of the Chesapeake Bay estuary, serves as one entrance to the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. It is located in Cecil County, Maryland, with its headwaters extending...
on Sassafras Neck in Baltimore County (now in Cecil County).
Andersson is last mentioned in the diary of a Dutch traveler, Jasper Danckaerts, who wrote, on 4 December 1679, that "towards evening we came to a Swede's named Mouns, where we had to be put across a creek, where we spent the night with him, and were entirely welcome. He and his wife and some of his children spoke good Dutch and conversed with us about various matters concerning the country."
Finnish author and emigrant researcher K-G Olin claims that there is circumstantial evidence that Måns Andersson in fact was a Finn. At the time of his emigration from Sweden there were many Finns living in Värmland in Sweden. No conclusive evidence of Måns Andersson's place of birth have been found so far.
Other sources
- Louhi, E.A. The Delaware Finns, or The First Permanent Settlements In Pennsylvania, Delaware, West New Jersey And Eastern Part Of Maryland. (New York : The Humanity Press. 1925)
- Benson, Adolph B. and Naboth Hedin, eds. Swedes in America, 1638-1938 (The Swedish American Tercentenary Association. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. 1938) ISBN 978-0838303269