Nicholas Gustafson
Encyclopedia
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....
immigrant who was mortally wounded in the James-Younger Gang
James-Younger gang
The James-Younger Gang was a notable 19th-century gang of American outlaws that included Jesse James.The gang was centered in the state of Missouri. Membership fluctuated from robbery to robbery, as the outlaws' raids were usually separated by many months...
bank raid in Northfield, Minnesota
Northfield, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 17,147 people, 4,909 households, and 3,210 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,452.2 people per square mile . There were 5,119 housing units at an average density of 732.1 per square mile...
. Various sources use alternate spellings of his names including Nicolaus, Nicholaus or Niclas and Gustavson. He was born in Fiddekulla, Vissefjärda parish in Småland
Småland
' is a historical province in southern Sweden.Småland borders Blekinge, Scania or Skåne, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means Small Lands. . The latinized form Smolandia has been used in other languages...
province.
Bank raid
Gustafson was a recent immigrant to the USA from SwedenSweden
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....
. Swedish immigration records show that a "Niclas Gustafson" arrived in Faribault, Minnesota
Faribault, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,818 people, 7,472 households, and 4,946 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,644.8 people per square mile . There were 7,668 housing units at an average density of 605.8 per square mile...
on June 9, 1876.
Gustafson is known to have settled in the Millersburg, Minnesota area about 12 miles southwest of Northfield and 12 miles northwest of Faribault. At that time, the community was attracting a number of Swedish immigrants.
It is the general consensus that, because of his recent arrival, he didn't speak enough English to understand what was going on during the raid on September 7, 1876. Consequently, when members of the James-Younger Gang
James-Younger gang
The James-Younger Gang was a notable 19th-century gang of American outlaws that included Jesse James.The gang was centered in the state of Missouri. Membership fluctuated from robbery to robbery, as the outlaws' raids were usually separated by many months...
were yelling at local citizens to get off the street, he may not have understood them and was mortally wounded during the gun battle.
Cole Younger
Cole Younger
Thomas Coleman "Cole" Younger was an American Confederate guerrilla during the American Civil War and later an outlaw with the James-Younger gang...
pleaded guilty to Gustafson's murder (perhaps, in part, to avoid Minnesota's mandated death sentence if he had been convicted of the crime), but he also claimed he wasn't the primary killer. He later stated "I have always believed that the man Nicholas Gustafson... was hit by a glancing shot from Manning's or Wheeler's rifle. If any of our party shot him, it must have been Woods."
Gustafson died from his wound four days after the raid.
Gustafson was buried in Northfield because the Millersburg Swedish community had no church or cemetery at that time. After his death, Millersburg Swedes immediately started planning for the construction of their own church and cemetery.
In memory
In 1948, Northfield citizens founded the Defeat of Jesse James Days to honor the heroism of Northfield's townspeople. It has become one of the largest celebrations in Minnesota. Every year Gustafson's death, along with that of Joseph Lee HeywoodJoseph Lee Heywood
Joseph Lee Heywood was the acting cashier at the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota when the James-Younger Gang attempted to rob the bank...
, the acting cashier at the First National Bank, are commemorated in a graveside memorial service at Northfield City Cemetery on September 7.
Related reading
- Quist, B. Wayne. The History of the Christdala Evangelical Lutheran Church (Dundas, Minnesota: Small World Press, 1996)
- Huntington, George Robber and Hero: The Story of the Northfield Bank Raid (St. Paul: Minnesota: Historical Society Press, 1986)
External links
- Nicholas Gustafson at Find a GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...
. - Nicholas Gustafson at Christdala ChurchChristdala Evangelical Swedish Lutheran ChurchChristdala Evangelical Swedish Lutheran Church in rural Rice County, Minnesota was formally listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of Interior, U. S...
. - Nicholas Gustafson song at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
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