Olof Persson Stille
Encyclopedia
Olof Persson Stille was a pioneer settler in the Swedish colony of New Sweden
. He served as the first chief justice of the Upland Court
.
on the island of SoIö in Roslagen
, northeast of Stockholm
, the son of Per Stille, supervisor of the Penningby estate
in Länna parish
, Norrtälje Municipality
in Uppland
, north of Stockholm
. In 1627 when Per Stille retired, he was granted land by the owners of Penningby on a nearby island called Humblö in the Stockholm archipelago
. This was where Olof Stille married and began his family.
In New Sweden, Olof Stille settled at a place located between present Crum Creek
and Ridley Creek
. The property of Stille was at the mouth of Ridley Creek, now Eddystone, Pennsylvania
. Local Indians became acquainted with Olof Stille. They considered his heavy, black beard unusual conferring the name Tequirassy on him because of it. Stille became a leader among the settlers and played a key role in promoting the July 1653 list of grievances, which was submitted to Governor Johan Printz, protesting his strict rule. Printz considered this action mutiny and subsequently returned to Sweden.
, Governor Peter Stuyvesant
agreed to allow the Swedish colonist living north of the Christina River
to govern themselves. The Upland Court
at Chester
in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, was organized in 1656. Olof Stille served as its chief justice until his retirement in 1664.
. Olof Stille moved to Moyamensing (now south Philadelphia
)where he died about 1684.
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 served as the first chief justice of the Upland Court
Upland 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...
.
Background
Olof Persson Stille was born in 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....
on the island of SoIö in Roslagen
Roslagen
Roslagen is the name of the coastal areas of Uppland province in Sweden, which also constitutes the northern part of the Stockholm archipelago....
, northeast of Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, the son of Per Stille, supervisor of the Penningby estate
Penningby castle
Penningby Castle is a medieval-period private castle located the Länna parish of Norrtälje Municipality in Uppland, 70 kilometres north of Stockholm, Sweden. Penningby situated in the valley near Edsviken, a narrow inlet in the Saltsjön bay of the Baltic Sea .-History:One of the most...
in Länna parish
Länna, Uppsala Municipality
Länna is a locality situated in Uppsala Municipality, Uppsala County, Sweden with 698 inhabitants in 2005.- References :...
, Norrtälje Municipality
Norrtälje Municipality
Norrtälje Municipality is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Norrtälje....
in Uppland
Uppland
Uppland is a historical province or landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic sea...
, north of Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. In 1627 when Per Stille retired, he was granted land by the owners of Penningby on a nearby island called Humblö in the Stockholm archipelago
Stockholm archipelago
The Stockholm archipelago is the largest archipelago of Sweden, and one of the largest archipelagos of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:The archipelago extends from Stockholm roughly 60 kilometers to the east...
. This was where Olof Stille married and began his family.
New Sweden
In May 1641, the Charitas departed for New Sweden. The passengers included Olof Stille, his wife, a daughter and son. Also on board were Olof's younger brother Axel Stille and the family of Måns Svensson Lom, whose wife appears to have been Olof's younger sister.In New Sweden, Olof Stille settled at a place located between present Crum Creek
Crum Creek
Crum Creek is a creek in Delaware County and Chester County, Pennsylvania, flowing approximately , generally in a southward direction and draining into the Delaware River in Eddystone, Pennsylvania. It begins in a swamp near Newtown Square, Pennsylvania along which several mills were established...
and Ridley Creek
Ridley Creek
Ridley Creek is a tributary of the Delaware River in southeast Pennsylvania in the United States. The entire drainage basin is in the suburban Philadelphia area, but the upper creek and extensive park lands on the creek retain a rural character, while the mouth of the creek has long been heavily...
. The property of Stille was at the mouth of Ridley Creek, now Eddystone, Pennsylvania
Eddystone, Pennsylvania
Eddystone is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,442 at the 2000 census.-Early history:The area at the mouth of Ridley Creek was first called "Tequirassy" by Native Americans. The land was owned by Olof Persson Stille, one of the early settlers from New...
. Local Indians became acquainted with Olof Stille. They considered his heavy, black beard unusual conferring the name Tequirassy on him because of it. Stille became a leader among the settlers and played a key role in promoting the July 1653 list of grievances, which was submitted to Governor Johan Printz, protesting his strict rule. Printz considered this action mutiny and subsequently returned to Sweden.
Upland Court
After the surrender of New Sweden to the Dutch West India CompanyDutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
, Governor Peter 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...
agreed to allow the Swedish colonist living north of the Christina River
Christina River
The Christina River is a tributary of the Delaware River, approximately 35 miles long, in northern Delaware in the United States, also flowing through small areas of southeastern Pennsylvania and northeastern Maryland. Near its mouth the river flows past downtown Wilmington, Delaware,...
to govern themselves. The Upland Court
Upland 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...
at Chester
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 Delaware County, Pennsylvania, was organized in 1656. Olof Stille served as its chief justice until his retirement in 1664.
Wolley Stille
Wolley Stille, a house near Chester which was first completed about 1700, was named for Stille, who owned a neighboring property. Wolley Stille is located in Nether Providence Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania The house is now in the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. Olof Stille moved to Moyamensing (now south Philadelphia
South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west.-History:...
)where he died about 1684.
Other sources
- Myers, Albert Cook Narratives of Early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware 1630-1707 (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1912)
- Johnson, Amandus The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware Volume I: Their History and Relation to the Indians, Dutch and English, 1638-1664, (1911)