The Swedes in Rock Island County, Illinois Source: The History of the Swedes of Illinois, ©1908 Transcribed by K. Torp, ©2007 MOLINE, ROCK ISLAND COUNTY This community dates back to the year 1843, when the first houses were built on the site of the present city of Moline. The place made little progress until the late forties, when John Deere and others laid the foundation for the local plow and agricultural implement manufacturing industry which caused the place to develop with enormous strides during the next few decades and which has given the city world-wide fame. The plow works of Deere and Company are said to be the largest in the world and their products are sent annually to the uttermost parts of the earth. The Moline Plow Company is the name of a younger concern which manufactures plows and other agricultural implements on a large scale. Besides these, Moline has a large number of industrial plants, making it one of the greatest manufacturing cities in the state. The chief reasons for the subsequent location of so many factories at Moline were its water power facilities, its location on the border of two of the most flourishing agricultural states in the Union, and its unexcelled communications by land and water with all parts of the country. As an industrial city. Moline naturally has a large population of laborers. A large percentage of its many thousands of workingmen are Swedes, many of whom have established economic independence and a respected station in the community by their traditional industry, thrift and good habits. The greater number have homes of their own and some are quite wealthy. The Swedes of Molina are a power in the community not merely by dint of numbers but owing to their splendid citizenship. While conscientiously fulfilling their duties as citizen, they cautiously guard their rights as such, and as a result they will obtain the majority in the city government from time to time. A large number of them belong to one church or another. Almost every religious denomination pursuing work among the Swedish people is here represented. The fraternity movement also has made great accessions. The neighboring Augustana College has exerted considerable influence on the numerous Swedish population of Moline, giving out powerful impulses to religious and intellectual endeavor. While the great mass of the Swedish workmen are common factory hands, not a few of them have forged ahead by skill and competence to become foremen, superintendents and mechanical experts in the works, and in rare instances they have gone so far as to found their own industrial establishments. The earliest Swedish settlers in Moline were Olaus Bengtsson and Carl Johansson, the former coming over from Sweden in 1847, the latter in 1848. Bengtsson landed with wife and children in Chicago and, being unable to find work, left his eldest son there and came on to Moline on foot, accompanied by his wife and three of the children, the parents taking turns in carrying the smaller ones when their strength gave out. The family settled on a farm in Moline township, near the Rock River, and did well at farming. Olaus Bengtsson died before the eighties. The son left behind in Chicago after three years rejoined the family, when he had to learn his mother tongue anew, having completely forgotten it while living exclusively among English-speaking people. Carl Johansson, a tailor by trade, came from Kampestad, Ostergotland, to Andover in 1847 and from there to Moline the next year. The place was at that time a bit of a village with a grocery and sundry other little stores where the farmers of the neighborhood exchanged their farm products for merchandise and provisions. A flour and saw mill combined was located on the river bank, and from the Illinois side, stretching across the south branch of the Mississippi to the island opposite, was a wooden dam which served until 1858. A large portion of the present site of the city was under cultivation, and at the foot of the hills which now comprise a fine part of its residence district grew thick woods from which the early inhabitants derived their fuel supply. During the years 1840 to 1850 came the following Swedish settlers: Sven Jacobsson, a carpenter from Vermland, with family, who subsequently moved to Vasa, Minn., but returned to Moline after a few years; Carl Petter Andersson, who purchased land on the bluffs where he was still engaged in farming thirty years later; Gustaf Johnson, with family, he and Jacobsson dying before the eighties; Erik Forsse with family, who later joined the Bishop Hill colony, was a major in the 57th Illinois Regiment during the war, removing to Falun, Salina county, Kansas, some time after the close of the war; Jonas Westberg, who died prior to 1880; M. P. Petersson, who began farming on the bluffs, then conducted a small store, removed to Altona, thence to Iowa, where he was still living in 1880; Petter Soderstrom. who moved to Minnesota and from there to Swede Bend, la.; Sven J. Johnson, who for thirteen years ran the ferryboat across the Mississippi between Rock Island and Davenport; Abraham Andersson from Gnarp, Helsingland, a hired man who bought a small property in Moline and at his death in the early fifties willed to the Swedish Lutheran Church a house and lot as a parsonage for its future pastor. A unique character among the immigrants was Jon Olsson from Stenbo, Forssa parish, Helsingland, who came to Moline in 1850. In the old country he had lived like a peasant king on a fine, well cultivated estate. When Erik Jansson, the prophet, came to Forssa and began preaching, the "Old Man of Stenbo," as he was commonly called, was among the first to embrace the doctrines of the prophet and open his home for his meetings. His sons also early affiliated with the new sect, one of them. Olof Stenberg, or Stoneberg, which was the American form of his name, becoming one of its leaders. During the winter of 1849-50 he and Olof Johnson went back to Sweden in order to gather together the remaining followers of Erik Jansson and bring them to America. Then it was arranged that the old man, who was now a widower, also should emigrate, but he did not accompany his son, preferring to travel alone. After having sold his estate, he chartered a steamer at Hudiksvall, took a cargo of iron and, in addition, all his household goods and utensils, down to the dough-troughs and wooden bowls and spoons. The voyage across the Atlantic was successful. He took with him a small party of emigrants, part of whom, at least, were not Erik Janssonists. In New York he sold his cargo, but brought with him inland the whole odd collection of partly worthless wares, which no doubt cost him a pretty penny in freightage. He made straight for Bishop Hill, but apparently did not take a fancy to the locality and its prospects. Besides, he probably hesitated to turn over his considerable fortune to the common exchequer. Be this as it may, he made his appearance in Moline early in January 1851, having already purchased two houses there, one a brick, the other a frame building, with large lots appertaining. It was rumored that he deposited $20,000 in gold in a bank in Rock Island, whether or not, he was looked upon as a mighty rich man. "The Old Man of Stenbo" was an odd character in every respect. He stuck religiously to the manners and customs of his old homo. He wore an old fashioned coat, its skirts reaching almost to his heels, and a leathern apron of nearly the same length. Dressed in this fashion, he circulated about the streets of the little village with an agility quite unusual for a man of his years. If he found a chunk of coal, an old shoe, a broken dish or a stick of wood he would pick it up, carry it home and place it on a pile of similar rubbish in the middle of the floor of the living room. In the basement he had arranged the appurtenances of a blacksmith shop brought over from Sweden, and the smoke from the smithy, which penetrated the whole house, did not bother him in the least. In the basement he also had an oven of masonry in the Swedish style, where he baked thin loaves of hard bread in the manner of the Helsingland peasantry. The old man practiced genuine old time hospitality, and would always urge his friends to partake of his repast, were it only a pot of cabbage soup served in wooden bowls. Having broken the thin bread into the bowl he would invariably dust the flour from his hands into the bowl so as not to waste any of his God-given substance. At length, the old man was lured back to Bishop Hill. Though advanced in years, he was hankering after another matrimonial venture, and what induced him to go was the assurance of friends that a suitable bride had been picked out for him. The match was made, and so he moved to Bishop Hill with all his earthly belongings, which presumably went the way of all other small fortunes invested in that enterprise. A few years after his removal the "Old Man of Stenbo" breathed his last. While he was still in Moline, there lived with him for some time Per Andersson from Hassela and Per Berg from Hog, Helsingland. These men went to Minnesota in the spring of 1851 and there founded the Chisago Lake settlement. One Peter Viklund from Angermanland, who also lived in Moline at the time, accompanied them, settling in the vicinity of Taylor's Falls, where he died. Another of the early Swedish settlers in Moline was Daniel Nilsson from Norrbro, Helsingland, who about the same time founded the settlement of Marine, near Marine Mills. Along in the summer of 1851 Hans Smith and his family moved to Moline from Princeton. He also left for Minnesota, going to Chisago Lake. The first attempt at organization among the Swedish population of Moline was the founding of the Swedish Lutheran Church, which still prospers. The founder was Rev. L. P. Esbjorn of Andover. The organization meeting was held in the home of Carl Johansson, the tailor, this being a small room, 14 by 10 feet, in which those interested in the movement had habitually met to worship. But Esbjorn was not to be alone in the field of religious endeavor among the Moline Swedes. Shortly after his first visit, the enterprising Rev. Jonas Hedstrom appeared and, being cordially received by the other pioneer Swedish resident, Olaus Bengtsson, at once began to hold Methodist meetings in the equally primitive home of that pioneer. In the latter part of the year 1850 or the beginning of 1851, he organized here a little Swedish Methodist church, which, like the Lutheran, grew and prospered apace with the influx of Swedish immigrants. A third Swedish church, called Gustaf Adolf, now a part of the Swedish Mission Covenant, was organized in 1875, and in the following year a fourth one, the Swedish Baptist Church. A little flock of Swedish Episcopalians, formed in recent years, worked with but scant success, and soon disbanded. The fraternal orders have operated very successfully in Moline, ever since the latter sixties. The first Swedish fraternal society organized there was Freja, in 1869, which flourished for a number of years. During the seventies a couple of other fraternal bodies came into existence, and during the last two decades a number of different societies have been formed, including a Swedish singing club, the Svea Male Chorus. Three secular newspapers in the Swedish language have been published at Moline, viz., "Skandia," issued from December 1876 to April 1878, "Nya Pressen," from 1891 to 1897, and "Vikingen," published for a short time in the early nineties. At the present time, the city has no Swedish newspaper. In the seventies and eighties, the firm of Wistrand and Thulin published a number of books and papers in the interest of the work of the Augustana Synod. The Swedes in Moline in 1880 numbered 2,589; at the close of 1905 their number was approximately 8,000. The total population according to the census of 1900, was 17,240, succeeding years showing a substantial increase. The Swedes in Rock Island Source: The History of the Swedes of Illinois, ©1908 Transcribed by K. Torp, ©2007 ROCK ISLAND, ROCK ISLAND COUNTY The prosperous city of Rock Island had its origin in 1816, when the national government planted a fort on the island of the same name, known as Fort Armstrong. As its commander was appointed Col. George Davenport, who, together with his wife and the garrison, for thirteen years were the only white inhabitants of the locality. The arrival in 1823 of the steamer "Virginia," with a cargo of provisions, from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, made a welcome interruption in the monotony of frontier life. This vessel was the first to traverse this portion of the Mississippi. In 1825 Col. Davenport was appointed postmaster on the island and about the same time formed a co-partnership with Russell Farnham, a fresh arrival, to engage in fur trading with the Indians. For the purpose the partners put up a building which afterwards was occupied as the first court-house of Rock Island county. In 1828 a few whites, among whom was John M. Spencer, arrived and settled there. Oct. 19, 1829, Davenport and Farnham purchased a tract of land in the present county of Rock Island, that being the first realty transaction in the county. In 1831 the little settlement had grown sufficiently strong to equip a troop of 58 men to engage in fighting the Indian chief Black Hawk and his tribe. Two years later, or 1833, Rock Island county was organized and on July 5th of the same year its first county election was held. After another two years Stephenson, as the place was then called, was selected as the county seat. Its name was subsequently changed to Rock Island. The first prison, a two story blockhouse, was erected in 1836. The same year work was begun on a county courthouse, which was completed the following year. The first incorporation of Rock Island was effected in 1841. Late in the sixties the federal government established on the adjacent island a large arsenal together with factories for small arms, the plant having since reached an extensive development. During the Civil War a large number of prisoners taken from the Confederates were kept on the island, and a burial ground for soldiers dates from that time. The entire island, together with extensive establishments, is under the control and strict surveillance of the federal government, and the buildings and well-kept grounds are among the interesting sights in this part of the United States. The west arm of the Mississippi at this point is navigable while the east and smaller arm is closed by a dam which furnishes water power for industrial plants in Moline and Rock Island and for the government works. A combination railroad and public highway bridge facilitates traffic between Rock Island and the city of Davenport, situated on the Iowa side, directly opposite, and named after the first commander of Fort Armstrong, who together with several others in 1835 purchased the land on which the city was built. Rock Island is at the present day a lively manufacturing and business center. Here are located large lumber mills, an agricultural implement factory, a glass factory, iron works, wagon factories, etc. The city has several banks and four newspapers, two of which are published daily. A new courthouse, one of the largest and most imposing structures in this part of the state, was erected a few years ago. In the surrounding public square stands a monument in honor of the men from Rock Island who fought in the Civil War. In a pretty park in the western part of the city is a statue of Black Hawk, the Indian chief, whose name is intimately combined with the early history of the city and its surrounding country. A charming point of vantage south of the city bears the name of Black Hawk Watch Tower. It is a high bluff rising steeply from the Rock River and crowned with a pavilion, the verandas of which afford a charming panorama of the vicinity, northwest over the Mississippi and the wooded bluffs disappearing in the blue distance, southward and eastward over the fertile valley drained by the winding Rock River and cut at this point by a section of the Hennepin Canal. This prominence Chief Black Hawk is said to have often sought at the head of his warriors when on the lookout for the hated palefaces who took possession of the rich hunting grounds of his tribe. The census of 1900 gives the city of Rock Island 19,493 inhabitants. The beginning of Swedish immigration to Rock Island was in 1848, when the founder of the Bishop Hill colony established a fishing camp on the island, managed by the aforementioned N. J. Hollander as foreman for a half dozen colonists. At this point Erik Jansson's wife and the youngest two of their children, together with several other persons, succumbed to the cholera in 1849. Among the earliest Swedish settlers at Rock Island was A. J. Swanson, who came there in 1850 and made a small fortune in the boot and shoe business. Swanson, or Svensson, hailed from Odeshog, Ostergotland. When he died, Jan. 8, 1880, at the age of fifty-one, he left an estate worth $40,000. Other Swedish settlers about this time were: J. Back and Peter Soderstrom, both sons-in-law of Rev. J. Rolin of Hassela, Helsingland; Jonas Strand, Jonas Norell, and Erik Thomasson, all from Northern Sweden; A. T. Manke, and Fredrika Boberg. Manke is supposed to have been among those who perished at the burning of the steamer "Austria" on the Atlantic Sept. 13. 1858. Petter Soderstrom and Fredrika Boberg moved to Iowa before the eighties. In the fifties came August Linder, a tailor, Erik Akerberg, a jeweler, N. J. Rundquist, a wagonmaker by the name of Envall, Israel Johansson, a shoemaker, one Hofflund, the brothers Carl and Peter Stjernstrom, the one a tailor, the other a day laborer. Hofflund moved to Osco township, and the Stjernstrom brothers to Iowa previous to 1880. Not until the sixties and more especially in the seventies, however, did the Swedish immigrants come to settle in Rock Island in any great number. The little colony of Swedes that existed there in the fifties is noteworthy in this that it was the origin of the first Swedish Baptist Church in America, organized there Sept. 26, 1852. The founder was Gustaf Palmquist, a former school teacher from Stockholm who had joined the American Baptists in Galesburg in June of that year, and its first members were: A. T. Manke, A. Boberg and Fredrika, his wife, Petter Soderstrom, Carl Johansson, mentioned among the Moline pioneers, and Anders Norelius, a brother of Eric Norelius who later became a pastor of the Swedish Lutheran Church in America and is now president of the Augustana Synod. The few Swedish Lutherans in Rock Island at first belonged to the church in Moline, but in 1870 they tired of going to the neighboring city to worship, and that year an independent congregation was organized, with a membership of only twenty-eight. The few Swedish Methodists and Mission Friends who reside in Rock Island are members of their respective church organizations in Moline. Rock Island has little or nothing in the way of Swedish fraternal societies. The oldest and principal Swedish-American educational institution, Augustana College and Theological Seminary, is located at Rock Island, having been removed there from Paxton in 1875. Under the guidance of zealous and competent educators, the institution has developed far beyond the aspirations of its founders. Besides being a complete college and a theological seminary, Augustana embraces an academic department, a normal school, a commercial school, a musical conservatory, and a department of art. For several years past the work of gathering large endowment funds for the institution has been carried on. These and other signs point to a period of new and greater prosperity for this old and venerated institution of learning. In immediate proximity to the institution lies the Augustana Book Concern, the publishing house of the Augustana Synod. The Swedish-American population of the city of Rock Island at the close of the year 1905 was estimated at 3,500. ©2007, K. Torp Genealogy Trails