New Sweden & New Nederland
Shown on the map to the left, these small colonies (New Sweden to the southwest of New Nederland) were dwarfed by the surrounding British colonies but represent the earnest efforts of the Dutch and Swedes who each hoped to become major players in the new world, North American continent. Our ancestors played a major role in the short life of these two colonies.
The Dutch colonized the Hudson River as far north as Albany NY (Ft Orange) and developed a fur trade with area Natives in the Hudson and Mohawk River systems. The Swedes established settlements along the Delaware River.
Gen 11: The Legend of Olof Persson Stille (1610-1693)
My Father’s 7th Great Grandparents, Roslagen Sweden to Moyamensing, New Sweden
Olof Stille was larger than life at the time that he was living. While the British Puritans were establishing a beach head on the shores of Massachusetts Bay between the years of 1620 and 1638, the Swedes and Dutch were developing colonies of their own further south and west. The Swedes, who were enjoying prominence as a world power during the Thirty Years War, established a foothold on the banks of the Delaware Bay and River, in an area that incorporated present day Philadelphia. The Dutch were focused on the shores of western Long Island, Manhattan Island and the valley of the Hudson River.
Dutch claims to Manhattan were based on the exploration of Henry Hudson. The Swedes claims were based on 1) a desire to extend their empire from Northeastern Europe into the New World, 2) a desire to move into the lucrative tobacco market and 3) the knowledge that they could kick the butts of the Dutch if push came to shove. Bumper stickers on Swedish ships read simply “Vikings Rule! Dutch Drool!”
The British also had their eyes on Manhattan. Their original plan was to rid themselves of the Pesky Pilgrims and use them to plant a British colony on Manhattan. The plan fell through in 1620 when winter weather forced the Mayflower to land at Plymouth Rock rather than Manhattan Island. We will explore that epic journey when we examine our Mayflower roots.
The Dutch quickly fortified a village on Manhattan and called it New Amsterdam (later New York City). They allied themselves with local tribes for a support group and secured a gateway to the Hudson River Valley and a lucrative fur trade industry.
The British Strategic Plan to control the Hudson River would have to wait another 40 years. The rise of Oliver Cromwell and a Civil War in England stalled British colonization of Long Island, Manhattan and Hudson River Valley. They would be content to send their convicts and street urchins to Virginia and their non-conforming, insubordinate, radical, free thinking, heretic, puritanical Separatists to Massachusetts. Eventually they would also create an unwelcome environment for aristocrats loyal to King Charles and force them to flee to Virginia.
The Swedes first expedition to North America was organized and captained by Clas Fleming, a Finn who established himself as a true icon in the history of Sweden. Two ships, the Fogel Grip and Kalmar Nyckel, were outfitted by a Dutchman (Samuel Blommaert) and governed by Peter Minuit, also a Dutchman. The first voyage carried a boatload of Swedes and Finns. Ships that followed carried Dutch and German immigrants serving the Swedish effort. New Sweden was becoming a robust population of Northern Europeans, an Aryan Nation of refugees and mercenaries. The second expedition to arrive on the shores of the Delaware River included the ship, the Charitas, and carried the family of a Smith ancestor, Olof Stille
The Stilles were Renaissance Vikings wielding Luther’s Bible in one hand and a plow in the other. But the axe and sword were not foreign weapons in Olof Stille’s hand. While he preferred diplomacy, justice and peace, he knew how to look menacing and act the part of a Viking when the situation required. Evidence of that will follow.
That Olof preferred peace to war was proven by the friendly relationship he maintained with tribal members who stopped by his new home on Tinicum Island in the South River (known today as the Delaware River). Olof was known in the New World for his ability to stand up to anyone, Lords and Ladies alike. His mind was a steel trap. Some of his grandsons would, in fact, Americanize their surname to ‘Steelman’ and ‘Steele’. His reasoning skills and ability to communicate and problem solve were his greatest tools.
Prior to leaving Sweden it was Olof’s sense of justice that propelled the Swede into a battle of wits with Lady Katarina Fleming, the widow of Erich Bilk (Olof’s former landlord at Penningby Manor, Sweden). True, it would not have been a fair fight if fisticuffs had come into play. Considering the Lady Katarina’s resources: wealth, power, influence and prestige, Olof was in for a fight. While the Lady hobnobbed with the rich and famous, Olof was a commoner and more likely to be found working with men of the stable and farm. Olof believed that all people were equal before his protestant God and he saw no reason to suffer any self-esteem issues in the presence of anyone, including the Lady Katarina.
Olof Stille was born in 1614 in Länna parish, Roslagen, Uppland, Sweden. As a youngster he lived amid the islands of the Baltic Sea, north and east of Stockholm, Sweden. His father, Per Stille, supervised the Penningby Manor of Erich Bielke and eventually resided on the island of Humblö, Bielke’s gift to Per upon his retirement from Penningby. As a young man Olof tended the Humblö family farm and would have been very capable of taking over for his father and supervising Penningby. But Erich Bielke’s death removed that option. Olof would not be content working for the land baron and widow, Katarina, nor would she desire his service. He would set his sights higher and and become a little king in a new kingdom. But it would be a decision forced on him in a life or death struggle.
Lady Katarina could never break Olof Stille as she could so many men and people of lesser means. She viewed the man as an insubordinate rascal. The respect Olof had for her deceased husband, Erich, did not carry over to his relationship with Katarina. She called upon the local cops, the courts and magistrates to corral Olof, all to no avail. He paid his fines when the law required and served prison time as directed. He did not bend, fold, mutilate, or spindle. But then one day the Lady Katarina had enough of his insolence. She booted Olof from her farm on Humblö. The Lady would have no more of Olof’s insubordinate behavior. She wanted him out of her life. He would have to remove his livestock in the spring of that year and lose the services of the two servants that had been helping him operate the farm.
The year was 1638. Olof Stille would not go quietly. A dispute with Lady Katarina over a servant, Anders, erupted. The Lady insisted that Anders remain in her employ at the Penningby properties she had removed from Olof’s supervision. Olof also offered Anders employment. Anders was drawn in two directions. He was by law under the rule of Katarina. But his heart and mind were given to working with Olof. After several months of stalemate, on March 18, Anders returned to Katarina’s Penningby Manor and quarreled with Katarina’s servants. She seized Anders as a runaway and had him confined to a cell at Jacob of Torpet’s place, within her estate. An irate Olof grabbed his wooden axe and his sword and made his way into Jacob’s home at Penningby, through a passageway that only one who had worked on the grounds would know. Court records indicate that no one other than a watchman, Olof Svensson, were present at the time of Olof’s one-man attack.
The Penningby clan and staff were all in town participating in the census count that the Royals of Sweden used to apportion taxes. Census day was a festive holiday replete with food, beverage and entertainment. When Olof found the room where Anders was imprisoned, he could not break the lock, so he busted up the masonry and removed the lock and keeper. As Anders came out of the cell he was given the axe and instructed to bust a move and exit stage left. We know nothing about Olof Svensson, the unlucky chap who witnessed this spectacle. Whether it was necessary or just good Viking bravado, our Olof turned to face the hapless Svensson. The court testimony indicates that Stille swept his sword around in true Viking fashion, “uttered foul language and shouted, ‘I dare you to come and take me!’ Where upon he fled.” Thus, read the description provided by Svensson who stayed safely out of the way and wondered at Stille’s choice of foul language. No true Lutheran would dare talk like that!
When the Lady Katarina arrived home with her entourage there was, of course, great excitement which they would all attest to in court. They all wanted to apprehend the scoundrel Stille, but they were outnumbered by his bravado and held back by fear for their lives. Olof Stille was depicted as a man possessed, a mad and violent man. The court, always a friend to Katarina, found Olof guilty of robbery, of stealing Anders away from Katarina’s holding tank. The court felt Anders had been legitimately locked up for a breach of his contract with the Penningby Manor. Stille was condemned to die of a beheading.
The question arises when a moment like this occurs in history: Would I be here today if the man had suffered the consequence. Clearly, Olof did not die on the chopping block. It wasn’t his time to die. Olof escaped the wrath of Katarina and the blade of the executioner. The Court reduced the penalty. Olof paid a heavy fine which made it virtually impossible to buy the Volvo he had been eyeballing at Ollie’s Auto and Salvage Shop. The fine amounted to about 18 months of wages for a Swedish soldier. There is no indication as to why the Supreme Court reduced the consequence so dramatically. It was a fortunate turn of events for Olof and for those of us who descend from the man.
The Stille family history is recorded in Olof Stille of New Sweden, by Fritz Nordström, and The Stille Family in America 1641-1772, by Dr. Peter S. Craig. These two works provide a wealth of information for descendants. And honestly, a Hollywood screenwriter couldn’t write better fiction than the life these early pioneers lived. As we find true of so many immigrants who came to this land, Olof was both escaping difficulties and looking forward to a new life.
Evidence that Olof had given serious thought to leaving Penningby Manor and emigrating, leaving Sweden, is found in the 1634 date on a passport provided by his employer, Erich Bielke:
I, Erich Bielke of Wyk, Peningeby and Nynäs, hereby put into writing that the person showing this Passport, Oluf Persson Stille, has for several years been employed in my service, and conducted himself honorably and well in that position, so that I have nothing to charge against him; and since he has now set his mind on trying his hand in other places, for which purpose he has in great humility applied to me for gracious permission, which I have not wanted to refuse him, but have indulged; therefore requesting the friendly favor of those good lords and men he may chance to meet, and to whom he may present himself, that they inflict on him no obstacles nor imprisonment, but rather for my sake, recommend him for the best and promote him; to such I shall be very much obliged. In certification of this I have signed it with my own hand and sealed it with my personal signet.
Dated Peningeby Erich Bielke the 2nd of December 1634
Nordstrom notes that:
“On April 13, 1638 Olof was convicted of crimes committed against her Ladyship Katarina Fleming, the widow of Erik Bjelke, the land lord at Penningby Manor. Olof had a history of disputes with Her Ladyship that resulted in fines and prison time.”
Nordstrom also provides evidence that on May 3, 1641, the manifest for the ship Charitas shows Olof Stille, his wife (Briggita) and two children, a 7-year-old daughter (Ella) and a 1½-year-old son (Anders) on board. As the band, Abba, played background music on the pier, the ship left the port of Göteborg bound for the colony of New Sweden. The Charitas also carried Axel Stille, Olof’s brother. Ship documents identify Olof as a millwright with the hope of becoming a farmer in America. After the long, slow voyage to New Sweden, the Stille family arrived at Fort Christina (present day Wilmington, Delaware). Olof was soon established himself as a land baron in the not so friendly confines of what would become the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia.
Olof joined other families from Sweden in establishing a ‘plantation’ they called Techoherassi (present day Eddystone, Pennsylvania). The term ‘plantation’ in New Sweden refers to a tract of land worked by a community of settlers. In this instance the citizens were freemen, not indentured servants. The village’s location on the river brought frequent visits by the tribal members. The Swedish historian Israel Acrelius wrote in 1759:
“The savages stayed much with Olof Stille at Techoheraffi, and were very fond of the old man; but they made a monster of his thick black beard, from which also they gave him a special name.”
The Europeans were convinced the Native American was a ’savage.’ It was a handy way to justify eradicating the entire population (along with the buffalo) from the face of the Earth. If they couldn’t kill the Natives, they would at least civilize what they thought of as a sub species. Europeans ignored their own history of internecine wars, regicides and the enslavement of Africans, as well as natives of the Americas and subcontinent of India. Non-whites were often viewed as subhuman chattel to be used as tools in the manufacture of civilization and profit. There were exceptions to that rule. Stille appeared to be one of those pioneers who understood that the Natives had a handle on how to live a good life in this land. He did not view the Natives as savage, but rather, instructors. If anything, it appears from the Israel Acrelius’s quote above, that Indians who visited Olof viewed him as the ‘wild man’. There was a mutual respect that appears grounded in both machismo, fear and trust.
The Natives would not be the only group with whom Olof Stille would learn to coexist. The Dutch continued to move in next door on the island of Manhattan. They were occupying Wall Street long before it was a hip, activist thing to do. The Dutch were fortifying their hold on Manhattan and the Hudson Valley north to Albany and eastward into the Connecticut River Valley and the community of New Haven.
It was in the Connecticut Valley that Dutch encroachment threatened British settlers. Within short time, our Dutch and Swedish ancestors were at odds with my mother-in-law’s Puritan relations (including the Davenports, Piersons, Bruins and Kitchells) and my father-in-law’s clan (the Parkers, Doolittles and Blakeleys) who were already at home in the Connecticut River Valley with modest accommodations in a village they would call Wallingford. This will become interesting in terms of family and American history.
