Charles Magnus Lindgren (November 28, 1819 - September 1, 1879) was a Swedish born, American shipping executive. He was a pioneer in the Great Lakes shipping industry.

Background

Charles Magnus Lindgren was born near Dragsmark in

Uddevalla Municipality Uddevalla Municipality () is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Uddevalla. The present municipality was created in 1971 when the ''City of Uddevalla'' (which had absorbed the rural mun ...

in the traditional Province of

Bohuslän Bohuslän () is a Provinces of Sweden, Swedish province in Götaland, on the northernmost part of the country's west coast. It is bordered by Dalsland to the northeast, Västergötland to the southeast, the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea to the ...

, in

Västra Götaland County Västra Götaland County () is a county or '' län'' on the western coast of Sweden. The county is the second most populous of Sweden's counties and it comprises 49 municipalities (''kommuner''). Its population of 1,616,000 amounts to 17% of S ...

, Sweden. He went to sea at the age of 14. In 1849, he went to the

California gold fields The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the Uni ...

where he engaged in the freight traffic.

Career

In 1852, Lindgren entered into a railway project together with the

Bishop Hill Colony Bishop Hill Colony is a Historic districts in the United States, historic district in Bishop Hill, Illinois. Bishop Hill was the site of a utopian religious community which operated as a commune. It was founded in 1846 by Swedish Pietism, pie ...

and settled in 1854 in

Henry County, Illinois Henry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2020 United States census, listed its population at 49,284. Its county seat is Cambridge. Henry County is included in the Davenport- Moline- Rock Island, IA-IL Metropolita ...

, a few miles from

Galva Galva may refer to: Places ;United States * Galva, Illinois * Galva, Iowa * Galva, Kansas Galva is a city in McPherson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 834. History Early history Fo ...

. In 1856, Lindgren came to Chicago, bought a couple of freight vessels and contracted with a lumber company for shipping lumber from

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. In 1860 he engaged in shipping. He gradually added vessel after vessel until in 1870 he owned half a dozen ships with a combined tonnage of 4,500. Several of these were among the largest in the Great Lake trade at that time. In 1871, he had three more large freighters built at

Manitowoc, Wisconsin Manitowoc ( ) is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. According to the 2020 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,626. History Purporte ...

. One of these, the schooner '' Christina Nilsson'' was named after

Christina Nilsson Christina Nilsson, Countess de Casa Miranda, also called Christine Nilsson (20 August 1843 – 22 November 1921) was a Swedish operatic dramatic coloratura soprano. Possessed of a pure and brilliant voice (B3-F6), first three then two and a ha ...

, a world-renowned Swedish diva who had visited America that year.

Personal life

In 1852, Lindgren returned to Sweden to marry Johanna Andersson. They subsequently returned to America arriving in Chicago. Lindgren was a philanthropic man who was particularly liberal toward the Swedish

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

. When the Swedish Methodist Theological Seminary in Chicago (now Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary) was founded, Lindgren contributed generously toward its erection and maintenance. Charles Lindgren was the father of John R. Lindgren, founder of the

Haugan & Lindgren Haugan & Lindgren was a bank headquartered in Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of t ...

bank in Chicago.''The Swedish Element in Illinois: Survey of the Past Seven Decades'' (by Ernst Wilhelm Olson, Swedish-American Biographical Association. 1917)

References

Other sources

*Henschen, Henry S. ''A History of The State Bank of Chicago From 1879 to 1904'' (Chicago: The Lakeside Press. 1905) * Benson, Adolph B.; Naboth Hedin ''Swedes In America'' (New York: Haskel House Publishers. 1969)

External links

''Christina Nilsson'' Photo Gallery''Christina Nilsson'' Maritime Trails
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindgen, Charles Magnus 1819 births 1879 deaths People from Uddevalla Municipality Businesspeople from Evanston, Illinois Businesspeople from Chicago Swedish emigrants to the United States American businesspeople in shipping 19th-century American businesspeople