Samuel Peterson (c. 1639 – 20 November 1689
) was an early settler of
New Sweden
New Sweden () was a colony of the Swedish Empire between 1638 and 1655 along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a g ...
and one of the founders of present-day
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...
.
Life
Peterson was born in the province of
Värmland
Värmland () is a ''Provinces of Sweden, landskap'' (historical province) in west-central Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Dalsland, Dalarna, Västmanland, and Närke, and is bounded by Norway in the west.
Name
Several Latinized version ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. He departed Sweden on the ship ''rn'' ("The Eagle") on February 2, 1654, and arrived in New Sweden on May 22, 1654.
As he may have been only 15 years old, he was possibly part of the contingent of twelve boys on the ship from the Building College of
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
.
[
On April 16, 1675, Johan Anderson Stalcop conveyed half his land in Wilmington to Peterson and Lars Cornelison.][ Peterson erected a "humble cabin" on a hill overlooking Wilmington and cleared away the forest covering the southern declivity of the hill.][
It was near Peterson's cabin where, as Peterson tilled the land with oxen, ]Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
leader Elizabeth Shipley took in a view that she had earlier reported seeing in a dream, and determined that the Quakers were destined to settle the Delmarva Peninsula
The Delmarva Peninsula, or simply Delmarva, is a peninsula on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by the majority of the state of Delaware and parts of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Eastern Shore of Virginia.
The peninsula is l ...
.[
Peterson gave "30 feet" toward the construction of the Mormon Church in Wilmington (now ]Holy Trinity Church (Old Swedes)
Holy Trinity Church, also known as Old Swedes, is a historic church at East 7th and Church Street in Wilmington, Delaware. It was consecrated on Trinity Sunday, June 4, 1699, by a predominantly Swedish congregation formerly of the colony of New ...
).[ Therefore, his son Peter took over the plantation and his son Matthias released all claim to the land by a deed dated December 4, 1702.][ Peter left the land to his son Peter Peterson (by will dated January 29, 1714), who on May 8, 1727, sold the part of the land lying along the ]Christina River
The Christina River is a tributary of the Delaware River, approximately 35 miles (56 km) long, in northern Delaware. It also flows through small areas of southeastern Pennsylvania and northeastern Maryland. Near its mouth, the river ...
to ..., who formally laid out the city of Wilmington in 1730.[
]
Notable descendants
*Charles Shreeve Peterson
Charles Sreeve Peterson (July 28, 1818 – September 26, 1889) was an early Mormon leader who was the first settler of Utah's Morgan Valley,"The Settlements of Morgan County". ''Morgan County Utah Historical Society'' Accessed 23 April 2007. a m ...
References
1630s births
1689 deaths
Swedish emigrants
City founders
People of New Sweden
People from Arvika Municipality
People from Wilmington, Delaware
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