Colonial Records of the Swedish Churches in Pennsylvania, Volume 7-A and 7-B: The Göransson & Hultgren Years, 1768–1776 ed. by Kenneth S. Peterson

Abstract

Reviewed by: Colonial Records of the Swedish Churches in Pennsylvania, Volume 7-A and 7-B: The Göransson & Hultgren Years, 1768–1776 ed. by Kenneth S. Peterson Jonathan M. Wilson Colonial Records of the Swedish Churches in Pennsylvania, Volume 7-A and 7-B: The Göransson & HultgrenYears, 1768–1776. Edited by Kenneth S. Peterson et al. Philadelphia: Swedish Colonial Society, 2021. 778 pp. Volume 7-A and 7-B complete the documentary history of the colonial-era Swedish Lutheran churches in the Delaware Valley. These parishes had been under the patronage of the Swedish crown since 1646, and continued in that dependence until after the American Revolution. Almost as remarkable is the story of this publishing effort, the vision of Peter Stebbins Craig. A rapid succession of volumes appeared starting in 2006 until Craig's death in 2009. After a hiatus, volume 6-A and 6-B appeared in 2015. The set was completed in 2021. [End Page 101] After volume 5 the material available from 1759 and forward required two sets of double-volumes. At 778 pages Volume 7-A and 7-B, spanning 18 years, is longer than the first three volumes combined which cover 73 years (1646–1719). In spite of Volume 6-A and 6-B, The Wrangel Years (1759–1768), running to 704 pages, more documents from those years surfaced prior to the publication of volume 7-A and 7-B. The opening document of 7-A is a Wrangel letter dated Nov 1766 and the first 44 pages of documents in 7-A overlap with dates of materials in 6-B, in each case with an explanatory footnote about it having been discovered too late to be included in the earlier volume. Indeed, the shadow of Rev. Dr. Charles Wrangel haunts volume 7-A long into the tenure of his successor, Anders Göransson. Wrangel, the Dean of the Swedish pulpits spoken of so highly by his contemporary, the immigrant German Lutheran H. M. Mühlenberg, cuts a much more problematic figure among the Swedes. Wrangel did not want to be recalled to Sweden and he tried to exploit the Atlantic Ocean's communication lag to rally a following for keeping him in America. His replacement, Anders Göransson (sometimes anglicized to "Andrew Georgeson") was received in America with a combination of warmth and hostility among Wrangel's adherents. Wrangel, still in the parsonage that was to have been Göransson's, allowed the new pastor to board with him, but kept him close and controlled his contacts with others, including other Swedish pastors. When Göransson suffered bouts of depression and paranoia, Wrangel had him imprisoned in a mental hospital for a brief period, where at times he was kept in a straitjacket. One of the Swedish pastors, John Wicksell, intervened and moved Göransson to his own home, where he quickly recovered his physical and mental powers. Wrangel, finally, could not postpone his recall; yet, once in Sweden, he continued to cast aspersions on Göransson's fitness for ministry. This narrative is shared mostly by Göransson and invites further analysis. Volume 7 continues its pagination from 7-A into 7-B, so that 7-B begins on page 372. The parish lists of baptisms, weddings, and funerals are published entirely in 7-B, as are the indices for the whole volume. In 7-A, the minutes of parish vestry and joint-vestry [End Page 102] meetings, the records of the ministerial annual meetings, journal and diary entries, and much correspondence, are arranged chronologically where possible: journal entries are interspersed with meeting minutes and dated correspondence, with some undated materials situated according to the judgment of the editors. Göransson wrote copious epistles but did not keep a journal. A journal of pastoral acts and visits was kept by John Wicksell, Göransson's associate and advocate, providing insights into the particular needs of communicants in Wicksell's circuit of Raccoon Kill and Pennsneck. After his recall, Wicksell, from Sweden, stayed in epistolary contact with his colleagues in the Delaware Valley. Matthias Hultgren, Göransson's successor, also kept a diary with entries starting in 1779. Those interested in...