Jonas Swensson (August 16, 1828 - December 20, 1873) was a noted minister of the Lutheran Church and president of the

Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church The Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church (previously the Augustana Lutheran Synod and also Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America and Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod in North America) was a Lutheran church ...

Biography

Swensson was born at the Snollsbo Östregård farm in Våthult parish,

Jönköping County Jönköping County ( sv, Jönköpings län) is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Halland, Västra Götaland, Östergötland, Kalmar and Kronoberg. The total county population was 356,291 inhabitants in Sept ...

in Sweden. He was the son of church-warden Sven Månsson and his wife Katharina Jonasdotter. He attended high school at

Växjö Växjö ( ) is a city and the seat of Växjö Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden. It had 70,489 inhabitants (2019) out of a municipal population of 95,995 (2021). It is the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of Kronoberg County ...

and studied theology at the

University of Uppsala Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

. He was ordained at

Växjö Cathedral Växjö Cathedral ( sv, Växjö domkyrka) is a cathedral in Växjö, Sweden. It is the seat of the Bishop of Växjö within the Church of Sweden. According to legend, the cathedral was founded by Saint Sigfrid of Sweden. The first stone church ...

on October 8, 1851. His Swedish pastoral service was at Unnaryd, situated in Hylte Municipality,

Halland Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Brömseb ...

County, Sweden (1851–1856). In 1856, he married Maria Blixt (1831-1874) and together they emigrated the same year to begin his work at Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania and later at Jamestown, New York. The organizing meeting of the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church was held at the

Jefferson Prairie Settlement Jefferson Prairie Settlement was a pioneer colony of Norwegian-Americans located in the Town of Clinton, in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. This site and the nearby Rock Prairie settlement outside Orfordville served as centers for both N ...

, near Clinton, Wisconsin from June 5–8, 1860. Jonas Swensson was part of the quartet of pastors, together with

Lars Paul Esbjörn Lars Paul Esbjörn (October 16, 1808 – July 2, 1870) was a Swedish-American Lutheran clergyman, academic and church leader. Esbjörn was a founder of the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church and of Augustana College. He served as the first pre ...

Tuve Hasselquist Tuve Nilsson Hasselquist (also spelled ''Tufve'' and ''Hasselqvist''; also known as T. N.; March 2, 1816 – February 4, 1891) was a Swedish American Lutheran minister and church leader. He was the second president of Augustana College, serving fr ...

, and

Erland Carlsson Erland Carlsson (August 24, 1822 – October 19, 1893) was a Swedish-American Lutheran minister. He was one of the founders and served as president of the Augustana Lutheran Synod. Background Erland Carlsson was born in the Suletorp farm vill ...

who pioneered the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church also known as the Augustana Synod. After serving as secretary of the church for several years, he was president of the Augustana Synod from 1870 to his death in 1873. His wife, Maria, died the following year. Both Jonas and Maria Swensson were buried in the churchyard of Jenny Lind Chapel at

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andove ...

Henry County, Illinois Henry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2010 United States Census, listed its population at 50,486. Its county seat is Cambridge. Henry County is included in the Davenport- Moline- Rock Island, IA-IL Metropolitan ...

References

Primary Source

*Eklund, Emmet E. (1988) ''His Name was Jonas, a Biography of Jonas Swensson'' (Rock Island, IL: Augustana Historical Society)

Additional Sources

*Swensson, Jonas (1957) ''Two primary sources for a study of the life of Jonas Swensson'' (Rock Island, IL: Augustana Historical Society) *Gross, Ernie (1990) ''This Day in Religion'' (New York: Neil-Schuman Publisher) *Arden, G. Everett (1958) ''Half a Million Swedes, America's Lutherans'' (Columbus OH: Wartburg Press)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Swensson, Jonas 1828 births 1873 deaths People from Småland 19th-century American Lutheran clergy Swedish emigrants to the United States 19th-century Swedish Lutheran priests Uppsala University alumni