Laurentius Carels (1624–1688) was one of the first settlers of Delaware County, Pennsylvania and one of the first Swedish Lutheran clergyman in

New Sweden New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great military power. New Sweden form ...

. As was typical among Swedish ministers, he generally used a Latinized version of his name Laurentius Caroli Lockenius. He is listed in historical records under several different names, most commonly as Lars Carlsson Lock.

Biography

Lars Carlsson was born in Sweden during 1624. In September 1647, at the age of 23, Lars Carlsson sailed from

Göteborg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has a p ...

to New Sweden. He subsequently adopted the surname Lock from his place of origin, Lockerud, near

Mariestad Mariestad () is a locality and the seat of Mariestad Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 16,611 inhabitants in 2019. Until 1997 it was the capital of the former Skaraborg County and an episcopal see in the Church of Sweden betw ...

, in Skaraborg County,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. In the colony, he replaced the veteran minister, John Campanius. He was based at a church built by Johan Björnsson Printz, governor of

on Tinicum Island. At the start of his ministry, he served about 200 members. The Swedish colony of New Sweden ended during the summer of 1655. The Swedish settlement was incorporated into Dutch

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...

on September 15, 1655. the Swedish settlers were allowed to retain a pastor of their confession. Reverend Lars Lock remained, but the other pastors returned to Sweden. His congregation was widely scattered, extending from the Schuylkill River on the north to Christina River on the south. His role as the only minister on the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

did not end until 1677 when the Swedish settlers living northeast of Darby Creek built a new log church at

Wicaco New Sweden ( sv, Nya Sverige) was a Swedish colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in what is now the United States from 1638 to 1655, established during the Thirty Years' War when Sweden was a great military power. New Sweden form ...

(now

Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church Gloria Dei Church, known locally as Old Swedes, is a historic church located in the Southwark neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 929 South Water Street, bounded by Christian Street on the north, South Christopher Columbus Boulevard ( ...

) and invite
Jacob Fabritius
to be their pastor. Jacob Fabritius, a native of Grosglogau in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

, had arrived in New York in 1669 to serve the Dutch Lutheran churches along the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

. Lars Carlsson Lock continued to serve in the pulpits of both the Tinicum church and the
Crane Hook church
until his death at Upland Creek in September 1688 at the reported age of 64.

Legal matters

In 1674 Lars Lock bought the former Tequirassy estate of

Olof Persson Stille Olof Persson Stille (1610–1684) was a pioneer settler of New Sweden, a colony along the lower reaches of the Delaware River in North America claimed by Sweden from 1638 to 1655. Stille served as the first chief justice of the Upland Court, the g ...

in what is now

Eddystone, Pennsylvania Eddystone is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The population was 2,410 at the 2010 census. History The area at the mouth of Ridley Creek was first called "Tequirassy" by Native Americans. The land was owned by Olof Persson Stille, o ...

. Lars Lock was involved in several legal disputes and was rumored to have had an "overfondness for intoxicating drinks." Lars Carlsson Lock also got into trouble for selling liquor to Native Americans and was involved in at least one lawsuit over a horse. On September 20, 1661, another early settler, Jacob Jough, ran away with his first wife, Catharina, which led to Lars Carlsson Lock (in his words) to fall "from one misfortune to another." In response, Lars Carlsson Lock, after finding out where a trunk of Jough's was being kept, trespassed into a house and broke the trunk open and took some of his wife's property (and left a "memorandum of what he had done"). Within a month of his wife's desertion, Lars Carlsson Lock sought to remarry, but first tried in vain to obtain a divorce. He decided to marry Beata Lom, the 18-year-old daughter of Måns Lom. For his unauthorized marriage and for breaking into another's home, charges were brought against Lars Lock and he was fined 280 guilders. Together Lars Carlsson Lock and Beata were the parents of seven known children.

References

Other sources

*Barton, H. Arnold (1994) ''A Folk Divided: Homeland Swedes and Swedish Americans, 1840—1940'' (Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis). *Benson, Adolph B. and Naboth Hedin, eds. (1938) ''Swedes in America, 1638-1938'' (The Swedish American Tercentenary Association. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press) *Johnson, Amandus (1927) ''The Swedes on the Delaware'' (International Printing Company, Philadelphia) *Munroe, John A. (1977) ''Colonial Delaware'' (Delaware Heritage Press, Wilmington) *Ward, Christopher (1930) ''Dutch and Swedes on the Delaware, 1609-1664'' (University of Pennsylvania Press) *Weslager, C. A. (1988) ''New Sweden on the Delaware 1638-1655'' (The Middle Atlantic Press, Wilmington )

External links

Some History of Eddystone
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carels, Laurentius Swedish Lutherans People from Uppland People of New Sweden People of colonial Pennsylvania People of New Netherland 1624 births 1688 deaths