Peter Gunnarsson Rambo (10 June 1611,

Hisingen Hisingen () is the fifth-largest island of Sweden (after Gotland, Öland, Södertörn and Orust), with an area of . It is a river island, formed by the split of the Göta Älv at Bohus, and is defined to the east and south by the main arm of tha ...

Gothenburg 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 ...

, Sweden – 21 January 1698,

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 ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, United States) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

immigrant to

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 ...

(now part of Philadelphia) known as a farmer and a justice of the

Governor's Council The governments of the Thirteen Colonies of British America developed in the 17th and 18th centuries under the influence of the British constitution. After the Thirteen Colonies had become the United States, the experience under colonial rule would ...

after the British took control of the area. He was the longest living of the original Swedish settlers and became known as the Father of New Sweden.

Rambo's Rock Bartram's Garden is a 50-acre public garden and National Historic Landmark in Southwest Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, situated on the banks of the Tidal Schuylkill River. It is a venue for art, an access to the tidal river and wetlands, an outdoor ...

along the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It fl ...

is named for his family.

History with New Sweden

At the age of twenty-seven, Peter Gunnarsson sailed to New Sweden on the second voyage of the ''

Kalmar Nyckel ''Kalmar Nyckel'' (''Key of Kalmar'') was a Swedish ship built by the Dutch famed for carrying Swedish settlers to North America in 1638, to establish the colony of New Sweden. The name Kalmar Nyckel comes from the Swedish city of Kalmar and nyck ...

'' in 1639, the first voyage in which permanent settlers were aboard. Sometime after arrival in early 1640, he adopted the surname "Rambo." It is likely that he came to New Sweden voluntarily. He was a tobacco planter for the New Sweden Trading Company on the company plantation just outside the fort and became a

freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

by 1644. He sent a portion of his wages home to his father, Gunnar Petersson, and referred to himself (and others) as "We, ye antient (sic) Swedes," indicators that his ancestry was thoroughly Swedish. Gunnarsson means "son of Gunnar", an old first name of Swedish origin. Rambo married Brita Matsdotter from

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

(now in Finland), on 7 April 1647, after eight years in New Sweden and three years after he had become a freeman. They initially settled in

Kingsessing Kingsessing is a neighborhood in the Southwest section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. On the west side of the Schuylkill River, it is next to the neighborhoods of Cedar Park, Southwest Schuylkill, and Mount Moriah, as well as the ...

, but moved by 1669 to Passyunk on the northeast side of the

. Rambo was present when the Dutch besieged

Fort Christina Fort Christina (also called Fort Altena) was the first Swedish settlement in North America and the principal settlement of the New Sweden colony. Built in 1638 and named after Queen Christina of Sweden, it was located approximately 1 mi (1.6 ...

in 1654, serving as the deputy to the Swedish governor, Johan Rising. When the colony fell to the Dutch, Rambo was among the local settlers to meet with representatives from

New Netherlands 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 what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva P ...

. He was adaptable as the local political situation changed. In 1668, when the colony fell under English jurisdiction, Rambo became a member of the governor's council. In 1674, he was commissioned a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. Rambo, along with Peter Cock and others, was selected by his fellow Swedish settlers to greet their new governor,

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

, when he arrived at "Upland", now

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

, when their colony was taken over by the British on 27 October 1682. Rambo was a witness to Penn's treaty with the Indians for the purchase of land west of the original boundaries of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

.Governor's Profile
/ref> A letter he wrote in 1693 to a sister in Gothenburg has been preserved at the Royal Archives in Sweden (Riksarkivet). Rambo died in 1698 and was buried at the Swedes' log church at Wicaco, 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 ( ...

Southwark, Philadelphia Southwark was originally the Southwark District, a colonial-era municipality in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Today, it is a neighborhood in the South Philadelphia section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Because of its location south of the ...

. He was survived by four sons (Gunnar, John, Andreas, and Peter) and two daughters (Gertrude and Katharine). Gunnar's Run, a long covered stream along

Aramingo Avenue Aramingo Borough is a defunct borough that was located in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. The borough ceased to exist and was incorporated into the City of Philadelphia following the passage of the Act of Consolidation, 1854. History Aramingo B ...

in Philadelphia, is named for Gunnar Rambo, one of Peter's descendants.

Origin of the name

Olsson (1995) says that the surname ''Rambo'' can be translated as "raven's nest" ('' ramn''+'' bo''). It was chosen for

Ramberget Ramberget (; en, "Raven Hill") is a mountain on Hisingen island in Gothenburg, Sweden. The surrounding area and park is called Keillers Park. Ramberget is a popular tourist attraction and a place for outdoor recreation for Gothenburg residents, wi ...

(or "Raven Mountain") on the island of

, which today is part of Gothenburg.Nils William Olsson , ''Swedish American Genealogist,'' Volumes 15-16 (1995), p. 7

"chose his surname (meaning raven's nest) from Ramberget (raven's mountain), a prominent hill in Hisingen overlooking Goteborg harbor. After becoming a freeman, Peter Rambo married Brita Matsdotter from Vasa, Finland, 7 April 1647".

Rambo apple

Pehr Kalm, Peter Kalm, a Swede who traveled in North America between 1748 and 1751, wrote in his diary about his interview with Peter Rambo, grandson of Peter Gunnarsson Rambo. Peter Rambo, the younger, told him that his grandfather "had brought apple seeds and several other tree and garden seeds with him in a box." The first

Rambo apple The origins of the Rambo apple cultivar are unknown. It may date back to the American colony of New Sweden, when in 1637 Peter Gunnarsson Rambo, a Swedish immigrant, arrived on the ''Kalmar Nyckel''. Swedish natural historian Pehr Kalm, who wrot ...

tree may have been produced from one of these seeds. William Coxe's ''A View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees, and the Management of Orchards and Cider'', published in 1817, indicates that the Rambo was much cultivated in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, and took "its name from the families by whom it was introduced into notice." The Rambo is confused with, but is not closely related to, the French

Summer Rambo The 'Summer Rambo' apple is French in origin. In France, it is known as 'Rambour d'été'. Originally known in North America as 'Summer Rambour,' the name evolved to 'Summer Rambo' sometime before the 1850s. Like the Rambo Rambo is a surname wi ...

. Because of the confusion, the Rambo has also been called the Winter Rambo. The novelist

David Morrell David Morrell (born April 24, 1943) is a Canadian-American novelist whose debut 1972 novel ''First Blood'', later adapted as the 1982 film of the same name, went on to spawn the successful ''Rambo'' franchise starring Sylvester Stallone. He h ...

says that he chose the name

John Rambo John James Rambo (born July 6, 1947) is a fictional character in the ''Rambo'' franchise. He first appeared in the 1972 novel '' First Blood'' by David Morrell, but later became more famous as the protagonist of the film series, in which he was ...

for his ''First Blood'' action hero because he was inspired by "the sound of force" in the name. He encountered the Rambo apples in Pennsylvania.

References

Other sources

*Benson, Adolph B. and Naboth Hedin, eds. ''Swedes in America, 1638–1938'' (The Swedish American Tercentenary Association. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. 1938)

External links