Johan (Jan) Anders Jägerhorn af Spurila (1752-1825) was a Finnish
nobleman born on 8 April 1757 in Helsinki county, at that time a part of
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 ...
. He was the eldest son of lieutenant colonel Fredrik Anders Jägerhorn and Ulrika Sofia Brunow. Colonel Fredrik Adolf Jägerhorn, vice commander of the
Sveaborg fortress in 1808 was Johan Anders' brother.
Life
The
Jägerhorn af Spurila noble family tree can be documented to 15th century Finland with legends - inspired by the
Song of Roland
''The Song of Roland'' (french: La Chanson de Roland) is an 11th-century ''chanson de geste'' based on the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 AD, during the reign of the Carolingian king Charlemagne. It is t ...
- going back to the 12th century when Swedish crusader king
Eric the Saint of Sweden came to Finland and made an early ancestor of the family
squire of the king.
Johan Anders Jägerhorn was a military officer with the rank of major in the Swedish army and lieutenant colonel in the Russian army 1789.
As a participant in an officers’ plot against the Swedish king in Finland 1788, Jägerhorn advocated sovereignty for Finland. Condemned to death by the Swedes on the ground of treason, he was exiled to Germany. In Hamburg he befriended
Lord Edward FitzGerald and acted as an intermediary between the Irish and the French before the rebellion of 1798. After two years’ imprisonment (1799–1801) in the
Tower of London, he returned to Finland and was instrumental in shaping the constitution of newly autonomous Finland. After having been part of the Swedish kingdom for more than 600 years, Finland became an autonomous Russian
Grand Duchy in 1809. Jägerhorn was thus one of the historical originators of
Finnish independence. Finland declared independence on 6 December 1917.
Johan Anders Jägerhorn was the founder and leader of a secret order called
Walhalla-orden with its seat in the Suomenlinna fortress.
He was married to Ulrika Sofia Blomcreutz of
Swedish nobility in 1783. Jägerhorn died in Porvoo, Finland on 6 March 1825. His only two daughters had died at early age in tragic accidents.
Legacy
In 1981, Minister
Desmond O'Malley of Ireland unveiled a commemorative plaque adorning Jägerhorn's house in
Porvoo, Finland and stated: "If this man has spent 2 years of prison for the independence of Ireland, he is indeed worthy of this plaque."
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jagerhorn, Johan Anders
1757 births
1825 deaths
People from Vantaa
18th-century Finnish nobility
Swedish military personnel
Russian military personnel
19th-century Finnish nobility
Swedish-speaking Finns
Finnish exiles
Finnish expatriates in Germany