Celebration of the decennial anniversary of the founding of New Sweden, Maine, July 23, 1880, Part 1

Author: New Sweden (Me.); Thomas, W. W. (William Widgery), 1839-
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Portland, Me. : B. Thurston, printers
Number of Pages: 176


USA > Maine > Aroostook County > New Sweden > Celebration of the decennial anniversary of the founding of New Sweden, Maine, July 23, 1880 > Part 1


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Gc 974.102 N42n 1762889


M. L.


REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION


ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01092 9856


Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014


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CELEBRATION


OF THE


DECENNIAL ANNIVERSARY


OF THE


FOUNDING OF NEW SWEDEN,


MAINE,


JULY 23, 1880,


PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF ANDREW WIREN, NILS OLSSON, AND N. P. CLASE, COMMITTEE ON PUBLICATION. 1SS1.


THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY CHICA(I)


-


1762889


F


84163


. 6


Celebration of the decennial anniversary of the found- ing of New Sweden, Maine, July 23, 1880. Pub. under the direction of Andrew Wiren, Nils Olsson, and N. P. Clase, committee on publication. Portland, Me., B. Thurston & co., printers) 1881.


CNELF CAS


87 p. 23°m. Historical oration by W. W. Thomas, jr. : p. 11-69.


1 1. New Sweden, Me .- Hist. 2. Swedes in Maine. I. Thomas, William Widgery, 1839- II. Title. r


Library of Congress. 1.29.NSNS


1-8935


New Sweden, Me.


F 84163.6


B. THURSTON & CO., PRINTERS, PORTLAND, ME.


2941


,.


NEW SWEDEN DECENNIAL


1870 JULY 23 1880


FRIDAY, July 23, 1880, was a notable day in the history of New Sweden. It was the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Swedish settlement in the woods of Maine, and the Swedes had long been making preparations to commemorate the event with fitting ceremonies.


The day dawned gloomily. A dull rain fell from a leaden sky. But the rain soon ceased, and at an early hour people began to gather together in the great central clearing of New Sweden, where stand the capitol, the church, the store, and the parsonage. The first comers were Swedes, but their American and Canadian friends soon came flocking in from the surrounding country. The main road into the town soon became crowded with an almost continuous line of carriages. To New Sweden everybody was going, and in every sort of vehicle. There were wagons and hay-racks, coaches and carts, drags and buek-boards. There were Swedish teams from the colony, French vehicles from the upper St. John, Bluenose turn- outs from Canada, and Yankee wagons from everywhere


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DECENNIAL CELEBRATION.


around. Mingled with these were elegant carriages, drawn by noble spans of horses, for which Aroostook county is justly celebrated.


For hours the steady stream of vehicles poured along the road from Caribou to New Sweden. A Miss Brown, of Woodland, sat at the window of her house, and with slate in hand kept tally of the passers-by. She counted 492 carriages containing 1448 persons, that drove past her house that morning into New Sweden. Add to these the number of foot travelers, those who came by other roads or through the woods, the Swedes from outside the colony who came in the day before, and the 787 members of the colony itself, and it is certain that over 3000 persons were present and took part in the decennial celebration at New Sweden.


Four hundred invited guests had started the day before by rail from the older sections of the state outside of Aroostook county. Their goodly numbers overtaxed the capacity of the New Brunswick Railway. They were kept up all night in crowded cars, while the good people of Caribou sat up all night waiting to receive them. At last in the gray dawn, the train of four hundred belated travelers was hauled in sections into the depot at Caribou, and sulky and grim, in a drizzling rain they drove to their lodgings.


At ten o'clock, however, after a nap and a cup of coffee, these visitors forgot the fatigues of the night, and were joining the long procession driving into the Swedish woods.


By this time New Sweden, from the capitol to the church, was literally full of people in gala-day attire, among whom the Swedish girls, with their national head-


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FOUNDING OF NEW SWEDEN.


dress of a deeply fringed silk kerchief, formed a striking and picturesque feature.


A triumphal arch of evergreen had been erected across the road in front of the church. On each side of the arch was a flagstaff, likewise decorated with evergreen; while to the right was drawn up the company of Swedish cadets under command of Captain Lars Nylander. Everybody was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the guests of the day.


Among the honored guests who joined in the celebra- tion, and were now driving toward New Sweden, may be mentioned


Hon. DANIEL F. DAVIS, Governor of Maine.


Hon. ROSCOE L. BOWERS,


Hon. FREDERICK ROBIE,


Hon. JOSEPH T. HINKLEY,


Hon. WILLIAM WILSON,


Hon. JAMES G. PENDLETON,


Hon. LEWIS BARKER,


Hon. SAMUEL N. CAMPBELL,


HIon. HANNIBAL HAMLIN, United States Senator.


Gen. JOSHUA L. CHAMBERLAIN, Ex-governor of Maine.


Hon. THOMAS B. REED, Member of Congress.


Hon. LLEWELLYN POWERS, Ex-member of Congress.


Col. JAMES M. STONE, Ex-speaker Maine House of Reps. Hon. SUMNER J. CHADBOURNE, Secretary of State.


Hon. C. A. PACKARD, State Land Agent.


Hon. WILLIAM SENTER, Mayor of Portland.


Hon. W. W. THOMAS, Senior, Ex-mayor of Portland. Gen. HENRY G. THOMAS, United States Army.


GEORGE A. THOMAS, Esq., of Portland.


Prof. F. A. ROBINSON, of Kents Hill.


ALBERT A. BURLEIGH, Esq., of Houlton.


The entire


Executive Council.


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DECENNIAL CELEBRATION.


JACOB HARDISON, Esq., of Caribou.


Hon. L. R. KING, of Caribou.


Hon. JOHN S. ARNOLD, of Caribou.


W. A. VAUGHAN, Esq., of Caribou.


JUDAH D. TEAGUE, Esq., of Caribou.


Hon. JESSE DREW, of Fort Fairfield.


Rev. DANIEL STICKNEY, of Presque Isle.


Rev. G. M. PARKS, of Presque Isle.


The press was represented by


Hon. ISAAC H. BAILEY, of the Shoe and Leather Re- porter, New York.


STANLEY T. PULLEN, Esq., of the Portland Press.


Capt. C. A. BOUTELLE, and HOWARD OWEN, Esq., of the Bangor Whig and Courier.


Dr. W. P. LAPHAM, of the Maine Farmer.


C. COUILLIARD and WINFIELD S. NEVINS, Esgs., of the Boston Herald.


J. SWETT ROWE, Esq., of the Boston Journal. BENJAMIN D. HILL, Esq., of the Boston Traveller.


ALBERT C. WIGGIN, Esq., of the Bangor Commercial. E. L. WARREN, Esq., of the Kennebec Journal.


S. W. MATHEWS, Esq., of the Aroostook Republican.


Nearly all these gentlemen were accompanied by ladies.


At last the carriage of HIon. W. W. Thomas jr., the founder of the colony, followed by the carriages of the Governor, the Council, and other distinguished guests, drives across the boundary line from Woodland into New Sweden ; a salute is fired by the Swedish cadets, the stars and stripes and the yellow cross of Sweden sail proudly into position at the top of the flagstaffs on either side of the evergreen arch, and the sweet tones of the church


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FOUNDING OF NEW SWEDEN.


bell float out for the first time over the woods and clear- ings of New Sweden.


At the triumphal arch the guests of the day are re- ceived by the Swedish cadets and escorted under the arch and down the road to the capitol.


That was a strange sight in the woods of Maine. First came the band, playing a martial air, next the Swedish cadets marching like veterans, then the carriage of the founder of the colony, followed by a long line of carriages containing the Governor, Council, and distinguished visit- ors. Three thousand people, Swedes, Americans, Cana- dians, and French, filled the great central clearing and cheered on the procession, the flags of Sweden and Amer- ica floated loyally side by side, the church bell rang a merry peal, all around stood the primeval forest in silent, ma- jestic lines, while the sun, breaking forth from between the clouds of morning, shone down upon us like a happy augury, and gave tone and color to the scene.


The procession halts in front of the capitol. The cadets draw themselves up on either side of the way, present arms, and shout


"Lefve Konsul Thomas," (Long live Consul Thomas), "Lefve Koloniens Vülgöraren,"


(Long live the benefactor of the colony),


"Lefve Koloniens Grundläggaren,"


(Long live the founder of the colony), "Lefve Governoren of Maine,"


(Long live the Governor of Maine).


A cheer goes up from the great throng of Swedes crowding around. Then Nils Olsson, one of the first col- onists and the first lay preacher of New Sweden, steps out


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DECENNIAL CELEBRATION.


into the open space between the two lines of cadets and welcomes the guests of the day in a short speech in Swed- ish, of which the following is a translation :


ADDRESS OF WELCOME OF NILS OLSSON.


In behalf of the Swedish people, men, women, and chil- dren, I bid you, Consul Thomas, and all the gentlemen and ladies in your company, a cordial welcome to New Sweden, upon this tenth anniversary of the day when you led us into these woods. We Swedes feel grateful and not a little surprised that we are deemed worthy of a visit from so many of the most honorable citizens of Maine. For this visit, and for the many aets of kindness extended to us Swedes-although strangers in a strange land-by the State of Maine and its citizens, ever since we first crossed your borders, we now return our heartfelt thanks.


The guests now alight from their carriages and pass be- tween the files of Swedish cadets. Then Mr. Thomas replies to the address of welcome from the threshold of the capitol. The cadets march forward, form a line directly in front, and present arms. The colonists crowd around with eager interest. Mr. Thomas spoke in Swedish. The substance of his remarks translated into English is as follows:


RESPONSE BY HON. W. W. THOMAS JR.


Swedish colonists, my comrades in the woods of Maine, my countrymen,-from my heart I thank you for this royal reception to your guests of to-day. I am proud of you and of the great work you have done in these forests. You little band that entered these woods with me ten years ago


ime - all


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FOUNDING OF NEW SWEDEN.


this very hour, and all you that have followed after, I know your trials, your toils, your hardships, and your privations. I know, too, your courage, your hope, your industry, and your perseverance, and to-day I see your victory. And not I alone, but the Governor and Council of our State, and many of the most distinguished citizens of Maine, are here to-day to see and bear witness to the great results of your labors.


And you, Captain Nylander; and you, Swedish soldiers on American soil, I thank you for the part you have so well taken in the observances of this day. In your veins flows the blood of the vikings. Yonder float the flags of Swe- den and America. Should ever foes without or foes within threaten this free land of ours, let the old beserker rage fire your hearts, and may you fight in defense of the stars and stripes as gallantly as the soldiers of Sweden have ever fought for the yellow cross of the Northland. My Swedish brethren, one and all, again I thank you.


Mr. Thomas' remarks were received by the Swedes with loud and long-continued applause. As soon as order was restored, Mr. Thomas introduced Gov. Daniel F. Davis, who spoke as follows :


ADDRESS OF HON. DANIEL F. DAVIS, GOVERNOR OF MAINE.


Fellow-citizens of New Sweden,-I assure you that it gives me great pleasure to visit your beautiful town, and to meet you all as I do to-day; to see what I have long known about, but have never viewed with my own eyes before. It is an occasion of the greatest importance to you. For the many blessings and privileges which you


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DECENNIAL CELEBRATION.


enjoy, for your fertile farms and happy homes, you must thank the country and the gentleman who has just spoken to you in your own language. To him you owe it all. Now, my countrymen (for I greet you as such, and I was particularly impressed, as I rode along and saw the colors of Sweden and of the United States blending together in graceful harmony) it is the boast of our institutions that we are able to make citizens with a common reverence for the stars and stripes, out of all kinds of material. Over every foot of our territory the stars and stripes wave over a people with equal rights before the law. I congratulate you upon the success which lias attended your efforts, and has greeted your industry and perseverance since you came to Maine, and also for your good behavior. I want to say one word more in regard to our country. We have our state government to which we owe our allegiance, but over that and grander than that we owe an allegiance to the great nation of which the state is only a part. I want to impress upon you one other point,-our law gives to your boy an equal chance with my own. In this land of liberty of ours there is resting upon every individual, whether of native or foreign birth, burdens commensurate with our liberties. See that the state and the nation suffer no wrong from your hands. I wish you joy and happiness upon this occasion, and a prosperous future.


Three cheers were given for Gov. Davis. The proces- sion then reformed, and escorted by the band and the Swedish cadets, countermarched to the church.


EXERCISES IN THE SWEDISH CHURCH.


The church was filled to overflowing. The aisles and


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FOUNDING OF NEW SWEDEN.


every foot of standing room were crowded. The windows were all thrown wide open, and hundreds of people were accommodated with seats out of doors, on long benches of plank, which flanked the church on either side, while a still larger number stood around. The governor, council, speakers, and their ladies were seated in front to the right of the pulpit. To the left on a raised platform was placed the Swedish choir, led by Mrs. Gottlieb Piltz, while immediately below was Jones' band, of Caribou.


At twelve o'clock the exercises in the church opened with the singing of a Swedish song by the choir,


"Our land, our land, our foster-land."


Prayer was next offered by Rev. G. M. PARK, of Presque Isle.


A selection was played by the band.


Then the Swedish pastor, Rev. ANDREW WIREN, said :


I will now introduce to you the father of the children in the woods, the Hon. W. W. Thomas jr., of Portland.


After the applause which greeted Mr. Thomas had sub- sided, he delivered the following oration :


HISTORICAL ORATION BY HON. W. W. THOMAS JR., FOUNDER OF NEW SWEDEN.


Ten years ago New Sweden was an unbroken wilder- ness.


The primeval forest covered all the land, stretching away over hill and dale as far as the eye could reach. No habitation of civilized man had ever been erected in these vast northern woods; through their branches the smoke from settler's cabin had never curled; in their depths the blows of settler's axe'had never resounded. Here roamed


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DECENNIAL CELEBRATION.


the moose, and prowled the bear, and here the silence of midnight was broken by the hooting of the arctic owl.


To-day New Sweden is the happy home of nearly eight hundred industrious, contented people.


We are now convened within its borders, not in the forest gloom, but in this Christian church. All around us are pleasant fields, where the tall grain waves in the sum- mer breeze. Sleek cattle and heavy-fleeced sheep graze in the pastures. Beyond, cut out of the solid woods, great clearings open to the sun on every hand. They are dotted with the cottages of the pioneer, and checkered into green and golden squares with the varying crops. School-houses open their doors for the children, and from the tower above us, the sound of the church-going bell floats over clearing and cottage, and echoes through the aisles of the forest. Here are free schools, free church, free speech, and the free worship of God.


. And those who have wrought this great change-the hardy pioneers, whose hands we have taken and into whose honest faces we now look-are not " to the manner born," but came to us from another continent, four thou- sand miles away over the ocean.


Truly the story of New Sweden forms an unique chap- ter in the history of Maine. This story it is my purpose briefly and faithfully to narrate upon this day, which we, both Swedes and Americans, have met together to cel- ebrate-the decennial anniversary of the founding of New Sweden in the woods of Maine.


Maine is a state of great, but largely undeveloped, re- sources. Our sea-coast, notched all over with harbors, invites the commerce of the globe; our rivers offer sufli- cient power to run the factories of the nation, while our


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FOUNDING OF NEW SWEDEN.


quarries can supply the world with building material. There is also within our borders a wilderness domain, whereon is not a settler, larger in area than the State of Massachusetts, covered with a stately forest of valuable trees, possessing a soil of unusual depth and fertility, and watered by plentiful streams. Indeed the entire Comnon- wealth of Massachusetts could be dropped into our north- ern forests without hitting a human being, aud no soul of us would be aware we had received so important an addi- tion to our state. On this vast and fertile territory Maine for many years has offered everybody a farm, virtually as a gift.


And yet, notwithstanding all these advantages, Maine decreased in population from 1860 to 1870; and that, too, when every other state in the Republic, with the single exception of New Hampshire, increased in numbers.


In that decade, the United States gained twenty-five per cent, or over seven and a half millions, while Maine fell off from 628,279 to 626,915 in population, making a net loss of 1,364 in the number of her citizens.


Yet what element of empire do we lack? Fertile lands, exhaustless quarries, noble rivers, colossal water power, and harbors countless and unrivaled, all are ours. We lack labor to utilize the resources lying waste around us. Men are the wealth of a state. We lack men.


The necessity of Maine was the cause of New Sweden.


In locality, Maine is an Eastern state ; in her needs she is like a state of the West. Yet while the Western states were advancing in population hundreds of thousands, Maine had paused and gone backward. Was this a mo- mentary halt in our advance, or was it the beginning of our decline ? This was a question of grave import. States, like men, cannot stand still, they must grow or decay.


..


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DECENNIAL CELEBRATION.


Immigration was evidently our remedy. Immigration was building up the West, and had long been one of the chief sources of wealth to our country. Since the war, there had arrived in the United States more than three hundred thousand immigrants a year. What a grand army of labor, three hundred thousand strong-a regiment a day-which every year sailed over the ocean to our shores, to help subdue our forests, reclaim our wild lands, open our mines, build our cities and railroads, and in every way develop the great resources of our own broad land.


It is estimated that these immigrants are worth one thousand dollars each to our country as a producing force. Three hundred millions of dollars will thus represent the yearly tribute paid by the monarchies of the Old World to the republic of the New. And this valuable stream of immigration was all flowing past Maine to enrich the broad fields of the great West.


Could any portion of this immigration be secured for Maine? and, if so, which nationality could furnish immi- grants best adapted to the climate and soil of our state?


It is an interesting faet, that with few exceptions, as the French in Canada, immigrants from Europe take up the same relative position in America they occupied in the continent of their birth. In fact there seem to be certain fixed isothermal lines between whose parallels the immi- grants from the Old World are guided to their homes in the New. Thus the Germans from the center of Europe settle in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and our other middle states ; the French and Spanish from southern Europe and the shores of the Mediterranean, make their homes in Lonis- iana, Florida, and all along the Gulf of Mexico; while the Scandinavians from the wooded north, fell the forest and


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FOUNDING OF NEW SWEDEN.


build their log-cabins in Wisconsin, Nebraska, Michigan, Minnesota-in our northern range of states-the Pine-tree state forms one of this northern, wooded range; Scandi- navian immigration flows naturally to us.


Would they make good citizens, these men of the North? Yes, no one doubted that. A tall, stout, hardy race are these Northmen; inured to hardship, patient of labor, economical, religious, honest.


The matter found its first official utterance in 1861, in the message of Gov. Washburn, wherein the general sub- ject of Scandinavian immigration was briefly presented to the attention of the legislature. This recommendation was followed by no immediate result. In 1864 an attempt was made by a company of Maine gentlemen to procure labor- ers from Sweden, but the undertaking proved a complete failure. The company shipped several hundred Swedes from Sweden, but not one of them ever arrived in Maine. The idea then slumbered until Gen. Chamberlain was called to the gubernatorial chair. He eloquently and per- sistently pressed the subject upon the attention of the legislature and the people. Interest in the question grew apace. It was a fruitful theme of discussion both in and out of legislative halls.


The desirability of Scandinavian immigration was at last quite generally coneeded. But could we obtain it? and how? These were unsolved problems, and the doubters were many. For at that time a Swede was about as rarely to be met with in Maine as a Chinese.


The question was discussed by the Legislature of 1869, and on the twelfth of March of that year, a resolve was passed entitled : "A resolve designed to promote the set- tlement of the public and other lands in the state." It


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DECENNIAL CELEBRATION.


provided for the appointment of three commissioners, a part of whose duty was "to ascertain what measures, if any, should be adopted by the state to induce settlements upon its unpeopled townships." The persons appointed on this commission were Hon. Parker P. Burleigh, your historian, and Hon. William Small.


This commission made a tour of observation and inquiry through Aroostook county in October of the same year, and presented a report to the legislature of 1870.


This report contains the first definite, practical plan for securing Scandinavian immigration to Maine. The plan was this :


1 . Send a commissioner of the state of Maine to Sweden.


2 Let him there recruit a colony of young Swedish farmers-picked men-with their wives and children. No one, however, was to be taken unless he could pay his own passage and that of his family to Maine.


3 A Swedish pastor should accompany the colony, that religion might lend her powerful aid in binding the colony together.


4 Let the commissioner lead the colony in a body, all together, at one time, and aboard one ship, from Sweden to America. Thus would they be made acquainted with one another. Thus also would they have a leader to fol- low and be prevented from going astray.


5 Let the commissioner take the Swedes into our northern forests, locate them on Township No. 15, Range 3, west of the east line of the state, give every head of a family one hundred acres of woodland for a farm, and do whatever else might be necessary to root this Swedish col- ony firmly in the soil of Maine.


Then all state aid was to cease, for it was confidently


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FOUNDING OF NEW SWEDEN.


expected when once the colony was fast rooted in our soil, it would thrive and grow of itself, and throughout the future draw to Maine, our fair portion of the Swedish im- migration to the United States.


In founding the Swedish colony of Maine this plan thus presented has been carried out in every detail to the letter.


This enterprise, though presented with confidence, was presented only as an experiment. The legislature enter- tained it only as such. The merits of the experiment, and its probable advantages to Maine, were placed before the House of Representatives by Col. James M. Stone, chair- man of the committee on imniigration, in an eloquent and exhaustive speech. Something ought certainly to be done. Nothing better was offered. So on March 23, 1870, an act was passed authorizing the experiment to be tried.


The act established a Board of Immigration, consisting of the governor, land agent, and secretary of state. On March 25, two days after the passage of the act, this board was pleased to appoint me commissioner of immigration. The fate of the Swedish experiment was thus placed in my hands.


Having successfully arranged all preliminary matters, I sailed from the United States April 30, and landed at Gothenburg, Sweden, on the 16th of May.


The problem now to be solved was this ;- could a colony of intelligent, industrious Swedish farmers be induced to pay their own passage, and that of their wives and children. to a comparatively unknown state, four thousand miles away? I believed the problem admitted of a satisfactory solution, and went to work accordingly.


A head office was at once established at Gothenburg. Notices, advertisements, and circulars, describing our state 2


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DECENNIAL CELEBRATION.


and the proposed immigration, were scattered broadcast over the country. Agents were employed to canvass the northern provinces, and as soon as the ball was fairly in motion, I left the office at Gothenburg in charge of Capt. G. W. Schröder, and traveled extensively in the interior of Sweden, distributing documents, and talking with the people in the villages, at their homes, by the roadside, and wherever or whenever I met them.




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