During 1853, Pastor Carlsson and a party of 17 members of his parish departed for the United States. He became the minister of the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Chicago, Illinois. Carlsson would lead Immanuel through the terrible 1854 cholera year during which one-tenth of the congregation's members died and the Chicago Fire of 1871 which destroyed the church buildings and the homes of 90% of the congregation. Pastor Carlsson served at Immanuel Lutheran Church until 1875. He then moved to historic Andover Swedish Lutheran Church (now Augustana Lutheran Church ) in Andover, Illinois where he would serve until 1887.