Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-05-28
SWEDES AMONG
PIONEERS HERE
Part Played in Material and
Religious Development
of Illinois.
GROWTH OF THE SYNOD
First Illinois Settlements in the
Early Fifties-Three Churches
Built With 1900.

Augustana synods history is in re-
ality the history of the Swedish peo-
pie in America. Fully 80 per cent of
the Swedes who left their native land
about the middle of the last century
had been brought up in the Lutheran
church. In the household they were
more or less active members of this
faith. Coming to this country they
were strangers not only to its indus
trial and social ways and customs, but
also to the prevalent mode of religious
worship. The Swedish immigrant OF
those days was as religious as any
other class of immigrants. and IN many
cases a great deal more so. In his
heart there was a deep-seated love for
his church and the faith of his child
hood, and, although at first there were
no Swedish Lutheran congregations OF
this side Of the Atlantic, the Swede
chung resolutely TO that faith until
leaders and pastors came from the
fatherland.
The history of the rise of the Swed-
ish Lutheran church in America and
the subsequent organization of Angus
tana synod Is ably told by Rev. c. j.
pl ofessor at AugIstana college, in his
historical chapter in the English edi-
ton Of the Jubilee A:oum, now being
printed. Following are extracts taken
from this sketch:
The first exodus of Swedes to this
country was that of the earlier part
Of the 18th century. Congregations were
organized at Wilmington. Philadelphia
and other places by these early settlers
and flourished as long as leaders and
pastors came from Sweden, but when
the immigration ceased and the father
land became engaged in wars and
troubles at home, the tie between
those who had cast their lot in this
country and those at home gradually
became dissolved. Gloria Del"
known as the "Old Swedes' Church."
still stands in the heart of Philadel-
phia as a monument to the church
activity Of the first Swedes in America.
Pennsylvania and Delaware trace
their ancestry to these early settlers.
First Illinois Settlement.
The second general exodus begun
in the 44th and 45th years of the past
century, when a few families arrived
from England and Ostergotland and
settled in Sheboygan, Wis, and New
Sweden. Iowa.
This blazed trail for further arrivals
from various other provinces. But be-
cause these emigrations were indie
pendent Of each other and largely
guided by mere circumstances, the
n
tons and deposited the segregated
groups in widely separated parts of
the new country.
Successive groups continued to ar
rive and found colonies in different
parts of the eastern and central states
Thus we find them settling in Sugar
Grove and jamestown along the bor-
ders of Pennsylvania and New York;
at Chicago, Andover, Rock Island, Mo-
line and Galesburg, Ill; at Burlington,
Iowa, and Chisago Lake, Mimi.
Eighteen hundred and ffty-four was
the terrible cholera year. 1t is esti-
mated that about two-thirds of the i'm
migrants that arrived that year per-
ished in the plague. Many literally
walked about and died" A servant
girl would look out through the win
dow and see a hearse driving by, not
knowing that the coffin contained the
remains Of her father or mother.
Members Of families were buried be-
fore the husband or father returned
from work in the evening. The suf
ferings Of those who remained or sur
vived can only be imagined. Innumer-
able families were scattered. Orphans
were sometimes sold as chattels and
brought up without knowledge of their
origin.
But more serious times were com
ing At first the men worked for so
cents a day while the women took in
washing at 10 and 25 cents a day.
Flour cost 81 barrel, and rent was
$40 for five or six poor rooms. In No
vember (1S54) one, of them wrote:
''Twenty-three of our small company