Swedish American Genealogist
Volume 15 Number 2 Article 8
6-1-1995
Jacod Fahlström's Declaration of Intention
James E. Erickson
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Recommended Citation Erickson, James E. (1995) "Jacod Fahlström's Declaration of Intention," Swedish American Genealogist: Vol. 15 : No. 2 , Article 8. Available at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonsag/vol15/iss2/8
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center at Augustana Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Swedish American Genealogist by an authorized editor of Augustana Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Jacob Fahlström's Declaration of Intention James E. Erickson*
It is noteworthy that a complete, well-documented biography has not yet been written for Jacob Fahlström, who is regarded as Minnesota's first Swede. The biographers who have chronicled various aspects of his life story have generally been long on hearsay and short on fäets, and disagreements in their stories abound. Unfortunately, unsubstantiated material, ranging from truths to half-truths to falsehoods, is entrenched in the Fahlström literature as a result of over a century of cursory research and numerous instances of covert and overt plagiarism. 1
While the early history of Fahlström's life is still shrouded in mystery, a number of documents have been located that establish his whereabouts in what is now the state of Minnesota from 1819 until his death in 1859. 2 Among the more significant, I would include the following: American Fur Company records,3 Fort Snelling records, 4 Lawrence Taliaferro papers, 5 a marriage record, 6 census records, 7 William R. Brown's diary, 8 Methodistchurchrecords, 9 andprobaterecords. 10 To this growing list of documents can now be added another-Fahlström's declaration of intention to become a U.S. citizen.
Fahlström's naturalization papers consist of two separate documents located on two different rolls of microfilm in the twelve-roll series labeled SAM 49, which is deposited at the Minnesota Historical Society (hereafter MHS). The SAM 49 series contains the naturalization records for Washington County, MN for the years 1847 through 1944. While perusing roll 1, I discovered a cataloging and/or indexing error of rather major import. The first material to appear on this roll of microfilm was not, as expected, Vol. A (Declarations of Intention, 1852-1868) with its accompanying index. lnstead, I encountered a separate, fourteen-page record book that, although untitled, is clearly an index for declarations of intention. The dates of the declarations contained therein, which range from 17 January 1847 to 18 September 1852, 11 leave little doubt that this is the first index used in Washington County for this purpose; yet, inexplicably, its presence is neither noted nor described in the MHS's "Guide To The Use Of This Microfilm." 12 The names of two-hundred-sixty-two individuals, including that of Fahlström, were indexed in this "lost" record. 13 The following information was recorded for him: Name: Folstrom, Jacob; Birthplace: Sweden; Arrived in the U.S.: 1814; Date of Declaration: 2 Sept. 1850; Before Whom: H. Wilson, Clk. Dist. Ct.
* Dr. James E. Erickson, Associate Editor of SAG, resides at 7008 Bristol Boulevard, Edina, MN 55435. .
92 Jacob Fahlström's Declaration of lntent
Operating under the premise that "where there is an index there must be a document," I researched the "Loose Naturalization Papers" on roll 8 of the SAM 49 series, where I subsequently located Fahlström's Declaration of Intention (see 1 Figure 1). • This document records the following crucial information: 1) he was fifty-four years old as of 2 Sept. 1850; 2) he was bom in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1796; 3) he landed at "Mackinaw" (i.e. Mackinac Island, then Michigan Territory) in the United States in 1814; and 4) he could not sign his own name.
To Figure 1. Declaration of Intention of Jacob Folstrom (Fahlström), swom and subscribed to before Harvey Wilson, Clerk, Washington County District Court, Stillwater, MN on 2 September 1850. 93 Swedish American Genealogist Notes 1 The following list (presented in chronological order) provides a sampling of the type of work that constitutes the rather voluminous Fahlström literature: Robert Grönberger, Svenskarne i St. Croix- dalen, Minnesota (Minneapolis: Stats Tidningens Tryckeri, 1879), 4, 44-48; Edward D. Neill, History of Washington County and the St. Croix Valley, Including the Exp/orers and Pioneers of Minnesota (Minneapolis: North Star Pub!. Co., 1881), 295, 406-407; W. H. C. Folsom, Fifty Years in the Northwest. With an Introduction and Appendix containing Reminiscences, Incidents and Notes (St. Paul: Pioneer Press Co., 1888), 392-393; Eric Norelius, De Svenska Luterska Församlingarnas och Svenskarnes Historia i America (Rock Island, IL: Lutheran Augustana Book Concem, 1890), 1:537- 538; 0. N. Nelson, comp. and ed., History of the Scandinavians and Successful Scandinavians in the United States, 2d ed., rev. (Minneapolis: 0. N. Nelson & Co., 1904), 1:395-396; Algot E. Strand, comp. and ed., A History of the Swedish-Americans of Minnesota (Chicago: Lewis Pub!. Co., 1910), 1:129-133; L. J. Ahlström, Femtiofem dr i vestra Wisconsin (Minneapolis: Larson Printing Co., 1924), 61-69; Norman Himle, "Bertil Honors State's First Swede Today," St. Paul Pioneer Press, 26 June 1948; Bengt Hildebrand, Svenskt Biografiskt Lexicon (Stockholm: Albert Bonnier, 1956), 15:62-64; Theodore A. Norelius, "The First Swede in Minnesota," Swedish Pioneer Historical Quarterly 8(1957): 107-115. 2 Fahlström died 29 July 1859 and was buried in a private family cemetery located on bis farm in Washington Co., MN. - John G. Erickson and Elizabeth B. Erickson, "The Burial Places of Washington County: XII. The Fahlstrom Cemetery," Minnesota Genealogist 8(1977): 129; Hildebrand, Svenskt Biografiskt Lexicon, 15:62. 3 Jacob Fallstraw [sic] was employed as a boatman for the Fond du Lac Outfit (which was headquartered in the present-day Duluth, MN-Superior, WI area) of the American Fur Company from 1819 to 1822. - American Fur Co. Papers 1817-34, Michilimackinac, Fond du Lac Outfit, 23 June 1820, p. 25, no. 315 and 7 July 1821, p. 257, no. 315 (MHS microfilm BC2.3, m.A512a, roll I); 26 Sept. 1821 , p. 86, 6 July 1822, p. 209, no. 114 and 10 July 1823, p. 414, no. 114 (MHS microfilm BC2.3, m.A512b, roll I). 4 Fahlström worked as a blacksmith's helper (striker) at Fort Snelling. Zylla writes: "In employment at St. Peters [Fort Snelling] in 1830 were the agent Taliaferro at a salary of $1300; the subagent, Elias Largham, at $500; the interpreter, Scott Campbell, at $470; the gunsmith, Oliver Cratts, at $360; and the striker, Jacob Faustion [sic], at $168." - Paul Zylla, Major Lawrence Taliaferro, Indian Agent in Minnesota, 1819-1839, M. A. Thesis, October 1948, Catholic Univ. of America, Washington, D. C. Fahlström was one of ten settlers (squatters) residing in the St. Peter's (Baker's) settlement on the west side of the Mississippi River, approximately one-half mile from Fort Snelling, who signed a memorial addressed to Martin van Buren, President of the United States, regarding the potential purchase of this land by the government from the Sioux Indians for a military reservation. - Executive Documents, The House of Representatives, 3rd Session, 40th Congress (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1869), Vol. 7, Document No. 9, 14-17 (MHS). 5 Lawrence Taliaferro, Indian Agent at Fort Snelling, mentions Fahlström in his journal on several occasions. On 14 Apr. 1828 he wrote: "Louis Masse and Jacob Faustram [sic] two foreigners left this Post this morning under a passport granted by me for them to pass up the Mississippi to Crow Island [i.e. Ft. Biddle, a post of the American Fur Co. on an island in the Mississippi River at the mouth of the Crow River) on business and return in twenty days." On another occasion, Fahlström came to Taliaferro seeking compensation for an ox that was allegedly killed by the Sioux Indians. Taliaferro's journal entry for 13 July 1834 reads in part: "Jacob Faustrom [sic] called this evening to say that for four days passed he had missed an oxen of his and this day after a thorough hunt for him over the country-that the Indians must have eaten him this is likely enough-but the matter must be fully investigated and justice rendered the poor man." - Lawrence Taliaferro Papers, Vol, 8, Journal, May 1827-May 1828; Nov. 1828-May 1829 (MHS microfilm M35, roll 3, 192) and Lawrence Taliaferro Papers, Vol. 13, Journal, May-Sept. 1833; May-Aug. 1834 (MHS microfilm M35, roll 3, seg. 4, 66). 6 In the Crawford Co., WI marriage records (Vol. 1, p. 31) is recorded the marriage of Jacob Falstram [sic] to Margaret Pierce of Prairie du Chien, WI on 25 Aug. 1829. The ceremony was performed by J. H. Lockwood, Justice of the Peace. - James L. Hansen, "Crawford County, Wisconsin Marriages, 1816-1848," Minnesota Genealogical Journal 1 (1984): 46. 7 The Fahlström family is listed in the 1838, 1846 and 1847 Wisconsin Territory Censuses; the Minnesota Territorial Census 1850; and the Minnesota Census 1857. - Wisconsin (Ter.) Census, Population Schedules, 1838, roll I, Clayton Co. north of Root River, p. 7 (MHS microfilm M25); 94 Jacob Fahlström's Declaration of lntent Wisconsin (Ter.) Census, Population Schedules, 1846, roll 2, St. Croix Co., Precincts of Stillwater and Kaposia, p. 4 (MHS microfilm M25); Wisconsin (Ter.) Census, Population Schedules, _1847, roll 3, St. Croix Co., District No. 1, East and South and West of Stillwater, p. 6 (MHS !Illcrofilm M25); Minnesota Census 1850, Washington Co., Stillwater Precinct, p. 167 (hand written) and p. 76 (printed) (MHS microfilm MN Census 1850, roll 367); t,{innesota Census 1857, Washington Co., T28N, R20W, nos. 17-24 (MHS microfilm MN Census 1857, roll 5). 8 William Reynolds Brown described in his diary a legal case in which he acted as counsel for Fahlström, who was accused by a neighbor, Edward Worth, of forcible entry and detainer. The entries relating to Fahlström were made on 8, 9, 10, 15 and 29 Nov. 1845; l and 6 Dec. 1845; and 23 May 1846. - William Reynolds Brown Papers, Diary, Oct. 25, 1845 to June 14, 1846, Kaposia, St. Croix County, Wisconsin (MHS microfilm M93, roll I). This diary was also published in Rodney C. Loehr, ed., Minnesota Farmers' Diaries·: William R. Brown 1845-46; Mitchell Y. Jackson, I 852-63 (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1939), 37-46, 79. 9 Fahlström was converted to Methodism at Fort Snelling ca. 1837. He subsequently became a Methodist lay preacher and worked as a Methodist missionary among the Chippewa Indians. His twenty-year association with the Methodist church in Minnesota is noted by two pioneer Methodist missionaries, Rev. Alfred Brunson and Rev. Chauncey Hobart. - Chauncey Hobart, Recol/ections of My Life. Fifty Years of Itinerancy in the Northwest (Red Wing, MN: Red Wing Printing Co., 1885), 259-262, 265; Chauncey Hobart, History of Methodism in Minnesota (Red Wing, MN: Red Wing Printing Co., 1887), 19-21, 33, 36, 69; Alfred Bi:unson, A Western Pioneer: or, Incidents of the Life and Times of Rev. Alfred Brunson, A. M. , D. D., Embracing a Period oj over Seventy Years (Cincinnati: Hitchcock and Walden, 1879), 2:83-84, 119-120. 10 The probate records relating to Jacob Fahlström are filed (i.e. indexed) under Folstrom [sic], Jacob, Probate #65, Estate 11-23-1859, microfilm 3. Probate Court Division, Registrar, Washington County Govemment Center, 14900 61st St. North, P. 0. Box 3802, Stillwater, MN 55082-3802. 11 One exception to this range of declaration dates (1847 to 1852) is the seemingly misplaced entry for Sven Peter Nelson, a Swede, whose date of declaration was 4 Sept. 1855. 12 This "First Index" is unequivocally distinct from the Vol. A Index for the following reasons: I) In the "First Index," the word "INDEX" is centered at the top of each page and the right edge of each page has a tab containing a pair of letters from the alphabet (e.g. A-B, C-D, E-F, etc.). In the Vol. A Index, the word "INDEX" does not appear on any page and the right edge of each page has a tab with a single letter (e.g. A, B, C, etc.); 2) There appears to be no redundancy in the two indices, i.e. individuals listed in the "First Index" are not listed in the Vol. A Index and vice versa; 3) The "First Index" does not refer to another record, i.e. it is self-contained; whereas the Vol. A Index contains only names and page numbers associated with specific Declarations of Intention found in Vol. A; and 4) None ofthe individuals listed in the "First Index" have Declarations oflntention in Vol. A. On the contrary, it appears as though the actual Declarations of Intention for individuals listed in the "First Index" are scattered throughout the "Loose Naturalization Papers, A-Z, 1847-1922" (MHS microfilm series SAM 49, rolls 7-12) 13 The twenty-three places of birth listed for them included Baden (l individual); Bavaria (l); Bremen (l); Canada (8); Canada, Lower (103); Canada, Upper (17); England (14); France (3); Germany (18); Great Britain (6); Hanover (3); Ireland (39); New Brunswick (6); Nova Scotia (2); Orkney Islands (l); Poland (l); Prince Rupert (2); Prussia (7); Saxony (l); Scotland (3); Sweden (6); Switzerland (10); and Wiirttemberg (2). Six individuals had nothing listed for place of birth and one entry was illegible. - Declarations of Intention, Vol. A, 1852-1868, Washington County [MN] District Court, Naturalization Records,NOTES1847-1944 (MHS microfilm SAM 49, roll l). 14 Loose Naturalization Papers, D-H, Washington County [MN] District Court, Naturalization Records, 1847-1944, Loose Naturalization Papers, A-Z 1847-1922 (MHS rnicrofilm SAM 49, roll 8, frames 737-738). 15 Jacob Fahlström is purported to have been bom in Stockholm, Sweden on either 25 June or July 1793 or 25 July 1795. Most writers state that, at the age of9, 12, or 14, he irnmigrated to Hudson Bay and/or the Selkirk settlement in Canada. See references cited in notes l and I 6. 16 Nels Hokanson, Swedish Immigrants in Linco/n's Time (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1942), 10, 12. 17 In the Selkirk papers that I have examined on microfilm at the MHS, a list of settlers is neither a part of nor does it accompany the letter cited by Hokanson (i.e. Miles MacDonnell to the Earl of Selkirk, 11 Aug. 1812). - Thomas Douglas Se/kirk Papers, Vol. 2, p. 443 (MHS microfilm M216, roll 1). 95