Gustaf Unonius

Infobox clergy
name = Gustaf Elias Marius Unonius


image_size = 200px
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birth_date = 25 August 1810
birth_place = Helsinki, Finland
death_date = 14 October 1902
death_place = Sweden
church = Episcopal Church in the United States of America
other_names = Gustav Unonius
Gustave Unonius
Gustavus Unonius
Gustov Unonius
education = Uppsala University
Nashotah House
ordained = 1845
writings =
congregations = St. James' Episcopal Church, Manitowoc
St. Ansgarius Episcopal Church, Chicago
offices_held =
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spouse =
children =
parents =
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Gustaf Elias Marius Unonius (also referred to as Gustav Unonius, Gustave Unonius, Gustavus Unonius, or Gustov Unonius) was a pioneer and priest in the American Midwest. Unonius founded the Pine Lake Settlement in central Wisconsin, serving as a catalyst for early Scandinavian emigration to the United States. [http://townofmerton.com/abouttown.html "Town of Merton: Early History"] , Town of Merton. Retrieved 28 April 2008.] Later ordained a priest in The Episcopal Church, Unonius helped found several churches in Wisconsin and Illinois. [http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/dictionary/index.asp?action=view&term_id=2691&term_type_id=1&term_type_text=People&letter=U "Unonius, Gustaf Elias Marius 1810 - 1902"] , Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 28 April 2008.]

Pioneer

Unonius was born 25 August 1810 in Helsinki, in the Grand Duchy of Finland, then part of the Russian Empire. His family moved to Sweden when he was a child. In 1830, he graduated from Uppsala University in Sweden, and from the Uppsala law department in 1833. In 1841 Unonius emigrated to the United States, settling in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Unonius was founder of the early Swedish settlement known as the Pine Lake Settlement or "Nya Upsala" (New Upsala). The settlement was near what is now the town of Merton. Unonius' letters to Swedish, Danish and Finnish newspapers about pioneer life in America sparked a wave of immigration by Scandinavians to the Midwest. While living in Waukesha County, Unonius befriended James Lloyd Breck, one of the founders of the Episcopal seminary Nashotah House.

Priest

In 1845, Gustaf Unonius became the first graduate [ [http://anglicanhistory.org/nashotah/unonius/index.html "Gustaf Unonius, first graduate of Nashotah House"] , "Project Cantebury". Retrieved on 28 April 2008.] of Nashotah House, and was ordained to the Diaconate by Bishop Jackson Kemper. He was later ordained as a priest in The Episcopal Church, continuing to commute from the Pine Lake Settlement for several years. In 1848, Unonius moved to Manitowoc, Wisconsin and became the first Rector of St. James' Episcopal Church [http://anglicanhistory.org/usa/wi/fonddulac1925/parishes.html "Manitowoc: St. James' Church"] , "History of the Diocese of Fond du Lac and Its Several Congregations", A. Parker Curtiss, 1925. Retrieved on 28 April 2008.] . In 1849, he founded the Swedish Episcopal Church of St. Ansgarius in Chicago, Illinois [http://www.newberry.org/genealogy/Episcopal.html "St. Ansgarius"] , "Archives at The Newberry Library, Chicago". Retrieved 28 April 2008.]

Return to Sweden

Unonius returned to Sweden in 1858, having lives in the United States for 17 years. The stories of his travels to the United States and the trials and tribulations of life on the frontier were the subject of his two-volume memoirs, published in 1862. A partial translation of his memoirs, "A Pioneer in Northwest America 1841-1858: The Memoirs of Gustaf Unonius", was published in 1960 for the Swedish Pioneer Historical Society by the University of Minnesota Press. Unonius died 14 October 1902.

References

Additional reading

"A Pioneer in Northwest America 1841-1858: The Memoirs of Gustaf Unonius". Translated by J.O. Backlund; edited by N.W. Olsson. University of Minnesota Press, 1960.

External links

* [http://anglicanhistory.org/nashotah/unonius/index.html Anglican History: Gustaf Unonius]