Elim Lutheran Church
  • Welcome to Elim!
    • A Brief History
    • Highlights and Calendar
    • Pastor & Staff
    • Church Council >
      • Council Officer Position Descriptions
    • Covid 19 Information
  • Worship
    • Livestreamed Services
    • Accessibility
    • Baptism
    • Funerals & Memorial Services
  • Music
    • 2024 Concert & Music Series
    • 2023 Concert & Music Series >
      • Vikarbyns Lilla Spelmanslag
    • Elim's M. P. Möller Pipe Organ
    • Elim Pipe Organ Project >
      • Pipe Organ Project - Reports and Resources
    • Instrumentalists
  • Ministries
    • Alcoholics Anonymous
    • Adult Bible Study
    • Cemetery >
      • North Cemetery Rules Updated 8/24
      • South Cemetery Rules update 8/24
      • Raised Pot Recommendations
      • Cemetery Information
      • Cemetery Bylaws
      • Columbarium Bylaws
      • Niche Size & Costs
      • Cemetery Maps >
        • North Cemetery Maps
        • South Cemetery Maps
      • Geneology Services
      • Elim's Anniversary Books
    • Children, Youth & Family >
      • VBS 2024!
      • Confirmation
      • Sunday School
      • Youth Group
    • Feed My Starving Children Moble Pack >
      • FMSC Videos
    • Food Shelf >
      • Backpack Program
    • Foundation >
      • Donating Stock
      • Donating from IRA
      • Designated Funds
      • 2024 Foundation Recipients
      • 2023 Foundation Recipients
      • 2022 Foundation Recipients
      • 2021 Foundation Recipients
      • 2020 Foundation Recipients
      • 2019 Foundation Recipients
    • Gammelgarden
    • God's Work, Our Hands
    • Library
    • Grief & Loss Support Group
    • Mental Health Awareness >
      • Suicide Prevention
    • Park Board
    • Preschool
    • Quilting
    • St. Andrew's Family Shelter
  • Giving
    • Giving via Recycling and Reusing
    • Fair Trade Items
  • Capital Campaign

Sven Anderson 

Sven Anderson came to America in 1852, first living in Illinois the moving to Minnesota in 1853.  He came to look up Marie Christina Larson, whom he met on the boat over from Sweden.  They were married 11/18/1853 in Stillwater and settled near Fish Lake to the west of Scandia.  

Sven learned to communicate with native americans in the area.  He also volunteered and served in the civil war.  

Gravesite: Original cemetery NE quadrant, Block 2, lot 2 (Maria is in block 2, lot 1)
Resources: Edryss Lund, Ruth Vogt & Warren Johnson (great grandchildren).  Edryss, Ruth and Warren have given us a family history with lots of information on Sven & Christina's life and family.

From Church records:
Born: 3/21/1822
Birthplace: Falköping, Ska. Län, Sweden
Arrived from Sweden: 1852
Received into Elim 1857
Died 6/24/1909  Age: 87 years 94 days 

Transcript  Sven was portrayed by Jim Thorsen.  He also wrote the script.

Today  is Sunday, the Gods day of rest.  In my home, we didn't do anything on Sundays except go to Church and study the Lords word. No socializing was allowed.  But I am here to talk to you today. When you are asked by the Lord you serve.
I know you're here to learn a bit about me. A little warning- I have a reputation as a talker. If I go on a little too long, you may start to fidget a bit. Don't worry, I won't pay it no mind or let it hamper me down in the least.
I came over from Falkoping, Sweden in 1851 at age 29.  During the passage, I lost  my mother , a brother, and a sister to cholera.  As a result, my Father and other  sister returned home but I stayed in America.  On the boat, I met Maria Christina, who had also lost her entire family on the ship.  There was no room for the storage of bodies, so the dead were buried immediately at sea, making the losses even more difficult.
Maria went to Arcola Minnesota to work for a Methodist pastor and I went to the Augustana Illinois Lutheran settlement. Still, despite the religious differences, I missed her and after a year of exchanging letters  I found my way to Marine, Minnesota.
This area was the informal border between the Sioux and the Chippewa. One  time I was captured by the Sioux  and undressed. Then they had the squaws and children dance around me and sing. I thought I was a goner, I was too scared to move a muscle. They let me go, but when the fear left and the embarrassment set in I though that learning the language might help reduce misunderstandings. As time went on, we did a lot of trading with the natives, often trading bread , cake, and cookies for venison.  
Maria and I were  married in Stillwater a year after I arrived and lived in a dugout while we farmed  on 40 acres of land I bought near Fish Lake just north of Big Marine.  Ultimately  we had seven  children and lost one in childbirth.
Much of the early work was done by hand since there were very few horses or mules in the area in those early years.  Sharp tools were critical when doing hand work. One morning I needed to sharpen many of my hand tools and found that my  my sharpening wheel was broken.  This was a large 24” diameter wheel for a foot powered sharpener weighing well over 120 lbs.  Unfortunately no one close could spare a horse since it was the peak of planting season.  I walked several miles to Marine and carried the stone  home. This type of thing was  very normal for everyone in those early years and was just part of what needed to be done to survive.
Anyhow, even after Maria and I were married I still kept in contact with the Methodists up  at Prairie Hollow where Maria had worked. They were good people,  but they were  hampered by some misunderstandings.   I often went up there to try and get them to see the Lutheran way, but I wasn't too successful.
You can see that I am wearing my Civil War hat.  Its all I have left of my uniform. Clothes were expensive, and that old wool uniform was worn out doing  farm work years ago.
Its strange to say that something as terrible as a civil war was  a high point in a persons life, but it kinda worked out that way. You see the very best and the very worst, and tend to remember the best.  It wasn't something I got into  easily.  I was conscripted in 1862 ant age 40.   I was proud to serve my new county, but I also had a family and a farm to run.  For $300 (1 year of laborers pay)  I was able to get someone to go in my place. Still, by 1864 the unions need was too  great and I was conscripted again. Now the price to get  someone else to go was $600 so I was on my way.  Maria  was left with the farm and the children. She was a tough woman as were all the surviving settlers, and she carried on with grit and lots support from the community.
Anyways, I found myself on Sherman's March to the sea.  As a literate man, I had charge of the books during the March.  One day, when crossing a river the wagon tipped . Most of the men swan for shore but I did what he could to save the books and the Bibles.
We sang as we marched to detract from the boredom and the constant tiredness. The newly free slaves would come  to watch us march by.   Many followed us for miles, singing along, so it was quite a parade.
Well, I don't want to go on too long about the war. In my later year a lot of folks seemed to tire when I brought up this topic.   
After the war I lost one son, John , to a logging accident in Kettle River.   He left a young wife Selma and two children.  Selma had labored  all summer  to pick and can 6 quarts wild blackberries as a gift for his return.  These were served as a tribute at Johns funeral.
After Johns death, Selma lived with us on the farm.  One bittersweet  memory is of giving Selma the reins to the horse and buggy and watch Selma ride  to Stillwater with Alfred Erickson (Johns best friend)  to be married.  
Alfred was a good man. He and Selma eventually took over the farm and Maria and I lived with them there until our deaths. I still had the gift for gab, and would often  visit neighbors to talk  and read the Bible. Sometimes the young mothers, busy  with children and farm work,  didn't have the time to sit and listen or even respond, but that didn't stop me from talking.
I had a  very blessed life. Almost everyone wants to leave a better world for their children and grandchildren.  I was very fortunate to be able to clearly see  the results of our efforts. When I arrived in Scandia, it was a dangerous and forbidding wilderness. Surviving the winter was a great accomplishment and for the first few years some did not make it.   At the end of my life, there was a beautiful barn and  farmhouse, farm animals, and a  full pantry to survive the winter , all  on acres of cleared productive farmland . I was surrounded by faithful children and grandchildren.  Who could have asked for more?








Where in the world is elim lutheran church?

Elim Lutheran Church  |  20971 Olinda Trail N, Scandia, MN 55073

Contact Us!

(651) 433-2723
  • Welcome to Elim!
    • A Brief History
    • Highlights and Calendar
    • Pastor & Staff
    • Church Council >
      • Council Officer Position Descriptions
    • Covid 19 Information
  • Worship
    • Livestreamed Services
    • Accessibility
    • Baptism
    • Funerals & Memorial Services
  • Music
    • 2024 Concert & Music Series
    • 2023 Concert & Music Series >
      • Vikarbyns Lilla Spelmanslag
    • Elim's M. P. Möller Pipe Organ
    • Elim Pipe Organ Project >
      • Pipe Organ Project - Reports and Resources
    • Instrumentalists
  • Ministries
    • Alcoholics Anonymous
    • Adult Bible Study
    • Cemetery >
      • North Cemetery Rules Updated 8/24
      • South Cemetery Rules update 8/24
      • Raised Pot Recommendations
      • Cemetery Information
      • Cemetery Bylaws
      • Columbarium Bylaws
      • Niche Size & Costs
      • Cemetery Maps >
        • North Cemetery Maps
        • South Cemetery Maps
      • Geneology Services
      • Elim's Anniversary Books
    • Children, Youth & Family >
      • VBS 2024!
      • Confirmation
      • Sunday School
      • Youth Group
    • Feed My Starving Children Moble Pack >
      • FMSC Videos
    • Food Shelf >
      • Backpack Program
    • Foundation >
      • Donating Stock
      • Donating from IRA
      • Designated Funds
      • 2024 Foundation Recipients
      • 2023 Foundation Recipients
      • 2022 Foundation Recipients
      • 2021 Foundation Recipients
      • 2020 Foundation Recipients
      • 2019 Foundation Recipients
    • Gammelgarden
    • God's Work, Our Hands
    • Library
    • Grief & Loss Support Group
    • Mental Health Awareness >
      • Suicide Prevention
    • Park Board
    • Preschool
    • Quilting
    • St. Andrew's Family Shelter
  • Giving
    • Giving via Recycling and Reusing
    • Fair Trade Items
  • Capital Campaign