Swedish American Historical Society of Wisconsin

The SAHSWI project to honor Gustaf Unonius, New Upsala, and the Scandinavian Parish with an official State of Wisconsin Historical Marker will in a new section of the website publish stories told by descendants of the New Upsala colonists. Gustaf and Charlotta Unonius and friends arrived in the Territory of Wisconsin in October of 1841, they claimed land and settled in an area east of Pine Lake, later named New Upsala. As a result of the published America Letters, a number of Swedish people—some with families–arrived to join the settlement in 1842 and 1843. The section “Descendants of New Upsala Colonists” will focus on the first settlers and their descendants.

The first story published is the story told by Cletus Hasslinger.

Cletus Hasslinger, a registered architect in Milwaukee grew up on a farm near Hartland not far from where the first Swedish pioneers settled east of Pine Lake. Cletus is a 5th generation descendant of early settlers George and Ebba Bergwall, or 6th generation of Ebba’s parents Bengt and Charlotta Peterson.

See the story in “Descendants of New Upsala Colonists” web page.