Charles Christopherson Springer

http://www.springers.us/getperson.php?personID=I268&tree=springer_main http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=rjmorriso... http://www.colonialswedes.org/forefathers/Springer.html

He was kidnapped and brought to America as an indentured servant. After five years, he was free and headed to an area where he had heard about other Swedish people were living, which was actually known at the time as a Swedish colony. He help build a church that is known as today as Old Sweds Church in Wilmington, DE. The church is one of the oldest churches in America. built in 1698.

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Charles Springer had been sent abroad to study, first to Riga, Latvia ( then a province of Sweden), and later to London to learn English and mathematics. He then disappeared. By a letter to his mother, dated 1 June 1693,Charles explained his fate: About to return home, he was kidnapped and carried aboard an English vessel to Virginia,”where I was sold like a farm animal” and held in ‘very slavery” for five years. Having served his time, he went 400 miles to join the Swedes on the Delaware. After being there a year and a half, he married Maria Hendricksdotter, 27 Dec 1685. At the time of the letter, they had three daughters and were expecting a fourth child.

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http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/s/p/r/Nicholas-L-Springe...

A letter from him after being kidnapped.

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1676 London to America

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According to several sources linked below, Christopher Springer, while a student in London, was either kidnapped or accidently ended up on a ship to America. To pay off his passage, he was sold as an indentured servant for a period of five years. Once he had worked off his debt, he found his way to the Swedish community of New Sweden near Wilmington, DE. There he married Maria Hendricks and raised his family. He bought two plantations and was a successful businessman, while still contributing greatly to the community and church. He was the reader as Old Swede or Holy Trinity Church for many years until a petition he sent to Sweden asking for a pastor to be sent to the church was answered. He contributed to the building of the present church, which is one of the oldest places of worship in America still standing.

Sources: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=arnold194... http://genforum.genealogy.com/springer/messages/2614.html http://www.thespringerclan.com/Geneology_1.html

Letter from him to his mother in Sweden, describing his history in the New World: http://diginpast.se/ostkanten/swe/blekingeband/christian/springer/p...

Note about the "Springer Hoax": http://www.jedh.com/src/genealogy/hpkr2/f3111.htm

Springer first lived in Gloucester County at “New Stockholm,” a tract claimed by the Swedes by purchase from the Indians but owned by Andrew Robeson, Sr. (see #202, Chapter 4). Here, John Andersson Cock (#119), Springer’s future brother-in-law, was operating a farm in 1684. In the following year, Springer married Maria, the daughter of Hendrick Jacobsson (#120). In 1687, Maria’s brother John Hendricksson and Charles Springer were taxed on 250 acres at New Stockholm. Springer remained a resident of Gloucester County through at least 1690. On 1 December 1693, he was shown as delinquent on 1692 taxes and apparently lost his land in that county. (72) Springer’s home plantation in 1693 was 200 acres, part of “Oak Hill,” an 800-acre tract east of Red Clay Creek, which had been granted by William Penn to Nils Larsson Friend (see #85) in exchange for land Penn wanted in Bucks County for his Pennsbury estate. Springer had written and witnessed Nils’ will, 20 Dec. 1686. The entire tract of Oak Hill was resurveyed as 936 acres in 1703. By 1727, the Springer family owned 786 of these acres. (73) Charles Springer and Maria Hendricksdotter had six sons and at least five daughters: Anna Elisabeth (born c. 1687), Rebecca (c. 1689), Maria (c. 1691), Charles (c. 1693), Christopher (12 May 1696), John (c. 1698), Andreas (c. 1700), Jacob or James (1703), Israel (c. 1705), Magdalena (c. 1707) and Joseph (1709). (74) Charles Springer’s first wife was buried 15 March 1727. Three months later, he married Annika, daughter of Johan and Brita Gustafsson and widow of both Matthias Mârtensson (#32) and Jonas Walraven (#111). Charles Springer was serving on the church council in 1693 and remained in this capacity until his death. He also served as a justice on the New Castle court. He died of a stroke on 26 May 1738 while crossing the Delaware on his return from the Gloucester County court, where he proved a deed from Andrew Robeson, Sr., to Marten Mârtensson, Sr., and John Archer that he had witnessed 9 May 1685.

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Charles Springer was born in 1658 in Sweden and educated in London, England. On his way home from his duties in the Swedish Legation one evening in 1768, he was kidnapped and shipped to Virginia to serve five years as an indentured servant. Springer learned of the Swedish colony on the Cristina, Fort Cristina, now Wilmington, Delaware. After gaining his freedom, he walked 400 miles to live among them.

In the absence of clergy and as the most literate among the congregation, he read the Psalms, and published sermons and prayers. He petitioned the King of Sweden for priests and books, which were finally provided in 1697. He served as the Warden, Vestryman, and Councilor, from the founding of the church until his death in 1738. -- The National Society of the Dames of America in the State of Delaware.

""Springer Hoax"

Part of what got me interested in doing genealogical research was the fact that my father told me growing up that he was descended from a man named Charles Christopher ("Karrell Christofferson") Springer. Charles Christopher Springer was--according to his own account in a letter written to his mother--kidnapped on his way home to Sweden from London, England (where he had been studying), and taken to America. He worked as an indentured servant in Virginia before earning his freedom and heading north, where he was taken in by fellow Swedes who had settled along the Delaware River in what was then known as "New Sweden." There, he served as lay reader in the absence of a minister at Cranehook Church for several years and was instrumental in securing funds for the building of a new church, Holy Trinity ("Old Swedes"). He married and had a number of children. This is all very interesting and true.

Jumping ahead a few years to 1882: the enterprising duo of George W. Ponton and Charles H. Bierce--both aliases, it turned out--devised an inheritance scam in London, Ontario. This is it, in a nutshell: they drew up papers saying that Charles Christopher Springer's estate was valued at $100,000,000 and that the city of Wilmington, Delaware, had agreed to pay his heirs $20,000,000 to release itself from the claim. One of these men (Ponton) claimed to be an agent representing the Springer heirs, each of whom would receive $90,000; the other man (Bierce) claimed to be an heir. The whole scheme unraveled when it was revealed to be a scam to get people to loan money to the pair, with the promise of repayment once Bierce got his settlement. So, the men were arrested and that's the end of that story.

Except it isn't. The "Fabulous Springer Estate" remained alive and well in the imagination of Springers everywhere, not just among the Canadian Springers. People wanted to perpetuate the idea that they were somehow related to Charles Christopher Springer because...well, what if there was some truth to that huge estate claim? So, random Springers started making family histories that listed themselves as descendants of Charles Christopher Springer. Among my ancestors, my gg-grandfather, Moses Springer, appears to have been the main culprit. As a public figure, there was a lot written about him, most of which included a passing reference to Charles Christopher Springer as his gg-grandfather David's ancestor. Unfortunately, sometimes genealogists mistake--quite honestly--secondary sources for primary sources; however, just because something is published, doesn't necessarily mean it's true." -- Sarah Springer, http://springergenealogy.weebly.com/springer-hoax.html www.findagrave.com

Charles Carl Christopher Springer Birth 1658 Stockholms län, Sweden Death 26 May 1738 (aged 79–80) New Castle County, Delaware, USA Burial Old Swedes Churchyard Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware, USA Memorial ID 27590733

This story is from "The 1693 Census of the Swedes on the Delaware" by Dr. Peter Stebbins Craig, p. 107-108.

Charles Springer died of a stroke on May 26,1738 while crossing the Delaware on his return from the Gloucester County court,where he proved a deed from Andrew Robeson, Sr., to Mårten Märtensson, Sr., and John Archer that he had witnessed May 9, 1685. Carl or Charles Springer was born in Stockholm in 1658,the son of Christopher Springer and his third wife, Beata Salina. His father died in 1669 after forty years of service for the Swedish government; his mother,the royal housekeeper for the dowager queen Hedvig Eleonora (widow of King Charles X) at Gripsholm Castle, was buried December 17,1693 at the Gripsholm church in Mariefred. As a young man, Charles Springer had been sent abroad to study, first to Riga, Latvia (then a province of Sweden), and later to London to learn English and mathematics. He then disappeared. By a letter to his mother, dated June 1, 1693,Charles explained his fate: About to return home,he was kidnapped and carried aboard an English vessel to Virginia 'where I was sold like a farm animal' and held in 'very slavery' for five years. Having served his time,he went 400 miles to join the Swedes on the Delaware. After being there a year and a half,he married Maria Hendricksdotter, December 27,1685. At the time of the letter, they had three daughters and were expecting a fourth child.* Springer first lived in Gloucester County at 'New Stockholm,' a tract claimed by the Swedes by purchase from the Indians but owned by Andrew Robeson, Sr. Here, John Andersson Cock, Springer's future brother-in-law, was operating a farm in 1684. In the following year, Springer married Maria,the daughter of Hendrick Jacobsson. In 1687, Maria's brother John Hendricksson and Charles Springer were taxed on 250 acres at New Stockholm.Springer remained a resident of Gloucester County through at least 1690. On December 1, 1693,he was shown as delinquent on 1692 taxes and apparently lost his land in that county. Springer's home plantation in 1693 was 200 acres, part of 'Oak Hill,' an 800-acre tract east of Red Clay Creek,which had been granted by William Penn to Nils Larsson Friend in exchange for land Penn wanted in Bucks County for his Pennsbury estate. Springer had written and witnessed Nils' will, December 20, 1686. The entire tract of Oak Hill was resurveyed as 936 acres in 1703. By 1727,the Springer family owned 786 of these acres. Charles Springer and Maria Hendricksdotter had six sons and at least five daughters: Anna Elisabeth (born c. 1687), Rebecca (c. 1689), Maria (c. 1691), Charles (c. 1693), Christopher (May 12, 1696), John (c. 1698), Andreas (c. 1700), Jacob or James (1703), Israel (c. 1705), Magdalena (c. 1707) and Joseph (1709). Charles Springer's first wife was buried March 15, 1727. Three months later, he married Annika, daughter of Johan and Brita Gustafsson and widow of both Matthias Mårtensson and Jonas Walraven. Charles Springer was serving on the church council in 1693 and remained in this capacity until his death. He also served as a justice on the New Castle court. Charles Springer died of a stroke on May 26,1738 while crossing the Delaware on his return from the Gloucester County court,where he proved a deed from Andrew Robeson, Sr., to Mårten Märtensson, Sr., and John Archer that he had witnessed May 9, 1685. Source: The 1693 Census of the Swedes on the Delaware by Dr. Peter Stebbins Craig, p. 107-108.Picture: William Penn.

• Virginia records show that Captain William Hunt was awarded 608 acres in Charles City County, Virginia, for the importation of 13 persons, including Charles Springer.

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GEDCOM Note

https://www.genealogy.com/ftm/s/p/r/Nicholas-L-Springer/GENE2-0010....

GEDCOM Source

@R1653122056@ Alabama, Surname Files Expanded, 1702–1981 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,61266::0 Alabama Department of Archives and History; Montgomery, AL; Alabama Surname Files; Box or Film Number: M85.0587 1,61266::211964

GEDCOM Source

@R1653122056@ Alabama, Surname Files Expanded, 1702–1981 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,61266::0 Alabama Department of Archives and History; Montgomery, AL; Alabama Surname Files; Box or Film Number: M85.0587 1,61266::211964

GEDCOM Source

@R1653122056@ Millennium File Heritage Consulting Ancestry.com Operations Inc 1,7249::0 1,7249::108411656

GEDCOM Source

@R1653122056@ Charles Springer of Cranehook-on-the-Delaware : his descendants and allied families Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations Inc 1,24218::0 1,24218::122

GEDCOM Source

@R1653122056@ U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc 1,7486::0 Place: Pennsylvania; Year: 1693; Page Number: 69 1,7486::3030704

GEDCOM Source

@R1653122056@ Delaware, Wills and Probate Records, 1676-1971 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,9044::0 New Castle County probate records, ca 1682-1925; Author: New Castle County (Delaware). Register of Wills; Probate Place: New Castle, Delaware 1,9044::476062

GEDCOM Source

@R1653122056@ The Compendium of American Genealogy, Vol. VI 1,48082::0 https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=FLHG-CompAmGenVI&h=1... 1,48082::188278

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• Residence: New Castle, Delaware, USA
  • Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Apr 20 2019, 0:27:40 UTC