Israel Acrelius | |
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| Born | (1714-12-04)December 4, 1714 Österåker, Sweden |
| Died | April 25, 1800(1800-04-25) (aged 85) Fellingsbro, Sweden |
| Religion | Lutheran |
Israel Acrelius (December 4, 1714 – April 25, 1800) was a noted SwedishLutheranmissionary andpriest.
He was born inÖsteråker,Stockholm County,Sweden, in 1714 to Johan and Sara Acrelius (née Gahm).[1] His brother was the surgeonOlof af Acrel.[2] He attendedUppsala University and was ordained as a priest of theChurch of Sweden in 1743. He served as thepastor of churches in Riala,Sweden starting in 1745.
Beginning in 1749, Acrelius took a post inWilmington, Delaware, site of aSwedish Lutheran congregation which dated to the time of theNew Sweden colony. At that time,Holy Trinity remained a Swedish Lutheran parish. The church would remain so until placed under the jurisdiction of theProtestant Episcopal Church in 1791. Acrelius served simultaneously as both pastor andprovost to the Swedish congregations in the area. He was a minister atSt. Paul's Church inChester, Pennsylvania in 1756.[3]
He learnedEnglish and provided aid toGerman Lutherans inPennsylvania. He also made notablezoological,botanical, andgeological collections.
Because of health concerns, Acrelius returned to Sweden in 1756.[4] The king gave him a large pension, and he received the lucrative pastorate of a church in the parish ofFellingsbro in the province ofVästmanland during 1758.[4] Shortly thereafter in 1759, he published hisHistory of New Sweden, which dealt with the religious and secular history of the area. This book was translated into English byWilliam Morton Reynolds, who learnt Swedish for the purpose, and published in 1874.[5]
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