Pål Jönsson Mullica the Finn and his Descendants

by Dr. Peter Stebbins Craig
Fellow, American Society of Genealogists
Fellow, Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania
Historian, Swedish Colonial Society

originally published in Swedish Colonial News,
Volume 2, Number 10 (Spring 2004)

Three and a half centuries ago, in 1654, the shp Eagle arrived in New Sweden, carrying many Finns. Among them was the large family of Pål Jönsson Mullica. Generally known as Pål Jönsson, his Finnish surname (Mullikk-a) rarely appeared in the records. On one occasion he was called "little Pole," leading one genealogist to claim he was the first of Polish birth to come to America. However, records show that he came originally from Mora parish in Hälsing-land, but probably had moved to western Sweden prior to being recruited by Captain Sven Skute to come to Amer-ica.

Many passengers had died during the trans-Atlantic voyage of the Eagle and Pål Mullica was himself in poor health, so that his family initially had to be supported by charity. After the Dutch takeover in 1655, the family was living on the southwest side of the Christina River, oblique-ly opposite Fort Christina. In June 1656, Marga-reta, the wife of Pål Jönsson the Finn, complained to the Dutch court at Fort Casimir (present New Castle) that Anders the Finn was threatening to take her grain from the field and secured an injunction from the court, prohibiting further molestation. This land was being rented on half shares.

Indian Point

Soon, however, Governor Stuyvesant granted Pål Jöns-son his own land on the north side of the Brandy-wine at the mouth of Skilpot Creek. This tract was known as Wild or Indian Point, and finally patented to Pål Jönsson on 7 April 1661.

Before this patent arrived, Pål Jönsson had already moved to Cecil County, Maryland, with his wife and younger children, leaving his eldest children behind to manage the land at Indian Point.

None So Good In Finland

On 29 July 1661, Maryland granted Pål Jönsson denization, allowing him to secure land in present Cecil County. He selected a site on the north side of the Sassafras River, which he called, "None So Good in Finland." Unfortunately, Pål Jönsson Mullica died before this land was surveyed and patented.

On 14 April 1664, Rev. Lars Lock convened the widow and heirs of Pål Jönsson at the Crane Hook church and drafted an agreement for the division of his property:

The land at Indian Point was to be divided between the widow Margareta Andersdotter and her son-in-law Hans Peterson. "None So Good in Finland" was to be divided among the youngest daughters.

After the death of Pål Jönsson, his widow Margareta Andersdotter married the widower Anders Mattsson, who had been a passenger on the ill-fated Golden Calf, which had arrived near Manhattan in 1655. Eventually he rejoined his countrymen (including his brother Matthias Matts-son) on the Delaware and on 14 November 1668 received a patent from the English for Margareta's half of Wild Hook. Anders Mattsson died within a few months after this patent was issued. (His son, by the same name, thereafter moved to Mary-land).

The Long Finn Rebellion

In late 1669, Margaret Andersdotter, now twice a widow, and her children living in New Castle County became active in the Long Finn Rebellion ­ a plot to take up arms against the English when (as was erroneously expected) a Swedish fleet would sail up the Delaware River to re-establish New Sweden.

The plot was discovered and quashed by Peter Cock, then chief justice of the Swedish court at Upland. As a result of her involvement, Marga-ret was fined 100 guilders. On one fine list, she was listed as "Margaret Matson, widow." On the other she was named as "Paul Johnson's wife."

The last mention of Margareta Andersdotter was in a deed dated in September 1674 when she sold her half of "Wild Point" to her grandson Paul Månsson, who on the same day reconveyed the same to her son-in-law Hans Peterson.

Paul Jönsson Mullica and Margaret Anders-dotter had ten children, all of whom appear to have been born in Sweden:

1. Pålsdotter, became the first wife of Måns Pålsson by 1654. He was also a Finn arriving on the Eagle in that year and initially settled in "Finland," the area just north of Naa-man's Creek in present Delaware County, Pa. She had two children before her death c. 1658 ­ Paul Månsson and Margareta Månsdotter.

2. Elisabeth Pålsdotter became the second wife of Måns Pålsson, who relocated his home plantation to an island in the Christina River at the north end of Crane Hook. He was fined 150 guilders in the Long Finn Rebellion. He served as deacon of the Swedish church at Crane Hook, but became disabled in 1676 while working for Hans Peterson. He died at the age of 70 in December 1680. Elisabeth had four known children by him, sons John and Peter Måns-son and daughters Cath-arine (who became the second wife of Matth-ias Holstein of the Wicaco congregation) and Anna (who married John Tussey-). Elisabeth was still living in 1699 when assigned a pew in the new Holy Trinity Church at Christina (present Wil-ming-ton).

3. Magdalena Pålsdotter became the second wife of Hans Peterson alias Petascus, a Holstein-er, born in 1631, who had arrived on the Delaware as a Dutch soldier. He had previously been married to a daughter of Carl Jönsson, a Finn who came on the Mercurius in 1656. She bore him a son named Carl. Hans Peterson was fined 50 guilders in the Long Finn Rebellion and became active in the Swedish church. At the settlement of Pål Jönsson Mullica's estate, he received one-half of Indian Hook, and later added further holdings, including the first grist mill on Skilpot Creek. It is unknown when Magdalena died, but she was the mother of three sons ­ Peter, Paul and Israel Peterson. At the time of his death, c. 1720, Hans Peterson had married a third time, to a wife named Anna.

4. Eric Pålsson Mullica, born c. 1637 in Hälsingland, Sweden, moved as an adult to live among the up-river Swedes, where he married Ingrid, daughter of Olof Philipsson, a Finn who arrived with his family on the Mercurius in 1656. They lived successively at Moyamensing and Tacony until her death. Eric then married Inge-borg Helm, daughter of Israel Helm, and moved to the river on the Atlantic coast of New Jersey which later bore his name ­ the Mullica River. He died before 1704, when Pastor Andreas Sandel preached at his house.
All of Eric's eight children were by his first wife and used the surname of Mullica. All of them died in New Jersey:

• Anna, born 1668, married John Reynolds (Run-nells), English; seven children; died after 1724.
• Anders, b. 1670, m. Brigitta Kämpe; died childless, 1720.
• Olof (Willia-m), b. 1675, m. Eva -; seven children; d. after 1731, Mullica Hill, NJ.
• Eric, Jr., b. 1675, m. Marga-reta, daughter of Olle Petersso-n; seven children; d. after 1754, Mullica Hill, NJ.
• John, b. 1677, m. Anna Halton; d. 1766, Mullica Hill, N.J.; no surviving children.
• Helena (Ella), b. 1680, m. George Keen; d. before 1740; three children living to adulthood.
• Catharina, b. 1682; not traced.
• Stephen, b. 1684, m. Elisabeth -, 1712, Christina Homan, 1731; died at Maurice River, N.J. after 1748; seven children.

5. John Pålsson Mullica was fined 150 guilders, under the name of "John Powles" on one list and as "Jan Paulson" on a second list for his involvement in the Long Finn Rebellion in 1669. No later record has been found about him.

6. Margareta Pålsdotter married before 1664 Bärtil Hendricksson and moved with her parents to Maryland. On the division of Pål Jönsson Mulli-ca's estate, it was agreed that she and her husband would receive 150 acres of "None So Good in Finland." In 1668, he traded his share of this plantation to John Cocks for the latter's 200-acre tract known as "Cock Crows Thrice" and later added a 100-acre tract known as "Indian Range." The death of Bartholomew Hendrickson occurred in 1684, after which Margareta married their servant, John Hagley. She had three sons: Matthi-as, Hendrick and Bärtil (Bartholomew) Hendrick-son.

7. Anna Pålsdotter was married in Maryland to an English widower, John Cocks (Cox), who already owned extensive lands in present Cecil County. She apparently was the mother of John's two younger sons, Benjamin and Thomas Cox.

8. Christina Pålsdotter also became married in Maryland, first to Cornelis Petersson, born in Sweden, who had arrived in New Sweden on the Eagle in 1654 with his father, Peter Månsson, and thereafter moved to the Sassafras River. On the division of Pål Jönsson Mullica's estate, Cornelis received 150 acres of "None So Good in Finland," which he sold to John Cocks in 1669. Cornelis died childless soon thereafter, and Christina then married his brother Anders Peters-son. He died in 1686, after which Christina married an Englishman Nicholas Dorrell. She died a year later, survived by Mary Peterson (then married to Peter Sefferson), Andrew Peterson and Margaret Dorrell (who later married Robert Money).

9. Anders Pålsson Mullica, the youngest son, was called Andrew Mullica in the 1661 record of his move to Maryland, but he generally was known as Andrew Poulson, which was the surname used by his sons. In 1662 a 50-acre tract called "Poleson" was surveyed for him on the southeast side of Elk River, north of the Sassafras River. A 1676 deed identifies Andrew Powlson as the son-in-law of Nils Jöransson (also known as Cornelius Urinson) and his wife Elinor. Nils had arrived in New Sweden as a soldier on the Eagle in 1654. In 1678, Andrew Poulson petitioned Governor Andros in New York for land on the Delaware, claiming that he had received a warrant for land at Appoquinimink Creek in New Castle County, which had been surveyed for him, but that when the Dutch retook the Delaware in 1673-1674, he had been taken as a spy, imprisoned and lost his land. He claimed to be poor with a large family. In 1683 Andrew Poulson alias Mullica was naturalized by Maryland. From 1683-1690 he lived at the Head of Elk in the Swedish village known as Sahakitko (known as "Successor" in land patents). He sold his interest there in 1690 and his name disappears from public records after November 1692. His known sons include John Poulson (adult by 1700, died 1733), Jonas Poulson (adult by 1693, died 1744), and Poul Poulson (b. 1686, still living in 1760).

10. Maria Pålsdotter married Johan Nom-mers-son [later Numbers], who had been born in Sweden in 1643 and came to the Delaware River by 1664, as a servant for the Dutch colony of New Amstel. In 1665, after the English captured the Delaware, Johan Nommersson moved to Cecil County, Maryland, where he was naturalized in 1674. He then returned to White Clay Creek in New Castle County, where he obtained a patent for 340 acres of land in 1675. He conveyed 100 acres of this land to Anders Poulson (#9) in 1677. Although Anders sold this land in 1680, Johan Nommerson maintained close ties with Anders Poulson, visiting Anders on occasion at Sahakitko. In 1698, Johan Nommerson returned to Cecil County, where he died c. 1716. Johan and Maria had five known children: sons John, Peter and James Numbers and daughters Maria and Elisabeth.