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The Kalmar Nyckel (a ship)

A Tall Ship of Delaware. This is a replica of the Swedish ship which brought the first permanent European settlers to the banks of the Christina River in 1638. Said to be an “epic adventure across the vast and dangerous Atlantic Ocean” – the story of Peter Minuit’s (so-called) secret mission for the Swedish Empire to start a new colony in North America.

The ship departed Sweden in 1637 on an extraordinary expedition to the Delaware Valley, carrying Olof Persson Stille, his wife Brita Stina Dilsdotter (my 9th great-grandparents) and their child, Ella Olafsdotter Stille (my 8th great-grandmother). It’s possible that Ella’s future husband, Peter Jochimsen, was a crew member of the ship.

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