Peter and Marten Cassel (about 1540 to 1645) My great-great-grandfather was Peter Cassel (1790-1857) who was known for being the leader of the group which established the first Swedish farming settlement in Iowa in 1845. I just joined the DISBYT Swedish database at http://www.dis.se/denindex.htm and there I found a family tree for him going back to another Peter Cassel who was born in Scotland in about 1540 but died in Sweden. He had two sons, Onnert and Martin. Martin Persson Cassel was born in Scotland or possibly England in 1592 and died in Sweden in 1645. In 1625, he married and they had two sons, Jonas and Jakob. Jonas Martensson CASSEL is the 7th great grandfather of Samuel Howard SLOAN. I have found references to Peter Cassel and to his son Marten Persson Cassel on several genealogy websites. However, I cannot find anything about these people except for their genealogy. Are these people known to history? Has anybody heard of them? I ask because I believe that family records were not routinely kept that far back, so the fact that their names show up in several places might mean that they are known for something. Please note that there are other persons with similar names from a similar time period from England, Germany and even America. What distinguishes this Peter Cassel and his son from the others is that they were born in Scotland and died in Sweden, which, I believe, was unusual at that time. I am also wondering if they may have left wives and children behind in Scotland when they went to Sweden. Any ideas or information anybody has about this would be appreciated. Sam Sloan

I have found the answer to this question, thanks to Gladys Johnson who pointed me to a website at http://genealogi.aland.net/discus/messages/576/19912.html?#POST109132 It is in Swedish but I can understand enough of it to be sure that it is about my ancestors. One of the comments made is that "Somliga romantiska forskare vill h?rleda den till en Peter Cassel, som ska ha varit stallm?stare hos Erik XIV, och ha haft en h?rkomst fr?n Skottland." which translates to "Some romantic researchers deduce this family descended from one Peter Cassel, who is said to have been a riding master for Erik XIV, and who was of Scottish extraction." It now comes back to me that when I was a child I was told that my ancestor was the keeper of the horses for the King of Sweden. When I grew up, I considered this to be almost a joke (he shoveled out the stables), but now it seems that it was really true. But, if that was the case, why were my Swedish Ancestors simple farmers? The answer may be found in the history of King Erik XIV. He was overthrown, put in prison and finally poisoned in 1577. http://www.ishipress.com/royalfam/pafg159.htm#7028 Obviously, anybody closely associated with him would not do well under the next ruler. Sam Sloan On Thu, 10 Apr 2003 12:53:31 GMT, [email protected] (Sam Sloan) wrote: >Peter and Marten Cassel (about 1540 to 1645) > >My great-great-grandfather was Peter Cassel (1790-1857) who was known >for being the leader of the group which established the first Swedish >farming settlement in Iowa in 1845. > >I just joined the DISBYT Swedish database at >http://www.dis.se/denindex.htm and there I found a family tree for him >going back to another Peter Cassel who was born in Scotland in about >1540 but died in Sweden. He had two sons, Onnert and Martin. Martin >Persson Cassel was born in Scotland or possibly England in 1592 and >died in Sweden in 1645. In 1625, he married and they had two sons, >Jonas and Jakob. Jonas Martensson CASSEL is the 7th great grandfather >of Samuel Howard SLOAN. > >I have found references to Peter Cassel and to his son Marten Persson >Cassel on several genealogy websites. However, I cannot find anything >about these people except for their genealogy. Are these people known >to history? Has anybody heard of them? I ask because I believe that >family records were not routinely kept that far back, so the fact that >their names show up in several places might mean that they are known >for something. > >Please note that there are other persons with similar names from a >similar time period from England, Germany and even America. What >distinguishes this Peter Cassel and his son from the others is that >they were born in Scotland and died in Sweden, which, I believe, was >unusual at that time. I am also wondering if they may have left wives >and children behind in Scotland when they went to Sweden. > >Any ideas or information anybody has about this would be appreciated. > >Sam Sloan >