Portal:Brimberry family history/New Sweden/Old Trinity

The reason for this digression from Matthias and Mary, wed at Old Swedes Church, a stone's throw from where the Swedish expedition landed and built Fort Christina, is to introduce unfamiliar readers with the richness of our Swedish heritage and the complexities of Swedish naming practices as well as the origins of the Brimberry surname.

A short history of the Swedes on the Delaware is provided in a separate article.

An explanation of the transliteration to Brimberry from Brunberg are provided below,

Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church
Any history of the Swedes on the Delaware, however brief, would be incomplete without a short description of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church, one of five Swedish churches established by the Swedes along the Delaware in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.

Built in 1698, Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church is reputedly the oldest church in continuous use in the United States. The cemetery surrounding the church contains the mortal remains of many of our Swedish forebearers, including Matthias Brimberry's parents, Christiern Brunberg (1684-1752) and Maria Peterson (1699-1750) who were also wed at Old Swedes Church in 1719. In 1998, descendants of Matthias Brimberry (1799-1854) and Elizabeth Minton (1809-about 1860) placed a monument in Old Swedes Churchyard dedicated to the memory of Christiern Brunberg and Maria Peterson. The upright monument is the white vertical shape in the foreground of the photograph to the right near the south entrance to the church.

Most, but not all, of our Swedish ancestors lived near and attended Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church in Wilmington, Delaware. Some were members of Gloria Dei (Old Swedes) Church in Philadelphia. A few belonged to the Swedish church built across the Delaware River from Wilmington in Penns Neck, New Jersey. Readers are encouraged to learn more about these and other Swedish churches via The Eight Old Swedes' Churches of New Sweden by Rev. Dr. Kim-Eric Williams New Sweden Center, Wilmington, DE 1999. Republished with the author's permission by the Swedish Colonial Society, the publication can be seen online by clicking and navigating Churches of New Sweden