GUNNAR RAMBO
ASSEMBLY: Phila. Co. 1685
b. 6 Jan. 1649, New Sweden. d. Jan. 1724. Father: Peter Gunnarsson Rambo (c. 1613-1698). Mother: Britta Mattsdotter (Rambo) (d. 1693). m. 1670 Anna Cock; children: John, Peter, Gunnar, Andrew, Mons, Brigitta, Gabriel, Mathias, Elias. Brother: Peter Rambo. * Brothers-in-law: Lasse Cock, * Andrew Bankson. * Offices: Phila. Co.: peacemaker, 1684; Northern Liberties: overseer of the highways, 1695
Gunnar Rambo, the eldest son of a prominent early settler of New Sweden, played only a minor role in the politics and government of early provincial Pennsylvania.
Along with his brothers-in-law Lasse Cock* and Eric Cock and three others, Rambo was one of the original patentees of Shackamaxon in 1676. He confirmed his title to his Shackamaxon lands by patent from William Penn and later sold all his holdings in that area, sealing each transaction with his mark, as he apparently could not write his name. Late in 1677 Rambo, Lasse Cock, Andrew Bankson, * Casparus Herrman, * James Sandelands, * and 19 others proposed to settle a town on the west bank of the Delaware just below the falls, but the plan failed to come to fruition because the land remained unpurchased from the Indians until November 1678. In the summer of 1679 William Biles, * Robert Lucas, * Gilbert Wheeler, * John Wood, * and others were permitted to settle in that area.
Rambo's father, Peter Gunnarsson Rambo, an early Swedish settler, had been a magistrate under both the Dutch and the duke of York, but Rambo's own participation in government at both the provincial and local level was apparently minimal. A limited command of English may have precluded his fuller participation in public affairs. His father's career had not been hindered by any such deficiency, but the elder Rambo had been active in government at a time when the English-speaking population was far smaller.
In any event, Gunnar Rambo was naturalized in January 1683 and was elected to the Assembly two years later. During his term, the Assembly quickly became preoccupied with impeaching former speaker Nicholas More* and with denouncing Patrick Robinson* as a "publick Enemy" for his insolence in refusing to surrender the records of the Provincial Court, but the Assembly minutes are silent on the extent of Rambo's active participation in the proceedings. Rambo's name appeared on a printed petition to the 1692 Assembly protesting a proposed tax, and he signed, with his customary mark, a petition against the French Indian traders in the province that was received by Lieutenant Governor William Markham* and the Provincial Council in February 1694.
Rambo's local public service was also limited. He sat on grand juries in 1683 and 1686. In 1684 he served as a peacemaker for Philadelphia County and as a member of the provincial grand jury that indicted Margaret Mattson, who may have been a maternal relative, on a charge of witchcraft. In 1685 he posted bail for his youngest brother, John Rambo, who was charged with committing fornication with Bridget Cock.As an overseer of the highways in 1695, he was accused of negligence in performing his duties.
Rambo also participated to a limited extent in the affairs of the Swedish Lutheran church, Gloria Dei, at Wicaco. He contributed financially to the church on several occasions, and he subscribed to the congregation's request for ministers and religious books from Sweden. On the other hand, he did not hold office in the congregation, nor did he subscribe to the Swedes' letter thanking William Penn for his help in obtaining permission for three Swedish pastors to come to Pennsylvania.
For 20 years Rambo lived on his land at Shackamaxon, where his plantation was a landmark on John Thornton's 1681 map of Pennsylvania. His property there was assessed at £100 in 1693, a middling estate. He sold his plantation at Shackamaxon in June 1697; by July 1699, when he sold a further 100 acres at Shackamaxon that he had obtained from his father-in-law, he had already moved up the Schuylkill River to a tract he had obtained from Lasse Cock early in 1697. Rambo was at some pains to secure his title to that plantation, a tract of 500 acres. Through a surveyor’s mistake the land was erroneously included in Laetitia Penn's manor of Mount Joy. In 1702 Rambo obtained a patent' for his property, and in 1706 he got a further confirmation of his title from Samuel Carpenter* and James Logan, agents for the trustees appointed to sell Laetitia Penn's Pennsylvania lands.
Rambo apparently provided for his children before drawing up his will in January 1724, for all except his youngest son, Elias, who was named sole executor, received only token bequests of five shillings each. Elias received the 250-acre plantation on the Schuylkill where Rambo was living at the time of his death. Apparently, Rambo's wife, Anna, had died some time before him. No inventory of his estate has been found.
1. Rambo, Rambo, vii, 1 I, 17-21; Collin Notes, Amandus Johnson Papers, Balch Institute; Watson, An/la/s, I: 300; PHCR2, 20, 3 I.
2. Myers, Wharton's, 41-43; DPE, 107, 129-3°, 166, 253, 3 II, 316; GENY, 2: 201; PWP, 2: II3, 338n; PA, 2d ser., 19:7°; W&S, 3:19°-91; PHDBk. C2, 3: 194-96, EI, 5 :600-601,632-33; LABk. E3, 5 :21517,249; LP, 13:9, 11-1/2.
3. DPD, 209; DPE, 167; GENY, 2:131; Upland, 35- 154 passIm.
4. PWP, 2:337; Votes, I (pt. 1):33-35; TRF, 4; PLAD, 3 :246; MPC, 1:436.
5. Watson, AllIla/S, I: 298,300; MPC, I : 95; PHCRI, Ir, 24r; PHCR2, 20, 3 I.
6. GDCR, 18, 21, 23-25, 43, 47, 68; PWP, 3: 521-23.
7. Up/mId, 78; PMHB, 2:226, 8:96; PWP, 2:113, 3 :654; OR, D, 86:23; PA, 2d ser., 19:296; LABk. E3, 5: 21 5- 17; PHDBk. C2, 3: 194-96; E3, 6: II8-21.
8. PHDBk. H, 2: 101-4; PHWBk. D, #3°6-112.
[Taken from Lawmaking and Legislators in Pennsylvania, a Biographical Dictionary, Volume One, 1682-1709. Craig W. Horle et al, editors, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1991.Pages 623-624 - For abbreviations in footnotes see actual volume.]