Anders Gustaf Påhlman (1821 – 1894)

The Preacher

After losing his parents at a young age, Anders Gustaf Påhlman charted his own path to become a dedicated priest and chaplain in Stockholm.

Anders Gustaf Påhlman was the youngest son of Göran Påhlman and his wife Sofia Brita Lagerbielke. He was born on 13 January 1821 in Smedjemåla. When he was three years old, his parents and three elder brothers moved to Strättö. His mother sadly passed away the following year. In 1829, Göran Påhlman married Hedvig Gustava Lundéen, who may have brought up Göran’s four sons after his death in 1830.

Having experienced so much loss by the age of nine, Anders Gustaf’s childhood could not have been an easy one. Like many of his male forebears, he would come to be associated with the military, but in an unconventional way. In October 1837, aged 16, Anders Gustaf was a student in Lund. Seven years later, in 1844, he obtained a priest degree and was ordained as a priest on 7 March. In 1847, he was appointed an extra ordinarie battalion preacher for the Kronoberg regiment.¹“Påhlman nr 501”, Adelsvapen-Wiki, https://www.adelsvapen.com/genealogi/Påhlman_nr_501, accessed: 20 October 2023

Anders Gustaf’s career advanced at a steady pace. In 1850, he became a Cathedral co-adjunct (Domkyrkoadjunkt) in Växjö. Six years later, on 30 August 1856, he obtained the pastoral degree. At the age of 38, in 1859, he was appointed as an associate pastor, or Pastorsadjunkt, at Jakobs and Johannes parish in Stockholm.²In 1907, the parish was divided into two. The following year, he was an extra ordinarie court preacher as well as regimental pastor at the Kronoberg regiment.

Between 1863 and 1869, Anders Gustaf held the position of commissioner of Jakobs and Johannes parish.³“S:t Jakobs och Johannes församling”, Project Runeberd, 1951, http://runeberg.org/sthlmherd/0184.html; August Herman Lundin, Småländska Nationen I Lund. Biografiska Och Genealogiska Anteckningar [The Småland Nation In Lund. Biographical And Genealogical Notes] (Lund: Gleerupska universitetsbokhandeln, 1882), 281 On 22 March 1864, he resigned from the regimental chaplaincy. 1868 was an eventful year – on 13 November, he became regimental chaplain at the archipelago artillery station in Stockholm and parish priest in Skeppsholmens (which commenced on 5 March 1869); and he also became court preacher and member of the court consistory. 

In 1869, Anders Gustaf was appointed to contest the office of pastor at the court hearing, and in 1870, he became chaplain at KMO. He also became a member of the Pro Patria society, a charitable organisation under royal protection, on 30 April 1872. Finally, in 1882, he was appointed as Parish priest in Härene and Hovby pastorate of Skara diocese. He died in Stockholm on 16 February 1894. 

At least one photograph of Anders Gustaf exists, from the pastoral memorial of the Växjö diocese, currently in the collection of the Småland Museum. Taken circa 1880-1885 by photographer Louise Lefrén in Stockholm, it depicts a bespectacled Anders Gustaf with neatly combed hair and beard, wearing a priest’s robe and dais collar. On his chest are two medals indicating further achievements – the Order of Vasa (usually awarded for service to the state and society) and the Order of the North Star⁴Also called the Royal Order of the Polar Star, Kungliga Nordstjärneorden in Swedish. (for civic merits and devotion to duty), both orders of chivalry.  

Footnotes

• 1
  “Påhlman nr 501”, Adelsvapen-Wiki, https://www.adelsvapen.com/genealogi/Påhlman_nr_501, accessed: 20 October 2023
• 2
  In 1907, the parish was divided into two.
• 3
  “S:t Jakobs och Johannes församling”, Project Runeberd, 1951, http://runeberg.org/sthlmherd/0184.html; August Herman Lundin, Småländska Nationen I Lund. Biografiska Och Genealogiska Anteckningar [The Småland Nation In Lund. Biographical And Genealogical Notes] (Lund: Gleerupska universitetsbokhandeln, 1882), 281
• 4
  Also called the Royal Order of the Polar Star, Kungliga Nordstjärneorden in Swedish.