Jöran Polman (1597 – 1648)

Like his father, Jöran Polman the Younger was sometimes known by the names Jürgen, Jörgen, and Göran, and he also joined the military. One of four sons of Jürgen Polman (The Elder), he was born in 1597. He started out as a noble bursch at the bodyguard in 1619, then a hovjunkare, and worked his way up to become captain of the Kronoberg regiment in 1623.1“Påhlman, släkt”, Riksarkivet, https://sok.riksarkivet.se/sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=7430, accessed: 21 March 2022

[…] Ugglansryd remained in the family for at least 175 years, until 1798, a place where future generations lived and thrived.

Around this time, he married Christina Lilliesparre of Sweden – daughter of Olof Jöransson Lilliesparre (af Fylleskog, no. 44) and Christina Gunnarsdotter Galle (in Sweden, no. 162) – with whom he fathered three children named Johan, Gustaf and Anna Christina. Notably, through his marriage, he was fortunate enough to become the owner of the Swedish manor Ugglansryd, located in Ryssby in Kronoberg, Småland, which was owned by the Lilliesparre family. 

Portrait of Jörgen Pålman
Georg Günther Kraill von Bemeberg, Portrait of Jörgen Pålman, 1623, tempera on canvas, Skoklosters slott, 2254

In October 1624,2“Påhlman nr 501”, Adelsvapen-Wiki, https://www.adelsvapen.com/genealogi/Påhlman_nr_501, accessed: 17 March 2022 Jöran received some farms and the manor Prästeboda in the hamlet of Sunnerbo district from King Gustavus Adolphus, and incorporated it as a barn estate under his own manor Kvänjarp Södregård. He would eventually lose this to the Crown in 1683, presumably as a result of the Great Reduction of 1680, during which manors and lands that were earlier granted to the nobility were taken back. Jöran also made an unsuccessful request for Tuttomäggi (Tuudi), Estonia – the manor coveted by his father – in 1628. However, Ugglansryd remained in the family for at least 175 years, until 1798, a place where future generations lived and thrived.

According to one source, Jöran was granted noble privileges in 1626, which extended to his children and grandchildren in the male line.3“Sunnerbo dombok 1635”, Sunnerbo.nu, https://www.sunnerbo.nu/Sunnerbo-dombok-1635.s2?highlight=Polman, accessed: 28 March 2023 In 1629, Jöran was promoted to the rank of chief quartermaster, and eventually became a major. He died abroad before 1648 but was buried in the Ryssby church sacristy. At least one portrait of Jöran exists – an oil on canvas from 1623, painted by Georg Günther Kräill von Bemeberg (1584-1641). It depicts a confident Jöran, resplendently attired in a doublet and knee-length bloomers according to the fashion of the time, holding a sword and a hat likely adorned with ostrich feathers, marking his promotion as the captain of Kronoberg. The portrait is on display in a collection at Skokloster Castle, located on a peninsula of Lake Mälaren between Stockholm and Uppsala.

Footnotes