ROSENSVÄRD, JOHAN SAMUEL.
Biografiska uppgifter:Överstelöjtnant, guvernör. Född c:a 1782 död 1818.
Överstelöjtnant i flottan, sedermera guvernör på St. Barthélemy. Född i Stockholm 31 juli 1782, son till överstelöjtnant Carl Reinhold Rosensvärd [född Pettersén], död på Nevis i Västindien 10 december 1818. Verksam inom Sjömätningskåren, bl.a. under dess karteringar av västkusten 1803-1805. Den 9 maj 1815 utsågs majoren vid arméns flotta, 33-årige Johan Samuel Rosensvärd till överstelöjtnant och disktriktschef. Vid detta tillfälle kom meningsskiljaktigheter rörande utnämningen i dagen. Sista levnadsåret guvernör på S:t Barthelemy. Gift med Kristina Sofia Apelqvist, avliden ej långt efter maken i Gustavia på S:t Barthelemy. Deras son Johan Henrik föddes på S:t Barthelemy 13 oktober 1813. Han återfördes till Sverige av släktingar och genomgick en framgångsrik karriär, rikt dekorerad med utmärkelser, och var krigsminister då St Barthelemy återfördes till Frankrike. Se vidare Sveriges Sjökarta, Dahlgren - Richter, Stockholm 1944 sid 120. I samma arbete beskrivs på sidan 252 o.s.v. utförligt om kartograferingarna av svenska kustområden under bl.a. tidigt 1800-tal. b July 31, 1782, in Stockholm as son of Lieut Col Carl Reinhold Rosensvärd [b Pettersén] (1739-1790) and his wife Lovisa Eleonora, née af Rabbe (1758-1799); Ensign 1804; Lieut 1808; Major 1814; was a Lieut Col in the General Staff of the Fleets and the Galley Fleet when he was appointed to succeed Baron Stackelberg as new gov in St B Aug 5, 1816; arrived in st B Oct 5 and entered upon his duties Oct 20, 1816; very pessimistic in his official reports which at times represented sheer jeremiads; wrote inter alia to the court chancellor that in the government house there is only one bed, the bedclothes are worn out, sheets, pillow-cases insufficient, miserable serviettes or none; requested an appropriation in order to be able to rent Mühlheim, the country house formerly rented by his predecessor and also requested permission to rebuild the government house joining it with the government secretary's house; wrote in Feb 1818 to the court chancellor that probably no Governor has had more difficulties than I when everything is rightfully considered; was repeatedly lashed in libellious pamphlets circulated in St B [RSV Jan 26, 1818]; accused in 1818 for not having taken action against the capture of a Portuguese ship that had been brought into Gustavia harbour and sold there as a prize with the gov's silent approval ac c the tradesman E J Stuart, see that name; having fallen ill with consumption he sailed Sept 19, 1818, on the advice of and accompanied by government physician Leurén to the adjacent British island of Nevis in an attempt to cure himself at its hot baths; stayed there until his sudden death Dec 10, 1818; the population of St B learned about his demise through a notice in RSB: D. At the Island of Nevis on the morning of the 10th inst. and after a long and tedious decline, in the 37th year of his age. His Excellency John Samuel Rosensvard late Governor of this Island of Saint Bartholomews, one of His Majesty's first Aids de Camp, Lieutenant Colonel in the Galley Fleet, Knight of the Royal Order of the Sword etc. &c. [RSB Dec 14, 1818]; from government secretary von Hauswolff's letter to the court chancellor Dec 13, 1818 [SBS 5A] is learned that he had already packed his belongings for the return voyage to St B and was just about to write to Lieut Berghult when he fell backwards and lost his speech. In St. Bartholomew we did not have the slighest knowledge about his worsened situation; he wrote every now and then, constantly that he was better, threw parties and would come home; Sw efforts to have his body delivered for funeral in St B were in vain and instead the said von Hauswolff became the official representative of the Sw crown at a solemn funeral procession and burial that took place in Nevis; although von Hauswolff marked his grave with a sticker the exact place of his interment is now unknown [in spite of repeated efforts to find it as late as in the 1990's, possibly his unmarked grave is in the churchyard of The Bath Village]; left behind a heavily indebted estate; acc Gov Norderling's report Jan 13, 1821 [SBS 7 B], the creditors of the estate would have to be satisfied with a distribution of two thirds and in addition to that the Crown have to remit a great deal of its claim; among the decrees, instructions, ordinances & proclamations issued by Gov & Council during his governorship are noted: Proclamation about the succession to the Crown of the former Crown Prince Charles John after the lamentable death of King Charles XIII of April 25, 1818 [RSB April 20, 1818, # 326], Proclamation about his leaving for Nevis and transfer of the Functions of Government on Town Major Berghult until further notice and Instructions for those who either desire Passports or intend to prevent any one from obtaining such of Sept 18, 1818 [both in RSB Sept 21, 1818, # 343]; his extant letters and official reports are mainly to be found in SBS 4 A, SBS 4 B and SBS 5 A in RA; portrait at SPA 1921 :1476 after a painting made by the artist J A Gillberg in 1814, kept at Gripsholm Castle under # 3040.
Bland arbeten:
Grundkarta Havstenssund 1803-1805 Grundkarta Fjällbacka 1803-1805
(Tingbrand, Per – Who Was Who in St. Bartholomew during the Swedish epoch? Sveriges Sjökarta, Dahlgren - Richter, Stockholm 1944)
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