Jacob S. Haldeman

Who was Jacob S. Haldeman?

Jacob Samils Haldeman was an American banker, politician and ambassador. A resident of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he served in the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Pennsylvania Legislature from 1850 to 1855. From 1861 to 1864 he was United States Minister Resident to Sweden and Norway. He was married to Caroline Rosina Hummel, with whom he had two daughters, Elizabeth and Anna Mary. They also had a third child, who died in infancy. During the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln both Jacob and Caroline were present. In March 1861 Lincoln nominated Haldeman as Minister to Sweden and Norway following a suggestion by Simon Cameron.

In May 1861 Jacob Haldeman left his home in Harrisburg and traveled to Stockholm with his family. At his arrival in June 1861 he was greeted by the Swedish foreign minister who took the opportunity to express his government's sympathy for the Union cause. On June 14, 1861, Haldeman wrote that "from the limited opportunity I have had to judge, I have no hesitation in the declaration of opinion that the sympathy of the entire North of Europe is almost unanimously in favor of the existing government in the United States. The emigration of this part of Europe having been to the Northern or free States, they speak of it as if they would like to give active aid to their friends, relations, and countrymen. The public voice of the nation represented by a free press is clearly and emphatically in favor of my government."