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Ehrensvärd is a family originally from Stralsund, Germany named Schæffer. The ancestor (stamfar) of the family is considered to be Peter Schæffer (Schäffer) who belonged to the infantry regiment in Turku (Åbo), Finland, then part of Sweden. From then on, the family has had a major impact, shaping the military and political history of both Sweden and Finland.
The family would raise in the ranks of army and estates quickly. Son of Peter Schæffer, Johan Jakob become a colonel in the Swedish Army and was ennobled as Ehrensvärd in 1717 (introd. 1719 under n:o 1542.)
Of his sons, Carl, Frederik and Augustin rose to the ranks of baron Ehrensvärd (friherr) in 1764 (introd. 1776 under n:o 267), and Augustin further to count Ehrensvärd (greve) in 1771 (introd. 1803 under n:o 113).