Benjamin Franklin Tefft (1813–1885) was an American Methodist minister, author, newspaper editor, and diplomat.
Following the war Thomas would head a Maine immigration bureau and personally oversee the founding of the community of New Sweden.
In the eyes of Tefft, Thomas, and the Maine politicians who voted subsidies to settle them, Swedish immigrants were a potential demographic buffer against the Catholic Irish and Francophone populations of Maine at a time when English and American immigration to the state had stopped.
This Protestant and Nordic 'buffer' never materialized, however, as the Swedish colony remained relatively small and isolated, and many of its members ultimately intermarried with Maine's French and Irish populations.
Tefft also served as immigration agent (while still U.S. Consul) for Lake Superior copper mining companies who also desired Scandinavian settlers.