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Business and Economics in Sweden and Swedish America

This guide is for anyone looking to conduct research on Business and Economics in Sweden and Swedish America using Swenson Center resources.

Archival Collections

The Swenson Center has several collections related to business and economics in Sweden and Swedish America. Here are a few:

 

MSS P:7  Oliver Anderson Linder clippings

The collection includes approximately 17, 000 clippings reflecting Linder's interest in the daily lives of the Swedish immigrants, specifically the Swedish American press; religion, especially the Augustana Synod and its churches and pastors; Social welfare issues; Education; The influence of Swedish in English and Swedish-American literature; Industry and business; Art and Artists.

 

MSS P:25  Magdalena Persson Mårtensson letters

This collection contains letters written primarily to Magdalena Persson Mårtensson (nicknamed Malena) and her husband Nils between 1883 and 1929. The letters contain information about various people related to or known to Magdalena and about recent events in her home parish and nearby Skåne, Sweden. The bulk of the letters are written by her uncle Lars and sisters Maria and Christina regarding issues of financial matters, such as whether the land inherited from their uncle Nils should be leased instead of sold due to harsh economic conditions in Sweden. The letters also contain vivid information about ordinary life in the countryside of southern Sweden during the early 20th century, the impact of industrialization of the Swedish economy, the First World War and the following social and economic crises of the 1920s.

 

MSS P:308  Allan Kastrup collection. The American Swedish News Exchange.

The collection spans from early 1920s up to the 1980s and includes a wide variety of materials which reflects ASNE's efforts in promoting Sweden in America and Allan Kastrup's own interest in Swedish immigrants and their achievements in the United States. The most prominent and inclusive material is the clipping collection which documents Swedish cultural, political and economical developments as portrayed in the American press during 1920s-1960s. The collection also includes extensive correspondence between Hedin and Kastrup, a variety of speeches given by Swedish officials in the United States incl. Prince Bertil's; annual reports of the agency; nearly 100 photos depicting the Swedish Pioneer Centennial in 1948; and information on Sweden's neutrality during WWII.

 

MSS P:312  Olsson family letters

The majority of the letters are from Sofia Olsson's brother A.W. Andersson who eventually settled in Kristinehamn, Värmland. He appears to respond to Sofia's letters regularly and in return, gives detailed updates on his life and family. He also writes about the emigration from that region, the working conditions at the factory where he is employed and the general harsh economic times in Sweden. The letters span over the period 1860-1940.

 

MSS P:326  Emmanuel Collin letters

The collection includes xerox copies of letters Emmanuel Collin from Galesburg, Illinois, Paxton, Illinois and Wakefield, Nebraska 1852-1892 to his father and brother in Sweden. In his letters , Collin, discusses the economic situation in the United States, potential employment opportunities for his brother and his current jobs. Included in this collection are also translated and typed versions of the letters.

 

SC-177  Norden Realty Company (Jamestown, N.Y.) records

The collection consists of minutes from 1913-1916 (145 pages).