Sswedish roots: collections of swedish-americana and the
swenson swedish immigration research center at augustana college, rock island, Illinois

kermit b. westerberg
archivist
swenson swedish immigration research center
rock island, illinois

Nearly 125 years ago a determined group of Swedish Lutheran immigrants established a college and theological seminary in Chicago, Illinois, for the purpose of educating young men to the ministry of the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church. In 1863 and again in 1875 this educational institution changes its location in an express effort to minister to growing settlements of Swedish immigrants. Since its permanent relocation in 1875 to Rock Island, Illinois, Augustana College has grown to prominence as a leading liberal arts institution in the American Midwest, while at the same time retaining its hold on the Swedish immigrant heritage.

From the very start, the founders of the church and college sought to document the unfolding history of the transatlantic and subsequent westward migration of Swedish immigrants.Their efforts were both conscientious and far-reaching, touching on the very lives and activities of individual immigrants and their families, member congregations and their pastors, as well as a host of immigrant institutions and organizations. The resulting influx of manuscripts, books, newspapers, and periodicals has continued well into this century and constitutes the foundation for the college library's permanent collections of Swedish-Americana, including the holdings of the college archives and special collections.

Today, this documentary heritage is shared and enhanced by the work of the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, established in 1981 through a generous endowment from Dr. and Mrs. Birger Swenson of Rock Island, Illinois. An immigrant to this country from Sweden in 1912, Dr. Swenson attended Augustana College and Seminary later serving as the last general manager of the Augustana Book Concern.

The Swenson Center aims to be a national archives and research institution providing resources and research opportunities regarding the total impact of Swedish immigrants on American life and culture. While providing assistance to historians, social scientists, journalists, genealogists, and others engaged in research of Swedish-America, the center is pledged to a program of cooperation with equivalent institutions in North America and Sweden.

Building on the past, the center extends its collection development to all sectors of the Swedish-American community, irrespective of geography or religious affiliation. Since its inception the center has gained the status of a major archival repository for the records and papers of Swedish-American organizations, institutions, and individuals. The center's library holdings are rich in the areas of general immigration studies and settlement histories, immigrant literature and fine arts, Swedish travels and explorations in the Americas, Swedish-American biography and genealogy, as well as Swedish-American church and religious life.

While books, periodicals, newspapers, and original manuscript collections constitute the backbone of the center's resources and continue to grow in volume, a two-year microfilming project is currently adding a wealth of new documentation on the immigrant generations, their descendants, and their institutions from all sectors of the country. When completed, this project will afford the center a unique collection of Swedish-American church records — representing Swedish Lutheran, Swedish Baptist, Swedish Mission Covenant, Swedish Methodist, and Swedish Evangelical Free congregations — and a substantial array of data on Swedish-American cultural and benevolent organizations.

At present, the center's multi-media resources include the following components:

1.  ca. 9,000 volumes of books and bound periodicals in fixed and open collections;

2.  ca. 2,155 reels of microfilmed records and papers from Swedish-American churches, organizations, and private individuals;

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3.  27 reels of microfilmed name indexes to the Swedish passenger lists for the port cities of Goteborg (1869-1893) and Malm'd (1874-1891);

4.  1,540 reels of microfilmed Swedish-American newspapers published in 21 states and Canada;

5.  ca. 270 linear feet of original manuscript material, both personal and organizational;

6.  ca. 5 linear feet of photographs and portraits of Swedish-Americans;

7.   a nearly complete set of detailed Swedish topographical maps in 5 oversize drawers.

Mention can also be made of the following microfilmed manuscript collections which, together with large segments of the center's holdings, have relevance for Illinois history.

1.  the Bishop Hill Colony and Post Colony Papers (1843-1905), assembling extensive material from several archival repositories in western Illinois as well as material still in private hands;

2.  the personal and professional papers of Augustana College presidents T. N. Hasselquist (1816-1891) and Olof Olsson (1841-1900);

3.  the papers of Augustana Synod pastor and pioneer Chicago churchman Erland Carlsson (1822-1893);

4.  the diary of an early Chicago Swede, Olof Gottfrid Lange (1811-1893).

Continuing the college library's documentation of the Swedish-American press, the center subscribes to four currently published Swedish-American weeklies, one Swedish-Canadian monthly, and one Swedish-Finnish monthly. Some twenty periodical publications are also available in the fields of immigration history, genealogy, Swedish-American cultural life, and the professions of librarianship and archivalship.

Though a relatively new institution, the center is visited daily by persons from all walks of life and from all parts of the country. Its location on the campus of Augustana College poses no obstacle to research and study by the general public. By virtue of its microfilmed records of Swedish-American churches and the Swedish-American press, the center has become a "Mecca" for those researching their family history or studying the immigrant roots of local communities and congregations. For many of these people the resources of the center prove to be the absolute first resort for answers to basic questions about Sweden and Swedish-America. Augustana College faculty and students often turn to the center for aid in the preparation of journal articles of academic term papers, while local newspaper reporters and some grade school students find inspiration for a background story or class report on Swedish immigrant life and culture. Academic researchers from Swedish and American universities as well as researchers from other American institutions often consult the center's library and archives in connection with work on new dissertations and publications.

Due to the many rare and unique features of its collections, the center is open to the research public on a reference basis only. With the exception of the newspaper microfilms, available on interlibrary loan through Augustana College Library, all materials must be consulted on the premises. Patrons should observe, however, that the college library often owns duplicate copies of English-language monographs and studies on Swedish immigration. These copies are available for local and interlibrary loan, subject to the regulations of the college library. Copying facilities are available (mircrofilm and hardcopy) at the center, and subject to the decision of the staff limited photocopy requests will be accepted from interlibrary loan patrons.

Current and retrospective cataloging of the center's books, serials, and periodicals is carried out in collaboration with the college library, which utilizes OCLC terminals for bibliographic input and on-line searching. Subject classing incorporates both the Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress systems, the latter restricted to religious literature and denominational publications. At present, the center's card catalogs for printed materials provide access to author/anonymous title and shelflistings. Basic subject access is through the main card catalog, housed on the 2nd floor of the college library. A combination of card catalogs, special indexes, accession records and unpublished inventories provide access to manuscript collections, microfilms, maps, subject files, genealogical data, and otherwise uncataloged materials. Complementing this bibliographic control are two recent publications, each of which addresses major components of the center's collections:

1. Guide to Swedish-American Archival and Manuscript Sources in the United States. Chicago: Swedish-American Historical Society, 1983. This work lists the majority of the center's church and organizational record collections as well as all personal manuscript collections received up to September 1982. Nearly one-third of the Guide pertains to the holdings of the center; one-half of the Guide contains manuscript repository listings for the state of Illinois.

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2. Lilly Setterdahl, comp. Swedish-American Newspapers. A guide to the microfilms held by the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois. Augustana Library Publications, No. 35. Rock Island: Augustana College Library, 1981. Copies of this publication are available at a cost of $3.50 through the Office of the Librarian, Augustana College Library, Rock Island, IL 61201.

A working archives and resource institution, the center actively supports new research of the American immigrant experience and interchange with like-minded organizations. In September 1982, in collaboration with the Swedish-American Historical Society (Chicago, Illinois), the center sponsored a two-day conference on the topic of Swedish-American research sources. In attendance were over 100 persons, in private and professional capacities, from around the country and from Sweden. During the greater part of 1983, center staff and volunteers have collaborated with researchers in Vaxjo, Sweden, on a special genealogical project designed to trace large numbers of emigrants from Kristdala parish in eastern Smaland province to initial places of settlement in western Illinois. Using extant church records from both sides of the Atlantic (Augustana Lutheran and the Swedish Church) research has established links between descendants of the immigrants in the United States and descendants of those who remained in Kristdala or other parts of Sweden.

In April 1984, the college and the campus will host the spring Board Meeting of the Swedish Council of America, a representative organization for Swedish-American cultural associations and learned societies. As the college and former Augustana Synod prepare to celebrate their 125th anniversary in 1985, the center has placed its collections and reference sources at the disposal of various individuals and committees, including a task force responsible for the arrangement of a major exhibit of Swedish-American art.

General outreach to the public is a daily task of the center's staff. Close contacts are maintained with members of the immediate community, including a corps of dedicated volunteers; with prospective donors of library and archival materials; with regional historical and genealogical societies; with professional groups and organizations; with archives and libraries devoted to the preservation and documentation of the Swedish immigrant heritage; with Augustana College faculty members and campus organizations; and with the columns of Swedish-American newspapers and organizational journals.

Persons desiring information and assistance with regard to family history or genealogy are encouraged to contact the center's researcher-secretary. Those wishing to undertake other lines of research are encouraged to contact the center's archivist. Where questions cannot be answered, the staff is prepared to refer patrons to other libraries and archives, both in the United States and Sweden. Due to limitations of time alone, the staff cannot accept requests for lengthy translations from Swedish to English.

The Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center is located on the 3rd floor of the Augustana College Library (Denkmann Memorial Library), 3520-7th Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois. Business and research hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (during vacation periods on the college campus this schedule may be affected by the closing of the library building). Telephone patrons may reach the center at the following numbers:

Researcher-Secretary: (309) 794-7204
Archivist: (309) 794-7221

The center's mailing address follows below:

Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center
(SSIRC)
Augustana College, Box 175
Rock Island, IL 61201

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