FINDING AID
Carl Alfred Olson diaries, 1876-1927, 1978
COLLECTION SUMMARY
Collection Title:
Carl Alfred Olson diaries
Collection Number:
MSS P:247
Dates:
1876-1927, 1978
Size:
1 box (.25 linear feet)
Language:
Swedish (bulk), English
Creator/Collector:
Olson, Carl Alfred, 1858-1927
Subject Headings:
Diaries.
Immigrants' writings, Swedish
Swedish Americans--Nebraska--Saunders County.
Repository:
Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
Abstract:
Carl Alfred Olson, a Swedish immigrant, kept detailed diaries describing pioneer life in Nebraska, his travels, and studies covering nearly his whole lifetime. This collection consists of diaries from 1876-1927, family history notes written by family members, photocopies of family photographs, and one cassette tape.
RIGHTS AND ACCESS
Conditions Governing Access:
Collection is open for research.
Technical Access:
Cassette player required for use of audio recording in this collection.
Reproduction and Use:
Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the Swenson Center and the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation:
[item identification], in MSS P:247 Carl Alfred Olson diaries, Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
ACQUISITION AND RELATED MATERIALS
Source of Acquisition:
Gift of Anona J. Clark of Victoria, Illinois in 1993.
Location of Copies:
Microfilmed copies of the diaries were made by the Nebraska Historical Society in Lincoln in 1977.
Notes:
Diaries removed from 2-ring binders due to mildew in 2006.
Cassette was played and no sound was identified in 2019.
Processed By:
Christina Johansson in 2006. Updated by Lisa Huntsha in 2019.
CONTENT AND STRUCTURE
Administrative/Biographical History:
Carl Alfred Olson was born in Västra Stenby, Sweden, on 6 March 1858 to Johan and Gustafva Olson. The family immigrated to the United States in 1869 and joined Alma Lutheran Church in Mead, Nebraska in April 1870. Carl was confirmed here on 24 May 1874.
Carl became a naturalized citizen in 1875. He married Albertina (Andersdotter) on 12 January 1883 in Wahoo, Nebraska. They had a son Enock. She died in 1911. Carl then married Elsa (Lindholm) on 12 March 1913. Carl Alfred died in Stromsburg, Nebraska in 1927.
Scope and Content:
Carl Alfred Olson kept detailed diaries describing pioneer life in Nebraska, his travels, and studies covering nearly his whole lifetime. Collection consists of a handwritten diary dated 1925, a typewritten copy dated 1927 (with additional entries) and supplemental notes written by family members and photocopies of family photographs. Also included is one unlabeled cassette tape.
System of Arrangement:
Arranged by diaries followed by supplementary materials.
Collection Inventory:
Handwritten diary, “Världsresan: i [Bibelns] länder och Europa. Särskilt Palestina och Sverige. Med bihang av Studier i [Bibeln] och nature samt blandade ämnen” [World Travel: in the Bible countries and Europe. Especially Palestine and Sweden. With appendages of Studies in the Bible and nature and mixed subjects] by En Plogman [a plowman], Stromsburg, Nebraska, Swedish, November 1925
Typewritten copy of diary, with additional entries 1926-1927, Swedish, March 1927
Photocopy of “Notes taken from Carl Olson diaries from 1872-1881 and 1882-1911” describing family history, English, undated
Photocopy of notes describing the itinerary of Mr. and Mrs. C.A. Olson’s trip to Sweden in 1914, English
Photocopy of notes about diaries and their location written by June and transcribed by Elsa, English, 1978
Newspaper clipping of article “The Final Letter by Brother Carl,” from Stromsburg, Nebraska newspaper, English, undated, circa 1926
14 pages of photocopied family photographs, most with captions
Cassette tape with no label (old finding aid lists contents as “family history”), language unknown, undated