FINDING AID
Westerlund family reunions, 1905-1998
COLLECTION SUMMARY
Collection Title:
Westerlund family reunions
Collection Number:
MSS P:305
Dates:
1905-1998 and undated
Size:
1 box (.5 linear feet) plus items in oversized box
Language:
English (bulk), Swedish
Creator/Collector:
Swenson, Lyal, 1903-2002
Westerlund, A. Luther, 1871-1965
Hultgren, Marietta
Subject Headings:
Andover (Ill.)
Biographies
Immigration narratives
Travel writing
Immigrants--United States--Biography.
Family reunions--Illinois
Repository:
Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
Abstract:
This collection includes biographical information on several members of the Westerlund family, particularly Eric Abraham Westerlund, who settled in Andover, Illinois. The family held their first reunion at the home of A. Luther Westerlund in 1905. Reunions continued sporadically and this collection contains minutes and photographs from these reunions through 1992. Also included are three printed genealogies of the family that include ancestral charts.
RIGHTS AND ACCESS
Conditions Governing Access:
Collection is open for research.
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Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright.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:305 Westerlund family reunions, Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
ACQUISITION AND RELATED MATERIALS
Source of Acquisition:
Gift of Marietta Hultgren of Cambridge, Illinois in 1998.
Publication Note:
Published genealogies in Series I are also cataloged into the Swenson Center’s library collection.
Related Materials:
Swenson Center:
- SAC P:144 Peter Westerlund biographies
- Microfilm SA-108 Hans Westerlund correspondence
- MSS P:10 Birger Swenson papers
Augustana Special Collections:
- MSS 379 Hans Westerlund papers, 1861-1865, 1960 and undated
Notes:
An archival copy of photograph captions are included with each photograph. Original copies of these captions can be found in Series II.
Processed By:
Christina Johansson in 1998. Updated by Lisa Huntsha in 2018.
CONTENT AND STRUCTURE
Administrative/Biographical History:
Brothers Eric Abraham Hans Westerlund and Anders Darius Henning (descendants of Hans Andreus Westerlund) and their families caught “America fever” and left Hassela parish, Hälsingland, Sweden in 1850 with Eric Norelius. Several members of their party died at sea and during their travels to Andover, Illinois, including Anders Darius. Eric Abraham married Anders’ widow and purchased land in Lynn Township.
The first family reunion was held at the home of A. Luther Westerlund in Orion, Illinois in 1905. Here the first family tree was begun, but not finished until the first printed genealogy in 1944. Subsequent genealogies were printed in 1960 and 1982. Family reunions were held sporadically over the years, in 1905, 1930, 1935, 1938, 1940, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1948, 1950, 1952, 1955, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, and 1992
Scope and Content:
The collection includes material from the Westerlund family reunions covering the period 1905-1992, including minutes from these reunions, lists of family members attending and their addresses, and photographs. Also includes three printed genealogies of the family.
System of Arrangement:
Arranged chronologically into the following series.
- Series I: Printed Genealogies (1944-1982) includes three printed genealogies of the descendants of Hans Andreus Westerlund, tracing the family from 1747 through 1982. Includes descendant trees, images of reunions, and biographical information, mostly written by Lyal Westerlund Swenson.
- Series II: Family Information (1905-1998 and undated) includes biographical sketches for various family members, minutes from the reunions from 1905-1992, lists of family members and addresses, invitations to reunions 1905 and 1935, a list of family heirlooms and owners, and a note on Anders Henning family history from a parsonage in Sweden.
- Series III: Photographs (1905-1990 and undated) is divided into two subseries: family reunion photographs and other family photographs. Also includes one charcoal drawing of Eric Abraham Westerlund.
Collection Inventory:
Series I: Printed Genealogies
“Genealogy of the Descendants of Hans Andreus Westerlund, 1747-1944,” by A. Luther Westerlund, circa 1944.
Includes family charts and preface by A. Luther Westerlund.
“Genealogy of the Descendants of Hans Andreus Westerlund, 1747-1960,” by Lyal Westerlund Swenson and Leona Westerlund, circa 1960
Includes biographies of Eric Abraham Westerlund, his brother Anders D. Henning Westerlund and their descendants Andrew Westerlund, Eric A. Westerlund, Anders Westerlund, Margaret Westerlund Stolt, Jonas Westerlund, Eric Westerlund, Peter Westerlund, Hans Westerlund and charts of their descendants.
“Genealogy of the Descendants of Hans Andreus Westerlund, 1747-1982,” by Lyal Swenson, circa 1982.
Includes foreword by Lyal Swenson, Leona Sundeen and Marietta Hultgren.
Includes historical background, maps, ancestral charts, photographs, and biographies. Biographies of: Eric Abraham Westerlund, Anders Westerlund, William and Margaret Westerlund Stolt, John Abraham Stolt, Elizabeth Stolt Carlson, Caroline Stolt Owen, Frank Stolt, Emma Stolt Mellberg Engberg, Sherman Stolt, Ernest Stolt, Jonas Westerlund, Elizabeth Westerlund Anderson, Nils Henning Westerlund, Joseph E. Westerlund, G. Luther Westerlund, Eric Westerlund, Sarah Elizabeth Anderson, Emma Westerlund Peterson, Sophia Westerlund Lonner, John Oscar Westerlund, Anna Westerlund Hagglund, Julius Nathaniel Westerlund, Peter Westerlund, William Oscar Westerlund, John A. Westerlund, Melinda (May) Westerlund Magnuson, A. Luther Westerlund, Perry (Petrus Emanuel) Westerlund, Hans Westerlund, Sarah Westerlund Anderson, Hilda Westerlund Swanson, Anna Westerlund.
Series II: Family Information
Biographical sketches of family and family members (“Reminiscences of the Westerlund Family, 1932; Peter Westerlund by A.L. Westerlund in 1942; Julius N. Westerlund, undated; Hans Westerlund by Dr. Carl Swensson, undated; Jonas Westerlund, undated; addendum to Peter Westerlund’s account of his trip to Pikes’ Peak in 1859, 1942), 1932-1942 and undated
Written account of 1905 reunion by A.L. Westerlund, secretary, circa 1905
Invitation to reunions, 1905 and 1935
List of family heirlooms, undated
Handwritten family notes for Anders Henning family stamped by “Pastorsämbetet i Nedertorneå – Haparanda församling”November 11, 1930, Swedish
Lists of addresses for reunions, 1990, 1998
Binder of minutes from meetings and reunions, also includes lists of family members, 1905-1992
Copy of photograph captions included with photographs, 1905-1990
Series III: Photographs
Reunion photos:
ph 1: First Westerlund family reunion, outside at table, A. L. Westerlund’s home (Orion, Ill.), June 23, 1905 (oversized)
ph 2: First Westerlund family reunion, in front of house, A. L. Westerlund’s home (Orion, Ill.), June 23, 1905 (oversized)
ph 3: Second Westerlund family reunion, Orion Country Club (Orion, Ill.), August 15, 1930
ph 4: Third Westerlund family reunion, Andover Lake (Andover, Ill.), August 10, 1935
ph 5: Sixth Westerlund family reunion, Jenny Lind Chapel (Andover, Ill.), August 2, 1942
ph 6: Seventh Westerlund family reunion, Jenny Lind Chapel (Andover, Ill.), August 13, 1944
ph 7: Eighth Westerlund family reunion, Jenny Lind Chapel (Andover, Ill.), August 4, 1946
ph 8: Ninth Westerlund family reunion, Indian Bluffs Forest Preserve (Hampton, Ill.), August 1, 1948
ph 9: Tenth Westerlund family reunion, Indian Bluffs Forest Preserve (Hampton Ill.), August 6, 1950
ph 10: Eleventh Westerlund family reunion, First Lutheran Church (Moline, Ill.), August 3, 1952
ph 11: Twelfth Westerlund family reunion, 50th anniversary, Andover Grade School (Andover, Ill.), June 26, 1955
ph 12: Fourteenth Westerlund family reunion, Andover Park (Andover, Ill.), August 7, 1960
ph 13: Fourteenth Westerlund family reunion, Andover Park (Andover, Ill.), August 7, 1960 (oversized)
ph 14: Fifteenth Westerlund family reunion, Orion Park (Orion, Ill.), August 5, 1962
ph 15: Sixteenth Westerlund family reunion, 60th anniversary, Andover Methodist Church (Andover, Ill.), June 27, 1965
ph 16: Twentieth Westerlund family reunion, Gainey Farm, site of first reunion in 1905, (Orion, Ill.), June 8, 1975
ph 17: Twenty-second Westerlund family reunion, Burns Grange Hall (Cambridge, Ill.), June 11, 1978
ph 18: Twenty-third Westerlund family reunion, American Legion Hall (Andover, Ill.), June 8, 1980
ph 19: Twenty-third Westerlund family reunion, American Legion Hall (Andover, Ill.), June 8, 1980 (oversized)
ph 20: Twenty-fourth Westerlund family reunion, Burns Grange Hall (Cambridge, Ill.), June 18, 1982 (oversized)
ph 21: Twenty-fifth Westerlund family reunion, Kings Table Restaurant (Geneseo, Ill.), June 10, 1984
ph 22: Twenty-sixth Westerlund family reunion, Andover Lutheran Church (Andover, Ill.), June 22, 1986 (second copy oversized)
ph 23: Twenty-seventh Westerlund family reunion, Olson’s Family Restaurant (Bishop Hill, Ill.), June 26, 1988
ph 24: Twenty-eighth Westerlund family reunion, Andover Lutheran Church (Andover, Ill.), June 22, 1990
Other family photos:
ph 25: Hassela Church, Sweden, taken by Peter Westerlund, 1897
ph 26: Hassela Church, Sweden, taken by Lyal Swenson, 1973
ph 27: Birthplace of Eric Abraham Westerlund’s Children (Anders, Margareta, Jonas, Peter, Hans, Stina Lisa) in Hassela parish, Sweden, undated
ph 28: Portrait of brothers Jonas Westerlund, Eric Westerlund and Peter Westerlund, undated
ph 29: Copies of photos of children of Eric Abraham Westerlund: Anders (1825-1891), Eric (1836-1912), Jonas (1830-1925), Peter (1839-1937), Margaret (1828-1914), and Hans (1842-1874), undated
ph 30: Framed charcoal drawing of Eric Abraham Westerlund, 1801-1869 possibly done by Will Swanson, undated (oversized)