FINDING AID
Marie Johnson Munson letters and scrapbook, 1914
COLLECTION SUMMARY
Collection Title:
Marie Johnson Munson letters and scrapbook
Collection Number:
MSS P:86
Dates:
1914 and undated
Size:
1 box (.25 linear feet)
Language:
Swedish, English
Creator/Collector:
Munson, Marie Johnson (1877-1951)
Munson, Otto (1871-1944)
Subject Headings:
Letter writing--20th century
Letter writing, Swedish
Love letters
Courtship
Swedish Americans--Illinois--DeKalb
Swedish Americans--Illinois--Rocelle
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Repository:
Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
Abstract:
Marie Johnson and Otto Munson were born in Sweden and immigrated separately to Illinois in 1900. They married in 1915. The collection contains seven love letters written by Otto Munson of Rochelle, Illinois to Marie Johnson of DeKalb, Illinois in 1914. Included are English translations of the letters and a scrapbook of photographs.
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Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright.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:86 Marie Johnson Munson letters and scrapbook, Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
ACQUISITION AND RELATED MATERIALS
Source of Acquisition:
Gift of Corinne Johnson, a great-niece to Otto and Marie Munson in 1983.
Location of Copies:
Copies of the letters were sent to the both the Ogle County Genealogical Society located at the Oregon Public Library and the Ogle County Historical Society by relative Sue A. Cramer (cousin of donor).
Related Materials:
MSS P:318 Zaida Munson letter collection.
The Ogle County Historical Society also received original Munson farm photographs from relative Sue A. Cramer.
Processed By:
Swenson Center staff. Finding aid updated by Lisa Huntsha in 2013 and 2019.
CONTENT AND STRUCTURE
Administrative/Biographical History:
Marie Johnson was born in Fagerum, Borgholms kommun, Kalmar län, Sweden on 31 July 1877 to Gustav and Clara Johnson. She was educated and confirmed in Sweden before immigrating to the United States in 1900. She was a member of the First Lutheran Church and Royal Neighbors of America.
Otto Fabian Munson (Magnusson) was born in Skatelöv parish, Kronobergs län, Sweden on 9 December 1871 to Magnus and Anna Magnusson. Otto immigrated to the United States in 1900. His five brothers and one sister came too, at different times. They settled in the DeKalb and Sycamore, Illinois area. Otto, his nephew Gus Frisk, his niece Esther Munson (married to Joe Reints) and her brother Oscar all moved west to the Rochelle and Kings, Illinois area. Otto was active in First Lutheran Church where he was a deacon.
Marie worked as a maid in DeKalb at the home of James Ellwood Lewis (descendant of the barbed wire entrepreneur Isaac Ellwood) and family until her marriage to Otto on 2 February 1915.
Otto and Marie settled on a farm in the Kings, Illinois area before retiring in 1924 and moving to a home at 1332 North 13th Street in DeKalb. The farm was located just south of IL Route 64 between the village of Kinds and IL Route 251.
Otto died on 18 September 1944. Marie died on 8 February 1951. Both are buried at Fairview Cemetery in DeKalb.
Scope and Content:
The collection contains seven love letters written by Otto Munson while living in Rochelle, Illinois to Marie Johnson in DeKalb, Illinois in 1914. Included are typewritten translations of the letters. Included is also a self-adhesive scrapbook with photographs of Otto and Marie and their property.
The letters were translated by Ingolf Larsson of Grimslöv, Sweden in 1982 at the direction of Corinne Johnson.
System of Arrangement:
Letters arranged chronologically followed by the scrapbook.
Collection Inventory:
Letter to Marie from Otto, English, 21 April 1914
Typed copy
Letter to Marie from Otto, Swedish, 28 April 1914
Typed English translation
Letter to Marie from Otto, Swedish, 19 May 1914
Typed English translation
Letter to Marie from Otto, Swedish, 11 June 1914
Typed English translation
Letter to Marie from Otto, Swedish, 1 July 1914
Typed English translation
Letter to Marie from Otto, Swedish, 2 August 1914
Typed English translation
Letter to Marie from Otto, Swedish, 13 August 1914
Typed English translation
Scrapbook of photographs of Otto and Marie Johnson, their property and friends and family. Also included in the scrapbook are copies of letters.