Welcome to the NAHA Collections Catalog!
Use our online catalog to explore our archival and manuscript collections. Some finding aids are currently offline, but we’re happy to help – just reach out to the NAHA archivist with any questions. Looking for digitized materials? Click here to browse thousands of items available online!
Andrew Ellsworth and George Norman Wigeland papers, 1857-1972
- Title
- Andrew Ellsworth and George Norman Wigeland papers, 1857-1972
- Identifier
- P1120
- Date
- 1857-1972
- Description
- An extensive collection was received in 1980 of the papers of the Wigeland brothers who lived in Chicago. Their papers include also those of their grandfather, great-uncle, their father and their aunt. The grandfather of the brothers was George A. Wigeland (1823-1885), who emigrated from Norway in 1843. His brother Arents Wigeland (1812-1862) also came to America and settled on a farm near Racine, Wisconsin. This farm was passed on to his daughter, Mary Wigeland Johnson, and became known as the Johnson pioneer farm. Amanda Johnson, a daughter of Mary, came under the guardianship of the Wigeland brothers. Various papers for all of these members of the family are in the file.
The father of the Wigeland brothers, Andrew Wigeland (1864-1906), entrusted his motherless sons to the guardianship of his sister Marn Wigeland (1859-1939). Her warm relationship to the brothers endured throughout her lifetime. Both brothers were graduates of the University of Chicago and were prominent in Norwegian-American activity in Chicago. Andrew (Vice President of the City National Bank of Chicago) had a distinguished career in banking and investments. He taught at Northwestern University and appeared at seminars on banking topics at many Mid-western banking associations. Norman ran an advertising agency. Both became very wealthy and were generous in their support of Norwegian and Norwegian-American interests in the United States. For their efforts on behalf of American Relief for Norway each of the brothers received the "Frihetskors" from King Haakon in 1947. - Extent
- 5.6 cubic feet (11 archives boxes and 2 oversized boxes)
- Subject
- Wigeland, Marn Minerva
- Johnson, Mary Wigeland
- Wigeland, Arents
- University of Chicago
- Wigeland, Andrew Ellsworth
- Wigeland, George Norman
- Type
- Correspondence
- Photographs
Files
Collection
Citation
Wigeland, George N. and Wigeland, Andrew E., “Andrew Ellsworth and George Norman Wigeland papers, 1857-1972,” Norwegian American Historical Association, accessed October 17, 2026, https://norwegianamericanhistory.org/catalog/items/show/10581.