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Anna T. Spafford papers, 1894-1930
- Title
- Anna T. Spafford papers, 1894-1930
- Identifier
- P1359
- Date
- 1894-1930
- Creator
- Spafford, Anna T., 1842-1923
- Description
- Copies of letters written in 1894 to Abraham Jacobson, Decorah, Iowa, and copies of newspaper clippings (1897-1950) telling the story of the American colony in Jerusalem, which had been founded by Horatio Gates Spafford and his wife, who was born in Stavanger. Anna Larsen Spafford had come to Chicago with her family in the 1850s, where she continued to live until her departure for Jerusalem in 1881. Other members of the family had moved to Goodhue County, Minnesota, among them Edward Larsen (1838-1911), a half-brother. She is portrayed as Mrs. Gordon in Selma Lagerlöf's novel Jerusalem. Sven Hedin gives a sympathetic picture of the group in Till Jerusalem. Her daughter Bertha Spafford Vester published Our Jerusalem, an American Family in the Holy City.
- Location: 11/A/6
- Extent
- 1 folder
- Subject
- Spafford, Anna T., 1842-1923
- Jacobson, Abraham
- Spafford, Horatio Gates, 1828-1888
- American Colony in Jerulalem
- Broder, Jonathan
- Geniesse, Jane
- Spafford, Anna Tobena Larsen
- Type
- Correspondence
- Access Rights
- This collection is open to research.
Collection
Citation
Spafford, Anna T., 1842-1923, “Anna T. Spafford papers, 1894-1930,” Norwegian American Historical Association, accessed October 17, 2026, https://norwegianamericanhistory.org/catalog/items/show/11897.