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Browse Items (3004 total)
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Nils Jacobson Sonmor autobiography, 1887
Autobiographical sketches of Nils and of his eldest son Jacob (born 1863). The family emigrated from Tolga, Osterdal in 1866, eventually settling in Otter Tail county, Minnesota, near Dalton. Brief but vivid account of selecting homestead land and the first steps in developing it. Nils gives detail about his family, while Jacob tells of his marriage, moving to Polk county to homestead, later moving to Virginis for three years, and eventually (1902) to Wisconsin, St. Croix county.
Translated by Nancy Sonmore Vaillencourt and donated 1993 by her father Ronald L. Sonmore (2708 34th Ave. NE, St. Anthony, MN 55418). Includes correspondence between him and Forrest Brown about family history. -
Sons of Norway and Daughters of Norway papers, 1907-2014
History/Biography:
Sons of Norway/Sønner av Norge was founded by 18 members on January 16, 1895, in Minneapolis, Minnesota to promote and preserve the heritage and culture of Norway and to provide life insurance to its members. Membership was originally open to males of Norwegian descent between the ages of 20 and 50 who were capable of giving proof of being morally upright, in good health, and capable of supporting a family. A second lodge was established in South Minneapolis in 1899 and a third was founded in the northeastern section of the city in 1900. The Minneapolis model quickly spread. By the end of 1900, lodges had been established in cities and towns with substantial Norwegian-American populations across the United States.
The organization published a monthly magazine, Sønner av Norge (Sons of Norway), which kept members updated on activities of the group.
In December 1938, the Sons of Norway absorbed the American auxiliary of The Knights of the White Cross Order (Riddere av Det Hvite Kors) which had been founded in Chicago in 1863. Women were admitted to local groups as early as 1916, in areas where the female auxiliary was unorganized. Daughters of Norway lodges in the Midwest were merged with the Sons of Norway in 1950 and a system of junior lodges was created in 1956. The Grand Lodge of the Daughters of Norway, which dates to 1908, continues as a separate association.
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John J. Sonsteby papers, 1871-1937
Correspondence, copies of official records, military correspondence, city of Chicago official correspondence, minutes of meetings of Chicago Common Council, excerpts from the Journal of the Illinois Legislature, and notes from various publications concerning the Chicago fire (October 8-9, 1871), and the part played by the Norwegian National Guard of Chicago organized September 30, 1870.
The papers, which include a list of names of the members, deal largely with the problem of compensation for services rendered during the 13 days following the fire. Sonsteby, the chief justice of the Chicago Municipal Court, gathered this material for a projected monograph on the Norwegian Guard. Several articles in the file concern Sonsteby and his legal career. Includes: Correspondence regarding General Sheridan and the "Norwegian Battalion" consisting of four companies, which were called upon for service during and immediately after the great Chicago fire of 1871. List of men who served under the Chicago Police Force from Oct. 10 till Oct 23, 1871. Includes address delivered at the annual 17th of May Festival under the auspices of the Norwegian National League in Chicago by John J. Sonsteby (ca. 1929). -
Harald Sorhaug collection, 1940-1945
Harald Sorhaug was bron in Norway on February 1913. During World War II, he worked for the Norwegian Resistance (Hjemmevernet). Sorhaug often told stories of the war, and around his 90th birthday, his daughter asked him to put his memories into writing. Included in the collection: "Memories of the war years" by Harald Sorhaug Copy of letter Gjudrun Sorhaug wrote to the warden at Berg Concentration Camp asking for permission to visit her husband, 1944 September 20 Delgeren, 1940 April 2-1940 April 18, 1945 December 6 Opland, 1945 May 2-1945 June 21 Vestopland, 1945 May 2 Opland Avbeiderblad, 1940 December 12 Oslo-Pressen, 1945 May 12 Oplendingen, 1943 September 9 Samhold, 1945 June 21 -
H. J. Sorhus manuscript, 1865
Account of an emigrant journey from Stavanger, Norway, to Winona, Minnesota, via Quebec. -
Ebert Sorkness papers, 1910-1912
Copy of two "America Letters" from Colfax, Wisconsin, 1910-1912, family information, and an obituary notice for Sorkness, who was a Norwegian-American Civil War Veteran. -
Doris Orton Greear letters, 1865-2012
The Letters of Doris Orton Greear Reminiscences of pioneer days, Orton family history of Clay County, South Dakota. -
The Great Storm: Minnesota's Victims in the Blizzard of January 7, 1873
On January 7-9, 1873, Minnesota residents experienced a violent blizzard when dozens of people died primarily on the State’s flat, tree-less prairies. Minnesota native, Carolyn Mankell Sowinski takes the reader back 150 years and tells the stories of these victims using primary documents and secondary sources in her latest book, The Great Storm: Minnesota’s Victims in the Blizzard of January 7, 1873. She has identified 84 people from 31 western and southern counties who died in this storm: men and women, children and babies, Civil War veterans and recent immigrants, homesteaders and villagers, state residents and visitors. Friends died together, neighbors died together, family members died together. Many died alone--suffering for one, two, or all three days. Sowinski also tells the stories of 25 people who suffered amputations and other life-changing injuries. The biography of each victim provides genealogical information, immigration story, place of residence, journey in the storm, and burial location. Each biography also includes a section titled “Adventures in Research” where Sowinski provides other information about the victim, local history, or her research process in identifying these victims. The reader will also learn about the State’s Native American population who were removed from their historic lands, making room for the homesteaders.
Carolyn Sowinski is a graduate of St. Olaf College (Class of 1980). -
Sidney Gaylord Sønneland papers, circa 1921-1972
Papers of a Norwegian-American (born in Harlan, Iowa) neurosurgeon who graduated from the George Washington University Medical School in 1921 and practiced in Los Angeles, California. In 1972 he established the S. G. Sonneland Foundation at the University of Oslo.
Also includes the papers of Caroline Marie Stuverud Short, mother of Amelia Short Sønneland, mostly concerning her son, Lloyd Short, who died in The Battle of the Marne in France (1918) during World War I; and the American Pilgrimage Gold Star Mothers and Widows (1930) to American Cemeteries in France. Amelia was a philanthropist who contributed to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Opera and USC. She was a graduate of George Washington University and held a law degree from LaSalle University. She and her husband, psychiatrist Sidney Gaylord Sonneland, endowed a science chair at the University of Oslo, Norway
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S. Engelhart Sønnichsen papers, 1906-1945
Biography/History:
Sønke Engelhart Sønnichsen (1878-1961) was born in Oslo, Norway to S.P. and Mathea Sonichsen. Sønnichsen was educated in Norway and Germany who immigrated in 1902. He was an architectural draftsman in Chicago, Seattle, and Vancouver for various firms. In 1916, he opened his own office in Seattle. He formed a partnership with B. Marcus Priteca, theater architect, in Los Angeles in 1926, and was designer for engineering and transportation companies during World War II.His brother was Yngvar Sønnichsen, a Norwegian born, American artist known for his portraits, landscapes, and murals. In 1917, Sønke and Yngvar designed and decorated a Seattle lodge with oil canvas murals and painting. Today, it is now the Raisbeck Performance Hall at Cornish College of the Arts.
Scope and Content:
Papers of a Norwegian-born architect, consisting of professional documents, pictures, plans, correspondence, and clippings, dealing with his training and accomplishments.