Anderson, Netta C.

English, German

There are no restrictions on the use of this collection

Augustana College and Theological Seminary (Rock Island, Ill.)--Students.
Augustana College and Theological Seminary (Rock Island, Ill.)--Alumni and alumnae.
Anderson, Netta C.

Emily Hughes Dominick, 2007

Augustana College Special Collections
Thomas Tredway Library
639 38th Street
Rock Island, Illinois 61201
309-794-7643
specialcollections@augustana.edu

Netta C. Bartholomew was born on April 13, 1873 in Clark City, Missouri to parents Edward Fry (E. F.) and Catherine Bartholomew. She attended schools in Carthage, Illinois, where her father was a professor and then president at Carthage College, until the family was relocated to Rock Island, Illinois, when her father took a job at Augustana College and Theological Seminary in 1888. In 1894, she was one of the first six women to be graduated from Augustana College. She was active in student groups at Augustana belonging to the Augustana Ladies' Choir, Philodoi Quartette, and Adelphic Society. Immediately after graduating, she took a trip abroad with her father to Germany. She spent several months traveling throughout Europe.

She was married to K. T. Anderson June 16, 1897 in Rock Island where both would remain for their entire lives. Netta Anderson was very active in the community where she belonged to many groups including the board of the Bethany Home, the Rock Island's Woman's Club, the Augustana Endowment Fund Society, the Ladies' Aid Society of the Grace Lutheran Church, the Augustana Alumni Association, the Rock Island Choral Society, and the Rock Island Historical Society. She was a founding member of several of these organizations and held various offices.

Throughout her life, she was a prolific writer and speaker. She contributed articles to local papers and Augustana publications and was often asked to speak at meetings for civic groups. Ms. Anderson also kept travel journals as well as a personal diary. She was keenly interested in the history of Rock Island and did much research along these lines collecting articles and papers of historical interest. She wrote a lengthy article about pioneer women that she gave before the Illinois Historical Society that was later republished in pamphlet form by the Rock Island Historical Society -- this article was the result of personal interviews that Ms. Anderson held with early women settlers from the area.

She remained actively involved with her community and her alma mater until the end of her life; she was stricken with a heart attack while attending the Augustana Alumni Homecoming Banquet on October 22, 1960 at the age of 87.

The Netta Bartholomew Anderson papers is arranged into 9 series: Writings; Diaries and journals; Correspondence; Memorabilia; History of Northwestern Illinois; Newspaper clippings; Sketches, autograph books, and scrapbooks; Books and pamphlets, and Photographs.

The Writings (1885-1951 and undated) series includes a wide array of writing samples created by Netta Bartholomew Anderson; because the purpose of the writing is often unknown due to lack of dates or titles, all of her writings have been compiled together with the exception of the diaries and journals which have been separated into their own series. Writings range from class assignments and notes to formal and informal speeches, essays, and articles. As Anderson was a prolific writer, this series combined with the Diaries and Journals series comprise the largest segment of the collection and span nearly her entire life.

The Diaries and Journals (1894-1959 and undated) series is composed of personal reflections of Anderson in daily life and when traveling. Several of the bound date books that Anderson used for her daily journals do not correspond with the actual dates of her entries. For example, she used a book that was titled "Year Book 1941" for her part of her diary for 1950. Also, she used bound books inscribed with her husband's name, K. T. Anderson, as her diaries although it is clear that these books contain her writing and not her husband's.

The Correspondence (1884-1947 and undated)series includes notes, letters, postcards, and greeting cards received from friends and family. This series includes several letters written to Netta from her father.

The Memorabilia (1895-1959 and undated) series is composed of mementos belonging to several family members (husband, K. T. Anderson; father, E. F. Bartholomew; mother, Mrs. E. F. Bartholomew; and brother, Frank Bartholomew) as well as certificates of achievement earned by Netta, programs, invitations and souvenirs from travels.

The History of Northwestern Illinois (1831-1880 and undated) series includes documents pertaining to early history of Rock Island County along with some documents relating to Dixon, Illinois and Carthage, Illinois. The documents include bills of sale, letters, articles of agreement, receipts, insurance policies and other items. Many of the documents relate directly to Patrick A. Whitaker, a businessman from Rock Island.

The Newspaper clippings (1868-1959 and undated) series includes a variety of articles saved by Netta. These include articles about groups to which she personally belonged or delivered speeches. Also are clippings about her mother, father, and daughter. The largest portion of clippings consists of local history articles.

The Sketches, autograph books, and scrapbooks (1878-1894 and undated) series date from Netta's early years. The sketches that are dated were from her trip to Germany following graduation from Augustana College. One scrapbook was put together by Netta's mother and given as a gift when Netta was about 6 years old. The autograph books were given as gifts before Netta was a teenager, although she used at least one while at college.

The Books and pamphlets (1898-1952 and undated) series is a small collection including a Bible, a hymnal, two textbooks dating to Netta's Elementary school years, two publications associated with Augustana that were signed by the authors. The series is rounded out by a miscellany of pamphlets.

The Photographs (1864-1936 and undated) series includes portraits of family and friends as well as a group of portraits of unidentified people.

Writings are arranged chronologically with undated materials at the end of the series. Undated writings are organized alphabetically by given or assigned descriptive titles. Diaries and journals and Correspondence are organized chronologically with undated or miscellaneous materials at the end of the corresponding series. Newspaper clippings are arranged alphabetically by subject with miscellaneous clippings at the end of the series. Books and pamphlets and arranged alphabetically except in the case of two larger books that are placed at the beginning of the series. Photographs are arranged alphabetically by the last name of the subject of the photograph. Unidentified photos can be found at the end of the series. Sketches, autograph books, and scrapbooks are arranged chronologically within each type of media with undated materials at the end of each category. Oversized items are arranged as per their corresponding series and are found at the end of the collection (in boxes 9 and 10).

Note: certain topics can be found in several series. For example, the history of Rock Island appears in Newspaper clippings, Writings, and in the History of Northwestern Illinois series.

All newspaper clippings were copied onto acid free paper and the originals were discarded. In some cases the clippings were degraded to the point of crumbling. All efforts were made to piece together the articles but this was not always possible -- fragments of articles were discarded if there was not an obvious connection to other articles or topics.

Several articles were copied from original copies of the Lyceum Annual (1892, 1893) and the Augustana Observer (Oct. 1910, Dec. 1910, Nov. 1912, Jan. 1913, May 1913, Nov. 1915). The original periodicals were discarded as they are already represented in other collections in Special Collections holdings.

Box 1
      Writings
            Notes, Carthage Public Schools, 1885-1889
            Latin Exercises and English Compositions, 1888-1889
            English Essays, 1890-1891
            "The Vanity of Genius," 1891
            "Digest of the Lady of the Lake," 1891
            "Is Woman Suffrage Justifiable," 1891
            A critique on a program of the Adelphic Society of Augustana College, 1891
            "We Girls," Speech, 1891
            Essays for 1891-1892
            "The True Greatness of the American Nation," oration, 1892
            The Lyceum Annual Articles, 1892-1893
            Milton Questions, 1893
            "Something," circa 1893
            Seminary Essays, 1894
            Critique on Tennyson's The Princess, 1894
            Art Notes, Berlin, circa 1894
            "The Influence of the Ideal," graduation oration, 1894
            "Woman," Speech, circa 1895
            "A Visit in Pompeii," 1895
            "The Alumnae," Alumni Reception speech, 1896
            "Rome the Imperial City," 1897
            Mastodon and Mammoth Remains in Illinois and Iowa, 1904
            "Oratorio Work at Augustana College," circa 1906 [oversize: in box 10]
            Notes on Rock Island History, 1908
            "10th Anniversary of Acme Society," Speech, 1909
            Art Notes, 1910

Box 2
      Writings (continued)
            English Composition, 1910
            The Sons and Daughters of Augustana in Science, Speech, circa 1910
            Augustana Observer Articles, 1910-1915
            English Compositions, 1911
            Essays, 1911
            Essays, 1911-1912
            Bethany Home President's Annual Report, 1913
            Woman's Club Recording Secretary Annual Report, 1914
            Speech to Women of the Augustana Synod, 1928
            Col. Conrad Weiser, Pioneer, Soldier, Diplomat, Judge, Provincial Interpreter, pamphlet, 1931 (4 copies)
            Program and introductory comments at 21st Annual Convention of the Women's Missionary Society of the Rock Island District, 1934
            "The Faculties of Other Years," circa 1935
            "Augustana Fifty Years Ago Through a Co-ed's Eye," circa 1944
            "Sketch of Mrs. Kate L. Bartholomew," 1948
            "The Woman's Missionary Society of the Augustana Church," 1951
            "The Story of Redeemer Lutheran Church in St. Petersburg, Fla.," circa 1950s
            Article for "Lutheran Companion," circa 1950s
            Address to Woman's Missionary Society, undated
            Address to women entering the field of authorship, undated
            Art Notes, undated
            "A Companion of Goldsmiths and George Eliots conception of Character Delineation," undated
            "The Confederate Cemetery on Rock Island," undated [oversize: in box 10]
            Critique of a program, undated
            "A Day in Pompeii," undated
            Essay about Swedish American settlers (missing first page), undated
            Fragment of a story, undated [oversize: in box 10]
            "Greek Literature," undated
            "Harriet Elizabeth Stowe," undated
            "Jagdschlors Grunewald" [in German], undated
            "Legends and Stories of the Mississippi," undated
            "The Lover," undated [oversize: in box 10]
            "Mice at Play," undated
            "Mr. Sham," undated
            Notes on Rock Island History, undated
            "Some Reminiscences," undated
            "Some Reminiscences of Pioneer Rock Island Women," undated [oversize: in box 10]
            Speech for Alumni Association, undated
            "The Story of Fort Armstrong," undated [oversize: in box 10]
            Studies of Hymns, undated
            
Box 3
      Writings (continued)
            Studies of Psalms 1, 8, 23, 25, 32, 37, 42, and 126, undated
            "A Tale from Tazajera," undated [oversize: in box 10]
            "A Tribute to Mrs. C. A. Brandelle," undated
            Untitled essay about the Faust drama, undated
            Untitled speech about Augustana, undated
            "A Visit to Schloss Grunewald," undated [oversize: in box 10]
            Miscellaneous fragments and untitled essays, undated

      Diaries and Journals
            Travel journal, 1894
            Travel notes, Sunburg, PA, 1934
            Travel journal, circa 1939
            Travel journal, 1939-1941
            Travel journal, 1947-1950
            Travel notes, undated
            Diary, "My Comings and Goings," 1895
            Diary, 1947
            Diary, 1948

Box 4
      Diaries and journals (continued)
            Diary, 1950
            Diaries, 1950 and 1951-1952
            Diaries, 1953-1954 and 1954-1955
            Diaries, 1955-1956 and 1956-1958
            Diary, 1958-1959

      Correspondence
            Correspondence from Netta Bartholomew Anderson, 1894-1896
            Letters from E. F. Bartholomew, 1884-1920
            Correspondence from boyfriends, 1886-1895
            Cards and notes re: graduation from Augustana College, 1894
            Correspondence from Germany, 1894-1897
            Correspondence written in German, 1894-1907 and undated
            Correspondence from E. Stenholm to "Classmates in Reunion Assembled," 1896
            Correspondence relating to wedding of K. T. Anderson and Netta Bartholomew, 1897
            Postcards received, 1905-1947
            Greeting cards received, 1946-1947 and undated
            Miscellaneous correspondence, 1877-1909
            Miscellaneous correspondence, undated

Box 5
      Memorabilia
            K. T. Anderson, Miscellaneous, 1907 and 1941
            K. T. Anderson, Alligator wallet, undated
            K. T. Anderson, Composition books, undated
            E. F. Bartholomew
            Frank Bartholomew
            Mrs. E. F. Bartholomew
            Certificates
            Correspondence Card set, 1895
            Letter of recommendation from A. W. Williamson, 1896
            Expense books, 1907 and undated
            Programs, invitations, articles, and other items, 1896-1959 (scattered) and undated
            Sheet Music, undated
            Hawaii color prints, undated
            Postcards of Denkmann Memorial Library, undated

      History of Northwestern Illinois
            Documents (1 of 3)
            Documents (2 of 3) [oversize: in box 10]
            Documents (3 of 3) [oversize: in box 10]

      Newspaper clippings
            Articles by Netta Bartholomew
            Augustana Alumni Association
            Augustana College
            Augustana Endowment Fund Society
            Bethany Home
            Choral Groups
            Family News
            Grace Lutheran Church Ladies' Aid Society

Box 6
      Newspaper clippings (continued)
            History of Rock Island
            Rock Island County Historical Society
            Rock Island Woman's Club
            Social Events
            Speaking Engagements
            Miscellaneous

      Sketches, autograph books, and scrapbooks
            Loose sketches, undated
            Sketchbook, Berlin, 1894
            Autograph book, 1878
            Autograph book, 1887
            Autograph book, 1889
            "My First Scrapbook," circa 1879 [oversize: in box 9]
            Scrapbook, undated [oversize: in box 9]

Box 7
      Books and pamphlets
            The Hymnal and Order of Service authorized by the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, Lectionary Edition, 1937
            Holy Bible, Revised Standard Edition, 1952
            Abraham Lincoln, his friendship for humanity and sacrifice for others; an address, by J. B. Oakleaf, delivered at Augustana college, Rock Island, Illinois ... February 12, 1909.
            Elementary Geography, by James Monteith, undated
            The Mechanical Composition of Wind Deposits, by Johan August Udden, 1898
            Onward, by Frank Ferndale, no date
            Primary Geography, undated
            Various booklets and pamphlets (1 of 2), undated
            Various booklets and pamphlets (2 of 2), undated
            That Wonderful Year of Your Birth: Highlights of the Stirring Years from 1866 to 1885, by Leonard Painter, 1949

Box 8
      Photographs
            Margaret Catherine Anderson, 1899
            Augustana Jubilee, 1910
            Ann Bartholomew, undated
            Edward Fry Bartholomew, 1936 and undated
            Grandmother Bartholomew, undated
            J. W. Bartholomew, circa 1880
            N. A. Bartholomew, circa 1880
            R. Bartholomew, circa 1880
            W. F. Bartholomew, circa 1880
            Mary Best, undated
            Stephen Best, 1866
            Dr. and Mrs. W. H. Blancke, undated
            Rev. Dr. Erlenmeyer, circa 1864
            Miriam and Alice Fasold, circa 1897
            Peter, Miriam and unidentified Fasold, 1895
            Alfred Koser, undated
            D. T. Koser, undated
            Miss Lydia Malick, undated
            Dr. J. A. Udden, undated
            K. Zartman, undated
            Unidentified photographs, undated

Box 9 [oversize]
      Scrapbooks, autograph books, and sketches
            "My First Scrapbook," circa 1879
            Scrapbook, undated

Box 10 [oversize]
      Writings
            "Oratorio Work at Augustana College," circa 1906
            "The Confederate Cemetery on Rock Island," undated
            Fragment of a story, undated
            "The Lover," undated
            "Some Reminiscences of Pioneer Rock Island Women," undated
            "The Story of Fort Armstrong," undated
            "A Tale from Tazajera," undated
            "A Visit to Schloss Grunewald," undated
      History of Northwestern Illinois
            Documents (2 of 3)
            Documents (3 of 3)

Edward Fry Bartholomew papers, MSS19; Alumni Association of Augustana College, MSS207