FINDING AID
Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Synod anniversary congratulatory letters and other materials, 1910-1948
COLLECTION SUMMARY
Collection Title:
Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Synod anniversary congratulatory letters and other materials
Collection Number:
I/O:5
Dates:
1910, 1916, circa 1928, 20 May 1935, 1948, and undated (bulk 1910 and 1916)
Size:
1 box (.25 linear feet) and materials in oversized box
Language:
Swedish, English, Latin, and Norwegian
Creator/Collector:
Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod of North America
Subject Headings:
Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod of North America
Galesburg (Ill.)
Swedish American Lutherans
Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church
Church Societies
Lutheran Church--History
Repository:
Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
Abstract:
This collection contains letters of congratulations and greetings to the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Synod of North America in celebration of the Synod’s 50th anniversary in June of 1910, and its 75th anniversary in June of 1935. The Synod was established in 1860, at Jefferson Prairie Settlement in Clinton, Wisconsin, by those who wished to abide by the Augsburg Confession to the fullest extent. The Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Synod eventually merged into the Lutheran Church in America in 1962.
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Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright.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 I/O:5 Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Synod anniversary congratulatory letters and other materials, Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
ACQUISITION AND RELATED MATERIALS
Provenance:
The collection was transferred from Augustana College Special Collections in March of 1982.
Related Materials:
I/O:8 Jenny Lind Chapel Committee (Andover, Ill.) records
MSS P:342 Collection of Augustana Synod Letters
Processed By:
Processed by Kermit Westerberg, 1980s. Finding aid written by Shelby Jensen, 2018.
CONTENT AND STRUCTURE
Administrative/Biographical History:
The Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Synod was established in a Norwegian Lutheran Church in 1860, at the Jefferson Prairie Settlement in Clinton, Wisconsin. Reverend T. N. (Tufve Nilsson) Hasselquist was elected founding president of the Synod, as well as the second president of Augustana College, originally founded as a Theological Seminary in 1860 by the Augustana Synod in order to supply their growing congregations with pastors. In 1870, a large number of Danish and Norwegian members broke away from the church in order to form their own church bodies, named the Norwegian Augustana Synod, and the Conference of the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Before the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Synod’s merger with the Lutheran Church in America in 1962, the Augustana Synod had 1,353 pastors, and an astounding 619,040 members. The Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Synod celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1910 and its 75th anniversary in 1935, receiving many congratulatory letters for these events.
Scope and Content:
The collection includes a variety of congratulatory letters and greetings for the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Synod Anniversaries of 1910 and 1935, correspondence, addresses, sermons, reports, press releases, printed matters from the annual Synod meeting in Galesburg, Illinois in 1916 and other miscellaneous letters addressed to the synod.
System of Arrangement:
Arranged by material type and size.
Collection Inventory:
Box 1
Folder 1: Handwritten letter of greeting from the Minister of the State of Sweden, Per Elof Lindström, on 3 May 1910, to the Augustana Synod at their 50th anniversary. Materials in Swedish.
Folder 2: Handwritten resolution (five pages) of greetings and representation to the Augustana Synod from the English Evangelical Lutheran Synod of the Northwest in 1910. Materials in English.
Folder 3: Handwritten (three pages) and typescript greetings to the Augustana Synod on the 50th anniversary in June 1910, from Evangeliska-Fosterlandsstiftelsen Styrelse in Stockholm. Materials in Swedish and Latin.
Folder 4: Handwritten sermon draft at the time of the 50th annual convention of the Augustana Synod, June 1910. Signed by Dr. Adolf Spaeth. Material in Swedish.
Folder 5: Materials related to annual synod meeting in Galesburg, Illinois, May–June 1916. Materials in English and Swedish.
• Abstract of sermon by G. A. Brandelle of Denver, Colorado, English
• Augustana College annual report, Swedish
• President’s report by Dr. L. A. Johnston, 8 June 1916, Swedish
• Ordination sermon by Rev. Joseph A. Anderson, Galesburg, 11 June 1916, English
• Ordination address by Dr. Adolph Hult, English
• Eulogy to T. N. Hasselquist on 100th anniversary of birth by Dr. Nils Forsander, English
• “Meddelande från Synodalrådet” [message from Synod Council], printed, Swedish
• “Synodens Hemmission: 1915-1916,” printed, Swedish
• Press committee expense report, 16 June 1916, English
• Address “Authority and Purpose of Foreign Missions” by O. J. Johnson, English
• Press release regarding Augustana College, June 1916, English
Folder 6: Two typescript leaves with data regarding the founding of the Augustana Synod in Clinton, Wisconsin, June 1860, circa 1928, (Photocopies). Material in English.
Folder 7: Printed letter of greeting from the Theological Faculty, Royal Frederick University in Oslo, Norway, to the Augustana Synod at the 75th anniversary on 20 May 1935. Material in Norwegian.
Box 2
Item 1: Hand-illuminated greeting in brown case from Allmänna Svenska prästföreningen to Synod near time of its centennial, 1948. Materials in Swedish.
Item 2: Hand-illuminated greetings from Svenska Kyrkan Archbishop of Uppsala, Erling Eidem, to Augustana Synod, in red case with gold embossed cover design, undated. Materials in Swedish.
Item 3: Hand-illuminated and signed parchment greeting and congratulatory to the Augustana Synod from Allmänna Svenska prästföreningen, [Göteborg], [June] 1910 in green case. Material in Swedish.
Item 4: Hand-illuminated congratulatory to synod for 50th anniversary, from Föreningen Oscar II’s Vandringsbibliotek, Stockholm, 3 May 1910. Material in Swedish.
Item 5: Signed and printed parchment congratulatory signed by Bishops of Svenska Kyrkan, Stockholm, to Augustana Synod, May 1910. Material in Swedish.
Item 6: Signed congratulatory letter from Priestly Society of the General Swedish-Lutheran Personnel S.D.P. to Augustana Synod, in Rock Island, Illinois, 20 May 1910. Material in Latin.