FINDING AID
Selma Olivia Moberg missionary to China collection, 1905-1926
COLLECTION SUMMARY
Collection Title:
Selma Olivia Moberg missionary to China collection
Collection Number:
MSS P:332
Dates:
1905-1926 and undated
Size:
1 box (.25 linear feet) and one oversized box
Language:
English (bulk), Chinese, Swedish
Creator/Collector:
Moberg, Selma Olivia, 1869-1934
Subject Headings:
Women missionaries--China
Swedish Americans--Massachusetts--Brockton
Repository:
Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
Abstract:
Selma Olivia Moberg served as a missionary to China from 1903-1924 through the South Chihli Mission, an undenominational mission founded in 1896 by Rev. and Mrs. Horace W. Houlding. Selma lived and worked at the Wei Hsien station. The collection includes postcards Selma sent to Anna Bjork, publications from the Mission (in English and Chinese), photographs of Selma and the South Chihli Mission, and textiles and cultural objects from China.
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Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright.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 MSS P:332 Selma Olivia Moberg missionary to China collection, Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
ACQUISITION AND RELATED MATERIALS
Source of Acquisition:
Gift of John F. Nystrom in 2013. Relation to creator unknown.
Related Materials:
MSS P:336 Selma Moberg photograph collection
Processed By:
Lisa Huntsha in 2013. Finding aid updated in 2018.
CONTENT AND STRUCTURE
Administrative/Biographical History:
Selma Olivia Moberg was born on 3 October 1869 in Sweden. She served as a missionary to China from 1903-1924 through the South Chihli Mission.
The South Chihli Mission was an undenominational mission founded in 1896 by Rev. and Mrs. Horace W. Houlding of the United States. The Mission consisted of fourteen missionaries from seven different denominations. It was considered evangelical, with its main goal to bring the gospel to China. The South Chihli Mission operated several stations through the Zhili (now Hebei) region south of Beijing. The Mission headquarters were located at Tai-ming fu, with a farm, boys’ school and orphanage, and girls’ school and orphanage.
Selma Moberg lived and worked at the Wei Hsien station. The South Chihli Mission dissolved in the 1920s. Selma died on 14 December 1934 in Brockton, Massachusetts and is buried there in Melrose Cemetery.
Scope and Content:
The collection includes postcards Selma sent to Anna Bjork, publications from the Mission (in English and Chinese), photographs of Selma and the South Chihli Mission, and textiles and cultural objects from China.
System of Arrangement:
Arranged by material type.
Collection Inventory:
Box 1
- Postcards from Selma to Anna Bjork, 1906, 1910-1912, 1926, English (bulk), Swedish
- “Barley Cake” South Chihli Mission publication, 1912, 1914, 1915, English
- South Chihli Mission Prayer List, 1906, English
- South Chihli Mission Handbook, 1907, English
- Map of China mission area, undated, English
- Printed materials (5), undated, Chinese
- New Testament, British and Foreign Bible Society, 1905, Chinese
- Selma Moberg portrait and missionary photographs, 1911, 1923, 1924 and undated
Box 2 (oversized)
13 cultural objects including foot binding shoes (lotus slippers), chopsticks, pouch, kimono fragments, kimono. Calendar with booklet “The Chinese Kitchen Gods.”