Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Segerstrom family letters
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Segerstrom family letters
- Date
- 1920-1945, undated (inclusive)
- Creator
- Segerstrom, David, 1897-1980
- Extent
- 3.15 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Correspondence.
- Immigrants -- Illinois.
- Immigrants -- Massachusetts.
- Love-letters
- Marriage
- Missionaries
- Religion
- Swedish Americans.
- Women in church work.
- Young women -- United States -- Social life and customs -- 20th century
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged alphabetically by sender. The Wade Hall Collection of American Letters has been processed into discrete collections based on provenance.
- Preferred Citation
- 2009ms132.0285: [identification of item], Wade Hall Collection of American Letters: Segerstrom family letters, 1920-1945, undated, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Reverend David Ivar Segerstrom (1897-1980) was born in Kristiania, Norway (now Oslo) and immigrated to the United States in 1919. Upon his arrival, he lived in or near Rockford, Illinois where he met his future wife Mabel Theresa Carlson (1897-1980). By 1921, Segerstrom was living and preaching in Massachusetts. In 1924, David married Mabel and she moved to Massachusetts to live with him and support him in his ministries. Mabel was born in Illinois to Swedish immigrants John August Carlson (1873-1962) and Hilda Anderson (1873-1957); she was the oldest of three children, having a younger brother, George, and younger sister, Viola. The Segerstroms remained in Massachusetts until their deaths.
- American Letters collector Wade Hall (1934-2015) was a native of Union Springs, Alabama. Starting in 1962, he lived in Louisville, where he taught English and chaired the English and Humanities/Arts programs at Kentucky Southern College and Bellarmine University. He also taught at the University of Illinois and the University of Florida. He held degrees from Troy State University (B.S.), the University of Alabama (M.A.), and the University of Illinois (Ph.D.). He served for two years in the U.S. Army in the mid-fifties. Dr. Hall was the author of books, monographs, articles, plays, and reviews relating to Kentucky, Alabama, and Southern history and literature. His most recent books include A Visit with Harlan Hubbard; High Upon a Hill: A History of Bellarmine College; A Song in Native Pastures: Randy Atcher's Life in Country Music; and Waters of Life from Conecuh Ridge.
- Scope and Content
- The Segerstrom family letters (dated 1920-1945, undated; 3.15 cubic feet; 7 boxes) comprise letters and newspaper clippings that document the relationship between David Segerstrom, his future wife, Mabel Carlson; and her family in Illinois and Massachusetts in the 1920s and 1930s. The letters are divided into three sections – letters sent to David, letters sent to Mabel, and letters sent to the young couple. In the letters sent to David, they are mainly from his future wife Mabel Carlson, save for one letter from a colleague. In Mabel's letters to David she writes about her daily life, going to work, doing chores at home, seeing her family, visiting friends, shopping, her health, church services attended, missionary work, and her thoughts on finding a new job or attending college. She discusses with him about her correspondence courses, her acceptance into college, and their preparations for married life – buying and furnishing a home, where to live, and how their physical relationship will be. Many of the letters Mabel sends to David are in Swedish. In the letters sent to Mabel, she receives correspondence from future husband David, sister Viola, sister-in-law Martha, parents, and friends. The letters from David and her parents are all in Swedish. Martha, Viola, and friends write in English, discussing family life, marriages, births, deaths, pregnancies and miscarriages, employment, church services attended, and participation in social organizations. The letters to both Mabel and David discuss religion, church services, the arrival of new Nordic immigrants, marriage, birth, and death announcements; and updates on everyday life in Rockford, Illinois. In the full collection, there are many letters that have newspaper clippings attached, providing more information on the Nordic community in Illinois at the time.
- The Segerstrom family letters are part of the Wade Hall Collection of American letters, which includes correspondence and diaries from all over North America covering the time period of the Civil to Korean Wars. The materials were collected by Wade Hall and document everyday men and women.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
Mabel Carlson to David Segerstrom, 1922
Letters to David and Mabel Segerstrom from Mabel's parents, 1921, 1929-1935
Letters to Mabel Segerstrom, undated
Martha Carlson to Mabel Segerstrom, 1927-1934, 1944
David Segerstrom to Mabel Segerstrom, 1920, 1929-1932, 1944, undated
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
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Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Table of Contents
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
