BERNHARD AND GRACIA CHRISTENSEN LETTERS:
An Inventory of Their Family Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | Christensen (Family : Christensen, Bernhard M. (Bernhard Marinus), 1901-1984), creator. | |
| Title: | Bernhard and Gracia Christensen letters. | |
| Dates: | 1927-1972. | |
| Language: | Materials in English. | |
| Abstract: | Letters of Bernard Christensen, former president of Augsburg College (Minneapolis, Minn.), and his wife Gracia Christensen (formerly Lily Gunderson), who taught English at Augsburg. Some topics of the letters discuss their personal relationship, family matters, friends, travel, professional matters, religion and faith, theology, literature, current events, and Augsburg College. | |
| Quantity: | 2.5 cubic feet (3 boxes). | |
| Location: | See Detailed Description for shelf locations. |
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Bernhard Marinus Christensen was born in Porterfield, Wisconsin to Danish immigrant parents in 1901. He graduated from Augsburg College in 1922 and Augsburg Seminary in 1925. He also studied at Princeton Seminary, the University of Berlin, and the University of Goettingen. He received a doctorate from Hartford Seminary in 1929.
Lilly Gracia Gunderson was born in Brooklyn, New York to Norwegian immigrant parents Thora and Kristin Gunderson. She attended Hunter College and later received a master's degree in English from Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
From 1925-1931, Bernhard served as an associate of Trinity Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, New York. During this period, he met Lily Gracia Gunderson. Bernard returned to Minneapolis to teach philosophy and theology at Augsburg College in 1934. Lily followed in 1935, and they were married soon after. During this time, Lily took the name Gracia.
The Christensens had five daughters together: Marina, Mary, Nadia, Naomi, and Sonya.
Bernhard became president of Augusburg College in 1938, a role he served in for 24 years. In his tenure, he helped expand enrollment, faculty, and facilities. Gracia supported Bernhard in this role, hosting numerous events and guests, and frequently edited his publications.
After retiring from Augsburg, he taught at Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and published the book The Inward pilgrimage: an introduction to Christian spiritual classics from Augustine to Bonhoeffer in 1976.
Gracia taught in the Augsburg College English Department for 16 years. She also served as the an editor of The Lutheran Messenger, and the president of the Women's Missionary Federation and Fairview (Deaconess) Hospital Auxiliary. She also held memberships in the Woman's Club of Minneapolis, the Harvard Radcliffe Club of Minnesota, the Verdandi Literary Society, and the Trinity Lutheran Congregation in Minneapolis.
Bernhard Christensen passed in 1984, and Gracia died in 2009.
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Bernhard and Gracia Christensen Letters. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.
Accession Information:
Accession number: 17,831
Processing Information:
Processed by: Leif Kopietz, June and August 2021
Catalog ID number: 9989792840104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
| Box | |||||||||||
| 136.C.4.8F | 1 | Letters from Gracia to Bernhard: | |||||||||
| January 1933-August 1933. 4 folders. | |||||||||||
| September 1935. | |||||||||||
| November 1935. | |||||||||||
| February 1936. | |||||||||||
| May-August 1936. 3 folders. | |||||||||||
| November 1936. | |||||||||||
| April 1937. | |||||||||||
| July-August 1937. 2 folders. | |||||||||||
| September-November 1937. | |||||||||||
| March-April 1938. | |||||||||||
| June-September 1938. 3 folders. | |||||||||||
| November 1938. | |||||||||||
| January 1939. | |||||||||||
| March-May 1939. | |||||||||||
| July-August 1939. | |||||||||||
| March 1940. | |||||||||||
| July-August 1940. | |||||||||||
| February 1941. | |||||||||||
| June-July 1941. | |||||||||||
| October-November 1941. | |||||||||||
| January 1942. | |||||||||||
| March-April 1942. | |||||||||||
| November 1942. | |||||||||||
| February 1943. | |||||||||||
| June 1943. | |||||||||||
| August 1943. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| 136.C.4.9B | 2 | January-February 1944. | |||||||||
| November 1944. | |||||||||||
| January-February 1945. | |||||||||||
| June-August 1945. | |||||||||||
| January-March 1946. | |||||||||||
| July 1946. | |||||||||||
| November 1946. | |||||||||||
| January 1947. | |||||||||||
| July 1947. | |||||||||||
| January 1948. | |||||||||||
| June 1948. | |||||||||||
| Letters from Bernhard to Gracia, August-September 1948. 2 folders. | |||||||||||
| Letters from Gracia to Bernhard, 1949-1950. | |||||||||||
| Letters between Bernhard, Gracia, and daughters, undated, 1950s. 6 folders. | |||||||||||
| Letters from Bernhard to Gracia: | |||||||||||
| 1954. | |||||||||||
| 1956-1959. 4 folders. | |||||||||||
| Letters from Gracia to Bernhard: | |||||||||||
| February 26, 1960. | |||||||||||
| February-March 1961. | |||||||||||
| September-December 1962. | |||||||||||
| February-March 1963. | |||||||||||
| July 1963. | |||||||||||
| October 1963. | |||||||||||
| April 1965. | |||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||
| 136.C.4.10F | 3 | Letters from Gracia to the Christensens, Justices, and Bernhard, July 1966. | |||||||||
| Letters from Bernhard to Gracia and family, July 1966. | |||||||||||
| Letters from Gracia to Bernhard, June 1967. | |||||||||||
| Letters from Gracia to Bernhard, January-February 1968. | |||||||||||
| Letters from Bernhard to Gracia and family, January-February 1968. | |||||||||||
| Letters from Bernhard to Miss Lilly Gunderson, 1927-1929. 3 folders. | |||||||||||
| Letters from friends and families, October-December 1935. | |||||||||||
| Letters from Bernhard to Gracia, February-March 1972. | |||||||||||
| Letters, cards, and other documents, undated, 1953, 1964-1966. 2 folders. | |||||||||||
CATALOG HEADINGS
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
- Topics:
- Theology -- Faculty.
- English literature -- Faculty.
- Danish Americans -- Minnesota.
- Norwegian Americans -- Minnesota.
- Lutheran Church -- Education -- Minnesota.
- College administrators -- Minnesota.
- Universities and colleges -- Minnesota -- Faculty.
- Persons:
- Christensen family.
- Christensen, Bernhard M. (Bernhard Marinus), 1901-1984, author.
- Christensen, Gracia, author.
- Jackson family.
- Jackson, Naomi.
- Justice family.
- Justice, Marina.
- Organizations:
- Augsburg University.
- Document Types:
- Personal correspondence.
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