JOHAN ANDREAS HOLVIK:
An Inventory of His Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | Holvik, J. A. (Johan Andreas), 1880-1960, creator. | |
| Title: | Johan Andreas Holvik papers. | |
| Dates: | 1867-1983. | |
| Language: | Materials in English, Norwegian, Swedish. | |
| Abstract: | Correspondence, notes, articles, news clippings, publications, and related materials pertaining to the career of Holvik, a professor of Norse at St. Olaf College, Northfield (Minn.), and at Concordia College, Moorhead (Minn.). The primary areas of documentation are Norwegian-American culture, organizations, publications, and scholarship, and the controversy over the authenticity of the Kensington Rune Stone in Alexandria, Douglas County (Minn.), in which Holvik served as a language consultant for the Minnesota Historical Society. | |
| Quantity: | 3.0 cubic feet (3 boxes, including 3 volumes; 6 oversize items in 1 partial box) and 1 microfilm reel. | |
| Location: | See Detailed Description for shelf locations. |
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Johan Holvik, a professor of Norse and music at Concordia College in Moorhead, was
exceedingly active in Norse-American societies. He was a perennial supporter of such
organizations as the Leif Erikson Monument Association, the Society for the
Advancement of Scandinavian Study, and the Norwegian-American Historical
Association. In the early 1920s he was also a branch manager of Lutheran
Brotherhood, secretary of Bygdelagenes Faellesraad, secretary of the Norse-American
Centennial of 1925, and treasurer for the group publishing For
Faedrearven. Holvik's interest in the Kensington Rune Stone controversy
dates as far back as 1909, when Professor Gisle Bothne of the University of
Minnesota's Scandinavian department invited Holvik to take his place as language
consultant for the Minnesota Historical Society during its investigation of the
Kensington Rune Stone. Once aroused, that interest continued until his death in
1960, and after 1925, the year in which he first challenged Hjalmar Rued Holand's
claims for the stone, Holvik steadily emerged as Minnesota's most impressive critic
of the stone's authenticity.
Holvik's background was thoroughly Norwegian-American. He was born May 19, 1880 to Peder Ellingsen and Eli Johnsdatter (Skreppe) Holvik in Lake County, [South] Dakota Territory. He graduated from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. After two periods of graduate study in Norway during the years 1908-1912 and after taking a master's degree at St. Olaf, he taught Norse language, literature, and history at Waldorf College, St. Olaf College, and Concordia College. At Concordia, where he taught for 29 years (from 1923 until his retirement in 1952) he was also a band director and instrumental teacher of marked success. He married Caroline Heltne in 1912. Together they raised three sons, Paul Arnljot, Alf Erling, and Karl Magnus. Holvik died in Clay County, Minnesota, November 25, 1960.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The papers mainly bear on two related themes of modern Minnesota history: the attempt of Scandinavian-Americans to preserve a consciousness of their common, old-country heritage and the issue of the Kensington Rune Stone's authenticity. The Holvik papers hold considerable interest for the historian who wishes to study the acculturation of Scandinavians immigrating to the United States, but their primary importance lies in their documentation of the Kensington Rune Stone controversy throughout several phases.
From 1898 until 1907, the stone was discovered and made known but was thought to be a modern carving by most of the qualified persons who examined it.
From 1907 until 1915, Hjalmar R. Holand visited the Ohman farm, acquired possession of the stone, wrote about it, exhibited it abroad, and reported favorably on its genuineness. During this phase the public seemed to have accepted the stone, and the Minnesota Historical Society investigated its history, although various scholars repeatedly rejected it.
From 1915 until approximately 1947-1948, Holand and others won general popular support for the stone, although it continued to be a controversial topic. Near the end of this period several persons of eminence in the academic world, such as William Thalbitzer and Johannes Brøndsted, expressed their belief in the stone, and it was displayed in the Smithsonian Institution.
From 1948 until 1958, there was a decade of violent debate on the question, especially in Minnesota, when a seventeen-ton replica of the stone was dedicated as a memorial at Alexandria, Minnesota, and when Erik Wahlgren published The Kensington Stone, A Mystery Solved (University of Wisconsin Press, 1958), which cogently summarized the findings of the stone's critics but which had not won a sufficiently strong following to suggest that the question was closed. During this period many new problematical aspects of the Kensington issue were studied for the first time, mostly by Holvik, who made several important discoveries. There was also much interest in the alleged "mooring stones" on the shores of Minnesota lakes, and some excavation for Viking artifacts was attempted.
All of these phases of the rune stone debate are documented by the Holvik collection, although the 1948-1958 phase is most prominent. The papers thus form a good general history of the Kensington discussion and they naturally reflect Holvik's belief that the stone bears a modern inscription.
The papers also show Holvik's original contributions to the discussion of the Kensington Rune Stone. The collection preserves much correspondence between Holvik and prominent scholars, such as Erik Moltke, A. W. Brøgger, Sven B. Jansson, and Karl M. Nielsen, with whom Holvik generously shared the findings that he gathered over many years. He worked closely with Erik Wahlgren, and his papers show his large contribution to the data appearing in Wahlgren's book. The important series of articles on the Kensington Rune Stone by George Rice, which appeared in the Minneapolis Star newspaper during April 1955, also owe much to Holvik's research. Holvik himself wrote many short articles on the rune stone question but these mostly reached only the local audiences of Minnesota newspapers, one of them, which apparently carried the first announcements of several important discoveries by Holvik, being the Concordia College paper. That he intended writing a long article summarizing his part in the Kensington controversy is clear, but he seems never to have finished the project. In view of the widely dispersed evidence of Holvik's original research and the lack of any complete description of it in his own hand, a list of his original contributions to the Kensington discussion follows:
1. A discovery and analysis of three books owned by Olof Ohman containing information on runic writing, an account of the alleged Paul Knutson expedition of 1355, and news clippings on Eastern religious thought in which the mystical word "Aum" is found. (Holand had first seen the books in 1907 but had not considered them important.)
2. A discovery and analysis of the J. P. Hedberg letter and sketch, which revealed seventeen deviations from the Kensington inscription although Hedberg had represented it to be a copy of the inscription.
3. A discovery and analysis of other variant versions of the Kensington inscription.
4. Analyses of the circumstances of the finding of the stone, including certain claims made in the Holand affidavits, such as the location of the stone site "500 feet west of [Nils Flaten's] house."
5. Analyses of various documents that were a part of the Minnesota Historical Society's investigation.
6. Competent and useful linguistic analyses of the Kensington inscription serving various purposes, although they lacked the final authoritativeness of those scholars with more specialized training (for Holvik was not a runologist), including the possible multiple interpretations of the letters "AVM".
7. A collection of testimony related to the people involved in the Kensington question, such as the statements of Dr. S. C. Shipstead and H. Hendrickson about Olof Ohman.
8. Occasional investigations of the "mooring stones," including the obtaining of Willie J. Anderson's affidavit.
9. Miscellaneous criticisms over many years of irresponsible and inaccurate statements made by both defenders and critics of the stone.
10. Courageous and faithful service as a gadfly in the cause of persuading individual scholars and the general public -- especially in Minnesota, where the issue was most sensitively felt -- to judge the stone on objective, scientific grounds rather than on those of a faith arising from a desire to glorify the Scandinavian heritage.
ARRANGEMENT
These documents are organized into the following sections:
| General Correspondence | ||
| Kensington Stone Correspondence | ||
| Subject Files | ||
| Oversize Materials | ||
| Microfilm | ||
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Johan Andreas Holvik Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.
Microfilm Production:
Microfilm. St. Paul, Minnesota : Minnesota Historical Society, 1950.
Microfilm available for sale or interlibrary loan from the Minnesota Historical Society.
Location of Originals:
Originals of the microfilmed manuscripts were loaned for copying by Mrs. Ole Rolvaag, Northfield, Minnesota.
Accession Information:
Accession numbers: 9010; 9023; 9559; 17,418
Processing Information:
Processed by Minnesota Historical Society staff members. Addition by David B. Peterson, March 2022.
Portrait of Holvik used as an illustrative image in this finding aid is taken from the Minnesota Historical Society Sound and Visual collections.
Catalog ID number: 990017300620104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 131.A.4.3B | 1 | General correspondence, 1910-1957. 13 folders. | |||||||||||
| 1910-1925: Early correspondence is thin until 1922. A few letters discuss Holvik's two Norse textbooks published during the period 1910-1921, his membership in such organizations as the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study, and a proposed plan for Norwegian-American students to exchange letters with students in Norway. Beginning in 1922, the Norse-American Centennial is the main topic. The celebration was planned for June 1925, its purpose being to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of Norwegian immigration to the United States. The correspondence discusses the centennial's organization, incorporation, appeal for funds, publicity, problems, and meetings of its officers. Most of the letters pass among Gisle Bothne (president), N. T. Moen (1st vice president), S. H. Holstad (managing director), and J. A. Holvik (secretary). After the celebration is over, the organization continues to function in order to perform certain historical tasks it regards as duties. The most important of these is the editing and circulation of a film of the centennial, a work undertaken by Holvik. There is a great deal of discussion of this film. As though it were a family affair, mid-western Norwegian-Americans criticize it and offer suggestions for its improvement until it is finally ready. Minor centennial topics are a slight controversy over the disposal of the model of the Restaurationen, the collection of speeches by centennial dignitaries, the question whether the women should publish a book describing their contributions to the centennial, the awarding of medals to centennial visitors and to other persons selected to be honored, and the question of spending centennial profits. | |||||||||||||
| There are also many letters from this period pertaining to the affairs of the publication For Faedrearven, for which Holvik was treasurer, and to the business of the central council representing the lag organizations called Bygdelagenes Faellesraad, for which Holvik served as secretary. Others discuss such projects as the need for Norse museums and libraries and for the writing of Norse-American history. A great many of these papers are written in the Norwegian language. | |||||||||||||
| December 1925-1957: Includes similar themes from earlier correspondence. Supporting members of For Faedrearven send in their financial pledges with comments on their organization's work. The Daughters of Norway Centennial Committee forwards a resolution suggesting that centennial profits be used in part for the erection of a memorial to Norse-Americans of the Northwest (December 21, 1925). Prints of the centennial film, now completed, are circulated throughout the Midwest with varying success. One print is sent to Norway. There are reports from the lag members of Bygdelagenes Faellesraad which mention meetings and the organization of new lags. Some letters from late 1926 show that Norse-Minnesotans were in touch with the League of Norsemen in Canada and with various Canadian lags. The organization of "The Sloopers" is referred to. A letter of March 27, 1926, discusses the exhibition of the Baldishol Tapestry and its suggested donation to Mrs. Calvin Coolidge. At about the same time a letter from Judge A. Grindeland urges a Knute Nelson memorial with great patriotic feeling. | |||||||||||||
| 1927-1957: Topics include Gunnar Knudsen's concert tour in the United States, the meetings and publications of the Norwegian American Historical Association, the Norse grammars of J. A. Holvik, the life and work of Olaf Morgan Norlie, and numerous events at Concordia College, especially Holvik's band concerts. There is also much official correspondence from Normanns-Forbundet in Norway and some interchange of musical ideas between Holvik and his Norwegian friends of the old country. A few isolated items document the introduction of Mexican nationals as laborers in western Minnesota and the Dakotas. | |||||||||||||
| Correspondents include: George T. Flom, H. Bjornson, Theodore C. Blegen, R. A. Nestos, A. M. Sundheim, D. G. Ristad, O. M. Norlie, Carl D. Kolset, E. G. Quamme, T. J. Severtson, C. B. Helgen, E. R. Hopperstad, J. G. Norby, Ole E. Rolvaag, Elisa Pauline Farseth, Johan G. Grau, O. J. Kvale, Knud Wefald, J. A. O. Preus, J. C. K. Preus, Arne Kildal, Bergljot Tillisch (dramatic soprano who performed at the centennial), Henrik Shipstead (December 31, 1925), Mrs. Gisle Bothne, Roy P. Johnson, S. H. Holstad, J. N. Brown, Karl M. Holvik, E. Klaveness, Inga B. Norstog, Theodore Jorgenson, and Clemens M. Granskou. | |||||||||||||
KENSINGTON STONE CORRESPONDENCE
| Kensington Stone correspondence, 1921-1960. 9 folders. | |||||||||||||
| 1921-1947: Scarcely any Kensington Rune Stone correspondence in Holvik's files antedates 1947. An undated letter attempts to supply Holvik information on Peter P. Iverslie, an early writer on the stone. A few letters from Hjalmar Rued Holand occur in 1921 and 1924 and one from O. E. Rolvaag on Holand (circa 1925) is filed. A linguistic analysis by Professor Samuel Kroesch is dated February 28, 1925. Then a long letter to Edgar Crane of the Minneapolis Star announces in October 1947 Holvik's discovery of the J. P. Hedberg letter and sketch at the Minnesota Historical Society. | |||||||||||||
| 1948: Prominent topics include the character of Sven Fogelblad, Edward Ohman's part in the Kensington Rune Stone's history, the Yarmouth Stone, Willie J. Anderson's affidavit concerning the alleged "mooring stones" of Lake Cormorant, the Fogelblad-Ohman scrapbook, Professor Konstantin Reichardt's lecture. | |||||||||||||
| Correspondents include Russell F. Barnes (Minnesota Historical Society librarian); Joseph Valaski, Theodore C. Blegen, H. Hendrickson, and various persons writing from many places who were interested in the Kensington Rune Stone. Periodically there occur news releases and drafts of short articles by Holvik in the 1948 file. A letter addressed to the Rev. Henry Retzek from the Leif Erikson Monument Association complains that the Kensington Rune Stone controversy is adversely affecting the Association's campaign for funds. | |||||||||||||
| 1949: Includes more Holvik news releases and short articles for newspaper publication; letters from Holvik seeking information about the stone and the people connected with its history; letters from numerous believers and nonbelievers in the stone, some vilifying Holvik for his criticism of the stone's authenticity and others encouraging him in his investigation; and letters between Holvik and scholars interested in the Kensington question. The most important topics discussed are an article by Johannes Brønsted, the interpretation of the letters "AVM" of the stone's inscription, the early fur trading routes from Hudson Bay to Lake Winnipeg, Olof Ohman's books, the attitude of the Smithsonian Institution toward the Kensington Rune Stone, biographical data on Sven Fogelblad, Minneapolis' Hindu religious cult, Holand's affidavits, the Elbow Lake Stone (which Holvik showed to be a forgery by Victor Setterlund), biographical data on Frans H. Widstrand (editor of the Swedish newspaper at Litchfield called Rothuggaren), the Paul Knutson expedition, mooring stones on Minnesota lakes, a mysterious telephone call received by Holvik, the attitudes of Alexandria citizens toward the stone, Dr. S. C. Shipstead's testimony concerning Olof Ohman, and Holvik's relations with Holand. There are several brief letters from H. Hendrickson, an aged citizen of the Kensington area. The most important of these is an undated item in which the writer declares that he heard Olof Ohman say in the summer of 1890 that "he would like to Figure out Something that Would Bother the Brains of the Learned." | |||||||||||||
| Correspondents for 1949 include Karl M. Holvik, Sven B. Jansson, A. W. Brøgger, Edgar Crane, Victor Setterlund, Ralph S. Thornton; Harold Dean Cater, Vilhelm Marstrand, Erik Moltke, Manda Ohman, Edward Ohman, and Theodore C. Blegen. | |||||||||||||
| 1950: Includes similar kinds of correspondence to those of 1949, such as letters from students of the stone and interested persons, correspondence between Holvik and Scandinavian scholars, news releases, and short articles by Holvik for the newspapers. The topical matter is also similar to that of the 1949 correspondence but the following are emphasized: the report on the stone by Sven B. Jansson, Holvik's theory that the stone was found twice, the rune from the Forsa church in Sweden, Holvik's 1938 visit to the Ohman farm, mooring stones and the Willie Anderson affidavit, Sven Fogelblad's grammar, Holand's variant versions of the inscription, the Hedberg runepaper, the Holand affidavits and Nils Flaten and Dr. Hoegh, Ohman's books, and the Newport Tower as evidence of pre-Columbian explorations by Norsemen. | |||||||||||||
| Correspondents for 1950 include Edward Ohman, John Frohlin, Vilhelm Marstrand, A. W. Brøgger, T. O. Rye, Professor Paul Knaplund, Einar Lund, Carl C. Jensen, Harold Dean Cater, Amandus Johnson, Erik Moltke. | |||||||||||||
| 1951: Prominent topics include the ownership of the stone and the question of its presentation to the Smithsonian; Bjorndal's criticism of Erik Wahlgren's review of Strandwold's book; Holand's affidavits and the site where the stone was found; Norse axes and the "Iroquois Time Stick"; the dedication of the Kensington Rune Stone memorial at Alexandria and statements made on that occasion; early newspaper sketches of the stone's inscription; Professor William Thalbitzer's opinion of the stone; the attitude of Scandinavian Studies toward the stone as a dead issue; and the Minnesota Historical Society's investigation of the stone during 1910-1911. | |||||||||||||
| Correspondents for 1951 include A. W. Brøgger, Erik Moltke, O. M. Hovde, Carl Søyland (editor of Nordisk Tidende), A. Wetmore (secretary of the Smithsonian Institution), Harry Andersen, George L. Peterson, Dr. S. C. Shipstead, Paul Knaplund, Richard Sonderegger, Professor Richard Beck (University of North Dakota), and Professor A. M. Sturvenant (editor of Scandinavian Studies). | |||||||||||||
| 1952: Includes many previously listed topics related to the Kensington Rune Stone. The correspondence between J. A. Holvik and Erik Wahlgren begins. The following are emphasized or newly introduced subjects: Olof Ohman's interest in "things of India"; the Minnesota Historical Society's investigation; Holand's attempt to sell the Kensington Rune Stone to the Minnesota Historical Society for $5,000; the Narum calendar sticks; Brøndsted's opinion of the stone; the significance of the presence of the word opdagelsefard in the stone's inscription; the return of Olof Ohman's books to his family; a lawsuit in Alexandria; and tragedy in the Ohman family (Manda's suicide by hanging in the spring of 1952, the alleged alcoholism of John Ohman, the death of Edward Ohman in 1950). The main correspondents besides Wahlgren are Richard Sonderegger, Richard Beck, Erik Moltke, Inga B. Norstog, Karl M. Nielsen, Amandus Johnson, and Arne Kildal. | |||||||||||||
| 1953-1955: Correspondence includes Holvik sending a great deal of information about the Kensington controversy to Erik Wahlgren, George Rice, and others. A letter from Wahlgren of September 27, 1953, is highly suggestive as to the rather bitterly partisan tone then characterizing the Kensington Rune Stone debate in Minnesota; one of February 8, 1954, from Wahlgren urges Holvik to organize his file of the stone, for he will not be able to present enough of the necessary materials in his book. There is further discussion of the Hedberg runepaper and the possibility of variant drafts of it; of the meaning of Hedberg's membership in Masonic societies: of Widstrand, Fogelblad, and Ohman as a "trinity"; of manuscripts acquired by the Minnesota Historical Society during its study of the stone; of Dr. Shipstead's testimony on Olof Ohman's belief in theosophy; of the Kensington Rune Stone's inscription as the first Christian (Catholic) prayer in America; and of Wahlgren's fight with Time magazine (February 1954), which misquoted him as saying that Olof Ohman carved the stone. There is further allusion to tragedy in the Ohman family, and Holvik 's letter of August 12, 1954, describes the story of Moses Fredenberg's granddaughter that two Swedish-Americans bought chisels from her grandfather with an intention of carving a runestone. The most important correspondents besides Wahlgren are Erik Moltke, Amandus Johnson, Frederick J. Pohl, and A. M. Sturvenant. | |||||||||||||
| 1956-1960: Correspondence deals mainly with the publication of Erik Wahlgren's book by the University of Wisconsin Press, which appeared in the spring of 1958. In commenting on the volume's appearance, Ronald O. Burnett wrote to Holvik on May 27 that "many things had to be left unsaid" temporarily and that he was convinced that Kensington Rune Stone would receive further discussion. The letters of this period also comment on various writings published by Hjalmar R. Holand, especially on his book Early Explorations in America before Columbus, which was advertised by the Alexandria Kiwanis Club. Another article, by Professor Einar Haugen -- negative to the authenticity of the Kensington Rune Stone -- also receives considerable discussion. A letter of June 7, 1957, from Erik Wahlgren comments on the Rice articles. Other topics mentioned: the Pelican Lake stones; Walter D. Bird's Viking story; Olof Ohman's search for the perfect number; halberds; the claims of S. A. Jordahl that Professor Breda told University of Minnesota students about the Kensington Rune Stone in the spring of 1898 (the finding date of the stone has always been given as either August or November, 1898); and Holand's request for a photostat of the "Siverts" (Hedberg) sketch of the stone's inscription (August 29, 1956). A few letters from R. H. Landon, treasurer of the Science Museum of St. Paul, describe how Dr. R. B. Harvey made three plaster casts of the Kensington Rune Stone in 1937 (approximate date). | |||||||||||||
| Some other correspondents during the years 1956-1960 include Erik Moltke, Lloyd A. Wilford, Hjalmar R. Holand, Lucile Kane, F. Sanford Cutler, Dr. E. J. Tanquist, S. A. Jordahl, Erling Grønland. | |||||||||||||
SUBJECT FILES
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 131.A.4.4F | 2 | Miscellaneous Norse-Americana, undated. | |||||||||||
| Includes a centennial greeting to emigrants from Sunnmør and "other Norwegian men and women" (1925); judges' reports on the Sigvald Qvale Memorial Contest; poem by Olaf Østensen, "To the Sons and Daughters of Norway in America" (on the back, poem, "Greetings to those 'Out There' from One Who Sits at Home"); a draft of a lecture on Norges Daemring by Welhaven; a draft of a talk to students on Norway's independence day (circa 1914) a draft of an article on Norwegian-Americans with a disguised title ("Spikkersuppe"); an essay in two parts by J. A. Holvik on "work for Norwegianism" in the United States; a reminiscent account, "An Evening with Peer Strømme," probably by J. A. Holvik (1911); an inaugural address by J. N. Brown, president of Concordia College (probably translated into Norwegian by J. A. Holvik); an autobiographical poem with religious and philosophical notes. | |||||||||||||
| The Norse American Centennial, St. Paul, undated, 1924-1925. | |||||||||||||
| Includes loans by bygdelags to the centennial, centennial stock certificates, minutes of meetings, centennial financial reports, papers pertaining to the affairs of Bygdelagenes Fällesraad, Inc. and For Faedrearven. | |||||||||||||
| Lists of subscribers and other records, For Faedrearven, 1920-1926. | |||||||||||||
| Articles copied from the Fogelblad-Ohman scrapbook and short articles by J. A. Holvik, undated, 1945-1955. | |||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous Kensington Stone notes by J. A. Holvik, undated, 1950-1956. | |||||||||||||
| Drafts of articles by J. A. Holvik regarding the Kensington Stone, undated. 4 folders. | |||||||||||||
| Items from the Fogelblad-Ohman scrapbook and in Ohman's Sveriges Historia by Oskar Montelius. | |||||||||||||
| Photostats and negatives of pages from Olof Ohman's books. | |||||||||||||
| Photographs and photostats of materials relating to the Kensington Stone Controversy. | |||||||||||||
| Includes the Hedberg letter; variant versions of the Kensington inscription; pages from Sven Fogelblad's Svensk Språklara by C. J. L. Almquist; the Kensington Stone site; the Lake Cormorant area; the Yarmouth Stone; the Elbow Lake Stone (proved to be a forgery by Victor Setterlund: August 1949 news clipping); and other miscellaneous materials. | |||||||||||||
| A record of the organization and incorporation of Norse-American Centennial, Inc., 1924. | |||||||||||||
| Volume 1. Audit report, Norse-American Centennial, 1925. | |||||||||||||
| Volumes 2-3. Subscription books for skog-plantning in Nordfjord, Norway, 1929. | |||||||||||||
| A reforestation project in Nordfjordlaget, sponsored by the Nordfjordlaget of America (an organization, or lag of American immigrants from Nordfjord). | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 131.A.4.5B | 3 | Kensington Stone notes by J. A. Holvik from dated materials, 1867-1956. | |||||||||||
| Kensington Stone documents copied for J. A. Holvik, undated, 1888-1948. | |||||||||||||
| News clippings, undated, 1923-1960. 4 folders. | |||||||||||||
| Published documents, 1909-1955. 2 folders. | |||||||||||||
| Mostly relating to the Kensington Stone controversy. | |||||||||||||
| Kensington Rune Stone binder of background materials: | |||||||||||||
| Dismantled binder apparently kept by Holvik as a ready reference manual on rune stone issues. Contains some original material. | |||||||||||||
| Correspondence and clippings (pages 1-162), 1899, 1902, 1945-1957. 3 folders. | |||||||||||||
| Letters (unpaginated), 1948-1951. | |||||||||||||
| J.A. Holvik rune stone correspondence and miscellaneous papers, 1909, 1949-1954. | |||||||||||||
| Contains typescript and original materials; correspondence with the Minnesota Historical Society, press officials, and R.S. Thornton (Moorhead, Minnesota). | |||||||||||||
| Nordmanns Forbundet correspondence, 1930, 1941-1951. | |||||||||||||
| Principally received by Mollie Martinson (Moorhead, Minnesota) as an officer and includes information about closure of Norwegian operations during World War II; includes Holvik's membership card (1951). | |||||||||||||
| Karl M. Holvik correspondence with and about Robert A. Hall, Jr., 1983. | |||||||||||||
| Newspaper clippings, undated, 1924-1957, 1971, 1977. 7 folders. | |||||||||||||
| Many clippings are in Norwegian. | |||||||||||||
| [0.3 cubic feet empty, letter-size] | |||||||||||||
OVERSIZE MATERIALS
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 105.F.4.2 | 4 | Handbill, 1925-1926. | |||||||||||
| Advertising the Norse-American Centennial film. The film was produced by Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota. | |||||||||||||
| Panoramic air view of the Ohman-Flaten farms where the Kensington Stone was found, undated. 1 photograph: black and white. | |||||||||||||
| Air view of the Kensington Stone site, undated. 1 photograph: black and white. | |||||||||||||
| For Faedrearven, March 9, 1922. 1 page. | |||||||||||||
| For Faedrearven, May 18, 1922. 1 page. | |||||||||||||
| For Faedrearven, June 1, 1922. 1 page. | |||||||||||||
MICROFILM
| Reel | |||||||||||||
| M697 | 1 | Scrapbook. | |||||||||||
| Owned by Sven Fogelblad, an itinerant schoolmaster of the Kensington country and former Swedish clergyman who has been linked with the history of the Kensington Stone, and Olof Ohman, the Swedish-American farmer who found the stone. | |||||||||||||
| Sveriges Historia pages. | |||||||||||||
| From Ohman's home-bound copy. Written by Oskar Montelius, it was published in newspaper installments by Svenska Amerikanska Posten during 1897-1898. | |||||||||||||
| Den Kunskaprike Skolmästaren pages. | |||||||||||||
| From Ohman's copy. Written by Carl Rosander. | |||||||||||||
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:
- Kensington Rune Stone.
- Norwegian Americans -- Newspapers.
- Norwegians -- Minnesota.
- Norwegians -- United States.
- Scandinavians -- Minnesota.
- Scandinavians -- United States.
- Swedes -- Minnesota.
- Swedes -- United States.
- Persons:
- Beck, Richard, 1897-1980, author.
- Björnson, Val, 1906-1987, author.
- Blegen, Theodore Christian, 1891-1969, author.
- Bothne, Gisle, 1860-1934, author.
- Brøgger, A. W. (Anton Wilhelm), 1884-1951, author.
- Brøndsted, Johannes, 1890-1965, author.
- Brown, J. N., author.
- Burnett, Ronald O., author.
- Flaten, Nils, 1867-1947.
- Fogelblad, Sven, 1829-1897.
- Granskou, Clemens, 1895-1977, author.
- Hedberg, J. P.
- Holand, Hjalmar Rued, 1872-1963, author.
- Holstad, S. H., author.
- Iverslie, P. P. (Peter P.), 1844-1921.
- Jansson, Sven B. F. (Sven Birger Fredrik), 1906-1987, author.
- Knaplund, Paul, 1885-1964, author.
- Moen, N. T., author.
- Moltke, Erik, 1901- , author.
- Nielsen, Karl M., 1907- , author.
- Norlie, Olaf Morgan, 1876-1962, author.
- Ohman, Edward, 1888-1950, author.
- Ohman, Olof, -1935.
- Preus, J. A. O., author. (Jacob Aall Ottesen), 1883-1961.
- Preus, J. C. K. (Johan Carl Keyser), 1881-1983, author.
- Quamme, Edward G., 1879-1941, author.
- Rølvaag, O. E. (Ole Edvart), 1876-1931, author.
- Søyland, Carl, 1894-1978, author.
- Shipstead, Henrik, 1881-1960, author.
- Shipstead, S. C., author.
- Strømme, Peer O. (Peer Olsen), 1856-1921.
- Sturvenant, A. M., author.
- Sundheim, A. M. (Anders M.), 1861-1945, author.
- Thornton, R. S. (Ralph Seth), 1892- , author.
- Tillisch, Bergljot, author.
- Wahlgren, Erik, 1911- , author.
- Wefald, Knud, 1869-1936, author.
- Widstrand, Frans Herman, 1824-1891.
- Organizations:
- Concordia College (Moorhead, Minn.)
- Minnesota Leif Erikson Monument Association.
- Norwegian-American Historical Association.
- St. Olaf College.
- Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study (U.S.)
- Meetings:
- Norse-American Centennial (1925 : Saint Paul, Minn.)
- Places:
- Alexandria (Minn.)
- Document Types:
- Letterheads.
- Microforms.
- Photographs.
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