Name/Title
Adolph Gunnar Mauritz Nilssen CollectionEntry/Object ID
2024.17.1Scope and Content
Collection of biographical materials, financial and legal documents, correspondence, writings, printed material, and photographic material relating to Adolph Gunnar Mauritz Nilssen, a Swedish man who immigrated to the U.S in 1922 and worked in the manufacturing and Great Lakes shipping industries.
Series I: Biographical material
Dates of Creation: 1918-1970 and Undated
Contains a birth certificate, marriage certificate, certificate of naturalized U.S. citizenship, Chicago voter identification cards, night school receipts, a Chicago resident fishing license, medical materials, immigration materials, employment materials, and Social Security/public aid materials.
Series II: Correspondence
Dates of Creation: 1919-1948 and Undated
Contains postcards written in Swedish and English, letters written in Swedish and English, and cards commemorating different individuals' religious confirmations.
Series III: Financial and legal material
Dates of Creation: 1923-1966 and Undated
Contains bank books, a finance-tracking notebook, currency exchange receipts, life and health insurance documents, a rent receipt, and a receipt for purchase of a used automobile.
Series IV: Writings
Dates of Creation: Undated
Contains a Swedish poem or song handwritten on brown paper.
Series V: Photographic material
Dates of Creation: 1929-1942 and Undated
Contains many photographs, some with captions identifying family members and people relative to the Nilssens/Marie Nilssen's children. Depicts family and community life in Chicago in the early 1900s, as well as some material depicting life in Sweden. Also contains unused postcards depicting various people and places.
Series VI: Printed material
Dates of Creation: 1912-1924 and Undated
Contains a pamphlet-style copy of the Constitution of the United States, a roadmap of the Western United States, an informational booklet for Swedes immigrating to America, and business cards.Context
This collection is classified as "found in collection", as the material was received in 1998 without a formal gift agreement and was not processed and accessioned until 2024. It was stored in a suitcase, a document box, and two smaller boxes with a note attached:
"Adolf Gunnar Mauritz Nilsson Objects, Not Assoc. Swede who immigrated, became homeless, when he passed away his (homeless) friends donated his belongings to SAMAC in 1998 (fall). Case unopened until Oct. 2001. A smaller display was done."
The following information on the life of Adolph Gunnar Mauritz Nilssen is drawn from online records and information pieced together from archival material.
Adolph Gunnar Mauritz Nilssen was born in the Föra parish of the Kalmar Province on September 22, 1902. As a young man in Sweden, he was conscripted into military service and worked as a sailor. In September 1922, he immigrated to the United States via the Swedish American Line on the ship the SS Drottingholm. It is possible he was brought over by a relative or someone with a connection to his home; he is vouched for by an Oscar Peterson in a July 1922 letter recommending him for immigration, and his home in Duluth, Minnesota is listed as Nilssen's future place of residence. Nilssen lived in Duluth for several years, at one point working for the Minnesota Steel Company.
Nilssen moved to Chicago sometime in the late 1920s. There is evidence that he found work at Chicago's Interstate Iron and Steel Company in the early 30s. On March 21 1932, he married Marie J. Anderson in Chester, Illinois; Anderson, an immigrant from Gotland, Sweden, was twice previously married and had two children from her first marriage. The photographs found in this collection show the blended family living together on the South Shore of Chicago in a large house with a garden and several dogs.
It seems as though Nilssen continued to live in the South Shore with his wife (and possibly his adult stepchildren) throughout the 1940s and early 1950s. He returned to his roots as a sailor during this time and worked in the U.S. Coast Guard and the Great Lakes shipping industry. Discharge documents from the Coast Guard list him working as a coal-passer, fireman, ordinary seaman, and wiper during various voyages around the Great Lakes. He was also a member of the U.S. Maritime Union.
According to online resources, his wife Marie passed away in 1952, and his step-daughter Lillian soon followed in 1959.
It is not clear how Nilssen became homeless; the few documents from his life post-1952 show him receiving public aid and unemployment benefits. The decline of the American Midwest as a manufacturing hub may have contributed to him not being able to find work. He also may have struggled with his health, as a postcard addressed to him mentions eye troubles, and a large number of eyeglasses were found in his suitcase.
Though Nilssen lacked biological family during the last years of his life, he doubtlessly had people who cared for him. The fact that the Museum received this collection shows that he was part of a community who, despite the difficulty of their circumstances, wanted their friend's memory to be preserved.Acquisition
Accession
2024.17Acquisition Method
Found in collectionLexicon
LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials
Immigration, City & town life, Social life, Family, Family members, Sailors, Manufacturing, Steel industry, Homeless persons, Public welfare, Correspondence, Photographic postcards, Family records, Pictorial, Dogs, Unemployment, Unemployed, Emigration & immigration, Letters, Postcards, Working class, Marriage certificates, Marriage, Shipping, Lake steamers, People associated with manual labor, Labor unionsSearch Terms
Sweden--Kalmar, Sweden--Föra, Minnesota--Duluth, Swedish American Line, Illinois--Chicago, Illinois--Chicago--South Chicago, Illinois--Chicago--South Shore, Great Lakes, United States. Coast GuardArchive Details
Creator
Adolph Gunnar Mauritz NilssenDate(s) of Creation
1912 - 1970Archive Size/Extent
6 foldersRestrictions
The collection is open to research with restrictions. The collection contains sensitive and personal information.Primary Language
Swedish, EnglishRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Lillian Griffin, Adolph Gunnar Mauritz Nilssen, Marie J Anderson, Oscar PetersonRelated Places
Place
Country
Sweden, United StatesRegion
Northern EuropeContinent
Europe, North AmericaCity
Kalmar, Chicago, DuluthState/Province
Småland, Illinois, MinnesotaCopyright
Copyright Details
The Swedish American Museum owns this collection. Certain works may be protected by copyright not governed by the Swedish American Museum.Reproductions
Notes
Reproduction of the Museum's archives for publication, commercial use, or distribution requires written permission.
