We Are America
EXHIBIT
DISCOVER THE SWEDISH-AMERICAN JOURNEY
We Are America takes visitors through the joys and hardships Swedes faced when immigrating to Chicago. The exhibit focuses on the late 1800s to early 1900s, when most Swedes traveled to America.
Throughout the exhibit, personal stories are highlighted to help tell this immigration story. You will meet Elin and Birgitta Hedman, a Swedish mother and daughter who stayed overnight at Ellis Island while waiting for Elin’s husband to pick them up. Thor Rydholm, a young Swedish-American from Lee Country, Illinois who served in the U.S. military during World War I, and Anna Elisabet Martinsson, a young woman who traveled to America by herself aboard the SS Stockholm in 1925. There are many more included, and each SwedishAmerican’s story illuminates how Swedes created community in a new land. Through the jobs Swedes worked, clubs they joined, holidays celebrated, and hardships shared, the Swedish American identity began to take shape and became one many proudly embrace today.
We worked with partners from the Chicago Cultural Alliance, to feature immigration stories submitted by the Japanese American Service Committee, Korean Cultural Center of Chicago, Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Dominican American Midwest Association, and the Chicago Japanese American Historical Society.
Discover the stories
Portrait of Dorothy Molander. 2022.3.1
Portrait of Dorothy Molander with other WAVES members. 2022.3.1
Patches all pertaining to Dorothy's time in WAVES. 2022.3.1
Portrait of Dorothy Molander. 2022.3.1
Dorothy Molander
Dorothy Irma Molander was born on February 17, 1914, in Marinette, Wisconsin, USA. She was Swedish-American, lived in Andersonville, Chicago, and worked at the Maybelline Company. In July 1943, she joined the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) to support the Second World War effort and was honorably discharged on November 6, 1945. Dorothy passed away in April 1988 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA. In 2022, her niece, Judith Bianchi, donated an archival collection of Dorothy’s time in the WAVES to the Museum. Displayed in the exhibit is a portrait of Dorothy.
The WAVES was a division of the United States Naval Reserve for women, established during WWII. It enabled women to join as enlisted personnel or officers. During the war, WAVES operated at 900 stations within the United States, with Hawaii being the only overseas assignment. Women were recruited through an advertising campaign emphasizing patriotism and the need for women to take over domestic duties to free men for overseas service. Approximately 100,000 WAVES served in various roles during WWII, including clerical work, healthcare, storekeeping, mechanics, control tower operations, and radio operations. In 1948, the WAVES became a permanent part of the navy, and in 1978, women's units were integrated with formerly all-male units.
Family portrait. 2019.43
Passport belonging to Anna Martinsson. 2019.43
Family portrait. 2019.43
Anna Martinsson and her family
Anna Louise Elisabet Martinsson, emigrated from Sweden in 1925, while her father, Ragnar Swanson, immigrated in 1914. Anna Elisabet Martinsson was born on November 9, 1899, in Hällaryd, Blekinge, Sweden, and lived in Blekinge before moving to the United States, where she worked as a maid (hembiträde). Ragnar Swanson, originally named Karl Gustaf Ragnar Svensson, was born on July 16, 1896, in Asarum parish, Blekinge. In the United States, he worked as an electrical worker and served in the military in 1918. In the exhibit you can find the passport that belonged to Anna Martinsson.
Portrait of Johannes Alfred Hultman. Västergötlands museum
The organ displayed in the exhibit belonged to J.A. Hultman. 1976/90:1
Portrait of Johannes Alfred Hultman. Västergötlands museum
Johannes Alfred Hultman
Swedish evangelist, singer, musician, composer, and publisher. In 1885, he co-founded the Evangelical Mission Covenant Church. Born in 1861 on a farm in Jönköping County, Småland, Sweden, his family immigrated to America in 1869, settling on a farm near Essex, Iowa.
As a young man, he studied for two years at the Chicago Athenaeum while leading a choir at what is now Douglass Park Covenant Church. He later served as pastor at Covenant churches in Nebraska and Massachusetts, always accompanied by his trademark portable organ.
The organ displayed in the exhibit was used by J.A. Hultman during his tours. It bears the inscription, "An Organ Used by J.A. Hultman. 'The Sunshine Singer on His Tours,'" while the organ itself is inscribed with "World Famous Folding Organ. Made by 'Bomorn Brower U.S.A.'"
Photograph of Simon Larson. 2023.10
English phrase book belonging to Emilia Larson. 2023.10
Vasa order of America membership paperwork. 2023.10
Photograph of Simon Larson. 2023.10
Emilia Larson
Emilia Larson, born in Sweden in 1871, immigrated to the United States in 1893. In 1898, she married Simon Larson, another Swedish immigrant. Their first and second sons were born in Chicago in 1898 and 1900, but in 1902, the family returned to Sweden, where their daughter Anna was born in 1903. They moved back to Chicago in 1905, and their final child, Harry, was born that same year. From 1906 to 1923, the family resided at 3245 Herndon Street, now known as 3245 N Lakewood Avenue. Simon Larson passed away in 1916 and was buried in Rosehill Cemetery. In 1923, Emilia purchased 1645 Olive Avenue and was considered the first woman homeowner in Andersonville by her family. She passed away in 1937 and was buried beside her husband. In the exhibit you can find Emilia’s English phrase book that she brought along when immigrating to the U.S., a Vasa Order of America certificate, and photo of her husband, Simon Larson.