Salomon Ilmonen papers

Collection — Box: 1

Identifier: IHRC1003

Staff Only

Abstract

Papers of Salomon Ilmonen consist of personal letters from Ilmonen's brother in Finland, from his cousin, Elina Penttinen, and miscellaneous letters; correspondence directed to or from Mrs. Emma Ilmonen, wife of S. Ilmonen; Ilmonen's correspondence with Finnish American congregations and on temperance work among American Finns; correspondence relating to Ilmonen's book sales; letters from Finnish American author, Martha Strom (Hilevi Koski); and letters by prominent Finnish Americans who assumed leadership in organizing the Delaware Tercentennary Celebration of 1938 (Ilmonen was largely left out). In addition, articles pertaining to the Delaware Tercentennary of 1938, documents relating to Finnish American Historical Society, obituaries about S. Ilmonen, Ilmonen's statistics of Finnish-born people in the U.S. c. 1925, and Ilmonen's academic certificates.

Dates

1900-1940

Language of Materials

Finnish

ACCESS RESTRICTIONS

Open for use in the Elmer L. Andersen Library reading room.

OWNERSHIP & LITERARY RIGHTS

This collection may be protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials. Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law.

For further information regarding the copyright, please contact the IHRCA.

HISTORICAL SKETCH

Reverend and historian Salomon Ilmonen was born in Ilmajoki, Finland in 1871 and died in Fort Bragg, California in 1940. In 1891, he moved to the United States, where he enrolled in the Suomi Opisto (Suomi College) in Hancock, Michigan in the fall of 1897, graduating in 1904. He later completed the theological seminary of Suomi College in 1906. Deciding to work as a Lutheran priest of the Suomi Synod, Ilmonen served in various locations around the continent: in the states of New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and California, where he moved in 1927. He stayed in California for the rest of his life. He also served three years as the treasurer of the Suomi Opisto. In addition, he compiled books on Finnish-Americans, starting from the Delaware colony of the 1630s to nearly his own times in the inter-war years. Ilmonen also founded the Finnish American Historical Society c. 1920 and was active in the temperance movement. He married Emma A. Dickinson in Lake Norden, SD, in 1922, and they had one daughter, Adeline.

Extent

5 linear inches

Additional Description

PROVENANCE

Collection acquired from Ms. Adeline Ilmonen-Medeares of Chico, California in 1994. It was described by Johanna Leinonen in 2005.

Subjects

Finnish Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Finnish American Historical Society Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Religious life Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Suomi Synod Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Temperance societies Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings