Overview of the Collection
Access
Administrative Information
Biographical Note
Scope and Content
Arrangement
Indexing: Subjects
Indexing Terms
Overview of the Collection
Title: Farmers & Merchants Bank
Correspondence
Dates (inclusive): 1907-1942
Collection Number: mssFarmers & Merchants Bank
Creator:
Farmers & Merchants Bank (Sheyenne, N.D.)
Extent: 656 items in 5 boxes
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: This collection
consists entirely of the incoming correspondence to Farmers & Merchants Bank of Sheyenne, North Dakota, between 1907 and 1942.
The correspondence reveals the thoughts and feelings of the Swedish immigrant farmers the bank served throughout the northern
Plains
Subjects in the collection include: Agriculture of the Great Plains; Indians in North Dakota; 20th century agricultural history;
divorce; real property; rental housing management; Swedish-Americans; World War I; and World War II.
Language: English, with several letters in Swedish.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to
quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such
activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is
one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. Farmers & Merchants Bank Correspondence, The
Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Provenance
Purchased from Carmen D. Valentino Rare Books and Manuscripts, November 2004.
Biographical Note
The Farmers & Merchants Bank of Sheyenne, North Dakota. was established on January 1,
1906. Although the bank worked primarily to secure loans, mortgages, seed purchases,
and land for their largely agrarian, Swedish American clientele - many of whom had
long since moved on from North Dakota - they also helped manage their customers'
rental properties and other investments in Sheyenne. The bank received Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance during the Great Depression, on January 1,
1934. After nearly a century in business, the bank closed its doors permanently on
October 26, 1990.
Scope and Content
The collection consists entirely of the incoming
correspondence to Farmers & Merchants Bank of Sheyenne, North Dakota. between 1907 and
1942. It is arranged alphabetically by author then by recipient. Prominent among the
addressees are bank employees Henry Grinde, Joseph E. Johnson, John F. Swenson,
Emil. B. Norin, and Alfred Garnaas. Though largely prosaic in their content, the
correspondence reveals the thoughts and feelings of the Swedish immigrant farmers
the bank served throughout the northern Plains, with correspondence from all over
the United States and some from as far away as Sweden and Norway. The letters
highlight salient historical events such as political turmoil in Europe during World
War I, comparisons of agricultural conditions in the United States and Sweden, and
the individual financial crises brought on by the Great Depression.
Subjects in the
collection include: Agriculture of the Great Plains; Indians in North Dakota; 20th
century agricultural history; divorce; real property; rental housing management;
Swedish-Americans; World War I; and World War II.
Arrangement
Correspondence arranged alphabetically. There are three miscellaneous documents at the end of the collection.
Indexing: Subjects
Agriculture--Great Plains
- Subject in Carl Andersen letters (1907-1928) to Henry Grinde. 19 items. Box 1 (9).
- Subject in Wade Brown letters (1909-1910) to Joseph E. Johnson. 5 items. Box 1 (47).
- Subject in Amanda Dyer letters (1933-1935) to Emil Norin. 4 items. Box 2 (32).
- Subject in J.F. Egan letters (1923-1925) to Henry Grinde. 3 items. Box 2 (34).
- Subject in Elizabeth Hagan letters (1926) to “Gentlemen.” 4 items. Box 3 (1).
- Subject in George Haggerty letters (1924-1925) to Henry Grinde. 5 items. Box 3 (2)
- Subject in Severin M. Hendrickson letters (1918-1926) to Henry Grinde. 7 items. Box 3 (19).
- Subject in Ed McKelvey letters (1926-1929) to Henry Grinde. 13 items. Box 4 (15).
- Subject in Carey Walters letters (1914-1917) to John F. Swenson. 17 items. Box 5 (60).
Agriculture--United States--History--20th century
- Subject in Carl Andersen letters (1907-1928) to Henry Grinde. 19 items. Box 1 (9).
- Subject in Amanda Dyer letters (1933-1935) to Emil Norin. 4 items. Box 2 (32).
- Subject in J.F.Egan letters (1923-1925) to Henry Grinde. 3 items. Box 2 (34).
- Subject in Elizabeth Hagan letters (1926) to “Gentlemen.” 4 items. Box 3 (1).
Divorce
- Subject in Abbie McCue letters (1924-1926) to Henry Grinde. 16 items. Box 4 (9).
Indians of North America--North Dakota--History
- Subject in Carey Walters letters (1914-1917) to John F. Swenson. 17 items. Box 5 (60).
Real property
- Subject in C.W. Brolin letters (1926) to Henry Grinde. 2 items. Box 1 (44).
- Subject in Medora Cedarburg letters (1909-1910) to Joseph E. Johnson. 3 items. Box 2 (7).
- Subject in A.J. Clure letters (1909) to C.R. Wattles. 7 items. Box 2 (12).
- Subject in Elizabeth Hagan letters (1926) to “Gentlemen.” 4 items. Box 3 (1).
- Subject in George Haggerty letters (1924-1925) to Henry Grinde. 5 items. Box 3 (2)
- Subject in Abbie McCue letters ( (1924-1926) to Henry Grinde. 16 items. Box 4 (9).
- Subject in Ed McKelvey letters (1926-1929) to Henry Grinde. 13 items. Box 4 (15).
- Subject in L.B. Nottingham letters (1911-1912) to Joseph E. Johnson. 5 items. Box 4 (38).
- Subject in Mrs. M. Westad letters (1931-1935) to Emil Norin. 29 items. Box 5 (71).
Rental housing--United States--Management
- Subject in Elizabeth Hagan letters (1926) to “Gentlemen.” 4 items. Box 3 (1).
- Subject in W.O Landsverk letters (1914) to John F. Swenson. 3 items. Box 3(59).
- Subject in Mrs. M. Westad. letters (1931-1935) to Emil Norin. 29 items. Box 5 (71).
Swedish Americans
- Subject in Carl Andersen letters (1907-1928) to Henry Grinde. 19 items. Box 1 (9).
- Subject in Fritz Borjeson letters (1910-1912) to Joseph E. Johnson. 5 items. Box 1(40).
- Subject in Alfred Cedarlind letters (1910) to Joseph E. Johnson. 2 items. Box 2 (8).
World War, 1914-1918
- Subject in Carl Andersen letters (1907-1928) to Henry Grinde. 19 items. Box 1 (9).
World War, 1939-1945
- Subject in “Haskon” letters (1941-1942) to Alfred Garnaas. 3 items. Box 3 (13).
Indexing Terms
Subjects
Farmers & Merchants
Bank (Sheyenne, N.D.)
Agriculture -- Great Plains.
Agriculture -- United States -- History
-- 20th century.
Depressions -- 1929.
Divorce.
Indians of North America -- North
Dakota -- History -- Sources.
Real property -- North
Dakota.
Sheyenne
(N.D.)
United States --
History -- 20th century -- Sources.
Forms/Genres
Letters (correspondence) -- Norway -- 20th
century.
Letters (correspondence) -- Sweden --
20th century.
Letters (correspondence) -- United
States -- 20th century.
Additional Contributors
Grinde, Henry.