ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202

SAMUEL TORGERSON PAPERS

COLLECTION: OGL #12

DATES: 1895-1952

SIZE: 2.25 linear feet

INTRODUCTION

ACQUISITION: The Samuel Torgerson Papers were deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection in 1952 by Mrs. George Richards, Grand Forks, North Dakota. The acquisition records are unavailable.

ACCESS: Available for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Samuel Torgerson was born June 18, 1856 in Waupaca County, Wisconsin, son of Torger and Martha (Hermanson) Torgerson. He attended public schools in Waupaca County, and graduated from the Normal School of Oskosh in 1880. He also attended the University of Wisconsin- Madison for two years. In 1882 he moved to Moorhead, Minnesota, to teach and then became superintendent of schools for Clay County. He also studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1890.

Torgerson left Moorhead in 1893, and moved to Mayville, North Dakota to pursue a long career in banking. He was the assistant cashier for the First National Bank of Mayville until he moved to Grand Forks in 1904. He was a founding member of the Scandinavian-American Bank, and served as cashier for fifteen years. When the bank received a National Charter and was re-named Northwestern National Bank, Torgerson continued to serve as cashier. He left the bank in 1933, and worked for the Federal Land Bank of St. Paul, as its Secretary-Treasurer of the National Farm Loan for Grand Forks County. He retired from this position a few years before his death. He also acted as President of Security State Bank of Upham, North Dakota, and Vice-President of the Mekinock State Bank of Mekinock, North Dakota.

In politics, Torgerson was a Democrat. He was active in the Congregational Church of Grand Forks, and served on its board of trustees. He belonged to multiple organizations in the community of Grand Forks, such as the Sons of Norway, the Grand Forks Public Library Board, the Franklin Club and the Fortnightly Club. Torgerson was also very active in the Masons, and was a member of the Acacia Lodge, the Jared Consistory and the Kem Temple. Torgerson served on committees during World War I, made patriotic speeches, and contributed to all war organizations.

He was married on August 3, 1887 in Ontario, Canada, to Janet E. Anderson. Together they had two children, William Robert and Marion Louise. Samuel Torgerson died on September 22, 1947, at the age of 91 years. His wife Janet, died on November 9, 1951.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The Samuel Torgerson collection consists primarily of the incoming personal correspondence of Torgerson, dating from 1895 to 1939. Letters from prominent North Dakotans include: J.F.T. O’Connor, Gerald P. Nye, Olger B. Burtness, John Moses, John Burke, and Asle J. Gronna. The correspondence documents Torgerson’s personal, business, religious, social and political interests. The correspondence dates from 1895 to 1939, and is arranged chronologically.

A subject index to the Samuel Torgerson correspondence was created and is arranged alphabetically. The list also includes names of people with whom Torgerson corresponded frequently, or who were prominent political figures. All of the correspondence with each of these groups is listed under the person's name. Significant subjects covered in these letters will also appear under the relevant subject headings. Under each subject heading are entries consisting of the date, a content note, and the box and folder location of the correspondence.

Besides the correspondence, a biographical sketch of Samuel Torgerson is included. The sketch was written in 1952 by Marion Richards, the daughter of Samuel Torgerson. Two folders of Torgerson’s speeches and writings are also included.

BOX AND FOLDER INVENTORY

Box 1
Folder

  1. Correspondence: 1895-1896
  2. Correspondence: 1897
  3. Correspondence: 1898
  4. Correspondence: 1899
  5. Correspondence: 1899-1900
  6. Correspondence: 1904-1911
  7. Correspondence: 1912
  8. Correspondence: 1913
  9. Correspondence: 1914
  10. Correspondence: 1915
  11. Correspondence: 19116
  12. Correspondence: 1917
  13. Correspondence: 1918-1919
  14. Correspondence: 1920-1922
  15. Correspondence: 1923-1924
  16. Correspondence: 1925-1927
  17. Correspondence: 1928
  18. Correspondence: January - July 1929
  19. Correspondence: August - September 1929
  20. Correspondence: October - November 1929
  21. Correspondence: December 1929
  22. Correspondence: January 1930
  23. Correspondence: February 1930
  24. Correspondence: March 1930
  25. Correspondence: April 1930
  26. Correspondence: May - June 1930
  27. Correspondence: July - August 1930
  28. Correspondence: September - October 1930
  29. Correspondence: November 1930
  30. Correspondence: December 1930

Box 2
Folder

  1. Correspondence: January - February 1931
  2. Correspondence: March - April 1931
  3. Correspondence: May - June 1931
  4. Correspondence: July - August 1931
  5. Correspondence: September - October 1931
  6. Correspondence: November - December 1931
  7. Correspondence: 1932-1933
  8. Correspondence: January - April 1934
  9. Correspondence: May - December 1934

Box 3
Folder

  1. Correspondence: 1935
  2. Correspondence: 1936
  3. Correspondence: 1937-1939
  4. Biography of Samuel Torgerson: 1952

Speeches and Writing

  1. 1. "The Banker's Relation to the Community", 7 pages.
    2. "The Brown Man's Burden", poem, 1 page.
    3. "Has Wilson Made Good?", 8 pages.
    4. "The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson", 16 pages.
    5. 7 page speech on trusts and the Republican party.
    6. "Modernism", 13 page.
    7. "The Attitude of the Church to Labor", 20 pages.
  2. 1. "Thrift", 10 pages.
    2. "What Is a Good Sermon?", 9 pages.
    3. "The Dangers of Present Commercialism", 15 pages.
    4. "Norway's Struggle for Freedom", Quarterly Journal of the University of North Dakota, January, 1918.
    5. "The Progress of Peace", 26 pages.
    6. "The Spirit of the Time", 11 pages.

Subject index to the Samuel Torgerson correspondence

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