Swedish American Genealogist

Volume 32 | Number 2 Article 11

6-1-2012 Social networking aids the genealogist Jill Seaholm

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Recommended Citation Seaholm, Jill (2012) "Social networking aids the genealogist," Swedish American Genealogist: Vol. 32 : No. 2 , Article 11. Available at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonsag/vol32/iss2/11

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Augustana Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Swedish American Genealogist by an authorized editor of Augustana Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Social networking aids the genealogist!

BY JILL SEAHOLM

This is a story about how social Upsala closed in 1995. She must have son's daughters were in them, gradu- networking can aid in genealogy. thought it fitting to write to August- ating in the 1960s, but that was My experience is in Facebook. Sure, ana's president, since Lawson had where it stopped for the Lawsons. there are genealogical query web been an Upsala president. We also There was very little information sites, email lists, and even Facebook have a number of resources related about any specific alumni in our col- pages for Swedish genealogy where to Augustana Synod ministers. I lection, but we did have one Upsala one can post queries. However, wrote right back to Christina saying Alumni Directory, a book published sometimes we need to think outside that there was some hope after all. in 1980. Only one of the daughters the obvious. Lawson had been president 1938- was in the directory, but it gave me In the spring of 2012 at the Swen- 1965, but had died in 1965.1 started her married name and address, at son Center we received an email from with our Augustana Synod resources least as she was in 1980. Internet a woman in Sweden named Chris- and exhausted them right away. Our searches did not yield anything after tina F., who was looking for some lost records tend to stop before he died. I that. relatives in the U.S. She had met thought about consulting Augustana them when they visited Sweden in College's special collections, but they the 1950s, and wanted to reconnect. were closed and under construction, Facebook to the rescue! Specifically she was looking for the and had no access to their materials I am on Facebook and maintain our daughters of someone named Ewald until autumn of 2012. Swenson Center page, so I looked for Law son. Strangely, Christina had We do not have Upsala student or this Lawson daughter's account on sent her query directly to the presi- alumni records, but I looked at our Facebook, and found too many with dent of Augustana College, who sent plentiful online listings of Upsala the same names, but then I had an- it on to the Swenson Center's em- College archives, and found that other idea. I had started a Facebook ployee email group. I replied to Chris- Ewald Lawson's presidential papers page for former students of my Mo- tina with our usual answer, that we consisted of 64 archival boxes divided line, Illinois, elementary school, did not have access to records to look into over 1,000 folders. I selected a for people after 1930, and sent her to dozen or so fol- our Swedish-language web page that ders to check. Un- has suggestions for Swedes. fortunately, be- Within an hour, I heard from our cause 1965 was director, Dag Blanck, who asked "You Lawson's last know that Lawson was president of year as president Upsala College Alumni DM Upsala College, right?" Upsala was and in life, all of a Swedish-American college in East our information let Oppen ii-upp This group is open to anyone who attended or graduated from Upsala College of East Orange, New Jersey, until it closed by him and about Orange, HI, as well as former faculty and administrators, Upsala closed its doors in 1995 its doors and filed for bankruptcy in him stopped in after more than 100 years of educating students in northern NJ and beyond. This grouj VMS founded by Bill Cerynik, a member of (he final graduating class of May WS5, to 1995.1 did not know that Lawson was 1965. provide atymnt and faculty on Facebook with a way to keep in touch. an Upsala president, and was quite There was a relieved that our director had also family tree a- rako received the query email. Blanck mong his papers, Any people graduate in 1980 or 1981? added that Lawson may also have but it also stopp- Visa 5'./«rsSttning been a Lutheran minister ordained ed at 1965 with Q onscfag hi 23:15 via Blackberry in the Augustana Synod. Knowing the then un- fL Bui':- I »yvrck'n gilUr dstla. both of those things about him gave married daught- me some real hope of finding some- ers. We have an l« Visa .sib -i !< or;"i"A~ntarer thing in our records. Christina's entire set of Up- Elizabeth Haugen rw.,!:-;ner 1981 email did not mention Upsala Col- sala student year- '.. L; '•• : " ^ VKI5H lege, but perhaps she found out that books in our li- Mike Eze f.i,a,, €!w: ~A R: the Swenson Center had received brary, and Law- their administrative archives when The Facebook page for the Upsala College Alumni.

16 Swedish American Genealogist 2012:2 which closed and was razed in a article about. After I posted my query, citywide downsizing in the 1980s. It others followed suit and started was a beautiful, brick neighborhood asking whether anyone had heard school for which people felt great from so-and-so from the class of 1975 nostalgia; but maybe not for all of the or "Whatever happened to so-and-so teachers. This reminded me that from the Theta sorority?" there must be a Facebook page for I had been updating Christina alumni of Upsala College that would every week or so only with bad news have a similar nostalgic draw, since it seemed, but now felt I had to stop that school had also closed. stringing her along. I told her that I There was one and I joined it right had tried everything I was able to do away. First I looked at the names of for her, and gave her a few sugges- the members of the Upsala alumni tions that I did not think would pan Facebook group and determined that out. One suggestion I gave was to Lawson's daughters were not in it. sign up for a Facebook account and Most of the posts were things like search for Lawson's daughters' ac- Ewald B. Lawson ca 1950. SSIRC "What was your favorite meal in the counts, contact people with the right collection. cafeteria?" and "Who was your favor- names, and even join the Upsala ite professor?" I posted a query to see alumni Facebook group in case one LAWSON, EVALD BENJAMIN, ordained June 10, 1928, Des Moines, la. b. July 24, if anyone knew what happened to of the daughters would show up in 1904, Brockton, Mass., Benjamin Lawson & President Lawson's daughters. One the group later. Ellie P. (Johanson). Upsala Coll., B.A., 1925; Aug. Sem., B.D., 1928; Bibl. Sem., N.Y., Th.D. person responded right away that Over a month after giving Chris- White Plains, Pleasantville, N.Y., 1928-31; she had known one of the Lawson Pres. Upsala Coll., 1938-65. Litt D., Aug. tina my bad news, she wrote to me Coll., 1956, LLD, Wagner, 1965, Dickinson, daughters in college and that the saying that she had found one of 1959; R.V.O., 1943; K.N.O., 1963. m. Ruth Esther Marie Selander, Dec. 27, 1940, 2 chil- daughter had been active in their Lawson's daughters! (I must interject dren, d. Sept. 22, 1965. sorority alumni group. The woman to say how happy it makes me to hear said she would check her sorority when something I've done has re- Information from The Augustana Minis- alumni materials to see if there was sulted in a connection across the At- terium, by Conrad Bergendoff (1980). a current address for the Lawson lantic.) Christina had started a Face- daughter. This is where the story goes book account and written to a few downhill for a while; a few weeks people with the right names, and went by and the responder did not eventually heard back from her Law- follow through with her offer, and son cousin after almost 60 years. She these months later, she still has not. was ecstatic and so thankful for the So, this idea did not pan out, but it Facebook idea. definitely could have, and I thought Social networking can lead to all it important enough to write an types of connections with the past! Give it a try! Corporate and Personal Gift Assortments Web sites mentioned in this article: Augustana online listings of Upsala College: www.augustana.edu/xl4858.xml Special Edition Swenson Center Facebook Group: Bishop Hill Pottery (www.facebook.com/SwensonCenter [please like us!]) Upsala College Facebook Group: and other locally (www.facebook.com/groups/2355638947/) crafted products '

Jill Seaholm is the genealogist at the Swenson Center E-mail: [email protected]

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