$1,829.50 had been contributed by the churches. In 1865 the report
showed $3,000 in the treasury. The same year 160 acres of good
farmland had been purchased near Paxton for $3,520. The follow-
ing year the committee reported that the land was paid for and a
surplus of some $520 was found in the treasury.
Evidently there must have been a change of opinion as to the
locality. The leaders of the Synod wanted the home in the midst of
some large settlement with a cluster of Lutheran churches on all
sides. Accordingly the orphan home committee was instructed in
1867, at the meeting in Swedona, to secure a suitable farm either
in Andover or Swedona and to sell the Paxton farm. At the same
time it was decided to open the home without delay. Pursuant to
instructions, an acre lot was secured near Swedona and a house
erected. Three boys had been admitted to the home.
In 1870 a farm of 160 acres was purchased for $5,150 by Eev.
Jonas S'wensson, about two miles southwest of Andover. Thus the
home was permanently located. More land has been purchased ad-
joining the original property, so that the home now owns 440 acres
of fine land. The property has been pronounced one of the best
stock farms in Henry county. The plant is valued at $50,000; the
current expenses for last year were $5,105.16. The home can accom-
modate 75 orphans.
The following persons and families have served as superintendents
or stewards: Mr. and Mrs. S. P. Lindell 18671881; Mr. and Mrs.
J. S. Swensson 18811889; Mr. and Mrs. L. Hoogner 18891892;
JTS CHATITABLE INSTITUTIONS
143
Mr. and Mrs. Gustaf Johnson 18921894; Mr. and Mrs. A. E.
Monell 18941895; Mr. and Mrs. A. Lincoln 18951904; Rev.
and Mrs. N. Gibson 19041907; Eev. and Mrs. A. G. Ander 1907
1908; Deaconess Elisabeth Anderson 1908 .
The pastors of Andover, Eevs. Jonas Swensson, Erland Carlsson,
V. Setterdahl, and C. P. Edblom, have all taken a most active part
in the work and development of the home, so has also the church
at Andover. The' home has been a refuge for many waifs and a
blessing to the communit} 7 . From among the orphans we have both
pastors, professors and other men of influence and marked ability.
While the matron and all the children from the home were attend-
ing the children's Christmas festival in the church at Andover in
1908, a fire broke out in the home and burned it to the ground com-
pletely with all its contents. Only one boy was home, because of
indisposition. He could only report the disaster. The loss was great,
although partly covered by insurance. Plans of a new building have
been prepared and the Board authorized by the Illinois Conference
to rebuild on a larger scale.
Saviour, who Thy flock art feeding
With the Shepherd's kindest care,
All the feeble gently leading,
While the lambs Thy bosom share.
ORPHAN HOME AT AXDOVER, ILL.
144
THE AUGUSTANA SYNOD
The Orphan Home and Farm School at Manadahl, Kansas.
At the request of Rev. Drs. 0. Olsson and A. W. Dahlsten the
Union Pacific Ry. Company donated a piece of land in Fremont,
Kansas, for a future orphan home. This aroused the interest of the
people for charity work, and steps were taken at once to carry out
the plan.
Nothing definite, however, was done until in 1875, when a govern-
ing Board of five persons was elected to push matters. The Board
consisted of Revs. 0. Olsson, A. W. Dahlsten, Messrs. C. J. Brodine
of Salemshorg, John Rodell of Fremont, and J. A. Nilson of Linds-
horg. In 1878 the Board was instructed to ascertain where the home
could be located to the best advantage. After careful investigation,
the Board recommended Mariadahl, both because of the interest the
people had shown there and the opportunity of purchasing a suit-
able farm property for a very small price. This farm contained 280
acres of land, with suitable buildings, and was purchased for $5,100.
The home was dedicated and opened for reception of orphans in
ORPHAN HOME AT MARIADAHL, KANS.
JTS CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS 145
1880. It has accomodations for about thirty orphans. The total
number received since it opened is one hundred and twenty. The
value of the home is about $22,000, with no debt, and a current
annual expense of $3,500. The name is: "The Orphan Home and
Farm School of Mariadahl, Kansas".
The following persons have served as superintendents and matrons :
Mr. and Mrs. G. Haterius, Mr. and Mrs. B. Berg for 20 years, Mr.
and Mrs. A. G. Johnson for 4 years, and Mr. and Mrs. N. H. Young-
berg for 5 years.
The home is supported by the farm and Sunday-school and church
contributions. Eevs. Hakan Olson, C. J. E. Haterius and, in fact,
all the pastors of Mariadahl have spared neither time nor labor to
make the institution a real home for the orphans. What the father-
less and motherless need above all is love and paternal care.
The Orphan Home at Stanton, Iowa.
This home for orphans is situated one mile south of the village of
Stanton, where it owns and cultivates a farm of 240 acres of choice
land, and is encircled by the flourishing churches of Stanton, Fre-
mont, Red Oak, Bethesda, and Essex.
The first measures taken by the Iowa Conference towards estab-
lishing an orphan home date back to the year 1870, when at the
convention in Des Moines a committee was appointed to initiate the
movement. As soon as this committee had agreed upon the present
site, it at once opened negotiations with the Burlington and Missouri
Eiver Eailway for the purchase of 160 acres of land. After waiting
in vain for a donation in land from the railroad company, the land
was purchased in 1871 at $14 an acre, on ten years' time, at 6 per
cent, interest. To begin with the farm was rented to different parties,
but with little financial success. The proceeds did not even cover
the interest. Appeals were time and again made by Eev. B. M
Halland, the prime mover in this enterprise, as well as in the coloniza-
tion of southwestern Iowa, to the churches for aid, but with little
success. Each one seemed to have enough to care for himself in
those pioneer days. As the orphan home at Andover still belonged to
the whole Synod, and the financial conditions in those early colonies
were not the best, the contributions were small and far between.
Everybody hoped that the farm would pay for itself and leave a
146
THE AUGUST AN A SYNOD
surplus for buildings. This was not to be. In 1876 more active
measures were taken to open the home, and Eev. M. C. Eanseen was
appointed solicitor for the home. In 1879 the greater part of the
debt on the land was paid. In 1880 the Conference decided to build.
The building cost a little over $2,000, the furnishings of the same and
the necessary farming inplements, stock, and houses for the same
about $2,000 additional. Eighty acres of adjoining land were pur-
chased later, so that the home is now a valuable property, rated at
$31,000, with a current annual expense of about $5,000. It has
accommodations for fifty orphans, and is supported by the income from
the farm and the annual contributions from the Sunday-school child-
ren and the churches of the Iowa Conference.
The superintendents and matrons, changes occurring frequently,
have been Mr. and Mrs. P. Bingberg, Mr. and Mrs. Dahlstrom, Mr.
and Mrs. Frank Lindberg, Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Nimrod, Mr. and Mrs.
C. G. Lind from 18921908, and Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Liljegren.
ORPHAN HOME AT STANTON, IOWA.
ITS CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS
147
In 1907 a separate school building was erected, with spacious
recitation and school rooms on the first floor, sleeping rooms on the
second floor, and play and recreation room in the basement. Seven
months of public school and two months of Swedish school are taught
each year, giving to the orphans a good and timely education.
The Iowa Conference is caring for its orphanage with parental
tenderness and devotion. The home has its trials, like all similar
institutions, but these trials only call forth the Christian love and
faith into greater activity. What we do for Christ and the little ones
who believe in him will not be without its temporal as well as
eternal reward.
The Orphan Home at Jamestown, New York.
This home is the fifth in order of establishment of the orphan
homes. Because of
the large and pop-
ulous cities within
its territory, the
New York Confer-
ence needed a large
and commodious or-
phan home. After
preliminary work
covering several years
and gathering some
$3,553.45 as founda-
tion fund, the New
York Conference de-
cided to start the
work. The corner
stone was laid amid
great festivities July
14, 1884. The 27th
of January, 1886,
the home was form-
ally opened to rereive
orphans.
The first superin- ORPHAN HOME AT JAMESTOWN, N. Y.
148 THE AUGUSTA MA SYNOD
tendent and matron were Rev. and Mrs. T. 0. Linell; they were
followed by Rev. and Mrs. M. J. Englund. The present incumbents
are Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Swensson, brother of the late Dr. C. A.
Swensson. The home was undoubtedly, at the time of its erection,
the most expensive, the largest, most modern, and best equipped of
all our orphanages. The value is conservatively placed at $45,000,
its current annual expenses are about $7,500. It is owned and con-
trolled by the New York Conference and supported by the churches
and Sunday-schools of the Conference that lie outside of the New
England states. These support the home at Avon, Mass.
The Orphan Home at Joliet, Illinois.
As the Illinois Conference increased its territory and established
new congregations, it became necessary either to increase the accom-
modations at the orphan home in Andover or locate a new one in
some other part of the Conference. As the home in Andover was
located in a farming community, it could only train the children in
work on the farm. An industrial school in connection with the
orphan home became the leading thought in the Conference.
At the convention of the Illinois Conference in Ishpeming in
1887 the subject was warmly discussed. A committee was appointed
to prepare the whole question for definite action at the next meeting.
This committee consisted of Drs. Erl. Carlsson, L. A. Johnston, L.
G. Abrahamson, and Revs. H. P. Quist and M. Frykman. This com-
mittee reported to the convention held in St. Charles in the fall of
1888. Another, larger committee was appointed, which reported the
following year as follows:
1) That a new orphan home be established;
2) that its location shall be within the Chicago or Rockford dis-
tricts ;
3 ) that the churches within these districts be asked to pledge them-
selves as to the amount they may be willing to raise to secure the
home in their vicinity.
Joliet and Rockford vied with each other, the former place leading
with a definite promise of $8,000, provided $7,000 would be raised
by the churches elsewhere in the Conference. The offer of Joliet was
accented, a Board of Directors elected, authority given to purchase
ground and proceed with building as fast as money was gathered.
ITS CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS
149
Mr E. G. Peterson of Englewood, Chicago, drew the plans and
superintended the construction. The corner stone was laid in August,
1892; in 1893 the building was enclosed, and in 1896 the new home
was opened under the corporate name: "The Orphan Home and In-
dustrial School of the Illinois Conference of the Scandinavian Evan-
gelical Lutheran Augustana Synod." Sister Frida Schelander from
the Immanuel Deaconess Institute of Omaha, Nebraska, was chosen
as matron and superintendent. She continued in this capacity until
1908. Her place is now (1909) filled by Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Johnson.
The home can easily accommodate over 100 children. It is beauti-
fully located on the outskirts of Joliet. The street-car company has
built and maintains a spur out to the orphan home and carries the
inmates to and from school and church free of charge. The value
of the property is rated at $36,000, the last year's current expenses
were $7,267.20; number of children cared for during 1908 was 101.
At the Conference meeting in Bethlehem, Chicago, in 1909, it was
decided to consolidate both homes under one Board of Directors.
ORPHAN HOME AT JOLIET, ILL.
150
THE AUGUSTANA SYNOD
The industrial school has not yet been started in earnest, but it
is the purpose of the Board to do so at as early a date as possible
The plan is an excellent one. When the boys and girls are ready to
leave the institution, they have learned some trade by which they can
earn a livelihood more easily than were they to begin the battle for
bread wholly unprepared.
The home is supported partly by paying orphans and partly by-
contributions from Stmday-schools and churches in the Illinois Con-
ference.
"Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good
works and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
The Immanuel Orphan Home, Omaha, Nebraska.
This home is a branch of the complex Immanuel institution at
Omaha, which comprises a hospital, a deaconess mother house, an
old people's home for invalids, and an orphan home. The latter
dates back to 1901, when it was erected at a cost of $3,500. This
branch entered, as a matter of course, into the original plan, but could
not for financial reasons be taken up earlier. It can accommodate
about twenty-five orphans ; is owned, controlled, and supported by tho
Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod; the orphans are taken care
of by the deaconesses of the institution; its annual expenses aggregate
$1,600 1,700. The Sunday-schools of the Nebraska Conference are
particularly active in the support of the home.
Superintendent emeritus of this branch and the whole establish-
ment was Rev. E. A. Fo-
gelstrom, until his death
in 1909 ; superintendent
in charge is Rev. P. M.
Lindberg ; sister superior,
Deaconess Anna Flint.
The Immanuel insti-
tution is patterned after
the German institution
at Kaiserswerth, modi-
fied, however, to suit
the American Lutheran
ORPHAN HOME AT OMAHA, NEB. ideas and conditions.
ITS CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS
151
The Lutheran Orphan Home at Avon, Massachusetts.
The New York Conference, comprising all the New England and
Middle Atlantic states, covers so large an area that one orphan home
cannot fill the needs, especially as the traveling distances are so great.
The orphan home at Jamestown being filled to its capacity, it be-
came necessary either to enlarge it or to locate a second home.
Taking the traveling distances into account, it was thought the wiser
policy to establish another home. A very beautiful homestead, owned
by an eastern capitalist, near Avon, Mass., was found to be for sale
at a very low figure. The property could not be duplicated for
$50,000. The purchase price was $12,000. The owner deducted
$2,500, so that the actual cost is only $9,500. The property consists
of 60 acres of land with fine fruit orchards, artistically arranged
parks, walls and fences. The buildings are of the old Colonial style,
ORPHAN HOME AT AVON, MASS.
152 THE AUGUSTANA SYNOD
airy, spacious, substantial. The electric tramway between Boston and
Brockton runs close to the premises, so that it has the best of commu-
nications.
There are ample accommodations for forty orphans. The home was
opened April 8, 1907, is owned and controlled by the New York Con-
ference, and supported by that part of the Conference which lies
within the New England states. The name is: "The Lutheran Or-
phans' Home, Incorporated". Its location is at Avon, Massachusetts,
16 miles from Boston and 3 miles from Brockton.
Superintendent and matron is Miss Amelia Eabenius, a graduate
of the sloyd schools of . Sweden. She will make all kinds of sloyd
a special feature of the home.
II. Hospitals.
Bethesda Hospital, St. Paul, Minnesota.
The first step by the Minnesota Conference toward officially taking
up hospital work was taken at the convention in Fish Lake, Minn.,
in the fall of 1880 by the establishment and incorporation, according
to the laws of the state, of the Tabitha Society. The purpose was
to make the scope of this society so wide that it could own and control
any kind of charitable institutions, like hospitals, orphan homes,
refuge and rescue homes, homes for the aged, etc. It is possible that
Francke's numerous "stiftungen" in Halle served as models in the
minds of the originators. Eev. A. P. Monten, then pastor of the
First Swedish Lutheran church in St. Paul, advised and assisted by
Revs. Norelius, Sjoblom and others, was the most active in this move-
ment. The hospital idea was then in its infancy both as to the
financial side and as to the care and treatment of the sick. Had the
minds of the people been better prepared, the work had undoubtedly
progressed much better and faster. It was, indeed, to break new
ground. Eev. Monten's vision was clear enough to see what was
coming. His unceasing labors for this and other enterprises have
been little appreciated hitherto. In the light of present developments
it is easy to see how much more farsighted he was than the majority
of his contemporaries.
In 1881 a property situated on the little beautiful lake Como, where
now the idyllic Como Park is located, was purchased for $6,000.
ITS CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS
April 4, 1882, the hospital was opened to receive patients. The work
continued until in February of 1883. During this time 156 patients
had been received and treated. We must remember that surgery was
just then beginning to be recognized as a powerful factor in removing
man's woes. The value of rigid, surgical cleanliness, i. e. sterilization
of everything that would come in contact with a wound, was then
less well understood than now. As a result many died from septic
infection, and the people lost confidence in surgery. This made it
impossible to continue the work. The hospital had to close its doors.
But the originators as well as the Conference never entertained a
thought to give up the work, only to rest it a while, until the public
mind could look at a hospital in another light.
In the meantime the Hospital Board issued call upon call to dif-
ferent persons to take hold of the work, but with no result, until in
1891, when a call was sent to Eev. C. A. Hultkrans, then pastor at
Geneseo, 111. He accepted the call after some hesitation and com-
menced his labors already in October the same year. He succeeded
'!' 13^: m -n 11
-U a a, 22 ail aa
"'" IJ * '' ' " "' " < BBDI iMHt
" I 333:J13i .3.1 3 3|
33
The Augustana Synod
BETHESDA HOSPITAL, ST. PAUL, MINN.
11
154
THE AUGUST AN A SYNOD
REV. C. A. HULTKRANS,
Superintendent.
so well that the hospital could be opened again March 8, 1892. Al-
ready in 1891 a commodious residence, centrally located, was purchased
for $16,000, remodeled and furnished as a hospital. The work has
since that time steadily progressed. The building was again re-
modeled in 1904, enlarged and one
story added to make room for more
patients.
A home for the superintendent
was built in 1894, a deaconess home
was purchased in 1901, another lot
adjoining the hospital, formerly
owned by the railroad magnate J. J.
Hill, has been purchased, and a large
spacious, new hospital valued at
about $70,000 is now (1909) in
course of construction.
The nursing was carried on by
deaconesses from the Immanuel
Deaconess Institutue and their help-
ers until 1903, when a school for deaconesses was started, and since
that time the Bethesda deaconesses do all the nursing. Eev. C. A.
Hultkrans has proved himself an efficient and progressive superin-
tendent. The work has been most abundantly blessed by God.
The hospital with accessories, not counting the new addition now
going up, is worth $70,000 and has room for about 100 beds. It is
centrally located and enjoys a good reputation for fine surgery and
careful nursing. The annual expenses are approximately $37,000.
The institution is supported by paying patients and by church contri-
butions as well as by donations in larger sums from individuals. The
superintendent is ably assisted by Eev. A. F. Aimer both in spiritual
care of the sick and the instruction of the deaconesses in training.
Much credit is due to the superintendents of deaconesses, especially
Sister Bothilda Swenson and Sister Eleonora S'lattengren.
The Lake Como property is still owned by the hospital. It may in
the near future be used as a home for incurables.
The institution is a veritable Bethesda where the sick are waiting
for a ministering angel to come and trouble the waters and deal out
health, cheer, and comfort.
ITS CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS 155
Augustana Hospital, Chicago, Illinois.
The Augustana Hospital, of the Deaconess Institution of the
Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church, is a corporate institution
according to the statutes of the State of Illinois, and is owned and
controlled by the Illinois Conference of the Evangelical Lutheran
Augustana Synod. It is located in Chicago, on the North Side, on
the presidential corner, i. e., the intersection of Lincoln, Garfield, and
Cleveland avenues. The direct management is vested in the Board
of Directors of nine members, elected by the Illinois Conference to
serve for three years.
The first attempt by Lutherans in Chicago to care especially for
the sick and suffering was made by the Eev. Dr. Erland Carlsson,
who early in his pastoral career, probably about the year 1860,
opened a home for sick and destitute immigrants. His enterprise
was merged with the charitable institution of Dr. Passavant. The
great fire of 1871 destroyed this hospital, but it was soon rebuilt, and
is known to-day as Dr. Passavant's Memorial Hospital.
In the year 1880, Prof. 0. Olsson, upon his return from abroad,
resuscitated the idea that the Swedish Lutheran Church ought to have
a charitable institution in Chicago. With him were such men as
Eevs. Abrahamson, Eanseen, Evald, Peters, Lindeblad, Eydholm,
Boman; Messrs. P. Colseth, C. P. Holmberg of Chicago, and J. Er-
lander of Eockford, Illinois, and others. The various ladies' aid
societies in the Chicago churches took the matter up in earnest. That
of Immanuel church, with Mrs. Evald at the head, was the first to
act by donating $70 for the enterprise. It was the intention to unite
with the hospital work that of a deaconess' home. The location
should, as a matter of course, be Chicago; but the exact place was a
question of dispute. The Illinois Conference of the Evangelical Lu-
theran Augustana Synod now became sponsor for the new-born child.
In 1882 the leaders of the movement decided to locate in Lake
View, and efforts were made to secure ground through Dr. Passavant.
Failing in this, Dr. Erland Carlsson's home, at the corner of Lincoln
and Cleveland avenues, was at first rented, and later, in 1887, pur-
chased for about $35,000. The first Board of Directors was composed
of Eevs. E. Carlsson, 0. Olsson, M. C. Eanseen, C. B. L. Boman,
and Messrs. C. P. Holmberg, G. A. Bohman, and John Erlander.
156
THE AUGUSTANA SYA'OD
February 13, 1882, the articles of incorporation were adopted and
recorded. May 28, 1884, the institution was formally dedicated, and
with Dr. T. M. Miller as physician and surgeon, Mrs. Hilda Carlson,
wife of the late Eev. A. B. Carlson, missionary to India, as matron,
and Miss Lotta Frejd, assistant, started out on its career of useful-
ness. The first patient was a young lady who came to attend the
dedicatory services, but who broke her leg in stepping from the cable-
car. Fifteen beds were in readiness at this time, and all were soon
occupied. In October, 1884, a fire damaged the building, so that it
had to be rebuilt, but no one was injured. The fire insurance covered
the financial loss, and the building was soon rebuilt and reoccupied
by patients. The most serious question confronting the authorities
was how to secure more room, as the accommodations were quite inade-
quate. In February, 1893, the corner-stone of a new building, 68x84
feet, six stories in height, was laid, and the work of gathering funds
pushed, so that the building was completed in the fall of 1894. Room
had thus been provided for some 125 beds, but in less than ten years
the building was found to be inadequate, and in 1903 an addition of
nearly the same dimensions, in like architecture, was begun on lots
adjoining the older buildings. This addition was finished and ready
AUGL'STANA HOSPITAL, CHICAGO, ILL.
IIS CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS
157
for occupancy in the fall of 1904. Ample room was thus provided
for some 200 beds.
In 1894 a training school for nurses was started with a two years'