Title: Fritz William Rasmussen Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1834-1942

Creator:

• Rasmussen, Fritz William, 1833-

Call Number: Green Bay Mss 4; PH Green Bay Mss 4

Quantity: 2.0 c.f. (9 archives boxes) and 9 photographs

Repository:

Housed at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Archives and Area Research Center; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-Green Bay Cofrin Library / Green Bay Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of Rasmussen, a Danish immigrant to Wisconsin in 1847, who settled in the Town of New Denmark in Brown County and served in Company G, 14th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry in 1864-65. The bulk of the collection is composed of Rasmussen's diaries, 1857-1911. Entries describe his farming activities, Civil War service, and local community events. The collection also includes some of his personal financial accounts, 1856-1876, manuscript histories of the Town of New Denmark and its Scandinavian settlers, minutes of the Evangelical Christian Society of New Denmark, 1871-1897, and minutes of the New Denmark Home Guard, 1876-1883.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-gb0004

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Fritz William Rasmussen, the son of Edward and Stine Marie Rasmussen, was born in Thoneby, Lolland, Denmark in 1833 and immigrated to Wisconsin in 1847 with his parents and five siblings. In 1848, the Rasmussen family settled on a farm in the Town of New Denmark, Brown County, Wisconsin, being among the first settlers in that area and one of the first Danish families in that part of Wisconsin. Rasmussen served in the Civil War, 1864-1865, in Company G, 14th Infantry, Wisconsin Volunteers. The remainder of his life was spent on his farm at New Denmark.

This collection is arranged in two parts. Part 1 is largely diaries, manuscripts, and minutes. Part 2 is largely made up of account books, journals, and additional correspondence.

Although there are some Civil War letters by Fritz Rasmussen (primarily in Danish), the bulk of Part 1 is Rasmussen's diaries, which he kept faithfully over a period of fifty-four years. The diaries, between 450-500 in number, are unbound folders of letter paper and are partially written in English and partially in Danish. The diaries deal mainly with Rasmussen's farming activities and the local affairs of the New Denmark area. The diaries in boxes 2-7 are numbered chronologically, while those in box 8 are oversized diaries and likewise arranged chronologically. The two series of diaries overlap in dates.

Also included in Part 1 are two manuscripts dealing with the history of the early Scandinavians in the New Denmark, Wisconsin area, in addition to the records of the New Denmark Home Guard and the Evangelical Christian Society.

Items in Part 2 date from 1860 to 1918 and consist of account books, financial and personal journals, and additional correspondence both in English and Danish as well as 9 photographs of Rasmussen and various relatives.

Acquisition Information

Presented by F. William Rasmussen, Denmark, Wis., 1956; Bernice M Bordeaux, Wallace, Mich., 1980-1981; and Harriet H. Vick, Milwaukee, Wis., 2003. Accession Number: M81-125, M81-640, M2004-027

Processing Information

2003 additions processed by Jacob Esselstrom, 2004.

	Series: Part 1
Green Bay Mss 4 Box   1	Correspondence, 1834-1942
Box   1	Minutes of the Evangelical Christian Society of New Denmark, Wisconsin, 1871-1897
Box   1	Manuscript, “History of the Town of New Denmark, Brown County, Wisconsin,” 1876, 1881
Box   1	Minutes of the New Denmark Home Guard, 1876-1883
Box   1	Miscellaneous Materials
Box   2-7	Diaries, February 1861-March 1861 and June 1861-June 1911
Box   8	Oversize diaries, 1857-1876
Box   8	Account Books, 1856-1909
Box   8	Manuscript, “Record of Scandinavians Who Have Been Settled and Lived in the Town of New Denmark, Brown County, Wisconsin.”
Box   8	Additional manuscript on the settlers of New Denmark
	Series: Part 2	⇧
	Account Books
Box   9 Folder   1	1862-1866
Box   9 Folder   2	1873-1909
Box   9 Folder   3	1878-1918
	Correspondence
Box   9 Folder   4	1893-1907
Box   9 Folder   5	1904-1909
Box   9 Folder   6	Correspondence in Danish, 1897-1909
Box   9 Folder   7	Genealogy Notes
Box   9 Folder   8	Journals, 1860, 1876, 1888
Box   9 Folder   9	Journal, Civil War (non-war experiences), 1864-1865
	Photographs
Box   9 Folder   10	Photocopies
PH Green Bay Mss 4	Originals