The Steensland Papers are a small, fragmentary collection which unfortunately reveals little about his prominent role in the Madison business community and within Norwegian-American circles. There is, however, some information primarily dating from his first two decades in this country pertaining to Norwegian ethnicity and assimilation.
The papers consist of correspondence, official documents and awards, speeches and writings, biographical information and clippings, and a brief journal. Supplementing the papers is a transcription (but not a translation) of the collection by Professor Oskar Garstein. Because of the presence of this transcription, which numbered all items in the Steensland Papers, the original papers have been ordered to conform to this arrangement. The transcription contains some references to Steensland correspondence in the Rasmus Anderson Papers held by the Historical Society and a few references to documents not found in the papers at the time of processing in 1987. These items have been noted by the processor.
The Personal and Biographical Papers consist of a typescript of a paper by Byron Ostby originally presented to the Ygdrasil Literary Society, the Garstein transcription, a few biographical clippings, a brief journal (circa 1854), and various official documents and certificates.
Speeches and Writings include autobiographical sketches, lectures, and speeches. Correspondence consists of a few letters written by Steensland, one folder of correspondence in Norwegian from family and friends in Norway (primarily dating from the 1850s and 1860s), and a folder of fragmentary correspondence from Norwegian immigrants and friends in the United States. These letters include several from Seward and Thor Thorson of Ottawa, Illinois, which suggest the way in which during their first years in the United States Norwegian immigrant businessmen may have supported each other not only with friendship but also with economic advice and information.
Miscellaneous Documents include several marriage certificates and an 1863 letter from T. Nielsen to Randvei Espevold which refers to Steensland. Photographs of the Steensland homes and portraits of the family which have been collected from a number of sources are available at call number PH Mss 711.
