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Julius Bloom with his son Gustav Peter, 1925
Whether you are a seasoned researcher or just beginning to learn what life was like for emigrants and their families, correspondence can be a vital way to gain deeper insight and uncover new information.
To give you a sense of the type of letters housed in the Norwegian Emigrant Museum’s extensive archive, follow this tour through a recently donated collection from the family of Dr. Julius Blom (1891-1964) and his American wife, Celia. The story that unfolds showcases aspects of the emigrant experience that are both typical and unique to this tightly knit family.
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A portrait of young Julius Blom
Connections Across the Atlantic
Born in Oslo and trained at the University of Oslo Medical School, Julius Blom emigrated to the United States in 1917. After settling in Wisconsin, he married an American nurse, and they started a family as he built his practice. One interesting fact: Julius counted among his ancestors Gustav Peter Blom (1785-1869), who served as a delegate in the 1814 Norwegian Constituent Assembly and the County Governor of Buskerud.
Despite the distance, Julius and Celia kept in contact with his parents, siblings, colleagues, and friends, and were lucky enough to visit Norway and host family members at home in Wisconsin. Last year, the family’s descendants donated to the museum a treasure trove of letters that Julius and Celia saved over the years.
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Celia and Julius Blom, summer 1947
Precious Records of a Family’s Beginnings
Many of the letters are from important early periods, such as Julius’s arrival in America and the birth of their first son, Peter. They offer a critical window into the couple’s challenges and joys. For example, take these two excerpts from letters Julius’s father sent in November 1924. In the first, he writes: “Heartfelt thanks […] for the photos! How they are nice! I am especially fond of that showing Mother playing with Peter sitting in his car.” Eager to share in the celebration of his new grandchild, he adds: “Could you afford some more copies of these photos?” The delight is evident; one can feel the emotional ties, even across continents. When he writes again later that month, his tone is full of urgency and concern: “I wonder how you stood that horrible frost that blew your country a fortnight ago? How could Peter stand it? What arrangements have you made in the house to meet the winter? […] These questions are worrying us a good deal.”
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Gustav Peter Blom, 1925
Invaluable Windows into Daily Life
Throughout the archive are firsthand accounts of both personal and historic events, from job prospects and Christmas celebrations to legislation under Prime Minister Gunnar Knudsen and the spread of the Spanish Flu. We learn about food rationing during the First World War from his sister Maisen: “You must believe, whale butter tastes rather bad.” From a colleague and friend we hear about Oslo’s social scene: “Recently, we have been taking up a rather pricey habit, as we every second to third week to go to “2den Etage” at Theatercaféen to eat and drink on Saturday nights. Johan, Johannes, and I are the ones who do things like that, and we mock the three ultra-philistines Peter, Stein, and Fibelen, who rather put their money in the bank than spend them on gluttony and booze.”
The Blom family’s letters are just one part of the Norwegian Emigrant Museum’s extensive archive.
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Celia and Julius Blom, 1950
Auzelle Epeneter received support to write this article from the Sons of Norway Foundation.