To learn more about this collection please see the finding aid link found above, and/or visit the College and Lutheran Church Archives to use these primary sources.
Larson, Carl A. Sermons, Speeches, and Papers of Rev. Carl A. Larson, 1891-1925. LCA Collection 26. 20 folders.
ABSTRACT:
The Rev. Carl Larson collection contains typed copies of sermons and speeches which were given by Larson from 1896-1918. Also included are miscellaneous materials including biographical information, a book written by Larson, correspondence, records, and an article in Swedish. Larson, a Swedish immigrant, was an Augustana Evangelical Synod pastor who was ordained in 1903.
Carl Larson was born in Östergötland, Sweden on 29 April 1868, and came to America in 1891. That same year, he enrolled in Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois. He became an ordained minister of the Augustana Evangelical Synod in 1903, and served as a pastor for twenty-three years in Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Canada. While working in Kansas Lake, Minnesota in 1918, Larson and his wife were arrested for their opinions of World War I. Larson often spoke in favor of peace during a period when Americans were expected to support the war effort. His wife was released immediately, and Larson was released after paying a $100 fine. After the incident, Larson’s family experienced discrimination from their community including their car painted yellow during a church service, and the Ku Klux Klan burning a cross in front of their home. To escape further persecution, Larson moved his family to Canada, where he began to develop his own farm. Larson moved back to the United States in 1925 to serve as a pastor in Underwood, North Dakota. Struggling with bouts of influenza and pneumonia, he died six months after their arrival in Underwood after an operation.
The Sermons and Speeches series contains sermons and speeches written by Carl A. Larson from 1896-1918. The Miscellaneous section includes biographical information, a book, correspondence, records, and an article.
