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Hilda's Diary is a day-by-day "real time" recording of the 1897 diary of my maternal grandmother, Hilda Satterlund (later Hilda Satterlund Wenz). She was 18 at the time. The diary commenced on January 1 and ended abruptly on July 15. To begin reading, scroll down to the very bottom for the first entry.
Hilda was the daughter of Swedish immigrants, who came to the US around 1870. Her father, "King" John Satterlund, was a powerful figure in North Dakota, both in the state capital of Bismarck and in Washburn, the small town 40 miles north of Bismarck that he co-founded.
When the diary opens in January, Hilda is living with her two younger sisters, Lulu and Florence, in the family's Bismarck home. Meanwhile, her parents, John and Charlotte Satterlund, and her baby brother Floyd, are living in Washburn. Her father helps her to find a job as clerk in the state capitol; later she becomes a teacher in one-room school some distance from both Bismarck and Washburn.
The diary reveals very little of Hilda's interior life but day by day, her prosaic descriptions take one back in time to a person who begins to seem very real and very present.
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- Betsy
PS I still have a few more pictures and scans to add to Hilda's Diary, but the text is complete.
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Hilda Satterlund, ca. 1897
- Betsy's Family History Blogs
- Betsy’s Boxes. Hilda's Diary. Wenz in the WAVES.
Betsy, I really enjoyed reading your posts. I realize that your grandmother's diary is very dear to you - would you ever consider donating it to the North Dakota State Archives to be preserved for future generations? I found your blog because I was looking for information about King John Satterlund. I am an archivist at the SHSND and found King John's memoirs in the Edwin J. Taylor papers - apparently they were friends. Anyway, I think you're doing a great thing getting Hilda's Diary on the web!
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Emily Schultz
Hello Emily,
ReplyDeleteI would love to correspond with you on these matters! Can we email? I cannot figure out how to connect privately via blogs, so I sent you a request from my professional LinkedIn page with my email spelled out. Please send me an email and we can connect!
Thanks,
Betsy