BRENDA UELAND:
An Inventory of Her Papers at the Minnesota Historical
Society
Access to or use of this collection is
currently restricted.
For Details, see the
Restriction Statement
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| Creator: | Ueland, Brenda. |
| Title: | Brenda Ueland papers. |
| Date: | 1860-1985. |
| Abstract: | Papers documenting the life (1891-1985) and
career of a Minneapolis feminist and author. |
| Quantity: | 6.0 cu. ft. (6 boxes, including 22 volumes.);
4 microfilm reels. |
| Location: | See Detailed Description section for box
locations. |
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Brenda Ueland was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota (October 24, 1891),
the daughter of Andreas Ueland (1853-1933), a prominent lawyer who served as
judge of probate and general counsel for both Midland National and the Federal
Reserve banks of Minneapolis, and Clara Hampson Ueland (1860-1927), an activist
in the women's suffrage movement who served as the first president of the
Minnesota League of Women Voters (1919-1920) and as chair of the League's
legislative council (1920-1927).
Brenda attended Wells and Barnard colleges, receiving her
baccalaureate degree from Barnard in 1913. After a brief newspaper career as
the first woman reporter on the Minneapolis
Tribune and a stint on the St. Paul Daily
News, Ueland moved to New York City. She worked for the Crowell
Publishing Company (1915-1917) and lived in Greenwich Village where she
associated with journalist-socialists such as John Reed, Louise Bryant, and
Emma Goldman. She married William Benedict (1916), had a daughter, Gabrielle
(1921), and was divorced (1926). She supported herself and Gabrielle as a staff
writer for Liberty Magazine (1922-1925) and as a
free lance writer for publications such as the Saturday
Evening Post and Ladies Home Journal.
In 1930 Ueland returned to Minneapolis where she continued to write.
She published two books: If You Want to Write
(1938) and an autobiography entitled Me (1939).
From 1941-1948 she wrote a column for the Minneapolis
Times and was awarded the Knights of St. Olaf medal by the Norwegian
government while on assignment covering the Quisling trial after World War II
(1946). She later wrote columns for the Askov
American and the Minneapolis Posten.
Ueland was married and divorced two more times. Her second husband was
Manus McFadden, editor of the Minneapolis Times,
and the third, Norwegian artist Sverre Hanssen. Brenda Ueland died on March 5,
1985.
Biographical data was taken from the collection.
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Diaries and logs (1926-1983), correspondence (undated and 1924-1985),
published and unpublished newspaper columns (undated and 1943-1980) and
magazine articles (undated and 1917-1941), radio scripts (undated and 1936,
1942), newspaper clippings, notes, manuscripts, bibliographies, genealogies,
autographs, and photographs documenting the life (1891-1985) and career of this
Minneapolis feminist and author. Some of the biographical and genealogical
material is in Norwegian. The diaries and logs are available for use on
microfilm.
Topics include Ueland's life in and around New York City while working
as a freelance writer (1926-1930); her family; her love affairs and marital
relationships; activities related to her interest in health and character
development; her intellectual pursuits in history, literature, religion, and
philosophy; her feminist views; her writings, which include books, newspaper
columns, and magazine articles; and her work with animal welfare.
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| This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog
of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about
related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these
headings. |
| Topics: |
| | Animal welfare -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis. |
| | Authorship. |
| | Feminists -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis. |
| | Health attitudes. |
| | Marriage. |
| | Music -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis. |
| | Newspapers -- Sections, columns, etc. |
| | Norwegian Americans --Minnesota -- Minneapolis. |
| | Physical education and training. |
| | Radio programs -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis. |
| | Sex -- History -- 20th century. |
| | Spiritualism. |
| | Women and religion. |
| Persons: |
| | Garibaldi, Giuseppe, 1807-1882. |
| | Gogarty, Oliver St. John, 1878-1957. |
| | Hampl, Patricia, 1946-. |
| | Hanssen, Sverre. |
| | Ibsen, Henrik, 1828-1906 -- Autographs. |
| | Lofstrom, Edward V. |
| | McFadden, Manus. |
| | McIver, Gabriele, 1921-. |
| | Moffett, Ann E. |
| | Nansen, Fridtjof, 1861-1930. |
| | Oberholtzer, Ernest C. (Ernest Carl), 1884-1977. |
| | Rusten, Laurits. |
| | Ueland family. |
| | Ueland, Andreas, 1853. |
| | Ueland, Clara, 1860-1927. |
| | Ueland, Elsa, 1888-1980. |
| | Ueland, Ole Gabriel, 1799-1870. |
| Organizations: |
| | Minneapolis Posten. |
| | Pet Haven, Inc. |
| Place: |
| | Minneapolis (Minn.). |
| Occupations: |
| | Authors, American -- 20th century. |
| | Women authors, American --20th century. |
| Types of Documentation: |
| | Diaries. |
| | Microforms. |
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| Restrictions: |
| | The letters included in this collection, from Fridtjof Nansen to
Brenda Ueland, contain (in part) explicit descriptions of Nansen's sexual
history, and of his sexual passion for Ueland herself. One of these letters
contains six nude photographs of Nansen. Access to these letters is
unrestricted, except that they will not be made available to patrons under the
age of 18 years. |
| | The original diaries and logs are closed to general use. |
| Preferred Citation: |
| | [Indicate the cited item and/or series
here]. Brenda Ueland Papers. Minnesota Historical Society. |
| | See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional
examples. |
| Accession Information: |
| | Accession number: 14,933 |
| Processing Information: |
| | Processed by: Frank P. Hennessy, August, 1993 |
| | PALS number: 09-00038168 |
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Note to Researchers: To request materials, please note both the
location and box numbers shown below.
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Personal Papers, undated and 1860-1983
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| Location | Box |
| M577 | 1 |
Diaries and Logs:
|
| | | A number of topics are discussed throughout Ueland's diaries
(1926-1983). Among the most prominent are activities pertaining to her interest
in health and character development including a lifelong enthusiasm for
exercise, particularly walking; her attention to nutrition and diet, which
entailed repeated periods of abstinence from alcohol, smoking, and coffee; her
lifelong interest in religion and philosophy; and her continual efforts at
developing self-discipline, particularly with regard to her writing. Other
recurrent topics include Ueland's family, her social life, her relationships
with men, and her feminist convictions. A more detailed description of these
topics and others follow. |
| | | 1926-1929: Ueland's entries during this period recount her
success in supporting herself and her daughter by selling magazine articles and
stories while living in Stamford, Connecticut; her relationship with her friend
Tomola; her summer visits to Minneapolis; and the final decree in her divorce
from William Benedict (December 26, 1926). |
| | | 1930-1939: Ueland discusses her difficulty selling magazine
articles due to the depression; the death of Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen
(May 13, 1930); her decision to return to Minneapolis and live with her father
(July 1930); the illness and death of her brother Sigurd's first wife, Julie
(March-May 1932); her father's illness and death (April-July 1933); her
enrollment at the University of Minnesota (1932-1934); Sigurd's marriage to his
second wife, Harriet (Jan 1934); work on her autobiography; and her romantic
involvement with George Gordon (1934-1937). Other topics include a writing
class that Ueland taught (1934-1935); a meeting with Carl Sandburg (March 16,
1935); her thoughts on prayer and mysticism; her regular meetings with a
spiritualist; her interest in music and acquaintance with the conductor of the
Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, Dimitri Mitropoulos; and her romantic
relationship with Jim Haight (1939). |
| | | 1941-1948: Topics include Ueland's recollections of Major Ole
Reistad, a Norwegian air force officer who stayed at her home, her job as a
columnist with the Minneapolis Times; another
visit by Carl Sandburg (February 14-17, 1942); her daughter Gaby's marriage to
Bill Gray; the beginning of Ueland's relationship with her second husband,
Manus McFadden (November-December 1944), and her work after the
Minneapolis Times' demise (1948). A substantial
amount of material entered in 1942 comprises quotes from William Blake, John
Donne, and Anton Chekov. |
| | | 1953-1958: Ueland discusses her work writing columns and selling
advertising for the Minneapolis Posten and the
Askov American, improvements she made on her
house, her work on a biography of her mother, financial problems, Manus
McFadden's illness and death (February 1955), her thoughts on married men
(March 17, 1955), and her relationship with Sverre Hanssen. |
| | | 1962-1970: Topics include problems in Ueland's marriage to
Sverre Hanssen, primarily related to finances and an arrangement the couple had
with their live-in cook, Inga; the completion of Ueland's biography of her
mother (November 14, 1964) and attempts to have it published; her work with Pet
Haven Inc.; trips to visit family and friends on the East Coast; Gaby's
marriage problems; and Ueland's relationships with her granddaughter Alex, and
her brothers Sigurd and Rolph. |
| | | 1971-1975: Entries discuss Ueland's continued concern for Gaby,
who moved from New York City to live with her; Gaby's move to California with
Jim McIver (1974); the illness and death of Ueland's brothers Rolph (December
11, 1973) and Sigurd (April 1975); Ueland's decision to quit writing her column
in the Posten (November 1974); her increasing
deafness (1975); and her training for a climb up Pike's Peak (June-July
1975). |
| | | 1977-1983: The entries are much more concise than those found in
the preceding diaries and consist of brief summaries primarily focused on
Ueland's health including her daily exercise, diet, and weight. |
| | | The diaries and logs are available for use on microfilm. |
| Location | Box |
| M577 | 1 | |
Undated.
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July 1926-April 1928.
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July 1929-January 1930 (photocopy).
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July 1929-May 1930 (photocopy).
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Volume 1. May 1930-July 1931.
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Volume 2. September 1931-May 1932.
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Volume 3. May 1932-October 1933.
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Volume 4. May 1933; October 1933-Mar.
1934.
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Volume 5. Mar. 1934-Mar. 1935.
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Volume 6. Mar.-October 1935.
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Volume 7. November 1935-February 1936.
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Volume 8. Mar.-December 1936.
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Volume 9. December 8, 1936-June 16, 1937.
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| Location | Box |
| M577 | 2 | |
Volume 10. February-July 1939.
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Volume 11. February 1941-January 1942.
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Volume 12. January-May 1942.
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Volume 13. August 1943; October-November
1955.
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Volume 14. "A Brave Man," January 24, 1936; June 18,
1938;
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September 15, 1939; August-December 1944.
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Fragments, [1940s?]; July 1948; February 8,
1952.
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June 1953-October 1956; December 2, 1956.
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| Location | Box |
| M577 | 3 | |
Volume 15. September 1-15, 1955; Mar. 1957-November
1958.
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December 1962-April 1963.
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Volume 16. September 1964-August 1965.
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Volume 16 September 1964-August 1965.
(photocopy).
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Fragments, [1960s?].
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September 1965-November 1966.
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1967; January-April 1968.
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Volume 17. August 1968-Mar. 1969.
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Volume 17 August 1968-Mar. 1969
(photocopy).
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Mar.-November 1969.
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January-August 1970.
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September 1971-January 1972; October 1973-January
1974.
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January-October 1972.
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| Location | Box |
| M577 | 4 | |
January-November 1973.
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February-December 1974.
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January-July 1975.
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November 1977-November 1979.
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April 1980-February 1983.
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| Location | Box |
| 143.E.4.10F | 3 |
Correspondence:
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| | | The majority of the correspondence was written after 1960 and
involves Ueland's immediate family. Recurrent topics include health and
illness; marital relationships; feminism; reactions to Brenda's columns and
other writings; news of family friends; and religion, politics, and
literature. |
| | | Some of the more significant topics include the illness and
deaths of her sisters, Anne (July 1960) and Elsa (1979), and her brother Sigurd
(1974-1975); the financial support the family gave her; Elsa's role in getting
Brenda's biography of their mother printed; a fire that destroyed Torvald
Ueland's home in Red Bank, New Jersey (1972); Brenda's advise to Gaby regarding
marriage, including an analysis of her own marriages (April 22, 1965); and
Gaby's move to California and marriage to Jim McIver. |
| | | There is also a group of Ueland's correspondence with friends
and colleagues, beginning with a collection of letters from Anne E. Moffett of
St. Augustine, Florida (1965-1977). Moffett discusses her writing and her
admiration of Ueland's writings; her attachment to her dogs; her estrangement
from her family; and her interest in Rosicrucianism, mysticism, and Jungian
psychology. |
| | | There are a number of letters, editorials, poems, and essays
written by Maurits Rusten of Minneapolis (1942-1946) dealing primarily with
religious and philosophical topics. He sent the material to Ueland to critique
and she used some of his writings in her columns. |
| | | A group of letters from the Irish novelist, poet, and physician
Oliver St. John Gogarty is included in which he discusses his writings and his
work with editors and publishers, his visits with Ueland, and Ueland's review
of is book of collected poems. There are also two articles written by Gogarty
and a manuscript copy of his poem, "The Phoenix and the Unicorn." |
| | | Ueland's enthusiasm for running and walking led to her
friendship and correspondence with Walt Stack, a marathon runner form San
Francisco. Stack, who was in his sixties, writes about various marathons, diet,
women runners, feminism, Brenda's columns, and aging. There are also a number
of letters from Dr. George Sheehan of Red Bank, New Jersey, an avid runner who
wrote books and columns on health and fitness. |
| | | Other correspondents includes Kate Wood, Ernest Oberholtzer,
Adriaan Barnouw, and Patricia Hampl. There is also a group of general
correspondence (undated and 1950-1985) consisting primarily of letters from
friends, other authors, and a few family members. Topics include reactions to
Ueland's books and columns, religion, and politics. There are sympathy notes to
Gaby after Brenda's death (1985). |
| Location | Box |
| 143.E.4.10F | 3 | |
Anne Ueland and Robert Parker, undated and 1939,
1947-1948, 1960-1970.
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Elsa Ueland, 1962-1978. 3 folders
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Clara Hampson Ueland and Mark and Elizabeth Ueland,
1924, 1962, 1975-1979.
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Torvald and Connie Ueland, undated and 1961-1964,
1971-1976.
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Sigurd and Harriet Ueland and Sigurd Ueland, Jr.,
undated and 1971-1981.
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| Location | Box |
| 143.E.5.1B | 4 | |
Gabrielle McIver, 1962-1977.
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Clara and Pat Miller, 1963-1983.
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Torvald and Connie Ueland, undated and 1961-1964,
1971-1976.
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Jean Leighton, undated and 1963-1984.
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Sandra McCoy, undated and 1967-1982. 2 folders.
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Anne E. Moffett, 1965-1977. 3 folders.
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Laurits Rusten, undated and 1942-1946.
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Oliver St. John Gogarty, undated and
1950-1955.
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Walt Stack and George Sheehan, undated and
1971-1981.
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Kate Wood, Adriaan Barnouw, and Patricia Hampl,
undated and 1959-1982.
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Ernest C. Oberholtzer, 1961-1970.
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General Correspondence, undated and 1950-1985.
3 folders.
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| Location | Box |
| Res. 26 | | |
Fridtjof Nansen and Henrik Ibsen, 1890,
1928-1938.
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| | | | Includes a set of 30 letters (December 20, 1928-March 7, 1930)
from Norwegian arctic explorer Fridtjof Nansen, which has been removed from the
main body of the Brenda Ueland papers. |
| | | | During a trip to the U.S. Nansen stayed with the Ueland Family
in Minneapolis and Brenda met with him later in New York (1928-1929). Nansen
returned to Norway (April 1929P and the couple corresponded on a weekly basis
until Nansen's death (May 13, 1930). These letters, and associated photographs,
contain information on Ueland and Nansen's personal relationship, as well as
literary matters. One letter from Nansen is addressed to Brenda's father
(December 20, 1928). A letter to Brenda from Nansen's daughter Kari (June 2,
1938) is also included. The letters are unrestricted, except that they will not
be made available to patrons under the age of 18 years. |
| | | | A card autographed by Henrik Ibsen (October 2, 1890) is also
included. |
| Location | Box |
| 143.E.5.1B | 4 |
Genealogical and Biographical Data:
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| | | Includes a volume containing newspaper clippings,
correspondence, and manuscript narrative related to the genealogy of the
children of Andreas Ueland and Clara Hampson Ueland. Additional material
consisting of eulogies, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and legal
documents provides biographical data on Brenda Ueland; her grandfather, Ole
Gabriel Ueland; her mother and father, Andreas and Clara Ueland; and four of
her siblings: Elsa, Sigurd, Rolf, and Arnulf. Some of the papers are written in
Norwegian. Autographs of Henrik Ibsen (1890); actress Ellen Terry (1884); and
Minnesota senator Ole O. Sageng are also included. |
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Volume 18. Family History, undated and 1860-1880,
1927-1928.
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Genealogy and Biographical Data, undated and
1875-1983. 2 folders.
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Return to the Organization of the Collection Section
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Writings, undated and 1919-1980
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| Location | Box |
| 143.E.5.1B | 4 |
Newspaper Columns:
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| | | Includes typescript drafts of Ueland's newspaper columns, some
with no column title specified (undated and 1943-1962, 1975) and others bearing
the title "Minneapolis Scene" (undated and 1952-1956). |
| | | There are also final and draft copies of the following columns:
"Round the Town" and "What Goes On Here," published in the
Minneapolis Times (1943-1948); "Minnesota
Eyewitness," published in several papers (undated and 1952-1956); "Brenda
Ueland ..." (1959, 1962-1963), "Report On Poor Animals" (undated and
1962-1965), and "Beauty and Bravery" (1971-1973), published in
Minnesota Posten; and several miscellaneous
columns. A number of columns related to Norway, art, and music, which Ueland
considered using in a book, are also included. |
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Untitled Drafts, undated. 3 folders.
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| Location | Box |
| 143.E.5.2F | 5 | |
Untitled Drafts, 1943-1962, 1975. 1 reel
mircofilm.
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"Minneapolis Scene" Drafts, undated and 1943-1947,
1952, 1962. 3 folders.
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"Round the Town" and "What Goes On Here," undated and
1943-1948. 4 folders.
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"Minnesota Eyewitness," undated and
1952-1956.
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"Brenda Ueland ...," 1959, 1962-1963.
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"Report On Poor Animals," undated and
1962-1965.
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"Beauty and Bravery" and Untitled Columns, undated and
1971-1980. 2 folders.
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Columns on Norway, Art, and Music, undated and
1971-1975.
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Magazine Articles, undated and 1917-1941. 5 folders.
|
| | | Includes a number of Ueland's unpublished and published articles
(undated and 1917-1941). The bulk of the articles were written by Ueland while
supporting herself and her daughter after her first divorce and were published
in several magazines including Golfer and
Sportsman, Everweek, Metropolitan, Ladies Home
Journal, Liberty, Saturday Evening Post, and Delineator. |
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Radio Scripts:
|
| | | Includes scripts Ueland wrote for the following radio shows: the
"Anne Herrold Program," a radio news program broadcast in Minneapolis (March
11-May 28, 1936); "Tell Me More," a program that featured Ueland's answers to
listeners' personal problems (June-July, 1942); and "Stories for Girl Heroes,"
a children's program that profiled notable women. |
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"Anne Herrold Program," March 11-May 18,
1936.
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"Tell Me More" and "Stories For Girl Heroes," undated
and June-July 1942.
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| Location | Box |
| 143.E.5.2F | 5 |
Miscellaneous Writings, undated and 1953,
1980.
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Books:
|
| | | Includes a group of notes containing story ideas, titles, and
characters; an outline for a book of Ueland's collected works; a copyright
certificate for Ueland's book, Clara Ueland of Minnesota (1967); and a mock-up
copy of "The Minnetonka Astonisher" (1949), a newspaper Ueland proposed to
publish with four other women. |
| | | There is also a collection of articles (1947-1966) Ueland
intended to use in a book based on her column, "Report On Poor Animals"; her
outline and notes for a novel based on the life of the Italian patriot Giuseppe
Garibaldi; the manuscript for an unpublished book on health entitled "Beauty
& Bravery"; and a manuscript entitled, "O Clouds, Unfold!," a biography of
Ueland's mother, which was privately printed under the title Clara Ueland of
Minnesota (1967). |
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Book and Story Ideas, undated and 1952, 1967,
1971.
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"Report on the Poor Animals," 1947-1966.
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| Location | Box |
| 143.E.5.3B | 6 | |
Garibaldi: Outline and Notes. 5 folders.
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Manuscripts:
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"Beauty & Bravery." 2 folders.
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"O Clouds, Unfold!" 4 folders.
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Return to the Organization of the Collection Section
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Bibliographies, Notes, and Quotations, undated and
1930-1981
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| The bibliographies contain books that Ueland considered important
and worth reading. The notes and quotations pertain to a philosophy course
Ueland took from Dr. David Swenson at the University of Minnesota (1933) and
her personal reading in literature, history, religion, and philosophy. |
| Location | Box |
| 143.E.5.3B | 6 |
Bibliographies.
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Volume 19. Reading Notes, 1930.
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Volume 20. Philosophy Class Notes, 1933.
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Volume 21. Notes on Plato.
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Volume 22. Reading Notes and Bibliographies,
1934.
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Notes, undated and 1924, 1948-1981. 3 folders.
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Vivisection and Vegetarianism, undated and 1933,
1960-1968
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| Includes articles, brochures, correspondence, and a speech related
to Ueland's animal welfare work with Pet Haven, Inc.; her opposition to
vivisection; and her related interest in vegetarianism. |
| Location | Box |
| 143.E.5.3B | 6 |
Correspondence and miscellaneous related papers, 1933,
1960-1968.
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