Manuscripts Collection
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's siblings include Anne (1886-1960), Elsa (1888-1980), Sigurd (1893-1975), Arnulf (1895-1978), Rolf (1899-1973), and Torvald (1902-1978). Another sister, Dorothy, was born between Elsa and Brenda but died as an infant.
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
In 1930 Ueland returned to Minneapolis, where she continued to write. She published
two books:
Ueland was married and divorced two more times. Her second husband was Manus
McFadden, editor of the
Biographical data was taken from the collection.
Diaries and logs (1905-1983), correspondence (1857-1993), genealogical/biographical material, published and unpublished newspaper columns (1943-1980) and magazine articles (1917-1941), radio scripts, newspaper clippings, notes, manuscripts, and bibliographies documenting the life (1891-1985) and career of this Minneapolis feminist and author and her family. Some of the genealogical and biographical material is in Norwegian. Most of the diaries and logs are available for use on microfilm.
Most of the Ueland family papers are separately arranged and described and include correspondence, diaries, miscellaneous writings, and genealogical/biographical data. Additional family material may be found among Brenda's papers.
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.
These records are divided into the following sections:
Access to and use of correspondence shelved in Reserve requires the curator's permission.
Access to Fridtjof Nansen's letters is limited to persons age 18 and older. Nansen's letters to Brenda Ueland contain (in part) explicit descriptions of his sexual history and of his sexual passion for Ueland herself. One of these letters contains six nude photographs of Nansen.
Microfilmed original diaries (3.0 cubic feet) are closed to general use.
St. Paul, Minn. : Minnesota Historical Society, 1994. 4 reels ; 35 mm.
Microfilmed diaries are available for sale or interlibrary loan from the Minnesota Historical Society.
Accession numbers: 14,933; 15,150; 15,192; 16,197; 16,432
Processed by: Frank P. Hennessy, August 1993; Shelby Edwards, Julia Weisgram and Christopher G. Welter, March 2010
Catalog ID number: 001730103
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the
Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics
should
Sorted by recipient, the correspondence is primarily between and among Andreas and Clara Hampson Ueland and their seven children. The bulk is to daughter Brenda, with many more to her mother (Clara) and two sisters (Anne and Elsa). More family correspondence may be found in Brenda Ueland's general correspondence.
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.
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; and a fire that destroyed Torvald Ueland's home in Red Bank, New Jersey (1972).
Many supplied dates are from Brenda while researching the biography
Between Elsa and Brenda's births, Clara gave birth to another daughter, Dorothy, who died while an infant.
Domestic scenes.
Comments and reviews of his books.
A kind of family newspaper for the kids.
Assumed to be Clara's notes on "Laws of Childhood."
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.
Arranged alphabetically by surname with miscellaneous and general correspondence following that. Includes letters to and from friends, other authors, and a few family members (including those found among the Ueland Family Papers). Topics include reactions to Ueland's books and columns, religion, and politics.
A sizable set pertains to Brenda's daughter, Gabrielle "Gaby" Ueland, who married four times: Bill Gray, Bill Whelan, Bill Oriol, and James McIver. This correspondence is principally between Gaby and Brenda and includes some photographs. Topics include sympathy notes to Gaby after Brenda's death (1985); Brenda's advice 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.
Irish novelist, poet, and physician Oliver St. John Gogarty discusses his writings and his work with editors and publishers, his visits with Ueland, and Ueland's review of his book of collected poems. Includes two of his articles and a manuscript copy of his poem, "The Phoenix and the Unicorn."
A female professional wrestler.
Brenda's niece.
A collection of letters from Anne E. Moffett of St. Augustine, Florida (1965-1977), who discusses her writing and admiration for Ueland's writings; her attachment to her dogs; her estrangement from her family; and her interest in Rosicrucianism, mysticism, and Jungian psychology.
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 1929) 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.
Includes letters, editorials, poems, and essays written by Laurits Rusten, of Minneapolis, 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.
Ueland's enthusiasm for running and walking led to her friendship and correspondence with Walt Stack, a marathon runner from 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.
Brenda's sister-in-law.
Brenda's nephew.
Mainly addressed to Brenda. Known correspondents: Adriaan Barnouw, Helen Baxter, H. D. Faxon, Patricia Hampl, Carl Hansen, Frances Manford, Helen Shearer, Josephine Sampson, Fanny Struck, and Carlotta Taylor.
Includes correspondence between and among Brenda's parents and siblings. Several high-profile correspondents' letters have been replaced with photocopies while the originals are held in reserve.
Correspondents include Langston Hughes, Henrik Ibsen, Sinclair Lewis, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Carl Sandburg.
Digital version of Langston Hughes's correspondence.
Digital version of Henrik Ibsen's autograph.
Digital version of Sinclair Lewis's correspondence.
Digital version of Eleanor Roosevelt's correspondence.
Digital version of Carl Sandburg's correspondence.
An original set of Brenda Ueland's diaries was microfilmed in 1994. More diaries, including one she began as a teenager in 1910, have been added since. The following description pertains to the microfilmed diaries only.
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
1953-1958: Ueland discusses her work writing columns and selling advertising
for the
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
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.
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
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
Radio news program broadcast in Minneapolis (March 11-May 28, 1936).
"Tell Me More" featured Ueland's answers to listeners' personal problems (June-July, 1942), and "Stories for Girl Heroes" was a children's program that profiled notable women.
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,
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).
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.
Some of the notes suggest Ueland was preparing a book for publication, with some chapters in partial evidence.
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.
Some issues are wanting.
Some issues are wanting.
Some of Brenda Ueland's diaries and logs were microfilmed to protect the fragile originals.