Addison Street Baptist Church of Chicago collection, 1866-1986
Scope and Contents
This collection spans from the church's founding in 1866 to its 120th Anniversary in 1986.
The General folder contains various materials, such as anniversary bulletins, correspondence, and written histories.
The Församlingen och Hemmet series holds the serial publication by the same name. It's name changed to its English equivalent Church and Home in 1938.
The Bulletins series spans the dates 1938 to 1946 and are all in English.
The Kalender and Directories series span 1898-1940 with some missing issues. The first English verion was in 1930.
The Sick Benefit Society series includes 15 small booklets that record a member's contributions to the society. Each book includes the constitution and by-laws of the society.
The membership ledgers list the members of the congregation and details about contributions.
The Philathea class ledger is from the young ladies's Sunday School class, originally named the Alpha Class. Adolphia was a young people's society, and the ledger holds their meeting minutes. The Dorcas Society was a women's sewing circle, which broadened its work in 1902 to aiding the poor and ailing.
Dates
- 1866 - 1986
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for researcher use.
Historical Note
First Swedish Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois was founded in 1866. John Ring was the first pastor at the first church building on Oak Street. John Alexis Edgren later became pastor in 1870, beginning the journal "Zions Väktare" (Watchman of Zion). In 1971, Edgren planned to open a Swedish Baptist Seminary in the church basement; however, the seminary (later Bethel Theological Seminary) was begun at the facilities of the Union Baptist Theological Seminary instead. In October 1971, the church burned down in the Great Chicago Fire. The church was rebuilt in 1873. Some other pastors of the church were John Ongman, Eric Wingren, G. Arvid Hagstrom, Eric Sandell, V.E. Hedberg, Henry Wingblade. The church's second building was dedicated in 1890, located at the corner of Milton Avenue and Elm Street. In 1912, the third building was dedicated at Addison Street and Maple Square Avenue. During the 1920s, the church gradually switched from Swedish to the English language. In 1935, the church was renamed Addison Street Baptist Church. The church shut down between 1995 and 1996.
Extent
3 Cubic Feet
Language of Materials
English
Swedish
Arrangement
The collection is arranged primarily chronologically. Original or donated order has been lost.
Custodial History
The custodial history of this collection is unknown.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by archivist Diana Magnusson at an unknown date.
- Title
- Addison Street Baptist Church of Chicago, 1866-1986
- Author
- Rebekah Bain, Archivist
- Date
- July 2023
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the The History Center: Archives of Bethel University and Converge Repository