Alvin E. Olson Papers, 1902-1970
Table of Contents
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Olson, Alvin E.
- Title
- Alvin E. Olson Papers
- Dates
- 1902-1970 (inclusive)19021970
- Quantity
- 4 boxes, (5 linear feet of shelf space.)
- Collection Number
- Cage 288
- Summary
- Correspondence, financial and tax records, legal documents, and other records, principally of the family farm, which was assumed by J. Forrest Olson upon his father's retirement in the 1940s.
- Repository
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Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu - Access Restrictions
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This collection is open for research use.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Biographical Note
Alvin Emel Olson was born in 1877 near Stockholm, Sweden, and emigrated to the United States in 1883. He lived on his father's farm near Harrington, Washington, for some years before acquiring a farm of his own in Whitman County near Pullman in 1908. Olson and his wife, Ella Cecelia Lybecker, had six children, three of whom reached adulthood.
Elected to the Washington State House of Representatives in 1923, Olson served as chairman of the Educational Institutions Committee, and was a member of the Banks and Banking, Dairy and Livestock, Public Morals, and Roads and Bridges committees. During his approximately twelve years in the Legislature he was noted for supporting the interests of Washington State University.
In addition to farming and holding public office, Olson was also a director and later vice president of the First National Bank of Pullman. He served as a lobbyist in the Legislature for the Washington State Cooperative Council in the 1940s, at which time he was also president of Pullman Grain Growers, Inc. When he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the 1940s, his son, J. Forrest, assumed management of the farm. Alvin E. Olson died 19 January 1950.
Use of the Collection
Preferred Citation
[Item Description]. Cage 288, Alvin E. Olson Papers. Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Administrative Information
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in six series. Letters written by A.E. Olson and his wife, Ella Cecelia, are included in the first series with correspondence to Olson and his family. Miscellaneous papers of considerable age and unique nature, mainly personal items of A.E. and J. Forrest Olson as well as First National Bank and Pullman Grain Growers materials, comprise the second series. Olson's legislative materials make up a series unto themselves, followed by non-financial records of the Olson farm. Legal documents and financial materials of A.E. and J. Forrest Olson, their families, and the Olson farm make up the final two series.
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
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Correspondence, 1906-1965
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Description: Letters of A.E. Olson23 items.Dates: 1929-1949Container: Box 1, Folder 1
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Description: Letters of Ella Cecelia Olson8 items.Dates: 1940-1949Container: Box 1, Folder 2
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Description: Correspondence to A.E. Olson and family24 items.Dates: 1906-1965Container: Box 1, Folder 3
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Description: Miscellaneous Papers27 items.Dates: 1907-1954Container: Box 1, Folder 4
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Description: Legislative Materials7 items.Dates: 1922-1948Container: Box 1, Folder 5
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Description: Farm Materials21 items.Dates: 1921-1968Container: Box 1, Folder 6
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Description: Legal Documents42 items.Dates: 1902-1968Container: Box 1, Folder 7
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Financial Records, 1905-1970
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Description: Financial Materials70 items.Dates: 1914-1966Container: Box 1, Folder 8
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Description: Tax Materials70 items.Dates: 1905-1965Container: Box 1, Folder 9-10
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Description: C. Cash, Account, and Employees' Time Books46 volumes.Dates: 1907-1970Container: Box 2-4
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Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Personal Names
- Olson, Alvin Emel, 1877-1950 --Archives (creator)
Occupations
- Farmers--Washington (State)--Whitman County--Records and correspondence
