Roland Swanson Papers

2 boxes

Contains materials related to the career of Roland Swanson mostly from the 1980s and 1990s, including items from his time as an archivist, his correspondence, and his work on church history.

Biographical note

The Reverend Roland Hilding Swanson was born in Seattle, Washington, on April 13, 1915, the son of Reverend Carl Rubert Swanson and Linda (Nelson) Swanson. He grew up in Seattle, attended the two-year Pacific Lutheran College from 1933-1935, and graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in history in 1937. His B.D. degree was from Augustana Seminary in Rock Island, Illinois, in 1942. He was ordained on June 14, 1942, in Jamestown, New York, and married Isabella Magnuson of Seattle, Washington that same year. The Swansons had four children.

Roland Swanson’s first call was in Bakersfield, California (1942-1944), and his second in Yakima, Washington (1944-1956). His longest tenure was in Mt. Vernon, Washington (1956-1977), and his last call was in Portland, Oregon (1977-1980). Swanson’s additional service included serving as secretary (and official or unofficial archivist) to the Augustana Lutheran Church’s Columbia Conference and the Lutheran Church in America’s Pacific Northwest Synod. In addition, he served on the boards of Columbia Hospital in Astoria, Oregon, the Columbia Home in Seattle, and the Lutheran Family and Child Service of Washington. He is the author of New Partners-Old Roots: A History of Merging Lutheran Churches in the Pacific Northwest (1986).