Torgersen (Olaf) Collection, 1907-1957

Summary

Creators:

Torgersen, Olaf

Abstract:

Olaf Torgersen was born in 1885 in Larvik, Norway. He left Norway in 1914 to work as a sea captain in China and Hong Kong, where he captained a number of ships until returning to Oslo, Norway, with his wife in 1951. The collection contains the personal and professional papers of Torgensen, including identification cards and passports, his master's certificates and records related to his service on various ships, and personal correspondence, ephemera, and articles.

Extent:

0.23 linear feet

Language:

English, Chinese, Norwegian, French, German, Spanish; Castilian

Preferred citation:

For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual, or see the Citing Archival Materialsguide.

Background

Scope and content:

The Olaf Torgersen Collection consists of personal and professional documents related to Torgersen's life as a sea captain in China and Hong Kong. The collection is divided into three series: Identification Documents (1914-1952), Career Records (1907-1950), and Personal Materials (1927-1957).

Series I, Identification Documents, consists of various vital records belonging to Torgersen, including his baptismal certificate, two Norwegian passports, a Chinese sailor's identification booklet, an official Chinese identification card, a medical information card and a business card.

Series II, Career Records, contains records relating to Torgersen's work as a sea captain. Items in the series include letters verifying Torgersen's service on a number of ships, master's certifications from Norway, China, and Panama allowing Torgersen to captain vessels, statistics taken regarding a shipping route from Shanghai to Keelung, and a statement written by Torgersen seeking damages for losses suffered by him during World War II.

Series III, Personal Materials, contains miscellaneous correspondence, ephemera and documents related to Torgersen's life in China and Hong Kong. Items in the series include membership cards, receipts, newspaper articles, correspondence about loan assistance, a ticket to the Hong Kong Jockey Club and a postcard sent to Torgersen in Norway in the 1950s.

Biographical / historical:

Olaf Torgersen was born in 1885 in Larvik, Norway. He left Norway in 1914 to work as a sea captain in China, where he captained a number of ships to various destinations around Southeast Asia. He also met and married Mary Fischer while in China, who had four children from a previous marriage, including Elsa Shelton Miller. On December 8, 1941, his ship was captured by the Japanese Naval Forces in the waters near Shanghai. He was imprisoned for a month in Shanghai before being sent to Sasebo, Japan, for questioning. He was eventually released in June of 1942, but did not find work again for 3 and a half years. In 1951, he and his wife returned to Norway and settled in Lillehammer.

Acquisition information:

Janet Augestad, 08/31/2011

Processing information:

Jessica Geiser, 2013

Arrangement:

Series I: Identification Documents, 1914-1952

Series II: Career Records, 1907-1950

Series III: Personal Materials, 1927-1957

Related resources

Related material:

Elsa Shelton Miller Collection, 1946-1950

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Ephemera
Documents
Photographs

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use.

Terms of access:

Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge. Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Preferred citation:

For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual, or see the Citing Archival Materialsguide.

Location of this collection:

California State University, Northridge, Old China Hands Archives

18111 Nordhoff Street

Northridge, CA 91330, US

Contact:

(818) 677-4594

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