The Library

My small library with books related to missionary history is slowly growing. The books are particularly concentrating on the Swedish Mission to China, its missionaries and publications. I love physical books, and regularly search online antiquarian bookstores to see if they have any of my relatives’ books, or works by their friends and missionary colleagues. From time to time, I get lucky, and order them, eagerly awaiting their arrival. More often than not, have to open the pages with a knife or a pair of scissors as the books may be old, but have never been read by anyone.

It’s fascinating to be the first-time reader of a book from the early 1900s. Imagine this book having existed for over a hundred years but never having been flicked through… I sometimes think about this often one-time author, whose book is now opened for the first time by a person two-three generations down, and I wonder what they would have thought about that.

These books do smell in a certain way. A bit like dusty, old paper found in an attic. And if there are images, they are small, black and white, and often glossier than the rest of the page. I am always very happy to find photos. It’s a big help, when trying to understand the conditions the missionaries and the Chinese lived under. Unfortunately it’s not always explained who are in the photos, but as my research has progressed, I can now identify many more faces than at the beginning of my journey into this old world.

Apart from my physical books, I have also collected an extensive digital library with letters, scanned books from the national library and other sources, as well as scanned missionary newspapers such as the Sinims Land, where a lot of the experiences my great grandparents had, are told in article form. On top of that I collect publications and books from my relatives’ time period, to get a sense of context. I also refer a lot to Chinese history books to understand the political twists and turns of the time.

But the most important and cherished part of  my collection so far, are all the photographs that I have scanned, taken my own photographs of, downloaded and found in different books and articles or been given by kind relatives, who have understood my interest in family history.

I always look for information about the 1800-1900s and often find a reference, a small text or a picture that I can relate to my relatives. A very recent example is a book “Kvinnors röster i arkiven” or “Womens’ Voices in the Archives”, in English. It was published by the Swedish National Archive and came to me by chance. Flicking through the pages there it was – a section about the Swedish missionaries in China!

The section focuses on Chinese women in Swedish archives, and some of the photographs are from my relatives’ mission in China. The fact that the Swedish Mission has given their archive to the National Archive, is such a good deed for everybody who wants to dive into this part of Swedish, Chinese and female history.

Or a fairly new book about the deacon movement in Sweden, where my grandfather suddenly appears in a group photo – recognizable by his characteristic glasses and tall figure, standing third to the right, bottom third row. I got the book as I knew he had been working at this deacon home for many years, and it is a great resource to understanding what his time there was like. I have tried to get access to the archive at this deacon home – but it’s private and they won’t open it to a member of the public – which just goes to show that having public, open archives is a democratic service that cannot be taken for granted, and it is such a treasure for those of us who want to do our own research.

Of course, one has to know where to look, and know the family history, in order to discover these gems.

Finding these books, photos, articles, and letters feels like slowly uncovering a story that grows richer and more fascinating with each discovery. Along the way, this work has also allowed me to connect with my relatives — not only those I’ve found through my research and have had the chance to meet, but also those who have long since passed. I feel as though I almost know my great-grandparents today, even though I never met them. Their words transcend time, reaching out to me, revealing their dreams, flaws, strengths, and resilience in a way that is truly captivating.

A future challenge for me will be to organize these findings in a structured, logical and searchable way, so that the next generation understands the value – because sooner or later one will not be able to find these books on the market any more. However, I have a feeling that my collecting phase isn’t quite over yet, nor do I want it to be. I am quite happy uncovering bits and pieces of my family’s past, fitting them into the greater picture at a slow pace.