Kaarle Hjalmar Lehtinen Collection: A Finnish-U.S. Archival Collaboration
The Migration Institute of Finland and the University of Minnesota’s Immigration History Research Center Archives (IHRCA) have collaborated to digitally connect the archives of Kaarle Hjalmar Lehtinen. The joint digitization work began in 2024 with Cultural Diplomacy Program funding from the US Embassy in Finland.
Kaarle Hjalmar Lehtinen (1892–1995) immigrated to the United States in 1912. Lehtinen became a successful entrepreneur and was active in U.S.-Finnish organizational life. Additionally, he was a patron of Finnish-American research and culture, and he donated much of his wealth to Finnish and American organizations in his later years. One of his largest donations was a donation of $100,000 USD to the Migration Institute of Finland in 1982, which became the Kaarle Hjalmar Lehtinen Fund. The Lehtinen Fund continues to be distributed annually through the Migration Institute, to support research on Finnish migration, especially to North America. Kaarle Lehtinen also made a donation to the IHRCA at the University of Minnesota to support their work in Finnish archival collections.
At IHRCA, the Lehtinen Family Papers (1912-1995) consist of biographical information, photographs, postcards, newspaper clippings, materials documenting Finnish American life in places where Kaarle Lehtinen resided, primarily Montreal, Wisconsin; Newport, New Hampshire; and Lake Worth, Florida. The collection contains a large set of letters to Kaarle Lehtinen from Lempi Ikävalko (1901-1996), an established poet in Finland who immigrated to the United States in the 1950s where she worked as a journalist for Finnish-American newspapers, most notably for Raivaaja in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.
Kaarle Lehtinen materials from the Migration Institute of Finland’s (MIF) Archives, as part of the Lempi Ikävalko collection, consist of letters, including his to Ikävalko and others, as well as copies of several articles written of him by Ikävalko.
In addition to offering insights on the life of Kaarle Hjalmar Lehtinen, the newly digitized archival materials provide valuable sources for the study of Finnish American community life over several decades. The archival collaboration has also highlighted the role of Finnish journalist, poet, and performer, Lempi Ikävalko, in facilitating her longtime friend and correspondent Kaarle Hjalmar Lehtinen’s philanthropy.
To improve accessibility and encourage use, the materials have been transcribed in both Finnish and English, and metadata is available in English, Finnish, and Swedish.
Links to Materials
MIF Archives materials on Finna
Archival Assistant Iida Pulkkinen’s blog text on her work with the project (”Arkistoharjoittelun kautta mikrohistorian maailmaan”, Soihtu 7.5.2025, in Finnish): https://sites.utu.fi/soihtu/arkistoharjoittelun-kautta-mikrohistorian-maailmaan/
Project Team
MIF:
Jarno Heinilä, Archivist, Migration Institute of Finland
Iida Pulkkinen, Archival Assistant
Samira Saramo, Senior Research Fellow and Acting Research Director, Migration Institute of Finland
IHRCA:
Daniel Necas, Archivist, Immigration History Research Center Archives
Ellen Engseth, Curator, Immigration History Research Center Archives and Head, Migration and Social Services Collections, University of Minnesota Libraries
