Guide to the Paul A. Rennord Collection

Collection

Identifier: OPVSIEmss_273

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection is a compilation of the documents, letters, personal items, and resources Paul Rennord had accumulated of his Swedish and Norwegian relatives and ancestors between the years 1982 and 2001, as well as information on Scandinavian history and culture, and ranges from the 1600’s to the 1990’s.The earliest documents, those from the seventeenth century, are church records from the parishes of Aamot and Ørre Rendal in Norway. The largest part of the collection is the series of family letters collected and kept by Paul’s grandmother, Anna Louisa Lind and his mother, Evangeline. This compilation of letters includes the family of both his mother and his father, Arnold Rennord Schreiner. The Schreiner and Rennord families, who make up the first part of the compilation, appear to have a history connecting them as early as the 1700’s. The Schreiners, according to Paul Rennord’s research, were a family of carpenters who originated from Germany and settled in Norway sometime between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Arnold Schreiner moved to the United States in about the 1890’s and then married Evangeline Lind in 1913. The Schreiners in the United States officially changed their name to Rennord in 1918. The second part of the collection consists of letters from Evangeline’s Swedish family. Her mother, born Anna Louisa Gustafsdotter in 1844, had two husbands, first Jonas Alfrid Johnson and after his death she later married Swan Lind. The collection includes the letters of the families of both her husbands, as well as the family of her father, Gustaf Isaksson. These letters range from 1869 to about the 1970’s. Also included are the correspondence between Paul Rennord and his relatives from Norway and Sweden.

Dates

1668-2001

Creator

Rennord, Paul A. (Person)

Biographical / Historical

Paul A. Rennord was born in the Ballard area of Seattle on June 17, 1918. He grew up in Steilacoom, Washington and graduated from Tacoma’s Stadium High School in 1936. He attended the University of Washington and through his ROTC training, was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve in 1939. He was called to active duty in the Army Field Artillery in 1940 and trained over the course of several years in the United States, Iceland, and Ireland. In the July of 1944, his battalion landed in Normandy as part of the 5th Infantry Division in General Patton’s Third Army, moving across France and Germany and by the end of the war had reached Czechoslovakia. During this time he was wounded twice, but was able to return to his unit in both instances. In 1946, Rennord was discharged with the rank of Major. Upon his return to the United States, he completed his university courses and received a degree in Civil Engineering. He first worked with the State of Washington designing bridges. Later he joined the Weyerhaeuser Company, where he worked for 36 years, managing projects in the Wood Products engineering group and the Hardwood Division and travelling to various parts of the U.S. and in the Far East. During this time he met and married his wife Adelle. After retiring from Weyerhaeuser, he spent several years in private engineering consulting practice. During his retirement he researched his family history, of both his Swedish and Norwegian relatives, and complied and organized a collection of his findings, including family letters that were in his grandmother’s possession. He also contributed to the book Time Keepers’ Memories of WWII. On August 3, 2001, he passed away in Federal Way at the age of 83.