Anna Wallenberg

Anna Wallenberg

Anna Eleonora Charlotta von Sydow was born August 26th, 1838, in Stockholm. She was the daughter of rear admiral Gustaf von Sydow and his wife Eleonora, née Wiggman. She married banker André Oscar Wallenberg in 1861. He was a friend of her brother Fingal von Sydow and knew her family well. 

Anna was a very talented girl who was given the opportunity to develop her talents, especially in painting and piano playing. In a manner characteristic of the religious spirit of her time, she used her faith in God to understand the world around her.

Anna was determined to pursue an education and a field of activities that went beyond the traditional female education of her time, and this was also something AOW greatly appreciated. Instead of courting her with a conventional present, AOW paid tribute to Anna by giving her an educational trip to London. In September 1860, Anna headed off to the Eckstein sister’s rooming house for young women in London’s West End. The correspondence between Anna and AOW became very lively and came to encompass nearly fifty lengthy letters spread out over a year. On July 14, 1861, after extensive correspondence where two strong personalities found each other, AOW asked for Anna’s hand and the wedding took place two months later in Stockholm. 

Anna and AOW shared a common view of women’s undervalued roles both within the family and in society at large. They were both passionate about the need for women to be highly educated and to provide the emerging generation with solid knowledge. In addition to his career as a financier, AOW also had a political career and held an influential position in the Stockholm City Council. He was committed to the continued emancipation of women, and on this issue, he collaborated closely with Anna, who was active in the Married Women’s Property Rights Association.

With a shared fondness of large families, Anna gave birth to fourteen children and took on a great deal of parental responsibility. Anna had up to fifteen children to raise, including children from AOW’s previous marriage and his extramarital children. Despite the heavy responsibilities of caring for the children and serve as hostess for her and AOW’s social circle, she ensured to cultivate her own interests, such as painting and continuing her education.

Anna was active in several associations with a strong commitment. After AOW’s death, Anna’s interests in spiritualism, theosophy, and Catholicism increased. At the same time, Anna began a new life in public at the age of forty-eight and accomplished an impressive number of things before her death in 1910. She was chairwoman of the Friend of Craft Society, The Women’s Union for Swedish Naval Defense, the Fredrika Bremer Society’s Scholarship Fund, the Lotten Wennberg Fund, and the Benedichska Fund. She was also a board member of Pauvres honteux and the Society for the Organization of Charitable Activities, and the sole female member of the boards of the Gripsholm Society and the Royal Committee for Swedish Participation in the Paris World Fair of 1900. On her 70th birthday, Anna received the royal medal Illis quorum of the twelfth order.

The Foundation has her records and they are available through this link

Archival inventory, files F1:
 

  1. 1857-1890 Letters from her husband A.O. Wallenberg. 1857-1885, through medium 1890.

  2. 1862-1907 Letters from her stepchildren Oscara, Jacob, Knut, Wilhelm.
  3. 1874-1905 Letters from her sons Gustaf, Marcus.
  4. 1877-1909 Letters from her daughter Anna.
  5. 1885-1909 Letters from her children: Ingeborg, Oscar.
  6. 1886-1901 Letters from her children: Lilly, Axel, Victor, Alfhild, Ruth.
  7. 1880-1899 Letters from her daughter Siri.
  8. 1900-1909 Letters from her daughter Siri.
  9. Letters from other persons A-E.
  10. Letters from other persons F-M.
  11. Letters from other persons N-U.
  12. Letters from other persons V-Ö.
  13. 1910-1911 Anna Wallenberg’s period of illness and death.
  14. 1910-1910 Estate I. Inheritance, Estate Inventory, Letters from the Bank, bills.
  15. 1904-1910 Estate II. Promissory Notes, Shares, Donation Orders 1904, Letter to the Estate from MWSr concerning sale of Kungsträdgårdsg. 14. The Heirs’ notes regarding the inheritance.
  16. School essays.
  17. 1855-1910 Various I.
  18. Various II. Newspaper clippings, publications etc.
  19. 1897-1910 Various letters, The Women’s Union for Swedish Naval Defense, Stafsing and Södermanland Railway Malmvik 1897 with Anna Wallenberg’s answer, Svensk lösen 1907, Prints, A W 70 years 1908, A W death 1910.
  20. 1881-1909 Malmvik, Kungsträdgårdsgatan 14, Sirishof, Verifications 1881-1895, Accounting 1904-1909, with Malmvik-envelop.
  21. 1887-1910 Malmvik, Constructions 1893-1907, (Christmas presents 1902-1909?), Income and expenses 1887-1910.
  22. 1882-1910 Malmvik, Kungsträdgårdsgatan 14, Income and expenses 1899-1910, Bills in SEB 1886-1904, Shares 1888-1904, The Children 1882-1910, Various 1902-1910, Gifts 1891-1910.
  23. 1887-1910 Malmvik, Kungsträdgårdsgatan 14 1897-1910, The servants 1907-1910, Dividends 1888-1902, Attire 1887-1900, Wines, travel, interest rates 1887-1910.

There are also three volumes with correspondence with the family marked Korr_1, Korr_2 and Korr_3. They contain name lists.