Civilization.ca - Christian Bennedsen - Scrapbook of a Life in Letters

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Project Background

During the summer of 1998, a small group of historians met in a Toronto backyard to explore the possibility of putting together projects that would explore the potential of letters to advance our understanding of migration history. The work of Yves Roby on French Canadians in New England and Bruno Ramirez on English Canadians and French Canadians, as well as Italian immigrants and sojourners in Canada, had already examined the history of migration in a continental setting. They told a story of immigration as a process that traversed national boundaries and challenged traditional approaches to nation building through immigration.

A member of the group, Gabriele Scardellato, told us about Chris Bennedsen, an immigrant of Danish origin and an especially interesting man, who married Concetta (Connie) Colangelo, an Italian from Toronto, and, in his life, became the archivist and eventually the president of the Order Sons of Italy.

Project Background

In 1999, Gabriel met with Chris Bennedsen, who, by then, was living in a tall apartment building that offered a splendid view of Toronto. In the following months, Gabriel interviewed Chris on his life experiences and compiled an inventory of his letter collection. He eventually gave a paper on the subject at a conference in Moncton which, in collaboration with Yves Frenette, appeared in the publication More than Words. The collection is very special because not only had Chris saved the letters he received from his parents, brothers and sisters, and friends in Denmark, he had the letters he had written to them from Canada. In addition to the letters, there were photographs, pay stubs, work diaries, greeting cards, newsletters, and much more.

My CPM colleague, Bianca Gendreau, hired Carol Anderson to prepare a complete inventory of the collection. Carol worked with Gaetanne Blais over the ensuing months and years until the collection was finally deposited in the CMCC Archives in 2001.

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