O.
J. Kvale, Orfordville, Wisconsin; Rev. J. Nordby, Lee, Illinois; Dr. N.
C. Evans, Mt. Lie of Deerfield, Wisconsin, for immigration from
Voss in 1838-1844, and Mr. Elim Ellingson and wife of Capron, Illinois,
on the founders of the Long Prairie Settlement. Finally,
I wish to thank Dr. N. C. Evans of Mt. Population, Resources, Pursuits of her
People, Social Conditions, Laws and Institutions 18
CHAPTER II. Beaver Creek. Shelby County, Missouri. The Settlement of Norway and Raymond Townships,
Racine County. Course of the Journey. A Vossing
Colony. The Heart Prairie Settlement in Walworth Co.,
Wis. Skoponong. Blue Mounds in Western Dane County, Wisconsin 340
CHAPTER XL. I hope to be able to treat elsewhere, later, of some of these
problems. There
are in America today about one million people of Norwegian birth, or
Norwegian parentage. That is, there are nearly half as many of that
nationality in America as in Norway itself. In the latter
city there is broad daylight at midnight from May twenty-third to July
twentieth. Christiania, 1900. Cammermeyers Forlag, Christiania. [4] It was 1,490,950 in 1855, 2,350,000 in 1908. That is, reckoned as a whole, about twelve per cent
attain to the age of sixty years or more. The average age in Norway is fifty, while for instance, in Italy it
is thirty-five. Here, too, the contribution of Norway to our
population in America has been considerable, especially during the last
twenty years. Norway is, next to Finland, the most temperate of European countries. It has compulsory education, its
boards of inspection and its great Department of Public Instruction. Being closely cognate with English, a large
part of the vocabulary of the two is of the same stock. Further, its
sound system is fundamentally similar. This is of
the greatest importance, for language is in modern times the real
badge of nationality. These have settled
chiefly in South Australia, Victoria and New Zealand. This increase thus has been 1.40 per cent annually, that is,
the race has doubled itself in fifty years. The following table will show the proportion contributed by the
countries designated for each decade since 1850:
TABLE I
_1850_ _1860_ _1870_ _1880_ _1890_ _1900_
-------------PER CENT-------------
Ireland 42.8 38.9 33.3 27.8 20.2 15.6
Germany 26 30.8 30.4 29.4 30.1 25.8
England 12.4 10.5 10 9.9 9.8 8.1
Canada 6.6 6 8.9 10.7 10.6 11.4
Scotland and Wales 4.4 3.7 3.8 3.8 3.7 3.2
Scandinavia .9 1.7 4.3 6.6 10.1 10.3
Thus it will be seen that among European countries Scandinavia,
considered as one, stands third in the number of persons contributed
to the American foreign-born population, exceeding that of Scotland
and Wales in 1870 and that of England in 1890. [15]
[15] Or 28,000 according to Norwegian statistics. Wisconsin was the destination
of the Norwegian immigrant from the time emigration began to assume
larger proportions, and it held the lead for twenty-five years. Such is
also the case with the inland states of the South, as in the Southwest. [19] It seems that this city was so named by the colonists after
the city of Bergen, Norway. Claes Carstensen died November sixth, 1679. [21] See _The Bergen Family_, by Teunis Bergen. The property was
later sold to Trinity Church, the present churchyard occupying the site
of the original church. Rasmus Anderson, who has given this
subject much study. In the church records of this colony
there appear not a few Norwegian names, particularly in the later
period. He came to New York in
1753, having sailed from London on the ship _Irene_, June thirteenth,
arriving on September ninth. She died in 1758,
he in 1760, leaving a son, Abraham Reinke. He died in 1750. With the last ship he arrived
in Philadelphia February eighteenth, 1781. He had been a pensionist here for a number of years, being known
generally by the nickname "Paul Jones." Immig. to Iowa_). The first president of the society was Abraham Markoe
(Markö), a Norwegian. The President of the St. Andrew's Society,
Rev. Wm. Just when the
Societies Scandinaviensis ceased to exist, the Historian cannot say. At a later date some other names also appear, but those given are the
only ones of which we have any record. On
the fourth of July, 1825, they set sail from Stavanger. The following
fifty-two persons made up the party: Lars Larson and wife Martha
Georgiana; Lars Olson, who was captain of the boat, Cornelius Nelson
Hersdal, wife and four children;[27] Daniel Stenson Rossadal, wife and
five children;[28] Thomas Madland, wife and three children,[29] Nels
Nelson Hersdal and wife Bertha, Knud Anderson Slogvig, Jacob Anderson
Slogvig, Gudmund Haugaas, Johannes Stene, wife and two children, Öien
Thorson (Thompson) wife and three children,[30] Simon Lima, wife and
three children, Henrik Christopherson Hervig, and wife, Ole Johnson,
George Johnson, Thorsten Olson Bjaaland, Nels Thorson, Ole Olson
Hetletvedt, Sara Larson (sister of Lars Larson), Halvor Iverson, Andrew
Stangeland, the mate, Nels Erikson, and the cook, Endre Dahl. [27] Anne (b. 1814), Nels (b. 1816), Inger (b. 1819), and Martha
(b. 1807), Ove (b. 1809), Lars (b. 1812), John (b. 1821), Hulda (b. 1807), Julia (b. 1810), Senena (b. [30] Sara (b. 1818), Anna Maria (b. 1819), Caroline (b. After a perilous voyage of fourteen weeks they landed in New York,
October ninth. 10-19, or to
Anderson's _First Chapter_, pp. The briefest facts I may, however, relate here. This man was
Björn Björnson from Stavanger, a cousin of Kleng Peerson; he brought
his wife and several children with him, but left two girl twins, born
in May of that year, with a relative who then lived in Tjensvold, near
Stavanger. I wish to add a few words here about Lars Larson, however. He does not seem to have gone directly to
Kendall, for we find him soon after the owner of fifty acres of forest
land in Morris County, New Jersey. These men selected their land and
perfected their purchase as soon as it came into market the following
spring. The first two to buy land were Jacob Slogvig and Gudmund
Haugaas, whose purchase is recorded under June fifteenth, 1835, the
former of eighty acres, the latter one hundred and sixty acres, both
in that part of what was then called Mission Township, but later came
to be Rutland. The slooper Thomas Madland, as we have seen, died in 1826; his widow
and family of seven also moved to Illinois in 1831. Knud Slogvig, who, as we see, came in 1834, did not buy land but
somewhat later returned east and in 1835 went back to Norway. She died in Rutland Township, La
Salle County, in 1846 and he later married Caroline Hervig, a sister
of Henrik Hervig (Harwick). The widow lived until about 1897. He lived until 1886, his wife having died in 1882. Peter Nelson
and Ira Nelson of La Salle County, are their sons. James Olson, who also
went to the front, lived to return to his home after the war. He was
a man of much enlightenment and liberalmindedness to whom America's
free institutions made a strong appeal. He
advised all who could do so to come to America, where it was permitted
to settle wherever one chose, he says. [35] Gjert Hovland,
as we have seen, came to Illinois in 1835. [35] _First Chapter_, p. 331. [36] That is, "Northman." Compare
Table II, Appendix. He says:
I was my father's oldest son, and consequently heir to the Luraas
farm. It was regarded as one of the best in that neighborhood,
but there was a $1,400 mortgage on it. [42] _Billed-Magazin_, 1869, pp. 6-7. He died in 1894. In 1844, Hans
C. Tollefsrude and wife emigrated from Land. Rev. In the case of my parents, they came
here to create the home that they saw no chance of securing in the
mother country. (Letter of Oct. 12, 1904.) Here, too, a
social factor merits mention. Alfred Hinds, 1902, pp. As we have seen, the first Norwegian settlement in America was
established in Kendall, Orleans County, New York, in 1825. I have not been able to secure a copy of the
above article, therefore cannot here state the arguments, or
cite more fully. Had it not been for these very men the party would probably
not have emigrated, at least not at that time. There are, however, very few Norwegian Baptists, and I
know of no cases where persecution drove Baptists to leave Norway. The first Norwegian to go to Utah
probably was Henrik E. Sebbe, who came to America in 1836, and went to
Utah in 1848, where he became a Mormon. The slooper
Gudmund Haugaas became an elder in the church of the Latter
Day Saints in La Salle County, Illinois; he died in 1849 and
was succeeded by his son Thomas Haugaas. N. M. Liljegren in Nelson's
_History of Scandinavians_, I, pp. [56] By far the larger number, however, are Swedes. "[57]
[57] See _Billed-Magazin_, p. 74. I, however,
remained at home with my father who was a farmer in the Parish of Tin. (_Billed-Magazin_, 1870, p. 38.) [58]
[58] Nelson's _History of Scandinavians_, page 56. He came to America in 1843, but returned to Norway soon after. [60] _The Pathfinder_, a book of one hundred and sixty-six pages. And as a result, many began to emigrate. Other settlers came
in subsequent years, more and more now coming directly from Norway
to La Salle County. The slooper,
Ole Olson Hetletvedt, had not come west with the first party. Here he married a Miss Chamberlain, then moved back to
Orleans County. In 1839 he and his wife went west, settling in Kendall
County. He died in Kendall County in 1849 or
1850. He settled at Rochester, Sangamon
County, Illinois. [63] While in Norway he married a sister of Ole Olson Hetletvedt,
which may have been in part the purpose of his return. [65] Langeland says a hundred and sixty on page eighteen of his
work, elsewhere a hundred and fifty. Two hundred seems,
however, to have been approximately the number. Not all who came settled in Mission and the later Miller townships,
however. The first white settler in Adams Township was Mordicai Disney, who
located there in 1836, slightly prior to the coming of the immigrants
from Stavanger. The first of our immigrants to locate in Adams Township where Halvor
Nelson and Ole T. Olson, who in the spring of 1837, settled on sections
twenty-one and twenty-two;[67] they had lived in Mission Township
since their coming in 1836. [67] The Olson homestead is still owned by the son, Nels Olson. Sævig was born
in 1803, his wife in 1809. [69] Died in 1876, ninety-two years old. Lars Bö and Michael Bö, who lived
and died in La Salle County, came when John Hill did. He first lived in Ohio, came in 1837 to Chicago, then to Norway,
La Salle County. He settled on a farm near Norway in 1848, but bought
in 1869 a farm near Newark, Kendall County; Herman Osmond died in
Newark in 1888. In 1848 he moved to Calumet, twenty miles south of
Chicago, where he lived until his death in 1882. Nils Röthe and
wife were the first to emigrate from Voss, Norway. He was a sailor and had, it seems, visited Chicago
before; what year he came to America, I do not know. There were
eleven persons in all who came from Ullensvang that year, the other
seven being: Jon Jonson Aga, wife and two children, Torbjörn Djönne,
Olav Öystenson Lofthus and Omund Helgeson Maakestad. There were also seven immigrants from Ulvik Parish, Hardanger, that
year; they were: Sjur Haaheim and wife, Paul Dale and wife, Sjur Dale
and wife and Aslak Holven. These were followed in the next year by _Enigheden_ (Harmony), Captain
Jensen, carrying ninety-three passengers. These were for the most part
from Tysvær and from Hjelmeland, and Aardal in Ryfylke, from the city
of Stavanger, and from Egersund. He says:
"Purely by accident I found in a friend's library in Bergen a book
by a German entitled REISEN IN AMERIKA.... As this book contained
some vivid pictures of the distant regions the traveller had
visited, as well as of the impressions he had received of land and
people in the new world, it was read with all the allurements of a
novel. [71] Especially in a German book on travels in America, see his
account, p. 21. The journey inland was attended by numerous expenses for which the
immigrants were not prepared. These went to Adrian, Lenawee County, but left again
soon after. Mons Aadland refused,
however, to go. The first question as to the nature of the country,
he answers by giving a very intelligent account of the topography and
climate of the country, the soil in the different parts, and of what
the produce of the different sections consists. There need be no fear, he
says, that the country will be full in fifty years. "Here," he says, live "only two Norwegians from
Drammen, who, together, own about eleven hundred acres of land"; (4)
Shelby County, Missouri, where a few Norwegians from Stavanger settled
in the spring of 1837; (5) Iroquois County, Illinois. "Here," he says,
"there are eleven or twelve families of those who came last summer." The sixth question as to the land in these localities, he answers by
praising the beauty and the fertility of the prairie. He thereupon gives the prices of livestock at the time,
and of produce, etc. A horse, we learn, costs from fifty to a hundred
dollars, a yoke of oxen, sixty to eighty. He discusses life in the new settlements, its trials and
attendant evils. He thereupon discusses the question of the dangers in
crossing the oceans, which, he says, are less than usually imagined,
and the rumor of enslavement of the immigrant. Many are thereby said to have come into bad
hands, and have not had it better than slaves. No Norwegian, as far as
I know, has fared in this way, nor is it to be feared, if one crosses
by a Norwegian ship, and with one's own countrymen." In 1825, the father moved
to Snaasen. Then he bought a small farm[74] which he had to give up again,
not being able to pay for it. We have
recited, briefly, his short career in America. Rynning was buried out on the prairie, but no one
knows now where the spot is. These men played such a
part in the immigration history of the period as to deserve something
more than a mere mention. This, which is an interview with Ole Nattestad, has been reprinted in
other works and I shall not take the space for it here. They
went on _skis_ from Rollaug to Tin, over the mountains and through
the forests to Stavanger. Thence, they went to New York, where
they met a few Norwegians, and thence again to Rochester. I
greeted the man, and the meeting was for us both as if two brothers
had met after a long separation. This man was one of the passengers on the _Aegir_, who had just then
arrived in Detroit. Of the subsequent events, the reader has already
been told. Halsten Brække-Eiet later settled in Dodgeville, Wisconsin. Torsten Gulliksrud
also settled in Illinois, but died early. With his
wife and children, he located at Beaver Creek, and they were among
the fortunate survivors of that colony. His widow (born 1798) was still
living in 1895. A grandson, Lars Fruland, resides at Newark, Illinois. Anders Nordvig, who also came on the _Aegir_, died in the Beaver Creek
Settlement. His widow, a sister of Knud Langeland, moved to La Salle
County; she died there at the age of ninety in 1892. Victor F. Lawson, owner of _The Chicago
News_, is her son. The first of these
returned to Norway in 1844, and, while there, married Marie L. Jermo;
he returned to America in 1845, and settled on Spring Prairie in
Columbia County, Wisconsin, where we shall meet with him again. We shall also meet
John Björgo below as one of the pioneers of Koshkonong, Wisconsin. Halle Væte died in Beaver Creek, as did his wife and grown-up
daughter. He was
born on the farm, Vælde, in Vats Parish in Ryfylke in 1813. [77] See above, page 101, for the circumstances of Narvig's coming
to Michigan. In 1867 he removed to
Adams County, Iowa, where he died in 1870. He had been an ardent Haugian, but became a Mormon in Illinois, and
later a Baptist. In 1868 he moved to Iowa, where he died in 1873. A
son, A. Hayer, lives in Leland, Illinois. [78] Attorney Samuel Richolson, of Ottawa, who died in 1906, was a
son of Lars Richolson. His widow,
Marietta Richolson, and two children are still living. Going north as far as the Wisconsin line
he stopped in what is now Clinton Township in Rock County. This was July first. The following summer, Ole built a
cabin in which he received, as we shall see below, the first group of
immigrants into that country in the early fall of that year. We shall later find him among the
pioneers of Koshkonong, Dane County, Wisconsin. Lie of Deerfield, Wisconsin. He then went
to Orleans County, New York. Sickness set in, brought on by the swampiness of the region, and
many of his party died. He thereupon (next year) abandoned the land,
taking with him the survivors. In the Kendall Settlement, Andrew J.
Stangeland bought the land of him for a nominal price. In Kendall, he
accumulated considerable property. He says:
"The report of my return spread like wild fire throughout the
country, and an incredibly large number of people came to me to get
news from America. There were, moreover, a host of people from Telemarken and Numedal, who
could not accompany him, as there was no more room in the ship. This was at the close of August. Then they returned to Milwaukee to perfect their purchase
of land there, the price paid being the usual one of a dollar and
twenty-five cents per acre. Indeed, nearly all of
the emigrants had come from these sections. The first emigrants from Telemarken also came
in 1837. As we have seen above, 1837 is also the year which records
the first immigration from Numedal. A vagabond citizen, he
died in poverty. It was too far removed
from other settlers, too far from a market; the settlers suffered want
and became discouraged. Owing to lack of room about thirty persons, including
children, had to be left behind. The journey went via Fredrikshald, where another stay of two
or three days took place. At Gothenburg a wait of ten days followed
before the brig _Bunyan_, on which they were to sail, was ready. They did not go thence to La
Salle County though undoubtedly intended originally to do so. On top of these again
was laid flats, on which beds were arranged. "How these settlers," he says, "could manage in
one log cabin a whole winter is a riddle to me." The following spring
Halvor Haugen also built a cabin which was always full as newcomers
were constantly arriving. The following year they, however, moved to the Rock Prairie
Settlement (see below), and in 1852 they settled in Mitchell County,
Iowa. Jens Myhra was born in
Vægli, Numedal, in 1812. His wife
died in September, 1888. They left seven children; Henry Nattestad,
the oldest, at present occupies the homestead. When he came to Clinton Township he first entered claim to
forty acres of land, which was later increased to a hundred sixty. They have two daughters, Anna
R. (b. 1875), Gertine (b. [85] Somewhat
later in the year came Samuel St. John and his wife, the last being
the first white woman in the county. [85] _History of Rock County_, p. 335. Next follow Johnstown, Lima, and Milton, in the
northwestern part of the county, and Union. The Town of Bradford, the next north of Clinton, was first
settled by Erastus Dean, in 1836; there were very few before 1838. The Town of Clinton, as originally organized (1842), comprised the
territory of the present town, the south half of Bradford, and portions
of Turtle and La Prairie. The first actual settlement in the present township was made in May,
1837, on the west side of Jefferson Prairie, by Stephen E. Downer and
Daniel Tasker, and their wives, on the southeast side of the prairie. These were the earliest. The Town of Turtle, directly west of Clinton, was not organized
until 1846. The first settlers were S. G. Colley, who located on
section thirty-two, in the spring of 1838, and Daniel D. Egery, who
came there about the same time, locating on section thirty-six (to
Beloit, however, in 1837). He came directly to Jefferson Prairie, but did not remain there. Then they continued their journey along
the Madison road seven miles farther west. [87] Röste later went back to Norway, however. She is there mentioned several times, her family
being extensively intermarried with the old pioneer families in the
settlement. The Indians were still lords of these regions. They
often visited us in our houses, but they were always friendly and
courteous. Skavlem had, in the interval, lived on
Jefferson Prairie. Here I decided to build and live, and I called the place
_Springen_ (the spring). The land about was like a desert; barring the
four Norwegians who had come before me, there were no settlers. Beloit, he says, consisted then of
a mill, a hotel, two stores, and a few laborers' cottages. As we have seen, it was not a
haystack they lived in. Stordok's family consisted, as yet,
only of himself and wife. Finally, Ole Halvorson Valle, who
later moved to Iowa, was among this number. Ten years later he sold out and moved to Fillmore
County, Minnesota. [95] Glaim located at Hanley Falls, Minnesota, in 1866. He is at
present living in Beloit, Wisconsin. [96] They have two children, Lulu and Lewis. e._, in 1839. This came to be known as the
Rock Run Settlement, from the name of the town. It lies partly in
Stephenson, partly in Winnebago County. The locality is prairie,
relieved here and there by bits of timber land. His name was Clemet Torstenson
Stabæk, and he came from Rollaug Parish. She died in 1902, and he in March, 1905. Nils A. The last
of these worked for a year on a steamer plying between Chicago and St.
Joseph, Michigan. [102] Where, however, they did not remain, as we shall see. [103] _Bygdejaevning_, page 43. [104] Anderson's _First Chapter_, page 330. Anders Brække, it is said, assisted him in the erection of the log
house. They
were five months on this journey, arriving in Chicago in September. [108] As also from Drammen, see below, page 159. Lie's account in
_Bygdejaevning_, pages 47-48. He, however, went west a few years later,
settling in Lee County, Illinois. Holo remained in Rochester two years,
he and his sons being employed there on the canal. His name is Per I. Unde,[112] and
he came from Vik Parish in Outer Sogn. Ole H. Hanson and wife also from Tin, Telemarken, came in 1839. The first winter they lived in a dugout on
the same spot on the homestead where the residence now stands. Mrs.
Hanson died in 1842, Mr. Hanson died three years later. They had six children, one of whom is C.
F. Hanson,[113] State's Attorney, of Morris, Illinois. Alex
Hanson lives at Ellsworth, Iowa. The locality was illy selected, being low and marshy. He had some knowledge of the English language,
having once lived for a short time in England. His father, a man of considerable
wealth, had supplied his son generously with funds upon his departure
for America. As we have seen, the settlement developed
rapidly, and it continued to grow for many years. As we have seen, he is the founder of the North
Cape branch of the settlement. This was the first family to emigrate to America from that
province. There were individual accessions to other
settlements in 1841-42, but they are few in number. : in the southeastern, in
the northern and in the southwestern part of the county. [126] A work which, unfortunately, contains a great many errors. The first settler in Pleasant Spring seems to have been Abel Rasdall,
who located his cabin on the eastern shore of Lake Kegonsa, about half
a mile south of the inlet; the year of his arrival, however, cannot
be given definitely and I am not able to say with certainty whether
he preceded Knut H. Roe (see below) or not. The first settlers in the Town of Rutland were Joseph Dejean, John
Prentice and Dan Pond, who located in its southern part in 1842. A few
Americans came in 1845, then Americans and Norwegian immigrants in
1846. Bolstad, Gilderhus and Himle started on foot for Milwaukee, a
distance of a hundred and fifty miles. Then they walked west about eighty miles inspecting the land on
the way, and after two weeks reached the eastern part of Dane County. Then they returned to Cambridge, finally deciding on a parcel of land
a little over two miles northwest of that place, lying on both sides
of the boundary line between the towns of Christiana and Deerfield. Here Gilderhus and Bolstad selected forty acres each, and forty for
Bystölen. He built a log cabin, which was the first house in the town. [131]
[131] Their names are recorded in the land office as Nils Seaverson,
Nils Larson and Magany Buttelson. He soon had erected a cottage
of one room, with an attic accessible by ladder. It might then have been built at the close of April, or more
probably, the beginning of May. There can, therefore,
have been very little difference in time between the two. The first of
these--Bjaaland--had come in the sloop in 1825; he is the only slooper
who came to Wisconsin, and the last of that party whom we shall meet in
our excursion down through the years of immigration. In this region, then, our party selected land. "[142] His prophecy proved true, for
he died there in June, 1840. A son, John, was born to them there in December, 1836. The
following year they seem to have removed to La Salle County, Illinois. Their daughter, Anne Berthe, was born there in November, 1838. [142] That is, Ole O. Hetletveidt. These men were Lars Kvendalen and Knut Olson
Vindeig. The first of these
were the two we have mentioned at the end of the preceding chapter,
namely, Lars Kvendalen and Knud Vindeig, a brother of Gunnul; both were
single men. [144] These two men did not take land, but
worked for a time for others in the settlement. [144] See above, page 179. There were no further additions to the southern part of the settlement
in the fall of 1840, so far as I know. G. G. Krostu of Utica, Wisconsin, informs me. There they hired two Swedes to take
them to Muskego, where the Lie family and one other family stopped with
Even Heg. His wife died in 1876;
they were married three years before leaving Norway. They do
not appear as purchasers of land, and probably left for other regions
soon after coming to Koshkonong. There were also several accessions from Numedal in 1842. The first of
these, I believe, were Jens Pederson Vehus, from Nore Annex of Rollaug
Parish, Numedal, and Thore Knudson Nore and sons, Knut, Lars, Ole and
Sæbjörn, also from Nore. These facts are told me by Reverend K. A. Kasberg of Spring
Grove, Minnesota, as related by his mother-in-law, Mrs. Halvor Kravik,
who was in the party (she was Kristi Kristoffersen). Going north into Lee County,
Iowa, they located at a place six miles northwest of Keokuk, known as
Sugar Creek. [159] One of the settlers in Shelby County, Missouri, was Peter
Omundson Gjilje. One morning early he heard
a cock crow, and then he found people. These facts are related by
Mr. B. L. Wick of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was
a man of great natural endowment, and he had a fair education. [162] _Melkeveien_, the Milky Way. [163] See J. This is one
reason why the settlement did not grow, though probably not the chief
cause. [166] _Veiviser for Emigranter_, 1843. First of all, land was
not of the best in Lee County. And then, the locality was rather too
far south, Norwegians have everywhere in America thriven best in the
more northerly localities. To
be sure, the Shelby County (Missouri) and the Lee County settlements
might have been recruited from other districts in Norway. The town of Nauvoo,
Illinois, had been bought by them. [170] Omund Olson was converted to Quakerism at Salem, Henry
County. See _Republikaneren_, February 9, 1900. Of these first Norwegian pioneers in Iowa I shall here add a brief
final note, as we shall not meet with them again. Knud Slogvig moved to Lee County early in the fifties,
I believe, and died there. His widow married Sven Kjylaa, with whom she
then moved to the Fox River Settlement. Week, both from Eidfjord, in Hardanger. The first of those was,
it seems, the earliest emigrant from Sogn to America. The following spring Vinje and Skjerveim,
having decided to go to the mines in Wisconsin, secured each their
yoke of oxen, and drove overland, arriving at Wiota on the seventh of
July, after five days of difficult travel; Unde and Ulven came at the
same time. Even
Hegg, and others from "Östlandet," who came from Drammen with Capt. Upon his return he reported
that there was government land for sale there, and Vinje and he decided
to move thither. There being no bridges, we forded the rivers at Rockford and
Freeport. There were, at that time, no Norwegians in or around Wiota, and
the nearest Norwegian settlement was at Rock Run, Illinois. Erik died before reaching America, but his wife and
children settled down here. (See below). [176] I am told that he came in 1841, but this seems to be a mistake. The first Norwegians to buy land on Jefferson Prairie were Ansten
Nattestad and Thorstein Nilsen, the date of whose purchase is December
25th, 1839. The first three
purchases were in sections 32, 30 and 22, respectively, while those of
Gudbrandson and Newhouse were in section 20, all in Clinton Township. From Vik, Sogn, Norway, there was a single settler, namely, Ole O. Train. Ole Mygstue then sold his farm and
moved to his sister, Mrs. Engen, in Primrose, Dane County. These were
followed the next year by fifteen persons, namely: Lars Nord-Fossum
and family (five), Hans Christofferson Tollefsrude and wife, Anders
Midböen with wife and one child, Anders Engen, Gudbrand Gaarder, Helene
Gaarder, Inger Gaarder, and Helene Klevmoen. Jörandlien or Jorlien, as the name is usually rendered, located
in Newark. The following settled on
Rock Prairie; Ole Gaarder and wife, Andreas Sörum, Ingebrigt Fossum and
family (six), Halvor Ruud and family (seven), Johans Nederhaugen[193]
and family (four), Johan Frankrige and family (five) and Hovel
Jensvold,[194] Hovel Smeby and Bertha Lybæk. [193] Martin Johnson of Orfordville, Rock County, is his son. Several families went to Wiota; see above, Chapter
XXII. In the seventies he again became a
pioneer, locating now in Pocahontas County, Iowa. There were two other brothers, Erik and Hans, of
whom the former did not come to this country. They did not arrive to Rock Prairie until October, having been six
months en route. She was born in
Aurland, Sogn, 1824. She died in March and he in April, 1903. [203]
[199] Nils O. Wikko was from Gol, Hallingdal. He died in 1904, at the age of eighty-three, survived
by widow and six daughters. [200] They moved to Houston County, Minnesota, in 1853. He died in
1894 and she in 1904, at the age of eighty-four. Newark is occupied largely
by immigrants from Numedal, as is also Beloit. Langseth, Glendorado,
Minn.; Mrs. Rev. Course of the Journey. The first five decades
of Norwegian emigration was a period in which the battle for existence
among the Norwegian peasant and the common man was none too easy. Their wealth lay also in their thrift, in their
ideals, and the moral fiber of their race. These men emigrated prompted by the desire of material betterment and
in that aim they have succeeded, and they have succeeded honestly,
often accumulating great wealth. [207]
[207] It is only "financial prosperity" which we are here speaking
of, of course. I
shall discuss this item briefly, using concrete illustrations from our
sources. R. B. Anderson's _First Chapter_, page 313. One pioneer, writing of this later, says that his whole journey cost
him ninety dollars. [210] In American money, of which less than half for the ocean voyage. It would, however, fall outside the scope
of this work to discuss that here. See also
Holand's article, pages 56-60. [213] Via Montreal, Toronto, Port Huron and Detroit. [215] To Port Huron 189 miles, thence to Milwaukee 85 miles. A Vossing Colony. Saue and Kvelve who went to
Koshkonong, and Unde, Ulven, Skjerveim and Vinje who went to
Wiota. There were two other Davidsons, Sivert[225]
and Peter; in the latter we recognize our Per Davidson Skjerveim (see
above p. 199). He was a pressman in the employ of Mr. Calhoun, the publisher
of _The Chicago Democrat_. [226]
[226] Strand's _History_, p. 187. [227] Facts gathered from _Normandsforbundet_ II, where Rev. The brother, Thore Olson, went out to Boone County; Jens settled
permanently in Chicago, where he lived till his death in 1907. Randver Lydvo[232] came to Chicago in October, 1843. [232] She was the daughter of Anders Knutson Lydvo and wife, Martha
(Röthe). [233] She resides with her daughter, Mrs. Louis H. Johnson, at 235
Watt Avenue, Chicago. These were
all from Voss; Severtson was from Vossevangen. Iver
dropped the surname Bö, and changed Larson to Lawson, so that his
name became Iver Lawson. [238]
[235] So Strand, and after him Roland, p. 101. [236] Strand, page 217. [239] There were three sons, but one died at sea, and another died
on the journey from Albany to Buffalo. [240] Strand's _History_, page 266. [241]
[241] Strand, p. 180. She is the daughter of Björn Björnson, who accompanied Kleng
Peerson to America in 1825. Knut Roe, his wife, Anne, and family were the first white
settlers in the township. They never caused me any trouble,
but on the contrary were always ready to be helpful. Almost daily I saw herds of deer, flocks of prairie chickens,
and I was often awakened at night by the howling of the wolf." At Lake Mills,
twenty-two miles, there was a saw-mill. He was, therefore, the second Norwegian to locate in Pleasant
Spring. He, however, left for Cottage Grove that same fall. See below,
page 252. Some years later Lunde sold his farm to Kittil Rinden, oldest
son of Kittil Rinden, Sr., and moved to Minnesota, whither Kostvedt
also moved. These were Knut A. Juve,[243] his brother, Knut Gjötil
(or Jöitil), and his sister, Tone Lien, then a widow. Half
a mile west of where the church was built two years later, they built
their hut of brushwood, thatched with straw. Both
Juve and Jöitil were soon, however, taken ill with the climate fever. 1817), with wife and son,
Halvor Laurantson Fosseim (b. 1810), and family, his brother, Ole L.
Fosseim, and Ole K. Dyrland (b. 1812), and family, from Laurdal, Ole E. Næset (b. When we were to thrash, the
sheaves of wheat or oats were placed on the ground in a large
circle. After
a while we got a kind of fanning-mill, mower, reaper, etc. [246] Torkild Sundbö and wife, Margit, later moved to Sun Prairie. There were a few others, as Aanund O. Drotning, from Vinje, and Knut H.
Teisberg, from Laurdal, Telemarken, who came to America in 1843, but
they, too, settled elsewhere first; we shall have occasion to speak
of them again. The homestead was owned by the oldest son,
Helleik. [251] Ole K. Roe of Stoughton, is a son of K. Roe; other children
are: Mrs. F. Johnson, Mrs. Ole Thorsen, Mrs. O. Swerig and
Mrs. J. King. His father, Nils Johnson Luraas (b. Gulliksrud did not like Muskego, and soon after set out for
Koshkonong. He died in 1856. There were then in the fall of 1843 four Norwegian families settled in
the Town of Dunkirk. The first Norwegian settlers in the Town of Dunn were Nils Ellefson
Mastre and Lars Mastre, who had come to America in 1845; they located
in Dunn, just across the Pleasant Spring line soon after arriving;
American families had settled in the township before them. Some years later he removed to Coon Prairie, in Vernon County,
Wisconsin. The first of these located in Christiana, but later moved
to Minnesota; Ole Haatvedt settled on Jefferson Prairie, whence some
years later he went to Iowa, while Asmund Lunde, after remaining a year
in Muskego, came to Pleasant Spring, as we have seen, in the summer of
1843. Jacob Aal Ottesen, Decorah, 1893. [258]
[257] Asmund Næstestu was the son of Aslak Næstestu, a man of much
native ability and influence in Vinje. Being dissatisfied here, he decided to go to Koshkonong. Taking his family with him, he arrived there about October first
of that year. "There was an abundance of game, deers and
prairie chickens, and the lake (Koshkonong) and creek were full of
fish. The Indians were roving about the country, but they did no one
any harm and were kindly and ever ready to help." The Town of Sumner did not receive many accessions from Norway. In
the same interview Svartskuren says: "There are now twelve Norwegian
families, besides six Swedish families. The Town of Oakland, Jefferson County, also received a few settlers at
this early period. A son, John Bækhus, now owns the homestead. In four years after its inception, the settlement covered an area
of about fifteen square miles. This was the year of heaviest
immigration to Koshkonong. 1821), Even E. Buaas (b. From Leikanger in Sogn[266] Anna L.
Eggum (or Eggene, b. This was the ship on which also Per Svartskuren and wife Gro, Knut
Lier and Baruld Johnson came on. Dietrichson,
while the parsonage was being built." He also
adds the name Gunnar Springen who, he says, went to Rock
Prairie. [269] The name of the ship, as we learn elsewhere, was _Hercules_. The rest of the party also came to Koshkonong a short while after,
except those who went to Rock County. Abel Lien,
Ada, Minn.; a son, Carl, is in Nome, Alaska. His son Johannes also settled on
Koshkonong, as also the sons Lars and Martin Holo. The homestead has now for many years
been occupied by the oldest son, Lars C. Kravik. Mrs.
Kravik died a year ago; Mr. Kravik in February, 1909. In 1848 he married Hæge O. Sube, who had come
from Telemarken to this country that year. The widow is living with her oldest daughter Mrs.
John Halvorson in Rockdale. He died in Ada, Minnesota, in
1889; he was at that time County Attorney of Norman County. There were two families from Voss, who had immigrated earlier among
those who settled permanently on Koshkonong in 1843, namely Styrk
Olson Saue, who, we have seen, came to America in 1837, and Gulleik
Torsteinson Saue, who immigrated in 1840; they had lived most of
the time in Chicago. His son, Hon. T. G. Thompson, occupies the old home and owns the estate. [272] So written, but pronounced Schirdalen in the dialect. He was well
acquainted with Schærdalen and he had been in Vik and knew, it seems,
the Unde family. There were three sons, Gulleik,
Ole, and Knut; by the right of primogeniture the estate would fall to
the oldest son, Gulleik Flom. Ole Flom had selected for purchase a
place then for sale, in Voss, and it was his intention to remove to
Voss. The following persons from various parts of Sogn also embarked on
_Juno_: Anders Engen, Per L. Gjerde, Michel J. Engesæter and wife
Synnöve from Systrand, Ole I. Husebö with wife Ingeleiv and children,
and Ole A. Værken (Grinde) from Leikanger, Nils T. Seim, wife Mari and
children (3) and Thomas T. Seim from Lærdal, and the aforementioned
Anfin I. Seim from Vik with his wife Britha and five children. She is the
oldest surviving member of the party and is still living
at Stoughton, Wisconsin. "The Brock ship" took eight
weeks for the journey, while _Kong Sverre_ was on the ocean twelve
weeks. Olson, however, sold this out to Ole T. Flom not long after,
and moved to Minnesota. Knut Aaretuen settled in Koshkonong, but went west
(to Minnesota) after some years. [278] Knut Brekketo, a son of Björn Brekketo, is living at Capron
at present. [280] One of whom married Ole Tenold; they moved to Calmar, Iowa. We succeeded, however, in
escaping, and, after sailing a day and a night, we turned back and
arrived safely in New York. The
daughter, Julia, married Thomas Adland of North Cape, Racine County,
and another daughter, Betsey, married O. B. Dahle of Perry, Dane
County. There were, however, long delays in New York and Buffalo, so that the
immigrants did not reach Milwaukee before August 15th. All these, about one
hundred in all, were from different parts of Telemarken. [291]
[289] One of whom, Jacob, now lives in Racine. He settled on section 18 in the Town
of Raymond; there he died in 1882, his wife[292] died in 1876, aged
79 years. Both he and his wife died in 1887, about
eighty-seven years old. 1808), and wife Kari, and his unmarried sister,
Brita Selheim. Skjerve located in Norway, Racine County, in the
neighborhood of Nils Johnson. The following is a
partial list: 1844, John Larson and Peter Jacobson and family from
Stathelle, Bamle, Johannes J. Quala from near Stavanger; Thormod S.
Flattre with wife Ingeborg (Lydahl)[299] and children from Voss, who
settled in Norway Township, Halvor O. Skare and wife Margrete and two
children from Lower Telemarken, who located in Norway Township in
1845;[300] John I. Berge and wife Julia, and Hans H. Bakke and wife
Ingeborg, who moved to Spring Grove in 1854, and Peder Torgerson
and wife Anne and five children from Kragerö. [300] He moved to Winchester, Wisconsin, in 1854. The widow is now living in
Whitewater, Wisconsin. [304] Hans died in 1856, Ole died in Milwaukee in 1901. We shall, therefore,
briefly discuss these now. Skoponong. The first Norwegian settlers at Heart Prairie were Ole A. Sögal and
wife Kari, who, with their four children Anne, Andrea, Karen, and
Johanne, came in 1842 and located four miles and a half southeast of
the city of Whitewater. His wife died soon after coming to
America, and Tosten died in the Civil War. Thomas Thompson married Mary Ann, daughter of Christen Mason. They had six children, of whom Hans, the oldest,
lives at Forest City, Iowa. [307] See Koshkonong Church Register, page 324 below. Sobye, Stoughton, Wisconsin, but now
dead). The first settlers came in 1843-44; they were:
Kittil Jordgrev, Hans Bukaasa, and Björn Lien from Upper Telemarken,
Hans and Harald Nordbö from Flaa, Hallingdal, Ole Lia from Hiterdal,
Halvor Valkaasa from Sauland, Lars Johnson Lee, Sjur Hydle, Knut T.
Rio, and Tollef Grane from Voss, and Anon Dalos; several of these
had families. [311] Lars Lee died in 1883, his wife in 1905. Dr. Lewis Johnson Lee
of De Forest, Wisconsin, is their son. He says:
"In Milwaukee, there were only a few stores at the time. When we came there nearly all the settlers lay ill with
ague, the condition was wretched. [313] Letter of May 5, 1905. Peter Hadley, Treasurer of Webster County, is the only surviving son. In the latter year he was elected U. S. Senator and
has been reëlected twice since, serving now his third term. There they died years ago, the homestead being now occupied by
the son Ole. There they waited three weeks, then secured passage
with an American ship, the journey being very slow. From Milwaukee they thereupon proceeded to Sugar Creek, where
they located permanently. [325] Some of the children have moved away, to Minnesota and
Washington. There were not very many from other provinces in Norway among those who
emigrated to Wiota in the late forties. [330] She was a daughter of Ole Larson, who served in the Third
Regiment, Wisconsin Infantry, in the Civil War. Aurland Parish, January 25th, 1909. E. P. Juul." The biggest of these estates was that of Ingebrigt
Næset, or as he was usually called, Skuungen. [336] They had one child when they came; she is Mrs. Ole Venaas,
Rockdale, Wisconsin. There were three ships that sailed at the same time, Næset relates. He had returned to Norway in 1844, married there
in 1845, and was now returning to America. She died in Koshkonong in 1850,
Johannes died in 1882. He was noted for his ability as a mechanic, was
successful as a maker of violins, and was himself a capable player. Mrs. Ole Melaas of Stoughton, Wisconsin, is an adopted
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. From
Aurland, Sogndal, and Hafslo there came others in the following four
years. She died in June, 1909. 1853),
since 1884, of Stoughton, Wisconsin. Per Sherping died early and the
widow married Kristen Olson, who then took the name Sherping (Sherpi). The first to arrive from Hardanger were
Svend L. Lund, Ingebrekt, Nicolai, and Johannes Erdahl, Guttorm Buo,
Ole L. and Aslak E. Quammen; these came in 1847. Den 28nde Mai, 1850. Han arbeidede den förste Döbefont i
Vestre Kirke, 1844. [346] Lisbeth Evensdatter Tvebækken, from Vinje. [348] "Hans hustru er endnu i Norge, men han venter hende i
Sommer." [352] Martha Monsdatter Melaas, b. 1818. The first Norwegian in this section was Svennung
Nikkulson Dahle, who came from Flatdal in Telemarken in 1844 to
Koshkonong, and the next year purchased land and settled near Norway
Grove in the Town of Vienna. 1826) and wife Gertrude came from Sogn, Norway,
to Norway Grove. These men both acquired large farms there in the course of time,
Ole Farness owning 530 acres. 1810), with wife Alau
and family of four children from Kragerö. [361] He was married to Ingeborg Grinde in 1851, Rev. [362] Two sons, Thomas and Isak, went to the War in 1860. The first Norwegian to buy land in Windsor Township was Ingebrigt
Larson Tygum, from Systrand, Sogn, who immigrated in 1844, lived one
year in Muskego, then came to Windsor in 1845. A
son of S. Holum, namely Ole S. Holum (b. Langeland, as we have recited above, was already in 1848 back in Racine
County as one of the founders of _Nordlyset_, the first Norwegian
newspaper published in this country; but Himle and Langeteig became
permanent settlers. Langeland says there came no other Norwegians there that fall, but as
we have seen, three others did locate in other parts of the prairie,
about the time Langeland came there. From Milwaukee he says he brought back to Spring
Prairie with him a plow, a harrow, and other farm tools. The first Norwegian settlers in this locality were
John Anderson and Kjel Anderson, who came in 1846, having immigrated
from Saude, Telemarken, that year. The following is a list of the founders of the settlement as submitted
to me by Samuel Sampson of Rio, Wisconsin. T. Skutle and his wife both died in 1897, age 88 and
91 respectively. [371] They had also worked for some
time in the Dodgeville, Wis., lead mines. 1818), Lasse, Hermund, Talak,
John, Synneva, and Britha. Horeb. She was born in North
Aurdal in 1826; as near as I am able to determine she was the only
member of the family who came at the time. 1837), married Halvor Halvorson of Mt. Mr. Johnson became a
prosperous farmer and stock-raiser, his farm of 400 acres being one of
the finest in that part of the state. Mr. Johnson lived in Mt. [377] The citation is from Langeland, page 73. After 1849 Norwegians
came in in large numbers, settling up the town rapidly. [381] O. They first came to Koshkonong, where the former
taught parochial school for two years. Here he amassed a fortune,
retired and moved to Mt. He died in July, 1905, his wife having
died in February of the same year. Horeb). Horeb, and Mrs. James A. Peterson, Minneapolis. We shall close this chapter with a word about the first Norwegians
in Madison, Wisconsin. However, there were a few
there before that. Ole Flom, as we have seen,
had come from Norway with his parents that summer in the first party
that left Aurland, Sogn. Then they moved
to McHenry County, Illinois. In 1848 he went to
Madison and began clerking in a general store. He settled as
a farmer in Winneshiek County, Iowa, in 1850. The
two brothers first went to Wiota, where they secured work in the lead
mines. The brother, Anders Vik
(Andrew Week), went to California in 1849. This he did, but not in the usual way, for Hilleson walked the whole
distance from New York to Chicago. [389]
[389] As Reverend J. Nordby, Lee, Illinois, informs me. [391] T. M. Newton says the journey took only three weeks; others
say, four. "They lived in a log cabin on their
place," he says. "One night about two months after we arrived, they
were both murdered. The same day I had tried to persuade one of them to
stay with me, but he felt it necessary to be at home. His
two sons, Lewis and Holden, occupy the homestead with him. Sjur
Bleien lives at the Old People's Home, Stoughton, Wisconsin. The first Norwegian
to settle in the village of Newark was Ole Olson Hetletvedt, as we have
observed above. He came to Newark in 1839; there he lived till his death in 1854. The first Norwegian settler at Lisbon was John Hill (Hidle) from
Fjeldberg in Söndhordland, Norway. He came to America in 1836,[395]
going direct to La Salle County. 1845), in Morris,
Grundy County, Illinois. Munson died in 1907,
being over ninety years old. In 1848 he bought eighty acres of
land on North Prairie, five miles north of Lisbon. Mr. Mr. Johnson served in the war, being promoted to sergeant;
after the war he returned to Newark. Mr.
Johnson is still living, his home being in Newark. In 1866 they removed
to Kendall County, Illinois. During this time he formed the habit of saving, that was the
unerring guide of all his future life." She was born in Hjelmeland Parish, Ryfylke, in 1804. [403] A. K. Vetti's oldest daughter, Mrs. Samuel Mather (b. The first arrivals were Rasmus Scheldal, Ole Torstal, Paul Thompson,
Michael Erickson, Simon Frye, John Wing, Lars Scheldal, Ben Hall, Ben
Thornton, John Peterson, G. E. Grundstad, William and Samuel Hage. Sjur Haugen and family moved up to
Helmar, Kendall County, in 1855. Of the mass of material which has been placed at my
disposal, I can only select what appears most essential to the purpose. [407] And Texas. The first county settled by Norwegians in northeastern Iowa was
Clayton. The first settlers were Ole H. Valle and wife and Ole T.
Kittelsland who located in Read Township in the summer of 1846. Both
these men had, however, entered Iowa three years before. Olaf. The first of these were Lars Valle, Hellik Glaim,[415] and Austen
Blækkestad, all from Numedal, Ole Engbrigtsen and Peter Helgeson from
Sigdal in Numedal, and Ole Gunbjörnson and Knut Jæger from Hallingdal,
while Halstein Gröth and family from Næs in Hallingdal and Kittil Rue
located in the western part of the settlement. [416] See note, on p. 213. 1804),
wife and sons Hans, Ole, and John. The usual wages was 25c a
day, sometimes a little more. [428] The father of Martin N. Johnson, member of Congress from
North Dakota. Rev. Jacobson, "looked like a man-of-war; this
was the so-called 'prairie-schooner.' The journey
had taken five weeks, counting from the time of starting. The first list of landed assessments in Winneshiek
County[434] records the names of Jacob Abrahamson, Knud Guldbrandson
(Opdahl), Ole Gullikson (Jevne), Egbert Guldbrandson (Saland), Erik
Clement (Skaali), Halvor Halvorson (Groven), O. The first Norwegians to enter Hesper Township were a party of
immigrants who came by the ship _Valhalla_ from Tönsberg in the summer
of 1852. These were followed in the next year by John S. Losen, Jr., and
Ole B. Anderson Borren. A.
Nelson of Prosper, Minnesota, a student in the State University
of Iowa. The bulk of the population, however,
is found in Winneshiek County. About half of
the population of the county is of Norwegian birth, or of that descent. The first emigrants from Norway were from Stavanger, Haugesund and
Ryfylke. 1. Minnesota 257,959
2. Wisconsin 155,125
3. North Dakota 72,012
4. Iowa 71,170
5. Illinois 59,954
6. South Dakota 51,199
7. New York 18,928
8. Washington 18,824
9. Michigan 14,091
10. California 8,536
11. Nebraska 7,228
12. Montana 5,688
13. Oregon 5,567
14. Massachusetts 5,069
15. Utah 4,557
16. Kansas 3,731
17. New Jersey 3,518
18. Texas 3,406
19. Idaho 2,767
20. Pennsylvania 2,254
21. Colorado 2,096
22. Alaska 1,454
23. Missouri 1,301
24. Ohio 1,174
25. Connecticut 1,083
26. 1. Skjold. 2. 3. Tananger. 4. Aardal. 5. 6. Hjelmeland. 7. Skaanevik. 8. Vinje. 9. Mo. 10. Flatdal. 11. Siljord. 12. Hviteseid. 13. Laurdal. 14. Nissedal. 15. Moland. 16. 17. 18. Bamle. 19. 20. 21. 22. Rollaug. 23. Nore. 24. Sigdal. 25. 26. Lyngdal. 27. Eggedal. 28. Hovin. 29. Tin. 30. Bö. 31. 32. Slemdal. 33. Sandsværd. 34. Eker. 35. Modum. 36. Lier. 37. Skauger. 38. Sande. 39. 40. Odde. 41. Jondal. 42. Vikör. 44. Ulvik. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. Samnanger. 50. Vik. 51. Aurland. 52. Lærdal. 53. 54. Sogndal. 55. Aardal. 56. Lyster. 57. Jostedal. 58. Fjerland. 59. 60. 61. Hemsedal. 62. Gol. 63. Næs. 64. Flaa. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. Hurum. 70. Vang. 71. Nordre Land. 72. Söndre Land. 73. Vardal. 74. Biri. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. Vaage. 80. 81. Lesje. 82. Eid. 83. Selbu. 84. 85. Anderson, Rasmus B. _Bygdejaevning._ Madison, Wis., 1903. Pp. VI
+ 215. Pp. A brief survey. Hatlestad, O. J. Pp. 254. Pp. 603. Keyes, Judge E. W. _History of Dane County._ Madison, Wisconsin,
1906. Volumes I-III. Scandinavian matter very incomplete and often
erroneous. Waldemar
Ager, Redaktör I-V, 1905-1909. Various articles, usually very good. Langeland, Knud. _Nordmaendene i Amerika._ Chicago, 1889. Pp. 224. Fragmentary. Volumes I-II. _Normandsforbundet_, I-II, 1907-1909. Peck, Geo. W., ed. _Cyclopedia of Wisconsin._ Madison, Wisconsin,
1906. Volumes I-II. Scandinavian biographies, etc., often full of
errors. Ulvestad, Martin. Pp. 871. Hans, 297
Gasman, Capt. G. G., 8
Kvale, Rev. was corrupted. These may be errors, but are retained. Some can be found in the text, and
are provided in the list below. Berg, Ingebrigt p. 373 as "Ingbrigt Bergh". Johnson, Sjur p. 333. Thompson, K. p. 291 as "Karen Thompson". Johnson, Sjur p. 333. Larson, Erik p. 333. Larson, Knud p. 343. Milesten, Halvor O. p. 342. Moland, Kittil p. 344. Murray, William S. p. 348 as "William S. Murrey". Nordgaarden, Gjerman T. p. 281. Nordby, Rev. J. S. p. 8. Spaanem, Kathrine p. 334. Where the preponderance of instances
of a given name are correct, the offender has been corrected. The spelling of the former, based
on other texts, would seem to be correct, but both are retained. The following table describes additional issues, and the resolution of
each. n. 25 P. S. Vig[.] Removed. p. 150 in the same county[,/.] Corrected. ["] Added. p. 242 on their hunts[,/.] Corrected. ["] Added.