Newsgroup - soc.genealogy.nordic


From: larssh@online.no (Lars Steinar Hansen)
Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.nordic
Subject: Re: Immigrants to Minnesota/Wisconsin from Norway
Date: Tue, 23 Jul 1996 11:05:14 GMT

Here's an example trip for the period:

In the beginning of May 1868 400 Norwegians left Norway on the sailship Johan. They spent 63 days on the ocean and had a stormy passage. One of the storms lasted for three weeks and ended in a hurricane that lasted for three hours.

The ship sailed to Quebec, Canada. From Quebec at least some of the passengers went by freight train to Port Huron. From there they travelled by freight ship to Northport, Michigan, where they arrived on August 20.

Some passengers also went by steamship up the St. Lawrence river, across Lake Ontario to Hamilton. From there they travelled by freight train (wagons?) to Sarnia, by boat over the St. Clair river to Fort Hudson, onward by freight train (wagons?) to Grand Haven, Michigan, by steamship across Lake Michigan to Milwaukee, by train to La Cross, Wisconsin and by steamship up the river Red Wing in Minnesota.


From: jac@ds8.scri.fsu.edu (Jim Carr)
Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.nordic
Subject: Re: Immigrants to Minnesota/Wisconsin from Norway
Date: 24 Jul 1996 14:20:07 -0400

Northport is on the tip of the Leelenau peninsula (the little finger on the mitten of Michigan) that defines Grand Traverse Bay. Since I doubt if that was a resort area in 1868, there must have been lumberjacks ready to spend the winter in the woods.

Lars Steinar Hansen wrote:
> by train to La Cross, Wisconsin and by steamship up the river Red Wing in Minnesota.

That would be a railroad. That route across Michigan from Port Huron to Grand Haven is the Grand Trunk RR line (origin of the Grand Funk rock group name), which follows the Grand River from Lansing west. Today there is a tunnel between Sarnia and Port Huron, and the Lake Michigan crossing is by "car ferry" that only runs from Ludington to a more northern point in Wisconsin today.


From: larssh@online.no (Lars Steinar Hansen)
Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.nordic
Subject: Re: Immigrants to Minnesota/Wisconsin from Norway
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 1996 06:40:52 GMT

jac@ds8.scri.fsu.edu (Jim Carr) wrote:
> Northport is on the tip of the Leelenau peninsula (the little finger on the mitten of
> Michigan) that defines Grand Traverse Bay. Since I doubt if that was a resort area in
> 1868, they must have been lumberjacks ready to spend the winter in the woods.

You're only partly right, I think. Northport celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1949. The first white man to settle there was the Reverend George Nelson Smith. The name of the settlement was Waukazooville, named after an indian chief. Two more white families settled there in 1849. Smith tried to establish a settlement mainly for the indians.

But when the Leelenau pensinsula was opened for land sales in 1850, the situation changed. A man called Joseph Dame wrote praising articles about the area in New York Tribune, which led to a rush of people wanting to by land. Dame founded Northport next to Waukazooville in 1852, built a quarry and established his own business. The two settlements melted together under the name of Northport.

So when the first Norwegians from my part of Norway came to Northport in 1867, the settlement had existed for 18 years.

But of course, many of the Norwegians in Northport were lumberjacks. In 1867 they were still using axes in the woods. The first settlers sent letters back to Norway and on board the Johan their relatives and friends brought saws.


From: rsylte@ix.netcom.com (Ruth M. Sylte)
Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.nordic
Subject: Re: books
Date: Sun, 09 Mar 1997 07:55:53 GMT

On Wed, 05 Mar 97 02:49:28 GMT, rresell@host1.dia.net (Richard AResell) wrote:
> Does anyone know of any books about the life in the Nordic countries in the late
> 1800's and their stories about emigrants.

One excellent resource is Odd Lovoll's _The Promise of America_ (also published in Norway under a Norwegian title). I think you can call Sons of Norway International Headquarters (800 number in Minneapolis, MN) to find out where to order the book.

----------Ruth Sylte
rsylte@ix.netcom.comIrvine, CA USA
Fram, Fram! Var ikkje moerket, saa visste me ikkje av stjerner - Ivar Aasen


From: annorman@sn.no (Anders Normann)
Newsgroups: soc.genealogy.nordic
Subject: Re: Norway 1860-1870
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 1997 20:01:00 GMT

On Sun, 23 Mar 1997 00:49:08 -0800, Tom Cahoon wrote:
> What events were likely to happen to a young man from age 15 to 25? Would he have
> obligations to work on a farm because of birth there? Would parents find him employment
> on another farm for needed income? Was he set free to make his own way? How would he
> learn to be a farmer? A fisherman? Where did the money come from to travel or look for
> work in another country? Were there any Military Obligations? (He did not marry) Any
> specific reference books recommended? (Probably North of Trondheim)

The period you mention is at the beginning of a great trasition period here in Norway. The transition was from an almost pure agricultural society based to a large extent on "living off the land" i.e. each farm would consume a large part of its production and one would usually sell just enough to get enough cash to pay taxes.

Starting in the mid 1800's, the decline in children death rates which had not yet been converted into reduced numbers of children in each family meant that the pressure on the land reached a level where the population surplus started spilling over into the cities and emigration to America. In the 1860's the number of tenant farms peaked, farm machines started taking over the jobs of the many "servants" or hired workes employed on the farms.

There were still class differences, and the comments below are assuming a young man who is not the oldest son of a free-hold farmer.

> Would he have obligations to work on a farm because of birth there? Would parents
> find him employment on another farm for needed income?

Most likely not an obligation, but tenant farmers would have to work a number of days for free or for a low wage in return for the tenancy. However, most small farms could not support the whole family, and it was quite common to have children from the age of 10 - 12 upwards work as servants on farms, or do shepherding in the mountains during summer.

> Was he set free to make his own way? How would he learn to be a farmer?
> A fisherman?

I do not think he was sent away from home, but in order to support himself and his family, he would work for others. Learning to be a farmer, would be from working on a farm, but schools teaching farming were coming. Fishing would also be learned by practicing.

> Where did the money come from to travel or look for work in another county?

Usually from servants work, but also from some of the industries which were growing up around the cities. Industrialisation is considered to have started in the 1840's, but there had been mining and associated industries for about 200 years.

> Were there any Military Obligations? (He did not marry)

I'm not sure about this, but I believe they still had the old system where each community would be responsible for the provision of a certain number of soldiers, which meant that being a "National Soldier" would be an occupation.

Anders Normann
URL:http://home.sn.no/~annorman/