VOLUME 38 | NUMBER 1 | SUMMER 2014 In this issue ...2 NORWEGIAN TRACS • VOLUME 38 • NO. 1 • SUMMER 2014 GreetinG from the board of directorS This year, as we celebrate our 40th

VOLUME 38 | NUMBER 1 | SUMMER 2014

In this issue:Naeseth Foundation Roof Grant

Celebrating our 40th Anniversary and Launching an Endowment Campaign

Genealogy: The Grand Adventure

Genealogy: Inspired by Artifact

Two Unpublished Immigrant Letters

New Nordby Note Cards

Donors of Recent Acquisitions

Volunteer News

Memorials and Bequests

Upcoming ClassWriting Your Family HistoryJuly 9 – 10, 2014Jerry Paulson, InstructorMembers: $125 Non-Members: $150

Classes are held in the Ostby Education Center on the 2nd floor of the Naeseth Library.

Enrollment deadline: July 3

Visit the website for more information & to sign up.

SucceSSful WebSite launch

www.nagcnl.orgAfter a year of hard work, dedication, and intense preparation, we are delighted to announce the release of our new website, designed with user-friendly navigation and a fresh, new look. First launched on Syttende Mai, this new site was announced to our membership for preview on May 21st. Now available worldwide, the site has received many wonderful compliments and comments from all corners of the globe.

Our new site features a cleaner, lighter design that incorporates visual and design improvements, with expanded navigation to make content more easily accessible. New photographs, images, and scrolling testimonials all add stimulating new substance. Since our new site can now be completely managed by our own staff members, look for regular updates to content and exciting additions. Our new e-Store is fast and easy to use, allowing you to register for special classes; pre-pay for research fees; purchase cards, books, and maps; become a member, or renew/update your membership; share a donation in memory of (or in honor of) a friend or family member; and support the work of the Center through an annual fund gift.

With this launch, we have changed the access to the Center’s popular research databases. All database content will now be available to those who become NAGC members at the Supporter level, with annual dues of $160. The databases themselves have been re-designed and re-organized – to offer a new global search capability across all the data on our site. These updated records include Norwegian-American marriage records, emigrant records (especially for the years 1825 through 1860), birth records, cemetery records, and the proprietary lists of Norwegians in the 1850, 1860, and 1880 U.S. census records. Also included is the comprehensive Fretheim research on Norwegians in Montana. The database entries are organized so that the context of each entry can now be explored, with access to additional data recorded before and after the entry itself.

Later this year, a new section on Civil War records will be added to the site. Accessible free of charge to all users, this section about the all-volunteer Scandinavian Wisconsin 15th Regiment is the definitive gathering of information on the soldiers who participated in this Regiment from 1861 to 1865. With biographical profiles

Article continues on page 12

2 NORWEGIAN TRACKS • VOLUME 38 • NO. 1 • SUMMER 2014

GreetinG from the board of directorS

This year, as we celebrate our 40th anniversary, NAGC & NL is poised for a new era in service to the Norwegian-American community. And what a year it has been. In these first months of 2014, the NAGC Board, Staff, Volunteers, and Members have joined together in productive collaboration on many fronts: we have created a new website, organized a most successful gala event, said farewell to good friends, launched a campaign for endowment and staff development, continued an important collaboration with a private foundation, and installed a new roof on the Naeseth Library building! Details and photos from some of these exciting projects are offered in this issue of our newsletter.

There are many to remember and to thank. We especially salute the memories of Olive Jensen Nordby, Trygve Lønnebotn, and Mary and Hugh Embertson, all of whom did so much to support our mission and

our community. Our hats are off to Paul Larson, Helen Olberg, and the Staff members (especially Diane Maurer) who contributed much ingenuity and hard work for our new website. We salute our Board colleagues Anne Lindblom and JoAnn Six who, together with a terrific team, organized and conducted our 40th anniversary gala evening, raising a record amount of support and winning many new friends for NAGC. We thank the Milma and Gerhard Naeseth Charitable Foundation for completely funding the new Naeseth Library roofing system, an important improvement in the building as the home of our irreplaceable research collection. We offer gratitude to The Edwin E. and Janet L. Bryant Foundation for its continuing generosity and leadership. And we are always grateful for the hard work and dedication of the Staff working in the Naeseth Library.

Looking ahead, we have some stimulating news in this very issue of “Norwegian Tracks.” Following the lead established in our last issue by member Ronald Leganger, two other NAGC members have contributed essays and photos that will inspire. Special thanks to Donald Wang and to Priscilla Colstad Greenlees for their fine essays that offer stories of personal experience combined with universal appeal.

As we prepare for the next two years, we invite you to join with us on our campaign to build NAGC’s endowment funds, especially those resources that will be devoted to Staff development. We cannot adequately respond to the growing demand for our services without increasing our endowment. Our Staff members, with several lifetimes of research experience among them, need the support of younger scholars, with whom they can mentor, work, and train. Connecting generations of genealogical experts means having the funds to support this Staff development – while passing on the accumulated knowledge of our Staff to a new era. This is a campaign about legacy giving, investing our philanthropic gifts to perpetuate values and priorities. When we asked Staff member Solveig Schavland Quinney about a Norwegian expression that might sum up what this campaign is all about, she provided a most memorable and apt expression: Vår fremtid avhenger av hva vi gir i dag. (Our future depends on what we give today.) We know this is true, and we hope you will consider joining in this vital campaign effort.

Lowell E. OlbergChairmanBoard of Directors

Lowell E. Olberg

Published two times a year byNorwegian American Genealogical Center

& Naeseth Library (NAGC & NL)415 W. Main Street

Madison, WI 53703-3116608-255-2224 www.nagcnl.org

Sent to members of NAGC & NLFor membership, contact:

Norwegian American Genealogical Center & Naeseth Library (NAGC & NL)

415 W. Main StreetMadison, WI 53703-3116

608-255-2224 [email protected]

_________________________

The purpose of this publication is to assist and encourage genealogists with Norwegian and Norwegian-American genealogical questions.

Norwegian Tracks is the sole possession of NAGC & NL. All rights are reserved. No reproduction by mechanical or other means without written permission from the editor. We endeavor to respect copyright in a manner consistent with our nonprofit educational mission.

Letters concerning genealogical inquiries forNorwegian Tracks should be sent to Norwegian American Genealogical Center & Naeseth Library (NAGC & NL) 415 W. Main Street, Madison, WI 53703-3116

Norwegian Tracks occasionally solicits or accepts unsolicited copy and artwork for publication.Written material is subject to editing for length, grammar, and accuracy of content. As a rule, no compensation will be given for any accepted material. NAGC & NL reserves first serial publication and reprint rights, but releases all other rights for subsequent publication back to the author or artists.

The Norwegian American Genealogical Center & Naeseth Library is an educational non-profit research center with national and international scope. The Center collects, preserves, shares, and interprets resources for the study of Norwegian heritage.

To carry out this mission, the Center provides:

• The Naeseth Library, located in Madison,Wisconsin, where resources devoted to Norwegian and Norwegian-American genealogy are collected, preserved, shared, and interpreted;

• Assistance, interpretation, education, and research by trained staff to members, patrons, and correspondents;

• Continuing education and outreach for genealogists and the public worldwide through cooperative information exchanges, .publications, tours, displays, seminars, and merchandise sales.

NAGC & NL is open to the public Monday – Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please telephone ahead, 608-255-2224. An appointment is needed to ensure staff availability and record accessibility.

Many thanks to NAGC member and researcher Richard Dale who has recently shared a generous donation

in memory ofSamuel Larsen, his paternal great-grandfather,

Eric S. Dale, his paternal grandfather and

Edgar Dale, his father

A SPECIAL MEMORIAL

3NORWEGIAN TRACKS • VOLUME 38 • NO. 1 • SUMMER 2014

milma and Gerhard naeSeth charitable foundation fundS neW roof

for naeSeth libraryOver the past two years, the roof of the Naeseth Library building had deteriorated. There were leaks, especially during the winter build-up of ice. During the last repair, the Board was advised that the entire roof needed to be replaced. Board and Staff met with representatives from three Madison-area companies that specialize in the care, construction, and repair of flat roofs. They heard accounts of the current state of the roof and recommendations for replacing it. After careful consideration, the Board decided to accept the recommendations, and bid for the work from Madison’s Ganser Company. The company recommended the use of a fibertite thermoplastic roof system, a product that will also help save on heating expense for the Library in the coming years.

A grant application was then submitted to the Milma & Gerhard Naeseth Charitable Foundation in December. The Foundation approved a grant of over $34,000, agreeing that the upkeep on the Naeseth Library

building as the home of the Genealogy Center was a primary goal of both Gerhard and Milma Naeseth. It was one of the very “best uses that could be made of the Foundations funds, representing a long-term commitment to the building as the permanent location of the Norwegian American Genealogical Center, a commitment that builds upon the legacy that was created by Gerhard Naeseth

and supported by Milma Naeseth in her estate plans.”

Near the end of March, work on the roof replacement began. The bid also included repairs to the existing goose necks, chimney, hatch, and other roof-line features. The work

was completed, as estimated, in just five days, and on budget.

Safeguarding the priceless library collections is uppermost in the minds of the Board. Working together with the support of the Milma & Gerhard Naeseth Charitable Foundation, the NAGC Board secured the safety of NAGC’s greatest assets. Mange tusen takk to the Naeseth Charitable Foundation!

the embertSon bequeStIn late December 2013, NAGC received a generous donation from the Mary M. Embertson Trust, a bequest from Mrs. Embertson, who died on 2 August 2013 in San Diego. Together with her spouse, Hugh Embertson, who died in 2003, Mary Embertson became friends with Gerhard Naeseth in 1988 when he began helping the Embertsons with their genealogical researches. When Hugh Embertson discovered that he and Gerhard had both been born in Valley City, North Dakota, a strong bond of friendship began.

Mary researched her maternal grandparents who were from Vestre Slidre in the Valdres Valley; and Hugh spent time finding all the information he could about his ancestors from Åsnes in Hedmark, Vang in Valdres, and Skjeldestad in Sogndal. Within a few years, the Embertsons became skilled genealogists, often corresponding with the Staff at the Naeseth Library.

When Gerhard Naeseth retired in 1993, Hugh Embertson wrote: “…congratulations, Gerhard, on your retirement…As another Valley City native with Valdres roots, I have always been proud of you and your work. It has been a true contribution. Plus it has always been fun to talk and work with you…”

Both career teachers in the San Diego Unified School District, the Embertsons carefully planned extensive philanthropic bequests to eleven non-profit organizations, including NAGC. Their initial bequest here has increased our endowed funds by nearly twenty percent, and their bequest will also include a portion of the proceeds from the sale of their residence in San Diego. The Embertson Bequest is an excellent example of how a planned legacy gift can help maintain and perpetuate this research center for Norwegian-American family history and genealogy. We honor the memory of Mary and Hugh Embertson with much gratitude for their generosity and thoughtfulness.

Olive Marie Jensen Nordby(1915 – 2014)

Olive Nordby’s artistic spirit created a legacy for all of us, gifts of generosity and joy. A keen observer of the natural world, Olive was inspired by trees, flowers, mountains, and animals. These she often interpreted with flair in her popular, hand-colored woodblock prints. She was also attracted to the scenes of Norway, and to the heritage of Norwegian Americans.

For many years, Olive donated the proceeds of the sale of her prints to NAGC. Her donations supported both the Center’s operating budget and helped build our fund for the construction of an elevator. Visitors to the Naeseth Library always enjoyed the prints they found there, and her works are widely collected and treasured. Shortly before she died, Olive gave permission for us to carry on the printing of note cards, Christmas cards, and reproduction prints based on her designs; these too are to be sold to benefit the genealogical research center that she has done so much to support.

Trygve Lønnebotn(1937 – 2014)

We mourn the passing of our friend and patron, Trygve Lønnebotn. Trygve came to the United States from Bergen in 1963. Over the years, he was involved in many Norwegian-American organizations, including the Madison Torske Klubben, the Madison-Oslo Sister City Committee, and Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. In 1996, he was appointed Honorary Consul representing Norway for the state of Wisconsin. In 2005, he was awarded the Order of Merit, knight first class, by the King of Norway. Among the many gifts he gave NAGC was the legacy of his talented daughter, Anne, who serves on our Board of Directors. His leadership and friendship will be greatly missed.

In Memoriam


the Grand adventure – SearchinG for your anceStryBy DonalD Wang

In researching your ancestry it’s always nice if you begin the process when parents and grandparents are still around so that you can obtain first hand information from those who knew something about your ancestry at a personal level. Our family didn’t seriously begin to search for our ancestry until our parents and grandparents were no longer with us. We were fortunate in having had some brief conversations with our parents who shared information about where their parents came from, however misleading those recollections were. And, we had the good fortune of having some members of the family who did not “clean house” of old letters and personal phone books and pocket diaries, that later on became “loose threads” of information. One of the things that I learned from prior years of performing certain internal “investigations” in large corporations is this, “If you find a loose thread, pull on it and watch to see what unravels,” a practice that also comes in handy when you start researching your ancestry and aren’t sure where you’re going.

Three of our grandparents came from Norway, my paternal grandfather from Bergen, my maternal grandmother from the Tysnes area and my maternal grandfather from Sandefjord. Our paternal grandmother was Danish and what we knew about her at the time was that she came from the Silkeborg area of Denmark. Since we knew almost nothing about our Danish grandmother’s family who emigrated to Concord, Massachusetts when she was only 2 years of age, following the death of her father in 1881, that is where we began our research in 1998, not long after the death of our mother. From that trip to Concord in 1998 we discovered extensive card files of births, marriages and deaths created by a WPA project, in the archives area of the Concord Free Public library

and found numerous records of our Danish grandmother’s family. We followed that up with a visit to the Concord Sleepy Hollow Cemetery where we were assisted in finding cemetery records and with the assistance of the cemetery caretaker re-established contact with long lost East Coast relatives who fortunately had personal information about my Danish grandmother’s family in a pocket diary of a great grandfather who was my grandmother’s cousin. Using that information we then engaged a Utah-based Danish genealogist to research the ancestry of our Danish grandmother.

That research into our Danish grandmother’s ancestry was the beginning. We next focused on the ancestry of our Norwegian grandparents and were fortunate to discover Norway’s Digitalarkivet on the Internet, and by using that facility we were able to search for birth, marriage, death, and census records for our grandparent’s family; but that only got us so far and beyond that we were initially at a loss at how to go beyond the families of our grandparents to research prior generations. So, again, we sought

the assistance of a genealogist whose focus was on Norwegian ancestry, with limited success. Not only did that research

cost us monetarily but we also began in early 2002 to notice that this Norwegian genealogist tended to be

error-prone and failed to provide sufficient source information. And that’s when my brothers decided to sponsor my attendance at a class on Norwegian genealogy conducted at what is now known as the Norwegian American Genealogical Center (at that time part of Vesterheim) located in Madison, Wisconsin. In October of 2002 I attended a class conducted by Jerry Paulson and Carol Culbertson, after first filling out questionnaires

about what we were looking for in that next level of our search, the six great grandparents and where

they came from. Prior to arriving for the class we were already aware of some of the resources available to

assist in researching our Norwegian ancestry. We knew about and used the Digitalarkivet on the Internet, but up to that point had not used its extensive collection of digitized parish records, and we were aware of the local histories known as bygdeboks that provided very detailed information about individual families, but had

yet to see or used this resource. The class provided a general orientation to researching Norwegian ancestry and a familiarization with some of the Norwegian terms you commonly see in Norwegian documents, as well as some of the common naming patterns. This was useful information, but the real value was when we began to focus on specific microfilm records that provided answers to the questions we had about where our great grandparents came from, and that was followed by a trip to the Wisconsin Historical Society, but more importantly, to the University of Wisconsin’s Memorial Library and its extensive collection of bygdeboks. Since that class I have made repeated trips back to that collection of bygdeboks at least 2 or 3 times each year to copy pages where members of our family are documented, and each year on returning home have discovered yet another list of pages that I need to copy. The bygdeboks, while not perfect, along with the Digitalarkivet, have become a tremendous resource in researching our family’s Norwegian ancestry.

The next phase in researching our Norwegian ancestry came about after my second retirement in 2006, when I began to refocus in a more concerted way on learning more about our Norwegian ancestry. In particular, I was looking at a great grandfather of our maternal grandmother who was a Lutheran pastor in the Jondal/Strandebarm area of Norway. He had married a woman by the name of Magdalena Christine Lauritsdatter Galte in 1650, and in trying to find out more about her I decided to do a Google search to see if I could find out where she came from and who her parents were. In doing this I discovered a website by a woman, Anita Johannessen, who turned out to be a cousin, and who had an extensive family history on her website,

Rev. John Jetmundsen Wang paternal grandfather

Stena Anderson Wang (paternal Danish grandmother) with father of Don, Harold Wang, and sister Grace


which suggested that Magdalena’s parents each came from families of Norwegian nobility. Using this information as a starting point I was able to find additional supporting information in the bygdeboks. The only downside in pushing your ancestry back beyond the 1600’s is that the source materials become more scarce, with a resulting tendency to become potentially more unreliable and more difficult to substantiate with additional source materials. Going back beyond the 1600’s the records of the common man tend to disappear and what you have left are the histories of the “uncommon” man, i.e., families of nobility or noteworthy persons. The discovery of nobility in our maternal grandmother’s ancestry caught the attention of my much younger nieces and nephews, and my rejoinder to them was that they had to keep in mind that we had many, many Norwegian cousins who were also related in the same way, and because of that, while it’s an interesting bit of our family history, “it’s no big deal.” But, in fact, it was a big deal, because suddenly researching our family history got their attention and now history, and in particular, our family history was “cool!” In my search for additional, reliable sources of information for ancestry in the Middle Ages, I discovered a website, apparently based out of Oxford, England, called Medieval Lands, which accordingly focuses on the ancestry of European nobility during the Middle Ages, a resource that is continually being updated, is heavily researched, with extensive footnotes and source citations, and isn’t afraid to say that while popular opinion states that this person or that is related, they could find no source material to support it at this time.

In 2006 we again used the assistance of a Norwegian genealogist, and this time we found an individual who was on the board of the Norwegian Genealogical Society (my English translation) and asked him to assist us in resolving several brick walls we encountered in searching for the ancestry of our paternal grandfather’s ancestry and that of our maternal grandfather’s parents and were extremely gratified with the work that he did in untangling several problems, in one instance where the paternal grandfather’s great grandparent’s family moved from the Eastern Norway area of Innvik to the Sogn og Fjordane area in Western Norway. In the case of the great grandparents of our maternal grandfather, he learned that the great grandfather had died of drowning while trying to break up a logjam and the great grandmother, in order to support her family, had several community sheep slaughtered and was imprisoned for that offense, leaving her two children, one of them my grandfather’s father to be cared for by family. After she came out of prison she remarried and her son rejoined her and learned the bricklaying trade of his stepfather that served him well later in life. While it’s not of brick construction, you can see one example of his work if you search for images of the Dalen Hotel.

In the August, 2009 issue of the Sons of Norway Viking Magazine, I noticed an article about the genealogical research that a Colonel Henrik Lunde, U.S. Army retired, had done and it mentioned a book by him called, “Some Old Norse Families.” What caught my attention as I read the article was that many of the names mentioned in the article were names that I had seen in the family history website of my cousin, Anita Johannessen, names that were great grandparents of ours in common with those of Anita. So I contacted the editor and private publisher, Enoch Haga, and ordered the book and Henrik’s 2-volume family history, “Rolfsnes, Aase and Related Families,” and subsequently all of the other monographs that the two of them collaborated on, since, as it turned out, both were cousins of mine as well. What I found most impressive about the research that Henrik Lunde had done was his digging into the probate, court and property records in great detail, to support or negate family relationships. He was able to do this because he grew up in

Norway during WW2 and was familiar with the language and as a graduate of the US Army War College took a scholarly approach in his analysis, with careful footnoting, something that I often found lacking in the websites by others that you find on the Internet. While I don’t know the details of his use of the facilities and resources of the Norwegian American Genealogical Center, I know that he took advantage of those resources, as did his editor and private publisher Enoch Haga, who it turns out was a more distant cousin of ours. Since Enoch’s ancestry included Norwegian Quakers

of Stavanger and my paternal grandfather was at one time a pastor of the Norwegian-

Danish Methodist church in Norway, Illinois, where a number of the Stavanger sloopers eventually settled, we exchanged information about those Norwegian Quakers. It was those Norwegian Quakers and their predecessors who had been sailors who were imprisoned on prison hulks on the Thames River during the Napoleonic War, and were ministered to by the British Quakers. Unfortunately, much of the detail of this rich history often gets buried in footnotes if it’s mentioned at all, and yet, that is what brings to life the names and dates that often appear in family histories, like skeletons, rather than fully fleshed out individuals that they truly were. This has and continues to be a Grand Adventure, and rarely does a day go by when I encounter yet another bit of history buried in our great ancestry, an ancestry that we share in common with many cousins around the world. It truly is a “Big Deal!”

Donald Wang, a member of the Norwegian American Genealogical Center, the Norwegian American Historical Association, and the Sons of Norway, is the grandson of three Norwegian-American grandparents and a Danish grandmother who arrived in America in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Born and raised in Chicago, Donald graduated from Southern Illinois University with a bachelor’s degree in 1966 and shortly afterward entered the United States Air Force as a firefighter assigned to the Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. After his military

service, he worked for a start-up Information Technology company, beginning at an entry level and later moving on to a variety of consulting and management level positions, before leaving and joining the corporate staff of Litton Industries. At Litton he continued to serve in a variety of support and management positions, traveling widely across North America, Germany, and England, in support of acquisitions, divestitures, and an occasional internal investigation. In his later years he was transferred to a management position for an international group of Litton’s Industrial Automation companies headquartered in the Detroit area of Michigan and was responsible for information security, disaster planning, and privacy considerations, with occasional return assignments on the corporate staff. Researching family ancestry began as a side interest in 1998 and following retirement in 2006 became a full-time occupation. While he never had the opportunity to physically travel to Norway, there have been many “virtual” trips to Norway, thanks in no small part to Norway’s extensive digital facilities and presence on the Internet.

Einar Andresen and Marie Adine Johannesen wedding, maternal

grandparents


a Gala eventOn May 3rd, with 120 NAGC members and patrons in attendance at the Madison Club, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of our organization – dating back to 1974 when our founder, Gerhard Naeseth, became director of the genealogical center. Truly a gala evening, this event also included the celebration of the bicentenary of the Norwegian Constitution, and the launch of a new 2014-2016 NAGC campaign for endowment and staff development.

The festive atmosphere was enhanced by the superb generosity of many NAGC friends, as well as the presence of Norway’s Consul General in New York, Elin Bergithe Rognlie. Organized by co-chairs Anne Lindblom and JoAnn Six, the event produced an astounding amount of support for NAGC, raising funds and winning new friends. Six generous lead sponsors were joined by all those in attendance, silent and live auction donors, ad subscribers, bidders, and volunteers – all joining in a spirit of conviviality as they helped raise a record amount of support for the Center.

The proceeds of this successful event not only help our annual operating budget, but also represent a handsome increase for our endowed funds, helping launch our campaign that is dedicated to supporting staff compensation and development. NAGC staff members, with several lifetimes of research experience among them, need the support of younger scholars with whom they can mentor and work. Connecting generations of genealogical experts means having the funds to support this staff development while passing the accumulated knowledge of our staff to a new era -- all in service to the Norwegian Americans today and tomorrow who need to explore their roots. NAGC & NL must continue to attract leading researchers and library staff in the years ahead. With the success of this launch, we begin our campaign with nearly ten percent of our goal in hand.

This campaign is about legacy giving, investing our philanthropic gifts to perpetuate values and priorities. Planned giving of all types, multi-year donations, estate planning, and our long-term development strategy are all essential to help us add $2.5 million to our endowed funds during the next two years. Our members have always been eager to thank us, as a non-profit that has enriched their lives. We reach out now to all of our donors to join together, inviting you to help build the future of this worthy heritage organization.

Vår fremtid avhenger av hva vi gir i dag.Our future depends on what we give today.

Elin B. Rognlie and JoAnn Peterson Six

Auctioneer Don Hoganson in action

Reception at the Madison Club

Darlene Arneson and Jerry and Judy Gryttenholm with a Norwegian Heritage Trunk, made and donated by Ann and Dave Nelson

Co-chairs Anne Lindblom and JoAnn Six


Donors for the Naeseth Library Collectionfrom May 2013 through May 2014

Recent Acquisitions

Doris Allebach Medford, New Jersey

Jean Bakkom, Sharon Springs, New York

Colleen Bamber Green Bay, Wisconsin

Mary Barthelemy Glåmos, Norway

Helen Bennett Richmond, Kentucky

Edna Claire Betlach-OdegaardSacramento, California

Gwen and Clifford Christianson Brownsville, Wisconsin

H. Richard Christopher Letcher, South Dakota

Hans H. Coucheron-Aamot Albuquerque, New Mexico

John DyrudWilmette, Illinois

John and Darlene Erickson La Crescent, Minnesota

Nils Gauthun Tonstad, Norway

Susan Goodman Chevy Chase, Maryland

Priscilla Colstad GreenleesBainbridge Island, Washington

Pamela Stutrud Groth Petaluma, California

Cletus HansenMadison, Wisconsin

Ordelle Hill Richmond, Kentucky

Pat and Vern Holtan Stoughton, Wisconsin

Arlene Hoveland New Auburn, Wisconsin

Ronald Humphrey Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

Harvey K. Jacobson Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Jon Jenson Madison, Wisconsin

Patricia Iverson Roundup, Montana

Irene Kringle Madison, Wisconsin

Karen Kuhlman St. Louis, Missouri

Bill and Pam LarsonMunising, Michigan

Marie MarrierMerrill, Wisconsin

Margaret Miller Apple Valley, Minnesota

Liv Paulson Norderhaug Brookfield, Wisconsin

Odd Harald OlsenHjelmeland, Norway

Anna Peterson New Milford, Connecticut

Solveig Schavland QuinneyMadison, Wisconsin

Marta Rabbe Tonstad, Norway

Hilda RevlingMarshfield, Wisconsin

Donna and Dan Roe Glencoe, Minnesota

Karen Norlie Haugen Sack Madison, Wisconsin

Brian and Naomi SalbergRockford, Illinois

Helen Scherer Shawnee, Kansas

T. B. Scott Free Library Merrill, Wisconsin

Janet (Figland) Sears Fayette, Iowa

Sara SteeleCottage Grove, Wisconsin

Barbara Stockwell La Conner, Washington

Mary Wislocki Westfield, New Jersey

Mrs. Murlyn ZeskeDallas, Texas

Paul S. Anderson, Honorary Consul for Illinois

Dr. E. J. Nordby with John Thompson, who won an Olive Nordby print

Anne Lindblom proposes a toast in honor of the 40th anniversary

Chairman of the Board, Lowell Olberg


As promised in our last issue of Norwegian Tracks (Winter 2013), this issue contains two wonderful post- Civil War letters, written by the articulate Olaus Olson, here translated, and published for the first time. As described earlier, these letters were discovered, translated, and shared with us by NAGC member Priscilla Colstad Greenlees of Bainbridge Island, Washington. Olaus Olson wrote these letters in the 1870’s from western Iowa to his brother-in-law and sister in Oslo, Oline Mathea Olsdatter, who was Priscilla’s great-grandmother.

Olaus Christian Olson, as we have already discovered, wrote letters combining the best elements of a storyteller and keen observer, a correspondent with a poetic touch. The excerpts printed below include some of his most interesting observations; he was light years ahead of many Americans in his interest, sensitivity, and observations about his neighbors and friends, be they immigrants or native Americans. What a remarkable life he led: emigrating at the age of 17 in 1854, going off to war to defend his new country at the age of 24 in 1861, and ending his short, adventurous life at the age of 46 in 1883. From our perspective, now 143 years later, Olson’s thoughtful descriptions of an unspoiled American Midwest and the plight of native Americans tug at the heartstrings .

Town of Prairieview, Monona County, IowaJanuary the 14th, 1871

Dear Brother-in-law and Sister in the distant Norway!

It is yet unaccountable of us, that we have waited so long before we have answered your last letter… Here there is no permanent place. In America, one must wander about. I hope we remain here still. Here is a wonderful, beautiful place and rich earth which is easy to work. Likewise, we have it well in other respects. We have the big, broad Missouri River laying by us, together with the railroad ¾ of a Norwegian mile from us. Three years ago, there were only 2 or 3 Norwegians here. Now we already count over 40 Norwegian families, together with many Swedes. Besides, here also are some Americans so we now can willingly begin to reckon ourselves as part of the Civilized World.

The land here is comparatively expensive. It is mostly owned for the benefit of speculators. Prairie land costs from $6 to $10 per acre. Forest land at about $20. We have forest only along the river, besides the rest is quite exposed for forest: also as flat as a floor, covered with grass over a man’s height. When one looks down east

from here, it resembles a vast sea where one cannot see land. Not a bush to see, not the least little thing to set your eye upon, since it is of singularly-formed breadth – an incredible place. Even so, all of this land is well-suited for all kinds of crops. Corn and wheat grow here wonderfully, likewise oats and rye, together with other useful crops. It is 16 English miles to the nearest city, namely “Onawa City.” Otherwise, we also have a big city 25 miles to the north of us…called “Sioux City.” In a short time, this will become an important place. We are only 60 English miles to the north from the big Pacific Railroad. It drives the whole way across America, from New York to San Francisco…Likewise, they now work on a similar railroad about the same distance north of us which will be finished in about a couple of years. So we will lie between these two main lines which will have a great importance on the price of land…

This is an especially good place for Father. Here there is much to fill his time with. Likewise with fishing and hunting. He lives not much more than a stone’s throw from the River and it is overflowing with fish. Likewise, here there is enough to shoot at, like rabbits in great numbers, an uncountable amount of wild chickens, grey geese, deer, and much more. Anyone who is an avid hunter would

do well here. One need not go far into the state of Nebraska from here to find buffalo in the thousands…

You asked me in your last letter to tell you more about the ages of all our children. I will begin with that, or else I might have too little room – because they are starting to become many. I must first relate to you that my wife some days ago delivered with a son…

Our eldest son, Norman Ludwig, was born the 12th August, 1865 (in town of Winchester, Winnebago County, Wisconsin) Our daughter, Johanne Christine Palma, born 14th January 1867 (in town of Clayton, Winnebago County, Wisconsin) Our son, Carl Johan, born the 10th February 1869, (in town of [illegible], Monona County, Iowa)

Our third and last son is not yet named. He is 11 days old. Perhaps it would not be out of order, if we also here at the same time gave the older folks’ names.

I, Olaus, born 4th June 1837 at Akershus Festning, Christiania My wife, Helene, born 16th June 1845, at Toten, Norway Married the 25th January 1864

This here is a long list, and God’s will to us both so shall it not be so very long before it is twice as long.

Good sister, you must greet all my old childhood friends at the fortress* from me. I have not forgotten a single one of them. They stand strongly alive in my thoughts and hardly a day goes by without memories and I think back to all my happy childhood

an eloquent immiGrant: olauS chriStian olSon (1837-1883)By Priscilla colstaD greenlees anD Jerry Paulson


days I spent with them at Old Akershus. You must give me more information about them all when you write, for they are so powerfully dear to me. I have strong feelings of again seeing that dear birthplace, but up to now there has not been anything come of it, and if there will be anything come of it, time will tell. I do not give up hope so long as I live…

I must now end my poor and disconnected writing by remarking that we all are healthy and living well, and hope that these lines find you with the children and others next-of-kin all with greetings and well-being…

Your affectionate brother, Olaus Chr. Olson

*Note: Olaus’ father was in the Norwegian military, serving as a king’s guard at Akershus Fortress (Oslo); Olaus was born “Olavus” and baptized at Garnisonsmenigheten in 1837.

Town of Prairieview, Monona County, IowaMarch the 8th, 1872

Unforgetable Brother-in-law and Sister,

…[father] was huge with his wine production last year. He pressed 120 crocks of genuine grapes last fall. The grapes grow namely wild here in uncountable numbers. One has only to collect and prepare them. Besides here grow many kinds of wild fruit, such as gooseberries in uncountable numbers, currants, plums, mulberries, together with hazelnuts and walnuts. Our parents…thrive far better than they did in Wisconsin…The land is much better and not so hard to work. The land here lies completely ready for planting. Here there is not a stone or a bush in the way. In Wisconsin, on the other hand, one must clear the land first, and it is hard work to administer. Here the work is almost all done by machines (‘Skuren’ as one calls it in Norway), or what we call ‘harvest’ consists simply of a couple of days when we have machines that mow from15 to 20 acres daily or from 60 to 80 ‘maal’ – according to Norsk measurements….Here in Iowa are also many who use steam plows and can do more with one than one could do with 5 or 6 pair of horses, but there are none here on this place since we are all new settlers…

The Norwegians here have gathered themselves into a Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Congregation and are served by a Norwegian pastor from Dakota…Here there is now a huge conflict within our Church Society. We have seen in the newspapers how our pastors have been quarreling…whoever wants to be, can be, and remain, a pastor. When one cannot do anything else, he becomes a pastor…

You would have probably seen in the newspapers about the frightful wildfires which raged here in many places in America last fall, where among other things, it laid almost the whole of our beautiful city of Chicago in ashes. About 18,000 buildings were laid in ashes, with a loss of over 100 million dollars, and

made 30,000 people homeless. It was a frightful time, and especially at that time of year when winter stood at the door. But with incredible speed Chicago rose itself again from its ashes and is more delightful than ever. Help came from all corners. Yes, even from China there came significant contributions…

I have had, and still have, the intention at some point to travel to Puget Sound by the Pacific Ocean or the Columbia River. There it is excellent to live. I have talked with people who have been there and they describe it as Paradise…I wish to come in the vicinity of the sea again. Here in America it is not customary to stay completely at peace before one is laid in the grave. It is not like Norway, where one has it so good and one is pleased. No. As it happens, there is a new place discovered with better and more advantages. Then this becomes talked about in daily conversations among groups of people when they come together. Then one encourages the other until the desire to travel becomes so big that one has a Pilgrim Group in his hands before you know it…

Our neighbors, the Omaha Indians, are still peaceful. Namely, they are keeping themselves on the other side of the Missouri River merely 2 miles from us. They live in tents and earthen huts and are approximately 1,500 in number. They have been unlucky in their buffalo hunting this winter since the snow was too great out on the plains. Many of them got snowed in so they did not come anywhere for a long time. Now they all come moaning again, but it is hard for them since their horses are all starving and they themselves have little or nothing to live off of. They come over here to us often in order to trade away different things for food wares, often in flocks of from 10 to 15 at a time. You can believe it, there are some pretty figures to see. For the most part, they are completely satisfied with simply a buffalo hide thrown around themselves, and that in the middle of winter. Together with painted faces with all kinds of color and hues, they really look glorious. We are all now so well used to them that we no longer concern ourselves about them any more than if it were a white man, but one of them would frighten old Erik* himself if he hadn’t seen them before…

…[our children]speak Norwegian and English equally well. It is strange to hear these small ones as they speak the one language between themselves and then use the other with all the children who are being brought up here. They are learning the English by themselves…

…You must butter yourself with patience when you shall go through my boring manner of writing, but there is nothing better to expect from me who is so far from good manners…

Live a thousand times well, Your devoted Olaus Ch. Olson with wife and children

*Note: “old Erik” is an expression for the devil.


embroidered rootS:

one family’S hiStory PreServed in needleWork and notationBy Priscilla colstaD greenlees

In 1998, I inherited a family sampler in poor condition. It was spread out in an old, wood picture frame. Pasted on the back of the frame was a flaking piece of paper, with notes in Norwegian by my great aunt, Hilda Hansen Lundin, written before 1942. Hilda was the daughter of my paternal great-grandmother, Oline Mathea Olsen, the creator of the embroidered sampler.

The sampler is now preserved in an archival frame, and I have translated Hilda’s writing into English – which turned out to be a record of Oline’s marriage and family. Oline was also the sister of Olaus Christian Olson, the immigrant author of the letters he wrote to her that are reproduced elsewhere in this newsletter.

My great-grandmother embroidered this sampler in 1844 when she was fourteen years old. She included the initials (spread out in the form of a tree) of each family member, clues to my genealogy. Luckily, my great aunt’s written records bring these connections to life. That sampler has become my muse. It occupies the most prominent wall space in my house, and is the outward and visible sign of my innermost feelings of love and respect for my family. See the translation of my great aunt’s notes below.

This sampler was sewn by my Mother when she was 14 years old; she was born in Kristiania on July 27, 1830, of parents Kristian and Kristine Mathea Olsen.

Grandfather Olsen was a King’s Guard at Akershus Festning, and came from Fetsund. Grandmother’s mother was from Gudbransdalen (sic), and her Mother and Grandmother came from Gaard Storhovie, one of the biggest farms in Gudbransdalen (sic) at that time, and that must have been in the first part of 1700.

My father was born Dec. 17, 1829 on Snaröen (an island) not far from Kristiania, and his Father was of the profession of tanner and dyemaker, and came originally from Tyskland. Father was a twin and both brothers apprenticed to the sea when quite young and ended their days as Captains. Uncle Frederick Ferdinand went all the time on the ocean, but Father got a post as Ships Captain on one of States Mjøsa steamship “Godsskibet Jernbarden,” later

on the “Dronningen” and later the steamship “Thor.” He went also with passenger ship “King Oscar” and was transferred to Lillestrøm, where he went with the ship “Strammen” on Lake Quiren for several years.

Both Mother and Father are buried at Eidsvolds Churchyrd, lying with Sister Emma. Father’s name was Peter Eugenius Hansen. Mother’s name was Oline Mathea Hansen, born Olsen.

Children:Marie Kristine Born Oslo 6 Dec 1858Frederik Ferdinand Born Oslo 4 Oct 1861Hilda Emilie Born Eidsvold 5 Aug 1863Agnes and Emma (twins) Born Eidsvold 1 Oct 1865Anna Karolina Mathilde Born Eidsvold 5 Apr 1868Hans Petter Kristian Born Eidsvold 5 Aug 1871Einar Adolf Born Eidsvold 11 Aug 1873Sigurd Olaus Born Eidsvold 9 Jun 1877

All sorts of mother’s family immigrated to America in the year 1850.

Inspired by this sampler and my great aunt’s inscription, I was able to fill in some details about my ancestors. My grandmother, Marie Kristine Hansen, was the daughter of Petter Eugenius Hansen and Oline Mathea Olsen. Born in Oslo in 1858 and baptized in 1859 at Trefoldighet Menighet, she was confirmed later at Eidsvoll by parish priest E. Lundt.

She met my grandfather, Karl Otto Kolstad, in an Oslo park before 1878. He was a young ship’s officer, apprenticed on the “Jernbaden”. He was born in 1859 to Andreas Kristian Kolstad and Marte Larsdatter on the Hjermstad Gaard in Stange, Hedmark.

Grandma Marie waited patiently in Norway for grandpa to immigrate to America and become a citizen before she immigrated herself in 1884. They were married in Boston later that same year. By then, he was a ship’s captain and she sailed with him on his voyages until my father’s arrival in 1888. She then insisted that her husband give up the sea for the sake of the family. For his part, he insisted that only English be spoken in their home from then on.

My father, Charles Norman Colstad, was born in Boston in 1888 and died in Torrance, California, in 1965. My grandpa Karl died in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1932; and grandma Marie died in Quincy in 1940. Both are buried at Mount Wollaston Cemetery, Wollaston, Norfolk County, Massachusetts.

I have been delighted to share this family story with readers of “Norwegian Tracks” – illustrating from my own life how an antique artifact can illuminate family history and inspire genealogical investigation with wonderful results.


neW note cardS

Beautiful 12 x 18 inch format note cards, with high-quality color reproductions printed on excellent card stock. We have received exclusive permission to create these note cards, based on eight of Olive Nordby’s original hand-colored woodblock prints. For many years Mrs. Nordby donated the proceeds from the sale of her art to benefit NAGC & NL.

Spring Sentinels Summer Iris Bloodroot

Stavanger Market Norwegian Dancers

Drying Hay, Setesdal, Norway

The Wedding Party

Norwegian HeritageFive cards each of four different images with envelopes (20 cards/package):

A Garden MiscellanyFive cards each of four different images with envelopes (20 cards/package):

order form

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Postage & Handling: One to two packages of cards, add $6.00; three or more packages, add $13.00For international postage, please contact [email protected] Postage & Handling $ __________

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Return your completed form to NAGC & NL, 415 West Main Street, Madison, WI 53703-3116You may also place your order through our e-Store at www.nagcnl.org, or by phone (608)255-2224


Norwegian American Genealogical Center & Naeseth Library (NAGC & NL)

415 W. Main StreetMadison, WI 53703-3116

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and many photographs, we expect many new discoveries to be made through this comprehensive information that was first compiled by Scott C. Meeker and donated by him to NAGC.

Take a look at some other new features: entries on naming patterns, Norwegian genealogical terms, an introduction and guide to the research materials we offer, and a beginner’s guide for getting started. There are also updated research links and continued, complete access to all the resources in our Naeseth Library catalogue. A sample Norwegian Tracks newsletter is available, and a new section has been added for the answers to frequently asked questions.

These great improvements have been made possible by a special NAGC Board/Staff Website Committee, under the leadership of Board Vice Chair, Paul O. Larson. Working closely with volunteer and committee member Helen Olberg, Paul led the group that also included staff members Diane Maurer, Jerry Paulson, and Jeanne Wright. The Committee met with three web design firms, and selected Powderkeg Web Design, Verona. Wisconsin. Working closely with Powderkeg web designer Dylan Thompson, the group has been delighted with the skill and insight that Dylan and Powderkeg brought to this complicated project. We are all indebted to this dedicated group for the terrific work they accomplished.

The new NAGC & NL website has also been made possible by generous donations by The Edwin E. and Janet L. Bryant Foundation, Dianne and Paul O. Larson, Helen and Lowell Olberg, and a leadership gift from an anonymous foundation. We invite you to learn more about this great, new resource via www.nagcnl.org.

SucceSSful WebSite launch continued from cover

volunteer neWSOver the last forty years, the Center has been blessed with the assistance from many talented volunteers who have participated in a wide variety of projects. A few

months ago, we were privileged to add Carolyn Love to our volunteer group. Carolyn was born and raised in Madison and has two grown sons. She is retired from the Wisconsin State Patrol, where she worked in communications.

Carolyn has been obsessed with her family genealogy for the last nine years, but it wasn’t until last summer that she was able to take NAGC’s Beginning Norwegian Genealogy class with Jerry Paulson. Although she had used many online resources, she notes that taking Jerry’s class gave her the real direction she needed in her search. Carolyn is currently working with John Reindl and Jenna Schulz on the Wisconsin 15th Regiment Civil War database project and has already proven to be an extremely helpful volunteer in many areas. We hope you will join us in welcoming her to the NAGC circle.

Carolyn Love

Documents

VOLUME 38 | NUMBER 1 | SUMMER 2014 In this issue ...2 NORWEGIAN TRACS • VOLUME 38 • NO. 1 • SUMMER 2014 GreetinG from the board of directorS This year, as we celebrate our 40th