Historical Timeline

1840s, From the 1840s on an especially large number of young people entered in the workforce in Norway. Semmingsen, Norway to America, p. 37.

1840, when a company of newcomers in Muskego or Koshkonong in the 1840s, weary and worn from many months of traveling, they were not impressed with the housing offered them. The houses were no more than 12 to 14 foot square and had been built horridly. Semmingsen, Norway to America, p. 66.

1840, There are now six permanent Norwegian settlements in America. Anderson, Rasmus, Norwegian Immigration, 1821-1840, preface.

1840, The importance of the individual as a leader appears to be declining by the end of the forties and the migration, although not yet swelling into great numbers, begins to take on some of the aspects of a mass movement. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 192.

1840, Some from Muskego move on to Racine County, Wisconsin, a little southward of Muskego. They moved into Norway, Waterford, Raymond, and Yorkville townships of Racine County. Also, the greatest of the early settlements, Koshkonong in Dane County was established. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 126. Also see Flom, Norwegian Immigration to the United States, p. 155 on Wind Lake in Norway Township, Racine County, Wisconsin. This new settlement was called the Muskego settlement or the Yorkville Prairie settlement. Clausen, C. A., A Chronicler of Immigrant Life, p. 18.

1840, A group of immigrants who had been influenced by Bache and Johansen left Norway led by a well-to-do innkeepter from Lier (near Drammen) by the name of Even Heg. They sailed from Drammen on May 17 on the "Emilie". Ole K. Trovatten was in this group and he would later be acclaimed for his "America Letters". They arrived in Muskego August 28 along with son Hans Christian Heg. He bought the property of John Nielsen Luraas. Luraas moved on to Norway, Racine County. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 126-127. Also p. 130. See more on Trovatten in Flom, Norwegian Immigration to the United States, p. 83. Also Clausen, C. A., A Chronicler of Immigrant Life, p. 18.

Sixth Settlement in America, Koshkonong in Dane County, WI
1840, The Koshkonong settlement in Dane County, Wisconsin was started by setters from the Jefferson Prairie and Fox River settlements. Gunnul Olsen Vindegg was probably the first to clear land and he became a well known writer of "America letters". This was perhaps the most important of all the Wisconsin settlements, certainly the most prosperous. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 141. See also Norlie, The History of the Norwegian People in America, p. 168. The Telemarkings were most numerous in Pleasant Spring Township. Lovoll, Odd, The Promise of America, p. 212.

1840, Ole Knudsen Trovatten from Laurdal, Telemarken was a notable writer of "America Letters", especially to Moe in Tinn where they created quite a sensation. He arrived at Muskego in 1840. He became the most talked about man back in Upper Telemark. Flom, Norwegian Immigration to the United States, p. 82.

1840, the first immigrants arrive in Iowa, Lee County, the Sugar Creek settlement. It would be ten years before the major move to Iowa, at Winneshiek County, began. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 151. See also Flom, Norwegian Immigration to the United States, p. 192 for much detail. Andrew Simonsen from the Shelby County, Missouri settlement seems to have been first in. With him were Mrs. Rue and her sons Thorstein and Jon (future Snowshoe Thompson). Thorstein came over in 1839. Flom, Norwegian Immigration to the United States, p. 192. In 1843 there were between 30 and 40 families but in 1856 there were only 68 Norwegians. Mrs. Rue and her son were here until 1846 when they took part in the founding of the Blue Mounds Settlement in western Dane County, Wisconsin. Flom, Norwegian Immigration to the United States, p. 197. Also Norlie, The History of the Norwegian People in America, p. 170.

1840, Johannes Johansen and Søren Bache write a long America letter. See this section for a host of such letters. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 203.

1840, August 28 - Bache goes out of his way to describe how dirty the mountain people are. "The mountaineers are generally so slovenly in their ways that it is discusting to associate with them". Bache, Chronicle of Old Muskego, p. 40 and 45.

"In the south the general level of education was higher than in most of the hinterland, agriculture and technology more advanced, the outlook more cosmopolitan. But in many other parts of Norway an essentially medieval way of life survived in inaccessible mountain districts and on isolated farms. This situation helps explain Reiersen's opinion of some of his countrymen from the mountain regions whom he met in America. J. R. Reiersen, Pathfinder for Norwegian Emigrants, p. 6.

1841, Epidemic, Yellow Fever, Nationwide (USA)

1841, Seventy persons die at Muskego. Muskego had only 500-600 inhabitants, so that 140 deaths meant that nearly ¼ of the population was taken. Semmingsen, Norway to America, p. 67.

1841, Preemption Law of 1841, allowed anyone to buy up to 160 acres of land at $1.25 per acre, upon occupying the land and making necessary improvements. Johnson, Millicent, Let's Have Harmony, p. 1.

1841, Gunnulv Kittilsen Såheim (28) and Gro Torgiersdatter Mogen with son Kjitil leave for America, to Muskego. These are the first from my family to leave for America. Gene Estensen Family.

1841, April 13, Tosten Østeinsen Bøen and Kari Østeinsdatter Ingolvsland are married. He is 24, she 23. The next year they leave for America, Muskego, then on to found Norseland, Minnesota Territory near present day St. Peter. Gene Estensen Family.

1841, Earliest known instance of skiing in America. Blegen, The American Transition, p. 573.

1841-45, Each family emigrating took along on the average of 400 specie dollar, a considerable sum. In Tinn, the class of independent farmer provided the most emigrants.

1842, The conventicle law that had forbidden religious meetings conducted by laymen was repealed. Semmingsen, Norway to America, p. 34.

1842, 63 emigrants from Tinn ship out on Ellida (43), Clarissa (8), Tuskina (3), and Washington (7). Two died on the journey. See a letter in Blegen, Land of Their Choice, p. 97.

1842, For a discussion of the tendency to "flock together" in locations throughout America, see Blegen, The American Transition, p. 75.

1842, Ole K. Trovatten from Telemark became know for his America Letters. He wrote that "any poor person who will work diligently can become a well-to-do man here in a short time". See Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 198 for a discussion of the sensation his letters caused at Moe, Telemarken. See also, Flom, Norwegian Immigration to the United States, p. 82.

1842, Ole Østeinsen Bøen is confirmed. He belongs to Østein Nielsen and Aase. Note that they were at Berge in 1839 when Niels was confirmed. Gene Estensen Family.

1842, Jacob Olsen Einung and Anne leave for America with eight children. Anne and Susanne die on the journey. Gunhild grows up to marry Hans Christian Heg of Civil War fame. Anne had predicted that she would die on the journey. Norwegian-American Studies, Vol. 29, p. 85.

1842, January 15, Østein Tostensen Kaase is born to Torstein and Kari Bøen. Gene Estensen Family.

1842, Blegen, The American Transition, p. 24 describes life aboard the ship "Washington".

1842, Blegen, The American Transition, p. 41. For a description of the early houses that were built.

1842, Torstein Østeinsen Bøen and Kari leave for America with infant son Østein. Kari's mother comes too, along with Herbjorn Nielsen Ingulfsland who is married to Kari's sister. They were on the ill-fated Elida. Gene Estensen Family. The Ellida, under Captain Jansen from Flekkefjord left Drammen about June 1 and left from Goteborg to New York, arriving on August 8, 1842. Nine passengers, including three babies born on the journey, died of cholera or typhus. Thirty sick and "half dead" had to be sent to the hospital in New York where one died the same day. A doctor declared that there was no hope for some of them and that others would need many weeks of stay in the hospital. Halvor Gunleiksen Luraas and his son Gunleik died during the voyage. See Skiensposten, Sept. 5, 1842 for the story. Also, Blegen, The American Transition, p. 19. For a description of the misery, see Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 133.

1842, The first Norwegian settler in the Town of Dunkirk, Dane County, Wisconsin was John Nelson Luraas, son of Nils Johnson Luraas (b. 1789) arrived from Norway, Racine County in June 1843. Flom, Norwegian Immigration to the United States, p. 249. Luraas was first at Muskego but very soon left Muskego and bought a farm in Norway, Racine county. This he sold to Evan Heg. Anderson, Rasmus, Norwegian Immigration, p. 276. In October 1868 he moved to Webster County, Iowa. Then, in 1873, he returned to Dane County, to his farm. In the fall of 1886 he moved to Stoughton where he died May 29, 1890.

1842, October 13, Mrs. Evan Heg (Sigrid) dies at Muskego leaving four children. Rønning, N. N. The Saga of old Muskego, p. 20.

1842, Bache went back to Norway in 1842, but returned to Muskego in 1843. He was prominent there until his return to Norway in 1847. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 129. Also Bache, Chronicle of Old Muskego, p. 46. He describes the trip through America in detail.

The relationship between landowners and cotters can be deduced from a study of 46 contracts entered into during the period 1843-1874. The desire of cotters and cotters' children to escape from their restricted life was not inspired purely by dissatisfaction with economic conditions. They were also motivated by a spirit of protest against the humiliating and oppressive social conventions of the traditional agrarian society. The cotters were looked down upon and treated as an inferior class and were often made to feel the sting of mockery and disrespect. There was something essentially degrading about a cotter's contract. Norwegian-American Studies, Vol. 29, p. 81. However, every fifth wedding in Tinn crossed class boundaries. Norwegian-American Studies, Vol. 29, p. 82. From Tinn, it was the landowning class which furnished the largest contingent of emigrants between 1837 and 1907 - somewhat more than 40%. Norwegian-American Studies, Vol. 29, p. 83.

1843, May 22 - "Just as I stepped into the boat I looked around and happened to notice someone in the upper floor of the storehouse. I realized that it was my sister, but when she saw me looking up she stepped farther back so as not to be seen. Because of my own sad thoughts I could well understand what feelings must have been in her heart. But still I had a faint hope that I should meet her and be with her once again." Bache, Chronicle of Old Muskego, p. 75.

1843, F. C. Borchsenius is Sheriff at Bratsberg Amt. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 215.

1843, The first ever public ski meet was held in Tromsø. The people of Telemark, led by Sondre Norheim (1825-1897) who are considered the pioneers of modern skiing.

1843, Johan Reinert. Reiersen set out for America and upon his return in 1844 he published "Veiviser for norske emigranter til De forenede nordamerikanske stater og Texas", ie, Pathfinder for Norwegian Emigrants to the United States and Texas. He gives a long list of reasons for emigration. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 158, 167. Also, see 178. Also, Flom, Norwegian Immigration to the United States, p. 86. See his history in Semmingsen, Norway to America, p. 28. See Bache, Chronicle of Old Muskego, p. 96. Also see J. R. Reiersen, Pathfinder for Norwegian Emigrants, p. 4.

1843, The year that Telers moved into Koskonong, 35 families of 182 people led by Olav Knutson Trovaten. Nils Luraas and his sons Jon Nilsen Luraas and Kjetil went to Koskonong in 1843. Østein O. Blomhaug (43) went soon thereafter. Telemarkings were most numerous in Pleasant Spring Township. For a description of the journey see Flom, Norwegian Immigration to the United States, p. 243. Also see Clausen, C. A., A Chronicler of Immigrant Life, p. 107 and 125 and 128. John and Kjitil Luraas were married to two sisters, the daughters of Olav Berge who was the Master Hunter in Tinn. Telelaget, Telemark to America Volume II, p. 28 and 30.

1843, Hans Tveito, the famous fighter, came from Tinn to Muskego in 1843. His ship from Vestfjorddalen was the "Argo". Gjermund Kasin was on that ship too. He became very successful at Harmony, MN having come there in 1856. Telelaget, Telemark to America Volume II, p. 79.

1843, John J. Kasen came to America. He helped build the church at Muskego. Oien, Minnehaha County's Norwegian Pioneers, p. 251. Also assisting was Tosten Kleven. For his story see Rønning, N. N. The Saga of old Muskego, p. 14. For comment on who built the church see Rønning, N. N. The Saga of old Muskego, p. 24.

1843, the famous Heg barn is erected at Muskego. This barn, the first home in America for many a Norwegian immigrant, became the springboard from which families moved westward. Tollef Bache, father of Soren, donoted $400 from Drammen, Norway. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 130.

1843, Reverend C. L. Clausen arrived in America with his bride and became the pastor in the Muskego settlement. The first Lutheran Church in America is set up on Even Heg's land at Muskego. Elling Eielsen was ordained on October 3 at Fox River as the first Norwegian minister in America, and, along with Clausen, ordained on October 13 at Muskego, and in 1844, J. W. C. Dietrichson, the first university-trained minister, ushered in formal Norwegian-American Lutheranism. Anderson, Rasmus, Norwegian Immigration 1821-1840, p. 418.

1843, December, 270 Muskego setters sign a document showing they desired to members of Clausen's church. Rønning, N. N. The Saga of old Muskego, p. 20.

1843, Muskego suffers from malaria as written by Claus Lauritz Clausen in Festskrift til Den norske synodes jubileum (Aniversery Book for the Norwegian Synog, 1903. Seventy persons died at Muskego in the fall of 1843 according to Munch Raeder. Milton Wells visited the Muskego settlement during the winter of 1843-44 and wrote "the amount of wretchedness and suffering which prevailed was such as absolutely to mock all description". Men like Heg, Bache, and Johansen gave so much aid to new immigrants that Muskego became the place to be for the down-and-out. Every house had to hold 15-20 new immigrants, thus the susceptibility to disease. Blegen, The American Transition, p. 57. See also Norlie, The History of the Norwegian People in America, p. 160. For a vivid account of the wretched conditions, see Blegen, Land of Their Choice, p. 177. see Rønning, N. N. The Saga of old Muskego, p. 22. Also Bache, Chronicle of Old Muskego, p. 166.

1843, See Blegen, The American Transition, p. 223, for a discussion of how the funeral was held.

1843, Blegen, The American Transition, p. 56. Awareness of causes of illness is described.

1843, December 3, Tov Østeinsen Mogen (Bømogen at Bøen), age 22 ½, marries Aagoth Østeinsdatter Bøen (24) (Østein Nielsen's sister). Mystery. Gene Estensen Family.

1843, March 20, Kittil Tovsen Bömogen is born to Tov Østeinsen and Aslaug Kittilsdatter (not Astrid Kittilsdatter). Kittil will die in the Civil War with the Norwegian Regiment. Mystery. This information came from confirmation data, not birth data. Aslaug supposedly went off to Bø near Drammen. Check these birth records. Gene Estensen Family.

1843, John Pedersen Husevold (born 1803) leaves for America with wife Helga and children. They were married in 1829. Knut Johnsen Husevold (1833) in turn has a daughter Bertha that marries John Estensen of Cyrus. Gene Estensen Family.

1843, In upper Telemark 689 traveler passports were issued this year alone. Gaute Ingebrigtsen (Gulliksrud)of Tinn, influenced by good tidings in letters from early emigrants from his home district went to Skien, Havre, New York, and Milwauke, then on to Koskonong. He became one of the earliest pioneers in Dunkirk Township, Dane County. His party from Tinn numbered about 140. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 146. Also see Flom, Norwegian Immigration to the United States, p. 80.

1843, Gunder T. Mandt of Upper Telemarken gave testimony of the opposition to emigration from Norway, especially by the clergy. Flom, Norwegian Immigration to the United States, p. 82.

1843, The second settlement in Iowa was made at Ft. Atkinson at Winneshiek County. Norlie, The History of the Norwegian People in America, p. 172.

1844, Jon N. Bjørndalen, in Milwaukee County, WI Terr to his parents writes of the deaths of many from Tinn including Knud Maerum and his insane son Thore, Tosten Maerum and his wife, Jacob Einong, Ingebret Berge and his wife, Ole Sanden, Østen Eggerud and his wife, Gro Eggerud, Sigurd Vemork, Anne Halvorsdatter Laavekaase, Anne Bøen, and besides many small children. Halvor Jørisdal and Gunner from Sjøtvedt; all told some 68 grown people and children. Blegen, Land of Their Choice, p. 186. The letter goes on to say that Jon Nielsen Rue with his deceitful letters so shamefully induced his parents to come here to utter wretchedness.

1844, Johan Gasmann describes in great detail the trip across America to Milwaukee in Blegen, Land of Their Choice, p. 155.

1844, John N. Gjøsdal relates that 68 from Tinn are already dead of swamp fever. Norlie, The History of the Norwegian People in America, p. 150.

1844, A great many who left for America this year were influenced by the return from Muskego of Knud Svalestuen of Vinje in the Fall of 1843. Flom, Norwegian Immigration to the United States, p. 85.

1844, Reverand J.W.C. Dietrichsen, born Fredrikstad, Norway arrived at Koskonong during the last days of August and immediately began to organize the people into congregations. Two new churches were built this year at Koskonong. Dietrichsen's successors were A. C. Preus (1850-1860) and J. A. Ottesen (1860-1865). Dietrichsen went back to Norway for good in 1850.

1844, Reverend Clausen confirmed the first class in the Heg barn. The historic Muskego church, projected in 1843, was dedicated on March 13, 1845. It was built of oak logs. See Blegen, The American Transition, p. 144 for details and a picture.

1844, a newspaper, the Bratsberg Amts Correspondent is mentioned, check it out. Blegen, Land of Their Choice, p. 188.

1844, Johan Reinert Reirsen brings out his "Pathfinder for Norwegian Emigrants to the United States and Texas". Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 243. This book was widely read in Norway and had an impact. Flom, Norwegian Immigration to the United States, p. 86. Also see Anderson, Rasmus, Norwegian Immigration 1821-1840, p. 359.

1844, Racine County, Wisconsin now has 600 Norse. Nelson, O. A., History of Scandinavians in the United States, p. 111 of History of Wisconsin.

1844, John Evanson Molee marries Anne Jacobsdatter Einong in Even Heg's barn. Anderson, Rasmus, Norwegian Immigration 1821-1840, p. 316. The other couple were the muscular giant, Hans Tveito and Anne's sister Aslaug.

1845, Lars Larson dies by accident on November 13. Anderson, Rasmus, Norwegian Immigration, p. 65.

1845, Bratsberg had a population of 72,891, or 5.5 % of the population of Norway. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, map on p. 14.

1845, January 6, The Muskego Manifesto was signed by 80 men of Muskego and inserted in Morgenbladet on April 1, 1845. Johannes Johansen wrote the document. He died later that year. See Blegen, The American Transition, p. 189. Also see Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 209. Also, Bache, Chronicle of Old Muskego, p. 141.

1845, March 13 - The Muskego church was dedicated. Rønning, N. N. The Saga of old Muskego, p. 25. See Bache, Chronicle of Old Muskego, p. 148.

1845, Henrik Wergeland wrote his anit-emigration poem, "the Mountain Hut", about a group from upper Telemarken. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 318.

1845, Østein Tovsen is living at Bøhagen, a husmannplass of Bøen. His son is Tov Østeinsen Kaase (Bøkasse). Gene Estensen Family.

1845, "A convenient point at which to examine the rural population groupings is
the year 1845. The total population was then 1,328,471. There were 77,780 independent land holders, most of them presumably family heads. These freeholders made up the bonde element --- perhaps the most powerful and influential element in the population of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Norway. The designation of peasants as applied to this class is misleading. Norway never had a feudal system, and the bønder had behind them ancient traditions not only of independence but also of vigorous self-assertion. These freeholders in fact constituted a rural aristocracy, which through centuries had been the very heart of the national culture. They were proud of their traditions, but their position carried with it no necessary implication of wealth. In truth, the economic position of the bønder has been difficult. Many, pressed to the wall by adverse conditions, have sold their ancient farms and emigrated to America. And in many other cases younger sons, barred by the practical workings of the odel system of land tenure from having a share in the ancestral estates, have sought their fortunes in the West. One result of the odel system has been the holding of estates through many generations by one line in direct descent. It is not uncommon in the Norwegian valleys to find farms that have remained in the possession of one family, handed down from father to son, generation after generation, since the fifteenth or sixteenth century. Some understanding of the feeling about land ownership bred by such traditions may be had by noting the view of a Norwegian immigrant who explains that all the sons in his father's family, though only a few of them became farmers, insisted upon owning farm lands in America, "largely for reasons of sentiment, in harmony with the old conception of land ownership." The essence of this conception was that "land possessed a certain dignity and worth, aside from its purely commercial value. It was the pride of the old chieftains; it insured economic well-being and personal independence; it gave stability and permanence to the family in whose possession it remained from century to century." It is not to be wondered at that the bondestand made itself a power in the affairs of modern Norway. After the establishment of constitutional government in that country in 1814, the bønder, becoming increasingly class-conscious, entered upon a protracted but successful contest with the privileged official class and the clergy for leadership in the state. The "rural population," as Hardy says, "survived centuries of foreign domination, until in the nineteenth century it came once more into its own as the heart and kernel of Norwegian democracy." Various aspects and implications of the battle of the bønder are considered in later chapters of the present work; it remains to be noted here that from the bondestand have come a large number of the political leaders, writers, poets, musicians, and professional men of modern Norway; and that the same class has contributed liberally, in various fields, to leadership among the Norwegians transplanted to America. The rural population of Norway in 1845 included, in addition to the bønder, 58,049 husmænd, 25,047 renters, 47,000 laborers, and 146,000 servants. The husmænd and laborers, mainly family heads, have been estimated to represent elements of respectively 300,000 and 230,000 people. {11} Most interesting of these classes from the point of view of
emigration were the husmænd, or cotters. These people, most of whom were to be found in the eastern parts of Norway, ordinarily leased small pieces of land to work for themselves, and were required, usually under written contracts, to give a specified amount of service to their landlords, the bønder. Small lots of land, with cottages and other buildings, usually some distance behind the central buildings of the gaard, were reserved for the use of husmænd. It is clear that heavy demands were made upon the cotters. In 1850 they were asking that their required services be restricted to five days a week and the working day to eleven hours. One writer states that practically the only free time the husmænd had for work on their own plots of ground was on Sundays. The value of services beyond the stipulated arrangements might be placed as high as twelve pennies a day in summer, less than half that in winter. Professor Koht writes that the husmænd were personally free --- that is, they were not bound to the soil --- but that in effect they were economic serfs. "It was only on rare occasions," he continues, "that any of them were able to win their way out of poverty." {12} Hardy characterizes the husmand historically as the liberated thrall. {13} Both [8] politically
and socially the class was on a lower plane than that of the bonde. It lacked the suffrage, since its members could not meet the property qualification. The husmænd were on the increase in the period when the emigration movement was rising, an increase that went from 48,571 in 1825 to 65,060 in 1855, the latter being the highest point in the history of the class. In a later chapter the movement for reform with reference to the cotters and its connections with emigration are considered in some
detail. Poverty coupled with stern demands upon the time and service of the cotters tended in many cases to embitter their attitude toward the bønder, whose relationship to the lesser class had had a patriarchal flavor in an earlier day. A considerable number of pensioners, who had surrendered their property to their heirs upon condition of receiving annual allowances and living quarters, are represented in the population of 1845 --- 46,512 of them. {15} The dower house, it may be added, is a familiar feature in the usual cluster of buildings at the center of a Norwegian gaard. Samuel Laing in his journal from the thirties prints a translation of an advertisement in a Christiania newspaper offering a Norwegian gaard for sale at a price of four thousand dollars. This presents some interesting concrete detail concerning buildings, equipment, and other aspects of a typical gaard:

A two-story dwelling-house, with seven apartments, of which two are painted. A large kitchen, hall and room for hanging clothes, and two cellars. There is a side building of one story, containing servants' room, brewing kitchen, calender room, chaise-house, and wood-house. A two-story house on pillars with a pantry, and a store-room. The farm buildings consist of a threshing barn, and barns for hay, straw, and chaff; a stable for five horses; a cattle house for eight cows, with divisions for calves and sheep. There is a good kitchen garden, and a good fishery; and also a considerable wood, supplying timber for house-building, for fences, and for fuel, besides the right of cutting wood in the common forest. The scater (sæter) or hill pasture is only half a mile (that is, three and a half English miles) from the farm. The arable land extends to the sowing of eight barrels of grain and twenty-five or thirty of potatoes (the barrel is half a quarter), besides the land for hay; and the farm can keep within itself, summer and winter, two horses, eight cows, and forty sheep and goats. There is also a houseman's farm and houses. It keeps two cows, six sheep, and has arable land to the sowing of one and a half barrels of grain and six barrels of potatoes. The property adjoins a good high road, is within four miles (eight and twenty English miles) of Christiania. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p.5.

When they were confirmed, about age fifteen, they went to work as adults, becoming hired men and servant girls, sailors or fishermen. Semmingsen, Norway to America, p. 102.

1845, Last year, especially during the winter months, a very severe epidemic raged in our midst, carrying about seventy or eighty men, women, and children to their graves. Bache, Chronicle of Old Muskego, p. 141.

1845, Rev. C. L. Clausen accepts the call to Koshkonong, WI. Norlie, The History of the Norwegian People in America, p. 162.

1846, Rev. C. L. Clausen accepts the call to Rock Prairie, WI. Norlie, The History of the Norwegian People in America, p. 162.

1846, February 10, Johannes Johansen, author of the Muskego Manifesto, dies at Muskego, of disease. Rønning, N. N. The Saga of old Muskego, p. 30.

1846, A haunting poem is written in Telemarken. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 312.

1846, Iowa becomes a state. A few Norwegian settlers crossed the Mississippi into Clayton and Allamakee counties in northeastern Iowa and four years later an important Norwegian settlement was founded in the region east of Decorah, the Washington Prairie settlement. 1846, Ole Valle and Ole Tollefson Kittilsland lead the way into Iowa. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 363. Also see Flom, Norwegian Immigration to the United States, p. 363. 1846. Ole Valle and Ole Tollefson Kittilsland from Rollaug, Numedal lead the way into Northeastern Iowa. See Flom, p. 367 for a description of the hard life of the first pioneers.

1846, October 25, Astrid Johnsdatter Bøen is confirmed. Gene Estensen Family.

1846, April 14, Tov Østeinsen Bømogen (26) and Astrid Kittilsdatter Tveito/Bømogen (23) are married. Ole Østeinsen Bømogen is an attendant. Gene Estensen Family.

1846, May 11, Gunnild Tovsdatter Bømogen is born Tov and Astrid Bømogen. Gene Estensen Family.

1846, November 22, Niels Østeinsen Bøen (22) and Gro Gregardsdatter Bøen are married. They will settle at Harmony, Minnesota. Gene Estensen Family.

1846, the "Amtsmand" of Bratsberg declared that emigration had been advantageous in that it checked the process of land division, which had already gone to extreme lengths. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 168.

1846, Dietrichson's "Travels among the Norwegian Immigrants in the United North American Free States" was published at Stavenger. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 254.

1846, One of Norway's famous painters, Tidemand, understood the emotion of the "America Letters" and the departures to America. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 317-318.

1846, Tosten Thompson Rue arrives in Blue Mounds, Dane County, Wisconsin from Racine County. He is the brother of Snowshoe Thompson. Earlier, he was at Sugar Creek, Lee County, Iowa with his mother and brother Jon. Flom, Norwegian Immigration to the United States, p. 340 and 197.

1847, Wisconsin becomes a state. Norlie, The History of the Norwegian People in America, p. 158.

1847, Milwaukee now has a population of eleven or twelve thousand. Blegen, Land of Their Choice, p. 207.

1847, "The worst complaint of all is homesickness; everyone experiences that….most of the immigrants cherish more or less consciously to return some day to their native land". Blegen, Land of Their Choice, p. 215. Very few Norwegians have yet built comfortable houses. The great majority live in log cabins of the sort that can be erected in a day.

1847-1848, Epidemic, influenza, worldwide.

1847, Blegen tells about the cabins at Muskego on page 43. Page 48 tells of the hard work done by the Norwegian women. Blegen, The American Transition, p. 43-48.

1847, Bache returns to Norway from Muskego where he became a successful farmer.

1847-1850, The first Norwegian-American newspaper was established by James D. Reymert, a lawyer from Farsund in Norway. The name was Nordlyset (Northern Lights). July 29 marked the first issue which was printed in Even Heg's cabin. The funds came from Heg and Bache. See Blegen for a copy of the contract, p. 289. It obtained 200 subscribers. Blegen, The American Transition, p. 289. Also see Rønning, N. N., The Saga of Old Muskego, p. 42. Nordlyset took a strong stance against slavery.

1847, C. L. Clausen is a pastor at Rock Prairie at this time. His first wife died this year in November, and he remarried in February. Blegen, The American Transition, p. 220.

1847, At Rock Prairie, the public schools run 3 months a year and the teacher is paid $10 a month.

1847, Thomas Anderson Veblen came to America and went to work in a friends, Stephen Olsen, fanning mill. His wife worked as a maid in an American home. By trade Thomas was a carpenter. He occupied a claim but was pushed off of it. He moved to Cato Township, Manitowoc County, where he remained until 1865, when he pushed on to Minnesota. He did well there. One of his sons was Thorstein Bunde Veblen, was born on the Wisconsin farm in 1857. Thorstein became the author of "Theory of the Leisure Class" and "Theory of Business Enterprise".

1847, When the Norwegian jurist Munch Ræder came to Muskego in 1847, he met people from Tinn who gave him a friendly reception. "Honest and simple folk", they wore the costume of their valley and spoke the dialect. Semmingsen, Norway to America, p. 71.

1848-1849, Epidemic, cholera, North America. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 268. Regarding Muskego, see Nelson, O. A., History of Scandinavians in the United States, p. 110 in History of Wisconsin. See also Anderson, Rasmus, Norwegian Immigration, p. 274 describing cholera outbreaks at Muskego in 1849, 1850, 1851 and 1852. "the plague broke out here again in 1851, and raged with frightful violence and fatality". Reverend Stub said 1849, 1850, and 1852. Rønning, N. N., The Saga of Old Muskego, p. 44. The first medical doctor came in 1847 or 1848 but left after a short time. The second died in the epidemic of 1849.

1848-1849, Malaria (egern) or "swamp fever" or "cold fever" or "ague" was bad in the summers in the colonies, cholera raged in the settlements in 1849 but disappeared by 1854. Muskego was hard hit in 1849, 1850, and 1852 according to the reverend H. G. Stub. During those years the dead and dying were found in every household and so great was the loss that most of the settlers moved away. Dr. Squires died in the epidemic of 1849. Norlie, The History of the Norwegian People in America, p. 160.

1848-1849, An economic crisis hits Norway when mine and timber owners had problems selling their wares, thus driving down wages. Population pressure is now felt in rural areas. It is now hard to become a crofter.

1848, A law was passed in Norway requiring every town to have a common school. Blegen, The American Transition, p. 278.

1848, October 3, Østein is born to Niels Østeinsen Bøen and Gro Gregardsdatter Bøen. Gene Estensen Family.

1848, Tov Østeinsen Kaase is a soldier at Malmo, but didn't go into any battle. Gene Estensen Family.

1848, Østein is born to Tov and Astrid at Kaase (Bøkasse at Bøen). Gene Estensen Family.

1848, Announcements of the California gold discoveries are reported to Norway. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 268.

1849, The British Navigation Acts were repealed effective January 1, 1850, causing a shift in emigration to Quebec and Montreal in 1850 (emigrants to Quebec, and timber back to Norway). For a discussion of the route to America see Blegen, The American Transition, p. 33.

1849, The Indians are removed from Iowa. Anderson, Rasmus, Norwegian Immigration 1821-1840, p. 292.

1849, Kittil Kittilsen Tveden leaves for America. Gene Estensen Family.

1848, In the year of the revolution, Marcus Thrane ws the first Norwegian to raise radical demands on behalf of the underprivilidged. The authorities put his movement down by force in 1851. Skard, Sigmund, The United States in Norwegian History, p.43.

1849, There was a heavy outbreak of cholera in Chicago in April. One person in 36 died. On April 29, cholera was brought by the canalboat "John Drew". Her captain, who had contracted the disease from immigrants coming from New Orleans, died. Cholera followed the emigrants to settlements like Muskego, Fox River, and Koshkonong. At Muskego, John Evenson Molee reported the "awfullest summer that I have ever experienced in my life. Three or four persons died every day". "Hans Tveito and myself had all we could do to carry the dead out of the houses and haul them to the grave with our oxen, while other dug the graves". At Koshkonong a carpenter who was employed to build cofins for the cholera victims in the settlement was unable to supply the demand. In order that he should not be exposed to the disease, his neighbors pushed boards through the window into his shop and the coffins were delivered through the same window. In Muskego so dark a pall of sorrow fell upon the colony that Muskego became known as the "region of death". Blegen, The American Transition, p. 59.

1849, Cleng Peerson moves to Texas.

1849, Reverend C. L. Clausen of Rock Prairie sets out to find new areas to settle west of the Mississippi. This journey, and one in 1851 were unsuccessful. However, in 1852 he found the beautiful and fertile valley in Mitchell County, Iowa now called the St. Ansgar. In the spring of 1853 forty families, with a train of covered wagons and about 300 head of cattle, set out from Rock Prairie, a journey of 300 miles across trackless prairie.

1849, Hans Christian Heg and three companions leave Muskego for the gold fields of California. Blegen, Norwegian Migration to America, p. 271.

1849, Minnesota obtains territorial status. Nelson, O. A., History of Scandinavians in the United States, p. 306. Also Norlie, The History of the Norwegian People in America, p. 178. Also see Gresham, Nicollet and Le Suer Counties Minnesota, p.34.

1849, James Denoon Reymert went to the state Legislature of Wisconsin, the first Norwegian to attain this distinction. Blegen, The American Transition, p. 294. For a synopsis of his life in America see Rønning, N. N. The Saga of old Muskego, p. 40.

1849, The village of St. Paul, MN Territory has about 30 huts. Norlie, The History of the Norwegian People in America, p. 178. C. L. Clausen took the very first steamboat to St. Paul, there was no Minneapolis.