Immigrants from Norway

History - The Norwegian Experience in Wisconsin by Chris Pederson Driving from La Crosse, Wisconsin to Eau Claire or Madison, the signs of Norwegian presence are abundant. Some towns seem to have more Norwegian flags than American ones. Some town banners have Viking ships portrayed on them and many of the public schools have Vikings or Norsemen for their mascots. There are various museums and Scandinavian stores throughout the areas settled by Norwegians. Norwegians have an above average appreciation for their heritage, and Wisconsin has an above average amount of Norwegians. I will explain the reasons they came here, as well as their unique experiences, history, and continued appreciation of their heritage in the state of Wisconsin. All over Europe in the mid-eighteenth century the populations of Europe's nations were rising. New foods from the New World, better medicine, and improved sanitation lowered the death rate and increased the birthrate. By the early eighteen hundreds Norway had reached its population capacity. At the same time, changes in agriculture, industrialization, and society left many Norwegians without any chance of finding work or any other prospects. The rumors of opportunities to get land at low prices in America started to tempt many Norwegians.



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Immigrants - In the year 1825 the ship Restaurationen arrived with 53 of the first Norwegian immigrants in New York. These immigrants sent letters home that would, along with immigrants returning to Norway, encourage others to the prospect of coming to America. In the late 1830s and 1860s nearly 70,000 had immigrated to America. In the United States census of 1860 there were as many Norwegians in Wisconsin as in all the rest of the country.

The first settlers had found land and settled in Illinois. The area ended up being too marshy and unhealthy and they started moving north toward the Wisconsin Territory. In 1838 Ole Knutson Nattestad became first settler to stake a claim in Wisconsin. Many other Norwegian settlers followed suit, starting new colonies that would serve as the immediate destination for many of the incoming Norwegians. These newer immigrants would then form new colonies and in turn become a dispersion point for others. (Source)

In the 19th century, many lived in small communities, usually farming communities. In 1900, almost 75 percent of Norwegians lived in towns populated with less than 25,000 people. (Source)

Norwegians succeeded in commercial agriculture in pioneer times—following frontier practice—as wheat farmers but soon diversified into other products as dictated by topography, soil, climate, and market. In Wisconsin such considerations drew some Norwegians to tobacco farming. (Source)

Article - This is an amazing article about a man moving from Norway and what it was like here in America. http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/wlhba/articleView.asp?pg=1&id=2812

Traditions, Customs and Beliefs - In 1879 a Norwegian Unitarian minister and author was amazed after a visit to Wisconsin at "how Norwegians have managed to isolate themselves together in colonies and maintain their Norwegian memories and customs." He had to ask himself if he was really in America. Adjustments were, however, made to American ways in clothing and food, although especially typical Norwegian dishes were retained. These became associated with Christmas celebrations, which in pioneer days were observed for the entire Twelfth-night period, as in Norway. Aaste Wilson of Wisconsin tells how transplanted Norwegians retained such old customs: "They invited one another for Christmas celebration and then they had home-brewed ale, made from malt or molasses or sugar cane.... Nearly everybody slaughtered for Christmas so that they could have meat and sausages. Then they had potatoes and flatbrød (flatbread) and smultringer (doughnuts) and sauce made from dried apples. And most of them had rømmegrøt (cream porridge). We youngsters liked to stay and listen to the old folks and thought it good fun when they told about old things in Norway." (Wilson, Aaste, "Live blant nybyggjarane." Telesoga, September 1917.)

A gradual transition to American life weakened immigrant folkways. Some traditions and customs survived and were cultivated, others were reintroduced and given a heightened importance as a part of an ethnic heritage. Toward the end of the century lutefisk, dried Norwegian cod soaked in a lye solution, assumed a role as a characteristic Norwegian American dish. It was served at lodge meetings, festive banquets, and church suppers, most regularly during the Christmas season. The dish is served with lefse, a thin buttered pancake made from rolled dough. Madison, Minnesota, has erected a statue of a cod in its city park and advertises itself as the " Lutefisk Capital of America" because it reportedly consumes more lutefisk per capita than any other American city.

Old-country traditions in food, festive dress, folk arts, and entertainment were given a powerful boost with the establishment of bygdelag, or old-home societies, around the turn of the century. These groups were rooted in Norwegian locality and loyalties to the old-country home community. The annual reunions of the 50 or so such societies, each bearing the name of a specific Norwegian home district, became grand celebrations of a regional and rural Norwegian cultural heritage. Women especially revived the use of the festive rural dress, the bunad, wearing specific costumes of their old-country districts. A love for jewelry was demonstrated in the use of heavy silver brooches ( sølje ). The peasant costume of Hardanger on Norway's west coast, a favored region for national romantics, inspired the official dress of the Daughters of Norway organization. These colorful outfits are worn at Norwegian American public events.
There was also renewed interest in the traditional Norwegian Harding fiddle, and old rural dances. Even today, groups meet to practice the old figures and demonstrate their mastery of the country dances. The current popularity of the peasant arts of wood carving and rosemaling (rose painting) also grew out of the bygdelag tradition. Vesterheim, the Norwegian American Museum in Decorah, Iowa, has promoted the folk arts through instruction and exhibitions. (Source)

Sources
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=956\
http://www.energyofanation.org/3f9c3958-cf6f-43ed-a9bf-05b8ad118870.html?NodeId=
http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~norway/nor_am.html
http://dalekfactory.tripod.com/
http://www.magazineusa.com/us/states/show.aspx?state=wi&doc=4
http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Le-Pa/Norwegian-Americans.html