https://norwegianamericanhistory.org/digital-collections/files/original/e615dea72f04db3fa31af25ddc63933e.jpg db4386a5bcc6d615533520a1884eb231 https://norwegianamericanhistory.org/digital-collections/files/original/3f94d5a6f9d650c8bb58287d6aec79db.jpg 0db3b709353f171438fccd67c726b78b https://norwegianamericanhistory.org/digital-collections/files/original/43063c7c8edd61e0a718a2a03c4b2f76.jpg 6e9a44a7597b40f4a7be0053c6ff1d90 https://norwegianamericanhistory.org/digital-collections/files/original/8bb4bc330e20c1939c8f38925ba1268d.pdf 6459a34767b2ce54228840795d370102 PDF Text Text ')t� < l I '5� � ; /' A CENTURY OF NORWEGIAN nniIGRATION AND ACHIEVEUENT by Gustav Ma.r1us Bruce A hundred years ago the 11 ttle Norw·egian sloop "Restaura.- three persons ,. passengers and orew, including little M rga.ret Allen Larson, born at sea. to Ne The voyage fr om Stavanger, Norway, York had been long a.nd trying. The sloop left Nor1ay July 4, 1825, and arrived at New York, October 9, via England and the Madeira Islands. The "sloopers 11 , as these iirst iur.igrants to Arneri'Ca from Norway ·ro generally called, were not, ho ever, the first Nor­ wegians to land in America. over eight hundred years earlier, the famous Leif Erickson landed on American shores, oallinl� the unknown lan Vinland ana its inhabitants n skra8llinP."er. n Several �., voyages 11.ere subsequently made to the New World by Nor egians, and settlements founded, but they did not become permanent. Late II after America ho.d been rediscovered, qu.ite a. number of Norwe ians oamo to this country in company wit1 other nationals and located in their midst. Thus there were many Norwegians among the early Dutch settlers in New Yo!"k, a.mo g them Anneken Hendricka from Bergen, Norway, ho Yla.a married to Jan Aertsen van der Bilt, the anoeator o the Venderbilt family, in New Amster As early as in 1769 there existed , Fe)ruary 6, 1650. (v in Philadelphia a society by the name of Societaa Scand1naviens1s, �ooneisting of Norwegians, Swedes, and Danes. The president of the society was a Norwegian by the name of Abraham Ma.rkoe. While th re thus ere Norwegians in Am.er1oa prior to the year 1835, they wel"e few and so r tterod ., and made no independent settle ents. The coming of the sloop 11 Resta.urationen" in 1825 therefore marka the beginning of an epooh of Norwegian 1rmigra­ tion to America. Ole �lo vi In 1835, one of the "aloopera 0 by the narr. e of retu ne� to Nor ay, t elling his.countrymen of the . experiences of the Nor·aeg1ans 1n America a.m, the wonderful opportunities offered in the Ne orld. The result was that the . follo ing year two more ships laden with etdgxants from Norway set sail for America. aettlerrent$. The next year t o additi nal ship loads, From nm1 on the immigration assumed greater and gre�ter proportions, stimulated by letters from America, an·, eapeoia.lly, by a guide-book for emigrants f':rom Norway published by Ole Rynning in Christinia. (0 lo), Norway, in 1838. In the year 1843 the number of Norwegian irnrnigr nts :reaohing our e-ho:res roa� to 1,600, ·n below 1, 00. slnoe that year the number has never f llen At the close of the Civil var ove 15,000 Norwegian immigrants arrived in cne ysar and the atrearJ of i�migration has eont·nued ever since 30,000 p8r year. in thi t the r te of from a few thousand to a.bout According to tho Fourteenth Censu� there were count:ry in 1920 363 ., 862 foreign born Norwegians and 1,023,225 who were eith,r born in Nor· a.y or born in Arnerioa of �immigrant parents. The total number of persona of Norwegian descent 1n America today 1s conservatively estimated at about 2 ., 250,000. The first Norwegian settlement was made in Kendall a.nd purcha.se of l·md had been ma.de previous to the arrival of the first oolony of immigrants by their a..1v nee a.gents, Kleng Peerson ancl Knud Olson Eide.. These two men had arrived in America in 1821 to make investigations for a small band of' Norwegian Q�akara in Stavan er, Norway. York an vicinity fo They remained in Jew three yea.rs, returning in 1824 to give a report of their findings. Klang Peeraon waa a leader and a4venturer among the early 1orwegians_ in this oount !Y· He led his followers first to New Ycrk, then to Illinois ., and finally to Texas, where he himself settled down. 1865. He died 1n· A small stone monument erected by his grateful country­ men marks hia grave 1n the Lutheran oernetery at Norse, Bosque county, Texas. Many of the New York settlers left for the far west in 1834, foundin the famous Fox River Settlement 1n Illinois . . Two years later another Illinois settlement was made at Beaver Creek, Iroquois county. This was a.n ill-fated settlement, two­ thirds of the settlers sucoumbing to the ravages of mala.r1a during the spr1ng and summer :follo1'1ng· their settling there. T he remnant fled to Fox River and settled there a.mong the rest of their countrymen. With the-arrival of fresh colonists from �the old country, new settlements were founded. ment in iaoonsin was ma e 1 The first settle­ Rock county in 1838, and the second at Muskego, .. ·ukesha. and RH.cine counties, the following year. From the e "mother settlements 11 the oolon1ots spread to the neighboring atc;-tas, aettling it1 lorn, Minnesota, and the Dakotas and other st tes an;l torritot'1es in c.,.pi • succession. , t the present time Norse-Arr,erioana, both foreign and native born ., a!"e i'oun in evury state of the Union as ffell as in our v·a.rious possea ions. Acoording to the Fourteenth Census, West Virginia has tba � allest number of foreign born Norwegiano, the being only 51, thile Minnesota bu- tl10 umber largest, the.e being 90,188 Uorwagiu.na of foreign birth in Minnesota. The Norwegians are un intelligent, h�rdy_ industrious, law­ abiding people, with a. remarkable poiar o1 a apt�tion, and thera­ fore constitute a highly deairu,ble claas of immigrants. have contributed in They v �y 1 rge meo.crure to the making of Aaerioa in a.n industrial, oomtieroial, 'J')olitical, cultur 1 ., and r, g1ous way, ar-d must be :regarded as one of the very best elements in ou:r coamopoli trm pop-ul t1on. To no othe.1. industry have they so generally devoted therr.9,alvea lan . to gricultu.re. They ha.va ole:lre by patient and persistent toil, an t:tle :f'iel -s. Weat ha The virgin soil of the vast tho wool! and bru h oonverted it into fer­ ra.irice of the Great been turned and reduced to ,- high state of c-ultivation .. an, the onoe "Amerio n Desert" l1as lu.rgely by their labor been changed into the •granary of the world. " Marshy, useless lowla�ds �- 5- · have been t i le d and dra ine d at an immens e e xpend i ture o f mone y and. l!ibor and translat ed. into h i ghly p-roduo t 1ve fie lds . Th e log-hut , sod-hous e , and bo ar - sha..nty o f pione er days ha.Ve long s in ce g iven pla.oe -t o tte 1 1- >u i l t an · f.1.rr,. bu i l d ing u , and .tno tler.nl �r e iui ppe ,.l dwe l l ings Fo i·tiH., T 8 t tit e Aud i tor o f M i nne eo t·. , s. G. Iv e rson , e s t imat es tbat t h -a Nor mg ia.n f rn:e a o f ll i nne ao ta. faro property value d at wn 11e ...l t 1 '.'1h :'..ch • they- have 1 , 200 , JO , DO , pro uao,i a inoe t h "3 f ir s t s o � t le1icnt o f Norweg ians in U i.nnego ta 11n.s ma.d o i n 1 85 1 . A aurvey ma e by Al fred Gabr ie l e en , an ag ent o f the Stato o r Nor tl1 n:i.ko t a , in 1913 ., r ev eal ed the fact that out of a t o t a.1 o f 32 ,000 ., 00') aore J tax t hat r e •'P , ovvne d by lo l and in Morth Dako t a 7 ., 86 7 ., 1 40 ao e a or about one- :fou-r th o f t h :. o land was o:rwe g i ans . In al l the t1 id-11a at s t a t e s tho Nor eg ian farme rs oona t i tute a largo ort i on o f the mo s t v1a l l- t o-do ., i.:ro a­ p erous , • n 1 suooe s s ful f ·:rmo =: �� . Many o f t he Norwegirm imrnigrant�i wc.,.e rre l l- t rn.i ned !:i.I" t .• �ns � su ch a.s oa.rponte r s , bl oksm i t h a ,- rre ta.l-,10:rkers , -,r i ck- l n.y� .,. , t ai lor s , sho e1,,ak e r ,, j e;:o le r a ,. e t c . ,. an i 1v ve ocn t r ibu t ecl mn.ter 1al ly t o the su cce s s o f the v r i oua trado a o f sk i l led 1.il)o r . Some -f;, y be earn,, bo t · we al thy and 1n :f;luen_g i a1 lumb 1 r .. en . Othe .cs entered the f ield o manufac ture , ms.nuf ctur'lng oentc1.� in the t err1 tory 1n in .almo st eve ry o t t l ed by 1 ors a1I.en ri 1 1 1 b e found bo t . l a!"ge anii small ma.nufa.o tu:r in e s te.bl i shma n t a owned and ope rated by Norwogi n G . .Among the m o ra- nct ...ble n or11e g 1 an manut'ao tur ng p l ant s may be me nt i oned t he agr ioul tur al implerr. e nt �- 6- fac tor i e s and o ther aoh ine faotor iee i n Madison, Stought on , and Belo 1t , W is . In the American bu s ine ss orld w i l l be found a large num­ ber o f highly succes s ful Norwegian bus ine s smen , merohants . 1m­ portera and exporter a , ba.nke rs , · and fi nanc iers . Among lead ing ban kers ma.y ba ment ioned He lge A . Haugan , one of t'he fo nd,::: rs a.nd for many years the le ad ing splr1t 1n the State Bank o f Chi oago ; Arne L . Alnes a , rail!"oa.d bu i ldo:r ., banke!" ., a.nd f1nano 1. er , for many ye a.rs pre s ident o f tb e S oa.nd ina.v 1an-Art•e ri oan Bank , St . Pct.ul , and the m11 l iona.1re b!l.nker , Harold Thorson , s. St . Paul ba.nke:r. , and. the foun�e r o f some th'.lrty banks 1n Nortb Dakot :-i , Among the Norwegian imrn 1gra.nts ., there •6re many graduate a from the techno logioa.l ins t i tutes o r C r i s t hmiu. ( Os lo ) , Bergen ., and Troniihj er.1 . .A. numbe r o f these hn.ve cE s t inguishecl the1, s elv es as architect s , cons truct ion eng ineers ., ohemioal engineers , sur­ veyors , a.nd e le ctr i c ians . Ar.cong th e mo ,.. e prom nen t o f th ee o men may be ment ioned Gunvald Aus o f Ne� Yqrk ., a oonstruot 1 on eng ineer o f h igh reput at ion , not ed for h i e work on the U . S . Cu a t orn House ., fac ing Bowl ing Green , New Yo rk. , and. the s tee l con­ st ruct i on o f the famous ool.wortb bu1 1 in r; ; his partner , Kort Ber le , a dist inguished arch i t ect ., also ccrnc cted. 11dth the bu ild­ ing o f the Woolworth s kys or aper ; Olaf Ho ff, tho bu i lder o f aub1-�r 1ne tunne ls , such e.s the Har lem riv3r t1:nnr: ).a , Ne-vr Yor k , and the- New York C ent ral tunne l under the Detro it r ive r ; h i s bro the r , J . E . Ho f f , chi e f e agine er o f the AJN:'.t' i O 'ln Br i g� Cor::pa.ny , Ct. i cago• Sv erre Damm � Berge Fur Te . and Guttorm M i l l er � fo r many ye ars �- 7- c o nnec t ed w i t h subway construc t ion in N ew Yor k ; Gustav L . Olaus en ., s ewer construc t ion expert o f Ch icago ., for many ye ar s supe r int en­ dent of sewe r s in that c it y and the de s igner o f Pul lman a.nd Hyde Park ; A . B . Ne uman ., who de s igned a.nd bu i l t the large plant o f the U . s. St ee l Corporat i on at Gary ., Ind . ., and other ste e l in­ dus t ry plant s , and F . W . Cappe len ., for many ye ars the c ity en­ ginee r o f M inne apo l i s . Mr . Capp e l en was born in Drammen , No r- way , and came t o this coun t ry in the early 80 ' s . Fo r a numbe r o f years he was emp l oyed by the Northe rn Pac i fi c Rai l road company on rai l road con s t ruct i on in Montana. Lat e r he be came that oom� pa.ny ' s br idge eng ineer ., and bui l t i t s bridge over the Mi ss i s s ipp i r iver in M inneapol is . Wh i le c i ty engineer o f Minneapol i s he const ructed the c i ty ' s fi ltrat ion p lant ., de s igned and bu i lt the T h i rd Avenue bridge ove r the 'M i s s iss ipp i r iv e r , a. mast erp i ece in re- en fo rced concrete b r idge c ons t ruct i on . He also des igne d the Frankl in Av enue br idge ., but d i ed be fore i t s c omp l et ion . In honor o f th is gr eat cons truct i on engine e r , the Frankl in br i dge ., al s o ove r the M i s s i s s ipp i r iver , has been o ff i c ial ly cal led the Ca::::,,;. elen !!on;,or ial B:r L ige . In t he pol i t ioal l i fe o f o.ur fia.t i on .., the Nor s e - Ame rioan s have from the very f i r s t t aken an a.ot ive int e re st . The ear ly s e t t l ers al l i gned thems e lve s with the Free So ilers in the main ., though some be came Demo crat s ., but many o f the s e changed. the i r party aff i l iat ion , when they real i z ed t he at t i tude o f the Demo­ c rat s on the s l avery que st ion . Wi th a very few except ions , the �- 8- Norwegian imm igrant s were opposed to s l ave ry . I t i s very s igni­ fi cant that the f i r st bo ok w r i t t en by a Norwegian imm i grant on cond it i ons in Amer i ca , although he had be en in t h i s count ry only e ight months at the t ime he wrote , is very out spoken against the inst itut ion of slavery and even p rophet ic in i t s v i s ion o f the f inal ou t come . Aft e r hav ing de s c r ibed t he gov e rnme nt ancl pol i t ical ins t itu t i ons o f Un i t ed St a.t e a , Ole Rynn ing ., the author o f th i s hook , s ays : " In ugly cont ras t w i th the l iberty and equal it y wh ich j us t ly const i tute the pr ide o f the Ame r icans , is the di sgrace ful s lave- t raff ic . . . . . . The nor thern s t at e s e ndeavor at ev ery c ongre s s t o ;ct t �e o l1v e- t �1de 1bo 1 1 shei i n the sou the rn s tat e s ; bu t as the lat t e r alwaya make . re s i stan ce and c laim the right to set tle the mat t ers per tain ing to the i r s tate s them selve s , the re will probably soon come e i ther a s epa.rat. ion between the northe rn and southern s t at e s o r bloody c iv il con fl i c t s . " 1 838 . Th i s was w r i t t en in The " bloody c iv i l con fl ic t s " of wh i ch Rynn ing speaks did come two decade s lat er , and many o f his own count rymen fought w i t h valor and d i s t inct ion on the a ide o f r ight in that bloody con fl ic t . The fi ret Norweg ian imm i grant to hold publ ic o ff i c e was no doubt Jame s D . Reym er t . He came t o Wi sc ons in in 1842 and s e t t led at .�uskego , � here , because o f h i s l egal t raining, he soon came into prom inence . He was a member. o f t he Wi s con s in c onst i tut i onal convent ion , the le gi slature , super intendent o f s choo l s , pre s i dent i al e l e ct or , and , in 1 860 , candidat e for congre s s on the Democrat i c t icke t , but de feat ed . Although the �-9- fir s t Norwegia.n settlement in Dakota. territory \Vas made in 1 8 59 ,, three tforwegians we re m embers of the first territorial l eg i s lat u:r o in 1962, one· in the senate an1. two in t he houn e. Since then roen of Nor regian descent have held many positions of pu 11lic trust in the municipality ., county ., ata.te ., and the Nation . No less than twelve men o f Norse descent have held the office of state governor and six have b-een elevated to the U . S. eena torsbip . The best known o f these is Minnesota ' s " Grand Old Ma.n u , Senator Knute Ne lson, v1ho came to this country a poor immigrant bo y- o f five. It is reported of him that while cros s ing the Atlantic oce an � he one day found his mother at prayer in tha cabin, weeping ov er their destitute condition , and said to her : " Don ' t ory , mother, ·we are poor now, but whe:o I grow up-, I ' 1 1 be next t.o the king! u At the tender age of s eventeen he enlisted in the arwy and served with distinc­ tion in many o f· the fiercest engagements o f the Civil Wa.r. He was discharged from service in 1 86-4, wounded and broken in hea lth, but hi s Viking spirit was still unbroken. He finished his law course, and was a dmitted to the bar in 1867. The fol­ l owing year he became a m ember of the Wisconsin legislature ., and re:rnained in puhlic serv ice from that tim H ti ll his death · in 192 �3. In 1 8 71 ne moved to Alexandria , Mi11....,. , where he soon became county a ttorney .. For four year s he served in the state senate and for six years as oo ngressman from tl1 e fi fth distric t i n Minnesota. . �- 10From 1882 to 1893 he vras a me, mber o f the Boa.rd o f Regen t s o f the stat e un iver s ity . In 1 892 he was el e c t ed governor o f M inneso ta ., and re-e le cted two yo ars lat er . In 1 -895 the leg i s­ lature ele c t ed h im U . S . s enat or , an o f fice wh i ch he h e ld con­ t inuously t il l the t ime o f b i s death . Judge Ell Torren ce , for­ mer C omt�an1er in Ch i e f o f t he Grand Army of the Repub l i c , we l l s ays o f h im : " For s trengt h o f charact e r , hone s t y o f purpo se , and honorable achievement ., Senat or N e l s on w i l l oc_cupy a h i gh place among the immor t al s o f the • North Star Stat e . • • There were many No rwe g i an imm igrant boy s and s ons o f im­ m i grant s , who ., l i ke Knut e Ne lson , enl i s t ed in the Union army and -fl'ou�ht t .rou:_:h that •a:r err 1 i ed on i t s bat tle f1. e 1 tis . It has been est imate d that between 7 ,000 �d 8 ,000 so ldi ers o f Norweg ian extrt\ot ion s erv ed_ in the Un i te d States army , many o f t hem fresh frotr the ir nat iv e land , unable even t o sp eak the language o f th e ir adopt ive l · nd ., ye t wi l l ing t o f i ght and t o di e for i t s caus e . The two ruo s t out s t and ing 1orweg ian s o ldi ers o f th e C i v i l War were Col . Hana C . Hegg , co1nrn,mder o f the famous " Fi ft eenth W i s c ons in , " cons i s t ing al 1o st ent ire l y , o ff i cers and m en , o f Norwegi ans , a.nd Col . Port er O . Ole son , 36t h Reg iment , I l l ino is Volunteor s . Bo th �ere e ons of immigrant s , Col . Ole son ' a fat h er be ing one o .f t he n s l oope r s " . Th i s " s l ooper " h,td t hre e s ons ancl al l serv ed in the 36th Re g iment , I l l ino is Vo lunt ee rs . Colonel O l e s on was k i l l ed in act i on , ffh i l e gal lantly le ading h is reg ime nt at the bat t le o f Frankl in , T enne s s e e , Nove mbe r 30 ., 1864 , after hav ing served s ince 1861 ., and be en in many bloody engage1r.ents . �- 1 1His brothe r Li eut . Soren Ol e son was k i lled at Stone r ive r ., Tenne s see , 1862 . Co lone l He gg was mor t ally wounded at t he bat t le o f Ch i ckamauga , g,nf'l ri ie <'l ., �4.yin : " I n_,.. d i e ; fo r I have fough t for a r i ghteous cause . " � i l l in ,... to The Nors e­ Amer i can sol i er als o won d i s t inct ion in . the Span i sh- Ame r ican War as we l l as the re cent orld War . Of the s even ty­ e ight Araer ican ooldiers who rece iv ed the Conb re ss i onal Medal o f Honor , four - w e r e Norweg ian , two of them born in Norway . The moa t N orweg ian- Amer i can.1 p:O�o-f ficer� in the Un i ter!. S t ate s Army dur i ng the Wor ld ar we re Co l . Jens Bugge and Br 1g . -Gen . A l fred W . Bj orns tad . Co lone l Bugge was re t ire d at the t·ime Un i ted S tates entered the vnr , bu t was r e-c all ed for s erv i ce on acc ount o f h i s ab i l i ty as a s trat e g i s t and tac t i c ian . Franoe . He s erved as adv i s er t o the general s t aff in Upon h i s return to Amcr ioa ., he was appo inted Command­ an t at �est Po int , the f irs t Norwegian t o ho ld this impor tant pos t .. G eneTal Bj ornstad ., a. M i nne s o ta b oy , has r e c ently be en promo t ed to the rank o f maj or-general . In the f i e ld o f l i t erature and j ourna.li srr. , th e Norwegians in Amer ica h- v e al so r ender ed a very mer itor ious serv ice . From t n e publ icat ion o f the fi rst book by a Norweg ia.n- Ame rioan in 183 8 , a gu ide-bo o k to Am er i ca :fo r the N o rwegian imm igrant by Ol e Rynning ., to the lat est l i terary product ion ., a hi story o f th� st ruggle s and ach i ev ements o .f the Nor semen i n Ame r i ca ., a Cent enn ial puhl i.c a.t ion ., wr i t t en by Dr . O . M . Norl i e ., l ie s only �- 12- a br i ef span o f e ighty-s even ye ars ., yet dur ing this t ime the N o rweg ian imm i gr ants and t he ir de s cendants have had t ime t·o c l ea.r the ground ., bu i ld the ir· homes ., e stabl i sh thems elves in c ountry ., erect churches and s cho o ls ., and s t i l l found a ne l e i sur e t o cul t ivat e and produc e a . di s t inc t ively Norweg ian­ .Ame r i can l it er ature ., s ome o f i t wr i t ten in the s ome i n the Norweg ian language . . Ame r i can and In wh i chever language it i s wr i t t en ., i t r e fl ects the sr i r i t o f the V i k ing and as a ru l e r ings t rue to the h i ghest and be st in Ame r i can ideal s and in­ s t i tut ions . This l i terature cons ists o f pros e and p o e t ry ., book and pe:r 1 odtoal_ ., fiot i on ., h i story , phil o s ophy ., s c i ence ., art ., theo l ogy , e t c . The f i rs t j ournal i s t i c -at t empt w�s made in 1 847 ,. at Mus kego , W i s . ., wi ta the appearance o f the f ir s t news­ pape r , " Nordlyse t u • ( The N or t h L ight ) . S ince then ., rnany ne,va­ pap er s h,we made the ir appearance , some t o d i e and some to su:rv iv e and become us e ful and 1 n flue n¢ 1al l o cm.l and nat i0nal we e kl i es ox dai l ie s . The mos t _ dd.e ly c ir culated pa.per publ i shed in Am er i­ ca in the Norwegian language i s the " Skandinaven, " publ i shed in Ch i cago ., I l l . ., as a s emi-wee kly and dai ly newspap eT . founded in 1 866 . I t was The bes t known a.nd mos t \tidely o i r culated news­ pape r _ i n the Amer i can language publ ished by a Norwe g i an 1s the Chicago Da i ly News ., founded by V i ctor . Lawson ( Lars on ) .,. who wi th h i s father ., Iver Lar s on ., was at one t ime as sociated rd th John Ander son in the publ icat i on o f n ska.nd1naven . n The var i ous �- 1 3- N orweg i an churc . bodie s have also t he ir Norwe g iau chur ch organs , and some o f them Ame r i c an church organs , i s sued we e kly , the two l ead ing papers be ing " Lutheran.eren" and "The Lutheran Church i:i.er ald , n bo th o f wh ich are ub l ished by the Norweg ian Luthe.r an Chur ch o f P..mer i oa . Wh i l e t he Norwe g i ans i n Amer ica have d i s t i ngu ished them­ se lves in pract ical ly eve ry l i ne o f human e nde avor in th is country , and oontr ibut e d in a l arge and import ant measure to t he mak ing and maintenance o f Amer ican ideals and ina t i t �ons , it mus t be s aid that t he ir crown i ng achi evement dur ing � hundre d years under c ons iderat ion i s the church and educat i onal wor k wh i c h they have ac compl ished . Beginn ing wi thout organ izat ion or past oral leadersh ip , the church woTk among the early set tlers gradually as sum ed shape and order . The f irst two pas tors we r e orda ined i n 1 843 , and the firs t church , a log-church , was ere c ted in the same yea:r and comp le te d and de d. i oa.ted in 1 845 . Th is chur ch was bui lt at Mus kego , Wi s . , and i s no l o cated on t he grounds o f Luther The o l o g i cal Sem inary , St . Pau l , Minn . H ere , too ., the first par s onag e was bu i l t . S ince · t hen s om e 4 ., 000 or 5 ,000 N orwegian Lut heran chur che s have been bu i l t , manv o f ther.1 1mpos ing and expens ive s tructures ., and qu i t e a. number o f chur ches by Norwegians o f o ther re l igious f'aiths . As a rul e , t h e Norweg ians in Ame r ica have r emained faithful t o the Lutheran Chur ch , t he church o f the ir fathers . The large s t Norwe g i an Lut heran church organ i zat ion in Amer ica is the Norwe g i an Lutheran Chur ch ·o f Amer i ca , wit h i t s 3 , 000 congregat i on , twenty ins t i tut i ons �- 1 4- o f h igher l earn ing , inc lud ing a theo loei cal s emi nary , four col leges , and two normal s cho ol s , many char itab l e ins t i tut i ons, such as orphanages , o ld p eop l e ' s homes , and ho sp it al s , and i t s ext e ns iv e fore ign m i s s ion work i n Ch i na , Madagas car ., A fr i c a , ani Alaska . The total value o f i t s church proper ty , inc luding chu.-r che a , p ar s onages , co lle ge s ., chat 1ty and m i s s i on ins t i tut ions aggr egat e s about $30 ,000 ,000 , and its annual budget fo r the pas t few year s has be en �1 , 300 ,000 . The to tal value o f all t he c hur ch and educat i onal property be longing to t he N orwe g ian­ Am er i cans may safe ly be placed at over $50 ,000 ,000 , showi ng that the Nor eg ians have per formed a gigant i c t as k in produc­ i11g and appropr iat ing th i s vast vrealth t o t heir church and educat ional act iv i t ies al one , not even count ing the large ad­ iit ionu.l sums annual ly expended on local and gene r al budge t s . In corememorat ion o f the s e one hundred years o f imm igrat ion a.nd ach i ev ement , the Norweg ians of al l creeds in this c ountry w i l l t h i s ye ar un i t e in a gr eat c ent enn ial celebr at ion to be s t aged at the State Fair Grounds , St . Paul , M inn . , June 6- 8 . Among the no t ab l e s who w i l l be pr e s ent a t th is c e l ebrat ion mu.y be- ment i oned Pre s ident Calv in Coo l idg e , Lord Byng o f Canada , r epre sentat ive s o f the governm ent o f No rway , and no less than s ix s tate gov erno r s o f Norweg ian des cent . T h is cel ebrat ion w i l l be un 1 e r the ausp ioes of a number of Norwegian pat r i ot i c o rgan izat i ons . The Norwegian Lutheran Cbureh o f Ame r i ca w i l l al so ho li c ent enn ial ce l ebrat ions , memor ial serv i ce s be ingar­ arr anged. for in prac t i cal ly all o f he r 3 ,000 congregat ions . �- 1 5In add it ion , ar rangem ent s have been m ade for the pub l i cat ion o f' a. Cent enn ial Hi s t ory , s e t t ing forth the st ory o f the No rs e­ Ame r i cans dur ing t hese hundred ye ars . A spe c ial cant at a has bc,en wr it t en , commemorat ing the beginn ing o f Norw·eg 1an immi­ gr at i on . The mus i c for th is cant at a has be en wr it t en by Dr . E . M e l ius Chr i s t i ans en , the dir ect or of tbe famous S t . O laf Cho ir . I t w i l l be sung by the large Choral Un i on of the Church at the June fest iv i t i e s and by lo cal cho irs at t he congr egat ional memorial serv i c e s ., :-,h ioh w i l l be he ld on Sun1ia.y , July 5 . The s igt:ii . fi oant feature about these o e lebrs.t i ons wi ll be th e i r i i a t ino t iv e Arre r 1o an , no t fo re ign , sp i r it . Wh i l e t he Nor­ weg ian-Ameri can l oves t o che rish the memo r i e s and bonds o f the land o f h i e fath er t� , he i s firs t o f al l a loyal and t rue Amer i can ., j us t l y proud o f h i s count ry and t he part he and h is count rym en hav e had. in i t s mak i ng . - -- - --- #- - - -- - � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Gustav M. Bruce Papers (P0463) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context P0463 Description An account of the resource Select materials digitized from the Gustav Marius Bruce papers (P0463) housed at the NAHA Archives. Bruce was a Norwegian-born Lutheran clergyman, theological professor, author, editor, and lecturer. Bruce immigrated to Yankton County, Dakota Territory, in 1884; attended Fremont College, Red Wing Seminary, University of South Dakota, Temple University (Ph.D.), and Hartford Seminary (D.D.). He was a minister in South Dakota, Illinois, Minnesota, and Nebraska parishes; teacher in the public schools of Yankton County, Jewell College, and Red Wing Seminary; professor at Luther Theological Seminary (1917-1949); vice-president of the NELCA; and held a number of offices in the church. <br /><br /><span>He was publicity chairman of the Norse-American Centennial, president of Østfoldlaget for 16 years, and of Bygdelagenes Fellesraad for 5 years. He was editor of several religious periodicals, a contributor to newspapers and magazines, and the author of several books on social and educational subjects. Correspondence and reports in this collection deal with Knut Gjerset's proposed encyclopedia on Norwegian Americans, Bruce's work as publicity director of the Norse-American Centennial, Norwegian pioneers in Canada, and bilingualism in the church. </span><br /><br /><a href="https://norwegianamericanhistory.org/catalog/items/show/12445" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Gustav Bruce papers are available here.</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context p0463_manuscripts_03 Is Part Of A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included. p0463 Title A name given to the resource A Century of Norwegian Immigration and Achievement, 1925 May 15 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bruce, G.M. (Gustav Marius), 1879-1963 Description An account of the resource A Century of Norwegian Immigration and Achievement essay Language A language of the resource English Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1925 May 15 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource In Copyright https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Papers Text