Dublin Core

Title

Berdahl family autobiography, undated

Identifier

oer_manuscripts_32

Date

undated

Creator

Berdahl, Anders J., 1848-1940

Berdahl, James Othelius, 1881-

Berdahl, Erick

Description

To view digitized manuscript material, please contact the NAHA Archivist.

In this document, Andrew and Erick Berdahl recount important events from their lives, beginning with their childhoods in Norway and ending around 1900, when they both had settled down and likely would have assumed that their living family members knew the story. The document is typewritten by James O. Berdahl, but told by Andrew and Erick, respectively. They write primarily about their travels, both to the United States and westward in later years. The main focus of the autobiography is the move to South Dakota and the beginning of their settlement there, dubbed the “Slip Up Creek” Settlement. There, they endured many harsh weather events, including multiple blizzards, years of grasshopper swarms, and floods. They also encountered other groups, and wrote frequently about the “Indians”. The Berdahl autobiography contains many important stories that mirror those found in O. E. Rølvaag’s Giants in the Earth, which was largely based on his having heard stories about the plains as told by Andrew Berdahl. Many big stories, such as the winter storm of 1880-81, and smaller details, such as the location of other settlements, are taken from Andrew and Erick’s accounts of their lives. The inspiration that Rølvaag gleaned from their stories is highly evident within this autobiography.

Language

English

Subject

Berdahl, Andrew

Berdahl, Erick

Type

Text

Format

Book

Rights

Copyright Undetermined

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The copyright and related rights status of this Item has been reviewed by the organization that has made the Item available, but the organization was unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the Item. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. 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.

Bibliographic Citation

[Indicate the cited item here]. O.E. Rølvaag Papers. Norwegian American Historical Association, Northfield, Minnesota.

Is Part Of

O.E. Rølvaag Papers (P0584: Manuscripts, 1918-1933, undated)

O.E. Rølvaag Papers (P0584)