A History of Norwegian Immigration to the United States: From the Earliest Beginning down to the Year 1848Flom, George T. (George Tobias)
History
A History of Norwegian Immigration to the United States: From the Earliest Beginning down to the Year 1848
Flom, George T. (George Tobias)
Norwegians -- United States
In the meantime these people from Telemarken, not to be deterred long
in their plans to go to the New World, immediately set about organizing
their party and went to Skien to seek passage there. They were all
from Tin and Hjertdal parishes in Upper Telemarken. The leaders of the
party were the Luraas family, which was represented by four heads of
families, in all about twenty persons of the total number of forty,
composed almost exclusively of grown men and women. They embarked at
Skien, May seventeenth, somewhat earlier than the party from Numedal
and arrived in America before, hence it is to this group that we shall
now turn our attention, leaving for the time being Nattestad and his
party. The Luraas party was in all composed of eleven families,
most of them being from Tin Parish. We have already, under Causes of
Emigration, spoken briefly of John Luraas, who perhaps was the chief
promoter of this emigration.
The party consisted of John Nelson Luraas, Knut Nelson Luraas,
Halvor Östenson Luraas, Torger Östenson Luraas, Halvor T. Lönflok,
Halvor Nelson Lohner, Helge Mathieson, Ole Hellikson Kroken, Östen
Möllerflaten, Ole Kjonaas, Nils Johnson Kaasa, and the latter's
brother, Gjermund Johnson Kaasa, all of whom had families, besides
three unmarried men, namely, Nils, Ole and John Tollefsjord. The
Kaasa brothers were from Hiterdal; the rest I believe were all from
Tin Parish. In Gothenburg they met another small company of Norwegian
emigrants, who had just arrived there from Stavanger, bound for
America. This party included Gitle Danielson, the leader of the party,
from the island of Rennesö, a little north of Stavanger, and who had
a large family, Halvor Jellarviken, with family, and Peder Rosöino,
both with families, Erik Svinalie and sister; the party also included
John Evenson Molee from Tin in Telemarken, who was at that time in the
service of Gitle Danielson. In all there were now about sixty. The
journey across the Atlantic took nine weeks and the journey from Boston
to Milwaukee took another three weeks. The latter led by way of New
York and then by canal boats, pulled by horses, to Buffalo; thence by
way of the Great Lakes to Milwaukee, the most common westward route
for the early immigrants. This was at the close of August. It was the
intention of the emigrants to settle in La Salle County, Illinois; but
in Milwaukee they were induced to remain in Wisconsin, and a site for a
settlement was selected near Lake Muskego in the southeastern part of
Waukesha County, about twenty miles southwest from Milwaukee.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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