The Wisconsin Magazine of History, Volume 1, 1917-1918Various
History
The Wisconsin Magazine of History, Volume 1, 1917-1918
Various
Wisconsin -- History -- Periodicals
The fourth Norwegian settlement in America and the first in Wisconsin
was founded by Ole Knudsen Nattestad (changed in America to Natesta)
who was accordingly the first Norwegian to set foot on Wisconsin soil.
He came to Clinton, Rock County, Wisconsin, July 1, 1838, and this was
the beginning of the so-called Jefferson Prairie settlement, which
occupies the southeast corner of Rock County and extends into Boone
County, Illinois. They came from Vegli, Rolloug Parish in Numedal,
Norway, by way of Gothenborg and Fall River, Massachusetts.
When the Beaver Creek settlement was abandoned, Ansten Nattestad, in
the spring of 1838, returned to Norway, taking with him the Ole
Rynning manuscript and also the manuscript of a journal kept by his
brother, Ole Nattestad. Ansten stated that this manuscript of his
brother was published in Drammen, Norway, that same year but in spite
of the most diligent search I have never been able to secure a copy of
that edition. In Norway copies of all publications are placed in the
University Library. I had this library searched for a copy of
Nattestad’s book but none could be found. In an interview published in
_Billed Magazin_ in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1869, Ansten Nattestad made
the following statement:
In the spring of 1838 I went from Beaver Creek, Illinois, by
way of New Orleans to Liverpool in England and thence to
Norway to visit friends and acquaintances in my native land.
I brought with me letters from nearly all the earlier
Norwegian emigrants whom I had met and in this way
information was scattered far and wide in Norway. My
brother’s journal was published in Drammen and Ole Rynning’s
work on matters of the new world appeared at the same time
in Christiania. Of Rynning’s book I brought the manuscript
with me from America. The Rev. Mr. Kragh in Eidsvold read
the proofs and left out the chapter about the Norwegian
clergymen who therein were accused of intolerance in
religious matters and inactivity in questions concerning the
betterment of the people in temporal affairs and in
questions concerning the advancement of education.
In 1869 Ole Nattestad gave the following account of himself in the
_Billed Magazin_ referred to above:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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