Norwegian-American Immigration and Local
History:
Introduction
Compiled by Lee V. Douglas, Reference Specialist
Research Guide No. 6
Norwegian migration to North American
began on July 4, 1825, with the sailing of the sloop Restauration
from Stavanger bound for New York City. From that beginning to the
present, Norwegians and Norwegian Americans have scrupulously documented
the migration movement, the lives of the immigrants, and the development
of their settlements. This documentation takes the form of parish
registers, ships' manifests, publication in Norwegian newspapers of
lists of emigrants, personal memoirs, letters from America, and book-length
histories of the new settlements.
In addition, immigrants from various
towns, valleys, and fjords maintained contact in their new country
through regional societies that published newsletters, held periodic
reunions, and disseminated information on members' places of residence,
professions, marriages and new births. Norwegian Americans' pride
in their considerable influence on American life has led to the
publication of lists and entire dictionaries of biographical and
genealogical information on thousands of individuals. Martin Ulvestad's
work, published in 1907 and based on 450,000 questionnaires sent
out to Norwegians in America, and Thoralv Klaveness' work detailing
his epic journey through immigrant settlements for the sole purpose
of writing down their histories are examples of Norwegian-Americans'
interest in documentation.
If a researcher in Norwegian-American
genealogy or history encounters problems, it will not be due to
a paucity of materials but to the scattered nature of the abundant
documentation already in existence. It is partially to obviate this
difficulty that the present bibliography has been compiled. An understanding
of the history of the migration movement will help in tracking down
many materials; the two-volume work by Theodore Blegen is listed
for readers who wish to pursue this goal. Understanding the geography
and the political and ecclesiastical divisions of Norway is particularly
important for the genealogist. All of the works listed in Part I
provide help in accomplishing this.
Some Library of Congress subject
headings for further research are:
Norwegian Americans
Norway-Genealogy
Farms-Norway
Family Farms-Norway
Norway-Emigration and Immigration
|
The
Library of Congress >> Researchers 
Top
of Page