Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad. 1907. Atchison county Harald O. Tvedt from Nordre Aurdal, Valders came to Lancaster, Kans. from La Crosse, Wis. in 1858 and was the first Norwegian settler in the county. Somewhat later came Tom Flattery† from Voss as well as Elling and Ole Tvedt, Nils T. Ness, Tom Seversen, Ed Hegland and Ole Gigstad, all from Nordre Aurdal. Wheat, maize and hemp were the settlement's main produce for sale. There is a Norwegian congregation belonging to The Lutheran Free Church.

Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad. 1907. Greenwood county Charles Christiansen from Østre Toten, Nels Ladd† from Sogndal and Mathias Johnson† from Biri were the three first Norwegians in this county - and more than that - they were the first Norwegian settlers in the State of Kansas. They came from Dane Co., Wis. and settled at Eureka in 1857. In 1858, came 6 other Norwegians from Dane Co. They were Helleck Brandson and Syvert Syvertsen from Nummedal as well as Ole Ladd†, Amund Eriksen†, Gjert Anderson and his brother, all from Sogndal. Kansas City, Mo., 150 miles away, was their nearest marketplace, where they brought the maize and wheat they grew and made their purchases. They used oxen for plowing and driving. A day labourer earned 25 to 50 cents a day. The Indians, who were quite other than pleasant at that time, were their nearest neighbours.There were also some Americans. The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Congregation, that was established in 1870 by Pastor G. Erdahl of The Norwegian Synod, is the oldest Norwegian congregation in Greenwood County. Its church that is the oldest and (until now) the only one in this county was built in 1884. Now there are 2 Norwegian congregations in the county, both belonging to Hauge's Synod.

Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad, 1907. Douglas County Even though Norwegians here have been very few, they have the honour of being represented on the Omaha City Council. Civil War veteran John Steen (from Grorud, Vestre Aker) was elected as City Treasurer of Omaha in 1871. We find him in the 'political section' under Saunders County and in the section 'Norwegians in American Wars'

Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad, 1907. Sherman County At Hazard there is a small Norwegian settlement with a congregation and a church. The congregation belongs to The Norwegian Synod. Priests from other church bodies have worked here.

Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad, 1907. Lancaster County In Lincoln, Nebraska's capital, we have some few Norwegians. There is a Danish-Norwegian congregation belonging to The Norwegian Synod. In this county there is a post office with the name Rokeby. One could dare to believe the name was Norwegian (from Røkeby) but there are no Norwegians.

Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad, 1907. Frontier County Also here we find a small Norwegian settlement with a congregation belonging to The United Church. Most of the settlers are from the Stavanger region. See "Sammenstilling af Sambygdinger i Amerika"

Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad, 1907. Custer County In the vicinity of Round Valley there is a small Norwegian settlement mainly consisting of people from Søndfjord, Voss, Stavanger, Nummedal and Gudbrandsdalen. There are two congregations, both belonging to The Norwegian Synod.

Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad, 1907. Cummings County At Wisner there is a little Norwegian settlement with a church and congregation. The congregation belongs to Hauge's Synod. At least it is served by priests of that body. I had hoped to find Norwegians in Noraville, Richardson County but was disappointed. The same disappointment I met with Norway, Thanes* County, Auth. *Probably a misspelling of Thomas. OK

Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad, 1907. Box Butte County In the vicinity of Hemingford there is a little Norwegian settlement with a church and two congregations belonging to The Norwegian Synod. The Norwegians here are mainly from Gudbrandsdalen and Nummedal. There are also a few from the Bergen area.

Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad, 1907. Boyd County Ole Johnson was the first who settled in the vicinity of Rosedale where there are now a few Norwegians. He came there in 1891. He is a veteran of the Civil War. The only Norwegian that has until now held public office is Henry Brandvig, he was elected Surveyor in 1897. There is a Norwegian congregation belonging to The United Church.

Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad, 1907. Sheridan County Peter T. and Knut T. Johnson from Holta near Stavanger as well as John H. Jacobsen and Tollef Sand, who came from Holstein, Ida Co., Iowa and settled here at Rushville in 1885 were the first Norwegians in this (Sheridan) county. (This report does not agree with all this county's people. One of my correspondents says that Henry Cleven came here in 1884. Auth) They settled on the prairie, built dugouts as usual and began growing wheat and potatoes. The settlement's nearest marketplace was Valentine, 100 miles away. A congregation was established in that settlement in 1889 by Pastor P. T. Hilmen of The Norwegian Synod.

Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad, 1907. Keya Paha County The first Norwegian in this county was Peter Haugen from Modum. He came from Pierce Co., Wis. and settled at Simpson in 1881. He is a postmaster and farmer. Another Norwegian, John Scheie, is the County School Superintendent. There is a post office with the name Norden in Keya Paha.

Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad, 1907. Sheridan County Peter T. and Knut T. Johnson from Holta near Stavanger as well as John H. Jacobsen and Tollef Sand, who came from Holstein, Ida Co., Iowa and settled here at Rushville in 1885 were the first Norwegians in this (Sheridan) county. (This report does not agree with all this county's people. One of my correspondents says that Henry Cleven came here in 1884. Auth)

Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad, 1907. Buffalo County In the vicinity of Pleasanton, where there are a few persons of Norwegian origin, John E. Johnson from Ringsaker was the first. he settled here amid Germans in 1877. Johnson has held the position of County Supervisor. As on can see m,ost of the settlements in Nebraska are small.

Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad, 1907. Howard County The first Norwegian in Howard County was G. Grothan from Hevne. He settled in the vicinity of Farwell in 1875. His son, Dr. O. Grothan, who was a Major in the Spanish-American War, was a Member of the Nebraska Legislature. He lives in St. Paul, Nebr. G. N. Egeland from Sogn (or Nordre Aurdal?) was the first in St. Libory where there are some more Norwegians now. At the latter place there is a church and congregation belonging to The Norwegian Synod.

Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad, 1907. Hitchcock County Captain John E. Kleven† from Nordre Land, Hans Haugen† from Løiten and Even Bakken, who came from Wisconsin and settled in the vicinity of Culbertson, were the first Norwegians in this county. They also took part in founding Culbertson and Kleven was the town's first Postmaster. One of his sons is the Postmaster now. Old Kleven had also been County Treasurer for a time. The title of Captain he earned in the War with the South. The aforementioned men came close to drowning while they slept in their wagon, a night or two after they came to Culbertson. There had been a cloudburst about 40 miles northwest of there and a wall of water came down on them during the night. Luckily they had fastened the wagon tongue to an elm branch and they woke up in time to climb up the tree. As they sat up there the wagon floated away with everything they had. One of the horses drowned. Almost naked as they were, they had to sit or hang on in the tree until the evening of the next day. And they were in the wilderness so their situation was anything but pleasant. A few miles further up Blackwood Creek a number of soldiers had camped. Two of them drowned. A number of cavalry horses also drowned. The soldiers' tents and possessions were washed away by the flood. The troops left there immediately, which was to the advantage of the Norwegian settlers for they found left behind some weapons, saddles, food and clothing. Some of these were damaged by the water but there was also much that could be used. There is a congregation belonging to The United Church.

Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad, 1907. Furnas County Ole Simons from Gausdal was the first Norwegian here. He came from Iowa Co., Wis. and settled in the vicinity of Cambridge in 1873. C. C. Christensen, another Gudbrandsdøl accompanied him. The settlement's main source of income was in growing maize. The nearest marketplace was Lowell, 90 miiles away. There is a Norwegian (United Church) congregation with a church.

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/lcC.2ACI/326.1 Message Board Post: Do you have any info on Andreas Jensen who married Juliann Marie?

Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad, 1907. Knox County Ole Hendriksen Kuslien from Førde, Søndfjord was the first Norwegian settler in this county. In 1872 he left Wisconsin with his family of 12 and set course for Nebraska in 2 wagons hitched to 4 oxen. It took them 10 weeks. They settled at Winnetoon and were the only Norwegian family in that area for 5 years. In the years 1875-76 grasshoppers destroyed all their crops. Of Ole Hendriksen's grown sons (Henry, Rasmus and Gunder) one, Rasmus, died in 1882. He was the first to be buried in the Norwegian cemetery in Winnetoon. Pastor N. G. Tvedt of The Norwegian Synod was the first priest that visited this settlement. Now there are two congregations in Knox County, both belonging to The Norwegian Synod.

Translated from 'Nordmændene i Amerika' by Martin Ulvestad, 1907. Franklin and Webster Counties The first Norwegian in this area was Hans Walstad from Skedsmo. He came from Decorah, Ia. and settled near Campbell in 1872. Next after him came Jacob H. Walstad and Christian Holt, also from Skedsmo and G. O. Lee from Telemarken, Erik Eriksen from Vinger and Knud Eriksen from Sigdal. The first settlers built log cabins, some of them, and others dugouts. Wheat and maize growing was the main source of income. To Hastings, the nearest marketplace, it was 40 miles. Oxen were their only draught animals. This settlement lies on the border of Franklin and Webster Counties. Zions Congregation, that was established in 1876 by Pastor E. Dahle of The Norwegian Synod, was the first Norwegian congregation in this area. Its church was built in 1898. The congregation now belongs to The United Church. They have another congregation in the area. This and other settlements and places where there are only a few Norwegians are found in the accompanying map.