Greg, So some of the earlier Fatlands might have moved from IA to ND, and that could have been why the later Fatland immigrants went to ND? I believe I read that at least one of my Fatlands, who was a child when he arrived in ND in 1875, homesteaded there when he came of age in the 1880s. That would bear out what you're saying. Now to try to establish some connection with the IA family who came earlier. . . . Doris On Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 7:09 PM, Gregory Holter <waxlerfarms@frontier.com> wrote: > Many Norwegians in Iowa moved up to North Dakota in the 1870s, as the new > land there opened up for homesteading. As an example, roughly half of the > original homesteaders in the area I came from in North Dakota came up from > Iowa together around 1879, my Holter great-grandparents and family among > them. Availability of homestead land was the key. > > > Greg Holter > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Doris Waggoner via <norway@rootsweb.com> > *To:* Steve <snatvig@midstatesd.net> > *Cc:* Norway List <norway@rootsweb.com> > *Sent:* Tuesday, March 17, 2015 6:38 PM > *Subject:* Re: [NOR] Fw: Fatland > > It's interesting that Brit emigrated about 1849. That was a full > generation before "my" family emigrated, with the last group leaving in > 1875. Often families went to where previous family members had gone. > However, mine went to Richland Co, ND, not IA. > >

Even if there weren't relatives there, Norwegians felt comfortable moving where there were other Norwegians.  And moving as a group often happened.   From: Doris Waggoner <waggonerdoris@gmail.com> To: Gregory Holter <waxlerfarms@frontier.com> Cc: "norway@rootsweb.com" <norway@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 17, 2015 8:40 PM Subject: Re: [NOR] Fw: Fatland Greg, So some of the earlier Fatlands might have moved from IA to ND, and that could have been why the later Fatland immigrants went to ND?  I believe I read that at least one of my Fatlands, who was a child when he arrived in ND in 1875, homesteaded there when he came of age in the 1880s.  That would bear out what you're saying.  Now to try to establish some connection with the IA family who came earlier. . . .  Doris On Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 7:09 PM, Gregory Holter <waxlerfarms@frontier.com> wrote: Many Norwegians in Iowa moved up to North Dakota in the 1870s, as the new land there opened up for homesteading.  As an example, roughly half of the original homesteaders in the area I came from in North Dakota came up from Iowa together around 1879, my Holter great-grandparents and family among them.  Availability of homestead land was the key. Greg Holter

Greg, Right you are! When I looked at a 1900 census Don in Maine sent me of one of my Fatlands in Richland Co. ND, every single person on that pg. was either b. in Norway or had parents who were. One set of my g grandparents went to that county when they arrived in 1890, and my grandparents returned there in 1910 after homesteading in SD. Another g grandfather was in Trempealeau Co, WI by 1879, and while there were "Yankees" and Germans there, all the census records I find for him have almost all Norwegians on the page surrounding his family. People felt comfortable surrounded by their compatriots. They were also more welcome there, as immigrants, and could more gradually assimilate. They could learn English at a comfortable pace, etc. While I've been sent the emigration records for my Fatlands, I have no way of knowing who on that ship might have been neighbors. At least I don't think I do. Thanks for the suggestion. It always has to be kept in mind. Doris On Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 8:48 PM, Gregory Holter <waxlerfarms@frontier.com> wrote: > Even if there weren't relatives there, Norwegians felt comfortable moving > where there were other Norwegians. And moving as a group often happened. > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Doris Waggoner <waggonerdoris@gmail.com> > *To:* Gregory Holter <waxlerfarms@frontier.com> > *Cc:* "norway@rootsweb.com" <norway@rootsweb.com> > *Sent:* Tuesday, March 17, 2015 8:40 PM > *Subject:* Re: [NOR] Fw: Fatland > > Greg, > > So some of the earlier Fatlands might have moved from IA to ND, and that > could have been why the later Fatland immigrants went to ND? I believe I > read that at least one of my Fatlands, who was a child when he arrived in > ND in 1875, homesteaded there when he came of age in the 1880s. That would > bear out what you're saying. Now to try to establish some connection with > the IA family who came earlier. . . . > > Doris > > > > On Tue, Mar 17, 2015 at 7:09 PM, Gregory Holter <waxlerfarms@frontier.com> > wrote: > > Many Norwegians in Iowa moved up to North Dakota in the 1870s, as the new > land there opened up for homesteading. As an example, roughly half of the > original homesteaders in the area I came from in North Dakota came up from > Iowa together around 1879, my Holter great-grandparents and family among > them. Availability of homestead land was the key. > > > Greg Holter > > >