Andrew Solva Anderson

Andrew Solva Anderson

• Born 4 April 1784 in Rogald, Norway
• Died about 1860 Lehi, Utah
• Also known as Endre Solvesen Dahl or Andrew Doll
• Came to America in 1825 on the Restaurationen, also known as the Norwegian Mayflower, he worked as the cook
• He joined the church in 1842 and emigrated to Utah in 1848 with the Heber C. Kimball Co.

BEGINNINGS

The Napoleonic war was in -process in the year 1803. He wanted to strike England but things didn't go as Napoleon expected. Denmark which then included Norway was at war with the Swedes. Denmark was siding in with Napoleon. England seized control of the outer Scandinavian seas in 1807 and captured a Norwegian ship which had run the blockade. On

board as one of the three in charge, was a man who was to become the leader of the Slooper. He was Lars Larssen Jeilane. He was taken as a prisoner England and held captive with other Danes and Norwegians on prison ships.

At this point the Quakers enter the picture. In fact it may well be said that they were the  major cause of the Slooper's voyage and the commencement of Norwegian immigration. This is not too surprising because the Quakers are recognized as having always wielded an influence far out of proportion to their numbers. Nor is it surprising that they were especially active and successful at this time since the scourge of war was upon the earth and men’s minds were particularly receptive to a religion of peace. Also the minds of the Norwegian prisoners had been opened to any departure from the formalistic doctrines of the Norwegian state church, by the teachings of

Hans Nielsen Hauge.  Hauge was the great religious revival leader of the day, particularly popular with the common people, and then suffering imprisonment in Norway for his teachings. Four Norwegian from Stavanger held on the ship Fyen ,at Chatham came independently to believe in Haugean and Quaker principles. They wrote to Quakers on the England main land

to come and visit them. As a result about thirty Danes and Norwegians came to believe in it. Thus were set up the patterns for the expansion of the Quaker influence into Norway and the formation of the Sloop party.

The Treaty of Keil in 1814 brought the war to a close and the release of the Norwegians from the prison ship at Chatham.  Lars Larssen however remained for a year in England, taking employment with Margaret Allen, the mother of the English Quaker leader, William Allen. William and his brother Joseph held high positions at the English court. Upon his return to Norway, Lars held at his home in 1816, the first Quaker meeting in the entire country. And a small group continued to meet in a loft or chamber two or three times a week.

LIFE HISTORY

Andrew Solva Anderson (Endre Solvesen Dahl) was born 4 April 1784 in Sogndal,  a small coastal hamlet, rugged and rocky but serene and very beautiful. His father Solve Endresen Lindland and his mother Sigrid Abrahamsdtr apparently returned to the paternal village of Lindland sometime after Endres birth. It was the Scandinavian custom to name children

after parents and places. Endre's father was probably born in the village of Lindland and was given that same name as a sirname. Dahl means valley in Norway. Endre was born in Sogndal (Sogn valley) and he was given the sir name of Dahl. Sometime after Endre immigrated to America he changed his name& (Andrew A. Nelson a great grandson of Endre speculated that

Dahl sounding like an American girls toy doll changed his name to the son of Endre  The American version of Endre was Andrew - hence the sirname Anderson) Anyway, for some reason he changed his name to Andrew Solva Anderson. 

At about age 24 Endre married Berta Mortensdtr Eikeland 28 June 1808.  They begat eight children; two sons Martin Tobias and tolva Endresen and six daughters; Elen Serina, Bertha Guria, Ellen Bergitta, (Ingeborg, and Kristina were twins) and Anna Katherine.

Endre eventually immigrated to America on the Slooper named “The Restoration" now known as the Norwegian Mayflower! It seems the origin of this voyage among other reasons was to obtain religious freedom.  The State Church of Norway was Lutheran and it seems everyone was expected to be Lutheran.  There was a small group of Quakers established in Stavanger who didn't desire to be Lutheran.  And they had troubles. On a complaint of a state priest, the sheriff would come and take the children by force from Quaker families and bring them to the priest to be baptized.  People were fined for not going to Holy Communion. Parents were compelled to

have their children confirmed and even the dead were exhumed from the grave in order that they might be buried according to the Lutheran ritual. A refusal to allow them to practice their religious customs would not change their convictions but the result would probably be that they would immigrate.

A combination of other problems also made our ancestors desire to immigrate. Times were hard after the Napoleonic war and taxes were high.  The administration of laws concerning debtors and creditors worked toward the ruin of the debtor. The state did very little to help agriculture or the common man but spent much money for other purposes.  The bonder (farmer) was made to feel inferior by Norwegian officialdom and the clergy and this, even after  the new constitution of 1814 on which they had placed high hopes of freedom and quality. The law of 1816, which had legalized distilling on farms, increased drunkenness and thus poverty and discontent and diverted grain and potatoes from proper economic use, And finally, poor relief and road taxes were especially burdensome for the bonder (farmer).

It is possible that all of these reasons had their influence on most of the prospective Sloopers. Of the 52 who were to depart from Norway, 27 are believe categorically to have been Quakers. Nearly all of these people were also subject to economic pressure as farmers except one who was a carpenter. All those who were not Quakers were Haugeans: which means their main motive was also that of religious freedom. (see page 1a)

Endre Salveson Dahl was a bonder (farmer) and he left his farm at Lindland which was about 30 miles to the southeast of Stavanger, in 1821, and brought his wife, Bertha Mortensdtr Eikeland and five children to Stavanger. This move was probably prompted by Quaker (or Haugean) influence.  There was a Friend's Colony in Stavanger. This Colony of Friends were planning to immigrate to  America and the Dahl family was planning to accompany this group to America. Now at the time of departure for America Bertha found herself nearly eight months pregnant. They already had seven children and the Slooper was crowded. It was decided that Endre- should go on to America alone and the rest could come later. 

This daring and adventurous group obtained a Slooper boat and painted on it (The Restoration-it is now known as the Norwegian Mayflower!  Their hope was to find for themselves a new land of Canaan. The following paragraphs will give an idea of the crowded conditions of the Sloop.

Besides the loading of 6393 pounds of iron, there was the big job of fixing up the ship to accommodate 52 people. Berths had to be built for all of them on the lower deck and Lars Larsen, Ship’s carpenter, must have been busy from morning till night. The deck area at his disposal, allowing for the flare of the ship, could not have been more than 480 square feet,

about 9 square feet per person. Assuming a minimum of space between bunks and tiniest of companionways, only 250 square feet was available for sleeping.  Even with double bunks this was less than two-thirds the room needed, for 20 by 6 foot bunks for all the immigrants. Besides, space had to be provided for the chests containing their possessions and provisions. Lars

must have had to tier the bunks to three or four and the poor passengers had to share bunks toe-to-toe. And as for living space---that could only be found about six inches above their heads--on deck.  And what did they do in bad weather?

On deck there was the galley for cooking food, and tanks for fresh water -- capacity enough to last 52 people for at least 2 months. Then there were lockers to hold fuel for the stove, extra canvas for sails, ropes and other sailing gear. The immigrants worked hard to get everything ready and loaded for the long trip.  The project caused amazement in Stavanger.   July 4 was set as the date for sailing. The actual departure of the Sloopers must have been a time of both high excitement and deep emotion.   The children -- there were a total of 15 - must have been particularly thrilled and perhaps a little frightened by it all.  This was no mere excursion over the mountains to grandma's place or a fishing trip on the Bokn Fjord. They were going to a land where people spoke words they couldn't understand the land of red men called Indians and maybe there would even be sea monsters along the way. The immigrants realized deep down in their hearts, that parting from friends, country, 'and parents was sort of like death-- that never

again would they see the people, sights and hear the sounds that meant so much to them. For them this was realy THE GRAND ADVENTURE.   Many Stavangerings looked on the enterprise as a voyage of exploration and spectators waved from vantage points around the harbor.  Flags were raised and the Restoration displayed its new large flag.  As the Sloop

slipped out and headed for the sea, the battery at Kalhammer fired a salute!

What courage it must have taken

To leave each familiar face,

And sail o'er the trackless ocean,

And live in a strange new place.

But the new world called and beckoned -

It seemed that they had to go;

And courage was given as needed

For that voyage so long and slow.

- Maude Olsen Judson

There was no portholes or electric fans. The Restoration enjoyed a good wind on the first leg of its journey.  The Sloop rode no higher in the water than a Viking ship of old. When the passengers were below in their bunks at night, only the planking separated them from the flood outside.  When on deck, the dark waters were at their very feet and the deeps became a real and

tangible thing-- a menace which reached up and challenged the temerity of the 52 souls who dare to trust their lives on a journey in such a tiny bark . Sometimes the Sloop yawed like a tiny tub; or heavy seas smote it so that it shuddered fore and aft, yet it had no time to brace for the next blow.  During days of storms or rough sea, floods of water continually broke across the deck of the Sloop.  The passengers had to stay below, packed in their tiered bunks like sardines in a can. When nausea came they could not take a turn on the deck for fresh air nor were there any portholes or electric fans ventilating to bring in air or blow out the smells produced by seasickness. And on days such as this those who were able to eat dined cold on flat bread and dried fish because Endre Dahl, the ship's cook, could not use the galley to prepare meals. 

Near Madeira a tropical land the crew spotted a cask floating on the waves. They fished the cask out of the sea and found that it contained a very delicious wine and most of the crew and some of the passengers indulged in this aged and famous product of the islands. The crew got enough of this fluids influence under their belts to let the ship drift into the harbor of Funchal without showing the Sloops colors.  Here it was feared that the Sloop was a plague ship with the crew dead or dying and that a pestilence was being brought into the city.   A German ship nearby seeing that the cannon at the harbor was being aimed at the Sloop called Hoist flag.  Hoist flag! This alerted  the party to their danger and a hurried search was made for the Norwegian flag, stowed away somewhere with the baggage.  Meanwhile Bertha Nelson stood up on the prow and disregarding the immodest display of her legs, waved her bright calico skirt to prevent the cannon from being fired.  Thorstein Bjorland, another passenger finally found the flag and assisted by others ran it up to the top of the mast.  Soon a couple of Portuguese customs officers came on board and found all things in good order.

The Sloop continued the wide southeasterly arc of its course and swung northward near the West Indies.  It fell into the Gulf Stream and as September wore on, went up along the continental shelf to Long Island.  · Rounding the western end the Sloop sailed down Long Island Sound.  Finally on Sunday, October 9, 64 days after leaving Madeira and 98 days out from Norway,  the Sloopers entered New York harbor.  The long voyage was over!  There before them lay the New World! Their dream of New Canaan!

Upon arrival the United States Customs seized their ship and threw Captain Helland in jail for violating a navigation act of 1819 of which he knew nothing about it.  It was "An Act Regulating Passenger Ships and Vessels",  this law stated that all ships entering the country must carry no more passengers than two for every five tons of the ship’s weight.  Since they knew not of the law customs only fined them half.  The fine ran to Three thousand, one hundred and fifty dollars.  Customs condemned the ship and so it was tied up with legal problems. This was a difficulty for the immigrants for they were depending on money from the sale of the ship to

buy land.  Johannes Steen and Lars Larsen stayed in New York to settle the legal problems. The rest of the immigrants hurried on to the Northeast part of the town Murray, New York in Orleans County.   It bordered on Lake Ontario and was bisected by a small stream called Bald Eagle  Creek.  They traveled via the Erie Canal and it so happened that they were on the canal at the time of the big celebration of its grand opening!  Later Johannes Steen and Lars Larsen followed the same route only to find the Erie Canal frozen over.   They acquired a pair of skates and skated all the way to Holley near Murray, about 290 miles-- a feat which must have set a precedent among pioneers in recorded history.

The immigrants built houses (log houses) and barns. They often suffered great need and wished themselves back in Norway.   But by 1829 they got the land in condition so that they could earn a living and they encouraged other Norwegian peasants to try their fortunes in America.  Among these new immigrants there was Sven Jacobsen and his wife Anne Johanne Johnsdatter (a midwife) and sons Christopher, Sven and John all came in 1830!

According to Anderson family tradition one of Endre' s sons Salva came to America three years after his father, to whom he gave the news that his mother had remarried. --- Sometime, early in 1832 Sven Jacobsen died and in May of 1832 Endre Dahl married Anna Johanna (Hannah) Jacobsen the widow of Sven.

In the summer of 1834 six families sold their farms in Murray and moved to Fox River,  Illinois.   One of these was Andrew (Endre} Dahl and he took up a claim of 160 acres of land. With the exception of Andrew Dahl, who seems to have made an on-the-spot deal with another settler, all the others in the group made purchases directly from the government.  They wrote,

"We got our land-pretty wild times--chasing prairie wolves, scaring droves of· deer, flocks of sandhill cranes, geese, and ducks. There are a good many Indians in the country, and we were but little better in appearance ourselves".   Here We are able to raise three crops a year, Buckwheat and potatoes - cabbages can be planted anywhere.  There are many varieties of pumpkins usually planted with corn. Cucumbers grow large and tobacco is a native product.  The soil consists of gray clay moxed with marl, which if turned to the air, becomes a fertile, dark loam, Through the age  it has become pulverized and is called prairie soil.  Its depth varies from one, two to two and one-half, yes,  three feet!

Andrew Dahl let a large immigrant family Bjorn Kvelve's build a cabin on his farm about forty rods from his house.  It is recorded in the town register children eligible to attend school many of them too young -among the names listed -Andrew Alexander Anderson 4 1/2 son of Andrew Salva (Dahl) Anderson and Hannah Anderson.

In March, 1842, George Dykes,  a Mormon elder visited Fox river, Endre Dahl was a convert and soon afterward his stepsons, Sven and John Jacobs.  So also was the latter's friend, Canute Peterson, who was to marry the slooper Sarah Nelson, and become prominent in the work of the church in Utah. They set aside ten acres on a high and beautiful spot for a temple.

In Fox River there were fifty-eight Norwegian converts.  They collected a hundred sheep and cattle and “a little money” as a contribution toward building the temple at Nauvoo.  Endre Dahl was selected to make the trip and deliver.  On the streets of  Nauvoo he met none other than the Prophet Joseph Smith himself and moreover was invited to go home with him.  Endre

"protested that he was only  “en ganske likefrem nordmann” ( a very simple Norwegian), unworthy to enter a prophet's dwelling.  But Joseph Smith  prevailed on Dahl to accompany him, was much impressed… and felt the Scandinavians would come to play an important part in the church.  He was right. Thirty thousand were to immigrate and swell the ranks of the Saints

from the years 1850 to 1900.

The prophet Joseph Smith was martyred in June 1844.  James Strang came to Fox River and persuaded the Mormons there to follow him.  Brigham Young was aware that Strang had disturbed his Norwegians and he sent  G. W. Bratten who reorganized the branch in Fox River and received a pledge from twenty members that they would support the Twelve and go west. Among those twenty was Endre, his wife Hannah and their children. Christopher Jacobs,

prospecting in Wisconsin Territory, wrote back April 6, 1846… I have had many hard and terrible times with the gentile here but that has not shaken my faith the least.   If the church goes west my foot shall trod the soil if God lets me live.

On April 18, 1849 Andrew Dahl (Anderson) and his second family started out in a group of twenty-two Mormons bound for Utah called the Ezra Benson's Utah-bound "Norwegian Company.   Andrew was then 65 years old Hannah (Anna Johanna), 56, her sons Sven and John Jacobs were 25 and23 and their son Andrew Alexander was 16.  Hannahs oldest son Christopher does not seem to have been in the party.  Sarah Nelson, was in the party, as was also her husband

to~be Canute Peterson.

Fascinating accounts of this wagon trek across the Great Plains and the mountains are to be found in the Mormon archives in Salt Lake City.  All the romance of The Oregon Trail and The Covered Wagons  are there--the nightly encampments, hunting for food, the danger from Indians, fording the streams and rivers, heat and thirst, snow in the mountains. Now a days the route is covered in an automobile, bus, or train and is marked with historical monuments. And no American of today can travel along the old trail without thrilling to the broad expanses of plain, desert, and mountain, nor without using his imagination to picture the old slow wagon trains and the places where the pioneers watched for the Indians.

Sven Jacobs was appointed a huntsman to get food for the company. On one occasion he killed a deer, and while skinning it was accosted by a big Indian.  From the latter's belt hung a long hunting knife, he made motions to let Sven know he wanted. the deer's liver and when this was given him, he ate it raw.  That did not seem to satisfy him so he motioned for the kidneys, which he proceeded to eat with relish.  When he finished he pounded his broad chest with his hands and looked very pleased.  By this time a pack of wolves had smelled the fresh kill, and hovered near by.  Among them was a pure white one. Sven raised his gun and fired, the wolf dropped to the ground. The Indian immediately ran over to it but it had just been stunned and jumped up and ran away barely missing the Indian.  The last Sven saw of the Indian he was still chasing the wolf.

In Central Wyoming where the North -Platte River turns south, the trail held to the west of the Sweetwater River.   It was fall by this time and they  ran into a raging snowstorm, and a great number of their cattle were lost.  If it had not been for the. timely arrival at Independence Rock of a party of Mormon brethern from Salt Lake City, with cattle and wagons, they would

have been unable to continue their journey.  But thus reinforced, they would continue along the Sweetwater to the summit of the Continental Divide at South Pass, where they again encountered storms and sometimes struggled through snow that was waist deep. This again exhausted the party but once more there was help. Erastus Snow's party eastbound on the Weber River gave

them fresh oxen for the final pull into the valley.  Finally on October 31^st 1849 the Norwegian Company reached Salt Lake City.

Andrew and Hannah Dahl settled first in what was then called the Sessions Settlement. But their sons Swen, John and Andrew joined the Pomaray train and headed for California to search for gold!  They started on November 10, 1849 and worked across Utah and Nevada.  Near the center of Carson Valley, Andrew A. Anderson  aided in the construction of the first house to be erected in what was to become the state of Nevada. It was built to be used as a

trading post. They had adventures on this tour that are in the life history of Andrew A. Anderson.

Although the boys had no great riches to bring back to show father and mother Dahl, they had brought home some money, and had some gold nuggets.  'The family then moved to Dry Creek, later called Lehi, Where Andrew A. used his money to buy twenty acres of rich land and to build a nice home for those days.   Apparently the family lived in this house.  Anna Johanna ''was eminently successful as a mid-wife and a great deal of her time was taken up with this work".

In 1853 Christopher (who had come west to Lehi), Sven, and John were married.   All three couples were called by President Brigham Young to three hundred miles south and start a new settlement, Cedar City. It was more than four years before they returned to Lehi.  Pioneer history records many hardships and difficulties.  Andrew and Hannah, remembered well that

pioneering with the Sloopers in Illinois had been easier.  In Illinois there had been plenty of  land which raised good crops without the labor of irrigation or danger from the Indians.

About 1860 Andrew Dahl died and was buried at Lehi. His son Andrew A. (Anderson) moved with his wife Mary and infant son to the Cache Valley in northern Utah. They bought forty-five acres of government  land there near Smithfield and built a house.  On December 17, 1878 Anna Johanna Jacobs Dahl (Anderson) died at Lehi in the home of her son John. She was 86 years old.

Endre And Hannah Dahls (Andersons) posterity have contributed to the Service and development of this country (USA). Andrew Smith Anderson, a grandson was a Civil and Mining Engineer and did much surveying including the preliminary location survey of the railroad from Idaho Falls to Yellowstone Park. He wrote his name to engineering projects all over the Northwest.  He made preliminary studies and reports on what is now the Island Park and Palisades Projected.   He was engineer for the Horn Silver Mine at Frisco- Utah,  and was also their chemist and assayer, and so on.  Perhaps more than any other Slooper, he contributed to the physical development of our great country.

Charles H. Anderson, another grandson of Endre Dahl through his first wife  (son of Salva Anderson) served in the Civil War.  He enlisted in theU.S. Navy July 29, 1861 -He was Ships Cook-- He was discharged September 12, 1864.

Others of the Dahl heritage have been farmers, carpenters, teachers, cheesemakers, research workers, housewives, travelers, gold diggers, mechanics, librarians, soil scientists, nurses, bookkeepers and so on and on goes their posterity and their work on to the space and computer age and who knows what else in the zooming future!

Most of the information of this life history has been extracted from,

THE SLOOPERS THEIR ANCESTRY AND POSTERITY by J. Hart Rosdail(also a descendant of a Slooper couple) and narrated some by Nylin Nelson July 1982 about one hundred and twenty years after Endre deceased.  There may be errors and opinions in this history but at least it may give one some idea of how things were and went for Endre Salva Dahl (Anderson)

Footnote: Just to illustrate in life,  all seem to be challenged with trying experiences.  When James Strang preached in Fox River he had a convincing line and stalwarts like Gudmund Haugaas, Endre Dahl, Ole Heier pledged themselves to support Strang, stay in the Middle West and labor faithfully in the upbuilding of the church.  Haugaas was ordained as apostle to open the gospel to the nation of Norway together with five others. If they had gone they would have been four  years ahead of the men sent by Brigham Young. When Brigham Young heard of conditions in Fox River, he sent G. W. Bratten to them and he got things straightened out and

the above stalwarts reconsidered and pledged their support to Brigham Young and as mentioned immigrated west to Utah. What a difference that decision made in the course of their lives and experiences!

City of Joseph May 27, 1845

A blessing by John Smith, Patriarch, upon the head of Andrew Solva Anderson (Endre Solveson Dahl) son of Solva Anderson (Dahl) and Sarah his wife Born April 4, 1788 near the city of Stavanger,  Norway.  Brother Andrew I lay my hands upon thy head and in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazereth and by the authority vested in me to bless the fatherless.  I seal upon thee all the blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, even the Holy Priesthood which is after the order of Enoch. Thou hast left thy native land to sojourn in the land of Joseph. Like Abraham you left your father's house not knowing for what cause the Lord hath invited thy course for a wise purpose in him to bring about the redemption of they father’s back to where they died in the Gospel.  For this end he hath brought thee into the bonds of the New and Everlasting Covenant to make thee a savior on Mt. Zion, to make thee a savior of the living as well as the dead. Thy father's house has been looking and are now waiting for their redemption through the

Priesthood which is sealed upon thy head and you shall have a knowledge of all things which are necessary to enable thee to accomplish the great work where unto thou art called for thou art of the blood of Ephraim the son of Joseph who was sold into Egypt, a lawful heir of the Holy Priesthood which shall be confirmed on thee in fullness for thou shall receive an endowment

in the House of The Lord unfolding unto thee all secret mysteries which has been hid from before the foundation of the world showing unto thee the names of thy forefathers who have died without a knowledge of the Priesthood and how to redeem them and also giving thee exceeding faith to do great miracles in the name of the Lord. Thou shall have a numerous posterity to keep thy name in remembrance in the Church forever.  Thou shalt possess all the riches of earth and the riches of eternity shall not be withheld from thee. Thou shalt be a councilor in the House of Israel forever, preside over a city of Zion, live to a good old age and go down to the grave as a shock of corn fully ripe, come up in the morning of the resurrection with all thy father's house, .thy companion and thy living friends . Thou wilt be exalted also to a throne of glory to reign over a mighty kingdom in the House of Israel to all eternity in as much as thou art patient in thine afflictions and sufferings. Suffer not thy faith to fail and these words shall not fail for I seal them upon thy head and thy of offspring in common with thy companion. Amen

The following is a general history of the ship Andrew came over on, not as much a personal history.

The First Colony of Norwegian Immigrants

Originally published in A History of the Norwegians in Illinois,

by Strand, A. E., Chicago: John Anderson Publishing Co.,

date unknown

Transcribed by Jane Willey-Fey

Just as the Puritans had their Mayflower, in 1620, and the Swedes their Kalmar Nyekel, in 1639, so the Norwegians had their little sloop, called Restaurationen, in 1825, in which the first party of emigrants was carried to America.

Lars Larson of Jeilane was born near Stavanger, Norway September 24, 1787. He became a ships carpenter, and during the Napoleonic Wars, in 1807, the Norwegian ship on which he was employed was captured by the English, and he and the rest of the crew remained prisoners of war for seven years. Together with the other prisoners he was released in 1814, whereupon he spent a year in London, stopped with a prominent Quaker widow, Mrs. Margaret Allen, whose two sons held positions at the English court.

During his sojourn in England, Lars Larson acquired a good knowledge of the English language and converted to the Quaker faith. Some of his Norwegian fellow-prisoners also joined the Quakers. Having returned to Norway in 1816, they all immediately proceeded to make propaganda for Quakerism and to organize a Society of Friends. Two of them, Halvor Halvorson and Enoch Johnson went to Christiana and made an unsuccessful attempt at starting a Quaker society there. Lars Larson returned to his native city, Stavanger, and there he and Elias Tastad and Thomas and

Metta Hille became founders of the Society of Friends in Norway. This society is still in existence, and according to the latest statistics, numbers about 250 adult members. The  first Quaker meeting in Norway was held in Lars Larson's home, in 1816. He was not a married man at the time, but his sister Sara, who was a deaf-mute, kept house for him. In 1824, at Christmas time, he married Martha Georgiana Persson, who was born October 19, 1803 on Fogn, a small island near Stavanger.

At that time religious tolerance could not be counted among the characteristics of Norway, where also some separatism from the Evangelical Lutheran Church began to show itself.  In Stavanger amt the Haugeans were numerous, and also the Quakers had quite a few followers. The later differed so much from the teachings of the established State Church that its officials began a persecution of the dissenters. On complaint of the Lutheran ministers the Sheriff (Lensmand) would come with his men and take the Quakers' children by force, bring them to the regularly ordained minister, and have them baptized or confirmed, as the case might be.  They even went so far as to exhume the dead in order that they might be buried according to the Lutheran ritual. If the Quakers did not partake of holy communion as did the regular members of the church they were fined; and they were assessed taxes to support the State Church, whether they visited it or not.

The cruel facts are perfectly authenticated, and there is not a shadow of doubt that this disgraceful intolerance on the part of the officials in Norway, as in the case of the Puritans in England, was the primary cause of the first large exodus to America. Of course there were economic reasons also; the emigrants hoped to better their material as well as their religious conditions.

It should be remembered that the common people in Norway were displeased with and suspicious of the office-holding class. There were many unprincipled officials, who exacted exorbitant, not to say unlawful, fees for their services, and with such officials ordinary politeness to the common man was out of the question. They were, on the contrary, intolerably arbitrary and overbearing. Thus poverty, oppression, and religious persecution cooperated in turning the minds of the people of Stavanger amt toward the land of freedom, equality and abundance in the far west.

The man who gave the first impetus to the emigration of Norwegians to America was, according to all evidence, verbal and written, Kleng Peerson from Tysvaer Parish of

Skjold's prestegjeld, Stavanger amt, Norway. In the year 1821 he and his bosom friend, Knud Olson Eie, from the same parish, left Norway and went by the way of Goethenborg, Sweden to New York to make an investigation of conditions and opportunities in America. There is every reason to believe that they were practically sent on this mission by the Quakers. It is nowhere stated that they were Quakers themselves, but it seems to be established that they were dissenters from the State Church. After a sojourn of three years in America, which time they presumably spent

in the city of New York and in New York State, they returned to Norway in 1824.

When Kleng Peerson's report about the new country became known, many were caught by a desire to emigrate. Lars Larson in Jeilane, the man in whose house the Quaker

meetings had been held in 1816, at once started to organize a party of emigrants. Being successful in finding a number of people who were ready and willing to join him, six heads of families converted their worldly possessions into money and purchased a sloop, built in Hardanger, which they loaded with a cargo of iron. Also the skipper and mate were interested in this speculation. Besides iron, they carried whiskey.

The largest share in the enterprise was held by Lars Larson, who with his thorough knowledge of the English language became in all respects the leader and had the general supervision of the preparations for the voyage in his skillful hands. The Captain, Lars Olson, and the mate, Erickson, were engaged by him.

This little Norwegian "Mayflower" of the nineteenth century was named "Restaurationen .. ( the Restoration,) and on the American day of independence, July 4 1825 this brave little company of emigrants sailed out of the harbor of the ancient city of Stavanger. The company consisted of the following fifty-two persons, chiefly from Tysaer parish, near Stavanger, as mentioned above.

The Sloop Party

Lars Olson, the captain

Nels Erickson, the mate

The following six families were the owners of the sloop.

Lars Larson, from Jeilane, with wife. (During the voyage, a

daughter, Margaret Allen was born to them September 2,

1825.

Cornelius Nelson Hersdal, with wife and four children.

Thomas Madland, with wife and three children.

Johannes Stene, with wife and two children.

Oyen Thompson (Thorson,) with wife and five children.

Daniel Stenson Rossadal, with wife and five children.

The other passengers were:

Knud Anderson Slogvig.

Simon Lima, with wife and three children.

Jacob Anderson Slogvig.

Nels Nelson Hersdal, with wife Bertha.

Sara Larson, deaf mute sister of Lars Larson.

Henrik Christopherson Harvig (Harvick,) and wife.

Ole Johnson.

George Johnson.

Gudmund Haukaas (Haugees ).

Thorstein Olson Bjaadland.

Endre (Andrew) Dahl, the cook

Halvor Iverson.

Nels Thompson (Thorson,) a brother of Oyen Thompson

Ole Olson Hetletvedt.

Andrew Stangeland.

When they landed in New York, at ten o'clock in the forenoon on the second Sunday in October (October 9,) they numbered fifty-three. Mrs. Lars Larson having given birth to

a girl baby on the second day of September.

Their fourteen-week's journey across the ocean was both romantic and perilous. When they passed the English Channel they ran into a small port, Lisett, on the English

coast, where they took a fresh drinking water supply and started to sell the whiskey, which it was then prohibited to import there. When they found out how dangerous a

business they were engaged in, the speedily set sail and escaped. Either through ignorance of the Captain or adverse winds we next find them altogether out of their course, as far south as the Madeira Islands. Here they picked up a cask containing Madeira wine, which was floating in the sea. They commenced to pump and drink its contents. The whole company was pretty well filled up, nobody steered the sloop,

and it came driving into the harbor like a plague smitten ship without a commander and without any flag hoisted. A skipper of Bremen, whose ship was anchored in the harbor, advised them to hoist the flag instantly, or they would have the guns of the fort trained on them. Those were in fact already made ready for action. One of the passengers, Thorstein Olson Bjaadland, got hold of the flag, and with the assistance of others, ran it up to the top of the mast, thus averting the danger. Two customhouse officers then came on board the sloop and made an investigation, finding everything in good

order. Much attention was paid to the sloop party in Madeira.  The American Consul increased their store of provisions and gave them also an abundance of grapes, and before departure he invited the whole party to a grand dinner. They arrived in Madeira on a Thursday and left the following Sunday July 31, and as they sailed out of the harbor, the fortress fired a salute in their honor. Having experienced the above and many other perils, they finally reached New York on October 9. The voyage lasted fourteen weeks from Stavanger. However, all were in good health when they landed. It caused a sensation in New York when it became known, that the Norsemen had risked their lives on so small a vessel. Through ignorance or misunderstanding the sloop

carried more people for its tonnage than the American laws permitted, and on that account the skipper, Lars Olson, was arrested and the vessel and its cargo of iron confiscated.

Whether the government officials out of consideration for our good countrymen's ignorance and childish behavior raised the embargo and released the captain from arrest is not known. More likely their American co-religionists, the

Quakers, exercised their influence in their behalf. The fact is that the skipper was liberated from prison and the owners got back their ship and cargo. In the sale of the cargo they were unfortunate, as the ship and cargo did not bring more than $400. The New York Quakers took up a collection with which to help them on their way farther into the country. Two families settled in Rochester; the others bought land five miles northwest of Rochester, in Morris County. Land there was held at $5.00 per acre, but as they had no money with which to buy, they got it on the installment plan, to be paid in

ten years. Each one got forty acres. The Land was heavily wooded and hard to clear up, wherefore they had a very hard time of it during the first four or five years. Not

infrequently they were in real want and wished to be back in Norway. But there was no means of getting there except by sacrificing their last penny, and they did not want to go back as beggars. Liberal minded neighbors, however, lent them a helping hand and through their own diligence and frugality they finally conquered their land and got it in such shape that they could make a living. Indeed much better than they ever could in the old country. Kleng Peerson, instead of coming in the sloop, had again gone by the way of Gothenborg and was already in New York ready to receive his friends. He

had doubtless found Quakers living in New York, who were prepared to give our Norwegian pilgrims a welcome and such assistance as they needed. These Quakers showed themselves in this case, as everywhere in history, to be friends indeed.

The Captain, Lars Olson, remained in New York, while the mate, Nels Erickson, returned to Norway. The Leader of the party, Lars Larson, also remained in New York to dispose of the sloop and its cargo. Having been a ships carpenter in Norway, he moved with his wife and daughter to Rochester, New York where he settled as a builder of canal boats. He prospered and when he died in 1845, he left a handsome fortune. Thousands of Norwegians on their way to Illinois and Wisconsin during the following years, 1836-1845, called at his hospitable home, bringing him news from Norway and getting valuable advice in return. He went into business for himself, and already in 1927 he was able to build a house in Rochester, which house still stands on the original site, and which probably is the oldest house now in existence in America built by a Norwegian.

Why was the immigration of this small

Slooper group of historical significance?

"Smitten by 'America fever,' one-third of the Norwegian population crossed the Atlantic. While closely preserving their heritage, the Norwegian immigrants have left, and still

leave, their distinctive mark on American politics, culture and economy. In percentage of population emigrating to the United States, Norway is second only to Ireland."-- from

"Norwegians in the New World: The Historical Experience" on the official web site of the Norwegian Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

While a number of individual Norwegian had come to the US prior to 1825, the voyage of the Sloopers is usually given as a reference point, as the beginning of a massive migration from

Norway to North America. As historian Theodore Blegen said, they were "the vanguard of a host of more than three-quarters of a million immigrants from the western half of the Scandinavian

peninsula." (T.C. Blegen, 1969, p. 24)

Quoting from Erik Bye's Blow, Silver Wind, (1978, p. 3),

"Stavanger was not a big place, and the departure of the 'Restauration' was an important event, one that has kept the name and the memory of that little vessel alive to this very day. She was,

in a sense, a Norwegian 'Mayflower' bringing the first group of would-be settlers to the United States. Americans never forget the 'Mayflower.' Norwegians don't forget the 'Restauration. "'

Bye's quote above is from his book that was written in connection with the 1975 "celebration" of the 150th anniversary of organized Norwegian immigration to America. Bye goes on to say, "I use the word 'celebration' in the American sense- in Norway we took care to replace it with terms such as 'Utvandrerminne' - 'Emigrant remembrance' or 'Memorial.' We chose to 'observe' the

anniversary; one does not naturally 'celebrate' the fact that a substantial part of our population found life so unbearable at home that they packed up and left! There was, of course, much tragedy in the emigrant story, and it was only correct to recognize this, although the story has other and far more cheerful aspects as well. With the exception of Ireland, no single country has contributed a larger percentage of her population to America than Norway."