SS Florence/Davidsen
halfwittI'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction. Here's what I know... Peder Davidsen and his wife Karen emigrated from Norway in about 1867. I know this from obituaries. They had 7 children all born after 1867. I do not know if they were married when the emigrated. There is a Karen and Peder Davidsen that emigrated on the ship Florence in May of 1867 for Liverpool. Their ages are both correct for "my" Davidsen's. I assume, if these are my ancestors, the took another ship from England to the US or Canada. I know they settled in Minnesota and I don't think they ever lived anywhere else. The Emigrants register shows their destination as Lansing. Is there another Lansing besides Michigan? Also, there are two children that accompanied them. I cannot find any information on these children in the US. I am thinking perhaps they died en route. I am trying to ascertain if these are indeed my Davidsens. I find no other Peder or Peter Davidsen the right age in Norway let alone one married to a person with the right name and age. Any ideas on typical migration routes would be great. Any information on how I can track them from Liverpool would be much appreciated. Thank you all! Randall P. Witt
BorgeI noticed that they bought their tickets from agent "Scharpe ved Henriksen". They were agents for the Allan Line, and you should therefore most likely find the family on a passenger list for Quebec. On the list you should find information about a possible child death. However, you should also be aware that many children died from sickness on the inland voyage. Børge Solem
TrondMost of the Norwegian emigrants left for Wisconsin and Minnesota in 1967. It is most likely that yours left for Lansing, Wisconsin. There was a lot of immigrating to Lansing, Wisconsin this year together with other small towns like Stoughton, Prairie du Chien and also Madison, La Crosse and Milwaukee. Trond Austheim