Dickey County, North Dakota

Norwegian Settlement

There were a number of Norwegians in Dickey County, but the names of the first settlers, who were widely scattered throughout the county, is not known. The Norwegian population of Dickey County came from many different parts of Norway, including Lofoten, southern Helgeland, Trøndelag, Nordfjord, Sogn, Østerdalen, Telemark, and Asker.

One Norwegian settler, however, left an account of his journey to America.

An Atlantic Crossing in 1868

He recalled that they left Kristiania (Oslo) aboard a sailing ship in 1868. After about three weeks at sea, a violent storm arose and continued for several days. The ship rolled so heavily that when it heeled over, the emigrants could see the sea through the hatch of the middle deck, and seawater poured down among them. Later, disease broke out aboard the ship. A child was the first to die, and the parents attempted to conceal the death because they did not want the child buried at sea. One day, however, the captain came below and declared that someone must have died because he could see “sea serpents” around the ship. The body then had to be brought out. So many passengers eventually died that there were no longer enough boards to make coffins. The bodies were therefore wrapped in sacking and weighted with stones so that they would sink quickly when committed to the sea.

The ship remained on the Atlantic for so long that food began to run short. Despite this, the captain refused an offer from a passing steamship to tow the vessel toward the coast because he would not pay for the assistance. According to the account, this nearly cost him his life. Eventually, guards had to be placed around the captain to prevent angry emigrants from attacking him. The ship finally reached Quebec, and from there the emigrants were sent on toward Wisconsin. Part of the journey was made in cattle cars. The writer remarked that he could still remember the smell of manure in those cars and that the memories of the voyage at sea would remain with him for the rest of his life.

Churches and Congregations

Aurdal Congregation was established at Ellendale in 1883 by Pastor Nils A. Øfstedal of the Anti-Missouri Brotherhood and was the first Norwegian congregation in Dickey County. The congregation built the county’s first Norwegian church in 1886. By 1905, Dickey County had six Norwegian congregations and four churches. Four congregations belonged to the United Church and two to Hauge’s Synod.

Norwegian Place Names

Norwegian place names in Dickey County included Norway, Norway Spur, and Ulnes.

Sources:

[Ulvestad, Martin. Nordmændene i Amerika. Utg. History Book Company's Forlag. Minneapolis, Minn. 1907.]