Shawano County, Wisconsin

Early Norwegian Settlement

Norwegians first entered Shawano County in 1868. Anders Johnson from Nes in Hedmark; John Holm, Johannes Nelson, Anders Hoien, and Ole Hansen, all from Toten; Peder Christiansen from Strømmen; and a Mr. Nels Knutsen settled in Navarino Township. Farther east, Ole O. Wahl from Lier near Drammen and a number of others founded the Welhaven Settlement. Those who settled with Wahl included Markus Eriksen from Lier; Clemet Bersvendsen, Bersvend Bersvendsen, Jørgen Pedersen, Tollef Pedersen, and Tollef Olsen Øien, all from Tynset; John Reitan from Trøndelag; and Erik Helgesen and Christopher Christophersen from Valdres. With the arrival of these settlers, the Indian dominion over the region had come to an end. In 1872, S. Olson and Søren Pederson came to the Pulcifer area and founded the Norwegian settlement there. Christen Pedersen Holm from Gjerpen near Skien settled near Tigerton in 1877 and was the first Norwegian settler in that area.

The Wittenberg Settlement

In 1880, John S. Klovedahl from the Skien area settled near Wittenberg. He was followed by Edward Nilsen from Østlandet, J. M. Salmon from Nordland, Gilbert Paulsen, and H. H. Westgaard. Later came H. M. Gundersen from Drangedal, A. A. Heistad from Sannidal, O. N. Wilson from Søndeled, and O. N. Hagen, whose birthplace was unknown to the author. Of A. A. Heistad, it was said that “he settled in the middle of the wild forest with ten small children.” O. N. Wilson and his son were said to have carried a plow all the way from Wittenberg to their new home so that they could prepare a small clearing for potatoes. With no roads, the settlers had to carry provisions and other necessities on their backs. One informant summed up the experience with the exclamation, “Huff, how we chopped and cleared land!” Logging, together with potato and hay farming, became the county’s principal sources of income.

Velger Tostensdatter Ellingbøe and the Atlantic Disaster

Velger Tostensdatter Ellingbøe, a niece of the well-known Anders Bang in Valdres, recalled emigrating to America with her husband, Tosten Trondsen Ellingbøe, in 1852. Their journey was long and difficult. They remained in Drammen for several weeks waiting for a ship and then spent fourteen weeks at sea before reaching Quebec. From Quebec they continued through the waterways toward the Great Lakes. On Lake Erie they boarded the steamship Atlantic. During the night of August 20, at about two o’clock in the morning, another vessel collided with the Atlantic. Its hull was breached, and the ship began sinking within minutes.

Mrs. Ellingbøe remembered the scene as terrifying. Her husband remained calm and kept her and their only child with him on deck while passengers began jumping overboard. There were not enough lifeboats for everyone, and once the boats were filled, those already aboard had to prevent people in the water from climbing in and capsizing them. She recalled seeing desperate people clinging to the boats while those inside struck their hands away in order to save themselves. As the Atlantic sank, the Ellingbøes climbed into the rigging. The vessel with which they had collided then returned and began rescuing survivors. Tosten Ellingbøe was the last to leave the sinking ship, and only about a minute later it disappeared beneath the water with a tremendous noise. Mrs. Ellingbøe stated that there were approximately 830 people aboard and that only about 300 were rescued. She and her family eventually reached Manitowoc, their intended destination, which she remembered as consisting of only a few houses at the time.

(See: Disaster on Lake Erie in 1852)

Later Hardship

The family later moved to Gibson. There Tosten Trondsen Ellingbøe was killed in an accident while working in the woods, leaving his wife alone with five small children. Despite this loss, Mrs. Ellingbøe recalled that the family suffered relatively little want. They had a small four-acre farm, and she supplemented their income by weaving for other people. By 1905, Velger Tostensdatter Ellingbøe was over eighty years old and was living with her son, Andrew Thompson, in Maple Grove, Shawano County.

Norwegian Victims of the Atlantic Disaster

Mrs. Ragnhild K. Johnsrud from Slidre, who later lived in Danvers, Minnesota, provided the author with a list of Norwegian emigrants who perished in the Atlantic disaster.

From Slidre were Gulbrand O. Hedalen and his wife; Ole Olsen Hedalen, his wife, and two children; Ole Olsen Moen; Johannes Iversen Rudi, his wife, and four children; Miss Ingeborg O. Hedalen; Miss Anna Tostensdatter Ulve; Finkel Olsen Røvang, his wife, and two children; Barbro Olsen Røvang; Nils Helgesen Mørstad, his wife, and three children; Knud Helgesen Jøten, an infant; Ole Olsen Brøthovd, his wife, and six children; Sigrid Nilsen Majestad and two children; Knud Larsen Fareseien, a child; and Anna Nilsen Oxhovd, her child, and her brother Ole Nilsen.

From Aurdal were Aslag Dølen, his wife, and two children; Syver Bøle, his wife, and one child; Halsten Johnson Brækkehaugen; Bjørn Olsen Bøen, his wife, and one child; Knud Fuglehaug, his wife, and three children; Anne Sæterbrasten and five children; as well as a girl named Guri --?

From Vang were Ole Pedersen Helle, Anders Østensen Bøen, and Margit O. Helle, a married woman.

From Toten were Ole Olsen, his wife, and five children.

There were 134 Norwegian emigrants aboard the Atlantic, of whom 72 drowned. Most of the survivors eventually reached Koshkonong with almost nothing, lacking food, money, and clothing. By then, they had been traveling for twenty-four weeks.

Churches and Congregations

The first Norwegian congregation in Shawano County was established in 1869 by Pastor E. J. Homme and at that time belonged to the Norwegian Synod. It was founded about sixteen miles south of Shawano City. The county’s first Norwegian church was built in 1873 by Jerusalem Congregation, about seven miles south of Shawano. This congregation was also served by the Norwegian Synod. By 1905, Shawano County had thirteen Norwegian congregations and thirteen churches. Seven congregations belonged to the United Church, two were Independent Lutheran congregations, two belonged to the Evangelical Free Church, one to the Norwegian Synod, and one to the Lutheran Free Church.

Public Office

Ole J. Høien, who later lived in Bellingham, Washington, was the first Norwegian to hold public office in Shawano County. He was elected Register of Deeds in 1884.

Civil War veteran O. A. Risum was the first Norwegian to represent Shawano County in the State Legislature. He was elected in 1896.

Educational and Religious Institutions

The Norwegian Synod’s Indian School, was established at Wittenberg in 1884; the Normal School, begun there in 1887 and later belonging to the United Church; and the Wittenberg Academy, the Homme institutions.

Norwegian Place Names

Norwegian place names in Shawano County included Welhaven, Landstad, Eland, and Hilda.

Sources:

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