How Norway’s First Pilgrims to America Help with Genealogy
Hello everyone! How’s it going this week? I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving holiday! My family went to see my parents in Utah for the holiday and it was just what we needed. So who’s up for Black Friday shopping? I know I’m not! Let’s just say that I’m not a morning person and then put crowds on top of that… no thank you…
Because Thanksgiving was just yesterday, it got me thinking about pilgrims and their lives. Then I was thinking about Norway’s first Pilgrims to America. That thought led me to this post, which I hope will help those who are trying to find immigrant ancestors.
Norwegian adventurers had traveled to America since the Dutch colony in the 1600s. However, it wasn’t until 1825 that the first organized Norwegian Immigrant ship traveled to America. It was called “The Restaurationen” This ship was a sloop, which means a one-mast sailboat. This wasn’t a steamship or a huge cargo ship. This was a 54 foot by 16-foot sailboat.
In 1825, Norway was not tolerant of other religious sects. In fact, it was illegal to practice any other religion except the state religion of Lutheranism. Therefore, when the Quaker religion made it to Norway, many joined and endured severe persecutions because of it. Another religion the “Haugeans,” which was an offshoot of the Lutheran religion, was also not treated kindly in Norway. Therefore, six families gathered together and bought passage on the sloop Restaurationen. They were 52 people total and it was a small boat even for them. The sloop was also carrying a load of iron along with the passengers. They left 5 July 1825 and endured a 14-week ocean travel stopping at many ports along the way including England and the Madeira Islands off the coast of Africa.
The sloop finally arrived in New York on 9 October 1825. The sloop was detained at the New York harbor for breaking the United States 1819 Passenger Act law and having too many people on board for the size of the sloop. The captain was arrested and fined 3,000 dollars. They sold the ship and cargo, but made only 400 dollars off it. However, Cleng Peerson, a Norwegian who was instrumental in arranging American and Norwegian affairs for this group, helped in getting the case against the group dropped. On 15 November 1825, Pres. John Quincy Adams pardoned the group personally. The group eventually settled in Orleans County, New York and was largely helped by the American Quakers in that area.
One article on Norwegian immigration wrote, “in 1825, during a period of particularly fierce religious strife in Norway. In July of that year, a group of six dissenting families, seeking a haven from the official Norwegian state church, set sail from Stavanger in an undersized sloop, the Restaurationen. When it arrived in New York harbor after an arduous 14-week journey, the Restaurationen caused a sensation, and the local press marveled at the bravery of these Norwegian pilgrims. Local Quakers helped the destitute emigrants, who eventually established a community in upstate New York. Today, their descendants are still known as ‘sloopers’.”[6]
These people are true Pilgrims! They endured many trials to get to America and have a better life. They wrote letters and sent them home to Norway about how wonderful America is. From that and other immigrant stories, Norwegians started coming in the 1830s and didn’t stop until 1920.
Many websites help with finding immigrant ancestors. Among them is norwayheritage.com, which is loaded with passenger lists, stories, images, steamship companies, forums, and newspaper articles. You learn the whole story of the voyage and not just a name on a passenger list. In fact, the citation above will show you the original passengers on the Restaurationen that you may be descended from. This is my favorite site for Norwegian immigrants because the stories are fascinating.
Another great website is Ancestry.com because of the vastness of its immigrant collection. It also has passenger lists and images. In fact, this is where I found a picture of the steamship that my ancestor, Johanna Krogh, came over on her voyage in 1912. This website is amazing for finding essential information for your ancestor.
Familysearch.org/wiki will give you excellent articles on how to search immigration records. Cyndi’s List is another easy spot for looking at Norwegian immigration websites. In other words, there is no shortage of resources out there to help you look for your ancestor. As always, if this task seems daunting to you, then send me an email or comment on this post and we can work together on this. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Just breathe and take it one step at a time.
Good luck and happy hunting!
Tiffany
