History Commons^™

Edgar B. Madsen. The Shoestring Letters: A Tribute To The Immigrant, Inger M. Olsen

The Bridge

Edgar Madsen’s parents, Niels and Signe Madsen, left their home and family in Denmark in 1928 to seek their fortune in the United States. For three decades after their emigration, their only contact with their loved ones back home was through letters, which inspired the name of Edgar B. Madsen’s charming, thought-provoking book, The Shoestring Letters: A Tribute to the Immigrant. After being stored in a thatched roof attic for decades, the letters Niels and Signe sent to their loved ones in Jutland came to light when the family cleared out their grandfather’s house; they made their return journey …

Language Shift And Maintenance Among Danish Immigrants In The Us, Karoline Kühl

The Bridge

The destination of most participants in the mass emigration from Denmark around the turn of the twentieth century was North America. In total about 400,000 to 450,000 Danes immigrated to the United States between 1820 and 2000, the majority between 1880 and 1920 (Grøngaard Jeppesen 2005, 265ff., 323). Danish immigration to the United States was, generally speaking, a story of socioeconomic success due to rapid assimilation based on both sociodemographic factors and attitudes. Between 1870 and 1940, when most Danish immigrants settled in the United States, the group included, to a larger degree than most other European groups, young, unmarried …

From The Eider River To The Great Plains: The Danish American Community And The 1920 Slesvig Plebiscites, Ryan J. Gesme

The Bridge

On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on the German Empire, officially entering the three-year-long conflict now known as the First World War. At the time the US entered the conflict many American-born citizens felt uneasy about the recent immigration of thousands of Europeans and the possibility of those new residents having divided loyalties between their homelands and adopted country. These fears proved to be largely unfounded, as millions of naturalized Americans took up the call to arms issued by the United States, even in the face of increasingly xenophobic laws and policies. This included the Danish American …

Sing Your Ethnicity Aloud! Grundtvigian Danes At The Intersection Of Denmark And America, Tina Langholm Larsen

The Bridge

Most people familiar with Danish American history have encountered a narrative about the allegedly quick and unproblematic assimilation of Danish immigrants in the US, as presented here on the website of the Museum of Danish America: “Danes assimilated quickly, aided by the fact that they were white, northern european, and Protestant. Furthermore, Danes are practical and believed that assimilating into American society promised greater rewards than hanging onto their Danish identity and traditional ways.”1 even though this master narrative does, to some extent, capture the larger trajectory of the Danish immigrant experience, it disregards those Danish immigrants who played a …

The Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church In America, P. Gøtke

The Bridge

I do not propose to write here a complete history of the Danish Church as it was established in America—the full story of the Danish Church in America has yet to arrive at its conclusion. Instead, I offer here a brief overview of the work of the church among the immigrants to the United States, drawing the attention of the readers of this book to particular points.

The Danish-Born American Newly Arrived In The Cities, Carl Antonsen

The Bridge

To begin this little essay, which can only amount to a few scattered remarks because of its place and its general nature, I want to repeat some of what I was able to say in a speech in Aarhus on Danish-American Day on July 4, 1909:

“Speaking as I undoubtedly am on this occasion to those whose longing to travel has been or soon will be focused on America; I cannot emphasize strongly enough that the United States is not a paradise, not the utopia about which C.H. Winther and H.C. Andersen sang. America is the Promised Land only for …

The Way Of Life On The Farm, Carl Hansen

The Bridge

When one in “the Old Days,” that is 25 years ago, wanted to give the Danish immigrants advice, one would say, “Go to the Central States,” and that was good advice.

The Development Of The Danish Immigrant On American Soil, Sophus F. Neble

The Bridge

Is the Danish immigrant to the United States quickly naturalized?

This is a question people home in Denmark often ask me, and I will answer both yes and no.

Yes! In as much as it is a known fact that the Danish immigrant, to a higher degree than most other nationalities, takes advantage of his right to apply for “first papers” soon after his arrival.

No! In as much as many Danes, who have received these naturalization papers, never go so far as to get the last citizenship papers and therefore do not become full citizens. If the reason is …

Grundtvigian Danish-Americans - A Story Of Preservation And Renewal Of Cultural And Religious Traditions, Henrik Bredmose Simonsen

The Bridge

grant from the Grundtvig Centre at Aarhus University enabled me in 2010 to visit several small towns in the American Midwest, where Grundtvigian institutions and traditions have played and still play a role. The trip was part of the research project "Integration, Identity and Narrative among Grundtvigian Danish-Americans," which Skanderborg Museum launched in 2009.

From Samsø To California & Return 1952, Edvard Degn, Harald Degn

The Bridge

Two brothers, Edvard and Harald Degn, decided in 1952 to travel from their home on the island of Samsø, Denmark to the United States in order to visit their brother, Alfred Degn, who lived in Santa Maria, California, and who had emigrated from Denmark in 1926, 26 years earlier.

Danish Gardening Traditions: From Jutland To America, J. R. Christianson

The Bridge

When I was a boy, my mother sometimes took me along to Neil Neilsen Florists when she needed flowers for a special occasion. Upon arriving, she always went into the greenhouse to look for Agnes Neilsen. I remember the humid, earthy atmosphere under those immense glass roofs. We walked between endless rows of plants until we spied Agnes at work by one of the flowerbeds. Mother always liked to visit with her. The Neilsens were Danish, and so were we.

Becoming American - According To The Jorgensens, Torben Tvorup Christensen

The Bridge

For those who have waited a long time for this article about integration among Danish-American immigrants I can only say that I am sorry. Lack of time has kept me away from my Danish-English dictionary and thus prevented me from writing a more public friendly version of my Masters Thesis. Knowing how difficult it would be to convert more than a hundred pages into a few readable lines-I guess-is the real reason why I have not undertaken this task before now. Another reason is simply that I each time I began thinking about doing something I was being overwhelmed by …

The Yellow Envelope, J. Christian Bay

The Bridge

This short story is an example of a collaboration of two outstandingly productive Danish Americans, one in literature, the other in the world of art. The names of J. Christian Bay (1871-1962) and Christian Petersen (1885-1961) have appeared before in The Bridge. Two translations of Bay's work have been published; the first was in an article about an account of a fictional visit to Chicago by Hans Christian Andersen.2 The second was a translation of his article about the plant scientist Niels Ebbesen Hansen.3 Two reviews of books about Christian Petersen have appeared in The Bridge.4

The Founding Of Danish America, J. R. Christianson

The Bridge

If I were to address an audience of Norwegian Americans and ask them when Norwegian emigration to America began, many would answer without hesitation, "in 1825." Some would even say, "the fourth of July 1825," which was the date when the sloop, Restaurationen, sailed out of Stavanger harbor with fifty-three emigrants bound for the New World. I know this is true because I have frequently addressed Norwegian-American audiences and have always received this same answer. The voyage of the Restaurationen is well established as the beginning of Norwegian mass emigration to America.

The Establishment Of Danish Lutheran Churches In Canada, Rolf Buschardt Christensen

The Bridge

This paper presents a brief history of the establishment of Danish Lutheran congregations in Canada during the twentieth century. As they will continue to evolve, the paper ends with a short discussion of challenges facing the Danish congregations in Canada as they enter the twenty-first century.

A Trip To Denmark In 1906, Lois Eagleton

The Bridge

In the spring of 1906, Niels Pedersen and his wife Minnie Oensen) traveled to Denmark to visit relatives and friends and to see the homeland. Niels had left Denmark to go to America, apparently to avoid having to join the King's army. There he met and married Maren Jensen (who preferred to be called "Minnie").

The Long Joumey To Oregon: An Emigrant Family From Odder, Kristian Tybjerg

The Bridge

Late Thursday afternoon on 7 February 1889, the steamship SS Bravo of the C. K. Hansen Line sailed from the port of Copenhagen for Hull in England. It carried freight, cattle, and a few passengers -all emigrants to America. Among them was a family from Odder in Jutland, a shopkeeper named Corfix S0rensen, his wife, Kathrine, and their five youngest children, Godert, Vagn, Svend, Kamma, and Alrune. Had Corfix and Kathrine known what lay ahead for the rest of their lives in terms of hard work, deprivation, disappointments, and a nagging longing for home in the old country, they may …

A Boyhood At Ashland, Hjalmar Kjems

The Bridge

At last the train stopped at Grant in Michigan and Father said, "This is where we get off." The sun was shining in a cloudless sky, and friendly people gathered around us and bade us welcome in Danish, but a Danish that had a strange sound. Outside of the station, there was a wagon to which was harnessed a wonderful little horse. It was yellow with a black muzzle, mane, and tail. Never in our lives had we seen such a beautiful horse. Father said it was ours and we were to ride on it, or with it hitched to …

The Building Of Immanuel Lutheran Church In Kimballton, Iowa, Jeanette Lillehoj

The Bridge

Coming into the small Iowa town of Kimballton from any direction, the spire of Immanuel Lutheran Church, which stands on a high point in the town, is clearly visible. The early Danish immigrants who built this church intended the church spire to be a beacon to those entering the town. The centennial of Immanuel Lutheran Church will be celebrated in 1997. To those Danish immigrants who were responsible for building this church, this article is dedicated.

My Father's Story, Jens Peter Nielsen

The Bridge

Jens Peter Nelsen, was born November 28, 1889 and was married to Gertrude Elizabeth Nelsen on July 14, 1915. They had eight children. He worked on the home farm until the fall of 1911 when he took a job in Ringsted, Iowa, where he learned sheet-metal work. For some years he had his own business, but in the 1920s, as result of poor economic conditions, he took a job in Dennison, Iowa, for about a year. From Dennison he, and his family, moved to Storm Lake, Iowa, for a year before moving to Sioux City, Iowa, where they lived for …

My First Ninety Years, Agneta Jensen Slott

The Bridge

My father and mother, John Christian and Anne Jensen and three children, Signius, Katherine and Kamille, came to America from Denmark in 1890. They settled in Tacoma for three years where my father worked as a bricklayer. Fremming, their fourth child, was born while they lived in Tacoma. After three years they came to Enumclaw, bought some wooded acreage which is now part of the King County Fair Grounds. My father cleared a space big enough to build a house. He worked in a logging camp and walked four miles to and from work. In 1893 they moved to Franklin …

Denmark: Through A Glass Darkly, John W. Larson

The Bridge

My Danish grandmother brought with her and retained an old country ambiance. It hung about her person in the formal way she dressed when visiting, in the erect way she sat and stood, and in her thick accent. When I think of her today, I do not visualize her in a specific residence, for she moved frequently, but I remember her distinctive atmosphere. An English visitor to the Danish island of Sj~lland wrote about 1860 that, "There is a refinement about the middle class of Danes in their household arrangements, seldom to be met with in other countries." During my …

Historical Notes About The Danish American Fellowship Of Minnesota, Caroline Olsen

The Bridge

This is the story of the Danish American Fellowship of the Twin Cities. But before its founding in 1948 there were many separate Danish organizations and events that led to the founding of the Fellowship, a co-ordinating organization that united many groups. Wherever there have been settlements of Danish immigrants there have been Danish social organizations, not always in harmony with one another.

Kirkegaard Families' Years On The Nebraska Prairie, Jean Matteson

The Bridge

Anders Laugesen Nielsen Kirkegaard (1860-1940), son of Lauge Nielsen and Sidsel Marie Kristiansen, was born in Harbo0re, Ringk0bing Parish, Ringk0bing County, Denmark, on October 4, 1860. After attending grade school near his home, he moved to Copenhagen where he became a carpenter's apprentice. At the age of eighteen, having a workable knowledge of God, he felt a calling toward the ministry. He wondered whether he should go to Asia or America. With the help of friends, Kirkegaard chose the latter. Kirkegaard returned to Copenhagen where he had been a carpenter and a soldier, and a student at the Copenhagen School …

Reminiscences At The Celebration Of My Folks' First Seventy Married Years, 1911-1981, Axel Nielsen

The Bridge

"Reminiscences" is the title ascribed to the talk that Axel Nielsen made at the celebration of his parents' 70th wedding anniversary. His sister-in-law, Enola Nielsen writes, "He wanted to say something for the folks at the anniversary so he started writing a little in a yellow spiral-ring notebook. He'd write a little bit more each evening and it just kept going. I've seen the handwritten notebook, and he just filled up the page from top to bottom without ever scratching out a word or changing anything. No outline, no overall plan - not at all the 'right' way to write! …

Enok Mortensen As Preacher, Thorvald Hansen

The Bridge

Unless one were aware of it, one would not be likely to guess that Enok Mortensen was an immigrant. Even when one was aware of it, one tended to forget the fact. In his speaking and in his writing, Mortensen did not portray the usual marks of a Danish immigrant. His pronunciation of English was flawless and he was no stranger to English grammar. He was as much at home in one language as the other and he was as much a part of America as he was of his native Denmark.

The Danish Immigrant, Signe Nielsen Betsinger

The Bridge

In 1979 I had the opportunity to travel with a group to China where I had the good fortune to visit Tachai, a model agricultural commune. Up until the mid-1940s, generations of the inhabitants in this area had been impoverished. They had lived in caves in hills. Their crops had been destroyed over and over by drought, flooding, insects, and hailstorms. In 1945 land reform was insituted and the peasants set up the first mutual aid team in China. By 1953 they had a ten-year plan for reclaiming the land and building new homes. Just when the plan was finished …

Niels Sorensen Lawdahl

The Bridge

The brief autobiography of Niels S0rensen Lawdahl is dated January, 1925, the day following his 61st birthday. It was written in the last days of his life, a little each day, as his health permitted after he became ill. He died March 4, 1925, in Des Moines, Iowa.

An Immigrant's Provisions For Mortality, Inga Wiehl

The Bridge

It is my experience that we avoid funerals because they remind us of our mortality for which provisions must be made. Our resistance has two causes: we dread - in accordance with the human tendency to resist change - the most profound change of all, from life to death, mortality itself. Secondly, we dislike having to provide for our own departure according to the custom of the country or the taste of the individual.

A New Church In A New Land: The Founding Of Det Danske Evangeliske Lutherske Kirkesamfund I Amerika, Peter L. Petersen

The Bridge

Dana College, Blair, Nebraska, and Grand View College, Des Moines, Iowa, are the two surviving institutions of higher education founded by Danish immigrants in the United States. One part of a year-long celebration of Dana's centennial in 1984 was the publication of a new history of the college and its parent institution , Trinity Seminary. Entitled A Place Called Dana , the book was released October 5 during Dana 's Homecoming observance.