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Reflections On Denmark As It Was, And Emigration To America, Arlow W. Andersen

The Bridge

In the late medieval and modern periods the histories of Denmark and Norway paralleled each other. During much of that interval the Union of Kalmar (1397-1523), which included also a dynastic tie with Sweden, practically insured common political, economic, and religious development. On the threshold of the modern age Sweden broke away from the Union (1523), but Norway was obliged to remain under Danish rule until 1814.

Chapter I: Emigration And Immigration

The Bridge

The description of an immigrant group begins in the place of origin, where thousands of individuals chose to abandon their old homes and build new lives in America. In the mid-nineteenth century, this decision required agonizing deliberation by people who knew little about America. Few had traveled abroad. Few had American relatives to provide first-hand accounts of life in the New World.

Iv. Maurice E. Perret's Les Colonies Tessinoises: A Summary View, H. F. Raup

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

Recently a major contribution to the field of knowledge of California's diverse population was published in Switzerland by Dr. Maurice-Edmond Perret, with the title Les Colonies Tessinoises en Californie.¹ Unlike most studies of a similar nature, Perret had access to source materials in the Swiss archives as well as to those in California libraries.² But he went further: he conducted his study by means of actual field investigation both in Switzerland and in California, and it is this which gives his work particular interest to historical geographers.

Review: Giorgio Cheda, L'Emigrazione Ticinese In California. Locarno: Armando Dado Editore, 1981. 2 Vols., 880 Pp., Laurette Fiocchi

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

What were the social mechanisms of emigration to the United States? What made people leave or remain behind? What did they encounter en route and upon their arrival? What effects did their exodus and the money they were able to send back have at home? What was the fabric of traditional artisan and peasant life? What was the interplay between it and the far from homogeneous culture of the United States? What were the effects of the Ticino on California and vice versa? This collection of letters written by and to Italian-Swiss emigrants from the Ticino presents us with the …

The Emigration Of Soren Kierkegaard, Howard V. Hong, Edna H. Hong

The Bridge

John and Jane Doe, USA, are pretty well aware that Denmark exports the best butter, bacon, and cheese in the world to the world. But perhaps not even Jens and Tina Jensen, second and third generation Danish-Americans, realize the extent to which the second-to-none thoughts of a nineteenth century Dane have emigrated and are emigrating to the whole wide world . Indeed, they are valued more by the world than by Danes in Denmark, who can hardly conceal their surprise that the world now pays more attention to Soren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813-1865) than to Hans Christian Andersen . The Danes …

Kierkegaard Who Actually Emigrated To America, Carl Woltzer

The Bridge

Niels Andreas Kierkegaard, born April 13, 1809, was apparently destined by his father, a merchant in Copenhagen, to take over the family business. His two brothers were top students in the University-bound curriculum, but Niels was steered into business. Dissatisfaction with the course his life was taking and frustration with parental pressure led him in 1832 to seek advance payment on his inheritance and to emigrate to America, where he by no means lived the life of a prodigal son . In letters to his family, the first one from Providence, Rhode Island, and dated January 8, 1833, he told …

Overgaard, Arizona - How Come?, Ole Overgaard

The Bridge

Have you ever heard about a little town in Arizona by the name of Overgaard? Probably not. I hadn't, until I suddenly saw the name on a map. I, a Danish journalist from the city of Aalborg, and family were planning a trip to the USA, and we decided to find out how our family name got to Arizona. After seeing the beautiful Grand Canyon, we went along Highway 40 to the city of Holbrook. From there it is only 50 miles to Overgaard. It is a very small town, but with a lot of vacation homes in the big …

The Remigrants, Edward F. Sundberg, Gerda Sundberg

The Bridge

"Why did you emigrate to the United States?" Gerda asked.

Mr. R. let a smile play with his lips. " It was an accident," he said.

"Tell us about it," she encouraged.

He told the story of his emigration. Gerda and I listened. Our recording machine captured his words on a cassette tape.

"Now tell us about moving back to Denmark."

Gerda and I were interviewing in Denmark as a part of the research project, RIBBONS OF MEMORIES, an American-Scandinavian Ethnic Heritage Oral History Program.

Thirty Years Of Emigrating, Lis Jorgensen

The Bridge

Contemporary emigration is both like and unlike the earlier emigration of Scandinavia.

The emigrants came to North America in the nineteenth century largely because of overpopulation in their own countries creating famine or purely for economic reasons. In North America they could obtain free or cheap land and thus make a better living for their families. According to early accounts, however, they often suffered even greater hardships here than at home. One question that seemed to bother the Danish settlers was whether they had done the right thing in leaving the old country. They wondered if in their struggle for …

Emigration: New Beginning Or Premature End? A Book Review, Heinz K. Meier

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

Why were certain experiments of planned emigrati.0n crowned with success while others ended in dismal failure? What went wrong in one case and turned out well in the other? What were the factors that determined the outcome of such experiments? These and similar questions arise in reading and comparing two small books, published last year in Switzerland, that deal with the history of two different emigration ventures from Switzerland to the United States of America