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Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

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Book Review: The Essence Of Swissness: A Special Issue Of The Times Literary Supplement, Leo Schelbert

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

The Friday, December 7, 1984, issue of the London Times Literary Supplement was devoted in good part to works about Switzerland and its unique literary and historical traditions. It opens with a challenging essay by George Steiner who raises the question "What is Swiss?" "The Writer may speak against the grain," he cautions, "even when he bears close witness. Ten years are, as I have found, too short a time in which to get to know the palimpsest of Genevan society, let alone those of Switzerland." Yet he offers courageously and with much insight his "impressions as to the nature …

Front Matter

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

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Book Review: Des Suisses Pas Comme Les Autres Et Au Bout De La Terre, Marianne Burkhard

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

For several months, five French-Swiss journalists travelled in other continents to meet and interview Swiss emigrants, to see how they lived and to explore their views on Switzerland and their emigration. Deliberately, the reporters chose countries far away from Europe, i.e. the United States, the Republic of South Africa, Singapore, Brazil, Argentina, and Australia. As their enterprise was not designed to be either scholarly or encyclopedic, the authors interweave impressions and information, historical facts and personal anecdotes. The result is a book that is fascinating to read as it offers vivid descriptions of places "au bout de la terre" and …

Swiss Mercenaries In The Service Of The British Crown: The War Of 1812, Ivor C.E. Luethy

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

During the War of 1812, Swiss mercenaries were part of the British army which fought against the American forces. The most important figure among these soldiers in the service of the British Crown was undoubtedly Sir George Prevost, Governor-General and military commander of British North America from 1811-1815. He was a descendant of a prominent Geneva family, several members of which had attained high ranks in the British forces; Augustin Prevost, for example, Sir George's father became Major-General under General Wolfe. Augustin Prevost had also been a friend of Frederick Haldimand, Governor-General of Canada during the American Revolution.

Minutes Of The Twenty-First Annual Meeting Of The Swiss American Historical Society, Arnold H. Price

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

The twenty-first annual meeting of the Swiss American Historical Society was held at the headquarters of Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 27, 1984.

Book Review: One Small Lifetime, Leo Schelbert

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

To do justice to this moving memoir is less than easy. It presents the story of two intertwined lives, that of Amalia Thurkauf-Braun who was born in the 1880s and that of her son Ernst Albert, born in 1907 at Liestal, the capital of Canton Basel-Land, in Switzerland. The lives of Ernst's father Emil Thurkauf, in contrast, and of Ernst 's three siblings come only occasionally into view from the perspective of Amalia Thurkauf's reports or of her son's autobiographical reminiscences. Both records are touching documents that tell of unusual endurance, of sincere faith, and of incredible capacity for work. …

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The Bridge

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Editorial Statement

The Bridge

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Chapter Ii: Chicago And The Danish Settlement

The Bridge

If two words characterized Chicago in its first halfcentury, they were "growth" and "change." In 1840 Chicago was a small prairie town of 4,500 inhabitants. But the forces that brought immigrants to the Midwest had already begun to transform Chicago. With the development of trade and commerce between the Midwest and the East, better transportation over land and water became essential. In the 1840s, the State of Illinois constructed the Illinois and Michigan Canal, connecting the Mississippi River with Lake Michigan by way of Chicago. For the first time, Midwestern produce could go to market through the Great Lakes, as …

Chapter V: Danish Religious Life In Chicago -- Trinity Church

The Bridge

When the Danes came to America, the Church of Denmark did not follow on their heels. The Danish Church believed that most Danish emigrants were dissenters, not supporters of the established Lutheran church. The Church viewed Danish immigration as too small to support churches, even in a city as large as Chicago. The few Danes in America might join Norwegian congregations, thereby maintaining ties with a similar form of Lutheranism. 1 The problem of not having churches to attend was somewhat unusual among immigrants. Catholic groups were welcomed by the international Catholic Church, wherever they settled. Such Protestants as the …

The Danish Community Of Chicago, Philip S. Friedman

The Bridge

Although millions accepted the challenge of immigrating to America, that choice required extraordinary courage. Even the initial task of leaving the homeland and traveling to America often took on mythical proportions. Prior to the journey, the immigrant needed to settle his affairs, selling for cash the possessions which could be sold. Having decided to emigrate to the New World, he did not expect to make the long return trip for many years. 1 After gathering a few essential provisions and saying goodbye to his old home, the immigrant and his family boarded a ship for the two-week voyage. Every ship …

Contents

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Front Cover

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Front Matter

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Table Of Contents

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Contributors To This Issue

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Cornelius Jensen: One Of California's First Danes, Harlan Pedersen

The Bridge

Sixty miles east of Los Angeles, along the Santa Ana River near the community of Robidoux, lies the little Flabob Airport. Because of its difficult approach, it's a challenge to pilots in training and a good place to land for Sunday lunch, particularly on a clear winter's day with the snow-capped San Bernardinos off to the north. One-half mile off the departing end of the Flabob runway, one views a familiar Southern California sight; the inevitable encroachment of more housing tracts. As one of those pilots in training on a bright Sunday morning, I found my curosity aroused when my …

Jens Munk: The Story Of A Sailor Who Embraced His Fate, Inga W. Wiehl

The Bridge

"Jens Munk was one of the intrepid sixteenth-century explorers who navigated the Arctic seas with inadequate ships, faulty charts and primitive instruments. He was also one of the few who survived the arduous search for the Northwest Passage, who reached Hudson Bay in 1619, wintered there, buried most of his crew, and by a supreme effort of will and skill made the voyage home with the two crewmen left to him. "

Niels Sorensen Lawdahl: Autobiography, Niels Sorensen Lawdahl

The Bridge

My name is Niels Sorensen Lawdahl. I was born in Sonder Stenderup, Bjert Strand near Kolding. This vicinity was my mother's native soil. Her name was Ane Sofie Hansen Stougaard. Father was from Givskud vicinity near Vejle. His name was Soren Nielsen. I was born January 25, 1864 (the war year). And before very long, I was baptized because of father's impending departure for the army. There was a little brother in the home, two years older than I. He died in Kasson, Minnesota in 1899.

The Jens Nyholm Papers, William K. Beatty

The Bridge

The Chicago area has benefited from the careers of two Danes who had the same first name but completely different occupations: the one indoors and the other out . Both men were alike in having achieved national reputations in their chosen fields. Jens Nyholm served for 24 years as a university librarian; Jens Jensen devoted many years to working with nature in the designing of private and public landscapes in the Midwest. Northwestern University has enjoyed, and still enjoys, the fruits of the labors of both these men for it was at this institution that Nyholm devoted over two decades …

A. P. Andersen - Saga Of A Danish Immigrant, Henry Jorgensen

The Bridge

Pastor Ove Nielsen, retired assistant director of Lutheran World Relief, provided the initiative for this biography when he wrote to the author and suggested that research be done and a biography be written for The Bridge on Anders Peder Andersen. Andersen, a Danish immigrant and farmer in Montana, was knighted by the King of his native land at which time attention was called to his many accomplishments.

The Plow, The Cow And The Pastor, Karl Marg

The Bridge

That was not so bad, and then, Dagmar was even a queen. I have done that which is worse. I once stole, on a late winter night in Chicago, a pioneer cow with all accessories from Christian Bay. Then I sold the stolen goods to a newspaper in Denmark and got c. 60 kroner out of it. How my conscience has fared since then I will not here relate. I am a Danish Lutheran and I do not confess in a catholic confession booth, and much less would I confess in the modern protestant manner, publicly to Mrs. Somebody in …

Goals And Objectives Of The Danish American Heritage Society

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To promote an interest in Danish American contributions to American life.

To encourage research in the life and culture of Danish Americans.

To serve as an agency for the publication of studies of Danish American contributions to American life.

To provide a means of communication and education for individuals interested in the activities of Danish Americans .

In Debt To Heritage Denmark, Hermansen-Jensen, Nysted, Otto G. Hoiberg, Reviewer, Elise Hermansen Olsen

The Bridge

This is the life story of the late Elise Hermansen Olsen, as portrayed in autobiographical materials edited admirably by her still-active husband, Dr. C. Arild Olsen. It mirrors the various interrelated ways in which Elise "lived her Danish heritage" - by use of the Danish language in speech and song, by a deep appreciation of that country's literature, by perpetuation of its characteristic customs, and by living a life geared to its distinctive values.

Full Issue

The Bridge

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Front Matter

The Bridge

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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.

Conclusion: Chicago And The Evolution Of The Danish Community

The Bridge

As contemporaries and historians noted, the development of the ethnic American depended upon a unique blend of two cultures. This study has illustrated that fact, beginning with the sources of immigration. We found that immigration resulted from a complex interplay of European and American factors, which influenced not only the immigrant and his community, but the old culture as well. For example, the existence of plentiful American farmland led to an immigration to American farms. As American produce then rose in volume, more was exported to Europe, contributing to an agricultural crisis in Denmark. That in turn generated a new …

Front Cover

The Bridge

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