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Memories And Autobiography Of Jens Lind, Jens Lind

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I don't know if I can write anything that will read any different from thousands of other immigrants that came to make their home in the U.S.A.

The reason I came was mostly because of economic conditions. Another was adventure and restlessness which many young people suffer from in our days, too.

I was born close to the east coast in Jutland, Denmark, September 30, 1892. We were eight in the family: our parents, three brothers and three sisters and, of course, poor as church mice, like thousands of others.

Marcus Lee Hansen Returns To His Roots, John Robert Christianson

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Marcus Lee Hansen (1892-1938) was the founder of modern immigration history. He established new frameworks in time and space for the study of the peopling of North America.

Children Of Danish Roots, L.C. Laursen

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Children of Danish Roots is a translation by Willard R. Garred of Stammens B0rn, an article that appeared originally in the 1931 issue of the "Ryslinge Julebog," a Christmas magazine of the Ryslinge Folk High School, Ryslinge, Denmark. The article was written by L. C. Laursen when he lived in the western Nebraska community at Mirage Flats near Hay Springs. After his arrival in the community he named it Ryslinge, a name generally accepted by the settlers and their friends.

A Transplanted Dane Looks Back On 80 Years, Ludvig Christian Mosbaek

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Ludvig Christian Mosb~k (1855-193B) was one of the founding fathers of Askov , Minnesota . Coming to the Danish colony when it was called Partridge, he took active part in establishing its church , school , creamery , and first cooperative . But , above all, he was a skilled nurseryman. He created a market for wild ferns , brought in the stock of various trees hardy enough for the northern climate , raised perennials and evergreens from seeds , and introduced rutabagas to the American market. For some years he combined farming with a nursery business, but gradually gave …

Enok Mortensen And Askov, Hans Henningsen

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The connection between Enok Mortensen and Askov Folk High School in Denmark came about accidentally, as it were, in the middle of the 1950s. The background was that rector Knud Hansen made some critical remarks, in an interview, about the United States and American foreign policy. This caused a great to-do in the press, so much so that the American ambassador decided to visit Askov Folk High School to judge for himself whether it were possible that Askov had "gone communist." Shortly thereafter Knud Hansen received an official invitation to spend three months in the United States. The visit, which …

Danish-American Literature In Transition, Dorothy Burton Skardal

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Danish-American literature was written by Danish immigrants in the United States mainly about and for members of their own group. Their lives were lived in constant psychological and cultural flux undergoing the pressures of assimilation; therefore their literature both grew out of and recorded multifaceted processes of transition. Today the literature Danish immigrants wrote is itself in transition: long unread or forgotten, it is now being rediscovered by Americans of Danish heritage. This brief introduction to the main Danish-American writers is meant to stimulate still more to reclaim their heritage preserved in Danish-language fiction and poetry.

Right Place, Right Time: The William S. Knudsen Story, Robert Vanderkloot

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"You talk funny." The little boy stood awkwardly, the peak of his cap pointed sideways, looking up at the tall, thin young man seated on the top step of the main entrance to the eight-story apartment building which covered the entire block at 152nd Street and Eighth Avenue.

Chapter I: Emigration And Immigration

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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.

Chapter Iii: Occupations Of Danish Immigrants

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When the Danish immigrants arrived in America, their career plans were influenced by economic aspirations and occupational background. Nearly half of the immigrants had worked in agriculture, chiefly as landless laborers. They frequently planned to acquire land of their own. Most of the rest were urban laborers or artisans hoping to find higher wages and broader opportunities in America. The motivating force behind most emigration was dissatisfaction with the economic situation in Denmark. In looking for something new and better, emigrants indicated their willingness to accept the various occupations which America offered. After all, life had to be better in …

Conclusion: Chicago And The Evolution Of The Danish Community

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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 …

The Fiftieth Anniversary Of The Udvandrerarkiv, Aalborg, Inger Bladt

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On July 3, 1982, Det Danske Udvandrerarkiv in Aalborg will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary and look back on an existence marked by great difficulties. During critical times, in fact, its continued existence often seemed in doubt.

The Immigrant's Challenge To Dahs, Otto G. Hoiberg

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During the half century preceding World War I, 300,000 Danish immigrants came to America, according to an estimate by Kristian Hvidt. Why did they come? Among many reasons, the Homestead Act of 1862 certainly stands out prominently. To the small-acreage farmers and the hired men in Danish agriculture, 160 acres of free, fertile land looked mighty inviting. Enthusiasm for migration was also generated by the glowing "Garden of Eden" advertising campaign conducted by America's railroads - a worthy prototype for today's Madison Avenue. Further, there were the so-called " America Letters" , received from relatives and friends already across the …

Principles And Polemics A Chapter In The History Of Grand View College, Thorvald Hansen

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Early in 1894 the Danish Lutheran Church in America was divided by a schism . At that time the Synod lost a substantial number of pastors and congregations while some other congregations, and even families, were divided by the split in the Church. That traumatic event did have one beneficial side effect, however. The conventions for the Church became much more peaceable and, for the next few years, the Church was unified and could work with undivided attention to perform the tasks at hand.

Some Thoughts On Acculturation, Otto G. Hoiberg

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Three years ago an important work entitled Flight to America - The Social Background of 300,000 Danish Emigrants was published by Kristian Hvidt(1), Head Librarian of the Danish Parliamentary Library in Copenhagen. Dr. Hvidt's painstaking demographic study of 58 handwritten volumes of data ralating to America-bound Danish emigrants between 1868 and 1914, together with computer analysis, revealed a wealth of interesting information relating to the age, sex, family status, occupation, motivation and other characteristics of the people concerned.