THE CAMPAIGN OF THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD FOR NORWEGIAN AND SWEDISH IMMIGRANTS

Abstract

THE CAMPAIGN OF THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD FOR NORWEGIAN AND SWEDISH IMMIGRANTS By Paul W. Gates The migration of thousands of Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes to the United States during the nineteenth century has attracted the attention of many students of American history. The social, economic, and religious causes of this vast movement have been carefully studied and their relative importance assessed. The influence of the "America letters," of Cleng Peerson, and of such pamphlets as Ole Rynning's True Account of America in arousing interest in emigration to the United States has been pointed out.1 Less attention, however, has been paid to the advertising campaigns that were carried on in northern European countries by the great American land companies for the purpose of inducing people to migrate to their sections. It is proposed in this paper to study the work of the Illinois Central Railroad , the first of the land grant railroads, in attracting settlers from Norway and Sweden. In 1851 the Illinois Central Railroad received a grant of two and one-half million acres of land in the state of Illinois to aid in its construction. Much of this land lay in eastern and central Illinois, regions that hitherto had been largely neglected by incoming settlers, in spite of the fact that they contained some of the richest prairie land in the West. By 1854 the construction of the road was sufficiently advanced 1 See Theodore C. Biegen, " Cleng Peerson and Norwegian Immigration," in Mississippi Valley Historical Review , 7:303-331 (March, 1921), and ed., "Ole Rynning's True Account of America," in Minnesota History Bulletin, 2:221-269 (November, 1917). The publications of the Swedish and Norwegian historical societies contain many "America letters." 66 THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL CAMPAIGN 67 to warrant the company's turning its attention to the problem of securing settlers for the region through which its line lay.2 David Neal, vice-president of the road and head of the land department, realized that the natural flow of immigration into eastern and central Illinois would not settle the company's lands and build up traffic for the road as rapidly as was desired. He therefore planned to stimulate this immigration, and proposed to station emigration agents throughout the eastern part of the United States and through Norway, Sweden, and Germany to induce people to go to Illinois.3 Neal selected Oscar Malmborg to undertake this work in the Scandinavian countries. Malmborg was an educated Swede who was able to converse in French and German as well as in the Scandinavian languages. He had been at work for the Illinois Central Railroad since 1852 and was thoroughly familiar with its lands. His task was to visit the rural communities of Norway and Sweden, to converse with people who might be interested in coming to America, and to persuade them to settle upon Illinois Central land. He was encouraged to assemble a colony to return with him to Illinois, where a special tract of land was to be reserved for them. Malmborg began his work in Sweden by translating and publishing, in the newspapers of the various provinces, material that was furnished him by the company. He traveled throughout the country distributing pamphlets and other literature, and visiting people interested in emigrating. There were a large number of them, he reported, both in Norway and in Sweden.4 Unfortunately Malmborg's work 2 See the present writer's " Land Policy of the Illinois Central Railroad, in Journal of Economic and Business History , vol. 3, no. 4, p. 554-573 (August, 1931). 'Illinois Central Railroad, Annual Reports , 1854. 4 F. O. Malmborg to D. A. Neal, May 28, 1854, and Neal to Perkins, December 30, 1854, January 5, 1855, in Magazine Office, Illinois Central Railroad Station , Chicago. This archive is hereafter cited as M.O. 68 STUDIES AND RECORDS was cut short by a change in the management of the land department that necessitated his return to Illinois, and it was not until 1860 that he was able to resume the work begun so energetically in 1854. Charles M. Dupuy, who replaced David Neal as head of the land department, was as anxious as his predecessor...