THE FIRST NORWEGIAN MIGRATION INTO TEXAS: FOUR "AMERICA LETTERS"

Abstract

THE FIRST NORWEGIAN MIGRATION INTO TEXAS FOUR "AMERICA LETTERS " Translated and edited by Lyder L. Unstad Only three Norwegian settlements of any significance have been established in Texas: one in and near Dallas, a second in the eastern portion of the state, and the third and most important in Bosque County, with the town of Clifton as center. In the general history of Norwegian migration, however , these few settlements have become well known in spite of their small number. The first Norwegian known to have settled in Texas is Johannes Nordboe, who took a large tract of land in Dallas County in 1838 or 1839.1 In 1845, however, the first actual Norwegian settlement was founded in Texas, at Brownsboro ("Normandy"), Henderson County; the most outstanding names connected with this enterprise were Reiersen and Waerenskjold. Johan Reinert Reiersen, a highly educated man, was the founder and editor of Christianssandsposten, which still continues as one of the leading newspapers of southern Norway. He was born in 1810, the son of a deacon, and received his primary education from a private tutor. While attending the university at Oslo he was unlucky enough to be caught in a "youthful indiscretion," and was dismissed from that institution. He then lived in Denmark and Germany for some time, supporting himself by translating German and French books, and after several years returned to Christians1For information on Norwegian settlements in Texas see R. B. Anderson, First Chapter of Norwegian Immigration , 870-395 (Madison, Wisconsin, 1896); Martin Ulvestad, Nordmoendene i America , 1:197-203 (Minneapolis, 1907); and Theodore C. Biegen, Norwegian Migration to America, 1825-1860, 177, 178, 181-189 (Northfield, Minnesota, 1931). 39 40 STUDIES AND RECORDS sand. There he established his paper, and through it he found an outlet for his antagonism toward the aristocratic classes of Norway. He fought valiantly for education, freedom of conscience, religious tolerance, and the development of public opinion; he became "the most vigorous defender of emigration in Norway in the early forties . . . and a firm believer in the desirability of organized colonization." Activities of this kind naturally brought Reiersen many enemies among the official classes, in which there was strong opposition to emigration. He had, however, a few friends; and a group of them, headed by Wœrenskjold, induced him to go to America to make a personal investigation of the social and economic possibilities for Norwegians in the New World. For this purpose they furnished him with the sum of three hundred " specie dollars." In 1848 Reiersen sailed to New Orleans, whence he proceeded to Illinois and Wisconsin , where a number of Norwegians had settled already. On his way north he made an investigation of both Missouri and Ohio; by the early part of the next year he had satisfied his curiosity about all the northwestern states. He gave serious consideration to California as a suitable region for colonization, but concluded that the difficulties of transportation made the west coast impracticable from the point of view of immigrant settlement. "Meanwhile the Texas consul in New Orleans had suggested Texas and made an attractive offer of land for Norwegian colonization purposes there, and Reiersen therefore concluded to investigate the northern area of Sam Houston's domain." In March, 1844, he arrived by stage in San Augustine , Texas, and from there proceeded to Austin. He was well pleased with Texas; at once he began to formulate a colonization plan and " was convinced that for thousands of Norwegians then 'gathering crumbs from the table of the aristocracy ' relief was in sight." At Austin he met Governor Houston, who was greatly interested in the proposed MIGRATION INTO TEXAS 41 colony and promised every aid from the Texas government. From Austin Reiersen went to Houston, then to Galveston, and finally to New Orleans. There he took a steamer to Cincinnati, Ohio, on his way to New York to catch a vessel for Norway. In a long letter written from Cincinnati on March 19, 1844, he revealed that his "mind was not made up as to the wisest choice of a colonization site, but in balancing advantages and disadvantages he seemed most interested in Texas." 2 While Reiersen was traveling about the United States, he...