Kewaunee County's Early Norwegians

 

During Wisconsin’s territorial days, the few non-native people in what became Kewaunee County were transient, being employed at the lumber mill on the Kewaunee River or the mill at Red River. In the week from June 28 to July 4, 1851, Wolf River (now Algoma) saw its first three settling families. However, the Warner, Hughes and Tweedale families lived in Door County at the time. That county had just been sent off from Brown a few months earlier. The three families were also Kewaunee County’s earliest settling families when the county was set off from Door in May 1852.

They were Yankees who were followed by a few more Yankees, but not far behind were the German immigrants. Close on their heels were Bohemians, and, in 1858, Belgian immigrants who were making their way to build homes in what would become the Towns of Red River and Lincoln.

Although Kewaunee County is not generally known as a Norwegian enclave, Norwegians were settling in the towns of Carlton and Franklin, also in the 1850s. Names such as Gulickson, Hoverson, Christianson, Knutson, Nelson and Olson are only a few of those represented, and they made an impact on the new county.

Carlton’s earliest land sales, however, were to non-Norwegians, James Doty on September 1, 1838, and Lode Baker in 1839. Doty – 2nd Territorial Governor of what would become Wisconsin -  was a speculator who felt what became the settlement of Carlton was an ideal place for a city. Though Lode Baker has eluded an historical lens, he patented more Carlton land than anyone other than Isaac and Joel Taylor who made their purchases in the early 1850s. Baker's purchases would seem to make him a speculator or one intent on purchasing pine lands. The Taylors were indeed looking for timberland.

Commenting on immigrants to Wisconsin, the November 9, 1859 Enterprize* reprinted an article from the Milwaukee Sentinel saying that nearly every day the Detroit & Milwaukee Railway brought immigrants - mostly Norwegians and Germans - who wanted to settle in Wisconsin. The paper saw a return to more prosperous times (after the Panic of 1857) and felt a great inrush of immigrants would follow in the coming spring. Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota were considered broad enough and rich enough to furnish comfortable homes and honest employment for all “whose good destiny may send them hither.”

In June 1866,  the Enterprise* was touting Kewaunee County for its unrivaled beauty, soil fertility, and healthy climate that was entirely exempt from fever, ague, and other local diseases. It was a good place to locate homes and business, and to trade and farm. The new county looked to induce uncertain emigrants to see the county before going to other states. A December article continued saying a company was established at Copenhagen to encourage Norwegians, Danes, and Swedes to come to the U.S.

When the State Board of Immigration met just after the turn of 1870, reports showed Wisconsin had 22,932 immigrants coming through Milwaukee and Chicago. The Board further said 11,263 came through Wisconsin as they traveled to other states. It went on to say more arrived at Green Bay, Manitowoc, and other lake ports, however records were not kept in those places. Over thirty-three hundred dollars was expended by the Board for brochures touting the advantages and resources enticing immigrants while arrangements were made with a company in Holland to produce 5,000 brochures in Norwegian, 5,000 in German, 2,000 in Dutch and some in French. According to an article in the State Journal and reprinted in the Enterprise, Milwaukee and Chicago immigration offices would keep busy.

Much was written about Tulif Olson who came from the area of Stavanger, Norway. George Wing’s history  indicates Olson  bought 160 acres in the Town of Carlton, sight unseen, from the federal government in October 1855 when he paid 50 cents per acre for land on the north side of today’s Highway AB near to what became the village of Tisch Mills. Bureau of Land Management records, however, indicate Olson bought his land in February 1858. Ole Pedersen Berger purchased land next to Olson. There were no roads in the primitive area and the Olsens and Bergers carried their belongings and supplies inland. Getting through the thickly wooded, hilly, and, sometimes, swampy terrain was a long, difficult job. According to Wing, Diedrich Christianson paid 50 cents for Olson’s acreage, and that eventually some of Olson’s land on the East Twin River was sold to Charles Tisch who built a sawmill and gristmill. It was said that after Olsons’ home burned down in 1862, they exchanged their land for Charles Tisch’s farm. Tisch paid the Olsons an additional $20. From then on, the area was known as Tisch or Tisch’s Mills.

Another Olson - Anton -  also came from Norway, however from Valders. In his earlier years, he was a lake sailor. His wife sailed with him and did the cooking for the crew, while caring for their daughter whose early years were spent on the ship. It was said that Olson’s ship hit a buoy somewhere near Kewaunee and sank, thus Olson settled near Tisch Mills and began farming, although he maintained his sea-going skills. If men needed rope spliced, Olson was the man to do it. He was instrumental in the organization of the telephone company, having the switchboard operated by his daughter in his home. Anton Olson donated land for the second school, built in 1889.

Eventually, there were so many Olsons that they were marrying each other. September 1918 saw a Norwegian wedding when Meta Olson married Orrin Olsen. When the “write up” appeared in the paper, guests were listed. Included were many more Olsens and Olsons. Witnessing the ceremony performed by Rev. O.K. Aspeseth at Sandy Bay Norwegian Church were those named Birkedal, Peterson, Jensen, Thompson, Knutson, Jacobsen, and Johnson.

Norwegian Lutheran Church of Sandy Bay was incorporated in 1886. It was built on the county line road about a mile west of the lake. Located on the southwest corner of Section 35 on County Highway BB in Carlton in 1893, the church held services until 1953, thus serving the community for about 60 years. It was torn down in the 1960s when the road was widened. Services were bi-weekly and conducted by pastors from Manitowoc. During September 1915, Sandy Bay Norwegian Church offered Norwegian and English services with Rev. O.K. Aspeseth in charge. Sandy Bay Norwegian Church was affiliated with the Franklin Lutheran Church in Section 25 of Franklin. Sandy Bay Church had a choir in April 1896 when a “singing society” was organized at the church. Meeting twice each month, the Enterprise pointed out  the group’s progress.

Sandy Bay Cemetery was located at the corner of the NE ¼ of Section 26, on Highway 42, a mile and a quarter north of the Manitowoc-Kewaunee County line. It was also known as St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery, that congregation being formed in 1869 and disbanding in 1947. One hundred years after its founding, the cemetery was turned over to Carlton Township in 1969.

Church and cemetery locations are a bit confusing on the plat maps. The 1876 plat map shows a church at the SW corner of the SW 1/4 of Section 25. A cemetery is next to the church, but it is in the SE 1/4 of the NE 1/4 of Section 26. The 1895 plat map shows a church where the cemetery was show in 1876.

The 1895 map shows a church at the NE corner of the SE 1/4 of Section 25 in the Town of Franklin. When the religious Norwegians built Franklin Lutheran Church, with a cemetery next to it, it was a mile west and a mile and a half north of Tisch Mills. Destroyed by fire from a bolt of lightning in 1954, the church was never rebuilt. In the horse and buggy days, a minister came from Manitowoc about once a month - a 20-mile trip that necessitated an overnight stay. Norwegians joined the Bohemians who were settling the Town of Franklin, and Paul Hoverson was one of the Norwegians who served in Franklin offices in addition to serving in the State Assembly for two years.

Thomas Gullikson/Gullickson was a pioneer who settled in Carlton in 1857. When he died in 1920, he was living on the farm he settled on immigration, a farm then owned by his son-in-law Anton Olson. Gullickson  was said to have remarkable stories of pioneer life in Kewaunee County, although it appears that his stories do not live on in print. When he was buried in the Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery in Franklin, Gullikson’s pall bearers included other Norwegians, Tollef Jorgensen, Knute Olson, Ole Holderson, and Charles Olson. Knutsons also lived in Franklin, and their names are found in the Franklin Norwegian Lutheran Cemetery.

In December 1860, one John Olsen Otien of Carlton wrote to the editor of the Emigranten, one of the earliest and most prominent of the Norwegian newspapers in Wisconsin. Emigranten (The Emigrant) was located at the corner of King and Webster Streets in Madison. It was one of the many publications that helped immigrants keep abreast of news in their own language.

The newspapers provided fellowship and connections in a day without radios, telephones, televisions, computers, and the social media of 2021, but in 1860, it was Otien’s letter that spoke about Kewaunee County Norwegians. Otien told the editor that Norwegian settlement began in the Town of Carlton about 5 ½ years earlier, so possibly in summer of 1854. By 1860, there were 50 families trying to farm. However, farming came slowly as Carlton was densely forested. First, the trees had to come down. Otien said it was the hope of a free home and a better future that helped the pioneers endure. When Otien wrote, he said their pastor, Jacob Aall Ottesen, had moved to Dane County. Even so, the community laid the cornerstone during the summer with hopes to be in the new church during the winter. Otien said the Norwegians looked forward to a Manitowoc pastor serving them four times a year.

Organizing went on for a long time. The Enterprise of July 27, 1907, reported that Wisconsin Norwegians were asked to join an international organization for fraternal purposes. Promoting closer connections between those in the new county and the fatherland, part of the mission was to protect the rights of Norwegian-American citizens and help then navigate their way in the commercial world. It was expected that hundreds of Kewaunee County Norwegians would join. It was a surprise to some that Kewaunee County was home to hundreds of Norwegians. As late as November 1930, the comment was made that, a “babel of tongues” from North Europe was voiced by emigrants from the countries around the waters of the North Sea and the Baltic.

Norwegians in Kewaunee County affected the foodstuff economy. Was it Norwegians who prompted sales of Hutchinson’s Cough Cure? Druggists C. & J. Roberts were advertising it in the fall of 1884 and made it available at their drug store.

Ahnapee Record didn't seem to carry herring advertising, but the paper did carry articles about Plumb and Nelson's stock, which could be found at their stores in Manitowoc, Two Rivers, Appleton, and Sturgeon Bay. Plumb and Nelson said their prices were so fair that nobody could "attend to your business" as promptly as they could. In early 1883, Plumb and Nelson said thet sold the finest Holland Herrings at $1.20 a keg. If one only wanted fine herring, it was $1.00 a keg. Settling for "good" herring was even less at 75 cents a keg. Norwegian anchovies were going for 35 cents a quart. One hundred years later, Norwegians were eating anchovies on their Italian pizza. Lefse, a bread made from potatoes and baked flat, fed the Norwegians on their ocean voyage and was always a part of their diet. In more recent years, lefse has become a delicacy that is most always served at Christmas. If one doesn't have a Norwegian baker in the family, one that can purchase lefse at many specialty shops, such as Weinke's Farm Market north of Algoma on Highway S, and supermarkets such as Festival Foods.

Norwegians coming into Manitowoc County usually stayed there or went into southern Kewaunee County. However, there were those who went north to Door County, settling in the Town of Clay Banks. Some went farther north in Door County to settle among other Scandinavians.

To learn more about Norwegian immigration to Wisconsin, check Door County Historical Society's site to find out about Norwegian Day, scheduled for mid-May at the Hans and Bertha Hanson House on Utah Street, just east of its intersection with Highway 42-57, in Sturgeon Bay. The restored house offers examples of Norwegian construction during 1857. Today - over 160 years later - it is said many of the joints "are still so tight you cannot slip a knife between the logs." The day will showcase all things Norwegian and have something for all.

*Note: Known as Kewaunee Enterprise, the paper had its beginnings in 1859 as Kewaunee Enterprize. The spelling changed to Enterprise in 1865.

Jacob Aall Ottesen and John Olsen Otien are two whos surnames reflect Norwegian naming patterns where a farm name is used after a patronymic name to distinguish themselves. WSHS says the name servered much like a postal address everytime they moved.

 Sources: Ahnapee Record; Algoma Record Herald; Door County Advocate; Here Comes the Mail: Post Offices of Kewaunee County; Kewaunee Enterprize/Enterprise; Wing Histories; BLM online.