April 27, 2017
Ulvestad's 100-year-old "Bible of Norwegian Immigration" 1,400 pages of Gothic Script now transcribed translated into bilingual ENGLISH-NORWEGIAN 3-volume-set! Norwegians in America, their History and Record covers years 1825-1913.
Over 100 years ago, the Norwegian author Martin Ulvestad wrote in the foreword: “Have we — modern Norwegians in America — seen and understood what our forefathers have done for us? Have we ever shown them that we properly appreciate their struggles, sufferings and deprivations — that benefited us? Have we made sure that their memory could live among us, and our descendants? … It was these and similar questions and thoughts, which in time, I felt were valid to me and which gave impetus for the labor, the ultimate result we now find in this book.”
Ulvestad compiled the Norwegian-American pioneer stories by sending out 163,000 small books and pamphlets along with 450,000 circulars and forms to the early immigrants and their families. He then published the 100-year-old oversized (now rare) books.
Click for Ulvestad's original 1,400 pages in Gothic Script
Areas included in the 7"x10", hardcover, Smyth sewn (library quality) books are:
• USA — 41 states and 500 counties: Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Washington, Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia. Plus Pre-History, Indian Territory, District of Columbia and the story of the emigrant ship “Valkyrien”.
• Canada — 6 provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan.
• Norway — 1,700 areas of Norway including maps of Norway's 18 fylker (districts) and the 433 kommuner (municipalities)
Volume 1 [sorted by geography, USA's 41 states/500 counties & Canada] — includes both an English translation as well as a Norwegian transcription from pages 1-250 of the Gothic script and covers immigration to America 1825-1907. The sagas tell of where the pioneers emigrated from in Norway, immigrated to in America, genealogy, life and hardships on the emigrant ships, canal boat and cattle car journeys to the Midwest, sickness, oxcarts, dugouts, sod huts, numerous pastors and churches, livestock and crops, grasshoppers, prairie fires, blizzards, Indian Wars and more. [480 pgs]
Volume 2 [sorted by occupation and 1,700 locations in Norway] — has both an English translation as well as a Norwegian transcription from pages 251-871 of the Gothic script and covers immigration to America 1825-1907. Norwegians in American Wars includes Military Officers, Privates, the 15th Wisconsin Regiment, Civil War and Andersonville Prison. Other sections contain listings of Norwegian-American involvement: public positions, newspapers and periodicals, book publishing, music, educational and charitable institutions, church societies, pastors, temperance undertakings and historical and statistical summary. Volume 2’s Compilation of Norwegian Communities in America section provides information on over 25,000 pioneers sorted by 1,700 areas they emigrated from in Norway. [640 pages]
Click for list of Ulvestad's 1,700 locations in Norway
Volume 3 [sorted by last name or paternal name, GENEALOGY, cross references Volumes 1 & 2] — has an English translation of over 500 pages the Gothic script and covers immigration to America 1825-1913. Thousands of biographical sketches alphabetized by last name. Information includes where emigrated from in Norway, year, where immigrated to in America and occupation. Also listed are names of sons and/or relatives born in America at that time, where known. Plus MAPS from 1901 in USA. [704 pages]
Ulvestad 3-volume-set was the WINNER of the G. K. Haukebo Heritage Resource Award for Historical Emphasis
Norwegians in America, their History and Record: A transcribed and translated version Nordmændene i Amerika, deres Historie og Rekord, 3-Volume-Set, Written by Martin Ulvestad, Astri My Astri Publishing, 2010, 2011, 2012
Click for 3-vol-set www.astrimyastri.com