Immigrant Stock

“Give me your tired, your poor, 

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, 

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. 

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: 

I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

from Emma Lazarus' poem "New Colossus" quoted on the Statue of Liberty

My people

If you are American and unless you are Native American, you are descended from immigrant stock. Some ancestor of yours braved a cross-ocean journey and bequeathed you the blessing of American citizenship. If you were born in Minnesota, odds are you are no more than a 3rd or 4th generation American.  In my case, my immigrant ancestors were grandparents and great-grandparents arriving from Norway & Sweden between 1879 and 1914.

In the late 1800's and early 1900's Scandinavian immigrants were not fleeing war or oppression - unless fear of starvation qualifies. Abject poverty and the hope for a better life for themselves and their children compelled them to cross the Atlantic. In the 1880's alone, desperate times drove 9% of the population of Norway to emigrate. Many families simply could not feed themselves and often the oldest children were forced to leave. Frequently married men left to establish themselves in the new world, with wives and children following at a later date.
{Editor note: this was the case with my great-grandfather Nils.  Nils immigrated in 1879, his wife and 3 children followed in 1881}  

Many were induced to come to the USA with stories of "gold on the sidewalks", the promise of jobs and free land. Some immigrants were lucky to have had trail-blazer relatives or neighbors who had previously immigrated and were willing to sponsor them, perhaps paying for the steamship ticket and the "entry money" the US immigration laws required. While most Scandinavian immigrants came from agrarian lives, large numbers moved to Chicago & Minneapolis for railroad work, stockyard jobs, lumbering, milling, brewing, beginning the population transfer from farm to city. The Homestead Act and the promise of free land drew many to Minnesota and Dakota prairies, often living in sod homes. Northern Minnesota mining drew immigrants of many nationalities to the Iron Range. The decade of the 1880's brought over 5 million immigrants to America, a country of 50 million at the time.

After the American Civil War, railroad construction boomed, subsidized to the tune of $16000/mile and coupled with huge land grants. The railroads, along with many states, had "emigration agents" to recruit in Europe, vying to populate the vast empty American interior. The American Consul in Norway promoted the employment opportunities in America.  From the 1880's through 1920, "America Fever" struck Norway and Sweden in particular.

My Family's Story

My Immigrant Ancestors

White Star Line Baltic

On my mother's side, my Swedish grandfather & grandmother (Emil & Hilma Elizabeth) immigrated from a hardscrabble farm near Rosjo, Sweden to Iowa with their 2 daughters in 1914 aboard the White Star Liner Baltic.  They were more fortunate than most immigrants, as both Emil & Hilma had siblings who were already living in the US and sponsored them. The family lived with brother Gust until they were able to rent a farm. According to my Aunt Alice, Gust "got more than he bargained for. For his sponsorship, he received a hired man, a housekeeper and two rambunctious children he wasn't counting on." The family eventually rented a farm near Paton , IA, paying "cash rent" even through the depression years, eventually moving to a farm between Lanyon & Paton, a farmhouse with 4 bedrooms and a large kitchen - and indoor plumbing! By that time there were several more little ones around, including my mother. Brother Gust moved to Kennedy, MN in the northwest Minnesota.  Not sure if the rambunctious children were the driver for this. By then there were so many siblings with the same family name on the mail route that brother Carl changed the family name to Nyren, ostensibly to reduce the confusion factor for the mailman.

On my father's paternal side, my great-grandfather Nils immigrated from Åsen, Norway in 1879, first to Wisconsin and in 1880 to Minnesota.  He arrived by train in Alexandria and was met by Johan Berg, a neighbor from Norway and together they walked the 14 miles to Brandon to Johan's farm, arriving late at night.  Johan told Nils that he could get work on the wood train that supplied the railroad. Next day he walked back to Alexandria and began working on the railroad.  {Editor note: There is a quote attributed to J.J. Hill, the Great Northern Railroad tycoon: "give me snuff, whiskey and Swedes and I will build a railroad to hell."  I think on the same diet, Norwegians could handle the task as well.)  Nils' wife Hanna and 3 children joined him in 1881.  

By 1884, Nils had saved enough railroad money to buy some land north of Brandon , adding to it a few acres at a time from 1890 to 1918.  16 acres in 1886;  40 acres in 1890; 40 acres in 1898, 1899; 1903, 40 acres for $1120 and in 1918 the final 40 acres for $2600.

Cunard Bothnia

Carl & Sofia, great-grandparents on my father's maternal side were Swedish and my great-grandfather was a reluctant immigrant. Sofia had a sister (Elizabeth & husband Carl) who had immigrated to the Brandon, MN area and had encouraged them to come with tales of easy living, offering to sponsor them.  Carl did not want to come.  Finally, after 3 refusals, the brother-in-law issued an ultimatum - "this is my last offer" and they packed up themselves with 5 children and left Fageras, Sweden on June 24th, 1886, arriving in Boston aboard the Cunard liner Bothnia in July 1886, then by train to Chicago, St. Paul arriving in Brandon on July 12th.


On my wife's side, it is much the same story.  Her Norwegian grandmother and grandfather, immigrated from Leksvig, Norway area separately to Spring Grove, MN, met there and married.  In each case, poverty forced adult children to leave their home.  Grandmother Johanna never was able to return to Norway.

Twin City Stories

There are two areas in the Twin Cities that are locally famous - or perhaps infamous - immigrant ghettos. Bohemian Flats on the west bank of the Mississippi below the Washington Avenue bridge is now park land. But in the late 1800's and early 1900's it was a shanty town, home for nearly a 1000 people who had to endure the annual spring flooding. The upslope shanties were the desirable spots. Many residents were Slovakian immigrants, hence the name "Bohemian". The citizens of Minneapolis would stroll over the bridge and observe the "teeming masses" living along the river. The "flats" were accessible via a long wooden staircase descending from 7 Corners (Cedar-Riverside). The inhabitants were largely day laborers who climbed the stairs to milling or lumber jobs on the river.   In the 1930's the city of Minneapolis, used its eminent domain rights to expand a barge landing on the site and most of the shanty houses were destroyed.

Bohemian Flats 2015

Swede Hollow~1900, Swede Hollow Gateway 2015

In St. Paul, Swede Hollow, an area originally known as "Svenska Dalen", was perhaps even a bit more squalid than Bohemian Flats. Swede Hollow is a deep ravine east of downtown St. Paul along Phalen Creek, which served as water source and sewer.  The hollow was reachable only by a tunnel, which is still true today. Many a new immigrant arrived at St. Paul's Union Station with a name clipped to their coat and walked through the tunnel to Swede Hollow to find a friend or relative.





The Hamm's Brewery and the Hamm's family mansion towered on the bluffs above.

Swede Hollow with Hamm's Mansion & Brewery above

[Editor note: there is now a really nice bike path running through Swede Hollow. And stop at the Swede Hollow Cafe.]

Hamm's Realty exacted $5/year for a Swede Hollow homesite and for 100 years various waves of immigrants had "starter homes" there until in the 1950's St. Paul declared it a health hazard, evicted the remaining residents and burned the remaining shanties to the ground.

"Clearing" Swede Hollow Slum 1950's - Minnesota Historical Society

Between 1880 & 1930, 27 million immigrants entered this country. In retrospect, it is easy to romanticize these migrations.  But, despite the "give me your tired ..." rhetoric, immigrants generally were not welcomed in the United States. The "Know Nothing" Party, anti-Catholic groups and American "nativists" worked to limit immigration. With the onset of WWI the immigration laws became even more restrictive, especially targeting exclusion of Asian, Eastern & Southern European and Jewish immigrants. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 suspended Chinese immigration for 10 years & in 1902 it was renewed indefinitely, repealed only during WWII in 1943; In 1891 Bureau of Immigration was established with initial quotas based on nationality. In 1917 a literacy test was added and an "Asiatic barred zone" was established.  In 1924 quotas were established that set allowed immigration in ratios of 82% Northern Europe; 16% Southern Europe; 2% rest-of-the-world.  In 1948, with the world awash with refugees from WWII, the "Displaced Persons Act" allowed just 205,000 refugees over quotas to enter the US, largely refugees from the Baltic states.

{Editor Note: For a WWII Latvian refugee story, read my post about a family who came to live in my small Minnesota community.   http://ussbb62.blogspot.com/2015/05/lowrys-latvian-dps.html}

Our "melting pot" implies an assimilation where people become indistinguishable. This has never been the case. Our nation is in reality a "multi-cultural" nation where, while we are all Americans who benefit from the opportunities a free and open society provides, we preserve our ethnic traditions from generation to generation. This is a good thing. Stop by for some lefse & krumkake if you're in the neighborhood. Sorry no lutefisk.

Over and over new waves of immigrants have brought diversity, work ethic and strength to this land. Let us not withdraw the welcome sign.

Sources:
> Ellis Foundation http://www.libertyellisfoundation.org/immigration-timeline
> University of Minnesota Heritage Projects 
http://ias.umn.edu/programs/collaboratives/heritage/projects/boho/
> Historyapolis http://historyapolis.com/


Copyright © 2016 Dave Hoplin















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