Johanna's Journey

My wife's grandmother, Johanna Killingberg, was born in 1882 in Leksvig, Nord-Trondelag, Norway - directly across the Trondheim fjord. Johanna was the 6th of 10 children, although 2 of her older siblings died at an early age. Her older sister, Marie, married in 1897 and in 1904, she and her husband Gabriel emigrated to the USA, specifically to Spring Grove, MN. In 1907, Johanna also emigrated with Gabriel paying for Johanna's passage. Johanna was 25. From the ship's manifest (see below), it is clear that she was traveling with 2 other women (Elise Hanaar(sp?) & Inga Rolle-both from Leksvig and traveling to Spring Grove). Elise & Inga were each traveling with their 2 children and joining their husbands in Spring Grove.

From Hellig-Olav passenger list

In 1909, a third sister, Anne, emigrated, also to Spring Grove.  In 1909 Johanna married Thomas Rosten and in 1919 they moved from Spring Grove to Pope County, Minnesota, where happily I discovered a granddaughter - a number of years later.

Thomas & Johanna - Spring Grove

Immigrants - Killingberg sisters

Spring Grove was the first Minnesota settlement of Norwegian immigrants, with many from the Trondheim area. Norwegian settlement in the area dates from the 1850's, although the first major wave of immigration coincided with the 1862 Land Grant Act, which bestowed 160 acres on settlers who agreed to remain on the land for 5 years. Even now, the area around Spring Grove between the Root River & Iowa River is referred to as "Norwegian Ridge". The 1900-1910 timespan has been tagged as the "3rd wave" of Norwegian immigrants.

"High up on this broad ridge, with a view extending 15 to 20 miles on both sides, lies the village of Spring Grove, perhaps the most thoroughly Norwegian town in the U.S." - Norwegian Ridge website

[Editor note: Here's a plug for the Spring Grove based "Giants of the Earth Heritage Center, a must visit for Norwegian genealogy buffs. "Giants of the Earth Heritage Center is housed in the historic Ballard House at 163 West Main Street. “Giants” was incorporated in 2009 as a non-profit educational institution, dedicated to honoring, preserving, and interpreting the heritage of the immigrants who settled at Spring Grove’s Norwegian Ridge, cited as Minnesota’s first Norwegian immigrant settlement."]

Spring Grove postcard taken from Trinity Church steeple - 1908

I recently discovered a tiny notebook in my wife's Aunt Othelia's effects. (see Othelia's Story posts for a stirring WWII army nurse saga.) The notebook was kept by Johanna during her journey from Leksvig to New York in 1907. It is not, unfortunately, a diary, but it does provide detail on the where and when of her journey.

The translation for p 1-3 is roughly

• The 30th of April I travelled from Leksvik to Trondheim. [Editor note: 1907 - this would have been by ferry across the fjord]
• The 1st of May I left Trondheim! Came to Tynset in the evening at 8pm. [Editor note: this would have been by train. Tynset is a stop on the rail line from Trondheim to Oslo]
• In the morning at 6 AM the 2nd of May we left from Tynset and came to Kristiania(Oslo) in the evening at 7 PM. [Editor note: Norway's capital was named Kristiania  in 1907- renamed Oslo in 1928] 
• From Kristiania the 3rd of May at 10 PM in the evening, we traveled to Kristiansand the 4th of May in the morning, and left from there in the afternoon. [Editor note: Johanna then traveled directly from Kristiansand to New York aboard the Scandinavian-America liner, Hellig Olav.]

Scandinavian-America Liner Hellig-Olav

Saturday the 5th of May [Editor note: aboard Hellig-Olav]

Monday the 6th

Tuesday the 7th

Wednesday the 8th

Thursday the 9th

Friday the 10th

Saturday the 11th

Sunday the 12th

Monday the 13th

Tuesday the 14th [Editor note: Arrival in NY]

Wednesday the 15th [Editor Note: travel by train to Spring Grove]

Thursday the 16th

Friday the 17th

Saturday the 18th

Sunday the 19th Pentecost

The 14th of May we came to New York in the morning and did not leave from there till the 15th of May at 9 in the evening.

Page 4 of the little diary is a bit mysterious. It is in a different handwriting and appears to be a poem or hymn. Something like:"Oh God, your mercy and Holy Spirit helped us through so we kept up the hope and good spirit."

I'd like to think it was a blessing and prayer from her mother.

Johanna 1956 

Johanna's parting gift to Sister Ingeborg - "to remembrance"

Johanna never returned to Norway.

Copyright © 2017 Dave Hoplin