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Our Norwegian Ancestors II
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The Turkups, Knudtsons, and Slettens
Ronald L. Lien
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Our Norwegian Ancestors: The Turkups, Knudtsons, and Slettens is a story of families whose members relied on and supported one another, and who grieved and rejoiced together. It is an attempt to relate how events and relationships affect lives. The book centers on the Turkup family and the descendants who carried the Knudtson and Sletten surnames. The Turkups, Knudtsons, and Slettens typify the vast majority of Norwegian immigrants. They were farmers with little formal education who lived a subsistence life in Norway on land owned by others. They accepted the risks associated with a dangerous sea voyage and weeks of travel into the wilderness of the Upper Midwest, confident in their ability to create a better life for themselves. Key to their decision was the knowledge that other Norwegians from their own district would be sailing with them, headed for the same or a similar settlement where other Norwegians would assist them in adjusting to their new country.
The tenacious manner in which they held to their Norwegian heritage after arriving in America is understandable. They claimed land next to one another, built their churches and schools in locations convenient to their farms, and patronized the small towns and businesses that catered to them. Many communicated solely in Norwegian throughout their lives. Their descendants insisted that church sermons be delivered in Norwegian into the twentieth century. They tended to marry within their settlement or to someone in a Norwegian settlement nearby. Marriage to a person who was not a Norwegian raised an eyebrow, and marriage outside the Lutheran faith jeopardized one’s interpersonal relations within the community. The desire to reinvent Norway in America helped them cope with the uncertainties and discomfort of living in a foreign land.
Ronald L. Lien is a proud descendant of these Norwegian ancestors. He currently lives in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, with his wife, Becky. Ron served as a high school teacher and administrator, a college professor, and an educational consultant and administrator in business working for Control Data Corporation and Aid Association for Lutherans, now Thrivent. In retirement, he has researched his immigrant ancestors, leaving a legacy for his three children and seven grandchildren. This book was written for the descendents of the Turkups, Knudtsons, and Slettens.
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256
Pages
xSize:
7 x 10
Binding:
Perfectbound
Quantity in Basket:
None
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