On Saturday June 21, Livsreise hosted Dave Johnson, historian of the Slooper Society based in Norway, Illinois.
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
On Saturday June 21, Livsreise hosted Dave Johnson, historian of the Slooper Society based in Norway, Illinois. He spoke about the Norwegians in the first organized immigration from Norway to North America in 1825. This group of fifty-two Quakers (later known as Sloopers) were viewed as dissenters because they did not practice the state religion of Lutheran. The boat was a small, a one masted sloop measuring 54 feet in length and 16 feet in width. They left Stavanger on the west coast of Norway and traveled a more southerly route to North America to avoid storms in the North Atlantic. Thus, the voyage was a long one lasting from July 4 to an October 9 arrival in New York City. A baby was even born on the voyage! Mr. Johnson also spoke about their first four years in America in Kendell, a new settlement in upstate New York. That area proved not to be suitable for farming, so they then moved west to LaSalle County, Illinois which was more suitable for homesteading. The audience was excited to hear this story, and many spoke to Dave after the program with questions.
Left to right are Dave Johnson, Marg Listug, and Steve Tanda
Category: Miscellaneous