About the only tools I had when I began farming were a spade and an axe. With my axe I cut down enough logs to build a hut 12 by 8 feet, without floor or ceiling. With my spade I broke a small patch of ground which I planted to potatoes.
This newspaper article, published by the New Richmond Republican Voice, includes an interview with the first Norwegian to come to Wisconsin in the nineteenth century, Lars Davidson Reque, on his experiences getting to America and beginning his life in the states. This interview allows historians to examine a first-hand recollection of what life was like for a Norwegian immigrant coming to the United States during the 1800s.
Reque first recalls arriving in New York during a Fourth of July celebration after a nine week voyage from Norway and thinking that his boat was being attacked, only to be relieved upon discovering what had been going on. He later made his way to Chicago by train, which he states was just a slimy marsh with little potential. He mentions working peacefully alongside Native Americans while logging between Chicago and Michigan, and goes on to tell of his settling in Wisconsin. He recalls creating a small farm despite only having a shovel and axe to work with, as well as having to travel two weeks and seventy-five miles to sell his crops in Milwaukee.
Reque’s arrival in Wisconsin marks the beginning of a period in which thousands of Norwegian immigrants settled in the state throughout the nineteenth century. According to Odd. S Lovoll’s article Norwegian Americans, most Norwegian migrants followed Reque’s path through Illinios and up to Wisconsin, which he calls “the center of Norwegian American activity up until the Civil War”. This pattern continued and by 1910, nearly 80% of the United States’ one million Norwegians lived in the northern Midwest.
This article was written for a small newspaper in Wisconsin, likely with the intent of entertaining the large population of Norwegian immigrants in the area. It includes bias in the introduction through heavy praise of Mr. Reque, but the rest of the article is mainly quotes from the interview. However, the entire article can be interpreted as pro-Norwegian immigrant bias as it portrays Reque’s tale as one of great intrigue and perseverance.
Troy Romstad