Scandinavia Genealogy Books, Norway, Sweden and Finland
The Scandinavian Presence in North America $11.95
Eric J. Friss
(from the end flaps) Some ten million Americans can look to origins in the five countries-Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden-which are included in the broader definition of Scandinavia. The Scandinavian Presence in North America is the record of a unique attempt by all elements of Scandinavian America to take stock of their present status, and to consider their future as an identifiable presence on this continent and what particular contributions they can continue to make to American society.
Here is an unusually complete picture of the ethnic institutions of five per cent of America: an assessment of where the Scandinavians stand in the process of American assimilation; a statement of their hopes and fears for the future; and some prescriptions for what they can do to realize the former and lay the latter to rest. Because this examination has been undertaken at a time when large-scale immigration no longer refreshes the Scandinavian populace, this book is also an exploration in some depth of the future of ethnicity of any kind in America.
It provides a reflection of how the Scandinavian -American communities and kindred appear to the mother countries and the extent of their continuing interest in their American kin.
A result of the first joint meetings of all the elements of these five cognate communities, this volume is an important and unusual contribution to the content and bibliography of the Bicentennial, not only for the five per cent of the population which derives from Scandinavia, but for anyone who is interested in the diversity of North American society.
266 pages, 6×9 hardbound, dust jacket, end flap price clipped
Norwegian
A Century of Urban Life The Norwegians in Chicago Before 1930 $29.95
Odd S. Lovoll
The Norwegian American Historical Association 1988
(from the end flaps) This significant work on immigrant life in America’s great cities examines the Norwegian urban experience as it expressed itself in Chicago, It serves to correct a strong rural bias in the historiography of the Norwegian-American population. A Norwegian colony took root in the frontier setting of Chicago of the 1830s and grew with and adjusted to shifting demands and circumstances; it in time became the third largest “Norwegian city” in the world. The story is followed for a period of one hundred years, a century of dramatic change. The themes and issues of its history are narrated and analyzed as they related to the Norwegian-American subculture and the process of adjustment from one generation to the next-of a small immigrant group.
The study is based on a thorough reading of secondary literature and on extensive research in primary sources; much new evidence was uncovered and utilized to give a solid and varied interpretation of the inner functioning of the Norwegian immigrant community and its place in the unique and dynamic multi-ethnic environment of Chicago. Evidence is mustered to make significant conclusions on rate of assimilation, residential and occupational patterns, religious affiliation, and political behavior.
There was a visible anti-urban sentiment even among Norwegians in the city and a marked identification with a Puritan reform tradition. Their ideals were located in an American middle-class ethos; immigrant success stories fortified this direction. But in the urban environment strong counter forces existed, and there emerged a working-class consciousness that rejected the American myth of success and gave voice to radical political thinking. Simultaneously, powerful nationalistic feelings promoted ethnic cohesiveness, as evidenced in the rich organizational and cultural life of the community, the latter including musical, dramatic, and pictorial art; in a strong Lutheran identity though marred by disharmony, challenged by secular interests and values, and threatened by inroads of other religious denominations; at public festivals and events, May 17th celebrations being the most expressive; in athletic competitions on snow and ice, representing a special ethnic forte; and in numerous charitable efforts, which also revealed the strong bonds of nationality. Ethnic assertiveness found new expressions and adopted the imagery of a distant Viking past. An ethnic mythology evolved on this basis, gaining surprising strength in the social world of Norwegians in Chicago, and providing it with both a way of entry into American society and a favorable ethnic self-perception.
Table of Contents: A frontier community, Norwegians in the great central city, The era of the Civil War, Coming to terms with the city, Norwegians in industrial America, Living in the second city, Norwegian Chicago, The modern metropolis.
367 pages, hardbound, dust jacket
Swedish
The Swedish Settlements of Delaware: 2 Volumes (out of print) $79.95
Their History and Relation to the Indians, Dutch, and English, 1638-1664
Amandus Johnson
(1911), 2000, 2 vols. illus., maps
This fascinating encyclopedic work is the most comprehensive study of Swedish settlements in America. Lavishly illustrated, with an enormous bibliography and a massive subject index, this is an unmatched resource for anyone with an interest in history or genealogy relating to Swedish settlements or the Delaware River valley.
Topics covered include: Political, Social and Religious Conditions in Sweden; the Founding of the New Sweden Company and the Colony, 1635-1643; Peter Minuit and preparations for the early expeditions to New Sweden; Social, Economic and Political Life in the Colony; dwellings and customs; relations with the Indians, the English and the Dutch; the government of New Sweden; the Last Period of the Colony under Swedish Rule, 16531655; the Overthrow of New Sweden, 1654-1655; the Swedish Settlements under Dutch Rule, 1654-1664; the Coming of the Mercurius, 1655-1656; and the Last Period of the Swedish Settlements under the Dutch, 1656-1664. From 1611 to 1655, Sweden occupied Finland, Estonia, Latvia and parts of Denmark, such that many of the early “Swedish” settlers discussed here are actually Finns.
Appendices include: Brief Biographies; Lists of Officers, Soldiers, Servants and Settlers in New Sweden, 1638-1656; Documents and Translations of Documents; and The Expeditions Prepared for New Sweden, 1647-1656.
880 pages 2 volumes, new.
A Swedish Family Odyssey $30.00
Charles H. Hendricks
Hendricks Family Press, 1995
Table of contents:
Acknowledgments
Prologue: Discovering Hansen’s Law
PART I: LITTLE DID WE KNOW
How Little We Knew about Our Swedish Background
My Attempts to Find the Swedish Ancestors
Skortensgarden, the Key
Letters are Exchanged
PART II: FILLING IN THE GAPS
Skane, the Sunny South of Sweden
The Evolution of the Hendricks Family Name
Whatever Happened to the Old Swedish Buffalo Hunter?
Henrik Larsson and Johanna Mansdotter, Parents of Emigrants
Directory I: The Descendants of Henrik Larsson and Johanna Mansdotter
Dammhuset and Munka-Ljungby: Mans Larsson Territory
Fifty-Three Kronor, the Family Inheritance
PART III: FAMILY REUNION
The Petersson Relatives
Tracing the Last Hendricks Relatives in the United States
A Family Picture Missing in Holden
Meeting Astrid Paulsson and Her Family
PART IV: SEARCHING FOR GRANDMOTHER MATHILDA OLSSON HENDRICKS
Back to the Beginning
Meeting Some of Thilda’s Relatives in Hjarnarp
What My Father Learned a Hundred Years Ago about His Mother’s People
Margretetorp: Visits with Margareta Ekberg
Margareta Ekberg Writes about the Margretetorp Inn and Its Post Office
Some Obligations of the Skanish Innkeeper
Robbers on the Hallandsas
PART V: HOW THEY LIVED AND DIED
My Ancestors Have Their Day(s) in Court
Replacement Naming in Sweden and America
Infant and Childhood Mortality in the Families of
My Swedish Ancestors
Longevity and Mortality among My Swedish Ancestors
APPENDICES
Appendix A The Ancestry of Ludvig Henriksson and Thilda Olsdotter
Appendix B Chart of Ancestry of Ludvig Henriksson and Thilda Olsdotter
Appendix C Directory II: The Descendants of Mans Larsson and Elna Olasdotter
Appendix D Chart of Descendants of Ola Nilsson and Troen Sonesdotter
Appendix E Directory III: The Descendants of Ola Sonesson and Johanna Nilsdotter
Appendix F Directory IV: The Ancestors and Descendants of Ludvig Olson and Phyllis Manning
Index
394 pages, as new condition.
Finnish
Strength in Diversity – Worcester’s Finnish Community – A collection of Photographs & Recollections $29.95
The Finnish American Club of Rutland, 1994
This book is the result of an exhibition held at the Worcester Museum in 1992 on the Finns of Worcester. It is lavishly illustrated.
Table of contents: Acknowledgments, Foreword, Introduction, The Finns Come to America, Worcester as a Major Center, Seeking Jobs, Family Life, Organizations for Every Need, Customs, Remembering Finland, Sources, Exhibition Supporters, Checklist of the Exhibition.
498, 175 pages, 8 1/2 x 11 softbound, good condition SC & WO