Glass
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A HISTORY OF THE DANES IN AMERICA.
JOHN H. BILLE.
/I
From the Transactions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts,
AND Letters, Vol. XI.
\Issited March, 1S9G.]
^
^
A HISTORY OF THE DANES IN AMERICA.
JOHN H. BILLE,
WITH A MAP — PLATE I.
Of all the nationalities that have come to this country in any
considerable number, the Danes are the ones of whom the least
is said or known. They have taken but little part in politics,
either national, state or local. Their religious organizations
and institutions have attracted no attention, and their settle-
ments seem to have been wholly lost sight of, even by the prac-
tical politician. It is this peculiar insignificance of the Danes
as a factor in the life of this country to which I especially wish
to call attention in the following paper. But as the national
characteristics, and the ideas and conditions existing in Den-
mark, are largely responsible for the position of the Danes in
America, it is necessary for an understanding of the subject to
begin with a discussion of the Danes in Denmark.
The Danes of to-day, in Denmark, though the direct descendants
of the redoubtable vikings, possess but few of their stern, war-
like characteristics. In fact, it is only through their fondness
for the stories recounting the deeds of the ancient gods and
heroes that the modern Danes show their mental kinship to the
viking.
Seven hundred years of peaceful occupation among the most
peaceful of natural surroundings, together with three hundred
years of serfdom under which the majority of the people were
reduced to the condition of mere beasts of burden, are the main
agencies which have made the Danish descendants of the viking
a peace-loving, easy-going, good-natured people, with a consid-
erable lack of self-confidence and enterprise. The political events
2 Bille — A History of the Danes in America.
in Denmark during thie present century illustrate most strik-
ingly this non-aggressive spirit of the common people. They
have received all their social and political liberties from the
powers above them without violence and almost without agita-
tion on their part; and when those liberties have been encroached
upon they have made but little resistance. The serfdom of the
peasant was removed in 1788 through the benevolent efforts of
Count Bernsdorf, then an influential member of the king's cabi-
net. In the year 1849 the king, Frederick VII., voluntarily
relinquished his absolute power and gave his people a very lib-
eral constitution ; but in the quarrel which has since arisen
between the present reactionary king Christian IX. and his min-
istry on the one hand, and the representatives of the people on
the other, regarding the interpretation of this constitution, the
people have made concession after concession, till at present they
retain only a semblance of the political liberties given them
less than half a century ago.
Another marked peculiarity of the Danish character is a love
for the ideal, the emotional, and the romantic. This character-
istic shows itself in the literature, in the evervday life of the
people, and in many of their social institutions^ But it is most
strikingly exhibited in the remarkable influence exercised by
N. F, S. Grundtvig on the social, political, and i-eligious life of
the people. And as his influence has extended to this country,
and is a prominent factor in the life of the Danes here, it is
necessary to discuss his life and work somewhat in detail.
N. F. S. Grundtvig was born in 1783. He was the son of a
minister and was himself educated for the church. He was pos-
sessed of a many-sided character, and one full of apparent
inconsistencies; but he was pre-eminently a poet and a
reformer, possessing the romantic temperament of the one and
the courage, enthusiasm, and persistence of the other.
The chief end and ambition of his life was to reform the Dan-
ish church, which at the time he entered upon his ministry,
1810, was given over to rationalism of the French pattern, or
to dead meaningless formalism. He wished to bring back what
he called old-fashioned, living Christianity and pure Luther-
anism. At first this was not much moi'e than an implicit belief
The Danes in Denmark. 3
in the Bible, coupled with a pietistic philosophy of life. But
in the course of time his belief underwent some remarkable
changes. He dropped the idea of the Bible being an infallible
guide, asserting that a belief in the Apostles' Creed and the
words of the Communion service, coupled with a good Christian
life, was all that was necessary for membership in the true
Christian chui'ch. But in his opinion the living of a Christian
life meant an active, sympathetic participation in all the affairs
of life. He wished to substitute feeling and activity for doc-
trinal discussions and formalism, and individual judgment for
blind acceptance of a creed. Being intensely patriotic, his love
of country became thoroughly identified with his religion. It is
impossible, he said, to love God and not love one's fatherland and
mother-tongue. He advanced the idea that each nation had a
special mission to perform in the world, and had been especially
appointed and trained by God to perform that mission. From
the traditions and history of the Danes, he inferred that to them
-was given the mission of reuniting all the Christian churches,
to re-establish "peace on earth and good will toward men," the
highest and most sacred mission of all. But in order to fulfill
their mission, they must be true to their language and traditions ;
and if they failed in this, God would punish them as he did the
Israelites of old when they strayed from the path he had marked
out for them.*
' Grundtvig may be quoted on this subject so as to prove him to be either
a broad-minded, liberal patriot and statesman, or a religious enthusiast
who wishes to make the nation a mere tool in the hands of God, or a senti-
mental, bigoted nation-worshipper. His speeches in the constitutional
assembly of 1849 on the subjects of suffrage, freedom of religion, title and
rank, freedom of speech, police power of the state, provisions for the poor,
and compulsory education are instances of the first kind. (See H. Brun's
Life of Orundtvig, Vol. 1, pp. 330-342.)
" Heligtrekongers-Lyset," written in 1813, when the allied troops threat-
ened an attack on Denmark, shows him as the religious enthusiast. His
"Troste-Brev til Danmark " written after the war of 1864, his speech
at the meeting of his friends in 1885, (see pp. 7-13 of proceedings of this
meeting), and also his sermon, " Fredsfyrsten og Morderen," show him the
bigot and sentimentalist. His friends have made the mistake of accepting
every word from him as a self-evident truth, while his enemies are making
the still greater mistake of looking at and criticising his weaker and senti-
4 Bille — A History of the Danes in America.
He himself was indefatigable in his efforts to arouse and
strengthen the patriotic sentiment of his countrymen. He
translated into plain modern Danish many of the old Scandina-
vian myths, stories and ballads, and celebrated both in poetry
and prose the deeds and prowess of the old gods and heroes.
He addressed himself to the common people, especially to the
peasants, for he believed that the upper classes had been so in-
fluenced and warped by foreign, especially Gei'man, culture and
ideas that they had almost lost their Danish character. It was
not, however, till 1848-49 that he began to exert any decided
influence on the common people. The war carried on at that
time against the rebel duchies, Schleswig and Holstein, and the
granting of the constitution, thoroughly aroused the patriotic
spirit of the Danes. Grundtvig and his picturesque religion
with its poetry, myth, saga, and patriotism, which he still
claimed was old-fashioned Lutheranism, pure and simple, gained
many adherents. A spirit of religious enthusiasm was aroused.
Laymen began to preach and exhort, something hitherto un-
heard-of. Home missionary societies were organized, and re-
ligious meetings of the revival type were the order of the day.
But the most important feature of this agitation was the estab-
lishment of so-called peasant high schools. From the very be-
ginning of his career Grundtvig had been strongly opposed to
the schools of his day, with their " learning by rote of dead and
useless facts. " He advocated the establishment of schools, the
chief functions of which should be to inculcate religious and
patriotic sentiment and give instruction in the practical affairs
of life. He first tried to interest the government in his ideal.
Failing in this, his friends raised sufficient money to enable him
to carry out his plan independently, and in 1856 the first peasant
high school was established in Denmark proper. Since then the
number of these schools has steadily increased till at the pres-
ent time they number about seventy, with an annual attendance
of between three and four thousand students. This means a
mental utterances, — things which he has said or written under great
emotional pressure. His work, "Kirke-Spejl," a series of church histori-
cal lectures given in 1863, undoubtedly gives the fairest representation of
his views on the subject of nationality and religion.
Tlie Danes in Denmark. 5
great deal in a country with an area only one-fourth that of the
state of Wisconsin, and a population of only two millions.^
These schools have all been built by private enterprise or
public subscription, and they are patronized almost exclusively
by the rural population. Religion, history, literature, and sing-
ing are the main subjects of instruction, and the main aim is to
develop the patriotic and religious spirit in the direction indi-
cated by Grundtvig. Their tendency is to lay too much stress
on the ideal and too little on the real, to cultivate the emotions
rather than intellect. Nevertheless the effect of these schools,
as indeed of the whole Grundtvigian agitation, has been to make
the common people more patriotic, more appreciative of the
higher sentiments, and less submissive to authority of any kind.
Pastoral authority has especially suffered. Indeed it has al-
most entirely disappeared ; a fact which partly explains the very
' The methods adopted by the high schools are based on the supposition
of an ideal instructor dealing with ideal pupils. Nearly all the instruction
is given in the form of lectures, or by personal talks with the pupils. This
is done on the theory that the living word of the teacher is much more im-
pressive than the dead letter of any book. No qualifications for entering
are required; no set lessons are given, no definite amount of work is as-
signed, and there are no class recitations. The schools recognize no such
things as examination, promotion or graduation. No other stimulus is re-
lied upon than the personality of the teacher and the student's love for the
work in hand. As might be expected, this method is not conducive to any
very intense intellectual activity. In fact, there is such an apparent lack of
effort and concentration on the part of the students in these schools that an
American schoolmaster, even if he were a Herbartian, would be likely to
pronounce the whole procedure a farce. The following is a sample of the
work as observed by the writer at the Rodkilde high school on the island
of Moen, 1892: A class of about fifty were comfortably seated in a large,
pleasant room, each one engaged in some work of knitting or crocheting.
They were rattling needles and silently passing judgments upon their work
and that of their neighbors; while the teacher was sitting at his desk, de-
livering a lecture upon the geography of Denmark. In arithmetic these
same young ladies were all working at their seats on slates, each one from
some different part of the text book. If they succeeded in working the
problem in hand'to their own satisfaction, they took hold of the next; if
unable to work it they went to the teachers, who were sitting at desks at
one end of the room. The teacher showed them how to solve the problem
and sent them to their seats to work as before.
6 Bille — A History of the Danes in America,
slight influence which the Danish ministers in this country have
on their countrymen. In fact, the whole beautiful religious
machinery devised by the state has been put out of gear by this
agitation ; and the established Lutheran church, or the church of
the people, as it is called, though it claims the allegiance of
more than ninety-nine per cent, of the Danes, after all is only
a name which three different factious are each trying to appro-
priate to itself. These are the old-fashioned strict doctrinari-
ans, the Grundtvigians, and the Inner Mission society. The
first of these three want things to go on in the old, formal way,
with religion confined within the church walls and consisting
mostly of a strict interpretation of dry theological points by
the regularly ordained minister. yThe Grundtvigians and the
Inner Mission people agree in making religion a part of every-
day life and every man's concern. But the Grundtvigians are
thorough-going optimists. They call themselves the happy
Christians, take part in all the pleasures and activities of life
with the greatest zest, and concern themselves but little about
doctrinal points. The Inner Mission people are thorough-going
pietists; they call themselves the holy ones, and profess to
despise all worldly pleasures. They insist on absolute belief of
total depravity, and literal belief in the Bible.' And in spite
' The Inner Mission society was established in 185i, It was the out-
growth of the Grundtvigian agitation, and the early leaders, who were all
laymen, were adherents of Grundtvig's, but with pietistic tendencies. In
1861 "^Ihelm Beck, a minister of the established church, was elected presi-
dent of the society, which, at that time, had but little influence and no
"•Wgular working force. But undor his leadership it has become the most
powerful agency in the country for stimulating and maintaining religious
interest. According to the report of the society for 1895 it owned eighty-
seven missicn-houses, insured at $101,500. Its income for the year was
$27,395, nearly all gifts. It employed ninety-six regular missionaries, and
counted as its supporters about two hundred of the ministers of the estab-
lished church and a large number of the teachers of the public schools;
16,000 public religious meetings had been held during the year. It must
be remembered that all this is carried on aside from the regular work of
the established church, to which all the Inner Mission people profess to be-
long. The missionaries are working somewhat according to old apostolic
methods. They are sent out t vo by two, and go from house to house ex-
horting, preaching, and selling religious tracts. When a community has
Tlie Danes in Denmark. 7
of the fact that the two factions have a common origin, they are
irreconcilably opposed to each other; and the antagonism between
them is becoming more mai'ked every year, furnishing any
amount of material for quarrels within church circles, both in
Denmark and among the Danes iu this country. Indeed, the
ideas held by the Grundtvigians and Inner Mission society have
had a decisive influence on the destiny of the Danes in America
as a separate nationality./yNo other questions, save those of an
industrial nature, can lay any such claim to the attention of the
Danish public as do these. Politically the Danes are all at sea.
There is no sti'ong party with any definite policy, and the senti-
ment in favor of larger political liberty has become dormant
among the common people through the long losing struggle they
have carried on against the government. The sentiment of
patriotism and national pride too is waning, except among the
Grundtvigians, and a feeling of national helplessness is becoming
dominant. " We are a small people, capable only of small
things " has come to be almost a national motto. ^
To summarize: The Danes of to-day are a good-natured, easy-
going people, somewhat lacking in self-confidence and tnterprise,
and possessing no sti-ong national ambition and no national insti-
tution which can lay claim to their undivided homage; this leaves
them without any strong bond of union when removed from the
mother country. Though as a nation they have a fair propor-
tion of hard-fisted, matter-of-fact individuals, they are never-
theless largely influenced by sentiment and ideals.
In dealing with the emigrant, however, a new factor enters
in, for emigration is a sifting process, and the emigrant differs
in many respects from the people of his class who remain at
home, and he therefore cannot be judged by the general national
characteristics. He is more enterprising, more of a matter-of-
been thoroughly canvassed by the missionaries, public meetings are held
at which some of the abler speakers are present. Then Sunday schools for
children are organized, or religious clubs for the older people, through which
the agitation is continued. The effect aimed at is identical with that of
revivalists in this country, though the success attained in Denmark is more
lasting.
1 The disastrous war of 186i with the Prussians and Austrians has done
much to depress the national spirit.
8
Bille — A JSistory oj the Danes in America.
fact man. At any rate his love of personal advantage is liable
to be greater than his love of country, home and friends, for he
is willing to part with them to better his fortune. He does
not as a rule leave his native land because he suffers actual want
there, but most usually because he feels unable to maintain
what he considers a proper standard of life; and it is only in
cases where emigration is prompted by religious or political
persecution that he is liable to be a man of as much patriotic
sentiment as those who stay at home.' The record of the Danes
in America furnishes a most striking illustration of this theory;
indeed it is impossible to otherwise explain their peculiar indif-
ference toward all that might connect them with the land of their
birth.
THE DANES IN AMERICA.
The emigration from Denmark has been more recent and the
number of emigrants smaller than from the other Scandinavian
countries.^
Norwegians.
Swedes.
Danes.
1860
1870
1880
1890
43,995
114,243
181,724
322,665
18,625
97,a32
194,337
478,041
9,962
30,098
64, 196
132,543
The fact that emigration from Denmark began so late and
never assumed any considerable proportions would naturally
'An extended inquiry among my own countrymen who have emigrated,
and among those in the same circumstances in Denmark, bears out this
theory. In answer to my question to the former, " Why did you emigrate? "
the invariable answer was, " I did not want to be a common laborer in my
own country," or " I did not care to live such a life of drudgery and pov-
erty as my parents lived; I can't do worse in America, and I may do bet-
ter; " while my question to the latter, " Why do you not emigrate? " was
answeted as follows: " I can't bear the thought of leaving home with the
chance of never coming back again," " I can't get any pleasure out of life
in any other place," or " I would like to go, but when I think of all the
dangers and troubles of it I feel I might as well stay at home, and take
what little comfort I can get out of life here,"
• The cause of the smaller emigration from Denmark than from Norway
and Sweden is undoubtedly due mainly to the better economic conditions
Formation of Settlements. 9
tend to make the social and religious organizations of the Danes
smaller and weaker than those of the Norwegians and Swedes.
But this fact does not account for the difference existing, es-
pecially between the Danes and Norwegians, in the matter of
forming settlements, supporting churches and schools, and gen-
eral social and political co-operation, — a difference so striking
that it must of necessity unsettle the present belief in the simi-
larity of character of these nationalities.
The Norwegians, according to their number, show a stronger
tendency to concentrate in large settlements on account of
preference for their own countrymen, than any other European
nationality, while the Danes go almost to the other extreme in
this matter. The table below is an attempt at showing in figures
the correctness of this statement. In the second column the
highest percentage in any one state is given, because state
lines, though not always physical barriers, nevertheless act as
a check to close co-operation, especially in a political way. Be-
sides, in the minds of the people in Europe, the state stands for a
compact piece of territory of a limited extent, and with this notion
is naturally associated the idea of easy and close communication
among those living within the state. For these reasons, the im-
migrants who concentrate largely in one state show thereby a
desire for remaining in touch with their own nationality.
The numbers in the third column, indicating the percentage
in settlements of more than five hundred, are obtained by add-
ing the numbers of persons of a given nationality in counties
where five hundred or more of this nationality are found, and
existing in the former country. In fact, want is a thing almost wholly un-
known in Denmark. The condition of the common people has been im-
proving rapidly and almost constantly during the present century. At the
beginning of the century the land was nearly all in the hands of the nobil-
ity, while at present only one-seventh of it is in their possession, the rest
of it being in the hands of the peasants, who constitute the bulk of the
population. (H. Weitemeyer, Denmark, p. 100.) Besides this, the im-
proved methods of cultivation have increased the productive power of the
country nearly ten-fold. No such decided change in property-holding or
in producing power has taken place in Norway or Sweden, while the popu-
lation has been increasing as rapidly in these countries as in Denmark.
10 Bille — A History of the Danes in America.
finding what per cent, this sum is of the whole number of per-
sons of that nationality in the United States. The number five
hundred is taken, because in counties containing a lesser number
of persons of a given nationality, as a rule, no settlement will be
found sufficiently large to maintain in a vigorous condition the
social and religious life of the mother country, heace a nation
with a large percentage in this column shows proof of a desire
to concentrate on a basis of nationality.
The percentages in column four for contiguous territory are
based on the fact that where more than five hundred of a given
nationality are found in adjoining counties they form in many
respects one settlement, because they are able to co-operate
in the maintaining of churches and schools, and other rela-
tions of a social nature which they can only have with their
own countrymen. Therefore a high percentage in this column
also shows a desire for concentration on the basis of nationality.
The percentages in column five for cities of more than twenty-
five thousand inhabitants are given, because a nationality largely
represented in these cities may have a high percentage in col-
umn three on account of a liking for city life, rather than from
any special desire to form settlements for the sake of living
with their own people. It is the rural settlement which shows
the national preference most strongly; for the formation of
large settlements of this kind in a country as extensive as the
United States necessitates a strong motive for so doing, and a
definite plan. Therefore a nationality with a low percentage in
column five, and high percentages in columns two, three and four,
shows the strongest tendency to form settlements for the sake
of associating with fellow-countrymen. But the emigrants of
a nationality which fails in forming rural settlements to any
extent, and does not concentrate largely in cities, show the least
desire for association with their own people because they do not
find such association by accident, as is the case with those
nationalities which prefer city life, nor by preconcerted plan, as
do those who form large rural settlements. From the table, the
Norwegians are thus seen to lead in the matter of forming settle-
ments, while only the French can be said to be in any way less
forward in this regard than are the Danes; and these two pec
Formation of Settlements.
11
pies, therefore, show the lowest concentrating tendency of all
the European emigrants to this country.
I,
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Total in
Highest
Percentage
in settle-
Percentage
Percentage
in cities of
more than
25,000.
United
percentage
ments con-
in contigu-
States.
in one state.
taining more
than 500.
ous territory.
Norway . .
322,665
31
80
56. 6
20.78
Sweden . .
478,041
20.9
79.6
22.2
31.24
Holland. .
81,828
36.07
72.6
31.3
33.54
Poland . .
147,440
19.7
72.2
10.3
57.11
Bohemia .
118, 106
22.5
85.4
21.4
48.32
Denmark .
1.32,543-
.10.]-
~ 47
- 8.1
- 23.24
Belgium. .
22,6.39
20.1
34.7
16.5
22.30
France . .
113, 174
18
14.3
14.3
45.69
Wales . . .
100,079
52
25.4
25.80
Scotland .
242,231
56.8
12
41.25
I have omitted the English, Irish, Austrians, Hungarians and
Italians because these nationalities have settled in such large
numbers in the eastern cities, especially in New York, a fact
which would run up their percentage in columns three and four
enormously, while it by no means is an indication of the desire
or ability of these nationalities to form settlements.
The Germans and Swiss I have omitted because both of these
nationalities are made up of elements differing more from each
other in language, religion, and race characteristics than do the
people of the Scandinavian countries. So if the former should
be classed as one nationality then the Scandinavians should also
be classed together as one nationality, as has so often been done
in national and state census.
The contiguous territory from which the figures in column four
are obtained is: — for the Norwegians, the western tier of coun-
ties in Wisconsin, with extensions eastward in the north and south ;
the eastern, southern and western tiers of counties in Minnesota;
the northern tier of counties in Iowa; and the eastern in North
and South Dakota. It may be said that roughly the eastern,
southern and western boundary lines of Minnesota form the
center of this settlement. The Swedish settlement extends
through the northern peninsula of Michigan, along the northern
12
Bille — A History of the Danes in America,
tiers of counties in Wisconsin, and directly across the state of
Minnesota at about the latitude of St. Paul. This settlement is
not nearly as compact as the Norwegian.
The Hollanders have established their largest settlement in
the southwestern part of the southern peninsula of Michigan.
The Polanders and Bohemians have their largest settlements in
the city of Chicago. The Belgian settlement is located about
Green Bay, Wisconsin. France and Scotland have their settle-
ments in and about the city of New York. The Welsh settle-
ment includes the following counties in Pennsylvania: Carbon,
Lackawanna, Luzerne, Northampton, arid Schuylkill.
This tendency of the Norwegians to concentrate, and of the Danes
to scatter, is not of recent origin; for ever since the Norwegians
have commenced to emigrate in any considerable numbers they
have been as closely or even more closely concentrated than they
are at present; while the Danes have been more widely scattered
than they are now, as will be seen from the following tables:
Norwegians.'^ — Greatest number in four states.
1850.
1860.
1870.
1880.
1890.
Total in United States
Illinois ....
Wisconsin ^ . . .
Minnesota
Iowa
12, 778
2,500
8,000
43,995
4,891
21,442
8,425
5,688
114,243
11,880
40,046
35,940
17,554
181,729
16,970
49,349
62,521
21,586
322,665
30,339
65,666
101,199
27,078
Danes. — Greatest number
in four states.
1860.
1870.
1880.
1890.
Total in U. S.
New York .
Wisconsin .
Utah. . .
California .
9,962
1,196
1,150
1,824
1,328
Illinois .
Wisconsin .
Iowa .
Utah . . ,
30,098
3, 711
5,212
2,827
4,957
Illinois .
Wisconsin.
Iowa .
Utah . .
64, 196
6,029
8,797
6,901
6,071
132,543
12,044
13,885
15,519
14,133
' As the Norwegians were not given separately by counties in U. S. cen-
sus before 1890, it is impossible to obtain any definite statistics on this point
until 1890.
'O. M. Nelson, History of Scandinavians in America, p, 134.
Formation of Settlements. 13
From the above tables it will be seen that the Norweo-ians
concentrated from the beginning in the four adjacent states,
Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa; while the Danes were
scattered across the whole width of the continent. From the
parochial reports of the Norwegian church in America it appears
that their settlements were about as large and compact in the
fifties and early sixties as they are now; while as late as 1870
there were only five cities and six counties in the United
States in which five hundred or more Danes could be found.
These were : New York ; Chicago and Rock Island, Illinois ; Racine
and Waupaca, Wisconsin; and Winnebago county, Wisconsin;
Douglas county, Nebraska; and four counties in Utah where they
had been massed by the Mormon church.
From this it is plain that the present concentration of the
Norwegians is not due to accident, nor to the fact that they
have been longer in this country than the Danes ; nor is it
because the conditions in the four states, Illinois, Wiscon-
sin, Minnesota and Iowa, are more congenial to the Norwe-
gians than to the Danes. The opposite might seem to be the
the case, for the climate, productions, and occupations in these
states are more like those existing in Denmark than in Norway.
There can be only one possible explanation of this difference be-
tween the Danes and Norwegians, — that the Danes who emigrate
have less love of their native land and its institutions, less na-
tional pride, than the Norwegians, and therefore less desire to
concentrate.
That such is the case is shown not only in the settlements of
the two nationalities, but also in the manner each has supported
the church of the mother country.
The first Norwegian church society in America was organized
about 1850, when there were only a little more than 12,000 Nor-
wegians in this country; and before this time several local con-
gregations had been organized with their own ministers and
churches.
The first Danish church society was organized in 1872, when
there were more than 30,000 Danes in the United States; and be-
fore this time there was not a single purely Danish congrega-
tion with a Danish minister. It is true that some of fhe Danes
14
Bille — A History of the Danes in America.
had at this time associated themselves with Norwegian and
Swedish churches ; but though no statistics can be had on this
point, it is quite safe to say that not more than five per cent,
of the Danes in this country were in this way associated with
the Lutheran church.
The following table of percentages of the Norwegians and
Danes in America who belonged to the church of the mother
country, 1860-90, shows more clearly still the difference exist-
ing between them on this point:
Norwegians.
Danes.
1860
30.2
1870
34.1
. . .
1880
53.2
G.3
1890
58.9
10.1
In connection vvith this it must be borne in mind that there
have always been some Danes within the Norwegian church; but
if these should all return to the Danish church it would not de-
crease the Norwegian by more than two per cent., nor increase
the Danish by more than five per cent.
That the Danish church society should be small would naturally
be expected from the fact that the settlements were insignificant
and much scattered; but this certainly can not be assigned as
a reason for the indifference which the people actually within
the church have shown towards it and the institutions it has fos-
tered. On this point the difference between the Norwegians and
Danes is as striking as that shown by the percentages of settle-
ments and church members.
The Norwegian ministers, especially in the beginning, had al-
most autocratic control over their congregations ; while the Dan-
ish ministers, with very few exceptions, had to submit meekly to
whatever terms their congregations saw fit to impose upon them.
The only power they possessed was the power of advice, and
they had to use that with considerable discretion in order to keep
their positions.^
' But few of them have kept their positions for any length of time. The
majority do not average more than five years in a place, and they usually
leave because of some misunderstanding with their congregations.
CJiurches and Schools. 15
When the Norwegian ministers have gotten into a theological
dispute, of which they have had many, their parishioners have
invariably taken up the quarrel ; and that they were in earnest
about it is shown fi'om the fact that they were, as a rule, willing
to split up their congregations and go to the expense of building
a separate church and of employing a separate minister. But
among the Danes there is only one case on record of this kind,
and in that case one of the factions was under the leadership of
a Norwegian minister.^
The Norwegians have as a rule had more than twice as many
parochial school teachers as they have had ministers and in the \
majority of their congregations parochial school has been held \
during some part of the year. In this line the Danes have done
practically nothing.
But it is in the matter of contributions for educational pur-
poses that the difference between the Norwegians and Danes is
apparent. During the five years, 1860-65, the Norwegians \
contributed for the erection of the Decorah college as much 1
as three dollars per communicant. Several times since then they j
have equaled or exceeded this contribution ; and at present there
are in connection with the Norwegian church sixteen colleges
and academies, one of which, that at Decorah, Iowa, ranks with
any of the American colleges in the West for the thoroughness
of its course and the scholarship of its graduates. In 1892, these
schools were attended by 2,160 students, nearly all of Norwegian
parentage; and in all the schools great stress was laid on the
teaching of the English language and other English branches.
' This congregation is located in Montcalm county, Michigan. It might
be argued that the Danish congregations do not split up because they are
too small to maintain two separate churches. This is undoubtedly true in
Bome cases, but the Montcalm congregation separated during the '70's, when
it was no larger in its entirety than some of the factions created by
the split of 1893 between the Grundtvigians and Inner Mission people.
During the summer of 1894 while visiting the Danish settlements in Polk
county, Wisconsin, and Montcalm connty, Michigan, I took special pains to
find out the sentiment of the laymen on this quarrel, and the majority ex-
pressed themselves in favor of peace. In fact, none of them were clear as to
what the quarrel was about. Several times my inquiries were answered in
this manner: "We are ashamed of our ministers for quarreling, as they
ought to know better."
16 Bille—A History of the Danes in America.
During no consecutive five years up to 1894 had the Danes
succeeded in raising as much as fifty cents per communicant for
educational purposes ; and the educational results attained by
them are even more insignificant than the contributions.'
There can be no doubt that this lukewarmness among the
members of the Danish church in America is in a large measure
due to the factional quarrels in the church in Denmark. The
immigrants in this country who are of a religious turn of mind
still find it difficult to agree on any settled church policy, be-
cause they belong to different factions; and besides this, they have
all been thoroughly weaned from any reverence for pastoral
authority by the agitation carried on by the Grundtvigians and
Inner Mission people in Denmark. Each man considers himself
an authority on doctrine and church policy, and gives but little
heed to the opinions and wishes of the minister, unless these
coincide with his own. But in order to get a fair appreciation
of the causes and effects of this failure of the Danish church in
America it is necessary to give a somewhat detailed history of
this institution. Indeed, the history of the Danes in this country,
as a distinct nationality, is most intimately associated with the
history of the church; for, in spite of its weakness and its fail-
ure to gain the support of the Danes, its policy has had a very
decided influence on the social, religious, and educational con-
\ ditions of the Danish settlements.
THE DANISH CHURCH IN AMERICA.
The first step toward the formation of a Danish church in
America was taken by the organization of a society in Den-
mark, 1869, for the purpose of doing missionary work among
the Danes in America. This society was composed almost en-
tirely of Grundtvigians. Its work consisted mainly in select-
ing and training ministers for Danish congregations in America,
and in acting as an advisory council to such ministers and con-
gregations.
In October, 1872, three representatives of this society, A.
Dan, N. Thomsen, R. Andersen, together with several Danish
' This subject will be treated more in detail under the head of the educa-
tional efforts of the Danish church in America.
Organization of Churches. 17
laymen, met in Neenah, Wisconsin, and organized the Danish
Mission Society, the name of which was later changed to the
Danish Lutheran Church in America. This society adopted a
confession of faith of a decided Grundtvigian trend, but de-
clared its intention to work in the manner of the Inner Mission
society in Denmark, and to remain in close connection with the
mother church.
Arrangements were made for the publication of a paper,
Kirkelig Samler, " for Christian and popular education and
edification." Much stress was laid on the fact that the society
did not intend in any way to oppose other Lutheran church
organizations. In spite of this, trouble arose immediately be-
tween the Danish Mission society and the Norwegian church
societies previously established. The trouble was due mainly to
a competition between the two factions, for the Danish church
members. It was but natural that the Danish society should
desire to get all the Danes within its fold, and it was just as
natural that the Norwegians should be anxious to keep all the
members they already had. But the point at issue was the
Grundtvigian doctrine, which the Norwegian societies had pre-
viously declared rank heresy. The struggle was a long and bit-
ter one, with the usual and mutual accusations of heresy, lying
and treachery. The outcome of it all was that the Danes suc-
ceeded in getting the larger number of the Danish congregations
already established. But many of these had become much
divided in sentiment during the struggle, and there were but
few places where the Danish ministers received unqualified sup-
port. The Norwegian ministers had succeeded in arousing a sus-
picion among the Danish laity that the Grundtvigian doctrine
was unsound and dangerous, a suspicion which was one of the
causes that later brought about the split of the Danish church
into the two factions, the Grundtvigian and the Inner Mission.
In spite of this quarrel the Danish church seemed to prosper
in the beginning. Already in 1873 it counted 1,020 paying
members, 1,6 00 communicants and five ministers. In 1877 it
had 1,934 paying members, 3,533 communicants and 17 minis-
ters. But the situation was not as favorable as these figures
seem to indicate, for this rapid growth was largely due to the
2
18 Bille — A History of the Danes in America.
acquisition of congregations previously in charge of Norwegian
ministers. And in most congregations there was an active mi-
nority opposed to the new order of things; while even among
the ministers themselves considerable difference of opinion ex-
isted on the points of doctrine, and church policy. The Grundt-
vigians, however, were decidedly in the majority, and wholly
determined the church policy, which was directed chiefly towards
the maintenance of Danish language and sentiment, and the pecu-
liar religious ideas of Grundtvig. The first step in this direc-
tion was to make the church in America a part of the Banish
national church. At the annual church meeting of 1873 the fol-
lowing resolution was unanimously adopted: "We, the Danish
ministers and congregations, hereby declare ourselves to be a
branch of the Danish National Church, a missionary department
established by that church in America. " That this union was
also considered seriously in Denmark, is shown from the fact
that two graduates from the theological department of the Uni-
versity of Copenhagen, I. A. Heiberg and H. Rosenstand, on re-
ceiving calls from congregations in this country, were ordained
by one of the bishops of the Danish church, and appointed by
the king as regular ministers in that church.' There were, how-
ever, but few men qualified for holding the ministerial office in
the church in Denmark, who could be persuaded to go to Amer-
ica; the small salary, the uncertainty of tenure of office, and the
minister's lack of social prestige, all acted as checks in this
direction. In order to supply ministers for this new field, a de-
partment was established at the Askov High School, a school of
the Grundtvigian type, located in the south part of Jutland, for
the preparation of ministers to American congregations. It was
thought a great advantage to have the ministers trained in Den-
mark, as they would then be in the closest possible touch with
the mother church and all that was Danish, and thus be better
prepared to preach the doctrines of that church, and re-enforce
' This union was further recognized by the Danish government, by an
annual appropriation of $840, made for the first time in 1884, for the train-
ing of ministers for the American branch of the Danish church. This
money was at first expended in Denmark, but since 1887 it has been sent to
this country, and expended here in aid of poor theological students.
Organization of Churches.
19
the waning Danish spirit in America. Nearly all of these men
had the merest rudiments of an education when beginning their
work at Askov,mostof them being farmers, mechanics, and com-
mon laborers, of a pious bent of mind. The course usually ex-
tended over but two years, and was limited almost wholly to
theological studies. As might be expected, the men thus trained,
on arriving in America were almost wholly ignorant of the
language and conditions here, in fact, ignorant of nearly
everything excepting a few theological arguments and church
ceremonies. Even to-day not half a dozen of the sixty or more
ministers of this church can converse fluently in English, to say
nothing about preaching a sermon in that language. As a rule,
they know nothing and care nothing about the social and polit-
ical conditions' here. As far as matters of this world are con-
cerned, they are in truth blind leaders of the blind, or rather of
the half-seeing, for many of their parishioners are much better
posted on what goes on around them than are the ministers.
Their methods of carrying on the business of the church are proof
positive of their entire lack of all training and sense for practi-
cal affairs of life. They labored from 1878 till 1891, on a church
constitution, without producing anything but dissension among
themselves. In the matter of incorporation they succeeded no
better, for though they worked nearly fifteen years on this !
problem the society was never properly incorporated, and none j
of them seemed to know how to proceed in the matter, or why /
they failed. Yet they all seemed anxious to comply with the
law. Their parochial reports are very defective, and during
some years were entirely omitted. In these reports no atten-
tion is paid to the educational work, nor is any regular account
given of receipts and expenditures of money.' In annual meet-
ings they seldom had any order either in business or debate, n.
They would often discuss a subject for hours, and drop it with- i
out voting upon it. Four or five speakers might follow each
' No complete and comprehensive report of the receipts and expenditures
of the churches has ever been published. In this the Danish differ
greatly from the Norwegian churches, which, with exception of the Hau-
gians, have always published very elaborate statistics of all the activities
of the church each year.
V
20 Bille — A History of the Danes in America.
other, each one talking on a different subject, and paying no
attention to the remarks of the previous speaker. It was sel-
dom that any definite plan was adopted for doing the business
of the society, and when a plan or regulation was finally adopted
it was seldom followed out in action. There is even a case on
record where it was voted, seventeen to six, to discontinue a
certain discussion. The discussion was still carried on for an
hour or more, without any break other than was necessary to
take the vote to discontinue.' In spite of all this chaos a num-
ber of projects, besides the union with the mother church, have
been set on foot for carrying out the Grundtvigian pet idea of
creating a little Denmark in the United States. The most im-
portant of these are: (1) The establishment of Grundtvigian
high schools and parochial schools. (2) The planting of col-
onies. (3) The organization of a society for the maintenance of
Danish sentiment and language.
THE HIGH SCHOOL,
This subject comes to the front for the first time at the
annual meeting at Chicago, 1876. Though no definite action
was taken in the matter, the discussion brought out very de-
cided differences of opinion in regard to what ought to be done.
Both sides were agreed that something ought to be done by the
church to educate the young, and that the main object should
be to make good Lutherans; but the Grundtvigians maintained
that this could be done, as far as the Danes were concerned, only
through the Danish language and by appealing to the Danish
sentiment and memories, — while the opposition insisted that
the old ballads played no part in the scheme of salvation, and
that as a matter of fact the children born in this country had
no Danish memories and sentiments;- but this latter was the
opinion of only two men, N. Thomsen and Lilleso, and had at
the time no influence in deciding the course to be pursued.
After considerable more discussion and delay it was finally de-
cided, at the annual meeting of 1878, this time without opposi-
tion, to establish a Grundtvigian high school. It was supposed
'Kirkelig Samler, 1884, p. 497,
2/(Z., 1876, p. 296.
Danish High Schools, 21
that the necessary money could be raised by gifts, principally
from the Danes in America, and each minister present at the
meeting undertook the task of soliciting money from his congre-
gation for the purpose. The Danish settlement at Elk Horn,
Shelby county, Iowa, was chosen as the place of location ; and
Olav Kirkeberg, a Norwegian, but (me of the ministers of the
Danish church and a staunch Grundtvigian, undertook the task
of building and conducting the school. No better man could be
found for the purpose, for Kirkeberg had the courage of his con-
victions and unlimited faith in the success of his undertaking.
These, in fact, according to his own statements, were nearly the
only resources at his command when he began putting up the
building which he estimated would cost two thousand dollars.
On June 8, 1878, he wrote: "I have bought stones, for the
foundation of the school; that took all the cash I had. In a
couple of weeks the carpenters are coming; then I shall need
five hundred dollars for lumber, while I am not sure of more
than two hundred. Though the outlook is not very encouraging,
I feel hopeful in the matter; because I am convinced this work
will be a benefit to man and an honor to God, and therefoi'e it
must prosper. " ' Though continually embarrassed financially he
still had the building completed by November, 1878, the time
originally set for opening the school. The work as previously
announced consisted of studies in general history, with special
reference to the three Scandinavian countries; a review in
Scandinavian mythology; lectures on the most important epochs
in the history of the Christian church; history of literature,
with the readings from the works of the best Scandinavian
authors; studies in the mother tongue (Danish), including com-
position; English, including reading, practice in letter- writing,
and business forms; science, including physiology, physics, and
chemistry; geography; singing; and United States history. ^
All the instruction, excepting lectures on United States history
and geography and the study of the English language, was con-
ducted in Danish. The whole programme was to be carried
out in the course of five months, with students coming directly
'Kirkelig Samler, 1878, p. 237.
""Ibid., 1878, p. 320.
22 Bille — A History of the Danes in America.
from the farm and the workshop, having had little previous in-
tellectual training. This latter fact, however, would not neces-
sarily interfere much with the progress of the work, for most of
the instruction was given in the form of lectures, requiring but
little response or individual effort on the part of the student.
It was a sort of five months University Extension course minus,
the University professors.
The faculty consisted of three men, Olav Kirkeberg, Christian
Ostergaard, and Mr. Grouse. Kirkeberg and Ostergaard had
received the greater part of their education at Grundtvigian
schools in Denmark, the latter coming directly fi^om Denmark
to his work at Elk Horn. Mr. Grouse was an American with
some knowledge of law, and was engaged at a regular salary of
thirty-five dollars a month. His work consisted in lecturing on
•United States history and constitution, and giving instruction
in English composition, reading, and business forms.
That everything was done to foster the Danish ideas and
sentiments, and little attention was paid to the language and
history of this country, is plainly shown in Kirkeberg's report
of the first year's work. He says: " We found that some of
our students had come mainlj^^ for the purpose of acquiring a
knowledge of the English branches, but most of them failed to
get the full benefit of Mr. Grouse's instruction because of their
lack of knowledge of the English language. Besides, it was as
though the mother-tongue, and the subjects taught therein, won
the hearts more and more, and the preference which some at
first gave to the English branches gradually disappeared. That
young men can thus be touched by things considered most es-
sential by the high schools both in Denmark and Norway, indi-
cates that the cause for which we are working in this country
will prosper. " ' On this point, however, he was mistaken, for
his enthusiasm and that of his fellow Grundtvigians was not
shared by the rest of the Danes in America, and no effort on
their part could arouse such enthusiasm. Neither money nor
pupils were forthcoming for the support of the school. By Jan-
uary 1, 1879, only eleven hundred four dollars' had been col-
^Kirkelig Samler, 1879, p. 217.
^Ibid., 1879, p. 60.
Danish High Schools. 23
lected for the building and support of the high school. The
school was at that time under a debt of seven hundred fifty-
dollars, and had reached the limit of its credit, and was still
far from being well equipped. "When the school opened Novem-
ber 1, 1878, only nine of the sixteen students expected were on
hand, and the total attendance during the five months' course was
only nineteen. The money received in board and tuition, four-
teen dollars per month for each student, scarcely sufficed to pay-
running expenses, to say nothing about the salaries of Kirkeberg
and Ostergaard.
During the next year the contribution ceased altogether; the
debt increased to a thousand dollars; while there was no increase
in attendance. In 1880, Kirkeberg, after having expended a
good deal of money on the school, reached the limit of his credit
and that of the school, and was obliged to abandon the enterprise,
broken in health, but still hoping and praying for its success,
which he considered of the utmost importance to the welfare of
the Danes in this country. The school now became the sole
property of the Danish church society, and managed to struggle
on with several changes of administration and ownership, as a
Grundtvigian high school, till 1890. During all this time the
attendance had not averaged forty students a year. It had never
received any regular money support from the church, and on the
whole its existence had been a most precarious one. Strangely
enough, the failure of this school, situated as it is in the midst
of the largest Danish settlement in the United States, did not
deter the Grundtvigians from establishing similar schools in
places much less favorable. In the course of the next ten years
four more such schools were established, one in Ashland,
Michigan, 1883; one in Polk county, Wisconsin; one in Nysted,
Nebraska; and one in Lincoln county, Minnesota, 1888.
The school in Polk county failed immediately for lack of sup-
port; while the others have always been considerably embarrassed
financially, and the attendance at any one of them has not
averaged thirty pupils a year. The total contribution by Danish
laymen in America towards the building and maintenance of
these schools up to 1894, aside from actual tuition, paid during
the whole timxC does not amount to $10,000. Considering that
24 Bille — A History of the Danes in America.
at the time of the establishment of the Elk Horn high school
there were at least sixty thousand Danes in America, and that in
1890 there were a hundred thirty-two thousand, the support
which they have given the high schools is exceedingly small.
The influence which the high schools have exerted on the Danes in
America is still smaller. It is safe to say that not one of a
thousand of the persons in the United States of Danish parentage,
has attended one of these schools; and that the average time of
attendance has not been more than four months. This being the
case, the influence exerted by these schools on those who have at-
tended, as well as on those who have not attended, must be al-
most infinitesimal. Moreover, there is no prospect that this in-
fluence will increase in the future, because they are not the kind
of schools favored by the Danes here, and all the efforts of the
Grundtvigian ministers can not make them so. The case of the
Elk Horn school seems to prove this most conclusively. Since
1890, when it was reorganized so as to give prominence to the
English branches, the attendance has more than tripled. In
1893-9-1, it had an enrollment of one hundred seventy-eight,'
while all the other schools run on the Grundtvigian plan had no
increase whatever, their total enrollment for the year amount-
ing to only seventy-six; this, in spite of the fact that the
Grundtvigian ministers, who were still largely in the majority,
strongly opposed the Elk Horn school and favored the others.
THE PAROCHIAL SCHOOL.
To keep the children within the fold of the Danish Lutheran
Church was the desire common to all the Danish ministers. But
here, as in the case of the high schools, the Grundtvigian idea
that this could be done only by maintaining the Danish spirit,
language and tradition was still the dominant one. Indeed it
was commonly asserted by them that it was next to impossible for
a Dane to be a good Christian and renounce either his language
or his allegiance to his mother country. They found it difficult,
however, to convince their parishioners of the necessity and
utility of their scheme of education, which consisted in an attempt
to supplant the common school with a Danish parochial school,
' Catalogue of Elk Horn College for 1893-94.
Danish Parocliial Schools. 25
in which the Danish language, history and traditions should be
taught in connection with Lutheran doctrines, as interpreted
by Grundtvig, while the English branches were to be relegated
to the position of incidental studies. The common arguments
used in favor of this plan were, that since the public school did
not give religious instruction, it omitted one of the most essen-
tial objects of education; besides, in the public school most of
the teachers were either "infidels" or "sectarians" who were
prone to poison the children's mental food with doubts and
false doctrine. Furthermore, the discipline and the whole
moral atmosphere of the public school destroyed the innocence
and sweetness of childhood, and the reverence for parental au-
thority. Several plans for obtaining men and means for these
schools were brought forward. One of the earliest and most
feasible of all was to make the high school something of a
teachers' seminary, and then organize a society whose aim should
be to agitate the question among the people and raise the
necessary funds. This plan failed, partly because few students
stayed at the high school long enough to qualify themselves for
the work of teaching, but mostly because the people in general
refused to give it any substantial support. The society which
was to prepare the way lived only one year. 1879-80, having
accomplished nothing beyond the collecting of about one hundred
and fifty dollars. When disbanded, it was admitted by its
founders to be a failure. Another plan proposed was to get
control of the public school in districts where Danes were in the
majority, engage a Danish teacher qualified to teach both public
and parochial schools, and give him a good salary for teaching
the public school, so he could afford to teach the parochial school
at a small salary, during the vacation of the former, which was
to be as long as the law would allow. This plan, like the first
one, came to nothing. No Danes could be found qualified to do
the work required; and the high schools, which might have
done something along this line, neglected to adapt themselves
to the work. Besides this, there were but few districts in
which the Danes were in the majority, and in these districts
they were usually unable to agree on any scheme of education.
In fact, nothing whatever of a practical nature has been done
23 Bllle — A. History of the Danes in America.
along the line of parochial schools; and the results attained by
these schools are correspondingly insignificant. Though there
are no definite statistics on this point, it is safe to say that not
more than six parochial schools established by this church can
lay any claim to permanency, and that less than one thousand
Danish children in this country have attended these schools long
enough to become biased along the line of Grundtvigian thought.
This failure of the high schools and parochial schools is
probably in part due to a lack of system and of agreement
among the ministers; but its main cause is found in the almost
total indifference of the Danes, at large, toward these schools.
Had there been on an average three thousand Danes in hearty
sympathy with the cause, thej' would and could have given a
more substantial support both in money and men than has been
given. This indifference is not due to any lack of agitation on
the subject. The Grundtvigian ministers have had a fair oppor-
tunity to reach a large number of their countrymen. They
have been located for years in the most populous Danish
settlements; they have had the majority in every church con-
ference; and have held almost uninterrupted control of the
organ of the church, Kirkelig Samler^ besides receiving the
unqualified support of the Danish society for American mis-
sions and ol the secular Danish- American newspaper, Bannevirke.
There have never been lacking enthusiasts among them who
have used every means at their command to propagate their
particular views; while the opposition, within the church at
least, did not become active before 1887, and then only as a
small minority.
THE COLONIZATION SCHEME,
This scheme was adopted for the purpose of gathering the
Danes into a few large settlements, which was thought to be one
of the most effective means of strengthening the church and
maintaining the Danish language and sentiment. The first
settlement was established in Lincoln county, Minnesota. Here
the church secured an option on 35,000 acres of land from a
land comipany. The company agreed to sell this land to Danes
only during the first three years. The first year the land was
The Colonization Scheme. 27
to be sold at an average price of seven dollars per acre, and no
greater advance than fifty cents per. acre should be made during
each of the following years. Besides this the company promised
to donate 320 acres for the support of churches and high
schools when one hundred actual settlers had been secured.
For these privileges the church promised to use its influence in
securing settlers. This settlement, in spite of considerable
bickering and quarreling between the land agent, the church
and the settlers, was fairly successful. The one hundred settlers
were secured within a year, and at present the settlement con-
tains about a thousand Danes who are maintaining a high
school, a parochial school and a church. It is a settlement
apparently as Grundtvigian and Danish as any existing in the
United States. An attempt was made in 1888 to establish a
settlement in Logan county, in the extreme westei'n part of
Kansas. On the invitation of the Union Pacific Railroad
company the land committee of the church went out and in-
spected the land during the month of May. They were com-
pletely captivated with the fertility of the soil and the salubrity
of the climate. They secured an option on four townships of
land, to be sold to Danes at from four to six dollars an acre.
They then proceeded to extol the advantages of the place, lay-
ing special stress on the fiction that the rainfall, which at
present was quite sufficient, would still farther increase as the
land was brought under cultivation. This, however, proved a
mistaken theory, and the colony dried up in its infancy, while
the reputation of the ministers as practical farmers and coloniz-
ers was badly damaged. This was the last attempt on the part of
the church as an organization to form settlements. The idea
however has not been abandoned, but has been taken up by the
Dansk Folkesamfund (the society of the Danish people). This
society has located two more settlements, one in Clark county,
Wisconsin, and another in Wharton county, Texas. As yet these
settlements are both in their infancy; like the settlement in
Kansas, they are the cause of much newspaper correspondence of
a decidedly unfriendly character, in which disappointed land
agents are taking a prominent part, making it appear that the
land selected is worthless and that the land committee was
28 Bille — A. History of the Danes in America.
very incompetent if not positively dishonest; and these opinions
are being duly noticed and emphasized by opponents of the
Dansk Folkesamfund. It is doubtful indeed if these attempts at
settlement have done as much to unite the Danes as the ill
feeling created thereby has done to separate them.
THE DANSK FOLKESAMFUND.
This society was established in 1887, under the auspices of a
number of ministers and laymen of Grundtvigian tendencies.
The aim of this society is set forth in its constitution in the
following language: "We establish this society in the belief
that there is a need for an organization which will unite all the
Danes in America who desire to maintain the Danish character
and wish to aid in the labor of increasing our spiritual inher-
itance and making it fruitful, not alone for our own benefit or for
that of our fatherland, but also for the benefit of the land to
which we are now united by the strongest of ties
When we Danes in America wish to perpetuate in America what
is Danish, it is partly because of the inborn love we have for
all the things that belong to our fatherland; but it is also because
we are convinced that by so doing we are advancing the best
interest of the land to which we now belong. When it is ad-
mitted that the meeting of people from all nations, on American
soil, there to communicate with one another in the English
language, is an historic event of first importance, it is mainly
because the various nationalities thereby secure an opportunity
to communicate to one another the results of their best thoughts
and labors. In oi'der that such an interchange may take place
it is necessary that each nationality maintain its own language
and remain in intimate association with the mother country,
for only in this way is it capable of ti-ansmitting its posses-
sions to others. We believe the Danish nation has a spiritual
inheritance not wholly without value to humanity in general,
and we wish to contribute our share toward human advance-
ment. "
To advance the interests of humanity in general, then, is the
chief end of this society, and to keep in touch with the language and
life of Denmark the chief condition necessary for reaching this aim.
The Dansk Folkesamfund. 29
But in trying to fulfill the condition the aim seems to be lost
sight of ; nothing whatever is done to master the English language
or become acquainted with American institutions, while every
effort is made to maintain all that is Danish and foster exclu-
sion from life in this country. ' Two branches of this society
have been established, one in this country and one in Denmark.
The conditions for membership are that a person should be of
Danish parentage and not opposed to tha Lutheran church. The
work of the society so far has consisted (1) in establishing local
societies, the members of which hold regular meetings for the
discussion of subjects relating to Denmark and whatever is
Danish; (2) in founding a library of Danish books to be loaned
on the payment of a small fee to any one capable of reading the
Danish language; (3) in publishing a paper, Kors og Stjoerne
(Cross and Stars), devoted to an interchange of thought between
the members in Denmark and America; (4) in establishing set-
tlements for Danes in America; (5) in directing Danish immi-
grants to these or other Danish settlements ; (6) in sending
Danish lecturers of some prominence to Danish settlements; (7)
in organizing excursions to Denmark of Danes in this country,
especially of American birth, for the purpose of initiating them
in the life_there and strengthening their love for whatever is
Danish. | There has also been a general attempt on the part of this
society to support the high schools, parochial schools and
churches; but the efforts along these lines have not produced
any noticeable results, except in the case of the churches; and
here it was far from accomplishing what was intended, for this
society and its methods of working immediately aroused a storm
of opposition from the ministers of Inner Mission proclivities.
They claimed it was merely a scheme on the part of the Grundt-
vigians to create a party in every congregation in favor of their
ideas, and thus to drive out all the ministers who did not agree
with theriTTI yit was almost the only subject discussed at the an-
nual meeting of 1887, and the discussion was so bitter that the
ministers themselves seem to have been ashamed of it; for in-
stead of having the proceedings published in Kirkelig Sarnler^
a special pamphlet was issued for the purpose, something which
has not been done before or since. No conclusion in the matter
30 Bille — A History of the Danes in America.
was reached, however, in this meeting, and the only result of
all the discussion was to strengthen the suspicion and ill-feeling
already existing; and from that time on there was not a
semblance of harmony in the Danish church in America.
The members of the Inner Mission society now began an ac-
tive crusade against all the plans of the Grundtvigians. Doc-
trinal differences were emphasized more and more, and the
general indifference to the Grundtvigian scheme of education
was changed to active opposition.
Rev. P. Vig is the principal exponent of the policy of the
Inner Mission faction, while Rev. F. L. Grundtvig,' son of the
great Danish reformer, is the exponent and leader of the Grundt-
vigians. The controversy was opened by P. Vig in an article
written by him for Kirkelig Samler of June 17, 1888, in which
he sets forth his ideas on the subject of education as follows:
"There are many whose greatest desire it is that the language
which is their mother-tongue shall also be the mother-tongue of
their children, but feel, nevertheless, compelled to admit that
this desire cannot be realized. And we should indeed serve
ourselves and our children poorly by doing all in our power to
'F. L. Grundtvig, the acknowledged leader of the Grundtvigians in
America, is the youngest son of the great Danish reformer, N. F. S.
Grundtvig. He came to America in 1881, after having taken his degree at
the University of Copenhagen. In 1883 he accepted the pastorate of a
small Danish congregation in Clinton, Iowa, which position he has held
ever since. He first made himself prominent by a violent attack on secret
societies in general and on Dansk Brodersamfund in particular; this was
a secret society of the most innocent kind, established for social purposes
and mutual aid, and without any political or religious aims whatever. The
attack was based wholly on the fact that it was a secret society, and that
in its ritual the name of God was used and prayers were offered in a man-
ner which Grundtvig considered blasphemous. The outcome of this at-
tack was a quarrel between the church and Brodersamfundet (the Brother-
hood), in which as usual the church was the loser. From the beginning
of his ministerial career Grundtvig has been an ardent supporter of the
high schools and of all means for maintaining what was Danish. He was
a prominent member of the first land committee, and one of the leaders in
the organization of Dansk Folkesamfund, and soon became its actual leader
and mouthpiece. He is a voluminous writer of both poetry and prose,
but as yet he has produced nothing of any special merit. Most of his
The Dansk Folkesamfund. 81
prevent them from becoming Americanized; for the maintaining
of the Danish tongue is as far from being the greatest blessing
as the getting of the English is the greatest curse. ./Even if the
Danish language is lost to our posterity, they might still retain
all that is good and true in the Danish character; for just as a
man can take his material inheritance into a foreign country, so
he can take his spiritual inheritance into a foreign tongue.
We older people must remember that we can hardly imagine
oui'selves in our children's places. They have a fatherland
which is not ours. In a measure it is impossible for them to be
Danes ; for they lack the Danish environments, and in a measure
the Danish tongue must always be a foreign tongue to them.
To keep the children born in this country from coming in con-
tact with its language and life is a violation of nature which
will at last revenge itself. " / ;
This sentiment was promptly attacked by F. L. Grundtvig
and other Grundtvigians. They did not, however, stop at this,
but made the subject a personal one, thereby arousing a personal
animosity which did much to intensify the subsequent quarrel.
The Grundtvigians continued to push their high schools,
poems are decidedly prosy, a large share of them being argumentative,
written to prove his own theories, or to disprove those of his opponent.
He is very prone to the use of sarcasm and bitter personal attacks; though
he sometimes apologizes for his harsh expressions, he usually repeats the
offense when the next opportunity offers itself, and through this unfor-
tunate trait of character he has made more enemies than through the ad-
vocacy of his peculiar religious and social theories.
But whatever may be the faults of his character and theories, it can-
not be denied that he is honest, fearless, and unselfish in his labors for the
cause he considers right. He has never in all his labors in this country
copsidered his own advantage in the matter of money or position . He
might have stayed in Denmark and been sure of an easy, paying position;
and he might have gone back in 1894, as pastor of the Marble Church in
Copenhagen, one of the most ^honorable clerical positions in Denmark, and
one in which he could have been at perfect liberty to preach just what he
believed. But he has chosen to stay with his American congregation on a
salary scarcely sufficient to support him, with a record of defeat behind
him and almost certain failure before him; and that, too, though he con-
siders himself as an exile here, and feels at home nowhere but in Den-
mark.
32 Bille — A History of the Banes in America.
while in 1890 the Inner Mission Society found an expression of
their ideas in the reorganization of the Elk Horn high school
on the American plan; and that this change was approved by
the laity is seen from the substantial increase in the attend-
ance at this school already referred to.' This did not tend to
allay the ill feeling already existing. The Grundtvigians con-
sidered the change at Elk Horn as an act of treachery, for now
the school for which they had worked so hard and from which
they had hoped so much had been taken out of their hands and
made a fortress of the enemy, and that too by a man whom they
at one time had counted as one of their own. Meanwhile an-
other cause of dissension had arisen. The instructors of the
theological school in Polk county, "Wisconsin, Th. Helvig and
P. Vig, had become entangled in a violent doctrinal quarrel
which spread to the rest of the ministers, and it seemed as
though the society was hopelessly divided ; but at an extra meet-
ing held at Waupaca, Wisconsin, 1891, a truce was patched up.
It was agreed that Grundtvig should use his influence in dis-
banding Dansk Folkesamfund, that the Elk Horn school should
be used as a theological seminary, and that Vig and Helvig
should return to their posts as theological instructors. But
Dansk Folkesamfund refused to disband ; the people at Elk Horn
did not wish to see their school changed; and Vig resigned his
position on the plea that he could not conscientiously work to-
gether with Helvig, and again the quarrel was on, more bitter
than ever. Finally in 1893 the Inner Mission ministers seceded
and formed a separate society. But this separation was one of
ministers mostly; the congregations are as yet woefully mixed,
and there seems but little hope of getting them divided on a
basis of Grundtvigians and Inner Mission, for though there are
enough of each faction in every congregation to make it uncom-
fortable for the other, there are not enough or they are not suf-
ficiently enthusiastic to form separate congregations with
permanent ministers and churches, at least no such congrega-
tions have yet been found.
One of the immediate effects of this controversy has been to
stimulate somewhat the languid interest of the laymen in church
^Ante, p. 24.
The DansJc Folkesamfund. 33
affairs; but in the main it is a ministers' quarrel and the con-
servative common-sense members of their congregations look upon
it with decided disapproval, while the large majority are not in-
terested enough to find out what the quarrel is about or to
range themselves on either side. There is a possibility that the
split will in the end make the Danish church somewhat more
efficient than it has been so far; for hereafter the Inner Mission
faction will have an opportunity to pursue its somewhat aggres-
sive systematic policy without interference by the Grundtvig-
ians, which will be a great advantage in carrying out its plans.
Besides, this faction will undoubtedly in the coui'se of a few
years have formed a firm alliance with the Danish Church Asso-
ciation, a society organized in 1884 by six Danish ministers
and their congregations, which up to that time had belonged to
the Norwegian-Danish Conference. In 1890 this society had a
membership of 3,493, and church property amounting to $44,775.
They have established a school at Blair, Nebraska, and this as
well as all the church work of the association is conducted on
the same plan and in the same spirit that prevail in the Norwe-
gian church societies. But the fact that only 3,493 out of the
132,543 Danes in America in 1890 belonged to this society,
shows that it cannot be very popular with the majority. The
two societies when united will not at the utmost contain more
than 10,000 members. These, however, will be likely to work
together more harmoniously and more earnestly than the
Grundtvigians and Inner Mission people, and may succeed in
maintaining some quite efficient schools and a few united con-
gregations.
As far as the Grundtvigians are concerned, their past seems
to prove conclusively that there is no future for them in this
country. They will get but little support from the old settle-
ments ; they are unable to establish new ones from the Danes
already in this country. Neither can they hope much from an
immigration from Denmark, for in the first place such an im-
migration is not liable to be very extensive in the near future,
because the social and economic conditions in Denmark are and
promise to be fairly good; besides this, the Grundtvigians will
be, as they have been, the last ones to emigrate, for they are
34 Bille — A History of the Danes in America.
more attached to their native land than are their opponents. It is
this very fact which accounts largely for the striking indiffer-
ence with which Grundtvigianism is regarded by the Danes in
America, while in Denmark it receives their strongest support.
Yet in spite of the present weakness and past failures of the
Grundtvigians in this country, they have, nevertheless, exerted
a decided influence on the Danes here, especially on those who
have congregated in settlements. But this influence has been
mostly of a negative character. For, though they could not be
persuaded to support the Grundtvigian schools, they were quite
easily persuaded from making any special effort to get an Eng.
lish education. The fact that the minister was suspicious of
the common school was quite a strong argument in the eye of
the thrifty parent for keeping his boy at home to help on the
farm instead of sending him to school, and on the whole from
taking any special interest in the public school beyond that of
keeping the expense of its maintenance as low as possible.
The result to-day of this policy shows itself in a condition
bordering very closely on illiteracy among a great number of
young people who have grown up in the Danish settlements.
They have failed to get a fair command of either the Danish or
English language, because, as a rule, there was no parochial
school to give the necessary instruction in Danish, and they did
not avail themselves sufficiently of the advantages offered by the
American schools to gain a mastery of the English. But the
policy of slighting the English branches in the Grundtvigian
high schools has had a more tangible, and if possible, a more
detrimental influence on the life of the Danes in America. It
has alienated the young Danish immigrants from the church
and left them to shift for themselves in the acquiring of an
English education, which usually meant a failure on their part
to get such an education. They did not care and could not be
made to care for the education offered them by the Grundtvig-
ian high schools. Thus they were left out of touch with the
church along a line on which it had the greatest opportunity
for helping them and extending its influence over them. They
could find no American school adapted to their needs, and though
most of them were ambitious to master the English language
Tlie Dansk Folkesamfund. 35
they were usually discouraged in their first attempts and gave
it up altogether. It is a rare thing to find in a Danish settle-
ment a man who can carry on the ordinary business transactions
in the English language. In fact such a man is sometimes king
among his countrymen. They are absolutely dependent upon
him in their intercourse with the world where the reading and
writing of the English language is required. He may run their
political caucuses, their township and school affairs to suit him.
self, and this in spite of the fact that he is not acceptable to a
majority of the voters, for they have no other choice. If it is
a rare thing to find a man in a Danish settlement who can do
business in the English language, it is a still rarer thing to find
one qualified to teach a district school. Even in districts ex-
clusively Danish, a Dane is seldom employed as teacher.' A
superstition exists in some settlements that a Dane is incap-
able of acquiring the accomplishments necessary to teach a
country school; and that, if through unusual mental endowment
and industry any one should actually succeed in this, then the
" Yankee county superintendent" would nevertheless deny him
a certificate on account of his nationality.
It is, however, not fair to lay the whole blame for this state of
things on the Grundtvigian ministers; because there exists among
the Danes, especially in this country, a very marked tendency
to self-depreciation, a lack of confidence in themselves individu-
ally and in their countrymen generally, for which the Grundtvig-
ian ministers are not responsible. But these ministers were
the natural leaders of their people, the only ones who had an op-
portunity. There was need of such leadership, too, for the great
mass of Danes who have emigrated belong to the laboring classes,
who have had little or no training in the management of educa-
tional affairs. They could not, though they had a fair idea of
what they wanted, take the initiative in the matter themselves.
And if the Grundtvigian ministers, instead of trying to force their
own ideas through, had met the desire of their people for an Eng-
lish education, they could have built up a system of schools which
would have given them a hold on the most enterprising and
' Since the Elk Horn school began to prepare its students for the work
of teaching, this state of affairs is somewhat modified .
36 Bille — A History of the Danes in America.
ambitious young Danes, thus securing them as a support for
their church, at the same time giving them a training which
would have made them more useful to themselves and the society
in which they have chosen to live. While the net result of
the educational efforts of the Grundtvigians so far consists in
the securing of a few enthusiasts and sentimentalists who by
their very system of education have been unfitted for taking any
active part in affairs in this country, for they have taken a nar-
row, one-sided view of Grundtvig's teaching, accepting the emo-
tional side and completely rejecting the practical. Yet, in jus-
tice to them, it must be admitted that their main fault consists
in adopting a mistaken ideal and espousing a hopeless cause.
Their intentions were of a wholly philanthropic and disinterested
nature. Many of them have made great sacrifices both in money
and social position in order to carry out their ideas; and it is
after all to be regretted that they did not adopt some more prac-
tical means for carrying out their ideas among the American
people at large, for they are full of a spirit none too common
among us here. They could have done a great work, if, together
with some good practical English instruction, they could have
transmitted to the Danes, at large, in this country, a touch of
their own idealism. There is need of something to tone down
the all-absorbing materialism to which the immigrant is by na-
ture predisposed, and which is so strongly re-enforced by the en-
vironment in this country. Though the Grundtvigians are in a
measure to blame for the social and religious failures of the
Danes in this country, they are not the sole nor the main cause
of this failure, — no matter what church or educational policy
had been pursued, it would not have had the power to make even
a fairly united nationality of the Danes. They have shown conclu-
sively that they have had but little desire to establish any so-
ciety or church modeled on the society and church existing in
Denmark. Their object in coming to this country was to better
their material condition. They left Denmark at a time when the
spirit of national pride was at a low ebb, when all the political
hopes and aspirations of the nation had been disappointed, and
when the chui'ch was hopelessly divided against itself. There
was nothing in their native land they could look to with special
The Dansk Folkesamfund. 37
pride, no one thing on which they could unite as a basis of their
common nationality. The question naturally arises, would it
have been better for the Danes individually if like the Norwe-
gians they had formed compact settlements and a strong church;
would such a condition have been more favorable for the de-
velopment of good men and good citizens than the present scat-
tered and disorganized condition?
It is frequently alleged that settlements, churches and
parochial schools, as established by the foreigners in this coun-
try, form the chief evils of immigration, by perpetuating con-
ditions which produce, a heterogeneous population with aims
and interests antagonistic to republican institutions and a
stable state of society. This belief, however, is undoubtedly an
erroneous one, arising out of a misconception of the real needs of
our foreign population. These settlements, churches and schools,
instead of being a menace to our state, form one of the main
safeguards of this country against the dangers accompanying
the large influx of people of various nationalities. A large
number of the immigrants are young people, and, as far as
character is concerned, are still in the formative stage. Nearly all
of them come from quiet, staid communities where they have a
recognized standing and the pleasure of social intercourse with
their equals, and where they are now and then touched by the
elevating influences exercised by the church, the school or some
other social institution whose work and sentiment they can
understand and appreciate. Their social circle holds them re-
sponsible for their conduct, stimulating their desire for respect-
ability, thus constituting one of the most potent checks to
the vicious impulses that at times are liable to dominate the
conduct of people left entirely to themselves. It is this func-
tion of stimulating the good and checking the evil, so necessary
for the development and maintenance of decent character and
good citizenship, which the settlement and church of the for-
eigner performs, a function which no other institution in this
country could perform, yet one of invaluable service to the
country as well as to the immigrant. There is no situation
much more hopeless and demoralizing than that of the ordinary
immigrant, unacquainted with the English language and totally
38 Bille — A History of the Danes in America.
isolated from some staid, sober societj'- of his countrymen, in
which the conditions of his native land are in a measure main-
tained, and where his social standing is dependent on good
conduct. In the first place, if he is isolated from such a
community he is obliged to play the part of a mute for almost
a year after his arrival, save only for such conversation as he
can carry on in his native language with the horses and cows
about him, and except for such oaths and other strong expres-
sions in the English language as readily fix themselves in the
memory of the foreigner, and for the repetition of which there
seem to be so many urgent occasions for both native and
foreigner. Then again, there is the depressing effect of his
social position among the natives. He is made to feel most
keenly that he is a being of a lower order, a sort of beast of
burden, tolerated only on account of his burden-bearing capaci-
ties. He is excluded from all social gatherings of a respectable
character, either on account of language or nationality. He is
sometimes made the object of pit}^ but more often of ridicule.
As a rule there is only one place, the saloon, where he is re-
ceived on terms of social equality, and where something is done
to make him feel at home and at his ease. It is a rare thing
indeed that the young foreigner who cuts loose fi'om the settle-
ment and church of his countrymen, comes under the better in-
fluences of American society. He is more often affected by the
influences already mentioned plus that exercised by anuinber of
boon companions, who like himself are isolated from all that is
elevating, either foreign or American. The character of citizen
formed under such conditions is without question far more
dangerous to this country than that evolved in the most isolated
"priest-ridden" foreign settlement, where at least the sentiment
"I am my brother's keeper" is still alive and active. In fact,
it is from contemplating the effect of the process of American-
ization described above that the foreign clergyman finds one of
his chief reasons for excluding his flock from American influ-
ence. Being unacquainted with Americaii conditions and out of
sympathy with them, to begin with, and both from preference
and education of an uninvestigative turn of mind, he reasons
from the facts immediately about him; and, seeing only the evil
Bibliography. 39
effects of American influence, he fails to realize the fact that it
might be used for good. That the minister might advance the
cause of his church, and increase the happiness and usefulness
of his countrymen, by helping them to choose the good and
avoid the evil in American society, is very far from being com-
prehended by those who dominate the policy of the church. The
average clergyman is, however, no more " ignorant and bigoted"
in his views than the man who fails to see any good in the
efforts of the foreigners to maintain the language, manners and
customs of their native land; for such critic does not realize
that the tenacious clinging of the foreigners to things which
in their childhood they were taught to hold sacred reveals a
most valuable characteristic, that it shows a stability of char-
acter in the foreigners which makes them much more desirable
citizens than they would be if they could throw off all love for
and allegiance to their native land and language as easily and
with as little regret as they would discard a worn-out coat.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Anklager mod HOjskolerne, M. Stenstrup. (A statement and a
refutation of the charges made against the high schools. )
Beck, Vilhelm. — Fra Livets Kilde. (A collection of sermons.)
Boyesen, H. H. — Story of Norway.
Braun, Chr. — Strideu i Folkehojskolesagen.
Brun, H.— Biskop N. F. S. Grundtvigs Levnetslob fra 1839.
Catalogues or courses of study for the following schools (1893-4.)
1. Norwegian Synod.
Luther College, Decorah, Iowa.
Lutheran Normal School, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
2. United Norwegian Church.
Augsburg Seminary, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Augustana College, Canton, South Dakota.
Grand Forks Academy, Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Normal School, Madison, Minnesota.
St. Olaf's College, Northfield, Minnesota.
40 Bille — A History of the Danes in America.
Circular and Map of Danish Colony, El Campo, Texas.
Circular of Danish Colony, Withee, Wisconsin.
Constitution and By-laws of the Dansk Brodersamfund.
Constitution and By-laws of the Foreningen Dania.
Danuevirke, 1888-94. (Weekly Danish paper of Grundtvigian
tendencies; editor, M. Hoist, Cedar Falls, Iowa.)
Danskeren, 1892-94. (Weekly Danish paper of anti-Grundt-
vigian tendencies; editor, N. I. Jersild, Neenah, Wis.)
Denmark; Its History and Topography, Language, Literature,
Fine Arts, Social Life and Finance. Editor, H. Weitemeyer.
Grundtvig, N. F. S.
Kirke Spejl.
Kirkens Gjenmaele (The Reply of the Church — a contro-
versial essay attacking the rationalistic doctrines of
Prof. Clausen of the University of Copenhagen).
Paaske Lilien (The Easter Lily — a religious poem).
Troste-Brev til Danmark. (Letter of Consolation to Denmark
— a poem, written at the close of the war of 1864, in
which the Germans are very bitterly attacked and the
Danish nation made an object of veneration.)
Kirkelig Maanedstidende, 1857-65. (Official organ of the Nor-
wegian Synod.)
Kirkelig Samler, 1872-95. (Official organ of the Danish
Lutheran Church in America.)
Kirkelig Statistik. — H. Westergaard.
Kirkeligt Vennemode i Kjobenhavn, 1865, Koster and Lind-
berg, editors. (Church Conference of Friends at Copen-
hagen — a report of a meeting held by the friends and
sympathizers of N. F. S. Grundtvig.)
Kors og Stjaerne, 1888-95. (Official oi'gan of Dansk Folke-
samfund; editor, Jacob A. Askov, Denmark.)
Nelson, O. M. — History of the Scandinavians in the United States.
Pontopidan, H. — Muld (A realistic novel dealing with the life
of the common people and especially with the influence of
the High School, and the Inner Mission and Grundt-
vigian movements. The author is acknowledged to be
one of the best of this class of writers in Denmark).
Bibliography. 41
Eegler for Dansk Folkesamfund ; Amerika (Rules for the Danish
People's Society in America).
Reports of the Annual Convention of the Swedish Augustana
Synod, 1860-86 and 1893-94.
Reports of the Annual Meetings of the Norwegian Synod,
1857-94.
Reports of the Annual Meetings of the United Norwegian
Church, 1890-95.
Sidgwick. — Story of Denmark.
Stonbaek, K. B. — K. M. Kold (A biographical sketch of one of
the pioneers in the High School movement in Den-
mark).
Stenstrup, M. — Anklager mod Hojskolerne.
Thomas. — Sweden and the Swedes.
United States Census Population 1850-90.
42
Bille — A History of the Danes in America.
APPENDIX.
(The following statistics were obtained from the U. S. census of 1890.)
I.
Contiguous counties in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and the
two Dakotas east of the Dakota river, each county having a pop-
ulation of more than 500 Norwegians.
WISCONSIN
Ashland 947
Bayfield 1,085
Douglas 1, 058
Chippewa 1, 379
Burnett 497
Polk 1,311
Barron 2, 373
St. Croix 2,638
Dunn 3,167
Eau Claire 3, 897
Clark 605
Pierce 1, 835
Pepin and Buffalo 1, 232
Trempealeau 4, 118
Jackson 2, 507
Monroe 837
La Crosse 4, 371
Juneau 518
Vernon 3, 387
Crawford 801
Grant 4OO
Iowa 904
LaFayette 927
Green 623
Dane 6,728
Rock 1,632
Walworth 515
Racine 949
MINNESOTA.
Duluth (city) 2,389
Washington 591
Anoka 1,527
Ramsey 3,636
Hennepin 13, 014
Rice 1,288
Goodhue 3,485
Olmsted 820
Dodge 1,044
Waseca 646
Steele 527
Houston 1,934
Redwood ^?^
Brown 875
Yellow Medicine 2, 384
Renville 1,980
Lac-qui-parle 2, 641
Chippewa 1, 995
Kandiyohi 2,562
Meeker 671
Big Stone 466
Swift 1,822
Stevens 692
Pope 2,623
statistics.
43
MINNESOTA — continued.
Fillmore 4,171
Freeborn 2,600
Mower 1, 787
Faribault 1,264
Blue Earth 998
Jackson 1, 232
Eock 1,049
Watonwan 1,042
Cottonwood 785
Murray 676
Pipestone 253
Lincoln 558
Lyon 988
Stearns 831
Grant 1,770
Douglas 1, 569
Todd 774
Wilkin 641
Otter Tail 5, 955
Clay 2,700
Becker 1, 527
Norman 3, 821
Polk 6,861
Marshall 1,717
Kittson 672
IOWA.
Clayton 633
Allamakee 1,283
Winneshiek 3,347
Mitchell 548
Worth 1,910
Winnebago 1, 871
Sioux City 1,758
SOUTH DAKOTA.
Union 612
Clay 572
Yankton 1,054
Lincoln 1,324
Minnehaha 2, 953
Moody 588
Brookings 1, 546
NORTH DAKOTA.
Sargent 732
Richland 1, 837
Ransom 947
Cass 2, 428
Barnes 1, 150
Traill 3,572
Steele 1,118
Griggs 822
Grand Forks 3,518
Nelson 1,098
Ramsey 676
Walsh 2,523
44
Bille — A History of the Danes in America.
II.
Isolated counties in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa,
each having a population of more than 500 Norwegians.
ILLINOIS.
Cook 22,365
DeKalb 580
Kendall 1,099
Grundy 880
La Salle 1,718
WISCONSIN.
Columbia . ,
Door
Manitowoc.
Marinette. .
862
962
900
867
Milwaukee 1, 904
Portage 1,048
Shawano 709
Waupaca 1, 270
Winnebago 562
IOWA.
Buena Vista 580
Emmet 5a3
Hamilton 1,613
Webster 894
Wright 529
Humboldt 1,031
Monona 548
Woodbury 1, 947
Polk 522
Story 1,824
Marshall 572
MINNESOTA — None.
statistics.
45
III.
Contiguous counties in Northern Peninsula of Michigan,
Wisconsin, and Minnesota, having a Swedish population of more
than 500:
MICHIGAN — NORTHERN PENINSULA.
Delta 1,475
Marquette 4,303
Schoolcraft 559
Menominee 4, 021
Iron 719
Gogebic 1, 769
WISCONSIN.
Florence 500
Marinette 1, 407
Ashland 1, 357
Price 982
Bayfield 774
Douglas 1, 572
Burnett 1,541
Polk 1,600
Barron 566
St. Croix 694
Pierce 1,281
Pepin 739
MINNESOTA,
Duluth (city) 4, 102
Carlton 901
Aitkin 407
Crow Wing 570
Morrison 623
Benton SOO
Pine 966
Kanabec 827
Isanti 2, 758
Chisago 3, 955
Anoka 1,032
Washington 3, 399
Ramsey 12, 212
Hennepin 20, 167
Wright 2,550
Meeker 3, 249
Carver 1,236
Dakota 799
Goodhue 3, 695
Sibley 1,134
Blue Earth 822
Nicollet 1, 619
Renville 968
McLeod 160
Kandiyohi 2, 752
Chippewa 523
Swift 784
Sherburne 512
Stearns 511
Pope 677
Grant 878
Douglas 2,521
Otter Tail 2, 470
Becker 731
Clay 1,050
Norman 24S
Polk 2,241
Marshall 2, 025
Kittson 1,668
46
Bille — A History of the Danes in America.
IV.
Isolated counties in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa
having a Swedish population of more than 500 :
ILLINOIS,
Cook 45,607
Winnebago 6,204
DeKalb 1,695
Kane 3,252
Will 2,U0
Ford 1,189
Bureau 1,807
La Salle 758
Henry 4,324
Knox 4,697
Peoria 623
Warren 832
Mercer 1, 322
Rock Island (city) 4, 661
McLean 624
Door.
WISCONSIN.
589 1 Eau Claire
546
IOWA.
Des Moines 1,973
Webster 2,014
Boone 2,385
Hamilton
Polk
Sac
Buena Vista.
Pocahontas . .
549
2,107
625
899
524
Cherokee 529
Woodbury 2, 402
Crawford 517
Montgomery 1, 468
Page 1,220
Pottawattomie 561
Wapello 961
MINNESOTA.
Martin ,
587
statistics. 47
V.
Contiguous counties in Iowa and Nebraska, having a Danish
population of more than 500:
IOWA.
Audubon 1» 067
Pottawattomie 1,922
Shelby 1,347
NEBRASKA.
Washington 724 I Douglas 4, 714
Dodge 623 I
VI.
Isolated counties in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and
Nebraska having a Danish population of more than 500:
ILLINOIS.
Oook 7, 488
WISCONSIN.
Brown 819
Winnebago 1, 210
Waupaca 962
Polk 844
Racine 2, 893
Kenosha 554
IOWA.
Black Hawk 645 I Clinton 951
Buena Vista 512 I Woodbury 711
NEBRASKA.
Howard 1, 153
Kearney 941
Lancaster 505
MINNESOTA.
Freeborn 1, 633
Hennepin 1, 731
Ramsey 1,482
Lincoln 613
McLeod 546
Steele 588
48 Bille — A^History of the Danes in America
EXPLANATION OF PLATE I.
Map showing the distribution of the Scandinavian population
in contiguous areas of Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois,
Iowa, Nebraska, and the two Dakotas east of the Dakota river.
A^, Norwegians; S, Swedes; I), Danes. The figures follow-
ing indicate the population of each nationality.
Trans. Wis Acad , Vol. X
1 r \si>oi
1 \SI57l- \Sr/-t ,A/94/
__ I ^S'iS7
Plate I.
: 3 IN America.
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