The sloop Restauration
In the summer of 1825, the sloop Restauration departed from Stavanger, Norway. Aboard were seven crew members and forty-five passengers. This voyage is considered the beginning of organized Norwegian emigration to to the United States. After fourteen weeks at sea, they arrived in New York City – their destination – with forty-six passengers. What kinds of historical sources can help us uncover the circumstances surrounding their departure, the long Atlantic crossing, and their arrival in the bustling city?
In the summer of 1825, the sloop Restauration departed from Stavanger, Norway. Aboard were seven crew members and forty-five passengers. This voyage is considered the beginning of organized Norwegian emigration to to the United States. After fourteen weeks at sea, they arrived in New York City – their destination – with forty-six passengers. What kinds of historical sources can help us uncover the circumstances surrounding their departure, the long Atlantic crossing, and their arrival in the bustling city?
From a Norwegian Reformatory School to the Editor’s Desk in New York
At the age of fourteen, Karsten Rødder was formally discharged from the state-run reformatory school where he had lived during two separate periods. Shortly afterward, he joined a ship’s crew and left both his family and his hometown of Stavanger behind. When the ship docked on the East Coast of the United States, he jumped ship – and never returned. That decision marked the beginning of a life spanning fifty years in the United States, where he pursued an education and eventually worked as a journalist and editor for the New York-based newspaper Nordisk Tidende. What insights can various sources offer into his upbringing, family ties, and the decisions that shaped his journey?
At the age of fourteen, Karsten Rødder was formally discharged from the state-run reformatory school where he had lived during two separate periods. Shortly afterward, he joined a ship’s crew and left both his family and his hometown of Stavanger behind. When the ship docked on the East Coast of the United States, he jumped ship – and never returned. That decision marked the beginning of a life spanning fifty years in the United States, where he pursued an education and eventually worked as a journalist and editor for the New York-based newspaper Nordisk Tidende. What insights can various sources offer into his upbringing, family ties, and the decisions that shaped his journey?
A New Life in Uncertain Times: Ingeborg Gullestad’s American Story, 1928–1930s
What happens when the world economy collapses, and you find yourself alone in a foreign country – young, newly arrived, and full of hope for a better future? In 1928, Ingeborg Gullestad left Kvinesdal for America, just as many young women and men had done before her. America was seen as the land of opportunity. But only a year later, the stock market crash plunged the country into the Great Depression, and Ingeborg lost her savings. Through just a few private letters and some photographs, the archival records offer us a glimpse into her life as an immigrant in New York and Chicago during the 1930s.
What happens when the world economy collapses, and you find yourself alone in a foreign country – young, newly arrived, and full of hope for a better future? In 1928, Ingeborg Gullestad left Kvinesdal for America, just as many young women and men had done before her. America was seen as the land of opportunity. But only a year later, the stock market crash plunged the country into the Great Depression, and Ingeborg lost her savings. Through just a few private letters and some photographs, the archival records offer us a glimpse into her life as an immigrant in New York and Chicago during the 1930s.
.JPG.jpg?quality=50)
Petroleum Wives Club (PWC) – Creating a meaningful and inclusive community in a foreign country
Imagine arriving in a foreign country where you do not know the language, and your husband leaves you and your children for long periods of time to go to work offshore. What kind of life would you imagine for yourself?
Imagine arriving in a foreign country where you do not know the language, and your husband leaves you and your children for long periods of time to go to work offshore. What kind of life would you imagine for yourself?
Jeanette and Jakob Reichwald – Jewish Refugees from Austria to Norway in 1938
After Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, life quickly became perilous for the country’s Jewish population. Among those seeking refuge beyond its borders were Jeanette and Jakob Reichwald, a married couple living in Vienna. With support from Jeanette’s sister and brother-in-law in Stavanger, they attempted to reach Norway, where their two sons, Hans and Wilhelm, had already been granted residence permits. Rösi and Julius Fein actively reached out to Norwegian authorities and mobilized their personal networks to assist. Through a range of archival records and other sources, we can trace the course of their efforts. These documents shed light on how the family’s shared longing for safety and belonging – between those in Vienna and their relatives in Stavanger – was met with both bureaucratic resistance and moments of human compassion.
After Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, life quickly became perilous for the country’s Jewish population. Among those seeking refuge beyond its borders were Jeanette and Jakob Reichwald, a married couple living in Vienna. With support from Jeanette’s sister and brother-in-law in Stavanger, they attempted to reach Norway, where their two sons, Hans and Wilhelm, had already been granted residence permits. Rösi and Julius Fein actively reached out to Norwegian authorities and mobilized their personal networks to assist. Through a range of archival records and other sources, we can trace the course of their efforts. These documents shed light on how the family’s shared longing for safety and belonging – between those in Vienna and their relatives in Stavanger – was met with both bureaucratic resistance and moments of human compassion.
Martin Wølstad – A Klondike Gold Prospector
What drives a young man – just sixteen years old– to leave behind his parents, siblings, and home to venture out into the world? As part of the 2025 Year of Migration, we’re sharing the story of Ole Martin Vølstad, the son of a farmer from Tasta, just outside Stavanger, who became a gold prospector in the Klondike region of Canada. During his time abroad, he Americanized his name to Martin Wolstad. Upon returning to Norway as a Norwegian-American, he became known as Martin Wølstad.
What drives a young man – just sixteen years old– to leave behind his parents, siblings, and home to venture out into the world? As part of the 2025 Year of Migration, we’re sharing the story of Ole Martin Vølstad, the son of a farmer from Tasta, just outside Stavanger, who became a gold prospector in the Klondike region of Canada. During his time abroad, he Americanized his name to Martin Wolstad. Upon returning to Norway as a Norwegian-American, he became known as Martin Wølstad.
Halvor Johannessen – The Orphan Who Became a Family Man and Emigrated to America with His Wife and Children
In 1850, Halvor Johannessen and his family made the life-changing decision to leave Norway in search of a better future in America. But who was Halvor, really? What sources can help us understand the man behind the name? And what might they reveal about why the family chose to leave the farm they had purchased in the early 1840s to start over in a new land across the Atlantic? What records might shed light on how they prepared for the journey and what they did in the lead-up to their departure?
In 1850, Halvor Johannessen and his family made the life-changing decision to leave Norway in search of a better future in America. But who was Halvor, really? What sources can help us understand the man behind the name? And what might they reveal about why the family chose to leave the farm they had purchased in the early 1840s to start over in a new land across the Atlantic? What records might shed light on how they prepared for the journey and what they did in the lead-up to their departure?
Message in a British bottle from 1809 - found at the Regional State Archives in Bergen
There are lots of small and large treasures in the archives. One of the eager guests in the reading rooms at the regional state archives in Bergen, Halvor Skurtveit of Fjell, found one of these treasures some time back while searching through the history of the coastal defense of Fjell.
There are lots of small and large treasures in the archives. One of the eager guests in the reading rooms at the regional state archives in Bergen, Halvor Skurtveit of Fjell, found one of these treasures some time back while searching through the history of the coastal defense of Fjell.