Early Immigration

Emigration from Vik I Sogn began in 1839 with the departure of Per Ivarson Undi and his wife, Anna Davidsdotter.  Anna had a brother and sister who had immigrated to Wisconsin from nearby Voss in 1837, and they had written letters to Per and Anna urging them to come.  Per and Anna Undi lived in Chicago when they first arrived in the United States, but they soon moved to Wisconsin to be with Anna’s family near the village of Wiota, in southwestern Wisconsin.  Per and Anna sent good reports back to Vik, and in the early spring of 1843, 30 emigrants from Vik boarded the sailing ship Mercurius and made the journey across the ocean, among them were Endre and Anna’s good neighbor, Guttorm Rolandson Tisdel, his wife, Brita Ellingsdotter Føli, and their infant daughter, Torbjørg.

                                                        Tistel Farm
A letter written by Guttorm Tisdel describing his experiences in America is thought to have ignited a strong desire to emigrate in the hearts and minds of many back in Sogn. The spring of 1844 saw a large group of emigrants leave Vik with the intention of joining the others at Wiota.  They were led by Anfinn Jonsson Seim, whose wife, Brita Rolandsdotter Tistel, was Guttorm Tistel’s sister. 

                                    America Travelers Bid Farewell

All of those who left Vik in the spring of 1844 traveled on three separate ships, the Juno, the Albion, and the Kong Sverre.  A fourth ship, the Ørnen, was to leave later that summer.  Emigration records reveal that Endre and Anna Brekke had numerous close relatives on these ships. Endre’s 21-year-old nephew, Tor Anderson Brekke, was traveling on the Albion with the family of Anders Hønsi, his uncle’s brother, Guttorm Larsson Hønsi.  They would settle together near the town of Spring Grove in Freeborn County, Minnesota.  Also on the Albion was the family of Lars Johnson Hove, whose mother, Lussi Olsdotter Orvedal, was the sister of Endre’s uncle, Johannes Orvedal.  Lille Anna Brekke and and Lussi Orvedal’s grandfathers were double first cousins.  Endre’s first cousin, Ola Johanneson Orvedal, and his family were also making the trip aboard the Juno. 

The Clipper Ship Juno

Although the original intention of the immigrants from Vik had been to join their friends in Wiota, Wisconsin, a chance meeting with Thor Kaasa, an Norwegian from the Telemark region, led many of them to change their minds and settle near the town of Capron, in Boone County, in NE Illinois,.  Among them were the Lars Johnson Hove family and the Ola Johanneson Orvedals.  The community became known as the Long Prairie Settlement. Over time, many more immigrants from Vik joined them. 

                                                   An Amerika Letter