Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Unidentified woman uses her spinning wheel to produce yarn. Many pioneer daughters reported that their mother brought a spinning wheel from the homeland to the homestead. (What an awkward package that must have been!) Mrs. Howard Schmid recalled how her mother Signe Aslakson spent many hours carding, spinning wool yarn and knitting socks. Signe was so good, she could knit and read at the same time.
While the sod house didn't look like much, it was the least expensive and most effective way to build a homestead structure. This particular house was built by Nels T. Hendrickson in 1884. The photograph was printed on a postcard, addressed to Miss Manda Myrah of Spring Grove, Minn., and dated Oct. 5, 1908.
The Homestead Act of 1862 opened settlement opportunities throughout the Dakota Territory, thus giving the Scandinavian populations an opportunity to escape crop shortages and create new opportunities. It is estimated that between 1865 and 1918, 1.3 million Swedes and 800,000 Norwegians immigrated to America. Some of those immigrants made it to Eddy County.
It wasn't uncommon for young women to travel and immigrate on their own, nor was it uncommon for them to work to fund their trip. In 1894, Elvina Waldon Thorn made the journey from Sweden. To afford passage, she worked in Gälve and Stockholm until she had saved enough money. Elvina was 28 years old when she arrived in North Dakota.
Elvina then found employment in New Rockford, and worked at the Davis Hotel, and also for Mrs. Hersey and Mrs. John Mulvey. Later she married William Thorn.
Tilda Jacobsdotter Hallsten was born in Skara Västra Götaland, Sweden in 1883. When Tilda turned 18 years of age, she was prepared to make the trip to America where she would settle in Grand Forks near her two sisters and two brothers. She worked as a maid, where she learned the English language and American culture. It seems that creating a sense of home began long before these young pioneer mothers made a home for others. Grand Forks is also where Tilda met her husband, Hallsten O. Hallsten at the county fair.
Bettie Mattson Seastrand was both a pioneer daughter and mother. Her history, written by her daughters Myrtle Seastrand Ostby and Lillian Seastrand Solderholm, told of the migration Bettie's parents made when they left their home of Ivö, Sweden in 1879. Matt and Bengta Mattson made passage to America with seven children in tow. The family settled near Red Wing, Minn., and Bettie went to Minneapolis to work. On February 22, 1888, Bettie married Edward Seastrand, of Minneapolis. Their wedding ceremony was held at her parents' homestead in Sheyenne. From there, the young couple made a homestead of their own. They lived in a sod shanty, with two large rooms and a wooden floor. One of the items that helped turn the house into a home was the sewing machine Bettie bought in Minneapolis. It was such an asset that Bettie and her sister were willing to carry it ten blocks to the depot to ship it.
