A little family history

 I have a distant cousin on my dad's side who has been doing a lot of work on our family history.  I was lucky to connect with him at the Norgaard family reunion in South Dakota a couple years ago.  He has started an email chain so the cousins can learn more about each other and as part of that he has been sharing family photos and stories.  He has even written a book about the Norgaard clan.


Not everyone gets to know exactly where they came from in Europe.  This is the Norgaard farm in Aalborg, Denmark.


I actually had the opportunity to visit this farm.  My parents visited us in Germany in the early 1990s and Jillian and I accompanied them to Denmark on a family history trip.


In Aalborg we found the local church and my dad had photos of this farm.  The pastor knew exactly where it was and actually drove us to the location.  On a side note, the pastor looked our family up in the church's history books and looked shocked when he discovered our family were Baptists.  The state religion at that time was Lutheran so my ancestors had to get special dispensation to not be baptized into the Lutheran religion.  So we know why the Norgaards chose to leave Denmark--religious persecution.  Funny thing is that after moving to America a huge chunk of the family became Lutherans including me.

When we arrived at the farm my dad went right up to the front door and knocked.  Luckily, the inhabitants spoke a little English. My dad showed them his photos and the next thing we know we were invited inside for a tour and a beer.  Danish people are friendly like that.



The inside of the house was beautiful.


When my great great grandparents immigrated to America they lived in a dugout similar to this one along the banks of the Big Sioux River in South Dakota.  Their original dugout is gone now, but we have visited the site where it was located.


This is my great great grandmother Carrie Sorenson Norgaard.  She was born in Aalborg in 1852 and died in Dell Rapids, South Dakota in 1949.  


Eventually she and my great great grandfather had their own farm in SD which I have also visited.  Above is their farmhouse in current day.  It had been added onto over the years.  The current owners don't seem to mind the Norgaard family stopping by every August for a tour.


When my great great grandparents retired from the farm they moved into house in Dell Rapids.  Apparently a cyclone threw a barn into the side of the house not long after moving in.  And I thought my she shed blowing over was horrible.


That house remains in the family and is currently owned by a distant cousin.  We have a picnic there every year during the reunion.

Family history is great.  I regret that I hardly know my cousins on my dad's side.  Sometimes I wish I lived near family while I was growing up and even now, but then I think no, it's better to have lived all over the place in different communities and cultures.  Makes for a much better well rounded life that is accepting of people who are different from themselves.

Just think if my great great grandparents hadn't been allowed to immigrate here, or if they had been locked up at the border and were not given a chance to make a better life for themselves.

Comments

Yogi♪♪♪ said…
Great post Ellen. I love the photos of the farm in Denmark. I love the story of Dad going up to the door and knocking on it.
May 3, 2021 at 7:38 PM
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