Norsk oversettelse: rull nedover herfra!
There is a Norwegian translation of this article just below: scroll down, and you will find it!
“The concept of migration concerns movement in general. When we speak about human migration, we think about wandering, exploration and settling, groups or individuals crossing borders between countries and regions. Sometimes migration comes about because of poverty and repression, sometimes by the unknown possibilities at another place. It is our goal that the site will promote tolerance and respect for people on the move – be it the migrants of today, or of the centuries before us.” Gunnar Nerheim
An incredible number of people are passionate about migration. Many also have extensive knowledge about migration and about specific migrants, whether they belong to their own family, their own village or are more public figures.
Here you will find small and large articles, reflections and images from Norwegian immigration to Texas, Montana and the Midwest, to other states in the USA, and to the Prairie provinces of Canada, especially Alberta and Saskatchewan. In addition, we write about other ethnic groups who made similar journeys at the same time. They are part of the context, as the Norwegians are part of theirs. clengpeerson.no focuses on the many facets and elements of the society they came to, and what they all helped to create.
Sources, theoretical foundation and practical legwork when writing about migration
Some of the articles on the website write a bit about the methods of the historian. A more systematic discussion on historical reconstruction can be found in Nerheim’s books, see below. The theoretical foundation that Gunnar’s work rests on, can also be found in the printed books. See also About us.
Migration history research is labor-intensive, not least because the sources on people and topics are often scattered in many different places. It also requires a great deal of patience and accuracy to distinguish trustworthy sources from less reliable ones. Some family histories are excellent, and reveal their sources throughout the book or article. Others rely on fascinating stories passed on and recrafted over the years. Some only show the template format which is so useful in genealogy — others give the full understanding of lived life that makes historical research so complex and fascinating.
New sources continue to emerge. Some of them are particular in their origin, citing family matters and reflections on other people in their social network. Letters do not only give us personal documentation, however, but often more important, on elements showing the economical and political situation at the time of writing. They may have been in a family chest, in attic shoeboxes or a leather suitcase with a shoestring tied firmly around it – unread and unrecognized for 60 to 200 years.
Other clues to understanding society and cultural situations “back then”, or to understand individual actions, can be found in business histories, political and economical treatises, or in plain municipal day-to-day documents. They are salvaged from the cupboards and archival boxes in basements of a local church, courthouse, library or museum, sometimes by accident, sometimes after a dedicated search by a town historian, county archivist or the church records committee.
Everything has a beginning, including this website. In October 2020, Gunnar Nerheim published I hjertet av Texas, (title transl. In the Heart of Texas. The unknown story of Cleng Peerson among immigrants in Texas) by Fagbokforlaget in Bergen. This was a translation of his first, original manuscript on Norwegians in Texas. It was published in March 2024 by Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX, as Norsemen Deep in the Heart of Texas. Norwegian Immigrants 1845-1900. The two volumes differ to some extent.
The Norwegian book contains more details about the introductory phase of three Norwegian chains of emigration that ended up in Texas, while the American book goes into more depth about the historical context of Texas, including the pathways of other ethnic groups who also migrated to the southwest of the American continent.
In the website articles there are many snippets from the books, but several hundred pages from the initial and unpublished master manuscripts were the foundation of the website.
Going forward together with our readers
Since then, Gunnar’s research has continued to grow. The focus on Texas and the Midwest has expanded greatly, and the website now covers a greater scope of Norwegian immigration. Together we have gone to the western states of USA and the western provinces of Canada.
The website has enjoyed a substantial increase in readers, with 12,300 visitors from January 1 to March 23, 2025, according to WordPress official statistics. Thank you for the many comments, suggestions and emails that have been sent to us through Contact us! And we are also grateful for the great collaboration we enjoy through discussions with readers, colleagues, archivists and museum people in USA, Canada, Norway and elsewhere.
All work in connection with the website is voluntary and unpaid.
Hvorfor migrasjon?
Utrolig mange er levende opptatt av migrasjon. Svært mange har også omfattende kunnskap om migrasjon og om konkrete migranter, enten de hører til i egen slekt, egen bygd eller er mer offentlige personer.
Her vil du finne små og store artikler, refleksjoner og bilder fra norsk innvandring til Texas, Montana og midtvesten, og andre stater i USA, og til prærieprovinsene i Canada, særlig Alberta og Saskatchewan. Dessuten skriver vi om andre etniske grupper, som gjorde tilsvarende reiser på samme tid. Vi fokuserer på det samfunnet de kom til, og det de alle var med på å skape.
Migrasjonshistorisk forskning er svært arbeidskrevende, ikke minst fordi kildene om personer og temaer ofte er spredt på mange forskjellige steder. Det kreves også stor tålmodighet og nøyaktighet for å skille pålitelige kilder fra mer upålitelige kilder.
Alt har en begynnelse, også denne nettsiden. I oktober 2020 ga redaktør Gunnar Nerheim ut I hjertet av Texas på Fagbokforlaget i Bergen. Boka er en oversettelse av hans første manuskript om Cleng Peersons ukjente vei til Texas, og hans siste år sammen med nordmenn fra Hedmark, Agder og Rogaland. Det engelske manuskriptet, utgitt som boka Norsemen Deep in the Heart of Texas, ble utgitt av Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX, i mars 2024. De to bindene skiller seg noe fra hverandre. Den norske boken inneholder mer av de innledende historiene om tre utvandringskjeder som endte opp i Texas. Den amerikanske går mer i dybden om den historiske konteksten i Texas, og bringer fram mye kunnskap om reisen og bakgrunnen til andre etniske grupper som også migrerte til den sørvestlige delen av det amerikanske kontinentet. I artiklene på nettstedet er det mange utdrag fra bøkene, men det er flere hundre sider fra de opprinnelige og upubliserte hovedmanuskriptene som danner grunnlaget for nettstedet.
Alt arbeid i forbindelse med nettsiden er frivillig og ubetalt.
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