Old Norse

The first Norwegians to arrive in North America, in about the year 1000, were led by Leif Eriksson, whose grandfather was born in Norway but exiled to Iceland. The Vikings’ “Vinland” settlement failed to take, however, and it would be more than 800 years before Norwegians returned in numbers.

The great migration from Norway to the United States would see more than 800,000 emigrants catch “America fever” between 1825 and 1925. In the peak immigration years, Norway sent a greater percentage of its slim population (fewer than 2 million in 1885) to the United States than any country besides Ireland. Today, Norwegian-American ancestry, at a population of more than 4.5 million, is the most numerous Nordic ethnicity.

Much as with other countries, the earliest Norwegian arrivals sought religious freedom, although economic opportunity and hardships back home soon became more important factors. A band of 52 Quakers and other dissenters left Stavenger aboard the ship Restauration on 4 July 1825, arriving into New York Harbor where they were hailed as Norway’s version of the Mayflower. Descendants of those “sloopers” still live in upstate New York, though later Norwegians spread out to Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas and the Pacific Northwest.

Whether your ancestors were Vikings, sloopers or just everyday migrants to the New World, here’s how to find your Norse ancestors who came to the United States.

IDENTIFYING IMMIGRANT ANCESTORS

Tracing your ancestors’ roots in Norway