Viking Magazine - January 2020 - 23

During the 1870s and 1880s, the Upper Midwest gained
thousands of immigrants from Norway. They were
predominantly farmers who relied on quality crops and
fair market prices to provide for their families. Others were
tradesmen and craftsmen who relied on their community's
fi nancial successes to make ends meet.
While the prospects were plentiful in America, the sheer
number of new workers meant there were not enough jobs
for everyone. To make matters worse, the immigrants often
faced discrimination and were paid less than their Americanborn
counterparts.
In the 1870s, a group of like-minded Norwegian
immigrants began meeting to talk about their shared
experiences and lift each other's spirits. They are believed
to have gathered in North Minneapolis, Minn., at the home
of Ingeborg Levorsdatter Langeberg. A Hallingdal native,
Langeberg had come to the area about 20 years earlier to
work as a maid for Territorial Governor Alexander Ramsey.
A few years later, she met and married well-to-do farmer
David Clark and settled into his residence, which was located
in an area that had developed into something of a Norwegian
colony. After her husband passed away, the widow's home
became a place for fellow nationals to
assemble.
If life at this time was hard for
immigrants, it was about to get worse.
In 1893, the local, regional and national
economies were hit by a depression, and the
Norwegian-American community felt the
fi nancial pinch along with everyone else.
Inside Langeberg's home, the group
searched for relief. Taking a practical and
cautious approach, they looked to their
homeland for answers. In Norway, a number
of people had paid a small, weekly membership
fee in exchange for family medical care. Taking a
cue from that idea, they began devising a mutual
assistance society modeled after the principles of
American fraternalism. This new society offered its
members not only a fi nancial safety net, but also a
way to celebrate Norwegian-American patriotism
and preserve the cherished literature, music, art,
food and customs of their homeland.
Early plans to name the budding
organization after the Norwegian
nationalist writer Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
were dismissed when the group decided
that non-Norwegians would fi nd
the name diffi cult to pronounce.
Instead, they agreed on the name
Sønner af Norge (Sons of Norway).
As was typical of fraternal insurance
associations at the time, membership
was limited to men between the ages
of 20 and 50. Members also had to be
Norwegian or of Norwegian descent,
and healthy, moral and able to support
a family.
The organization was offi cially
established on Jan. 16, 1895.
Insurance and
membership
documents
from the 1920s
and 1930s.
When Sons of Norway was founded,
18 people signed the charter, and
historically those original 18 have been
regarded as the founding members.
Bersvend Ole Draxten made
signifi cant contributions to Sons
of Norway. Born in 1866 in Selbu,
Norway, he and his
parents emigrated to
the United States the
following summer. The
Draxtens made their
way to a town just
west of Minneapolis
where a family friend
had emigrated the
previous year, as had
others from Selbu.
Draxten's father,
Ole, who worked
on the Mississippi River
in the logging industry,
quickly realized he
wanted to be closer to the
city and began building
his family a new home. In
doing so, Ole Draxten
became the fi rst
Norwegian immigrant
to erect a dwelling in
Minneapolis. Others
from Selbu followed,
and North
Minneapolis grew
Viking Magazine - January 2020

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