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From: <>
Subject: [ILLASALL] Found Jeffers. Prairie, Ill. in Wisconsin
Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2000 10:56:03 EST

Darryl

Thank you for email and detailed information. Well I got lucky, a couple of
Norwegian listers wrote me:

According to the book "Norwegian Migration to America 1825-1860" by
Theodore Blegen* (first published in 1931) the settlement known as
Jefferson Prairie wasn't located in Illinois, but in Rock County,
Wisconsin, near what was (is) known as Clinton township. It was founded
by Ole Nattestad, from the Stavanger region, in the late 1830'ies.

The settlement of Jefferson Prairie was settled by people comming from
the Fox river settlement in La Salle co. in Illinois, so there is a
connection between the two settlements which could have lasted for
decades.

According to the book "in 1849 and 1850 the dread cholera was ravaging
the Middle West, and the Norwegian settlements at Fox River, Muskego,
Koshkonong and elsewhere were attacked by it with full force". The
source for this is given as "Health Conditions and the Pratice of
Medicine among the Early Norwegian Settlers, 1825 - 1865" in "Studies
and Records, 1: 14-17" by Knut Gjerset and Ludvig Hektoen.

Ole Nattestad left the ill fated Bever Creek colony in Illinois and
"crossed the Wisconsin line and on July 1, 1838, located in what is now
Clinton Township, Rock County, where he entered a claim and set about
makeing for himself a temporary abode. By remaining in this region be
became the founder of an important Wisconsin settlement of Norwegians,
the Jefferson Prairie settlement. Thousands upon thousands of Norwegians
were to follow in the footsteps of Nattestad, and Wisconsin soon became
the objective ot the majority of the immigrant from Norway."

There is a town of Clinton. This must be the place.

Wisconsin wasn't admitted to the union until 1848. It was a part of the
Illinois territory - I'll remember that when I'm around Packer fans!

*Theodore Blegen was an assistant professor at the university of
Minnesota when he wrote the book. To my knowledge a lot of his source
material was donated to the Vesterheim center in Madison, so it's
possible you could get more information regarding the content this
particular source there.

Thanks for all your help

Jerry Hartnett
Crystal Lake, Illinois

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