Lanterna Rally

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Published: 2016-09-15

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ISBN-13: 9780972347914

Volume II of this Legacy Series, Early Iowa Norwegian Quakers--Threads of Testimony, is the story of Norway's Strand Parish Quakers immigration to Iowa because of persecution from the local priest of the Norwegian Lutheran Church. Eventually, many in the extended families of Oleson, Knudsen, Towe, Strand, Tjossem, Heggem, Meltveit, Ravnås, Vik, Thompson and Norland found religious freedom and economic opportunities in Iowa. Volume II is a collection of personal stories of these Norwegian Quakers who began leaving Norway in 1853 on sailing vessels from the port of Stavanger. They traveled in 'steerage'--an almost inhumane experience because of crowding, the deplorable sanitary conditions and the paucity of arrangements for storing, preparation and cooking the food brought on board for a journey of unknown duration. The Norwegian capacity for perseverance under difficult conditions was severely tested. The earliest Norwegian Quakers stopped in southeastern Iowa where they were involved in the Underground Railroad. But for most of the Norwegians, their destination was Marshall and Benton Counties--in central Iowa--where acres of prairie was unbroken and cheap land was available not far from the economic hubs of Marshalltown and Cedar Rapids. There was a Friends Meeting in LeGrand, a small town on the railroad between the two metropolises. They established Stavanger, the only Norwegian -speaking Friends Meeting in the United States. The threads of testimony tell the stories of their challenges driven by Quaker theology, practice and foibles--opportunities to 'let their lives speak'Volume II includes the account of the 1877-1883 Separation among Iowa's Quakers told through the stories of Darius Cook (Iowa Yearly Meeting Oskaloosa) and of Ella Bowles Newlin (Iowa Yearly Meeting Conservative). Volume II is enriched by access to original documents, out of print books and genealogy which the author has brought together to tell a more complete story of Iowa's Quakers.