Helena Kjeldsen Fikstad (my 3rd great grandmother) emigrated to the United States from Norway in 1877. The Mormon Migration database documents her trip (as well as over 700 others) here. Traveling with her were two of her sons, Oscar and Axel (my 2nd great grandfather.)
From the notes in the link, it sounds like a group of Norwegian converts had sailed to Copenhagen, Denmark and picked up some Danish converts then set sail to Hull, England on June 21, 1877 in two ships, the "Argo" and the "Pacific". They arrived in Hull on June 24, 1877. From there, the converts took a train to Liverpool. In Liverpool, they joined converts from England, Germany, Switzerland, and Holland and boarded the steamship "Wisconsin." The "Wisconsin" sailed from Liverpool on June 27th and arrived in New York on July 7th. In New York they set out by train and arrived in Salt Lake City on July 14, 1877.
Some notes I have say that her husband, Hans Christian Fikstad, emigrated a couple of years later although I can't find his name in the database. Other children also arrived later.
The impact of the train can't be ignored here. Had they arrived just a few years earlier, the journey from New York to Salt Lake would have taken months, not the week it took Helena and her sons.
The database spells her name Helene.
No comments:
Post a Comment