Tordenskjold (MN)
Mette
(Tordenskiold), I came across a link to a township in Otter Tail county,
Minnesota.
http://www.co.otter-tail.mn.us/townships/tordenskjold.php
I have never heard about this place before, and assume that it might be
named after the Danish naval hero. Do any of you know of this place and,
above all, do you know of any postmarks or similar philatelic stuff from
there?
To understand my immediate interest, please see this page
http://shoebox.heindorffhus.dk/frame-Tordenskiold.htm
Any information is much appreciated.
--
Mette
remove mes for direct reply
--
Outgoing messages checked with Norton AV
bc92
> In searching for info about the Danish-Norwegian naval
> hero Peter Wessel (Tordenskiold), I came across a link to
> a township in Otter Tail county, Minnesota.
> http://www.co.otter-tail.mn.us/townships/tordenskjold.php
>
> I have never heard about this place before, and assume
> that it might be named after the Danish naval hero. Do
> any of you know of this place and, above all, do you know
> of any postmarks or similar philatelic stuff from there?
A web page about the origin and name of this place :
http://www.jsenterprises.com/ottertail/townships/tordenskjold.htm
--
Cordialement,
Bruno
Mette
news:44ec2ab8$0$311$626a...@news.free.fr...
Thank you very much, Bruno, this is very helpful of you. I will study it
closely, and also correct my webpage accordingly.
Mette
bc92
You are welcome...
The way USA places were named in the XIX century is
endlessly interesting. While doing this little search on
Minnesota for you, I got puzzled by St Cloud, just to find
out that it was so named after a reminiscence of St Cloud
Palace near Paris (a Napoleon III and Josephine residence,
the palace was burned in 1870, but the beautiful gardens
remain), a place I used to live quite close to for a long
time.
There is a lozenge cancel with "PSC", appearing on french
napoleonic stamps, meaning "Palais de St Cloud" (official
mail from the emperor's house), fairly rare.
--
Cordialement,
Bruno
Mette
- snip -
>>>
>>> A web page about the origin and name of this place :
>>> http://www.jsenterprises.com/ottertail/townships/tordenskjold.htm
>>
>> Thank you very much, Bruno, this is very helpful of you.
>> I will study it closely, and also correct my webpage
>> accordingly.
>
> You are welcome...
> The way USA places were named in the XIX century is endlessly interesting.
> While doing this little search on Minnesota for you, I got puzzled by St
> Cloud, just to find out that it was so named after a reminiscence of St
> Cloud Palace near Paris (a Napoleon III and Josephine residence, the
> palace was burned in 1870, but the beautiful gardens remain), a place I
> used to live quite close to for a long time.
> There is a lozenge cancel with "PSC", appearing on french napoleonic
> stamps, meaning "Palais de St Cloud" (official mail from the emperor's
> house), fairly rare.
This is indeed quite interesting. I looked up the area in a standard atlas,
and noticed St. Cloud a little north of Minneapolis, as well as other French
names such as Roseau, Belle Plaine, Luverne.
However, Tordenskjold must be a tiny place, since it is not in the atlas. A
search on USPS Zip Code look-up gave no result, so I assume that
Tordenskjold has no individual zipcode, and therefore probably no way of
finding postmarks from there :-( I read the whole story in the link you
pointed me to, and was absolutely taken away by these early emigrants'
achievements in their new land. Anyway, Tordenskjold is a very appropriate
name for the settlement, given the difficulties and fight for existence the
emigrants met there.
I know the St. Cloud area in Paris, and find it très beau :-) I believe
that the PSC-cancels are not only rare, but also mighty expensive :-)
In my young youth I used to live in Chaville, halfway to Versailles.
Regards
Mette
Rod
pointed me to, and was absolutely taken away by these early emigrants'
achievements in their new land. ""
speaking on emigrants :)
Cody's Australian Rules Fottball coach, is moving to Denmark,
and apparently there is an Australian Rules Football league
over there already!
surprise, surprise, for our local game.
Mette
news:44ee4...@news.iprimus.com.au...
Yep, as of late relations between Australia and Denmark have improved
greatly ;-)
Blair (TC)
Sorry for the delay. My ISP was sold and the transfer caused me not
to have access for a week.
Tordenskjold is a township in Otter Tail County, in the Fergus Falls
metropolitan (county seat) area. The community is in the Central
Standard time zone.
The latitude of Tordenskjold is 46.237N. The longitude is -95.835W.
Elevation is 1,332 feet.
http://pix.epodunk.com/locatorMaps/mn/MN_270102.gif
http://www.satelliteviews.net/cgi-bin/g.cgi?sdb=Go&fid=665798&state=MN&ftype=civil&exm=on
The population, at the time of the 2000 census, was 550.
Major ancestry groups reported by Tordenskjold residents include:
· Norwegian - 34%
· German - 31%
· Swedish - 9%
· Dutch - 4%
· Irish - 4%
· English - 3%
· French (except Basque) - 3%
· Danish - 3%
· Scandinavian - 2%
· Scottish - 1%
· Czech - 1%
· American Indian tribes, specified - 1%
· Crow (native american) - 1%
· Japanese - 1%
Tordenskjold, Minnesota had a post office from
1870 (27 Oct) until 1904 (13 Feb). The 1895
US Atlas shows a post office there:
http://www.livgenmi.com/1895/MN/Index/st.htm
The current post office is about 3 miles (5 km)
away at Underwood, MN 56586
Tordenskjold map from 1884
http://www.historicaltownmaps.com/ebay_images/TordenskjoldMN.jpg
Minnesota has many citizens with Scandenavian roots.
74% of the current Tordenskjold population have
Norwegian, German or Swedish origins.
Otter Tail County, Minnesota (some history)
The first Norwegian who took land in Otter Tail County was
Knud Quamme from Valders. It was in 1867 when he settled
in the area of St. Olaf. But he soon received neighbors. In
the course of '67 and '68 the following persons came, some
with families, some without: Ole and Knut Eggum from Lærdal,
Tosten Thompson† from Valders, Halvor Berge† and Ole† and
H. L. Horness from Voss, Tarald Olsen† and Isak Thompson
from Stod near Trondhjem, Kornelius Aasnes from Beitstaden,
Ole C. Dahl from Gudbrandsdalen, Ole O. Rohn from Hallingdal,
Haldor Gulset and Nils Johnson from Selbu, Ole and Johannes
Berg† from Hedemarken, Peder Løkker from Odalen, Johannes
Andersen and Knud and Ole Ericksen from Reinli (Søndre Aurdal),
Knut Olsen† , Engebret Nelson, Nels E. Nelson and
Haldor E. Nelson† from Nordre Aurdal, Petter Larsen† from Hølen,
Torleif† and Lars Nilsen from Røraas, Amund Nilsen from Toten,
Johan Grimseth† and Ole Ihlseng from Hedemarken, Berge and
Syver Lee from Voss, Nils Røvang from Slidre, Valders,
Carl Formo† and Andrew Olsen from Trondhjem, Gabriel
Stoutland† from Stavanger, Peder Penne from Christiansand,
Simon Weme from Ringerike, Theodor Andersen from Aadalen,
Christian Sethre† from Eidsvold, as well as Ole Lillemon,
Knut Paulsen and Peder Trenes, whose birthplaces are
unknown to the author.All these settled in the areas of St. Olaf,
Tordenskjold, Dalton, Underwood, Wall Lake, Fergus Falls and
Elizabeth - a large area.
O. T. Bjørnaas of Underwood tells, "One day during harvest, I
believe it was 1871, one of my neighbors came with the news
that the Indians were approaching and that they 'ravaged and
burned wherever they went' and that we had to gather at a place
to get instructions. As soon as I had sent word to my nearest
neighbor on the other side, I took my rifle and went to the
meeting place. There were a number of people gathered there.
All knew that the Indians were expected but no one knew how
far away they were. Therefore a man from here was sent to
another meeeting place that was further west, to get more
information and to learn what that meeting was going to do
in the matter. He came back with the message that no one
knew where the enemy was but that they could be expected
at any time and that everyone should take whatever measures
they believed were best. We had, then, nothing to do but wait
and see. Right by our meeting place, there was a lake, and in
it an island that was pointed out as a good defensive position
in any future situation. But nothing was decided. In the meantime,
a height in the neigbouring town - Tordenskjold - seemed to be
the right place for defense, and here they began to throw up
fortifications. However, the redskins never came, they probably
feared that there were too many whites in the woods.
(Perhaps the Tordenskjold name was enough to keep them away)
Thus they avoided the trouble, but there was much confusion and
many abandoned their homes, that they had already put much
work on. Some came back, others not."
And when we speak of pioneer life in Otter Tail County, we must
not forget to mention Mrs. Olava Vik (from Nordre Trondhjems Amt),
Minnesota's oldest women - that is, she was the oldest until recently,
she died in 1904 - 96 years old. She was known in a wide area as
'Doktor Gamla' as she was skilled at healing wounds, there are
many who have her to thank that they still have their limbs.
The doctors would suggest amputation, but she found other means -
and her prescriptions had to be followed. If anyone sought her out
and did not do as she said, they learned 'what for!'
The nearest market place for the first settlers was St. Cloud,
ca 150 miles! A very long way, especially when one understands
the fact that they only had oxen to drive with.
In 1870, two Norwegian congregations were established in Otter Tail
county. Pastor T. Vetlesen, of The Norwegian Synod, founded
Hedemarkens congregation in Oscar Township (at Carlisle), while
Pastor J. A. Berge of The Conference, founded the Tordenskjold
congregation. The first Norwegian church in the county was built
by Hedemarkens congregation in 1871. There are now 57
congregations and 48 churches, 19 belonging to The United Church,
13 to The Norwegian Synod, 10 to The Lutheran Free Church, 10 to
Hauge's Synod, 2 to The Evangelical free Church, 2 to the Methodists
and 1 to the Baptists.
Otter Tail County stands highest with respect to the number of
Norwegian churches. As many as 48 are not found in any other
county in America.
As mentioned, Ole Jørgens was the first Norwegian county official
here. He was elected as Auditor in 1869.
Mikkel Anderson Fedje was the first Norwegian who represented
the county in the State Legislature, elected 1879.
"Normanna Banner' (now Fergus Falls Weekly) started in 1878.
"Rodhuggeren" and "Red River Tidende" also came out in Fergus
Falls for a time.
Park Region Lutheran college was established in Fergus Falls in 1892.
St Lucas Hospital was established later in the aforementioned city.
Norwegian place names: Aastad, Friberg, Sverre, Weggeland, Vining,
Dora, Oscar, Sverdrup, Tordenskjold, St. Olaf, Norwegian Grove,
Aurdal, Stod, Trondhjem, Nidaros, Henning and Folden.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is a scan of a USA postal card postmarked at Tordenskjold
on October 13 (?) 1892 and mailed to Minneapolis, Minnesota.
http://cjoint.com/data/iDxR4lkICW.htm
I am not sure if you understand Norwegian, but this may be of interest:
Tordenskjold, (1870-1904), postkontor og kommune i Otter Tail fylke.
Kommunen ble til i 1869 med navnet Blooming Grove, men endret
allerede året etter navn til Tordenskjold, oppkalt etter den norske
sjøhelten Peter Wessel Tordenskjold.
Postkontoret ble opprettet 27.10.1870 med Kelmer (Helmer / Hjalmer?)
Hoff som postmester. Stavemåten Tordenskiold er også sett.
Det ble nedlagt 13.2.1904.
I hope that this helps you.
Blair
Mette
Good to see you back again :-)
Thanks for a very extensive and good answer. Yes, I can read Norwegian
without problems, so also that part is very useful.
What interested me most, is the postcard with the Tordenskjold-postmark. May
I ask where you have found the image, so that I can write to the owner with
an enquiry of possible purchase?
Thanks again for your answer :-)
Mette
"Blair (TC)" <stan...@sonetis.com> skrev i en meddelelse
news:1156892524.0...@b28g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
Hi Mette:
Tosten Thompson? from Valders, Halvor Berge? and Ole? and
H. L. Horness from Voss, Tarald Olsen? and Isak Thompson
from Stod near Trondhjem, Kornelius Aasnes from Beitstaden,
Ole C. Dahl from Gudbrandsdalen, Ole O. Rohn from Hallingdal,
Haldor Gulset and Nils Johnson from Selbu, Ole and Johannes
Berg? from Hedemarken, Peder Løkker from Odalen, Johannes
Andersen and Knud and Ole Ericksen from Reinli (Søndre Aurdal),
Knut Olsen? , Engebret Nelson, Nels E. Nelson and
Haldor E. Nelson? from Nordre Aurdal, Petter Larsen? from Hølen,
Torleif? and Lars Nilsen from Røraas, Amund Nilsen from Toten,
Johan Grimseth? and Ole Ihlseng from Hedemarken, Berge and
Syver Lee from Voss, Nils Røvang from Slidre, Valders,
Carl Formo? and Andrew Olsen from Trondhjem, Gabriel
Stoutland? from Stavanger, Peder Penne from Christiansand,
Simon Weme from Ringerike, Theodor Andersen from Aadalen,
Christian Sethre? from Eidsvold, as well as Ole Lillemon,
Blair (TC)
Mette wrote:
> Hi Blair,
>
> Good to see you back again :-)
> Thanks for a very extensive and good answer. Yes, I can read Norwegian
> without problems, so also that part is very useful.
>
> What interested me most, is the postcard with the Tordenskjold-postmark. May
> I ask where you have found the image, so that I can write to the owner with
> an enquiry of possible purchase?
>
> Thanks again for your answer :-)
> Mette
==============================
Good Morning , Mette:
The card image came from the web site of a Stavanger collector
of Norvegiana on postal history from around the world
(one amongst a number of collections - like all of us. 8*) ).
I'm not sure that he would want to sell the item, but you can see
the website at : http://www.slettebo.no/index.htm
His email is : hallvard at online dot no
Good Luck!
Blair
Dag T. Hoelseth
Mette skrev:
> "bc92" <Bruno....@free.fr.invalid> skrev i en meddelelse
> news:44ed8576$0$31292$636a...@news.free.fr...
[...]
> Anyway, Tordenskjold is a very appropriate
> name for the settlement, given the difficulties and fight for existence the
> emigrants met there.
I am, however, not sure how the Swedish immigrants accepted the name,
but they were possibly in a minority among the Norwegians and Danes...
Thanks to everyone for the links and the information provided, I
enjoyed it a lot.
Dag T. Hoelseth
--
http://www.geocities.com/dagtho/