About this record
Ole Knudsen Trovatten came to Wisconsin from Odefjeld, Norway, in 1840. He first settled in Muskego, west of Milwaukee, but later, in 1843, moved to Cottage Grove in Dane Co. His journal, probably written in 1842, describes his journey to Muskego with his wife and three children. He tells of the sea voyage; passing inspection at New York; traveling by boat to Milwaukee via the Hudson River, Erie Canal, and Great Lakes; settling in Wisconsin and developing his farm; his view of religious practices in the area, and his first contacts and impressions of Wisconsin. We give here the original manuscript in Norwegian, followed by a printed English translation.Citation
Trovatten, Ole Knudson. Journal, 1842. Manuscript M2000-149 in the Library-Archives, Wisconsin Historical Society; translated in Norwegian-American Studies and Records, vol. 19. (Northfield, Minn.: Norwegian-American Historical Association, 1956): 142-159;