(Information taken from Diamond Jubilee Anniversary Book covering 1874 - 1949)
The Trip to America
In the spring of 1847, 29 families and 15 single persons left Bergen, Norway on the sail ship King Severre, May 11, 1847, and after a voyage of seven weeks, they landed at the port of New York. Leaving New York, they continued their journey across Lake Michigan to Chicago. The entire journey from Norway to Chicago was made by water.
Leaving Chicago by a caravan of ox-drawn covered wagons, the immigrants trekked to Lisbon, Kendall County, Illinois, arriving there July 11, 1847. Other immigrants in the years immediately following came also to Lisbon. These people suffered the usual privations and hardships of the pioneer. A severe epidemic of cholera broke out among them and many died. In spite of all, they never faltered or lost heart.
Move to Iowa
Land was becoming scarce in Kendall County and the price was going up until it was beyond the means of the average newcomer. Rumors were current that good land could be bought from the government west of the Mississippi, in central Iowa. It was decided to send a group of men out to Iowa to investigate if these rumors were true. Six men were chosen for this purpose. They were Lars Sheldahl, Jonas Duea, Ole Thompson, John Mehus, Jacob Ask, and John Tarvestad. This group of men left early in the Spring of 1855, traveling overland in two horse-drawn covered wagons. Their final stopping place was at a point one mile east and one mile south from the present location of Story City. From here they traveled out over the prairie, mostly eastward, for the purpose of examining the land. In the judgment of these men, the land was suitable and the location was favorable for a settlement. Several large tracts of prairie land and smaller tracts of timber were bargained for at government price. From the timber land, they expected to cut material for log houses, shelters for livestock, and fuel for the stoves.
Following the return of the men sent out to investigate the land east of the Skunk River with their favorable report as to the quality of the land and the location for settlement, a group of twelve families and three young men, totaling sixty persons, was organized and left Lisbon, Illinois, in May, 1856, for the new location. The following are the names of the persons who comprised the first settlement of Norwegians in this part of Story County: Rasmus Sheldahl and family, Erick Sheldahl and family, Elias Hendrickson and family, Jonas Duea and family, Rasmus Larson Tungesvig and family, Sjur Britson and family, Jacob Nelson Brue and family, Jacob Austinio Jacobson and family, Ole Rasmussen and family, Jacob Erickson and family, Hans Twedt and family, Torkel Opstvedt and family, and the single men, Hans Pederson, and Lars and John Ness. John Ness drowned in the Cedar River. They carried all their worldly possessions along with them, including their highly prized Bibles, Lutheran Hymn books, and other religious literature.
The journey was made in 18 covered wagons, one drawn by a team of horses and the balance by oxen. It took several weeks to reach their destination. Every Sunday the caravan rested and held religious services. Reaching their destination, these pioneer settlers located on farms on the east side of the Skunk River and around the point where Roland is now located. These people formed the nucleus of St. Petri Lutheran Congregation at Story City, Iowa.
This is also the nucleus from which the Bergen Congregation was organized about seventeen years later. The following members of the group became members of the Bergen Congregation when that was organized at Roland, Iowa: Sjur Britson and family, Ole Rasmuson Tysdal and family, Hans Twedt and family, Jacob Erickson and family, and the single person Lars Ness.
In the Spring of 1857, another group of immigrants arrived from Lisbon, Illinois, comprising the following families: Osmund Henryson and wife, Samuel Haaland and family, Knud Egland and family, John Charlsen Hagen and family, Ole Breiland and family, John Bjorka and family, Anders Christinsen and family, Peder Larson Tjernagel and family, and Knud Helvig and family. Of this group, Samuel Haaland and family and Knud Helvig and family became charter members of Bergen Congregation. Another group arrived from Kendall County, Illinois in the Spring of 1858; most of these families settled in the vicinity of the present town of Roland. Paul Thompson, who later became a charter member of Bergen Congregation, was a member of this group.
From this time on there was a steady and continuous arrival of new settlers. Additional families came from Lisbon County, Illinois, and also an increasing number of acquaintances directly from Norway. In the seventies, many families came from around the towns of Grand Mound, Calamus, and DeWitt in Clinton County, Iowa.
Naturally, the first concern of these settlers was to provide shelters for themselves and their livestock. Material for this purpose came mostly from the timber along the Skunk River. Some dug cellars and lived there, temporarily, until log houses could be built. Next was the breaking of the tough prairie sod and preparing it for planting, which was a herculean task in itself, considering the implements available for this purpose. The grain raised consisted mostly of corn, wheat, oats, and flax, while the wild hay of the prairie furnished roughage for the livestock.
The Church is Founded
These settlers and immigrants of Norwegian ancestry had from early childhood been instructed in the Lutheran faith, which had been established by law in Norway in 1537. Many of them were devout and they did not neglect the Word of God and the spiritual nurture of their souls. Services were held on Sundays and at other times as circumstances would permit and were generally conducted by some qualified lay member of the meeting.
However the need for a pastor was becoming more and more apparent as the settlement grew in population and the spiritual needs increased. In the month of June, 1857, Rev. P.A. Rasmussen from Lisbon came out to the new settlement to minister to the spiritual needs of his former parishioners. He spent some time here, visiting every family, conducting religious services and administering the sacraments. The St. Petri Lutheran congregation was also organized at this time, June 1857. At first the congregation had no resident pastor and arrangements were made for him to make two visits a year to the settlement. He was transported from Iowa City at first and later from Grinnell, Iowa, by wagon and horses. Rev. Rasmussen fulfilled his duties to the new congregation as best he could. However, the need for a resident pastor was now becoming urgent, and when Rev. Rasmussen went to Norway in the summer of 1859, he was asked to secure a pastor for them. Upon the earnest pleading of Rev. Rasmussen, Nils Amlund, a young theological student in Norway, was persuaded to accept the call. The following year, in May, 1860, Amlund left Norway, in the company of Rev. Rasmussen and came out to the settlement for the first time. Paul Thompson, later a member of the Bergen congregation, met him at Marengo, the end of the railroad, and transported him to his destination. He was ordained to the Holy ministry the same year by Rev. Preus, then president of the Norwegian Synod, and took up his work soon thereafter. At this time the congregation had 275 members.