Brynild Anundsen (December 29, 1844 – March 25, 1913) was a

Norwegian-American Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...

newspaper editor and publisher. He was the founder and publisher of ''

Decorah Posten ''Decorah-Posten'' was a notable Norwegian language newspaper published in Decorah, Iowa. It was founded in 1874 by Brynild Anundsen, a native of Skien, Norway, and widely read by Scandinavian immigrants in several states. History Its origin m ...

'', a

Norwegian language Norwegian ( no, norsk, links=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regio ...

newspaper.

Background

Brynild Anundsen was born at

Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsj ...

Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. He was the son of Anund Brynildsen Brækkejord (1817–1903) and Maren Amundsdatter Berberg (1812–1883). Anundsen immigrated to the United States during 1864, settling first in

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...

. He subsequently served as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

between 1864 and 1865.

Career

Anundsen, who had learned the printer's trade in Norway, worked for the Norwegian language newspapers ''Emigranten'' in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

, and ''Fædrelandet og emigranten'' of

. In 1867 he moved to

Decorah, Iowa Decorah is a city in and the county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,587 at the time of the 2020 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S. Route 52, and is the largest commun ...

, where he established ''Ved Arnen'', a Norwegian language literary magazine in 1866. In 1868 he took over the printing of the journal, ''Kirkelig Maanedstidende'' for the

Norwegian Synod The Synod of the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, commonly called the Norwegian Synod, was founded in 1853. It included churches in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. History In February 1853, several Lutheran ministers in ...

, an arrangement which continued until 1877. He started the newspaper ''Fra Fjærnt og Nær'' in 1869. On September 18, 1874, Anundsen started ''Decorah Posten''. It was a well-edited newspaper, its size and familiar format developed gradually. The publisher avoided areas of political and religious controversy, which had destroyed so many earlier papers. Anundsen made a success of the ''Decorah Posten'' and went on to establish the Anundsen Publishing Company. Anundsen was a founder of the Norwegian Society in America (Norwegian: ''Det Norske Selskab i Amerika''). In 1878 he participated in the founding of the Norwegian Society in Decorah and 1903 The Norwegian Society of America. In 1895, he was co-founder and first president of the Norwegian-Danish Press Association of the United States.

Personal life

In 1865, Anundsen was married in La Crosse, Wisconsin, to Esther Mathilde Charlotte Hofstrom (1838–1889), a native of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Following the death of his first wife, he married Helma Beatha Hegg (1872–1951) in 1901. He was the father of Fred Anundsen (1872–1931) and Brynjolf Anundsen (1902–1984). In 1906 he represented the

state of Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

at the coronation of

Haakon VII of Norway Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick V ...

and Queen Maud and was made a Knight First Class of the Royal Norwegian

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

by King Haakon VII. Anundsen was an active member of the United Lutheran Church of Decorah.

References

Other sources

*Andersen, Arlow W. (1990) ''Rough Road to Glory: The Norwegian-American Press Speaks Out on Public Affairs, 1875 to 1925'' (Balch Institute Press) *Brøndal, Jørn (2004) ''Ethnic Leadership and Midwestern Politics: Scandinavian Americans and the Progressive Movement in Wisconsin, 1890-1914'' (University of Illinois Press) * Øverland, Orm (1996) ''The Western Home: a literary history of Norwegian America'' (Norwegian-American Historical Association) * Lovoll, Odd S. (2010) ''Norwegian Newspapers in America: Connecting Norway and the New Land'' (Minnesota Historical Society)

External links