Nils Otto Tank (March 11, 1800 – May 4, 1864) was a Norwegian born,

Moravian Church The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...

missionary and teacher. He was a pioneer settler in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Background

Nils Otto Tank was born near

Halden Halden (), between 1665 and 1928 known as Fredrikshald, is both a town and a municipality in Viken county, Norway. The municipality borders Sarpsborg to the northwest, Rakkestad to the north and Aremark to the east, as well as the Swedish muni ...

Østfold Østfold is a traditional region, a former county and a current electoral district in southeastern Norway. It borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other side o ...

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 a wealthy politician and landowner. His father

Carsten Tank Carsten Tank (24 April 1766 – 28 January 1832) was a Norwegian businessman and politician who served as Norway, Norwegian councilor of government of the 1st Ministry (finance and taxes, March–November 1814), and later councilor of state of t ...

(1766–1832) had been Minister of Finance on the governing council in Norway in 1814. His mother, Cathrine von

Cappelen Cappelen is a Norwegian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Cappelen (family), a distinguished Norwegian family * Andreas Zeier Cappelen (1915–2008), Norwegian jurist and politician * August Cappelen (1827–1852), Norwegian paint ...

Tank (1772–1837) was the daughter of Diderich von Cappelen, a wealthy land-owner and ship owner. The manor house at the family estate, Rød Herregård, is now open to the public and operated by Østfold Museum (''Østfold museene'') Tank was educated in various European universities. In 1813 Tank was sent to a school in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

and in 1818 to a Moravian School in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 1834, he moved to

Christiansfeld Christiansfeld, with a population of 2,977 (1 January 2022), is a town in Kolding Municipality in Southern Jutland in Region of Southern Denmark. The town was founded in 1773 by the Moravian Church and named after the Danish king Christian VII. ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

to live at the Moravian Church colony which dated from 1773.

Personal life

His first wife, Marianne Dorothea Frueauf (1804–1844) was born in Grosshennersdorf near

Herrnhut Herrnhut ( Sorbian: ''Ochranow''; cs, Ochranov) is an Upper Lusatian town in the Görlitz district in Saxony, Germany, known for the community of the Moravian Church established by Nicolas Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf in 1722. Geography It is ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

. Otto Tank and Marianne Frueauf were married in Herrnhut during 1838. Their daughter Marianna Fredericka was born in Suriname in 1843 and her mother died the following year. In 1849, Otto Tank married Caroline Louise Albertina van der Meulen (1803–1891) who had been born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Missionary

Tank was disinherited after his first marriage and his conversion to the Moravian faith.

Immigration

In 1850 the family migrated to the United States. Tank became acquainted with a Norwegian Moravian minister, Andreas Iverson. Tank purchased a tract of nearly 1,000 acres on the west bank of the Fox River at Fort Howard. Tank also acquired a fur trader’s cabin and rebuilt it as the historic

Tank Cottage Tank Cottage is located within Heritage Hill State Historical Park in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and may be the oldest building in Wisconsin. History French-Canadian fur trader Joseph Ro ...

. He planned to establish a

communal society An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...

. However Tank refused to grant title to land or adhere to the governing body of the Moravian Church. Personal differences soon arose between Tank and Reverend Iverson over leadership and the religious community elected to settle at

Ephraim, Wisconsin Ephraim is a village in Door County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located across Eagle Harbor from Peninsula State Park. The population was 288 at the 2010 census. The village is known for its white buildings, its views of the bluffs across E ...

. Tank also planned a canal between Green Bay and Prairie du Chien, this was before the railroad became preferred transportation. Tank Cottage Heritage Hill June 2014

Tank Cottage

Tank Cottage was located on the west bank of the Fox River. It is reported to be the oldest existing house in Wisconsin. In 1975 the cottage was moved by barge to

Heritage Hill State Historical Park Heritage Hill State Historical Park, is a 56-acre open-air museum located in Allouez, Wisconsin near Green Bay, Wisconsin, in the United States. A Wisconsin state park, the site is operated by a non-profit organization called the Heritage Hill Co ...

in Green Bay. The building is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

(added 1970 - Building - #70000028).

Tank House

After the death of Nils Otto Tank in 1864, his widow Caroline Louise Albertina Tank remained in Wisconsin until her death in 1891. She also donated land to build the Clara Tank Home for Missionary Children in

Oberlin, Ohio Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, 31 miles southwest of Cleveland. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students. The town is the birthplace of the ...

. Now known as

Tank House Tank Hall, also known as Tank House and Tank Cooperative, is an 1897 Queen Anne living and dining cooperative owned and maintained by Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Originally the Tank Home for Missionary Children, the house ...

, the building serves as a residential co-operative for students at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

References

External links

*
Portraits Nils Otto Tank portrait (Wisconsin Historical Society)Rød Herregård Museum (Kulturminnesøk)Tank Cottage (Heritage Hill State Historical Park)Tank House (Oberlin College)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tank, Nils Otto 1800 births 1864 deaths People from Østfold Norwegian Protestant missionaries Norwegian schoolteachers People from Brown County, Wisconsin Norwegian emigrants to the United States Cappelen family