Martin Ulvestad (24 December 1865 – 19 January 1942) was a Norwegian-born American historian and author whose writings focused on

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 ...

immigration. He was a pioneer in documenting the early history of Norwegian settlers in America.

Biography

Ole Johannes Martinus Ulvestad was born at

Volda Volda is a municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the Sunnmøre region. The administrative centre is the village of Volda. Other villages in the municipality include Dravlaus, Fyrde, Straumshamn, Leira, Bjørke, and Gro ...

municipality in

Møre og Romsdal Møre og Romsdal (; en, Møre and Romsdal) is a county in the northernmost part of Western Norway. It borders the counties of Trøndelag, Innlandet, and Vestland. The county administration is located in the town of Molde, while Ålesund is the ...

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 Peder Olsen Ulvestad (1825–1918) and Alexandrine Knudsdatter (1824–1894). He immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1886. During his next three to four years, he worked as a book printer and as a typesetter for various English, German and Scandinavian language newspapers. Ulvestad published an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

dictionary in 1895. Ulvestad subsequently collected and published extensive information regarding

immigration and settlement in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. His books provided biographical information, history of the settlements associated with Norwegian immigration and information regarding those who fought in 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 ...

. These books also contained articles about Norwegian music in America, listing of newspapers and magazines, and Norwegian-American educational institutions. His most notable work was the two volume ''Nordmaendene i Amerika'' published in 1907 and 1913. The narrative portion of ''Nordmændene i Amerika'' was subsequently translated into English by Olaf Kringhaug (1928–2008).

Personal life

In 1915, Martin Ulvestad was honorary vice president of the Norwegian American exhibition at the

Panama Pacific Exposition Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cost ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. Ulestad was presented with the Knight's Cross, First Class, of the

Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

, for his dedicated work in collecting and publishing these material. Ulvestad was knighted by

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 ...

with the Order of St. Olav in 1923. In 1893, Ulvestad married Gertrude Myklebust (1861-1900) who had also immigrated from Norway They had one son. After her death, Ulvestad remarried in 1901 with her cousin Hannah Oss who was also a Norwegian immigrant. They had six children. Martin Ulvestad died during 1942 in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

.''Washington State Death Records''
(Washington State Department of Health Center for Health Statistics)

Selected bibliography

*''Engelsk-Dansk-Norsk Ordbog med fuldstændig Udtalebetegnelse'' (1895) *''Nordmaendene i Amerika: Deres Historie og Rekord'' (1907) *''Nordmaendene I Amerika, 2den Del'' (1913) *''Norsk-Amerikaneren'' (1930)

References

External links

''Nordmændene i Amerika'' (Statsarkivet i Bergen/Universitetsbiblioteket i Bergen)The Papers of Martin Ulvestad (Luther College)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulvestad, Martin 1865 births 1942 deaths People from Volda Norwegian emigrants to the United States American non-fiction writers American lexicographers Norwegian lexicographers Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal