Name: Tormod Jensen MADLAND1,2,3,4,5,6,7 -
AKA: Thomas Madland
Sex: Male
Father: Jens Osmundsen MADLAND (1733
- 1810)
Mother: Kristi
Tormodsdatter MORK IN HÖLE (bef 20 Jan 1737 - 1792)
Individual Facts
Birth 1780 Madland,
Gjesdal, Stavanger Amt (Rogaland), Norway
Death Jun
1826 (age 46) Kendall
(Murray), Orleans Co., NY
Marriages/Children
Marriage 15
Jun 1800 (age 20) Norway
Children Martha Tormodsdatter MADLAND (abt
1800 - betw 1865 & 1875)
Kriste
(Kristine\Christian) Tormodsdatter MADLAND (1802 - )
Jens Tormodsen
MADLAND (1804 - 1885)
Rakel (Rachel) Serine MADLAND (1807 - bet 1840 and
1870)
Guri
(Gurine\Julia) Thormodsdatter Foss-Eigeland MADLAND (10 Oct 1809 - 24 Dec 1846)
Serine (Serena) Tormodsdatter MADLAND (1 Jan 1814 - 7 Jan 1898) - m. Jakob A. SLOGVIG
Notes (Individual)
General: IMMIGRANT
SLOOPER* - He was listed in the 1801 Norwegian census
in Stavanger Co., Lye Parish, Gjestdahl subparish, Madland farm, as age 21,
Head of the household and a farmer.
Tormod lived on the Madland farm (about 18 miles SE of Stavanger),
Norway, until 1807, then Foss-Eigeland (Foss Eikeland) (about 10 miles S of
Stavanger), from approximately 1810 to 1819 he lived in Höle (north of Madland
on Högsfjord and at this time he was known as Tormad Höle), and then took
citizenship in Stavanger, a major port city in south west Norway, as a
blacksmith Dec 4, 1820. (Rosdail, pp 10 & 408) According to the research of Gunleif Seldal of Norway, "His
shop was located in Høleberggata 1. In
Stavanger he became acquainted with the Quaker movement. The family decided to emigrate to USA
together with some other Quaker members, and 4th July 1825 they left Stavanger
on the sloop Restaurationen. Tormod
had abandoned his citizenship 20th June the same year. However, when the sloop passed Tungenes
outside the Byfjord the sea was rough, and some of the passengers got seasick.
The master of the sloop decided then to return to Dusavik where they anchored
up, awaiting the gale to subside.
Tormod's three oldest children; Martha, Kristi and Jens were amongst
those suffering from seasickness. They
insisted to go ashore, and left the sloop the following morning. (According to
family tradition) This was the last
time they ever saw their parents." (Seldal communication 4 Dec 2000; this
information also found in Blegen, 1969, p. 393, and supported in the historical
novel, Cleng Peerson, by Hauge, pp. 342-347.)
Tormod thusly immigrated to America bringing only his wife and 3 young
daughters. They sailed on the famous Norwegian Sloop "Restoration"
(often called the "Norwegian Mayflower") with close to 50 other
Norwegians. This group* from Rogaland
County in south western Norway was fleeing religious persecution (over 1/2 were
Quaker; the remainder Haugeans), economic hardship, scarcity of land and
government inequities. "Tormod ...
had left the farm and gone to Stavanger where he operated a blacksmith
shop. He had five daughters and only
one son, so had no particular problem of inheritance. His son was old enough to take over the business and most of his
daughters were of marriageable age so there was apparently less family
compulsion for him to immigrate. Was it religious liberty or simply the chance
of a better economic life that drove him to America? Religious liberty was undoubtedly high among his reasons for
emigrating." (Rosdail, p. 10)
Tormod was one of the 6 heads of
families contributing funds to buy the Sloop, Johannes Steen (Steine) being the
principal owner. The voyage took 98
days arriving New York Oct. 9, 1825.
The ship was seized by US Customs for being over crowded (2 1/2 times as
crowded as the Mayflower). Eventually
the Sloop was released and sold (at a loss) to help travel upstate, to pay for
their land, and to build homes. The
majority of the Sloopers then settled in north western New York in "the
'town' (or township) of Murray (near Lake Ontario), which comprised the
northeastern one-sixth of Orleans County." (p. 39) (This area had been
separated from Murray township and named Kendall township shortly before the
Sloopers arrived.) It was there, in
what became known as the Kendall settlement, that Tormod died, only 8 months
after the Sloopers arrival in America.
In the history of early
Norwegian emigration Tormod Madland is often mentioned as the author of a
letter written in Stavanger in Jun 1825 (before the Restoration sailed) to
Mauritz Halvarsen. This letter
incorporates a letter written by Cleng Peerson from New York on 20 Dec 1824
reporting on his advanced preparations for the arrival of the sloop folks. Tormod was also one of the 7
"sloopers" who signed a letter along with Cleng Peerson that was
addressed to the "Rappites" (Harmony Society of Economy) of
Pennsylvania. This letter requested
financial assistance (a loan of $1600).
Some historians point to this letter and request as a possible
indication of communal leanings among some of these early pioneers, while
others discount this idea and suggest that this just indicates the financial
hardships that these folks endured during their early years in America.
*"SLOOPER" is the
term applied to the 52 (53 after the birth of a baby girl during the 14-week
voyage) pioneers of Norwegian immigration who came to America aboard the sloop
Restoration (also spelled Restauration).
This small, fifty-four foot long vessel reached the port of New York on
October 9, 1825. The group's journey
and success in America marked the beginning of
the major, and historically significant, influx of Norwegian immigrants
during the nineteenth century. The
descendants of these pioneers are also called "Sloopers." The Slooper Society of America exists
today. Made up of descendants of these
early Norwegian settlers, the Society holds its annual meeting in Norway,
Illinois.
For those interested in
more detailed information on the Sloopers and their descendants, the following
books are recommended: THE SLOOPERS, THEIR ANCESTRY AND POSTERITY, 1961, by J.
Hart Rosdail (difficult to find, but reprints are available through the Slooper
Society), THE PROMISE OF AMERICA, A HISTORY OF THE NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN PEOPLE,
1984, by Odd S. Lovoll (now available in expanded 1999 Revised Edition); THE
PROMISE FULFILLED, A PORTRAIT OF NORWEGIAN AMERICANS TODAY, 1998, by Odd S.
Lovoll; BETWEEN ROCKS AND HARD PLACES, 1993, by Ann Urness Gesme; THE
NORWEGIANS IN AMERICA, Rev. Ed., 1991, by Percie V. Hillbrand. The following two historical novels are also
highly recommended: THE BECKONING, A STORY OF LOVE, 1989, by Nora Stangeland
McNab, and CLENG PEERSON, Vols. I & II, 1975, by Alfred Hauge, translated
by Erik J. Friis.
Sources
1. Rosdail, J. Hart. The Sloopers; Their Ancestry and Posterity; The Story of the
People on the Norwegian Mayflower, The Sloop, "Restoration.". Broadview, IL: Norwegian Slooper Society of
America, 1961.
2. Anderson, Rasmus B.. "'Restaurationen'
-- the Norse Mayflower," AMERICAN
SCANDINAVIAN REVIEW, Vol. 13., pp. 348-360. (Copy of original from Washoe Co. Library,
Reno, NV; furnished by Bob Westberg.).
January 1925.
3. Anderson, Rasmus B.. The First Chapter of Norwegian Immigration,
(1821 - 1840), Its Causes and Results.
(This is a very difficult to find, out-of-print book, but it was
transcribed by Neil Hofland of Santa Monica and posted in many installments to
the Internet Norway List. These
postings were gathered together from the List Archives and made available in a
zipped file format by Debbie Chan of Winnipeg, Canada, in Feb 2000.). Madison, WI: Published by the author, 1895.
4. Flom, George T.. A History of Norwegian Immigration to the United States; From the
Earliest Beginning down to the Year 1848.
Iowa City, IA: Privately Printed, 1909; Facsimile Reprint by Heritage
Books, Inc., Bowie, MD, 1992. pp. 46, 54,
56-57.
5. Blegen, Theodore C.. Norwegian
Migration to America 1825-1860. New
York: Haskell House Pub., 1969. pp. 39,
381-385, 387, 393, 395.
6. De Pillis, Mario S.. "Still More Light on the Kendall
Colony: A Unique Slooper Letter" in Vol. 20, Norwegian-American
Studies. Northfield, MN: The
Norwegian-American Historical Assoc. (NAHA), 1959.
7. Hauge, Alfred. Cleng
Peerson, Volume 1 & 2, Translated from the Norwegian by Erik J. Friis.
(Historical novel/fictionalized biography originally published in 3 volumes by
Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, Oslo.). Boston:
Twayne Publishers, 1975. Vol. 1, pp.
80-85, 106-107, 222, 333, 342-347, 355, 392-393, 400; also several references
in Vol. 2.
Prepared by:
O. Keith Wheeler
Mad River, CA 95552
(707) 574-6595
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