volume 31|number 4 article 18 12-1-2011 book reviews
TRANSCRIPT
Swedish American Genealogist
Volume 31 | Number 4 Article 18
12-1-2011
Book Reviews
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonsagPart of the Genealogy Commons, and the Scandinavian Studies Commons
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Augustana Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Swedish AmericanGenealogist by an authorized editor of Augustana Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected].
Recommended Citation(2011) "Book Reviews," Swedish American Genealogist: Vol. 31 : No. 4 , Article 18.Available at: https://digitalcommons.augustana.edu/swensonsag/vol31/iss4/18
25Swedish American Genealogist 2011:4
Book ReviewsHere you will find information about interesting books on the immigrationexperience, genealogical manuals, books on Swedish customs, and much more.We welcome contacts with SAG readers, suggestions on books to review perhaps.If you want to review a book yourself, please contact the Book Review Editor,Dennis L. Johnson, at <[email protected]> or Dennis Johnson, 174Stauffer Road, Bucktown Crossing, Pottstown, PA 19465, so he knows whatyou are working on.
Joe Hill
The Man Who Never Died, The Life,Times, and Legacy of Joe Hill,American Labor Icon, William M.Adler, Bloombury USA, New York,2011, 424 Pages, Illustrated,Amazon.com, $19.50 plus ship-ping.
In the year 1902, about 33,000 peopleemigrated from Sweden to the U.S.,a fairly typical annual number for thefirst decade of the 20th century. Onlyone of these young immigrants wasdestined to be shot by a firing squadin Salt Lake City, Utah, on Nov. 19,1915.
Of these 33,000 immigrants, aboutten per cent returned to Sweden atsome later date, either because ofdisappointment with the conditionsthey found, or they had decided thatfamily and homeland ties out-weighed the opportunities they foundin America. Nearly 30,000 remained,found work, and settled down inmany locations, predominantly in theMidwest. Many found great oppor-tunity and some became affluent inthe following decades, and theirdescendants assimilated into theAmerican mosaic of mixed ethnic ori-gins.
In 1902, opportunities in Americafor immigrants had shifted from theabundant land available in the pe-riod 1850 to 1890. (This pull in-creased when homestead land wasmade available after 1862.) But by1900, more jobs were now availablein the growing cities in manufac-turing, and in work such as logging,mining, railroads, and related activi-
ties. High levels of skills were not asimportant as the willingness to workhard, long days in dangerous workat low wages. Swedes were soughtafter for these jobs, and many sawthis work as a way of getting aheadto better, more skilled, or supervisorywork as they gained skills, experi-ence, and became fluent in English.By the standards of today, theseworkers were “exploited” but, byconditions at the time in indus-trializing countries, this work waswhat was available. Conditions at thetime were no better in Sweden andfewer jobs were available.
Joe Hill, born Joel Hägglund inGävle, Sweden, in 1883, was one ofsix surviving children of a railwayconductor father. His father was avictim of a railway accident when
Joel was only eight years old, and thefamily became destitute. The familyhad been musical, and Joel taughthimself to play a violin given him byhis father. Despite their poverty, thefamily sang and played at home andin church. Joel stayed in school untilhe was twelve, and then went to workin a rope factory. After a near-fatalbout with tuberculosis at age 17, hewent to work in the port of Gävle,probably as a stevedore. When he was22, his mother died. The children soldtheir house, divided the proceeds, andwent their separate ways. Joel andan older brother bought tickets forAmerica, arriving in October, 1902.
Joel found work up and down thewest coast of the U.S. for the next fiveyears in various jobs, mostly in theport cities. The depression and panicof 1907 resulted in much unemploy-ment in the cities. Joe became in-volved with a labor group called theInternational Workers of the World,(IWW), who became known as the“Wobblies.”
Joe took part in street demon-strations and strikes and soon be-came the writer of songs which theWobblies would sing at demonstra-tions, partly to drown out the Sal-vation Army musicians or otherstreet recruiters and evangelists. Joeand others even went to Mexico in1911 to fight with Mexican troops inthe Mexican revolution of that year.On his return, he resumed writingprotest songs which were incor-porated into the Wobblies first “littlered songbook” containing all theirprotest songs. His words were origi-nal, but he generally used existinghymns or melodies that were easilylearned by protesters, or already
26 Swedish American Genealogist 2011:4
Book Reviews
The Society’s latest book is a novel,“Shuttle in her hand,” rich in history
and Swedish-American weaving lore.
familiar to their ears.The changes brought about by the
ongoing industrial revolution dis-rupted many lives and economiesduring this period, and it was a fertiletime for the spread of Marxist ideas.The inequities of workers strugglingin poverty while capitalists andowners prospered caused much re-sentment among the working poor.The radical, socialist ideas, createdin Europe, were brought to the U.S.by many immigrants and caught holdhere in the U.S. as well. Many intel-lectuals were also seduced by theseideas. The rise of the labor movementin America resulted in the foundingand growth of the American Federa-tion of Labor (AFL) as the first na-tional labor organization, whichsought and won gains mainly bynegotiations and, sometimes, strikes.
Those more radically inclinedgravitated to the IWW, who not onlystruck but engaged in public demon-strations which often led to violence.The IWW in their songs and writingsadvocated violent overthrow of thegovernment, anarchy, or worker con-trol of the means of production. Thisresulted in a strong backlash fromlocal and state governments. Leaderswere often jailed or beaten, and ostra-cized so they could not find work. JoeHill was among these leaders. Whilenot an organizer, Hill did provide thesongs that the IWW used to carrytheir demonstrations and advancetheir cause, many with calls toviolence.
By 1913, Hill found himself livingin Salt Lake City, Utah, with a newfriend and fellow IWW member,where he helped organize a strike.On January 10, 1914, a grocer andhis son, John Morrison, were shot
dead by robbers of his store.Coincidentally, the same night, JoeHill visited a doctor because of abullet wound in his left lung. (The sonof the grocer had fired a shot in re-turn before being killed, and ayounger son had witnessed the kil-ling). Hill was claimed to have beenseen near the grocery that day, andwas arrested for the murder. At histrial, he was eventually found guiltyand sentenced to death, his choicebeing either by hanging or before afiring squad.
Appeals dragged on for over a year,as the IWW and others came to hisdefense, the trial being clearly based
on circumstantial evidence. Hill hadearlier fired his lawyers and under-took his own defense, confident thathis innocence would free him. Hillrefused to say where he received hisbullet wound, only that it was in adispute over a woman. He would notname the woman or the person whoshot him. After many more delaysand appeals for clemency, includinga request for a delay by PresidentWoodrow Wilson to the Utah gover-nor, Joe Hill was eventually executedon Thursday, Nov. 18, 1915, by a firingsquad as was his choice. By that time,he had come to terms with his pend-ing execution and felt that he would
27Swedish American Genealogist 2011:4
Book Reviews
SALE!Swedish Voters in
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comments, and indexes.$10 + $5 S&H
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do more for the IWW movement as amartyr than if he were exoneratedand lived.
The author, William M. Adler, hasthoroughly researched anew numer-ous sources for his detailed accountof the life and death of Joe Hill,including visits to Sweden and tomany other locations related to JoeHill’s life. He has made a strong casefor the innocence of Joe Hill, althoughother possible suspects were nevercharged or convicted. It may neverbe known whether Joe Hill was guiltyof murder or innocent, but it is clearthat his conviction was more due topublic opinion and antipathy towardJoe Hill’s associations with the“Wobblies” than it was based on sol-id evidence. The author is clearlysympathetic to Hill’s cause and to thecause of the IWW. Adler is not only awriter, but also a rock musician anda songwriter, other reasons for hisinterest in Joe Hill. Several of Adler’sother books deal with other individu-als who were tragic victims of society,or of social change beyond their con-trol.
The legacy of Joe Hill is that heremains honored as a folk hero of theworking class among many on theleft, a man who was martyred bythose who would try to preserve theexisting order in the U.S. at the time.The author, after briefly describingthe life of Joe Hill in Sweden, spendsthe remaining chapters in a detailedexamination of his life and unionactivities in the U.S. from about 1907to his execution. Adler has takenpains to include the lyrics of as manyof Joe Hill’s protest songs as possible,many of which included appeals toviolence against owners or allegianceto the IWW ahead of allegiance to the
U.S. There is no indication in the bookthat Joe Hill had any connectionswith any church, beyond borrowingthe tunes of a few hymns for hissongs.
This book is an intensely readableaccount of the life, trials, and deathof Joe Hill, who had dedicated his lifeto the goals of the IWW, and the“liberation of the working class.”
The IWW reached its zenith on theeve of World War I, and still existstoday in much reduced form. His lastwords before his death were recordedas “do not waste time mourning,organize!” In the decades after JoeHill’s death, the working classgradually but steadily liberated itselfthrough the acquisition of skills,organizing into labor unions, collec-tive bargaining, and the achievementof better working conditions in mostemployment activities.The advan-cement of machinery, automation,and capital investment in betterequipment for mining, manufactu-ring, logging, materials handling, andother activities greatly reduced theneed for hard, dangerous, humanlabor. The children and grandchild-ren of these immigrant miners,laborers, and stevedores have advan-ced to become accountants, engine-ers, teachers, technicians, or are oftenin other much more skilled occu-pations requiring an advanced edu-cation.
Perhaps if Joe Hill had chosen an-other course, and married, he wouldhave had children and grandchildrenwho would be among those nowtaking part in a much more satisfyingand comfortable life in America.
Dennis L. Johnson
Scandinaviansin the U.S.
Scandinavian Descendants in theUnited States: Ethnic Groups or CoreAmericans?, Torben GrøngaardJeppesen, Odense City Museum,2011, hardcover, 206 pages, illus-trated, cost not given. More informa-tion from<[email protected]>
If you are a seeker of a broad over-view of Scandinavian immigration tothe U.S. over the period 1840 throughthe 1950’s, this is the book for you.Originally published in Danish in2010, this book is now available inEnglish. The author, Torben Jeppe-sen, is director of the Odense Mu-seum in Denmark and has compileda remarkably complete and graphicpicture of the immigration patternsof Swedes, Norwegians, and Danesduring this period.
All three national groups arecovered, but if your interests are onlyin one of these countries, it is still anexcellent reference. Nearly all charts,graphs, and illustrations show datafrom all three groups, often color-coded and combined on one chart, soit is easy to pick out the desired in-formation and determine the varia-tions between the three groups.
After a brief introduction whichincludes photos of prominent personsof Scandinavian ancestry now in theU.S., the author explains how the
An early spring flower.
28 Swedish American Genealogist 2011:4
Book Reviews
book came to be written and the goalsestablished by Jeppesen. The chiefaim is to “map and describe the maincharacteristics of the situation ofScandinavians in today’s Americaand to investigate and analyze howfar they have come in becomingintegrated and assimilated intoAmerican society.” In this aim, theauthor has gone far in achieving hispurpose in a very clear, organized,and well-illustrated fashion.
The first of eight chapters providesa general picture of immigration tothe U.S. including the where and howof arrival, registration, and travel todestinations in the States. Overallnumbers for each country, by decade,show the pattern, beginning withvery small numbers from 1810 to1860, then swelling to a peak be-tween 1860 and 1900, then taperingoff from the turn of the century until1930 to a very small trickle. Peaksand valleys within the overall pat-tern coincide with recession years inthe U.S. and, sometimes, with famineyears in Scandinavia. Norwegianswere the first to come, but by about1860 were overtaken in numbers bythe Swedes. Danish immigrationfigures were smaller than the othersthrough the entire period, but arestill significant. Maps of the U.S.illustrate the settlement patterns inthe various states, similar for allthree but varying in detail. Includedalso is information about the “secondmigration” as some first and manysecond-generation Scandinaviansmoved to other locations, generallywest and south.
The following chapters discuss,first, the Scandinavian immigrationin the context of all other immigra-tion to the U.S. over the same period,
and second, a description of Ameri-can society today. The author coversbreakdowns of ethnic groups, inter-nal migration patterns, and income,religious, political, and social pat-terns, by states. An interesting mapshows what the author calls a patch-work nation, indicating the wide var-iation in patterns in the population,by counties. Chapter four describesthe more current locations of secondand third generation descendants forthe three groups as they moved toother locations to pursue their lives.Excellent maps show these patterns,and included also as an example ofpost-immigration movement is adetailed map of the Minneapolisarea, by voting district, for all threeScandinavian groups.
Chapters five and six are intendedto show the degrees of social, cultural,residential, and political integrationamong the three Scandinaviancountries, and to compare these andother social attitudes with otherethnic groups and the nation as awhole. Graphs, charts, and text drawsome vivid contrasts, while in otherareas most have a great deal in com-mon. The seventh chapter, to add amore personal touch to the volumeof statistics presented, profiles thelives of some Scandinavian Ameri-cans in Wisconsin born around 1939.This state was the preferred desti-nation for most Scandinaviansthrough about 1870, when it was dis-placed by Minnesota, mainly due tothe availability of land. Many inter-esting facts and anecdotes emerge inthis chapter, comparing similaritiesand differences between these secondand third-generation Scandinavians.Many of these have begun to marryacross ethnic groups, with manymixed families among these latergenerations.
In his final chapter, Jeppesenconcludes that most present-daythird and fourth generation descen-dants of the large Scandinavian mig-ration have in fact become part of
what he calls Core-Americans. Hetries to measure this as scientificallyas possible through a key chart whichpresents data on six factors, for eachof the nationalities. These are bylocation of settlement, socio-economicfactors, choice of marriage partners,religious choices, politics and values,and ethnic affiliation. Admitting tothe deficiencies of such analysis, hedoes conclude that the Scandinaviansclosely approach in most factors themeasurements of mainstream whiteAmericans, in some cases exceedingthem somewhat. (In education levels,income, and politics/values). Varia-tions among the three are not large,although he finds the Norwegians tobe less integrated in some factorsthan the roughly equal Swedes andDanes.
Many nuances and exceptions arespeculated on by the author as totheir causes in trying to explain thesedifferences, all quite subjective. Butit is clear that these Scandinaviandescendants now share with mostwhite Americans the characteristicsof that group. A group that is moreconservative than most other morerecent immigrant groups of non-white origins. Many, even despite amuch greater pattern of mixed mar-riages, keep a corner of their livestuned to their ethnic origins.
The first generation married al-most exclusively within each nation-ality, the second preferred otherScandinavians, the third moved to-ward others of European back-ground, and the more recent genera-tions will no doubt marry morecommonly among non-white groups.These later generations have main-tained in surprising numbers con-nections to their religious backgro-und, the Lutheran Church. Many ofthe later generations have moved toother parts of the U.S. to furtheropportunities for themselves andtheir children, largely to growingmetropolitan areas. And many otherobservations and conclusions are
29Swedish American Genealogist 2011:4
New and Noteworthy(short notes on interesting books and articles)
Book Reviews
identified by Jeppesen, too numerousto include in this review.
The first volume to examine insuch detail these patterns of present-day descendants of Scandinavianimmigrants, this book is easilyreadable by those interested in theirown heritage. People in Norway,Sweden, and Denmark will find itinteresting to learn more about whathappened, and is happening, to allthe descendants of their own an-cestors who immigrated in pastyears. The book is a useful referencefor students, scholars, and writersabout the present status of Scan-dinavians in the U.S., and adds avaluable resource to the literatureabout the current outcome of theimmigrant experience for Norwe-
gians, Swedes, and Danes. It alsoprovides a valuable forecast for theprospects of other, more recent im-migrant groups as they blend into theethnic mosaic that is the destiny ofthe American people.
Dennis L. Johnson
A correctionIn SAG 2/11, p.26 there was areview of the book Swede Bend,Iowa – The early years 1848–1855, in which there was somemisunderstanding of when theimmigration to the Swede Bendarea started. One of the authors,Jerry Lundgren, wants to clarifythat the group that settled inSwede Bend came directly fromSweden in 1849 on the bark Vir-ginia out of Göteborg.
Elisabeth Thorsell
The new Rotemannen DVD.
The new Swedish Family Register 2012 (Svenska Släktkalendern) was published inearly December. It is the 46th volume in a series that started in 1885, then appearedin a new format in 1912, and continued to 1950. Then there was break in the series,but in 1962 it came back in a new larger format and has since been published every2 or 3 years, with some longer hiatuses sometimes. The total number of families hasnow reached 2,714 different families. Some families come back and present updatedarticles, others are just published once. In this volume there are 68 families, of which44 are totally new ones and 24 are “repeaters.” A list of families in the whole seriescan be found at http://www.svenskaslaktkalendern.se/#english. The theme forthis volume was “famous authors,” which explains the picture of dramatist AugustStrindberg on the cover. Several families have branches in the U.S. presented here.
Dr. Brita Butler-Wall has an interesting article in The Swedish-American Histori-cal Quarterly for October 2011, entitled Erik Jansson’s Two Wives and the BishopHill Colony. The prophet Erik Jansson was married two times, first to Maja Stina Larsdotter, b. 1815 in Uppland,who faithfully followed Erik Jansson on his travels, and tried to get him out of prison, and then travelled to the“Promised Land”, where she died in 1849. A few weeks later Erik Jansson married the widow Anna SophiaBengtsson Pollock, who seems to be little known. Brita Butler-Wall has now found a memoir that she wrote,which gives a lot of new information on her. She seems to have been a well-educated woman and led an interes-ting life, besides being remembered as just Erik Jansson’s wife.
New DVD – RotemannenNow in early February the new DVDRotemannen has been released. It isan amalgamation of all databases inthe older Stockholm CDs, and withsome new information too. The wholecity is not complete, but it still has4.7 million posts on a great numberof people in the city. It runs on PCs,XP, and newer, and has a friendlysearch interface, looking like the onefor the Swedish Death Index. It costsabout $99 including shipping andhandling, and can be bought from thebookshop of the Swedish Federationof Genealogical Societies. It is nowpossible to use a credit card.
Link on page 30.