Cleng Peerson (17 May 1783 – 16 December 1865) was a Norwegian emigrant to the United States; his voyage in 1824 was the precursor for the boat load of 52 Norwegian emigrants in the following year. That boat load was a precursor for the main wave of Norwegian immigration to the United States. He was a

Norwegian-American Norwegian Americans () 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 20th century. There are more than 4.5 milli ...

pioneer and "

Slooper The sobriquet "Slooper" refers to the 52 Norwegians who traveled to the United States in 1825 aboard the sloop '' Restauration''.

" who led the first group of Norwegians to emigrate to the United States, traveling on the Norwegian sloop '' Restauration''.

Background

Cleng Peerson was born Klein Pedersen near the community of

Tysvær Tysvær is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Rogaland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Haugalandet Districts of Norway, region. The municipality is located on the Haugalandet peninsula on the northern side ...

in the county of

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. His parents were Peder Larsson (1755–1841) and Inger Sjursdotter (1744–1814). Cleng Peerson grew up on the farm Hesthammar in Tysvær, but was born on the farm Lervik in the same district. In 1821, he first traveled to the United States at the request of a religious community in

Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...

. This community was made up principally of

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

, together with

Haugean The Haugean movement or Haugeanism () was a Pietistic state church reform movement intended to bring new life and vitality into the Church of Norway, which had been often characterized by formalism and lethargy. The movement emphasized personal ...

s, both groups having been influenced by the beliefs of German Rappites.

Immigration

In 1824, when Peerson came back to Norway, it was decided that a group should emigrate. Peerson returned to America to prepare for their arrival. Cleng Peerson met the immigrants when they landed in New York on October 9, 1825. They moved to northern

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, settling about northwest of Rochester in the town of Kendall, near

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

, in Orleans County. The road that ran through this settlement is today known as Norway Road. In 1834, Cleng Peerson led a group of settlers to a little settlement on the

Illinois River The Illinois River () is a principal tributary of the Mississippi River at approximately in length. Located in the U.S. state of Illinois, the river has a drainage basin of . The Illinois River begins with the confluence of the Des Plaines ...

, in the Fox River Valley. The community of

in LaSalle County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

is the site of the Norwegian Settlers Memorial which was dedicated in 1934. Starting in 1838, Peerson returned to Norway several times. By 1840, Peerson had settled in Sugar Creek in Montrose Township, Lee County in the southeastern part of

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. Cleng Peerson was listed in the United States census records as a settler in 1840. He lived here for several years, including the period 1840–47. In 1847, he joined the Swedish immigrant society at

Bishop Hill Colony Bishop Hill Colony is a Historic districts in the United States, historic district in Bishop Hill, Illinois. Bishop Hill was the site of a utopian religious community which operated as a commune. It was founded in 1846 by Swedish Pietism, pie ...

in Henry County, Illinois, which had been founded by sect leader Erik Janson. During 1854, the

Texas State Legislature The Texas State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a po ...

granted Peerson of land west of Clifton, in

Bosque County, Texas Bosque County ( ) is a county located in the greater Waco area. The county sits just northwest of Waco in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,235. Its county seat is Meridian, while Clifton is the largest ...

. Peerson lived here until his death in 1865 and was buried in the cemetery by Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Cranfills Gap.

Personal life

Peerson married the Swedish-born widow Ane Cathrine Saelinger (1749–1831) in 1807. He later married Maria Charlotta Dahlgren (1809 – ca. 1849) who had emigrated from Sweden in 1846.

Legacy

*In 1947 and 1975, Cleng Peerson was featured on Norwegian postage stamps. *During 1982,

King Olav V Olav V (, ; born Prince Alexander of Denmark; 2 July 1903 – 17 January 1991) was King of Norway from 1957 until his death in 1991. Olav was born at Sandringham House in England, the only child of Prince Carl of Denmark and Princess Maud of Wa ...

of Norway visited Texas in recognition of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Cleng Peerson. *Cleng Peerson Research Library and Cleng Peerson Institute are both located in

Clifton, Texas Clifton is the largest city in Bosque County, Texas, United States. The city's population was 3,465 at the 2020 census. Clifton and the surrounding area was settled by Norwegian settlers in the mid 1800s. Today, this areas is in the National ...

. *Tysvær municipality has announced plans for the Cleng Peerson Center.

In literature

''The True Saga Of Cleng Peerson'' are novels written by

Alfred Hauge Alfred Hauge (17 October 1915 – 31 October 1986) was a Norwegian educator, journalist, novelist, poet and historian. He wrote extensively about life on the Ryfylke islands and about Norwegian-American emigration. Biography Hauge was born ...

(translated by John Weinstock and Turid Sverre. foreword by Carl W. W. Sorenson. Special Projects Committee, Norwegian Society of Texas; 1982) about the life and times of Cleng Peerson. The three volume series were published in Norwegian between 1961 and 1965 by

Gyldendal Norsk Forlag Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS, commonly referred to as Gyldendal N.F. and in Norway often only as Gyldendal, is one of the largest Norway, Norwegian publishing houses. It was founded in 1925 after buying rights to publications from the Denmark, Dan ...

References

Other sources

*De Pellis, Mario S. ''Cleng Peerson and the Cummunitarian Background of Norwegian Immigration'' (Norwegian-American Historical Association. Volume 2I: Page 136) * Lovell, Odd S. (2015) ''Across the Deep Blue Sea: The Saga of Early Norwegian Immigrants'' (Minnesota Historical Society Press)

External links

The Sloopers - Pioneers in Norwegian Emigration. Norway-HeritageThe Sloopers. Norwegian Emigration CenterCleng Peerson Cabin at C P FarmSons of Norway Cleng Peerson Lodge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peerson, Cleng 1783 births 1865 deaths People from Tysvær Norwegian emigrants to the United States People from Bosque County, Texas