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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Elise Amalie Tvede Waerenskjold, an early Texas |
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pioneer, is today remembered on both sides of the Atlantic for her |
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role in fostering Norwegian emigration to the United States; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in 1815 to Niels Seierslov Tvede, a Lutheran |
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minister, and his wife, Johanne, Elise Tvede was educated at home by |
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private tutors; at the age of 19 she embarked on a teaching career, |
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although female schoolteachers were then rare in Norway; and |
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WHEREAS, A strong-willed and independent thinker throughout |
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her life, Ms. Tvede promoted the causes of temperance, women's |
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rights, and the abolition of slavery; her articles brought her to |
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the attention of Johan Reinert Reiersen, who in 1846 appointed her |
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as editor of Norway and America, a magazine promoting emigration to |
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America; and |
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WHEREAS, Ms. Tvede emigrated to America herself the following |
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year and joined a colony of Norwegians established by Mr. Reiersen |
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in Henderson County; in 1848 she married Wilhelm Waerenskjold, a |
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member of the party with which she had traveled to Texas; the couple |
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settled on a square mile of land in Van Zandt County, at Four Mile |
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Prairie, in a second colony established by Mr. Reiersen; and |
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WHEREAS, Elise Waerenskjold and her husband took an active |
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part in the life of the Norwegian community and in the affairs of |
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Four Mile Prairie Lutheran Church, which still serves the |
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surrounding area; and |
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WHEREAS, This indomitable woman lived at Four Mile Prairie |
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for 46 years, during which time she farmed, sold garden seeds, |
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books, and magazine subscriptions, and taught school; despite the |
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hardships of frontier life, she also continued to write articles |
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encouraging emigration to America, especially to Texas; many of her |
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articles described the daily life of immigrant Norwegian families |
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and constitute an invaluable source of information about this |
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notable group of Texans; and |
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WHEREAS, Elise Waerenskjold's native land is erecting a |
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monument in her honor at the Western Norway Emigration Center at |
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Sletta, Norway, on July 7, 2007; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas |
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Legislature hereby join in commemorating the life of Elise Amalie |
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Tvede Waerenskjold and the contributions that she and her fellow |
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Norwegians made to the development of the Lone Star State; and, be |
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it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for presentation to the Western Norway Emigration Center |
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on the occasion of the ceremony honoring Elise Waerenskjold. |