For more details on Arndt's heritage in Norway, go to our Saltøy Page.  While that page was orgiginally created as part of the information on Arndt's brother, John, it also applies to Arndt and all of the siblings of Arndt and John.

Arndt Jonassen Svebukta (Arnt Swee) was born at Svebukta, Skatval, Stjørdal, Norway on February 14,1852 and died on February 8, 1948 in Cherry Grove Township, Goodhue County, Minnesota.  He was buried in Lands Lutheran Church Cemetery.

Arnt came to America in 1872, 3 years before his younger brother, John J. Svee
(notice the difference in the spelling of their last names). Arnt and John were farmers and the two of them spent much of the early years cutting down trees.

Ragnhilde Gundersdatter Hoset (Ragnild Swee), Arnt's wife, came to America in 1876.

Arnt and Ragnhilde had 17 children including Joseph Swee who was adopted by Kari Blakstad as was his sister Mette Ingmar (Mattie) Swee. Joseph Blakstad married my aunt Jonetta Satrum, so I am actually related to that family from both my Satrum family and my Svee family.  Christine Swee Ulevig was adopted by Ida Ulevig Tongen.  Arnt and Ragnihilde had 5 children who were deaf/mute (Adolph, Albert, Emily, Rosella, and Sydney).


Arnt was naturalized on January 17 1897.

At that time the other members of the family were considered to be "naturalized" as part of the naturalization of the head of household, so there may be no individual naturalization record for Ragnhilde.

Norwegian emigration records indicate that more than 600 Norwegians emigrated to Zumbrota in Goodhue County, Minnesota between 1880 and 1910, most of them with prepaid tickets. In an effort to increase their populations, settlements in Goodhue County were paying emigrant transportation costs from Norway during that period.

Arnt and Ragnhilde are buried in the Lands Lutheran Church cemetery about 1 miles west of Zumbrota, Minnesota.  The Norwegian flag still flys over that cemetery today.

Arnt J. Swee 1852-1948	Ragnild Swee 1852-1935	The Norwegian flag still flys here

Arnt had 8 brothers and sisters, Ingeborg Anna Svebukta (1843), Johan Arnt Steinvikaunet (1845), Gunnerius Svebukta 1847, Peter Svebukta (February 12, 1849), Jon Jonassen Svebukta (John Svee) 1855, Petrine Svebukta (1858), Lena Svebukta (1860), and one other sibling for whom we do not have a name.

A July 25, 2000 letter from Joyce and Darlene Johnson of Wanamingo, Minnesota described Arnt Swee's parents and included information on each of 16 children.  It included a letter which had been sent to them by Alma Broin, daughter of Henry Swee on August 26, 1981.  My list below has 17 children so we need to resolve the differences.  Read more about the Broin letter on the Children of Arnt Swee Page. 

Children of ARNT SWEE and RAGNHILDE HOSET:

1. JOHAN P. SWEE,	27 Jun 1877 -
2. GUSTAV A. SWEE	15 Jan 1882-1966
3. PETER G. SWEE	11 Oct 1883 - 26 Feb 1975
4.EMILY GURINE SWEE,	24 Nov 1884 -
5.JOSEPHINE A. SWEE	3 Apr 1886 -
6. ANNA A. SWEE	12 Jan 1888 -
7. ALBERT A. SWEE	24 Aug 1889 - 21 Dec 1966
8.CHRISTINE SWEE,	25 Mar 1892 -
9. ROSELLA B. SWEE,	20 Oct 1893; d. Chicago.
10. ADOLPH SWEE	26 Jun 1896 -
11. SIGURD SWEE,	09 Sep 1899 -
12. HENRY SWEE,	1871 - 1923.
13. METTE INGMAR SWEE (METTE INGMAR BLAKSTAD)	02 Oct 1877 -
14. MARTIN INGMAR SWEE	1881 - 1950.
15. MARTIN GUNERIOUS SWEE	11 Nov 1878 - 15 Nov 1878.
16  SIDNEY SWEE
17 JOSEPH SWEE (JOSEPH BLAKSTAD)	11 Nov 1890 - 12 Mar 1975

Notes for ARNT JONASSEN SWEE:
Arnt Swee was listed on the U. S. 1900 Census as Arnt "SVEA".  This could have been because the name "Swee" (and Svee for that matter)  would have been pronounced "svay eh" or " svee eh" by many Norwegians.   Arnt could speak English and read and write.  The census shows that he rented his farm.  I need to indicate which census sheets this information came from, especially the township.

Mary Iwen, granddaughter of John Svee, believed that Arnt Swee belonged to Minneola church.  Even though Minneola and Lands Lutheran churches were only about 10 miles from each other and often served by the same pastor, the fact that Arnt was buried in the Lands cemetery leads me to believe that they may have been members of Lands.  Also I don't remember finding any entries for Arnt Svee when I researched the Minneola church books.

Notes for RAGNHILDE GUNDERSDATTER HOSET:
On the 1900 U.S. Census, Ragnhilde was listed as "Ragnild G. Svea" and as the mother of 17 children, 15 of whom were now living.  11 of the children were living at home at the time of the census.  She could speak English and read and write.

ARNT LEAVES NORWAY FOR AMERICA ("REDVING").

Digital Archivet "Emigranter fra Trondheim 1867-1930" shows Arnt I Sve, a 21 year old male, with a residence of Størdalen, registering on April 18, 1872 to travel on the Dampskib "Norway" of the Allan Line to "Redving" .  The agent was "Ennis".  He paid 49SPD/KR 72øre for his "freight".  No other Sve named relatives were on that ship.  The "Norway" sailed on April 18, 1872 so there is a chance that the record of his registration might indicate that he also sailed on the "Norway" that day.  The "Norway" was a fairly small ship (237 feet long by 32 feet wide).

Most of the emigrants spent some time in Liverpool, waiting for the ship to sail. It could take one to ten days before they could board their ship, for sailing. Before that, they had to spend their time in a lodging-house.  Assuming Arnt, like many others going to Minnesota, originally went first to Quebec; and allowing time to travel to England and arrive in Liverpool, possible connecting ships to Quebec include:

* Allan Line - SS Hibernian -       Depart 4-25-1872 - Arrive Quebec 5-10-1872.

* Allan Line - SS St. Andrew -    Depart 4-25-1872 - Arrive Quebec 5-11-1872.

* Allan Line - SS Sweden -         Depart 4-26-1872 - Arrive Quebec 5-13-1872.

***   Library and Archives Canada has a ships list for the arrival of the SS Sweden on May 13. (actual scans of the pages).  I have not reviewed the pages but am starting to look at them now.  See

http://sydaby.eget.net/swe/emi_ref.htm

* Temperley Line - SS Medway - Depart 4-24-1872 - Arrive Quebec 5-12-1872. (NO)

*** I have researched the passenger list of the Medway for this arrival in Quebec and there was no record of Arnt Sve (or any person with a spelling or name even close to that ).  See http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/passengerlists/Medway_1872.htm

* Temperley Line - SS Nile -        Depart 4-20-1872 - Arrive Quebec 5-12-1872. (NO)

*** I have researched the passenger list of the Nile for this arrival in Quebec and there was no record of Arnt Sve (or any person with a spelling or name even close to that ).  See

http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/passengerlists/Nile_1872.htm

The designation "dampskib" means that the ship was a steamer.  By 1872 much of the emigration to America was no longer on sailing ships, although a "dampskib" could have both sails and steam power.

THE SHIP "NORWAY"

The S/S Norway, (ex. Braemar) was built 1868 at Barclay Curle & Co in Glasgow (over 3 months in 1869, some repairs in 1870). She was used by the Allan Line for Scandinavian feeder service, mainly on route between Trondheim - Christiansund, Aalesund, Bergen - Glasgow and Liverpool. In the period 1869 - 1872 she departed Trondheim with emigrants 51 times. She had a tonnage of 967 tons gross and 917 net. She had a single screw, engine with 2 cylinders delivering 120 horsepower, which gave her a speed of 10 knots. The machinery was certified in 1868 and built by the same company as the hull. She was an iron construction, she had one deck and partial awning deck. She had 5 bulkheads cemented in 1868 and 3 masts. There was accommodation for 120 passengers. Owners: J. & A. Allan. Port of registry: Glasgow. Port of survey: Liverpool. Name of master given in the 1872-73 Lloyd's register of shipping, was Captain Maylass. Official registration #: 60382. On the journey April 21, S/S Norway, Capt. Mylins carried 402 Emigrants from Trondheim. 362 for Allan Line, 33 for Anchor Line, 4 for National Line, 2 for Guion Line and finally 1 for Inman Line. When the feeder service was withdrawn she was sold to Cork Steam Ship Co, and renamed "Hoopoe".  While primarily providing "feeder service", the Norway did take one trip on October 13, 1870, from Liverpool to Quebec  to Montreal. The Norway sank in a collision with S/S "Sir Galahad" off Lands End  in 1888.

The announcement to the right was printed in a Trondheim newspaper by the Allan Line's agent in 1869. It reads: The steamship Norway and Sweden will maintain a weekly service between this place and England, in the way that Norway will sail from here to Liverpool May 14th and Sweden May 21st, Norway to Newcastle (from Trondheim) on May 28th, and Sweden on June 4th, where after the route will continue in the same order, twice for Liverpool and twice for Newcastle, calling at Bergen to take on passengers.

To the left is an Allan Line advertisement from 1870 specifically mentioning the "Norway".  A bigger version is available by clicking on the picture.  This is the type of advertisement Arnt, and his fellow Norwegians preparing to leave Norway would have seen.

The Allan Line (Montreal Ocean Steamship Company) opened a route between Norwegian ports and Britain in 1869. For this service they had purchased the S/S Norway and the S/S Sweden. The service was intended as a feeder service for the company's ocean liners departing from Liverpool and Glasgow. The S/S Damascus was also used in the service. The Norwegian route had it's ending point in Trondheim, and the ships took on pyrites from the mines at Ytterøy a little further in the fjord. This was a lucrative trade combined with the transportation of passengers. The company also conveyed passengers of other lines from norway to UK, but this was not always a smooth cooperation. In 1870 there was quite a newspaper campaign between the agent of the Anchor Line and the Allan Line. The company discontinued it's feeder service in 1872, due to the decreasing number of emigrants.

The Allan Line was one of the first transatlantic steamship companies to establish a network of agents in Norway. For many years it had a leading position in the transportation of emigrants from Norway to America. Most of the Norwegian emigrants crossing on the Allan Line ships went from Liverpool to Quebec, but there were also a number of Norwegians going on the Glasgow - Boston and New York routes. The company also maintained other routes, but the above mentioned were the most used routes for Norwegians.

All the emigrants traveling on the Allan Line ships had to travel via the UK, the majority via Hull on the Wilson Line ships and from Hull by train to Liverpool.

"Norway's" sister ship "Sweden" was about the same size and made several trips from Liverpool to Quebec, so even the smaller steamships could go all the way to North America.  In fact the "Sweden" was slightly smaller at 190 feet long by 28 feet wide, and had 3 sails in addition to a 2 cylinder, 120 horsepower, steam engine.   - Credits - www.norwayheritage.com.

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