What courage it must have taken to leave each familiar face, and sail o’ver the trackless ocean and live in a strange new place, but the new world called and beckoned. It seemed they had to go, and courage was given as needed for that journey so long and slow. – Written by a great granddaughter of a Slooper
“The Sloopers”
In 1825 my fourth great grandfather Gudmund Danielsen Haukaas, or the Americanized name – Goodman Hougas, and his fellow Norwegians set forth on a brave journey in a small ship across thousands of miles of ocean to a new home and a new life. Goodman was just 25. This is the story of the brave people fondly called “The Sloopers” and our connection to them.
Stavanger Norway
1825 Stavanger, Norway was undergoing religious unrest. The country’s national religion was Lutheran. During the Napoleonic Wars some men were held prisoner by the British. In prison they came into contact with other religions including the Quakers. When they were released and returned to Norway they shared the new religious thoughts. The local authorities were not happy and they were persecuted, fined, and taxed in an effort to keep the thoughts from spreading. Pioneers who had already traveled to the United States came back with talk of religious freedom in the new country. Six families soon organized, pooled their money ($1300) and rebuilt a sloop, naming it “Restoration”.
The Restoration, pictured above, was a small sloop. 54′ long and 16′ wide. The records list 52 passengers and crew. No photographs exist but the image above is a painting of what it is imagined to look like. The sloop left port loaded with iron and whiskey. It weighed just 38 tons. This was about 9 sq. feet per person with just 250 sq. feet total for sleeping area to share. Five passengers agreed to help serve as crew including Goodman.
In 1825, Stavanger was a small town, so the sloop leaving was an big event! It was such an important event, this beginning of the Norwegian exodus from Norway, that the anniversary is still celebrated in Norway. They have even placed markers in the U.S. to commemorate it. One third of their population eventually left Norway and three quarters of a million Norwegian people settled in the U.S. This amount of immigrants was only surpassed by the Irish.
The journey across the Atlantic started on July 4th, 1825. The ship sailed through the English Channel to Lisett. There they sold whiskey which was prohibited, and they made a hasty retreat. They arrived in New York Harbor on October 9, 1825. Since ships sailing across the Atlantic with that many passengers were required to be at least 115 tons, the little Norwegian “Mayflower” of 38 tons with 52 passengers was the talk of the town. The authorities fined them for over boarding. The ship, cargo and captain were taken under arrest. After a couple of weeks they were personally pardoned by John Quincy Adams, because of their ignorance of the law. The Norwegians sold their ship for $400 and with the help of their Quaker friends they started their first settlement in Kendall, New York. Kendall was called the “Black North” due to the bogs and thick forests.
Goodman was a wheelwright by trade, with more than average education. He was intelligent and well read. He was also a self made doctor who helped many of his fellow immigrants. He married Julia Madland, and they had ten children including their first daughter, our ancestor Elizabeth Betsy Hougas. After Julia Madland died he married Caroline Hervik and had one more daughter. In 1834, because of unfavorable conditions, the immigrants moved on to the Fox River settlement in Illinois by the hamlet of Norway, IL. Goodman was said to be a thrifty, industrious farmer in one of the richest localities in the state of Illinois.
While living in Illionois Goodman joined the Mormon church and quickly became an elder. He went to other settlements to help spread the LDS faith. In the Hayer/Hyer family history book on page 6, they mentioned Goodman as the elder who visited the Wisconsin settlement and brought the LDS religion to them. Anne Hayer married Ole K. Lewis. Anne and Ole were the parents of Charles Lewis who married Betsy Hougas and were grandparents to Ed Lewis.
The interesting side note to this story is that Goodman Hougas was not only our fourth great grandfather, but he was a grandfather to both Belle Richards and Ed Lewis, first cousins who married and had a son – Silas Lewis. Perhaps marrying first cousins was common with the Mormons in the Fox Creek settlement?
Generations Chart
1. Goodman Hougas and Julia Madland
2. Betsy Hougas and Charles Lewis
3. Ed Lewis and Belle Richards
4. Silas Lewis and Bertha Schultz
5. Marion Lewis and Chris Serr
and
1. Goodman Hougas and Julia Madland
2. Julia Hougas and Newton Richards
3. Belle Richards and Ed Lewis
4. Silas Lewis and Bertha Schultz
5. Marion Lewis and Chris Serr
There were many issues with cholera in the settlements and not many doctors available. Goodman practiced medicine as did many intelligent, well respected men in that time. During an outbreak in Fox River he worked tirelessly caring for patients day and night until he took ill. After a six hour illness, he died on July 27, 1849 at the age of 49. The daughter listed on his headstone as the third Norwegian child born in the U.S. was Betsy Hougas. He is buried close to Ottawa, Illinois.
This story of the Sloopers and Goodman Hougas was compiled by me, Debra Serr Liberatore. I have tried to be as accurate as possible. It is my goal to share family history with my relatives in the hope of inspiring an interest in their ancestry. I was inspired by my paternal uncle Norman Serr. I always find these connections to history endlessly fascinating, and hope you do too!
You can find more stories of the Sloopers online.
Please let me know your thoughts or comments at deblib60@gmail.com
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