The inspiration for this post was an email sent to the Norwegian Society of Texas through our NST-Info mailbox. The email was from the wife of Joseph Henrik Wergeland (1960-2017) who lived in California. She wrote that he thought he was the 3x great-grandson of Henrik Wergeland. Joseph dreamed of visiting Norway or the Henrik Wergeland Statue in Fargo, North Dakota. Unfortunately, this never happened. Not knowing about Henrik, I started searching the web for information about the Henrik Wergeland Statue in North Dakota. I was surprised to find that Henrik and his father had influenced the writing and amending of the Norwegian Constitution.
Henrik's work was essential to Norway's independence from Sweden and the celebration of Norwegian Constitution Day. The Norwegian Society of Texas Chapters celebrate this day every year. At the Midnattsolen Chapter's celebration in 2024, Dr. James Johnson presented Appreciating the Norwegian Constitution of AD1814. The paper detailed the background, the original Constitution, and examples of articles and amendments.
READ MORE: Appreciating the Norwegian Constitution of AD1814
Highlights of the search:
1. Fargo, North Dakota: Its History and Images NSSU Archives
“The statue of Henrik Wergeland (1808-1845) stands in Island Park, Fargo, North Dakota. Wergeland was Norway's national poet and a symbol of Norway's independence. Wergeland's literary works were used to lead his country toward independence from Sweden in 1905. He was a reformer of politics, religion, agriculture and prisons, and he has been called "the Abraham Lincoln of Norway."
Read More Henrik Wergeland Statue
2. Norway Virtual Jewish History Tour
“In 1814, Norway acquired its first constitution. This document was relatively liberal, but it stated that Lutheran Protestantism was the official state religion, and that Jews and Jesuits were forbidden from entering the kingdom. The national poet Henrik Wergeland led the lobbying to change this paragraph. In 1851, the ban was reversed six years after Wergeland’s death.”
Read More Norway Virtual Jewish History Tour
3. The Norwegian America published an article May 7, 2024, called Wergeland, Champion of freedom.
“Pastor Nicolai Wergeland declared: No person of Jewish creed must cross Norway’s national borders, and [they] must certainly not live here.”
“The first vote for repeal was on Sept. 9, 1842, with the yeses 51 to 43, but it was not the two-thirds necessary. Henrik convinced Nicolai to support repeal.”
Read More Wergeland, Champion of freedom
Wergeland Family History
NICOLAI HALVARSEN WERGELAND was born on 09 Nov 1780 in Wergeland, Bergen, Hordaland,
Norway. He died on 25 Mar 1848 in Eidsvoll, Akershus, Norway. He married ALETHE DOROTHEA
HENRIKSDTR THAULOW. She was born on 10 Dec 1780 in Kristiansand, Vest-Agder, Norge. She
died on 14 Aug 1843 in Eidsvoll prestegård, Eidsvoll, Akershus, Norway.
Nicolai Halvarsen Wergeland and Alethe Dorothea Henriksdtr Thaulow had the following children:
i. HENRIK ARNOLD THAULOW WERGELAND was born on 17 Jun 1808 in
Kristiansand, Kristiansand kommune, Vest-Agder fylke, Norway. He died on 12 Jul 1845 in Oslo, Oslo kommune, Oslo fylke, Norway. He married Gunhild Mathea Larsdatter on 27 Apr 1839 in Eidsvoll, Akershus, Norway. She was born in 1805 in Eidsvoll, Akershus, Norway. She died on 01 Dec 1883 in Svensrød, Nøtterøy, Vestfold, Norway.
ii. AUGUSTA ANTOINETTE NICOLAISDTR WERGELAND was born on 17 Jan 1810 in
Kristiansand, Vest-Agder, Norway. She died on 14 Feb 1874 in Oppland,
Oppland, Norway. She married EDVARD VILKELM VEDOE a parish priest in Suldal parish in Stavanger.
iii. HARALD TITUS ALEXIS WERGELAND was born in 1811. Harald published writings on agricultural topics from 1832 and published a thesis on Norwegian agriculture in 1843.
iv. JACOBINE CAMILLA COLLETT NICOLAISDTR WERGELAND was born on 23 Jan 1813 in
Kristiansand, Norway. She died on 06 Mar 1895 in Kristiania, Oslo, Norway. Jacobine Camilla Collett a Norwegian writer, often referred to as the first Norwegian feminist.
v. JOSEPH FRANTZ OSCAR WERGELAND was born on 17 Nov 1815. He died on 19 Aug 1895. Joseph was a Norwegian military officer and cartographer.
Norwegian Naming Customs and Wergeland vs. Verkland
From Henrik Wergeland Wikipedia page in the 2nd paragraph of the Family Section states the following:
“His ancestors with the name Wergeland lived at Verkland, a farm in Ytre Sogn[13] "at the top of the valley leading from Yndesdalvatnet, North of the county line towards Hordaland".[14] (Wergeland is a Danish transliteration of Verkland.[13])”
Verkland was a farm in the former municipality of Brekke. It went away when merged with Gulen to the west. I believe that descendants of Ole Jonsen Verkland changed their names to Wergeland when they moved to farm Wergeland in Hordaland.
Henrik's great grandparents
Lasse Olsen Wergeland 1725–1761
BIRTH 11 JAN 1725 • Verkland, Gulen, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway, DEATH 1761 • Wergeland, Lindås, Hordaland, Norway
Brita Halvorsdtr Wergeland 1712–1811
BIRTH 12 JUL 1712 • Wergeland, Lindås, Hordaland, Norway, DEATH 1811 • Wergeland, Lindås, Hordaland, Norway
Relationships to Henrik Wergeland
Joseph Hendrik Wergeland
Ole Jonsen Verkland is the common ancestor of Joseph and Hendrick Wergeland. Ole's first wife was Kari Hansdtr Brekke. Ole and Kari had eight children. Kari died in 1741. Henrick Wergeland was their 2x great grandson. In 1743 Ole Jonsen married Brita Halvorsdtr. They had three children. Joseph Wergeland descends from Ole and Brita. Joseph was not Henrik's 3x great grandson, but the Half 3rd cousin 3x.
Joseph Hendrik Wergeland 1960-2017
3rd cousin 3x removed
Henry D Wergeland Jr 1930-2014
Father of Joseph Hendrik Wergeland
Henry D Wergeland Sr 1903-1979
Father of Henry D Wergeland Jr
Ole Birgersen Wergeland 1865-1938
Father of Henry D Wergeland Sr
Birger Alias Hansen Wergeland 1834-1866
Father of Ole Birgersen Wergeland
Hans Halvarsen Wergeland 1797-1879
Father of Birger Alias Hansen Wergeland
Halvar Olsen Wergeland 1746-1835
Father of Hans Halvarsen Wergeland
Lasse Olsen Wergeland 1725-1761
Brother of Halvar Olsen Wergeland
Halvar Lassesen Wergeland 1755-1789
Son of Lasse Olsen Wergeland
Nicolai Halvarsen Wergeland 1780-1848
Son of Halvar Lassesen Wergeland
Henrik Arnold Thaulow Wergeland
Son of Nicolai Halvarsen Wergeland
Halvar Nilson Wergeland
It’s interesting to note Halvar Nilson Wergeland a cousin of Henrik immigrated to North Dakota in 1914, six years after the dedication of Henrik’s Statue in Island Park. Halvor also descends from Ole and Brita. Havlar Nilson died in 1948 in Fargo, North Dakota and was a half 3rd cousin 1x removed to Henrik.
Halvar Nilson Wergeland 1890-1948
Half 3rd cousin 1x removed
Nils Lassesen Wergeland 1864-1956
Father of Halvard Nielson Wergeland
Lasse Sjurson Brekke 1820-1882
Father of Nils Lassesen Wergeland
Sjur Hallvardson Wergeland 1786-1848
Father of Lasse Sjurson Brekke
Halvar Olsen Wergeland 1746-1835
Father of Sjur Hallvardson Wergeland
Lasse Olsen Wergeland 1725-1761
Brother of Halvar Olsen Wergeland
Halvar Lassesen Wergeland 1755-1789
Son of Lasse Olsen Wergeland
Nicolai Halvarsen Wergeland 1780-1848
Son of Halvar Lassesen Wergeland
Henrik Arnold Thaulow Wergeland
Son of Nicolai Halvarsen Wergeland
Your participation
Many thanks go to the person who inspired this post by emailing info@norwegiansocietyoftexas.org. I also thank blog authors Sarah Nowak and Devin Flato for their insight and help with this post.
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