Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant
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Biographical Note
Ingrid Amundsen was born on May 12, 1987 in Alstahaug, Norway, a small island west of Mosjoen, to Kristian and
Marie Ulrikson. Kristian was a shoemaker and Marie a homemaker. Ingrid had four siblings: Eli, Magda, Olaf, and
Kristjuf. Ingrid has no special memories of her childhood, but remembers Christmas in Norway fondly. On Christmas Eve,
they received gifts and had risengynsgroet, and on Christmas Day, they attended church and had lutefisk, soetsuppe,
potatoes, and other vegetables. After her confirmation, Ingrid went to work in Namsos, where her father had relatives,
and then immigrated to America in 1919 when she was twenty-one. Her older sister, Eli, already lived in America, and
Ingrid went to her house in Sioux City, Iowa. Ingrid worked as a domestic, and in 1921, she married Emil Amundsen, who
was also from Norway. The couple had two children: Clarence and Ethel and later moved to Seattle, WA. In America,
Ingrid attended some Norwegian organizations, but never got very involved. She did, however, continue to attend church
regularly with her family.
Lineage
Full Name: Ingrid (Charlotte ?) Amundsen Maiden Name: Ingrid (Charlotte ?) Ulrikson Father: Kristian Ulrikson
Mother: Marie Ulrikson Brothers and Sisters: Eli Astrid Ulrikson Magda Ulrikson Olaf Ulrikson Kristjuf(?)Ulrikson
Spouse: Emil Amundsen Children: Clarence (Bud) Amundsen Ethel Amundsen
Content Description
This interview was conducted with Ingrid Amundsen on January 18, 1983 in Seattle, Washington. It contains
information on family background, emigration, work, marriage and family, and community activities. Also available are
two photographs of Ingrid at the time of the interview. The interview was conducted in English.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access :
The oral history collection is open to all users.
Restrictions on Use :
There are no restrictions on use.
Administrative Information
Custodial History :
The Oral History collection project was started during an experimental course on Scandinavian Women in the
Pacific Northwest. Students in the course were encouraged to interview women and learn about their experiences as
immigrants to the United States. The project was continued and expanded with support from the president's office and by
grants from the L.J. Skaggs and Mary C. Skaggs Foundation, from the Joel E. Ferris Foundation and the Norwegian
Emigration Fund of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project was directed by Dr. Janet E. Rasmussen.
The collection was transferred to the Archives and Special Collections Department.
Acquisition Information :
Related Materials :
To search and view Pacific Lutheran University's digitized images, visit our
Digital Assets Website
Processing Note :
The interview was conducted by Inger Nygaard Carr using a cassette recorder. A research copy was also prepared
from the original. To further preserve the content of the interview, it is now being transferred to compact disc. We
deliberately did not transcribe the entire interview because we want the researchers to listen to the interviewee's own
voice. The transcription index highlights important aspects of the interview and the tape counter numbers noted on the
Partial Interview Transcription are meant as approximate finding guides and refer to the location of a subject on the
cassette/CD. The recording quality is good
The collection was transcribed by Mary Sue Gee, Julie Peterson and Becky Husby.
Bibliography :
Rasmussen, Janet Elaine. New Land New Lives: Scandinavian Immigrants to the Pacific NorthwestTacoma, WashingtonUniversity of Washington Press1993
Additional Reference Guides :
Detailed Description of the Collection
The partial interview transcription highlights important aspects of the interview. Numbers may be used as
guides to important subjects. Two numbers separated by a slash indicate that the first number is for cassette and the
second for CD.
Cassette
223, side 1
028: INGRID AMUNDSEN
Born Ingrid Charlotte Ulrikson Amundsen on May 12, 1897 in Alstahaug, a small island in Nordland west of
Mosjoen.
223, side 1
080: PARENTS
Kristian and Marie Ulrikson. Her father was a shoemaker and later on, also worked for somebody else. Her
mother was a homemaker.
223, side 1
101: HOME
Lived in Alstahaug for about 11 years; then moved to the place where her dad worked (Mo i Rana). Had a
small country place - not a farm.
223, side 1
115: SCHOOL
She walked to a country school; she skied a lot, but not to school.
223, side 1
126: CHURCH
The family attended a nearby church regularly.
223, side 1
150: GRANDPARENTS
: She can't remember much about them; they lived far away.
223, side 1
156: BROTHERS AND SISTERS
: One older sister, Eli Astrid, then Ingrid, Magda, Olaf, and Kristjuf (?).
223, side 1
167: CHRISTMAS
Ingrid remembers a nice Christmas tree, gifts on Christmas eve, and church on Christmas day. They had
risengrynsgrøt on Christmas Eve, and lutefisk, søtsuppe, potatoes, vegetables on Christmas day. Risengrøt was served
with milk, sugar, and cinnamon. Mother did lots of baking.
223, side 1
211: CHILDHOOD
No special memories, just school and playing.
223, side 1
216: CONFIRMATION
She was confirmed, and then went to work in Namsos. Her father came from Namsos, and other relatives
still lived there. She worked there for several years before emigrating to US.
223, side 1
235: EMIGRATION
Ingrid emigrated in 1919; her older sister, Eli, was in US already. She traveled alone, by ship from
Trondheim to Bergen, then to England, and then New York. She went to her sister's in Sioux City, Iowa by train.
223, side 1
280: MARRIAGE
She was married (about 1921) to Emil Amundsen, also from Norway.
223, side 1
304: SEATTLE
Seattle was well liked; she moved here.
223, side 1
320: CHILDREN
She has two children: Clarence and Ethel. Clarence is married with two or three children and is a
mechanic. He lives close by. Ethel is also married, with four children, and lives in the Midwest.
223, side 1
336: SCHOOL IN AMERICA
She attended school for a while in Sioux City to help with her English.
223, side 1
340: CITIZENSHIP
She became a citizen when she married
223, side 1
347: NORWEGIAN CUSTOMS
Foods included fish, meatballs, and rommegrøt.
223, side 1
362: TRIP BACK TO NORWAY
She returned once by ship and visited her parents and siblings. Her mother approved of Ingrid's
emigration because Eli was in America, and her mother had other children at home.
223, side 1
394:
Church in America. She and her family attended church regularly.
223, side 1
404: ORGANIZATIONS
Ingrid just attended some; was not too involved.
223, side 1
410: WORK
It was not hard to find domestic work; her sister helped. The non-Norwegian families helped her to learn
English.
223, side 1
433: LANGUAGE
Both children know how to speak Norwegian, and her son has visited Norway. The biggest difficulty in
America was learning to speak English. Her son helped her after he entered school.
223, side 1
463:
SPEAKING NORWEGIAN. She likes to speak Norwegian, and says The Lord's Prayer in Norwegian.
Subjects
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials
about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
