The Wisconsin magazine of history: Volume 4, number 2, December 1920

              colonel hans christian heg theodore c blegen hans christian heg was born at lier near drammen norway on december 21 1829 — about four and one-half years after the pathfinders of the norwegian emigration to america sailed out from stavanger for the new world hans was one of the four children of an innkeeper named even hansen heg and his wife drammen was a small city in the southern part of norway a few miles southwest from the capital christiania its inhabitants were in close touch with the emigration movement from its earliest stages ole nattestad's little book describing his journey to the united states was published in drammen in 1839 l and in the spring of that year his brother ansten natte stad with about one hundred emigrants sailed from dram men for new york.2 the heg family was naturally in fluenced by these events america and its golden oppor tunities had become the most interesting topic of the day in its part of the world a group of about forty emigrants who failed to secure accommodation aboard the ship carrying ansten natte stad's company sailed from skien in the spring of 1839 led by john nelson luraas they intended originally to make their way to the norwegian settlement in illinois upon their arrival in milwaukee however they abandoned this plan and located instead on the shores of lake muske go a short distance south of milwaukee in modern wauke sha county wisconsin.3 during the winter of the same year two emigrants from drammen soren backe and 1 a translation of this book by rasmus b anderson is in the wisconsin magazine of history i 149-86 2 theodore c blegen two norse argonauts ole and ansten nattestad the north star minneapolis minn i 420-22 ii 18-21 3 billed-magazin i 7 10 11 george t flom history of norwegian immigration to the united states . . to 18^8 iowa city la 1909 119-21