Gulbrand Hagen
Encyclopedia
Gudbrand Torsteinson Hagen (1864 to 1919) was an American newspaper editor, writer, photographer in Minnesota
and North Dakota
at the end of 19th Century and beginning of the 20th.
, Buskerud
, Norway
, immigrated to the United States as a young man and settled in Crookston, Minnesota
. He sometimes used the first name Gulbrand and eventually used the anglicized first name "Gilbert," but signed his work, G.T. Hagen.
Hagen purchased a Norwegian language
newspaper and moved it to Mayville, North Dakota
. He edited and published Vesterheimen from 1894 to 1914. Vesterheimen was a reform-friendly weekly with most of the subscribers in northwestern in Minnesota. Hagen ceased writing and editing Vesterheimen in 1914 when English-only movement
and the coming war created a chill on German
and Scandinavian language use.
In addition to his newspaper career, Hagen wrote several Norwegian language books and short stories. In 1903, Hagen wrote and published the novella Per Kjolseth, a comic sequel to Allan Saetre's popular Norwegian-American novella Marit in Chicago (published originally 1882). In both books, Marit's husband Per was represented as a striver, eager (perhaps too eager) to be Americanized.
Hagen’s daughter Ida Hagen Kirn worked for the famous Norwegian-American novelist Ole Edvart Rolvaag while attending St. Olaf College
in the early part of the 20th century and maintained a correspondence with Rolvaag until his death. Hagen died from complications following flu after the 1918 flu pandemic.
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
at the end of 19th Century and beginning of the 20th.
Biography
Hagen was born in SigdalSigdal
Sigdal is a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Prestfoss. -Background:...
, Buskerud
Buskerud
is a county in Norway, bordering Akershus, Oslo, Oppland, Sogn og Fjordane, Hordaland, Telemark, and Vestfold. The county administration is located in Drammen.-Geography:...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, immigrated to the United States as a young man and settled in Crookston, Minnesota
Crookston, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,192 people, 3,078 households, and 1,819 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,658.8 people per square mile . There were 3,382 housing units at an average density of 684.8 per square mile...
. He sometimes used the first name Gulbrand and eventually used the anglicized first name "Gilbert," but signed his work, G.T. Hagen.
Hagen purchased a Norwegian language
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
newspaper and moved it to Mayville, North Dakota
Mayville, North Dakota
Mayville is a city in Traill County, North Dakota in the United States. The population was 1,858 at the 2010 census, which makes Mayville the largest community in Traill County. Mayville was founded in 1881....
. He edited and published Vesterheimen from 1894 to 1914. Vesterheimen was a reform-friendly weekly with most of the subscribers in northwestern in Minnesota. Hagen ceased writing and editing Vesterheimen in 1914 when English-only movement
English-only movement
English-only movement, also known as Official English movement, refers to a political movement for the use only of the English language in official government operations through the establishing of English as the only official language in the United States...
and the coming war created a chill on German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Scandinavian language use.
In addition to his newspaper career, Hagen wrote several Norwegian language books and short stories. In 1903, Hagen wrote and published the novella Per Kjolseth, a comic sequel to Allan Saetre's popular Norwegian-American novella Marit in Chicago (published originally 1882). In both books, Marit's husband Per was represented as a striver, eager (perhaps too eager) to be Americanized.
Hagen’s daughter Ida Hagen Kirn worked for the famous Norwegian-American novelist Ole Edvart Rolvaag while attending St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College
St. Olaf College is a coeducational, residential, four-year, private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American immigrant pastors and farmers, led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after Olaf II of Norway,...
in the early part of the 20th century and maintained a correspondence with Rolvaag until his death. Hagen died from complications following flu after the 1918 flu pandemic.
Selected works
- Bruden fra fjeldet. (Mayville, North Dakota: Vesterheimen. 1898)
- Fra Snelandets Hytter. Fortællinger og gamle Sagn fra Norge. (Mayville, North Dakota. Vesterheimen. 1898)
- Per Kjolseth, eller "Manden til Marit. (Crookston, Minnesota: Vesterheimen. 1903)
Other sources
- Øverland, Orm. The Western Home: A Literary History of Norwegian America. (Northfield, MN: Author Series Norwegian American Historical Association, 1996)
- Ager, WaldemarWaldemar AgerWaldemar Ager , was a Norwegian-American newspaperman and author.-Early life:...
. Norsk-amerikanernes festskrift. (translated by H. T. Cleven. 1914. Decorah, Iowa : Symra Co.)