HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG1350.AM: Hannah (Vatting) Birkley, 1875-1969
Interview/reminiscence: 1957
Newcastle and Maskell, Dixon County, Nebraska
Size: One folder
BACKGROUND NOTE
Born at Trondheim, Norway on December 7, 1875, Hannah Vatting immigrated to the United States in 1893. She lived in Vermillion, South Dakota with an uncle until she married Iver Birkley on November 4, 1899. Iver and Hannah moved to Newcastle, Nebraska where they operated a harness shop. They also farmed near Newcastle until 1942 when they moved to Maskell, Nebraska. Iver died on October 17, 1957. Hannah continued to live in Maskell until 1965 when she moved to live with a daughter. She moved into the nursing home at Ponca, Nebraska in 1969. She passed away at the Wakefield hospital on August 18, 1969. She is buried in the Maskell Cemetery next to her husband.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The collection consists of one folder containing a three-page typescript reminiscence of Hannah Birkley. The typescript was created from an interview of Hannah Birkley by Donald F. Danker of the Nebraska State Historical Society. The interview was conducted on April 18, 1957. In the reminiscence Birkley discusses coming to the United States from Norway, settling in Vermillion, South Dakota, and then marrying and moving to Nebraska. Birkley talks about her family, farming and learning to speak and read English. Also included is a Dixon County public school report card from the 1910s for Enoch Birkley, a nephew of Iver and Hannah.
Note: See the Norden Club collection [RG2030] for additional interviews of Scandinavians in Nebraska.
Subject headings:
Birkley Family
Birkley, Hannah (Vatting), 1875-1969
Dixon County, Nebraska
Farm life
Frontier and pioneer life
Immigration
Norwegians in Nebraska
Scandinavians in Nebraska
Revised TMM 04-12-2018
