Pastor Claus L. Clausen’s Backstage Biography

Abstract: In 1843, Claus L. Clausen immigrated from Denmark with his wife, Martha, to the United States, where he subsequently was ordained to serve as a pastor among the Norwegian settlers in Muskego, Wisconsin. For the next forty-odd years, he served Norwegian immigrants in a multitude of ways and in ever-new locations. Toward the end of his life, he sketched an autobiography, where he also detailed his early years in Denmark before immigrating. However, thanks to a letter Clausen wrote before his immigration in which he described his years in Denmark in some detail, it is possible to see that the later autobiographical account was both deficient and sometimes even deceptive. This article compares the two sources to Clausen’s life in Denmark and discusses reasons for the differences between them. The letter from Clausen’s young years serves as an important historical source to the life of a man who had great influence on early Norwegian immigration. It is rendered in an English translation at the end of the article.