Death of a Dream: One Family’s Experience of the 1862 US/Dakota War

This is a story of sacrifice and tragedy fueled by the long-held immigrant's dream for a new beginning in a new land. In 1861, a large extended family of Swedes settles on the far northwest edge of the new state of Minnesota. One year later, as the late-summer harvest is in, a group of Dakota warriors declares war on all the settlers. In a surprise attack, 13 members of this family are killed. Left behind are eight others who flee for refuge, joining hundreds of other terrified residents of the state. This is the story of my family--my great, great grandparents, their children, their cousins and their children. I write it to honor my ancestors and help my extended family know and understand it. I think others will appreciate this story as well, as it reveals the courage and persistence evoked in the face of a great tragedy in which at least 650 civilians were killed.The Dakota people also suffered deeply, but theirs is not my story to tell. I write in the hope that descendants of the Dakota and descendants of the White settlers will one day be able to share our stories with one another.

I’m a native of rural Minnesota and spent my growing up years in Milan as the youngest of four children raised by my businessman-poultry farmer father and mother. I’m a 1965 graduate of Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD, and a 1969 graduate of Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, MN. For 37 years I served as a Lutheran (ELCA) pastor in 5 congregations: Zion in Berthold, ND; Salem in Brooklyn, NY; Faith in Staples, MN; Grace in Wenatchee, WA; and Good Shepherd in Olympia, WA. I retired in 2006 and continue to live in Olympia with my wife, Rose Ann, near to our married sons and two granddaughters. Intense curiosity led me to study family history and genealogy, travel widely, and write in an effort to make sense of my origins.