Kvekerne i Stavanger og Ryfylke

A booklet issued for “Utvandrerfestivalen 1986” and contains information about the Quaker church in Norway. The booklet is in Norwegian. The Emmigration Festival in Norway 1986 booklet about the Quakers in Norway, especially from Stavanger and Ryfylke. Who traveled, who stayed behind, general information about the emmigration, in addition to special informations about the Quaker emigration.

Historical Note

During the war against Napoleon, Norwegian fishermen and seamen were captured by the Englishmen and were held on their prison-ships. There they came in touch with English Quakers who were there to help the prisoners. These men later brought the Quaker church to Norway. The Quakers beliefs were different than the official Norwegian religion, which resulted in the registration of the Norwegian Quakers and restricted them to live in certain areas of Norway. Their first leader in Norway was Elias Eliassen Tastad. He was once sentenced for burying two of his dead children on his farm. This case went to the Supreme Court, where he was pardoned. Other people working for the Quaker church in the first years were Ivar Revem and Lars Larsen Geilane. The Norwegian Quakers heard that the society treated Quakers better in America, so they sent Cleng Peerson and Andreas Stangeland to America to look for an area where they could buy land. The first group that emigrated from Norway were 52 Quakers, lead by Lars Larsen Geilane. They traveled on the ship Restauration, starting from Stavanger July 4, 1825 and arrived in New York on October 9, 1825. Elias Eliassen Tastad became the leader for the remaining Quakers in Norway. The next group emigrated in 1836. Norway passed a law allowing freedom of belief in 1845, making it easier for the Quakers to practice their religion. The Quaker movement increased its members during the last part of the 19th century. The Quakers in Norway refused to serve in the military and the Norwegian Government imprisoned some of them.