Who Gets a Place in History?

Women in the Shadows of Local History – and Emigration History

Who gets to shape history? And whose lives are forgotten or silenced in the stories we inherit and use to build our identities?

In Norway, we have a strong tradition of documenting and telling stories from the past through local history books, genealogies, and regional historical works. But many of these sources share a recurring pattern: women's roles are often reduced, minimized, or rendered completely invisible.

This also applies to the many women who emigrated from Norway to America between 1825 and 1925. They were daughters, mothers, widows, and sisters – and many of them traveled alone as servants, job seekers, or as part of a family group. Yet, it is often the life stories of men that have dominated the written sources, both in the local history books at home and in the emigration narratives of the New World.

In this article, we turn our attention to the narrative power of history. We examine the language, structure, and perspective in local historical sources, with insights from researchers such as Anna Tranberg and Liv Marthinsen. We explore what this tells us about the power to determine what and who is worth remembering – and how these structures also shape the history of Norwegian emigration to America. These are not new discoveries, but an effort to highlight existing scholarly work and make it accessible to a wider audience.

Women in the Shadows of Family and Emigration

Anna Tranberg shows how local history books often highlight male-centered themes such as family lines, property rights, and participation in the public sphere. Women are mentioned as wives, daughters, or widows – often without names, birth years, or life stories of their own. They appear only in relation to men, like a parenthesis in the family narrative.

The language in many local history books reflects this: men "run the farm," "build houses," and "participate in society," while women "marry," "have children," or "die." The daily work done by women – wage labor, caregiving, and cultural preservation – is often left out of the official story.

This pattern also appears in many sources on Norwegian emigration history. Women are often invisible or mentioned only in passing – as traveling companions of men or as those who "stayed behind" in the old country. But we know that many women emigrated on their own initiative and were solely responsible for establishing new lives in America, economically and socially.

The Narrative That Holds Power

History is not only about events, but about how those events are told. Choices of perspective, who is named, and which actions are emphasized as important all shape how we understand the past.

When women are reduced to minor roles in family histories, it's not just due to lack of information, but also about who has had the authority to present and interpret history. The power of storytelling has often belonged to men – and their perspective has colored the books. These reflections are part of a broad field of gendered local history, where many researchers have pointed out the same patterns.

From Silence to Questions – Also in Emigration History

Liv Marthinsen has explored how women appear – or don’t – in local history books. She found that women often show up only in connection with legal cases, such as those involving immorality or witchcraft. But what about everyday life? What about work, care, and responsibility? What about everything that kept a family and community going?

She points out that much depends on what the writer chooses to ask. If one asks about property, taxes, and production, one often hears about men. But if one asks who performed the daily tasks, who shouldered the responsibility, who kept everyday life running – then a different picture emerges.

The language reflects this too: "bread was baked," "cheese was made," "milking was done." These kinds of formulations remove the human being from the action. We know it was women who did this work – but they are not named, not given a voice.

The same can be said of many female emigrants. Who kept the homes running in Norwegian-American households? Who passed on traditions? Who worked as cooks, housekeepers, midwives, and caregivers in new and unfamiliar surroundings? These stories exist – but we must go looking for them.

Women as Pillars of Migration History

Women were central to Norwegian society, even long before the welfare state. They cared for children, the elderly, and the sick. They tended barns and kitchens. They worked both on the farm and in the home. Many also held paid jobs – as maids, dock workers, or at sawmills and fish processing plants. Still, they are often reduced to "the one who milked" or "the one who baked flatbread."

But think about it: if the man was gone all winter fishing, who cared for the animals? Who looked after the children, the elderly, and the sick? Who secured firewood and food? It was the women. They bore the responsibility for their families and their communities – yet they are rarely mentioned.

The same was true in the emigrant communities. Many women held together entire households and neighborhoods. Without their efforts, adaptability, and determination, many pioneer settlements would not have succeeded. These are stories that need to be told.

New Perspectives

Today, we see growing engagement in giving space to women’s life experiences in history. New research, oral history projects, and digital storytelling open up broader source material and more voices. It's not just about “finding women in the sources,” but about changing the entire framework for what we consider important in history.

By questioning who gets to be the main character in the story, and by listening to those who were previously silenced, we can build a more open and truthful historical culture. This is especially relevant in a time when many are searching for their roots and want to understand how the past still affects our lives today – both in Norway and among descendants in America.

The Question We Must Carry Forward

History is not fixed. It is constantly evolving, always in motion. That’s why it is vital to ask: Who gets to tell the story? Whose voice is heard? And what kind of picture of the past do we want to carry with us into the future?

_Sources

• _{Marthinsen, L. (1994). Kvinnene i den generelle by- og bygdehistorien. I A. Tranberg & H. Winge (Red.), Kvinnekår i det gamle samfunn: Ca. 1500–1850 (2. utg., s. 7–22). Norsk lokalhistorisk institutt.}
• _{Tranberg, A. (1994). Kjønn og språk i gards- og slektshistoriene. I A. Tranberg & H. Winge (Red.), Kvinnekår i det gamle samfunn: Ca. 1500–1850 (2. utg., s. 23–44). Norsk lokalhistorisk institutt.}

_{Cover image: The photo shows the Norwegian-American immigrants John and Margret Bakken and their two children outside their home on the prairie in North Dakota in 1898. / The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. (1860 - 1920). A Sod House, North Dakota. Retrieved from The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1860 - 1920.}