Not All Were Farmers NAC-118
Most of my ancestors were farmers, which is a very noble profession. The promise of owning a farm had been the dream that lured many of our ancestors to America, but not all Norwegian immigrants ended up as farmers. I was reading an article in an issue of Family Chronicle about the author discovering her ancestor was a blacksmith. I realized my paternal great-grandfather, John Nelson, was also a blacksmith. Like the author, I did not know or appreciate how important such a person was in the 1800s. In the article, she found a letter that said, “by choosing the blacksmith profession, he will possess the skills of a craft that is needed around the world.” Unfortunately, it is not as common a profession as it once was. Industrial plants still employ those working with metals, but many techniques are different. Artisans may also work with metal, but many of their tools and techniques have evolved.
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