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Wisconsin, USA

Tree: Nederlandse voorouders

Notes:
Wisconsin (IPA pronunciation: wɪs.ˈkɑn.sn̩) is a state in the United States, and is located in the Great Lakes region. The capital of the state is Madison, and its current governor is Jim Doyle.



Wisconsin, bordered by the states of Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois, as well as Lakes Michigan and Superior, has been part of United States territory since the end of the American Revolution; the Wisconsin Territory (which included parts of other current states) was formed on July 3, 1836. Wisconsin ratified its constitution March 13, 1848, and was admitted to the Union on May 29, 1848, as the 30th state. The state's southern boundary line was originally supposed to reach the southern-most tip of Lake Michigan, but for some reason politics intervened during the debates of the Northwest Ordinance to make it as it appears in the present day. Wisconsin would have possessed the city of Chicago had the state line been pushed further south as originally contemplated.



Wisconsin's economy was originally based on farming (especially dairy), mining, and lumbering. In the 20th century, tourism became important, and many people living on former farms commuted to jobs elsewhere. Large-scale industrialization began in the late 19th century in the southeast of the state, with the city of Milwaukee as its major center. In recent decades, service industries, especially medicine and education, have become dominant. Wisconsin's landscape, largely shaped by the Wisconsin glaciation of the last Ice Age, makes the state popular for both tourism and many forms of outdoor recreation.



Since its founding, Wisconsin has been ethnically heterogeneous, with Yankees being among the first to arrive from New York and New England. They dominated the state's heavy industry, finance, politics and education. Large numbers of European immigrants followed them, including Germans, mostly between 1850 and 1900, Scandinavians (the largest group being Norwegian) and smaller groups of Belgians, Dutch, Swiss, Finns, Irish and others; in the 20th century, large numbers of Poles and African-Americans came, settling mainly in Milwaukee.



Today, 42.6% of the population is of German ancestry, making Wisconsin one of the most German-American states in the United States. Numerous ethnic festivals are held throughout Wisconsin to celebrate its heritage. Such festivals are world renowned, and include Festa Italiana, Bastille Days, Syttende Mai (Norwegian Constitution Day), Summerfest, Africal World Festival, Indian Summer, and many others.



During the period of the Civil War, Wisconsin was a Republican and pro-Union stronghold. Ethno-religious issues in the late 19th century caused a brief split in the Republican coalition. Through the first half of the 20th century, Wisconsin's politics were dominated by Robert La Follette and his sons, originally of the Republican Party, but later of their own Progressive Party. Since 1945, the state has maintained a close balance between Republicans and Democrats. Republican Senator Joe McCarthy was a major national figure in the early 1950s. Recent leading Republicans include former Governor Tommy Thompson and Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.; prominent Democrats include Governor Jim Doyle, Senators Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold, and Congressman David Obey.



History



In 1634, Frenchman Jean Nicolet became Wisconsin's first European explorer, landing at Red Banks, near modern-day Green Bay in search of a passage to the Orient. The French controlled the area until it was ceded to the British in 1763.



Wisconsin was part of the Northwest Territory from 1788 to 1800. It was then governed as part of Indiana Territory (1800-1809), Illinois Territory (1809-1818), and Michigan Territory (1818-1836). Settlement began when the first two public land offices opened in 1834. Wisconsin Territory was organized on July 3, 1836, and it became the 30th state on May 29, 1848.



The state mineral is galena, otherwise known as lead sulfide, which reflects Wisconsin's early mining history. Many town names, such as Mineral Point, recall a period in the 1820s, 1830s, and 1840s, when Wisconsin was an important mining state. When Indian treaties opened up southwest Wisconsin to settlement, thousands of miners — many of them immigrants from Cornwall, England — joined the "lead rush" in southwestern areas. At that time, Wisconsin produced more than half of the nation's lead; Belmont, in the lead region, was briefly the state capital. By the 1840s, the easily accessible deposits were worked out, and experienced miners were drawn away to the California Gold Rush. This period of mining before and during the early years of statehood led to the state's nickname, the "Badger State". Many miners and their families lived in the mines in which they worked until adequate above-ground shelters were built, and were thus compared to badgers.



In the 1830-60 period, large numbers of Yankees from New England and New York flocked to Wisconsin. The New Yorkers were influential in bringing dairy farming to the state. As New York was the leading dairy state at the time, migrants from there brought with them the skills needed for dairy farming, as well as butter and cheese production.



Other Yankees settled in towns or cities where they set up businesses, factories, mills, banks, schools, libraries, colleges, and voluntary societies. They created many Congregational, Presbyterian and Methodist churches that still exist. The Yankees created the Republican party in 1854—the first local meeting in the country came in Ripon. They gave strong support to the Civil War effort, as well as to reforms such as abolition, women's suffrage and, especially, prohibition.



Even larger numbers of Germans arrived, so that the state became over one-third German. Most became farmers; others moved to Milwaukee and smaller cities setting up breweries and becoming craftsmen, machinists and skilled workers who were in high demand as the state industrialized. The Germans were split along religious lines. Most Germans were Catholic or Lutheran, with some Lutherans forming the Wisconsin Synod and others joining the Missouri Synod. The Catholics and Lutherans created their own network of parochial schools, through grade 8. Smaller numbers of Germans were Methodists, Jews, or Freethinkers (especially intellectual refugees). Politically they tended toward the Democratic party, but 30-40% voted Republican. Whenever the Republicans seemed to support prohibition, they shifted toward the Democrats. When nativist Republicans, led by governor William Hoard, passed the Bennett Law in 1889 that would eliminate instruction in the German language, German-Americans revolted and helped elect the Democrats in 1890. In World War I, German culture came under heavy attack in Wisconsin. Senator LaFollette became their protector and Germans strongly supported his wing of the Republican party after that.



Scandinavians comprise the third largest ethnic block, with Norwegians, Danes, Swedes, and Finns becoming farmers and lumberjacks in the western and northern districts. A large Danish settlement in Racine was the only large urban presence. The great majority were Lutheran, of various synods. The Scandinavians supported Prohibition and voted Republican; in the early 20th century they were the backbone of the LaFollette movement. Irish Catholics came to Milwaukee and Madison and smaller cities as railroad workers. They quickly became prominent in local government and in the Democratic party. They wrestled with the German Catholics for control of the Catholic church in the state.



Name



It may come from the Ojibwe word Miskwasiniing, meaning "Red-stone place," which was probably the name given to the Wisconsin River, and was recorded as Ouisconsin by the French and changed to its current form by the English. The modern Ojibwe name, however, is Wiishkoonsing or Wazhashkoonsing, meaning "muskrat-lodge place" or "little muskrat place." Other theories are that the name comes from words meaning "Gathering of the Waters" or "Great Rock." Wisconsin originally was applied to the Wisconsin River, and later to the area as a whole when Wisconsin became a territory.



Demographics



The state has always been ethnically heterogeneous. Large numbers of Germans arrived between 1850 and 1900, centering in Milwaukee, but also settling in many small cities and farm areas in the southeast. Norwegians settled in lumbering and farming areas in the northwest. Small colonies of Belgians, Swiss, Finns and other groups came to the state. Irish Catholics mostly came to the cities. After 1900, Polish immigrants came to Milwaukee, followed by African Americans from 1940 on.



According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2006, Wisconsin has an estimated population of 5,556,506, which is an increase of 28,862, or 0.5%, from the prior year and an increase of 192,791, or 3.6%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 144,051 people (that is 434,966 births minus 290,915 deaths) and an increase from net migration of 65,781 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 56,557 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 9,224 people. The top 5 states with a net increase of migration into Wisconsin are 1) Illinois, 2) California, 3) Indiana 4) New York and 5) Pennsylvania. The center of population of Wisconsin is located in Green Lake County, in the city of Markesan.



As of 2004, there are 229,800 foreign-born residents in the state (4.2% of the state population), and an estimated 41,000 undocumented workers living in the state, accounting for 18% of the foreign-born population.



The five largest ancestry groups in Wisconsin are: German (42.6%), Irish (10.9%), Polish (9.3%), Norwegian (8.5%), English (6.5%)



Wisconsin, with many cultural remnants of its heavy German settlement, is known as perhaps the most "German-American" state in the Union. People of Scandinavian descent, especially Norwegians, are heavily concentrated in some western parts of the state. Wisconsin has the highest percentage of residents of Polish ancestry of any state. Menominee County is the only county in the eastern United States with an American Indian majority.



86% of Wisconsin's African American population lives in one of five cities: Milwaukee, Racine, Madison, Kenosha and Beloit while Milwaukee itself is home to nearly three-fourths of the state's African Americans. Milwaukee ranks in the top 10 major U.S. cities with the highest number of African Americans per capita. In the Great Lakes region, only Detroit and Cleveland have a higher percentage of African Americans.



33% of Wisconsin's Asian population is Hmong, with significant communities in Milwaukee, Wausau, Green Bay, Sheboygan, Appleton, La Crosse, Stevens Point, Madison, and Eau Claire.



6.4% of Wisconsin's population was reported as under 5, 25.5% under 18, and 13.1% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.6% of the population.

Birth

Matches 1 to 46 of 46

	Last Name, Given Name(s)	Birth		Person ID	Tree
1	Bertha	Abt 1863	Wisconsin, USA	I452179	Nederlandse voorouders
2	Carrina M.	Apr 1862	Wisconsin, USA	I452606	Nederlandse voorouders
3	Martha	1897	Wisconsin, USA	I754282	Nederlandse voorouders
4	Abbas, Paul Andrew	Sat 02 Mar 1918	Wisconsin, USA	I344643	Nederlandse voorouders
5	Cardiff, William E	1890	Wisconsin, USA	I692922	Nederlandse voorouders
6	Cha Wa Non, Shawano	1818	Wisconsin, USA	I451889	Nederlandse voorouders
7	Christensen, Marie K.	Abt 1878	Wisconsin, USA	I452248	Nederlandse voorouders
8	Cummins, Helen	Abt 1859	Wisconsin, USA	I452595	Nederlandse voorouders
9	Dunham, George	1896	Wisconsin, USA	I453232	Nederlandse voorouders
10	Dunham, Susan F.	1873	Wisconsin, USA	I453231	Nederlandse voorouders
11	Garrity, Abigail	Abt 1849	Wisconsin, USA	I452203	Nederlandse voorouders
12	Garrity, Bernard	Abt 1845	Wisconsin, USA	I452202	Nederlandse voorouders
13	Garrity, Elizabeth	Abt 1850	Wisconsin, USA	I452204	Nederlandse voorouders
14	Garrity, George	Abt 1841	Wisconsin, USA	I452201	Nederlandse voorouders
15	Garrity, Margaret	Abt 1856	Wisconsin, USA	I452205	Nederlandse voorouders
16	Garrity, Matilda	Thu 09 Jan 1840	Wisconsin, USA	I452015	Nederlandse voorouders
17	Garrity, Sarah	Abt 1859	Wisconsin, USA	I452206	Nederlandse voorouders
18	Gunderson, Martha	Thu 26 Jul 1894	Wisconsin, USA	I320883	Nederlandse voorouders
19	Hein, William J.	Abt 1872	Wisconsin, USA	I452226	Nederlandse voorouders
20	Hewitt, Flora	1878	Wisconsin, USA	I449107	Nederlandse voorouders
21	Hewitt, Gertrude	1867	Wisconsin, USA	I449102	Nederlandse voorouders
22	Hewitt, Jennie	1876	Wisconsin, USA	I449105	Nederlandse voorouders
23	Hewitt, Nellie	1873	Wisconsin, USA	I449104	Nederlandse voorouders
24	Hewitt, William	1869	Wisconsin, USA	I449103	Nederlandse voorouders
25	Hewitt, Winford	1864	Wisconsin, USA	I449101	Nederlandse voorouders
26	Higgins, Ernest L.	Sat 23 Jan 1909	Wisconsin, USA	I451995	Nederlandse voorouders
27	Immonen, Lillian Elizabeth	Fri 01 Nov 1912	Wisconsin, USA	I229406	Nederlandse voorouders
28	Jaynes, Elma Herberta	Thu 26 Jun 1879	Wisconsin, USA	I258241	Nederlandse voorouders
29	Kommers, David	1858	Wisconsin, USA	I681758	Nederlandse voorouders
30	Kommers, Jacomina	Tue 22 Jun 1852	Wisconsin, USA	I681752	Nederlandse voorouders
31	Kommers, Jan	1852	Wisconsin, USA	I681391	Nederlandse voorouders
32	Kommers, Johannes	1850	Wisconsin, USA	I681751	Nederlandse voorouders
33	Kommers, Suzanna	1853	Wisconsin, USA	I681756	Nederlandse voorouders
34	Kommers, William	1856	Wisconsin, USA	I681757	Nederlandse voorouders
35	Mieras, William	May 1867	Wisconsin, USA	I307582	Nederlandse voorouders
36	Noiseux, Vitaline Or Nataline	Abt 1875	Wisconsin, USA	I448708	Nederlandse voorouders
37	Rothwell, William P.	Fri 19 Jan 1866	Wisconsin, USA	I452918	Nederlandse voorouders
38	Sloper, Alfred Edward	1920	Wisconsin, USA	I229438	Nederlandse voorouders
39	Starr, Dow	Abt 1866	Wisconsin, USA	I451848	Nederlandse voorouders
40	Swank, Florence	Abt 1894	Wisconsin, USA	I450126	Nederlandse voorouders
41	Taylor, Mary	Abt 1856	Wisconsin, USA	I452959	Nederlandse voorouders
42	Thompson, Ellen	Sun 07 Mar 1875	Wisconsin, USA	I453309	Nederlandse voorouders
43	la Vigne, Elizabeth	Abt 1807	Wisconsin, USA	I448095	Nederlandse voorouders
44	Walby, Charles	Mon 29 Oct 1888	Wisconsin, USA	I452172	Nederlandse voorouders
45	Wellcome, Frank D.	Mon 01 Jun 1857	Wisconsin, USA	I447672	Nederlandse voorouders
46	Wellcome, Herbert Eugene	Mon 01 Jun 1857	Wisconsin, USA	I447519	Nederlandse voorouders

Death

Matches 1 to 11 of 11

	Last Name, Given Name(s)	Death		Person ID	Tree
1	Andrews, Louisa	1934	Wisconsin, USA	I542887	Nederlandse voorouders
2	Bieze, Alden	Mon 20 Jun 1994	Wisconsin, USA	I229418	Nederlandse voorouders
3	Carpenter, Nancy	Sun 09 Apr 1893	Wisconsin, USA	I542893	Nederlandse voorouders
4	Cummings, George Williams	Sat 11 Jun 1870	Wisconsin, USA	I447749	Nederlandse voorouders
5	Dent, Julia Boggs	Sun 14 Dec 1902	Wisconsin, USA	I688165	Nederlandse voorouders
6	Exel, Johanna Christina	Est 1912	Wisconsin, USA	I60447	Nederlandse voorouders
7	Goldsmith, Marion T.	Sep 1984	Wisconsin, USA	I322183	Nederlandse voorouders
8	Ottevanger, Anna Marie	Yes, date unknown	Wisconsin, USA	I543065	Nederlandse voorouders
9	Schilleman, Adrianus Andrew	Yes, date unknown	Wisconsin, USA	I543063	Nederlandse voorouders
10	Starr, Levi	Wed 01 Feb 1893	Wisconsin, USA	I451842	Nederlandse voorouders
11	Stroink, Gijsberta Johanna	Aft 1880	Wisconsin, USA	I687743	Nederlandse voorouders

Marriage

Matches 1 to 2 of 2

	Family	Marriage		Family ID	Tree
1	Clough / Garrity	1857	Wisconsin, USA	F176140	Nederlandse voorouders
2	Vieaux / Cha Wa Non	1841	Wisconsin, USA	F175327	Nederlandse voorouders