I perioden 1840-1914 udvandrede omtrent 300.000 danskere til USA, og ca. 10 procent slog sig ned i staten Iowa. Den største danske koloni i USA blev centreret omkring de to landsbyer Elk Horn og Kimballton i den sydvestlige del af Iowa. Her var der i 1910 ca. 81.2% danskere i Clay ''township'' (valgkreds), der omfattede Elk Horn, og hele 97.2% danskere i Sharon ''township'', der omfattede Kimballton. Dette projekt undersøger de store forskelle mellem tilsyneladende ens immigrantbefolkninger i disse to landsbyer. Projektet lægger særlig vægt på at undersøge: 1) de signifikante demografiske forskelle i familiestørrelser og børnedødeligehed, 2) vandringsmønstret, 3) de markante forskelle i de to valgkredses vælgeradfærd og 4) kvindernes betydning i det sprog- og kulturbevarende arbejde.
Datamaterialet, der ligger til grund for projektet, består af registreringerne i Clay og Sharon ''township'' samt i Elk Horn og Kimballton ved de fire føderale folketællinger i 1870 (kun Clay ''township''), 1880 (kun Clay og Sharon ''township''), 1900 (kun Clay og Sharon ''township'') og 1910 samt ved de tre stats-folketællinger i 1895 (kun Clay og Sharon ''township''), 1915 og 1925. De registrerede oplysninger varierer noget fra folketælling til folketælling, men typisk indgår følgende oplysninger i materialet: efternavn og fornavn, fødselsår, køn, alder, civilstand, fødested for den registrerede person samt dennes forældre, statsborgerskab, stilling, religion, antal børn, årstal for ægteskabs indgåelse, medlemskab af kirke, sprog, årstal for ankomst til USA, uddannelse, ejerforhold til bopæl samt immigrationsalder
In the period from 1840 to the beginning of the first World War in 1914 approximately three hundred thousand Danes emigrated, the vast majority to America. In their search for a new home, a little over 10 per cent of these immigrants finally settled in the state of Iowa. The largest Danish settlement in America came to be centered around the two towns of Elk Horn and Kimballton located on either side of the county line between Shelby and Audubon counties in the southwest part of the state. Here the proportion of Danes had by 1910 risen to 81.2 per cent in Clay township, containing the town of Elk Horn, and to an impressive 97.2 per cent in Sharon township with Kimballton. This survey deals with the considerable differences between apparently similar immigrant groups in these two towns, and special emphasis has been put on examining: 1) the significant demographic differences as regards family size and infant mortality, 2) migration patterns, 3) the marked differences in electoral behaviour in the two townships, and 4) the importance of women's efforts as regards preserving language and culture. # The data material which forms the basis of the project consists of registrations in Clay and Sharon townships as well as in Elk Horn and Kimballton at the four federal censuses in 1870 (only Clay township), in 1880 (only Clay and Sharon townships), in 1900 (only Clay township) and in 1910, as well as at the three state censuses in 1895 (only Clay and Sharon townships), in 1915, and in 1925. The information registered varies somewhat from one census to the other, but the following information is typically included in the material: surname and first name, year of birth, sex, age, marital status, place of birth of the registered person and the registered person's parents, citizenship, occupation, religion, number of children, year of marriage, membership of a church, language, year of arrival in America, education, ownership of dwelling, and age at the time of immigration
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