{geni:about_me} Portrait studio in Iowa by two utvandrarar from Gulen: Bendik O. Asheim and his wife Botilde J. b. Instefjord. Dei gifte seg 1867, og same året for dei til Amerika. They married in 1867, the year for them to America.
Vest-Agder fylke, which was called "Lister og Mandal." until 01 January 1919, is Norway's southern - most county, with the Lindesnes lighthouse on the Lindesnes peninsula being the southern-most point in Norway. From the coast there are six valleys that stretch north into the county: Audnedalen, Lyngdalen, Kvinesdalen, Mandalen, Sirdalen, and Otradalen (which continues into Aust-Agder where it is called Setesdalen).
Vest-Agder has Norway's warmest and sunniest climate. It is protected from the strong Atlantic winds, and the Gulf stream and the warm winds from the Skagerak sea make the county one of the most popular summer vacation areas in Norway.
In the 1500's Dutch merchant vessels began to visit ports in southern Norway to purchase salmon and other goods. Soon thereafter the export of timber began, as oak from southern Norway was exceptionally well suited for shipbuilding. As the Netherlands developed in the 1700's it began to suffer from a severe labor shortage, and many families from Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder emigrated to the Netherlands.
In the 1800's emigration to the USA started. One of the most important causes of this emigration was the emergence of steamships. While Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder had historically had very strong positions in the manufacture and repair of sailing ships, the change to steam resulted in very hard times for this industry. Emigration to the USA was a means of escaping from the high unemloyment that followed.
1839 -
