Norwegian immigrant letters donated to Luther College by Nelson family

Decorah resident Betty Nelson has donated to Luther College 156 letters written by Norwegian immigrant Elisabeth Koren.  Nelson is the wife of the late David Nelson, Koren's great-grandson.

The letters shed light not only on Koren's life of reflection, motherhood, immigration, and faith, but also on the larger history of Norwegians in America.

The letters had been stored at the bottom of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves in Nelson's house.  She doesn't know exactly how they ended up back in Decorah.

While Koren kept a diary, which was published in 1955, it covers only three years, from 1853 to 1855. The letters span 14 years, beginning with the couple's first year in America, then including their arrival in Washington Prairie, and venturing far into Elisabeth's motherhood.