Knute Nelson
| Knute Nelson | |
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Senator Knute Nelson
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United States Senator from Minnesota |
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In office March 4, 1895 – April 28, 1923 |
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| Preceded by | William D. Washburn |
| Succeeded by | Magnus Johnson |
| 12th Governor of Minnesota | |
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In office January 4, 1893 – January 31, 1895 |
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| Lieutenant | David Marston Clough |
| Preceded by | William Rush Merriam |
| Succeeded by | David Marston Clough |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Minnesota's 5th district | |
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In office March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1889 |
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| Preceded by | District Created |
| Succeeded by | |
| Member of the Minnesota Senate | |
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In office 1874-1878 |
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| Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly | |
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In office 1868-1869 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
February 2, 1843 Voss, Norway |
| Died | April 28, 1923 (aged 80) Timonium, Maryland |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Nicolinæ Jacobson |
| Alma mater | Albion College |
| Profession | lawyer |
| Religion | Lutheran |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | Wisconsin Militia United States Army Union Army |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Unit | Black Hawk Rifles of Racine 4th Wisconsin Volunteer Regiment |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Knute Nelson (born Knud Evanger; February 2, 1843 – April 28, 1923) was a Norwegian-American attorney and politician active in both Wisconsin and Minnesota. A Republican, he served in state and national positions: he was elected to the Wisconsin and Minnesota legislatures, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate from Minnesota, and he served as the 12th Governor of Minnesota. He was the first Scandinavian-born American to be elected to the Senate.
He is known for promoting the Nelson Act of 1889 to consolidate the Ojibwe/Chippewa in Minnesota on a western reservation in the state, and require the breakup of their communal land by allotting it to individual households, with sales of the remainder to anyone, including non-natives. This was similar to the Dawes Act of 1887, which had applied to Native American lands in the Indian Territory.
Knute Nelson was born out of wedlock in Voss, Norway to Ingebjørg Haldorsdatter Kvilekval, who named him Knud Evanger. He was baptized by his uncle on their farm of Kvilekval, who recorded his father as Helge Knudsen Styve. This is unconfirmed. Various theories persist about Knud's paternity, including one involving Gjest Baardsen, a famous outlaw.
In 1843, Ingebjørg's brother Jon Haldorsson sold the farm where she and Knud lived, as he could not make a living, and emigrated to Chicago. Ingebjørg took her boy with her to Bergen, where she took work as a domestic servant. Having borrowed money for the passage, she and Knud emigrated to the United States, arriving in Castle Garden in New York City on July 4, 1849. The holiday fireworks made a lasting impression on the six-year-old Knud, who was listed in immigration records as Knud Helgeson Kvilekval. Ingebjørg Haldorsdatter claimed to be a widow (a story she held until 1923). She and Knud traveled by the Hudson River to Albany, New York, and then via the Erie Canal to Buffalo.
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