Flower in the River: A Family Tale Finally Told

From Valhalla Halls to River Graves — The Danish Heartbreak of 1915

• Natalie Zett • Season 3 • Episode 111

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Grief knows no borders. When Chicago's SS Eastland capsized in 1915, the tragedy didn't just devastate local families—it sent shockwaves all the way to Denmark, where anxious relatives waited for news that would forever change their lives.

This episode unveils the forgotten Danish dimension of the Eastland disaster through contemporary Danish newspaper accounts that captured both the personal heartbreak and systemic failures behind the tragedy. We meet Anna Clausen and her eight-year-old daughter Ella, Danish immigrants who perished when the ship rolled over, leaving behind a husband/father and young son. Through Danish journalists' eyes, we witness how their community mourned—with Valkyrie Society members as pallbearers and little girls in white standing beside Ella's casket.

The Danish perspective brings surprising depth to our understanding of the disaster. While Chicago officials worked to contain the narrative, Danish reporters asked pointed questions about safety, oversight, and accountability. "The American is certainly strong in a crisis," wrote one Danish journalist, "but he does not know how to prevent great disasters." This prescient observation feels as relevant today as it did over a century ago.

Beyond the tragedy itself, we explore how Danish immigrants built vibrant communities in Chicago, creating cultural organizations, churches, and networks that connected them both to their new home and to the country they left behind. Their story reminds us that immigrant histories are transnational histories, flowing back and forth across oceans rather than existing in isolation.

How about you? Have you discovered unexpected international connections in your family history research? 

Resources:

  • Newspaper articles accessed via Mediestream, Royal Danish Library.
  • Danish newspaper articles were translated using a combination of AI tools (ChatGPT, Google Translate) and historical handwriting recognition software (Transkribus), with final review and edits by the author.
  • Encyclopedia of Chicago, “Danes” entry, Chicago History Museum.


Natalie Zett:

Hello, I'm Natalie Zett and welcome to Flower in the River. This podcast, inspired by my book of the same name, explores the 1915 Eastland disaster in Chicago and its enduring impact, particularly on my family's history. We'll explore the intertwining narratives of others impacted by this tragedy as well, and we'll dive into writing and genealogy and uncover the surprising supernatural elements that surface in family history research. Come along with me on this journey of discovery. Well, hello, this is Natalie, and welcome to episode 111 of Flower in the River. I hope you had a good week. This week we're diving into how the Eastland disaster rippled through Chicago's Danish community and sent shockwaves across the Atlantic to Denmark itself. True confession I live in Minnesota. I attended Luther Seminary where, well, I'm no stranger to Scandinavian people. I'm not myself, but I certainly met quite a few Norwegians and Swedish people in my time, but Danish people, surprisingly, I've not met that many. There was one visiting theologian from Denmark when I was at Luther Seminary and she was from its capital, copenhagen. But how much of Denmark's history do I know? True confession, again, not that much. So we don't have time to go into a whole lot of depth here, but let's do an overview here of Denmark, at least in the last half of the 19th century. This is an article on Danes from the Encyclopedia of Chicago, which is created and maintained by the Chicago History Museum.

Natalie Zett:

Danes Danes began to immigrate in significant numbers after Denmark suffered defeat by Bismarck's Prussia in 1864. Some fled from the conquered Duchuchy of Slesvig to escape Prussian rule. Many Danish immigrants had urban backgrounds, with one of five coming from the capital city of Copenhagen In America. They gravitated towards cities. During the 1870s, cheap grain from Russia and American heartland flooded European markets, depressing local agriculture. This led Danes from rural areas to join the immigrants heading toward America. Over 300,000 Danes immigrated in the years 1840 to 1914. Danish immigrants tended to be young, skilled and well-educated. Many single men came and some families, but young women often stayed home, creating a gender imbalance among the immigrants. The flow of Danish migration was toward the Midwest. The written Danish language was the same as Norwegian, and Swedes could understand it as well. So Danes often lived in mixed Scandinavian communities and intermarried with Norwegians and Swedes.

Natalie Zett:

The earliest Danish community in Chicago was around Randolph and LaSalle streets in the 1860s. Around 1870, some Danes established a south side enclave around 37th and State Streets. That persisted until the 1920s, but the main axis of Danish and Norwegian settlement crossed the Chicago River and moved northwest along Milwaukee Avenue during the 1870s. By 1880, two-thirds of the city's 6,000 Danes lived in the Milwaukee Avenue neighborhoods. A new heavily Norwegian and Danish neighborhood also began to take shape east of Humboldt Park. By 1910, there were 18,500 first and second generation Danes in the city. Scandinavians had abandoned Milwaukee Avenue to Italian and East European immigrants and North Avenue was the new Danish-Norwegian commercial center. Humboldt Park remained a major Scandinavian community for a couple of decades, but Danes began to disperse around 1920 to western and northern suburbs.

Natalie Zett:

Most commonly Danish men joined other Scandinavians to work in the building trades as carpenters, masons, painters, furniture makers and contractors. Many also became small-scale entrepreneurs of grocery, tobacco and clothing stores. Ethnic hotels, taverns and cafes also existed. Some Danish families specialized in market gardening and dairying. On the fringes of the city Danish women generally found work in domestic work or shop clerks. Early immigrant luminaries met at the round table in Wilkins Cellar at Randolph and LaSalle, where the Danish consul Emil Dreyer generally presided. In 1862, danish immigrants established Dania as the social club to hold masquerade balls and the organization grew to sponsor a library, english night school and mutual aid fund and missing persons bureau. Trinity Lutheran Church was founded in 1872, followed by several other Lutheran and Baptist churches. A Danish veteran society was founded in 1876, the Danish Brotherhood in 1883, and various choral groups from 1886. Many Danish ethnic organizations emerged toward the turn of the century, including societies for gymnastics of the century. Including societies for gymnastics, cycling, football, hunting, fishing, sharpshooting and theater. Chicago had a daily Danish and Norwegian newspaper, skandinavien, for over 50 years and from five to seven weeklies for several decades.

Natalie Zett:

Danish Chicago included an active elite of artists, journalists, clergymen and professionals. The sculptors Carl Roll Smith and Johannes Gellert contributed monuments to the city. Jens Jensen, the leading landscape designer of the Prairie School, designed Chicago's West Parks and Boulevards, besides promoting forest preserves and state parks. Christian Fenger, an internationally renowned surgeon, taught at Northwestern University and Rush Medical College. Max Henius, a chemist, founded the American Academy of Brewing and made Chicago an international center of the brewing industry. This was written by JR Christensen and again it appears in the Encyclopedia of Chicago, and I will give you a link to that.

Natalie Zett:

Here's the thing Unlike many immigrant groups, the Danes assimilated fairly quickly. I'm not quite sure why they are very unique in so many ways, and I assumed that most Danish immigrants were Lutheran. However, this one surprised me. Many Danes were also Latter-day Saints, aka Mormons, and while most Danish Mormons headed straight toward Utah, a few passed through and settled in Chicago. In summary, the Danes came to Chicago, like so many other immigrants did, for a variety of reasons, but mostly opportunity. They wanted a better life, they wanted freedom who doesn't want that? And they were able to pivot and adapt in a way that I've not seen. But let's talk about how the Eastland disaster affected the Danes in Chicago and in Denmark.

Natalie Zett:

Thanks to the Royal Danish Library's media collection website, I was able to find not just one, not just two, but a number of newspapers that were published in Denmark in 1915 that talked about the Eastland disaster, and I will put a link in the show notes for you, because it's so interesting to see again how this country was responding to what was happening in Chicago, to their people, but also to the population in general. I'm going to read an article from a newspaper called the Funes Stiftestende. It was dated August 28th 1915, and the headline was Eastland Quote Farmer Oli Clausen Dahlstrup, whose daughter and two sons were feared dead in the Eastland catastrophe, has received notification that none of his three children were on the steamship on his last journey and all are in good health. However, one son's wife and little daughter were on board and they have both perished. So this obviously was a paper with a local reach in this area and they were talking about Farmer Ole Klassen, how his family was affected in the Eastland disaster and, of course, this side of the Atlantic in the United States. At the time we didn't even know there wasn't Ole Klassen. The news of the time didn't always consider how those left back home in the home country were affected.

Natalie Zett:

Let me give you a high-level introduction to this family Now. This is the obituary from the Chicago Tribune, july 31st 1915. Mrs Anna Clausen, 32 years old, and her daughter Ella, eight years old. 4717 Dickens Avenue, were getting on the Western Electric Picnic with some friends. Mrs Clausen was born and educated in Denmark. Coming here at the age of 23 years old, she leaves her husband, klaus Clausen, who also came from Denmark, and a small son. She and her little girl were buried at Mount Olive Tuesday.

Natalie Zett:

Anna Clausen was actually born Anna Kirsten Adamson on the 29th of January 1884 in Harby, odensa, denmark, and died, of course, on July 24th 1915 in Chicago, illinois. She was the child of Hans Christian Adamson and Kirsten Anderson and she immigrated in 1905. Anna Adamson married Klaus Clausen on the 3rd of April 1907 in Chicago. Klaus Clausen was born on the 1st of January 1885 in Dalgard, denmark, and he was born to Ole Clausen. We've just heard about Farmer Clausen. He also immigrated in 1905 to Chicago and I'm not sure from what I read if they knew each other prior or they met in Chicago and their children were Ella Clausen, who was born in 1908 and died on the Eastland, and Edward Clausen, who was born on the 14th of October 1912, in Chicago, and he died on the 24th of February in 1989 in Riverside, california. About a year after Anna and Ella were killed on the Eastland, claus Clausen married again to another Danish woman and they had a number of children.

Natalie Zett:

I will continue reading another paper the Foon's Social Democrat published in Copenhagen, and it was from a later issue in 1915. Headline Two Victims from Funen, from Eastland, a Solemn Funeral In the Danish colony in Chicago. The great tragedy of the Eastland steamers capsizing has left deep marks. The other day Mrs Anna Clausen and her seven-year-old daughter, ella, from their home at 4717 Dickens Avenue were buried with very large attendants. Pastor AV Anderson spoke warmly at the home and at the grave, as pallbearers served, members of the Valkyrie, an organization to which the deceased belonged. Little girls dressed in white stood by Ella's casket and a wealth of beautiful flowers adorned the house of mourning.

Natalie Zett:

Mrs Clausen was born on Funen 31 years ago. She is survived by her husband, klaus Klausen, a little son of three years, as well as her elderly mother in Denmark and two brothers living in Chicago, sam and Hans Adamson. And that's the end of that article. But that article gives us a lot more information about this family and their extended family. Anna had two brothers living in Chicago at that time, so perhaps that's the reason she immigrated as well. The Valkyrie connection that was mentioned in that article. So I found only one reference to a ladies' society called Valkyrie that organized a banquet in Chicago in 1915. And the group was of course associated with the Danish community in Chicago and they held events on a place called the Valhalla Hall, a venue that was linked to many Scandinavian immigrants in Chicago.

Natalie Zett:

And one more piece about the Valhalla Hall. This is from the Chicago Tribune, march 8, 1915. Headline closed for a while. At Valhalla Hall, 3700 Wentworth Avenue, there was a very pretty dance, said Mrs Merriam, a woman in a costume of peace and a dove for a crown, won the first prize. She carried a banner showing that Norway, sweden and Denmark are at peace with the world. But the one thing that was objectionable was the winner of the first prize for men. He rolled a screen about with a buffet attached. On the buffet were arrayed whiskey bottles and the sign closed for a while. None applauded the award of this prize, however, showing the disapproval of the award. Disapproval of the award. The meaning is significant that the next chief of police will not object to the sale of whiskey in ballrooms. The chauffeurs and Unity Club at 3140 Indiana Avenue had a quiet dance. That's the end of that article and it sounds like somebody was trying to have a joke and it was not appreciated by the members of this club. But we will continue.

Natalie Zett:

The Oftenblattet from Copenhagen, published on the 30th of July 1915. Headline the Eastland Catastrophe. Several Danes feared to be among the dead. Unfortunately, there seems to be a strong likelihood that several Danes are among the 800 people who perished in the Eastland catastrophe. Master builder Hayland of Osterboe fears that his son and daughter-in-law are among the drowned. Are among the drowned. The young Hayland was employed at the Chicago Electric Works which had rented the Eastland for the ill-fated Sunday outing. In a letter to his father he had written that he and his wife would join the Eastland trip and meet up with several Danes.

Natalie Zett:

That's the end of this small article. The Chicago Electric Works was Western Electric and this name Halent. I tried to find the name, or anything close to that name, in the list of the dead in the coroner's report and I couldn't locate it. Perhaps this person survived, I'm not sure. But this one needs a little more work. But isn't it interesting that the news was able to make it fairly quickly to Denmark and again, it's a much smaller country with a much smaller population in Chicago and even a much smaller population, members of that population working for Western Electric. But they kept in contact. Either families kept in contact with families or they kept in contact with the newspapers of that time in these various locations in Denmark.

Natalie Zett:

But as is often the case with the Eastland disaster selective history coverage this community has not been covered in depth. But this information at least provides a starting point for someone who wants to do an in-depth analysis. So this article, these articles don't just point to individual grief, they document the Danish network and they show how families abroad received updates and they reflect the emotional toll across the ocean just days after the tragedy. So it must have been just hellacious for these families, knowing that there was nothing that they could do but wait and hope, knowing that there was nothing that they could do but wait and hope. And this again is history speaking, but it wasn't speaking in English. So it's also important to seek out coverage in languages other than English, either across the ocean, either ocean or the diaspora presses of that time. And there are so many articles, but I want to point out an editorial or an essay in another publication called the Berlingska.

Natalie Zett:

The headline is 1200 People Drown in Chicago the Eastland Catastrophe, and this one has a byline. Mj Blitchfeld wrote it Chicago 24th. Down in the narrow Chicago River lies a steamer on its side, wedged between two heavily trafficked bridges and just below tall warehouse buildings. It has come to rest like a defiant mockery of modern shipbuilding and professional inspection, for the ship had not only been declared seaworthy on June 7th, it had also been entrusted to carry 2,500 people across the Great Lakes. They were supposed to go on a pleasure trip, but before it even got underway, the ship capsized simply rolled over, and that happened right by shore, still tethered to the dock by mooring ropes. Had it tilted the other direction it might never have capsized at all, as the dock would have stopped it. But it leaned away from the dock toward the river, and now 1,000 to 1,200 people have had to pay with their lives. It sounds completely unbelievable. Authorities, inspectors and marine experts would have declared such a thing impossible even two days earlier. And yet it happened, just like so many other things in our time that were first called unimaginable.

Natalie Zett:

Like a thunderbolt on a Saturday morning, the disaster struck Chicago on July 24th. The steamer had taken on too much weight, with too many people crowded on the top deck, all moving to one side. At first they said two to five hundred had drowned, but as the day wore on the numbers climbed at a terrifying pace. By evening the estimated death toll had risen to around 2,000. By then it was clear how horrific this catastrophe really was.

Natalie Zett:

The occasion was a company outing organized by one of Chicago's largest industrial firms, western Electric Company, which hosts a yearly excursion for its entire workforce and their families, 10,000 to 15,000 people. Five steamers had been chartered to take everyone across the lake. The Eastland was the first. It had just been filled and was about to depart when the accident happened and with it everything came to a halt. The disaster struck so suddenly that passengers had no time to react. So no one paid attention, not even the crew. But then, when it tilted to 45 degrees, it quickly rolled fully on his side, plunging most of the 2,500 passengers into the filthy river.

Natalie Zett:

Quote we didn't think it was a matter of life or death, said one man who survived. We could see people all around us and we could hear the streetcars rumbling over the bridge, so of course we thought we'd be pulled up immediately. But before that happened, his wife had gone under, along with many others On the nearby bridge. There was such a crush of horrified spectators that the bridge began to creak and groan and the police had to clear it. Will they inspect it now, or will it collapse under one of its many heavy streetcars before it's repaired? The culture of risk and delay.

Natalie Zett:

The American is certainly strong in a crisis, brave, selfless and generous when it matters, he gives freely and helps from the heart, but he does not know how to prevent great disasters. But he does not know how to prevent great disasters. He is too optimistic, even about serious matters like public oversight. We count the dead, said one editor, and then we act. Everyone is now discussing what caused this tragedy and strange facts are surfacing.

Natalie Zett:

The ship had capsized before, but without the loss of life. It had been removed from Lake Erie service, refurbished and reassigned In 1904, it nearly capsized again. Passengers demanded to be let off. Originally approved to carry 2,200 passengers, the owners asked to raise the number to 2,500, and authorities quickly approved it. Some reports claim the real number was closer to 3,000.

Natalie Zett:

Critically, the disaster wasn't even caused by passengers rushing to one side. Instead, the mooring ropes failed and the ship had no ballast to stabilize it in the shallow Chicago River. Ballast, normally water taken on in deeper water was impossible to use here, so the ship remained top-heavy. The chief engineer, a Norwegian named Ericsson, tried to release water, but was too late. Even more disturbing, an inspector later testified in court that he would still declare the ship seat-worthy if it were raised. No wonder people are asking how was it allowed to dock in shallow water without ballast and why did unions call inspections a farce run by the ship owners themselves?

Natalie Zett:

The authorities react or don't. Now the blame game begins. There are too many cooks. Federal officials, illinois state authorities, local police, the coroner and none of the experts can agree. Most disturbing, many suspect the Commerce Secretary Redfield, tasked with the inspection, will protect the inspectors under him. Telegrams are pouring into President Wilson demanding Redfield's removal. The press accuses him of trying to orchestrate a whitewash. An official declaration that the disaster was unavoidable. That the disaster was unavoidable.

Natalie Zett:

The recovery, the burial, the grief. As the inquiries stall, more and more bodies are recovered. Divers are exhausted, all working day and night in the horrifying conditions below deck. Hundreds more are expected to be found beneath the ship when it is finally raised. Chicago's flour supply ran out, prices quadrupled. Coffins are scarce, hearses are booked. Mourners are waiting hours for funerals. Funeral processions clog the streets. In one factory district 54 doors bore black funeral marks in a single block.

Natalie Zett:

The Polish community was hit hardest about 400 dead. Scandinavians, including 10 to 20 Danes, were also heavily represented. Some families lost two or more members. One home lost two daughters. A third returned broken and alone. A German boy and girl still waited for their parents to return with promised toys, but they would never come back from the filthy river. At the temporary morgue in a military warehouse, a beautiful, dark-haired boy of about eight lay unclaimed for days. No one knew who he was. Likely both of his parents were among the dead and still no one can account for him.

Natalie Zett:

So in this episode we explored how the Eastland disaster rippled through Chicago's Danish immigrant community and how the shockwaves even crossed the Atlantic to Denmark. So, despite their small numbers, the Danish community was vibrant, tight-knit and active, with organizations like the Valkyrie Society offering connection and support. When the Eastland capsized, it devastated entire immigrant communities, including the Danes. Newspapers from Denmark captured the heartbreak in real time. Families like the Clausens, who lost Anna and her young daughter Ella, and the Halens, who were feared lost. We hear firsthand how grief stretched across the oceans as families back in Denmark waited helplessly for news about their loved ones. Danish journalists weren't just chronicling events. They were questioning the systemic failures behind the disaster, how poor inspections, greed and official indifference allowed tragedy to happen right at the dock. Their reporting captured both the emotional and political aftermath that Chicago's official accounts in some cases tried to sanitize.

Natalie Zett:

Through the voices of the Danes, both here and abroad, we hear a complete, unvarnished human story of loss, love and survival. It also reminds us that the story of the Eastland disaster doesn't just belong to Chicago. It was an international story of migration, hope and heartbreak. The Danish community's experience reminds us that when history speaks, it doesn't always speak in English and too often it's ignored when it doesn't fit official narratives. But all of these voices matter and they bring perspective, depth, global connection and the people willing to dig deeper to find these stories, lift them up and let them be heard, and I hope you enjoyed visiting this community and getting to know them a bit, and I will have more stories for you next week. Thanks again, have a great week. No-transcript.

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