An Immigrant Woman Views Niagara: The Letters and Sketches of Linka Preus

Abstract

Abstract:Linka Preus, who immigrated with her husband, Pastor Hermann Amberg Preus, to serve the Norwegian Lutheran church Spring Prairie north of Madison, Wisconsin, had learned from her earliest schooling to draw sketches of the world around her, as most women of her class did. Not only did she learn the craft of drawing, but also the skill to see in a scene what was going on and present, in her sketches, the drama of the various characters she was drawing. In 1865 she and her husband took something of a working holiday to New York City so he as president of the church could oversee the congregation in Brooklyn that needed a pastor. Linka came along as a tourist. During the trip she had the leisure to portray some of the scenes she observed along the way, especially scenes of Niagara Falls, both tourists and tourist attractions. Along with the letters she wrote her children and their governess, Henriette Neuberg, the sketches give us a picture not simply of what she saw, but of herself as a shrewd and thoughtful observer of the life around her. While she shares many of the challenges and gifts of the lady travelers and amateur sketchers of her time, she has a distinctive point of view on the Falls and her companions that is both amused and critical.