Anxious to become an American

 My grandmother Dagmar, told me "don't ever leave your home. I feel like a person torn, a person who doesn't really fully belong anywhere. When I am in Chicago, I long for Norway. When I am in Norway I long for Chicago. Who am I really now?" She became an American citizen during World War II after being in the U.S. almost 20 years. After my grandfather's death she returned to Norway, became expatriated and again took on Norwegian citizenship. I would imagine feeling torn between two worlds is the experience of many immigrants.

Not so with my grandfather Paul. America was his dream. He loved this country. Of course he was proud of his Norwegian heritage but when he got on that boat he meant business and he never looked back. He shortened his surname from Sevaldsen to Sevald, to sound a bit more "American". How eager was he to become an American? He stepped off the ship Bergensfjord onto Ellis Island on August 1. 1923. Just two weeks later on August 16, 1923 he filed this "Declaration of Intention" in the Superior Court of Cook County in Chicago, Illinois. I didn't even think it was legal to do it that quickly!

However quick and sure his intention was he still had to wait the obligatory 7 years. September 30th 1930 Paul Sevaldsen officially became Paul Sevald, a proud citizen of the United States of America.