Endre Johannes Cleven
Encyclopedia
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
during the early 20th century.
- (The following is based on a Norwegian-language article in Decorah PostenDecorah PostenDecorah-Posten was a notable Norwegian language newspaper published in Decorah, Iowa. It was founded in 1874 by Brynild Anundsen, a native of Skien, Norway, and widely read by Scandinavian immigrants in several states.-History:...
, a newspaper for Scandinavian immigrants once published in Decorah, IowaIowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
.)
Cleven was the youngest of seven siblings, was born in Skudenes
Skudenes
Skudenes is a former municipality of the traditional district of Haugaland in Rogaland county, Norway.The parish of Skudesnæs was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 ....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
to Ingebjorg and Johannes Kleven. Johannes Kleven was a music teacher in Skudeneshavn
Skudeneshavn
is a city on the southernmost tip of the island of Karmøy in Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Haugaland...
, one of the main towns of the Skudenes
Skudenes
Skudenes is a former municipality of the traditional district of Haugaland in Rogaland county, Norway.The parish of Skudesnæs was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 ....
parish of the island of Karmøy
Karmøy
Karmøy is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located southwest of the city of Haugesund in the traditional district of Haugaland....
, Rogaland
Rogaland
is a county in Western Norway, bordering Hordaland, Telemark, Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder. It is the center of the Norwegian petroleum industry, and as a result of this, Rogaland has the lowest unemployment rate of any county in Norway, 1.1%...
. Cleven studied music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
under his father during his childhood, but was not able to pursue a musical education when his father's death, when Cleven was nine, left the family in poverty. Cleven attended public school and, at the age of fourteen, began working as a ship hand, where he cooked food for sailors and was frequently beaten for minor misdemeanors. To escape the hardships of the fishing life he moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the age of seventeen and settled in Inwood, Iowa
Inwood, Iowa
Inwood is a city in Lyon County, Iowa, United States. The population was 875 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Inwood's longitude and latitude coordinatesin decimal form are 43.308770, -96.432531...
, where he lived for several years before moving to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1893 to pursue further opportunities.
Cleven worked at the Columbia hospital in New York City between 1893 and 1899, during this time, he studied music with Professor Brunker, who was also a personal friend of Cleven and also noted within the Norwegian community. Cleven became a maestro
Maestro
Maestro is a title of extreme respect given to a master musician. The term is most commonly used in the context of Western classical music and opera. This is associated with the ubiquitous use of Italian vocabulary for classical music terms...
at violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and was active at boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
and wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
and also became a personal acquaintance of the boxer Bob Fitzsimmons
Bob Fitzsimmons
Robert James "Bob" Fitzsimmons , was a British boxer who made boxing history as the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating Gentleman Jim Corbett, the man who beat John L. Sullivan, and is in The Guinness Book of World Records as the Lightest heavyweight...
. In 1899, Cleven enlisted in the US Army during the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
and was stationed in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
as part of the 203rd New York Volunteer Infantry, eventually being promoted to Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
in the US Army Musical Corps. After the war had ended, Cleven returned to Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
to visit his family, travelling via Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
and other countries along the way.
Cleven returned to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and re-settled in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
in April 1903 and began work as a photographer and musician. He married Margit Hoines, daughter of Lars Aadnesen Hoines and Maria Vaula of Skudenes, in a Lutheran ceremony on September 7, 1904. The couple had met during Cleven's return to Norway. Together they had six children: daughters Camilla (who died in infancy) and Lillian and sons Endre, Harald, Alf and Odvar.
Cleven began working with the Norwegian-Canadian community shortly after his return to Canada, participating in inviting Norwegians to immigrate and helping to start the "Nord Mannslaget" (Normannalaget) in modern Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
, a Norwegian-Canadian society. He started a mixed choir and was its conductor. For many years he was the president of the Musicians Union, and one of the organizers of the city Musicians' Club. He played the violin and bass violin
Bass violin
Bass violin is the generic modern term used to denote various 16th- and 17th-century forms of bass instruments of the violin family. They were the direct ancestor of the modern cello. Bass violins were usually somewhat larger than the modern cello, but tuned the same or sometimes just one step...
at the Walker Theatre Orchestra and later at the Orpheum Theatre in Winnipeg.
In January 1912, the Canadian government commissioned Cleven to be in charge of Canada's Scandinavian settlement program. During this time, he had an office in Winnipeg and travelled throughout the United States and Canada to further the settlement of Manitoba by Norwegians.
After the outbreak of the First World War, Cleven, ranked Captain, was appointed as the leader of three Norwegian-Canadians who were intent on organizing the 197th Battalion ("The Vikings of Canada") of the Canadian Expeditionary Force
Canadian Expeditionary Force
The Canadian Expeditionary Force was the designation of the field force created by Canada for service overseas in the First World War. Units of the C.E.F. were divided into field formation in France, where they were organized first into separate divisions and later joined together into a single...
. Endre's motive and the impetus for the battalion's formation was that he was concerned about the possibility of Norwegians not being seen as loyal Canadians in wartime.
While travelling to Camp Hughes
Camp Hughes
Camp Hughes was a Canadian military training camp, located in the Rural Municipality of North Cypress west of the town of Carberry in Manitoba, Canada...
(a temporary camp in Manitoba) in order to arrange for a summer camp that was to be the battalion's first muster, Cleven died after the car he was travelling in ran into a ditch near Portage La Prairie, Manitoba
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
-Transportation:Portage la Prairie railway station is served by Via Rail with both The Canadian and Winnipeg – Churchill trains calling at the station....
. He was the only one of the three onboard to die, and ironically the most important to the future of the battalion. Cleven was buried with full military honours. His funeral was the first military funeral held in Winnipeg after the outbreak of the First World War. His death was described as a "hard blow" to the Norwegian-Canadian community.
External links
- Roster of 203rd New York Volunteer Infantry (listed under Privates)