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Left Ireland
Lars Svenson leaves Ireland to go to America with his sister, Victoria, in hopes of better lives. They are leaving because the crops wouldn't grow for 4 years in a row, creating a huge debt and causing their family's house to burn down. When they burned down the house their mother and father were killed by the smoke and they are now going to America to find better lives without debt and being broke. -
Arrived at Ellis Island
Lars and Victoria arrived at Ellis Island and are detained their for about a week. They are asked questions like "why do you want to immigrate?" and they are being tested for diseases. Lars can cover up the cough he got on the boat ride to Ellis Island well enough to let them through but they have to wait a week for their boat to come and drop them off in New York. -
Arrived In New York
Lars and Victoria see the Statue of Liberty and it sinks in that they have made it to America. -
The Journey to California Begins
After getting some rest at a local hotel, and starting to get used to the way of living in the U.S. they buy two tickets for a train with all the money they have left of what they brought from Ireland. They then begin the journey to Illinois. In Illinois they are expecting to find their Uncle who is a skilled master carpenter, also from Ireland, and get a job from him. -
Meet up with Uncle Sam
Lars and Victoria finally meets uncle Sam who owns a carpenting shop and lives behind it. They get their own warm room with sheets. Of course they still sleep on the ground but they were used to that on the boat ride. They also find out that Sam has a gambling addiction but so far he is doing well with the carpenting so they figure it is fine. -
Uncle Sam wins a Farm
The Svenson siblings have been working for Uncle Sam for about a month and they find out that one night when he was out gambling he bet his shop and all his money against a rich man for a farm in the Oklahoma territory in poker. Sam won with a full house and he is now giving Lars and Victoria the farm for them to have. His only requirement was that they would take him in incase he lost all his money betting. They agreed. -
Moving West
Because Lars and Victoria decided they would wait for the until it got warmer to move to the farm, they had a lot of time to pack and plan their trip. They are now finally ready to move west to their new farm. -
Leaving the Group
One month has passed since they left Illinois and they have been riding a horse all the way to the Oklahoma territory. They followed a group of people who were going the same direction and this way they could easily get food. They don't sleep inside of the city that is created when the rest sleep because there has been someone going around in the tents, stealing food and clothes. They are cold and wet but now they have left the rest of the group. 28 miles and they will be on their new farm. -
The Horse Dies
Only a day after they left the group, one of the horses died. Because one horse isn't strong enough to pull the luggage and them, they have to walk while the horse is caryying the luggage. This will slow them down about two days. -
Arriving at the Farm
Lars and Victoria arrive at the farm tired and sweaty but they don't mind it, as they can only think of their farm they have and how lucky they are. Although they were expecting the main house to be much bigger, the farm does have a stable, a mill, and all the tools they will need to farm. The house is very cold and quite small, but at least it has a two beds and a kitchen. They lay down on the bed and decide that they will start working on tomorrow.
