Professor GERHARD B. NAESETH

The core of the Genealogical Center research collection was assembled by Gerhard B. Naeseth (1913-1994), who was internationally renowned in the field of Norwegian and Norwegian-American genealogy and immigration.

A former University of Wisconsin professor, Naeseth served as associate director for the libraries of the University of Wisconsin from 1948-1978. During his tenure at the University of Wisconsin, he helped build one of the largest collections of Norwegian local & genealogical history in the United States.

Following his retirement, he administered the Genealogical Center, beginning in his home and later in the present quarters. In 1990, the genealogical research library was named in his honor. In 1993, he completed and published volume one of his massive research, "Norwegian Immigrants to the United States: A Biographical Guide, 1825-1850."

In 2001, the Genealogical Center established the Gerhard B. Naeseth Chair for Genealogical Research and Publication as a tribute to his lifetime accomplishments in the field of Norwegian and Norwegian-American genealogy.

Board of Directors

Dan F. Huebner

Chairman Emeritus

Decorah, Iowa

Jon Grinde

Madison, Wisconsin

Lowell Olberg

Chairman

Wheaton, Illinois

Blaine Hedberg

Naeseth Chair for Research & Publication

Reedsburg, Wisconsin

Paul Larson

Vice Chairman

Waunakee, Wisconsin

C. Marvin Lang

Stevens Point, Wisconsin

Robert Anderson

Treasurer

Verona, Wisconsin

Ann Leon

Madison, Wisconsin

David Johansen

Secretary

Iowa City, Iowa

Anne V. Lindblom

Verona, Wisconsin

Verlyn Anderson

Moorhead, Minnesota

JoAnn Six Plesko

Madison, Wisconsin

Eric Greenfeldt

Princeton, New Jersey

Ellen S. Aa. Vollebæk

Oslo, Norway

Advisory Council

Kathleen Bergan Schmidt

Chairman

Crystal Lake, Illinois

Dianne Larson

Waunakee, Wisconsin

Michael J. Bovre

Madison, Wisconsin

John & Marcy Carter Lovick

Southlake, Texas

Audrey & Philip Dybdahl

Madison, Wisconsin

David L. & Ann M. Nelson

Stoughton, Wisconsin

Ella Fossum

Racine, Wisconsin

Martha Gesme Nielsen

Palatine, Illinois

Robert Fossum

Chetek, Wisconsin

Howard Rockstad

Thousand Oaks, California

Dean & Ann Urness Gesme

Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Lee Rokke

Apple Valley, Minnesota

Barbara Greenfeldt

Washington Island, Wisconsin

Donald L. Ross

Madison, Wisconsin

David Hardy

Palatine, Illinois

John Skillrud

Middleton, Wisconsin

Donald Hoganson

Wheaton, Illinois

John W. Thompson

Madison, Wisconsin

Gary T. Johnson

Evanston, Illinois

Honorary Advisory Council

Marian Aaker

Edina, Minnesota

Marilynn Amdal Madden

Decatur, Illinois

Owen D. & Naomi F. Bekkum

Madison, Wisconsin

Olive M. & Eugene J. Nordby

Madison, Wisconsin

Dorothy Leon

Madison, Wisconsin

A. Elizabeth Sande

Rochester, Minnesota

John Weston

Madison, Wisconsin