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
