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jkmarler
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
7790 Posts |
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JamesH
Starting member
USA
6 Posts |
 Posted - 01/12/2014 : 02:29:51
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Good find. Perhaps Oliver Johnson got caught up in a flash flood in the foothills / mountains of Mariposa County in November 1860? The San Francisco Bulletin of Tuesday November 20, 1860 reported in the article "Ravages of Late Storm": the interior papers bring accounts of considerable damage sustained in the mining districts by the storm of last week. The Butte Democrat (Oroville) of the 17th November says:
The late rains have driven our river miners out of their claims, the rise of water having carried away portions of their flumes, and filled up their claims.
From the Sierra Democrat (Downieville): the Yuba River got on a swell on Sunday (11th November) and went roaring down at a rate that promised destruction to flumes and wheels. Undoubtedly great damage was done. The channel gets clogged in summer by tailings from the sluices; and a comparatively small rise sends the river out over the sides, giving the appearance of a flood. It has dredged its course and receded. River mining for this season is about at an end.
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Edited by - JamesH on 03/12/2014 21:22:44 |
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jkmarler
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
7790 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2014 : 13:19:17
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The story about John Johnson matches this found at the Norwegians in Civil War database at Vesterheim:
JOHNSON, John
WI 15th Inf Co A. Residence: Boone County, Illinois. Civil War: Age 18. Unmarried. Enlisted for three years on 22 Oct 1861 in Boone County. Mustered 15 Nov 1861 at Madison, Wisconsin. Private. Left sick at Mississippi River Island No. 10, on 11 Jun 1862. Wounded and taken prisoner in the battle at Chickamauga on 19 Sep 1863. Returned from imprisonment 4 Oct 1863. Died of wounds in Chattanooga, Tennessee, 18 Dec 1863. Buried National Cemetery, Chattanooga; section D, grave 863. Sources: (WHS Series 1200 box 76-2; red book vol 20 p18; blue book vol 20 p16) (Buslett p356) (Ager p292) (Meeker)
Here are all the other Johnsons whose residence was Boone County, Illinois in the Vesterheim database. Unfortunately only one tells of an origin place in Norway:
JOHNSON, Andrew
WI 15th Inf Co A. Residence: Boone County, Illinois. Civil War: Age 20. Unmarried. Enlisted for three years on 10 Oct 1861 at Chicago. Mustered 15 Nov 1861 at Madison, Wisconsin. Private. Promoted to Sergeant. Wagoner with the supply unit. Absent with division supply train 16 Sep 1863. Absent sick in Chattanooga, Tennessee, since 28 Nov 1863. Mustered out with Company, Chattanooga, Tennessee, on 20 Dec 1864. Sources: (WHS Series 1200 box 76-3; blue book vol 20 p16) (Buslett p355) (Ulvestad p260) (Ager p292)
JOHNSON, Christopher E.
IL 153rd Inf Co B. Age 25. Residence: Capron, Boone County, Illinois. Born 22 Sep 1840 in Sogn, Arnefjord, Norway. Came to America in July 1861 with his parents, Mr and Mrs Johan Johannesen. They traveled on a sailing ship. The ship’s water became contaminated and several people died, including two of Christopher’s sisters. Civil War: Enlisted in 1865. Private. Sick from rheumatism, typhoid fever and malaria. Discharged from the service at Memphis, Tennessee. Post war: In 1868 came to Calmar, Winneshiek County, Iowa, and acquired a farm. Married in June 1873 to Julia Thorson. They had ten children. Died 27 Mar 1934. Buried at Phelps Cemetery, Decorah, Iowa. Sources: (DGA Newspaper [Possibly Dubuque Telegraph Herald] story, Decorah dateline, 21 Sep 1930, honoring Mr. Johnson on celebrating his 90th birthday.) (VGC cemetery file) (“History of Freeborn County”, publ. 1911
JOHNSON, Edward
WI 15th Inf Co A. Residence: Boone County, Illinois. Civil War: Age 20. Unmarried. Enlisted for three years on 3 Jan 1862 in Boone County. Mustered 8 Jan 1862 at Madison, Wisconsin. Private. Died of disease in Nashville, Tennessee, 2 Dec 1862. Buried in the Nashville National Cemetery. Sources: (WHS Series 1200 boxes 76-3, 77-8; red book vol 20 p18; blue book vol 20 p16) (Buslett p356) (Ulvestad p296) (Ager p292) “Johnson, Edvard”
JOHNSON, John
IL 95th Inf Co B. Residence: Boone, Boone County, Illinois. Born in Norway. Civil War: Farmer. Age 21. Blue eyes, brown hair, light complexion, 5’6½”. Enlisted for three years on 18 Jan 1864 at Belvidere, Illinois. Mustered 22 Feb 1864 at Camp Butler, Illinois. Private. Transferred to Illinois 47th Infantry, Company B. Mustered out 22 Nov 1865 at Springfield, Illinois. Sources: (ILSA reel 8 p10). Mustered out with his Company on 21 Jan 1866 at Demopolis, Alabama. (ILSA reel 17 p47)
JOHNSON, Thore
IL 95th Inf Co B. Residence: Boone, Boone County, Illinois. Born in Norway. Civil War: Farmer. Age 29. Hazel eyes, brown hair, fair complexion, 5’4”. Enlisted for three years on 30 Dec 1862 at Belvidere, Illinois. Mustered that day at Camp Butler, Springfield, Illinois. Private. Transferred to the 47th Illinois Infantry, Company B Re-organized. Mustered out with B Company on 21 Jan 1866 at Demopolis, Alabama. Sources: (ILSA reel 8 p10; reel 17 p47)
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Edited by - jkmarler on 01/12/2014 13:45:56 |
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jkmarler
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
7790 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2014 : 16:59:35
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On page one Anton posted regarding Debbie Scott's Ancestry database which contained this:
"HALVOR Nelson Oliver JOHANNESSON OR JOHNSON
Birth 10 Aug 1819 in Bø, Telemark, Norway
Death 1899 in Butte, Jefferson, Montana, United States"
Is there any explanation about the Nelson / Oliver parts of the name? Any sources for the death date in Butte, Montana? A list of Halvor Nelson Oliver's children? |
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lornejohnson
Senior member
Canada
287 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2014 : 19:52:10
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Thank you James for this. How do I get the complete article from Fold3?? The Oliver mentioned here is Halvor Johannesen who immigrated to America in 1855 with his wife Rannei ...Randina ...Rena ....Randie . ...and in this article is called "Miranda" . They had sons Johannes (John) ,Thor (Tom), Jenner, and daughter Gunnild born in Norway and sons Oliver (my great grandfather) and Nils who were born in Illinois. Father Halvor (Oliver) did disappear to go gold mining in California and left the family to cope on there own. He returned 6 years later to a not very responsive wife and left again with his son Jenner ....he died in Montana .....story is that he was found shot to death in his cabin .....not death by drowning. Halvor Johannesen's parents had immigrated to America 12 years previous in 1843 with Halvor's much younger infant brother Andrew (Anders) along with brothers Nils, Johans and sister Ingeborg.
The John Johnson that was mentioned is the oldest son of Halvor and nephew of Andrew. John's brother Thor (Tom) was also enlisted and fought in the same battle where his brother John was critically wounded. Johns mother Rannei (Miranda) did receive a pension from the result of Johns service in the Civil war. All this is well documented in my families written history. |
Lorne Johnson |
Edited by - lornejohnson on 01/12/2014 19:58:40 |
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lornejohnson
Senior member
Canada
287 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2014 : 20:11:17
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| The post by jkmarler is our "Oliver" that left his family....buried in Butte Montana 1899. |
Lorne Johnson |
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JamesH
Starting member
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 01/12/2014 : 21:19:28
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Hi Lorne, thanks for sharing your family history. Very interesting - never realized that so many Norwegians fought in the American Civil War. I had assumed that you were a direct descendant of Andrew and not his older brother Halvor Oliver. The 33 page "mother's pension" file for John Johnson contains letters from others in Boone and provide great detail on the life of Miranda Johnson that you will definitely want to read.
The easiest option is to subscribe to Fold3.com at their website. If you already subscribe to ancestry, I believe you get a 50% discount.
The cheapest option is to go to your nearest Family History Center run by the Latter Day Saints which would have these software subscriptions at no charge. Bring a USB computer stick to download the documents. Here is the website for the center in Victoria:
https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Victoria_British_Columbia_Family_History_Center
Not all pension records have been digitized by the National Archives, including it appears Andrew Johnson. To obtain a copy of this you would need to order from the U.S. National Archives:
http://www.archives.gov/research/military/civil-war/resources.html
Best of luck with your research. |
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lornejohnson
Senior member
Canada
287 Posts |
Posted - 02/12/2014 : 01:13:11
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"Is there any explanation about the Nelson / Oliver parts of the name?"
As Norwegians coming to an English speaking country they wanted to assimilate with Anglo customs .....changing their homeland names to a more familiar anglicised name was not uncommon. In the case of Halvor ...knowing his history of abandoning his family for 6 years .....perhaps the name changes were intentional to avoid being found ! |
Lorne Johnson |
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lornejohnson
Senior member
Canada
287 Posts |
Posted - 04/12/2014 : 01:39:11
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| Thanks James and Jackie for your recent posts. The information from Fold3 was very helpful in that it tied John Johnson and Andrew Johnson together as uncle and nephew. Yet another confirmation that we are on the right track there.The Vesterheim Civil war information also gave us the military history on two John Johnsons (company and regiment)....turns out we were chasing the wrong John Johnson before we had both pieces of information. I've sent to the National Archives for the pension information on Andrew to see if there is some clue to the genaology of his wife Sarah....which I'm still digging away at. Again I appreciate your efforts..........Lorne |
Lorne Johnson |
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lornejohnson
Senior member
Canada
287 Posts |
Posted - 20/12/2014 : 20:45:31
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| New information on the Jorgen Nielsen Bo and Dorthea Knudsdatter Stole family in America. I've recently found a "Doraghty Georgeson" widow living with her son "Nels Georgeson" and family in the USA Census of 1880 living in Capron Boone County Illinois. The ages are close enough to be correct for my Nielsen family. As daughter Sarah was married here in 1865 I like the locations as well. The 1860 Census shows them as Dorothy Nelson and son Nels Georgeson. In keeping with the Norwegian patronymic system of surnames the Jorgensen surname has been anglicised as Georgeson ....or the census people were just bad at spelling ?? I've also asked for a death certificate from the Nebraska State Vital Stats for Sarah H Johnson (my candidate for Siri Jorgensen). If completed properly it should include her parents names. The hunt continues ! |
Lorne Johnson |
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lornejohnson
Senior member
Canada
287 Posts |
Posted - 21/01/2015 : 19:57:53
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| Update on connecting Sarah Johnson to her Norwegian Ancestry. I've asked for and received her husband's (Andrew Johnson) military pension records. The records did include Sarah's anglicised maiden name (as Nelson) ....but nothing on her Norwegian presumed name (Jorgensdat) . I also applied to the State of Nebraska Vital Statistics for Sarah's death certificate. They were unable to supply one. Seems they started keeping records in 1904 ....the very year that she died ! I've connected with several people with common ancestry as me but have had no luck finding this information. I'm pretty confident in my assumptions about Sarah based on the information that I have collected from various sources but have no confirmation as to her lineage. Again, the hunt continues. |
Lorne Johnson |
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jwiborg
Norway Heritage Veteran
Norway
4961 Posts |
Posted - 21/01/2015 : 21:03:07
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Hi Lorne,
I haven't followed this topic, so to get a good recap of the hunt:
Can you summarize what you know, and what you're looking for? |
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lornejohnson
Senior member
Canada
287 Posts |
Posted - 21/01/2015 : 22:43:44
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What I know: I have the complete history of Sgt Andrew Johnson - left Norway in 1843 as an infant (1.5 years old) with his parents Johannes Halvorsen and Guinnild Nilsdat. His much older brother Halvor immigrated 12 years later in 1855 with family in tow. ...settling in Boone County, Illinois. Andrew enlisted and fought in the civil war, married Sarah H. Nelson in Boone County in 1865.(as per their wedding certificate)...moved to Nebraska in 1880 where they raised a family. His descendants remain there today.
What I don't know: I have a Siri Hannah Jorgensdat., daughter of Jorgen Nielsen Bo and Dorthea Knudsdat. Stole, immigrated to America from Norway in 1853. Siri birth date 1840. I like Siri as a candidate for Sarah H Johnson ....it was common for the Norwegian immigrants to anglicise their names so I'm thinking Siri used her father's name and became known as Sarah H. Nelson. She was 13 years old at time of immigration and living family members have confirmed that they know Sarah Johnson was that age at immigration. I would like somehow to confirm that Siri H. Jorgensdat is in fact Sarah H. Nelson who married Andrew, died in Cambridge Nebraska in 1904. This is just a sampling of my information. If there are any other specifics that you think might be helpful please don't hesitate to ask. I've about hit the wall on this. |
Lorne Johnson |
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lornejohnson
Senior member
Canada
287 Posts |
Posted - 29/01/2015 : 18:49:04
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Update: I have contacted the Belvidere library in Illinois to search their microfilm for information on Sarah Johnson/Siri Jorgensdatter. My best source of information to date is "Long Prairie Norwegian Farm Families in Boone County 1870" . In this source the Norwegian farm names are pulled from the Long Prairie Lutheran Parish records and cross referenced with Boone Township legal survey map for township 45N, Range 4E of 3rdPM . I've asked the IDA librarian to pull these records for verification. Here is what I have to date:
A. Johnson Sec. 15 is Andrew Johnson (Anders Johanneson Kleven 1840-1925 Nebr. and Sigrid Jorgensdatter and Nilsdatter _____ 1840- between 1910-1915 Nebr. Moved to Nebraska
Andrew Johnson's widowed mother was Gunnild Nilsdatter Kleven. Census records of 1860 show them living together ...Andrew, the youngest son as a teenager. ....therefore the names "Kleven" and "Nilsdatter" show up in this data. This data I find to be pretty conclusive evidence of Siri Jorgensdatter and Sarah Johnson being the same person and the wife of Andrew Johnson who moved to Nebraska.
Your comments please. |
Lorne Johnson |
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JaneC
Norway Heritage Veteran
USA
3020 Posts |
Posted - 29/01/2015 : 20:14:57
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So you've found a way to access the Long Prairie Lutheran Church records? You can study, search those church records? If so, that's brilliant progress.
The cross- referenced "calculation" about who was who in Long Prairie, Boone County, Illinois, was posted long ago in this thread. See my post 13 April 2014, page 7 this thread. The reference to "Sigrid Jorgensdatter or Nilsdatter" seems to refer to one person about whom there is some confusion. The church records may clarify.
You can also look for parents and siblings for Sigrid in that congregation ( weddings, baptisms, etc may yield clues).
At the moment we can't assume Sarah is Siri. We have few qualms that the listing refers to your Andrew and Sarah. What is not shown is : who is Sigrid's father?
Your brilliant breakthrough is that you've found a way forward, which definitely deserves a round of applause!
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Edited by - JaneC on 30/01/2015 15:46:43 |
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Gunild Nilsdatterr Kleven under Askilt
