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Erik Carsten
Advanced member

USA
578 Posts

Posted - 08/08/2014 :  01:35:58  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Dear All. For years now I have been trying to track down what happened to this family and have had no luck.

The only record I show of this family was in the 1875 Minnesota State Census for Rice county, Faribault, Minnesota page 206 on Ancestry.com.

Family in 1875

Paul Johnson age 40
Annie Jonson was listed as age 26 she was born 12-18-1848 in Nord Trondelag. daughter of Josias Børaas and Ingeborg.
Emma Johnson born 2-9-1872 birth records from Valley Grove Lutheran
Ingeborg born 8-11-1873. birth records from Valley Grove Lutheran

there was another child born 1-26-1876 name of Anne Carolina (emilia or lena?). This was from a birth record from Zion Lutheran Church

All children were born in Minnesota but according to family history the widow (Mrs Paul Johnson) was living in Iowa in the early 1900's. I believe Paul Johnson may have died on 11-22-1876 in Faribault, Minnesota according to an entry in the Dalby Data base but I cannot be sure.

There is no record of any of these people in subsequent censuses...

I have contacted descendants of Annie Johnson's brothers and sister but nobody knows anything about her.

Perhaps if we found more information on Paul Johnson? But I have very little to go on.

The only other hint is in 1875 also in the household is Jacob Nelson age 30 and Thomas Johnson age 20. I wonder if he is related to Paul Johnson?

Perhpas if we found out more about Paul Johnson we could learn more about what happened to him and the rest of his family.

thank you.

Erik Carsten
Advanced member

USA
578 Posts

Posted - 08/08/2014 :  01:39:17  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
..I forgot to mention that Paul Johnson married Annie Børaas on November 12, 1870 in Wheeling Township of Rice County Minnesota. The source was the Minnesota Official Marriage System.

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Hopkins
Norway Heritage Veteran

USA
3351 Posts

Posted - 08/08/2014 :  03:29:48  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Valley Grove Lutheran is located where?
Zion Lutheran Church is located where?
What is Dalby Data base?

Does your Annie fit the Anne Josiasdatter born ca 1849 in Nord-Trondelag?
http://www.rhd.uit.no/folketellinger/ftliste_e.aspx?ft=1865&knr=1717&kenr=009&bnr=0100&lnr=000

She was born 18 Dec 1848 to Josias Torstensen and Ingeborg Hemmingsdtr.
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NWHX-9JD

In 1865 her family lived in Hegre parish, Øvre Størdalen on a farm then known as Boraastrøen.
http://gda.arkivverket.no/cgi-win/webcens.exe?slag=visbase&sidenr=51&filnamn=f61712&gardpostnr=376&sokefelt=skjul

An Anne Josiasd. left from Trondheim in 1869 giving her age then as 22 and intending to travel to Quebec.
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Erik Carsten
Advanced member

USA
578 Posts

Posted - 08/08/2014 :  04:06:55  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hello Hopkins. Yes, the information you have on Anne Josiasdatter is correct, and is known to me already.

The churchs mentioned are in Rice county minnesota, near Faribault...

The Dalby Database you can see at dalbydatabase.com and the following is taken from their website :

" Some people may think they have a crazy hobby, but one that has made them many new friends. John suffered a heart attack in 1981. Was unable to return to work. While recovering his cousin called and ask for some family history information. So he got interested in this and joined the Rice County Genealogy Society.

He started walking cemeteries in 1983 and Jan joined him when she could. They finished Rice County and in doing so, they decided to walked other cemeteries in selected counties in southern Minnesota.

This lead to indexing history books, plats, and newspaper articles. Recording church records, marriages, birth, Civil War veterans and city directories of Rice County.

We acknowledge and thank the Minnesota Genealogical Society for the data they have allowed us to use."

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JaneC
Norway Heritage Veteran

USA
3020 Posts

Posted - 08/08/2014 :  14:33:49  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hi Erik, first, kudos on an exceptionally well presented query. Few seekers talk about their sources and few have ventured, in their own search, beyond the big, well-known databases such as Ancestry.

The Dalby Database is built entirely of historical records of various types. The Paul Johnson who died in 1876 is found in the "Cemeteries" (and burials) section but the notation varies from most others in that section, which are based on headstones and cemetery records. Instead, DD's report of Paul's 1876 death is based on a newspaper article. Have you ever been able to find that article? That is the top priority, I assume.

His dob and place of burial are noted as "unknown" - hence your uncertainty.

Since you have examined church records, I wonder, did you seek a record of a remarriage for Annie? The MOMS database is incomplete.

Annie seems to be your family member, and Paul is an in-law. Therefore I'd guess you tried to find her in 1880 census near a family member. Can you comment on that search? Did she have siblings in Iowa, or other family, to whom she may have gone?

If she remarried, in MN or in IA or elsewhere, her children might appear with the surname of the stepfather. Have you any candidates of a mother and children of the correct first names? If Paul did die 1876, she is a widow with two small children - a tough spot to be in. Remarriage asap would be likely.

Back in an edit to say my search in 1880 census did not find a mother Anna or Annie with any surname and with children Emma and Ingeborg of approx right ages living in Minnesota or Iowa. Several candidates for Annie and Emma together. So another question occurs: when you searched church records, did you seek death of any of them (Annie, Emma, Ingeborg).

Have you ever had a chance to search MnHS for a probate for Paul?

Another thought is the family may have changed to a different Norwegian surname. Seems unlikely & a long shot.


Edited by - JaneC on 08/08/2014 15:48:33
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jkmarler
Norway Heritage Veteran

USA
7790 Posts

Posted - 08/08/2014 :  15:52:33  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Most likely Paul Johnson could be found in the US census of 1870 since the marriage date is in November 1870. Have you looked for him in the 1870?

At HeritageQuest there is this possible Paul Johnson in 1870, age differs from the 1875 results. Occupation is laborer date of census 2 Aug 1870:
JOHNSON PAUL 26 M W NORW MN RICE FARIBAULT 1870

From MOMS:
RICE MD-97-A 11/12/1870 JOHNSON, PAUL JOSIASDATTER, ANNA

Who were the faddernes / godparents of the children? Perhaps a clue or two there...

Iowa, like Minnesota, is a state that did middle of the decade state censuses. So even if they slipped the bonds of Minnesota maybe they got caught in Iowa's?

Edited by - jkmarler on 08/08/2014 16:09:15
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JaneC
Norway Heritage Veteran

USA
3020 Posts

Posted - 08/08/2014 :  16:08:57  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Definitely the godparents could be clues. You've solved a few cases by starting there. On Paul's side we have a possible brother Thomas and a possible mother Emma (since Ingeborg has Annie's mother's name, Emma might be Paul's mother's name). I haven't yet checked 1865 MN census and 1870 US census and Iowa. One wonders if Faribault had a second Paul Johnson younger than Annie's Paul (per Jackie's 1870 find). To be checked.

Also re church records - Paul's death 1876 is not recorded there?

Edited by - JaneC on 08/08/2014 16:23:50
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Erik Carsten
Advanced member

USA
578 Posts

Posted - 08/08/2014 :  18:16:14  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hello Jane and Jackie and Hopkins et al...thank you for your thoughtful responses. Regarding some of your suggestions

1. Paul's death record was not in the church records....strange.
2. I was not able to locate the microfilm of the newspaper that recorded a Paul Johnson's death but his age at death (according to Dalbydatabase) was consistent with the age given in the 1875 MN Census. The name and age match.
3. I did check the Godparents angle but it did not lead anywhere.
4. A 1902 Vanity article printed in Compendium of History and Biography of Northern Minnesota, published in 1902 (article provided by a Taryn and Chuck Flolid gives us a clue. (Taryn and Chuck seem to be good sources for information on Norwegians in North Central Minnesota.) The article states this:

"Annie, the widow of Paul Johnson resides in Iowa with her 4 children"...and that is all that is ever said about her. I do know her parents and brothers and sister all moved to Douglas county, Minnesota but she did not follow them there. My feeling is that perhpas she stayed close to people on her husbands side?

The chance that she remarried is a strong possibility but then in 1902 she is referred to as the widow of Paul Johnson....and no reference to a new family name.

The 4th child stumps me because if our Paul Johnson did die in 1876 then where was this child born? It was not born in Rice county area as there was no record of any births to Annie after we found her last child batptized at Zion Lutheran on March 12, of 1876.

It would seem likely that if Paul JOhnson did die in November of 1876 and If Annie was expecting her 4th child, then she could have gone to Douglas County (temporarily) to be with her parents and her siblings. I do have microfilm of the local church records and will look into this angle when I can get to the Library. But then why would she move down to Iowa again alone. I agree with you that a single mother with 3 or 4 children would be in a precarious spot and would most likely remarry.

The other angle is to learn who exactly Paul Johnson was and perhaps Annie was close to his family. We might find her with relatives of Paul Johnson.

Edited by - Erik Carsten on 08/08/2014 18:21:27
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JaneC
Norway Heritage Veteran

USA
3020 Posts

Posted - 08/08/2014 :  18:22:21  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I see Erik has posted while I was writing this. I have no candidate to offer as Paul Johnson in 1870 US census who is better than the one Jackie posted.

1875 MN State Census
01 May 1875
Faribault, Rice, Minnesota
Paul Johnson 40, white, born in Norway, parents born in Norway - no other info - handwritten original def. says he's 40
Annie Johnson 26, white, born in Norway, parents born in Norway
Emma Johnson age 2, born about 1873, born in Minnesota, parents born in Norway
Isabet? Robert? (hard to read) Johnson, age 1, born about 1874, born in Minnesota, parents born in Norway
Jacob Nelson age 30
Thomas Johnson age 20 (born about 1855)


Minnesota Births and Christenings (indexed on Ancestry)
Name: Ingeberg Johnson
Birth Date: 11 Aug 1873
Birth Place: Wheeling, Rice, Minnesota
Gender: Female
Race: White
Father's Name: Paul Johnson
Father's Birth Place: Norway
Mother's name: Anna
Mother's Birth Place: Norway
FHL Film Number: 1379368


Same child as above, found in Ancestry database "Rice County, Minnesota Births"
Given Name: Ingeborg
Surname: Johnson
Birth Date: 11 Aug 1873
Sex: Female
Township: Wheeling
Father's Name: Paul
Mother's name: Anna
Parent's Birthplace: Norway
Parent Occupation: FARMER


Here is the Lena that Erik mentions:
Minnesota Births and Christenings (as indexed on Ancestry)
Name: Lena Johnson
Birth Date: 26 Jan 1876
Birth Place: Faribault, Rice, Minnesota
Gender: Female
Race: White
Father's Name: Paul Johnson
Father's Birth Place: Norway
Mother's name: Annie
Mother's Birth Place: Norway
FHL Film Number: 1379368

Back in an edit - the following candidates can't be Annie, given Erik's additional information that she was "Mrs. Paul Johnson" when she moved to Iowa.

An Annie Johnson gets married in Rice county - but when?
http://www.dalbydata.com/user.php?action=marsearchresults&sort=page&lastname=Johnson&firstname=Annie&spouse=&date=&page=&MarSearch=Search&order=desc

Annie Johnson getting married in Rice County, MN, from Minnesota Official Marriage System (MOMS):
https://www.moms.mn.gov/Search?S=1

Edited by - JaneC on 08/08/2014 18:47:37
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JaneC
Norway Heritage Veteran

USA
3020 Posts

Posted - 08/08/2014 :  18:24:54  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Erik, you wrote:

"A 1902 Vanity article printed in Compendium of History and Biography of Northern Minnesota, published in 1902 (article provided by a Taryn and Chuck Flolid gives us a clue. (Taryn and Chuck seem to be good sources for information on Norwegians in North Central Minnesota.) The article states this: 'Annie, the widow of Paul Johnson resides in Iowa with her 4 children...' "

Is this reference in this book tied to a biography of a family member of hers? Somehow you have a way of knowing this is "your" Annie...

My understanding from your comment is that the time frame for Annie's move is not known, but it would be before 1902.

Re 1870 and 1880 census, Thomas Johnson isn't exactly waving his hand for recognition either.

Edited by - JaneC on 08/08/2014 18:30:12
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Erik Carsten
Advanced member

USA
578 Posts

Posted - 08/08/2014 :  18:33:33  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Jane, yes this was from a biographical sketch of her Brother, Thomas Barros. I have researched extensively the families of Annies two brothers and 1 sister and there is virtually no information from descendants of these families on Annie. It is my belief that Annie did not have alot of contact with her side of the family and they eventually lost contact with each other?
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Erik Carsten
Advanced member

USA
578 Posts

Posted - 08/08/2014 :  18:38:22  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
what is strange is we cannot find this family group in the 1880 census.
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JaneC
Norway Heritage Veteran

USA
3020 Posts

Posted - 08/08/2014 :  18:50:14  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I wonder is it at all possible Thomas J is the Thomas Johnson born ca 1855 living with Annie in 1875? (I realize "J" should stand for Josiasen)

1900
Lake Mary, Douglas, Minnesota
Thomas J Barros 44
Christena M Barras 39
Emily D Barras 17
Willie H Barras 13
Eddie J Barras 12
Albertina V Barras 9
Melvin T Barras 7
Jennie C Barras 5
Mable O Barras 3
Florence A Barras 1
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Erik Carsten
Advanced member

USA
578 Posts

Posted - 08/08/2014 :  18:57:50  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hi Jane. no Thomas was living with his father and mother in Douglas County Minnesota but it was a good thought. It is vexing we cannot find even thomas johnson or Jacob Nelson in anymore census!

Edited by - Erik Carsten on 08/08/2014 19:01:09
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jkmarler
Norway Heritage Veteran

USA
7790 Posts

Posted - 09/08/2014 :  04:32:58  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
The faddernes of the eldest child Emma are:
Andreas Syverson
John Gunderson
Carie Maen ?
Ingeborg Josiasdatter

It might be a coincidence It's not coincidental. Here is a marriage in Rice county for a John Gunderson and Isabel Johnson:
RICE MD-226-A 07/29/1872 GUNDERSON, JOHN JOHNSON, ISABEL

Their first child Amelia b. 10 Sept 1872 Faribault, Rice county, Minnesotahttps://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FDMN-B9R:

Here is the family in the 1880 census:
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MZ93-5RF

This girl is confirmed 21 Nov 1886 in a Lutheran church identified as in Evansville or Garfield, Minnesota. Her name at confirmation is given as "Emilie Hagen". She is the daughter of Johan G. Hagen and Ingeborg Anna Hagen. Her birthdate is given as 11 Sept 1872 at Faribault, baptized on 25 Oct 1872.

I believe you were searching for a John Hagen family in a prior topic.


of the second child:
Annas ? Rodningen
Ingel Hisdalen
Kristi Vold
Anna Johnsdatter

A few things about Annie and Ingeborg on page 14 of this huge past topic:
http://www.norwayheritage.com/snitz/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3603&whichpage=14

Edited by - jkmarler on 09/08/2014 05:44:41
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JaneC
Norway Heritage Veteran

USA
3020 Posts

Posted - 09/08/2014 :  05:31:06  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
So Ingeborg Josiasdatter and Anna Johnsdatter stand out among the faddernes as possible siblings of the parents, but they are not the only possibles.

[I see Jackie posted more as I wrote this]

Just to throw out some more Johnsons in Wheeling, Rice, Minnesota - some births as transcribed on the Dalby Database:

1) MATHILA CARRIE JOHNSON born 24/FEB/1870 in WHEELING, father LARS JOHNSON, mother MARIA from NORWAY
2) CHRISTENA JOHNSON born 03/JUN/1870 in WHEELING, father ISABUL JOHNSON, mother SINI from NORWAY
3) CORY JOHNSON born 23/JUL/1870 in WHEELING, father JOHANNES JOHNSON, mother VILJIN from NORWAY
4) EDWARD JOHNSON born 07/JAN/1873 in WHEELING, father GJERTRUD [sic] mother ELLEN from NORWAY [same birth also noted with Ellen as father and Gjertrud as mother]

Re John Gunderson and Isabel (Isabel could = Belle): daughter AMELIA GUNDERSON born 10/SEP/1872 in FARIBAULT CITY, parents JOHN and BELLE from NORWAY

Still from Dalby Database; a groom THOMAS JOHNSON married a bride INGEBOR A. HUSEBY - MAY 1896 [no place name]
This could be the same Ingebor (maybe) on the following link. A statement here that Ingeborg was also called Isabelle/ Belle/ Emma. Is that usual or reasonable?
http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/NORWAY/1999-11/0943615073

A digression prompted by the above link: I looked at the handwriting in the 1875 census for Paul and Annie and could not quite read it - but it could have said "Isabel" for the youngest child, who should have been Ingeborg. I did not search by those nicknames (Isabel, Belle) for Ingeborg.

Still from Dalby Database: a groom THOMAS JOHNSON married a bride AMANDA TUREEN - NOV 1895 [no place name given]

If either or both of these are the same Thomas, and if age 20 is correct in 1875, then he's a 40-year-old groom. Seems a bit unlikely.



Edited by - JaneC on 09/08/2014 05:48:52
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