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John Carlos Johnson

Birth: 15 Jan. 1864 Place: Vamlingbo, Gotland, Sweden Mother: Christina Marie Christianson Lundgren Father: John Ludvig Johnson Married: Martha Jensen -30 Apr. 1894 Place: Santaquin, Utah, Utah Death: 21 June 1949 Place: Santaquin, Utah, Utah Grandpa Johnson: what I remember and have collected by Helen Johnson Carlson Johns father, John Ludvig Johnson, was born in Lemhult, Jonkoping, Sweden. He married Christina Marie Christianson Lundgren in Vamlingbo, Gotland, Sweden, 3 May 1851. Their nine children were born in Vamlingbo. John had four older sisters, Anna Ulrica, Marie Elizabeth, Johanna Carolina and Emma Lorentina. Then came John and two brothers, Christian Aaron and Victor Nickalos. This family was completed with two more sisters, Catherine Christina (also known as Carrie) and Selma. This had to be a wonderful loving family. I personally knew five of them. Their love and concern for family and others was evident in their kind and helpful visits and letters to each other. Even as a child I felt the love they exemplified. John was short and sturdy but not heavy. He was a hard capable worker and very agile and strong. He was soft spoken with a great sense of humor and as a good listener he enjoyed many friends. A straight edge razor along with a leather sharpening strap kept his face clean shaven except for a wellgroomed mustache. A meager amount of research can give us a glimpse of what life might have been like for this large family in the 1800s. According to a biography of Olivia Ekland Larson, Johns cousin, the island of Gotland was a lovely place to live. Strawberries, cranberries and a variety of flowers grew wild. It was a picture of pastoral peace with wild birds singing in the trees and shrubs making the island a verdant green. It was pleasant and easy to visit family and friends by traveling the well-kept network of roads bordered with trees. Each property owner was required to keep the road adjoining his property in good condition. Their homes were not equipped with running water or modern plumbing. Lamps and candles provided their lighting. Common modes of transportation were sleighs, wagons or carriages pulled by horses or other animals, such as oxen and of course they had water transportation. I am sure they did a lot of walking as did I, in my early childhood. I doubt if entertainment or recreation was a problem. No matter what kind of a situation we humans are in, with little incentive and good imagination, we can come up with something enjoyable. School days were limited because of family finances. The children started working at an early age to provide for the family. It has been said that by the time John was ten years old, he worked as a stable boy. This explains why he was so good with animals. According to Olivia Ekland Larsons

2 biography, in Sweden during the winter months, they tied fishnets, which were used to catch herring from the sea. Herring played an important part in the lives of these island people. Olivia was only seven years old when she started this work. That was undoubtedly a common practice for young children. I wonder if Grandpa Johnson tied nets. He never mentioned nets or fishing but he probably did both. He passed away 7 years before we came to Alaska. Im looking forward to talking with him about his life on the Island, fishing, boats and etc. I bet we have a lot in common. John was born 15 Jan. 1864. Two years later, in 1866, history records a famine and crop failure in Sweden. Not only was there a crop failure but the usual supply of fish, in the Baltic Sea, did not materialize. It was necessary to import barrels of sardines. King Oscar and Queen Victoria sent money but the wealthy got it and the poor got nothing, causing the poor to work very hard for their sustenance. Many young children went around with little baskets begging for food. The Gospel of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints was introduced to this community around 1860. In fact, the first branch was organized in Visby, Gotland in 1861. Johns parents were baptized in 1859 according to some records but I have not found any record of Johns baptism prior to 5/Jul/1894, just a few months after his marriage to Martha Jensen. According to census records, John immigrated to the United States in 1882 or 1884. Two census records disagree on the date. Word of mouth indicates that his parents and other family members came first while he stayed behind to work and pay off the debt for their travel. Two older sisters remained in Sweden. We have a copy of a letter from one of them, Maria who married Marshall Moller. Johns sister Emma was married to Robert Holk and they made their home in Boston. Massachusetts. That was probably much appreciated by John who, according to the 1890 census, was working in Boston as a driver. Ervin, Johns son, said that his father hauled people and their tools to work and back and hauled roofing, too. It was, also, in Boston that John took care of Polo horses. He said that he had to keep them so clean that a gentleman could come in at any time and pat the horses without getting his gloves soiled are dirty. Johns father and mother, Victor, Carrie and Selma had gone on to Utah. They wanted John to come west. They finely enticed him to come. The story goes that Grandpa was well dressed and that he traveled to Utah by train. I still have a trunk that he brought with him. Dad did not know if Grandpa brought it from Sweden or if he bought it in Boston. I understand that for awhile, his wardrobe consisted of dress clothes including a top hat. Therefore, in Santaquin, he was identified as the Boston Dude. John was somewhat disappointed in the west after having lived in Boston. He said that, at that time, Salt Lake City would compare to Boston as Santaquin compared with Salt Lake City. Even in Gotland, they had big comfortable brick homes. His disappointment mellowed when he connected with a childhood friend, Adelbert (Dell) Kay. They located in Santaquin and got adjoining farms. Not long after his arrival in Santaquin, he met Martha Jensen and her son John. It was a good match. They were married April 30th1894. They were blessed with a baby boy, Aaron Jesse Charles, 9 November 1895. Charles only lived until the 25 Dec. 1896. August 23, 1897, Martha gave birth to a baby girl, Eva Christina who lived until August 25, 1897. October 20, 1897, John and Martha, along with several of his siblings and their spouses, Nickolas and Ellen, Carrie and G.T. Ockander, Selma and Waldemer, traveled together from Santaquin to Manti to get their temple work done. This was not an easy undertaking in 1897. They would have had to travel in wagons, on not the best of roads. I am sure it took a few days for the trip but was a very special and

3 successful occasion. They were able to be endowed, sealed and have children sealed to them. John did the work for Christian Aaron, a brother lost at sea. Santaquin was all dry farming. Goshen had irrigated farm land. When John got the opportunity to work a Brother-in-Laws farm, in Goshen, he moved his family there. They first moved to Alberta, called Goshen Slant, up along the railroad, and then to Goshen Bend. I believe it was at this time that they bought an old log school house and converted it into a pretty nice home. Ervin and Merlin were born in Santaquin. Pete was born while they were living in Goshen. Ethan, Ernest, and Rex were born after they moved back to Santaquin. They all lived to maturity providing 33 Grandchildren. All seven boys were very respectful of each other and of their parents. They all learned to be responsible by doing their part in operating the farm and the orchards. They liked to argue but I dont recall any lasting bad feelings. Each went their separate ways after marriage but Grandpa and Grandmas place remained home, a place to gather on Sundays, holidays and other special occasions. It was only a few years until Santaquin had irrigation to their farms and so John moved his family back to Santaquin, to his own farm. Ervin told us that his father worked for $1.40 a day, in a rock quary and working on roads. With the wages and help from friends, he was able to provide for his family and build a family home. A cousin did the brick work. Friends helped each other build houses, barns or whatever was needed. There was no exchange of money.

His friendship, with Dell Kay, flourished and after a time, together they bought a binder, which increased their efficiency on their farms. They were able to help their neighbors as well. Ervin called it a header and said it took a united effort for him and all his brothers to operate it. It was a productive and profitable venture.

4 I only saw Grandpa angry once. It must have been over financial matters with Grandma. I didnt hear any harsh words but all of a sudden he took all the change out of his pocket and threw it on the kitchen floor. It scattered all over the floor. This was pretty shocking to a little girl like me. I was quite concerned. I busied myself picking up the money and giving it to Grandma since Grandpa didnt want it. That seemed to end the episode. As far as I know. I was the only grandchild that ever witnessed such action. I think they were pretty good examples for us grandchildren. Our memories of Grandpa Johnson are warm, friendly and fun. A Swedish accent added to his charm. He always greeted us with a smile. He would get us on his knee and bounce us up and down. This was basically to amuse the youngsters but we got to be pretty old before we were considered, too, old. His daughters-in-law were not except from his fun either. Mother and he liked to tease each other about their big noses. His granddaughters were teased about their beaus, even if they didnt have one. He always seemed to find something to make us happy like playing in the grain or riding horses. The grain bin was a treat. We didnt get to do it very often because it was dangerous and we had to be watched or we could have become buried in it. Grandpa had a big round sharpening stone to sharpen knives, axes, scythes and other tools. It was built kind of like the front of a stationary bicycle with the stone being the wheel. You would sit on a seat and peddle to make the stone go round so you could sharpen the tools by holding them to the stone. We grandchildren liked to play on it. We played like it was our horse. Of course we always had to have a horse. Grandpa and all his sons had horses. It has been written that Great Grandpa John Ludvig Johnson liked animals, especially horses, and was adept at caring for them even when they were sick. Grandpa learned from his Father and passed these qualities on to his sons. He and his sons raised Percheron Horses, a breed of draft horses which are very powerful but gentle. They say, Grandpa John Carl didnt have much love for chickens or pigs but he built coops for the chickens and pens for the pigs and made sure they were cared for. In fact, Im told that the animals had to be cared for before family mealtime. As a child, I really liked to go out to the chicken coop and watch the little chicks scamper around in their nice warm coop. It was fun to gather the eggs for Grandma, too. As for the pigs, I didnt care much for them, except they provided delicious bacon, ham, pork chops and roasts for family dinners and they were a useful method of getting rid of all the food scraps from the kitchen and other waste from the orchards and garden. A fifty gallon barrel was kept at the side of the pig pen. All the waste was dumped in the barrel, where it was handy to bucket out at feeding time. Grandpa planted an English black walnut tree on his front lawn when his children were little. When we Grandchildren came along, it was a huge prolific tree. Every year it produced sacks of walnuts. Each Fall Grandpa gathered them up, let them dry and then put them in gunny sacks to give them away or use. What werent gathered and dried had to be raked up with the dry leaves and burned. It was fun to play in the stacks of dry leaves after they had been raked up to burn. Actually, it was even fun to rake them into a pile so that we could jump in them. The walnut tree was not the only tree he planted. Around the perimeter of the lawn were locust trees along with a beautiful

5 hedge, which was usually quite well groomed. A black cherry tree was conveniently located close to the kitchen door. It provided shade and scrumptious big dark red cherries for canning as well as eating fresh. These were the trees I remember around the house but then there were, also, his two huge orchards. Closer to the house and in other strategic places, he planted beautiful rose bushes, lilac bushes and an amazing snowball bush. These flowering bushes along with peonies and other early flowering plants provided beauty a warm welcome around there home but, also, flowers to place on graves of loved ones on Memorial Day. I know our family always stopped at Grandpa and Grandma Johnsons home, on our way to Grandmother Morgans, to pick up flowers for loved ones in Nephi. It is pretty evident that Grandpa was very industrious, ambitious and energetic. In the book, Pioneer Families of Santaquin, I learned that he worked in a saw mill with John Henry Wall and Daniel Smith Jerman. That book mentions his orchards but gives credit to Joseph A Stickney for driving the first school wagon, during the years of 1914, 1915 and 1916. Ervin, my father said that his Dad drove the first school bus three years before that. He remembered the bus being built on the big Bain Wagon, across the street from their home. He said that he used to get up and get the horses ready to go while Grandpa ate breakfast. Holidays and Sundays were faithfully observed. Some claim that the family attended church. I never witnessed that during my life time but we have a picture of the family which looks like they all have on their Sunday clothes and Im told that Dad was a member of the church choir. What I remember, is that summer Sundays was a time for family and friends to conglomerate on Grandpa and Grandma Johnsons front lawn, in the cool shade of the big walnut tree. Home-made ice cream with Grandmas sugar cookies was a delightful treat for everyone. During the winter months, when we went to see Grandma and Grandpa, Grandpa often got out the walnuts and set us up to crack them with a hammer, on a big rock or the anvil, in the corner of a nice warm kitchen. What an enjoyable thing to do on a cold winter day and those walnut meats were absolutely scrumptious and worth picking out every tiny morsel. On either the 4th of July or the 24th of July, Santaquin had a parade. The Johnsons participated. Some rode horses. Others decorated their old carriages and wagons with pans and other items, which had been used by the pioneers when they came west. Ervin said that his dad had one of the first carriages in town. Different members of the family dressed up like the earlier pioneers and rode in the wagons. Some had handcarts. I remember Uncle John and Aunt Clow had a handcart and my cousin Irene walked with them. I rode in Uncle Merlins wagon.

6 John and Marthas home seemed to be a favorite gathering place for extended family. Uncle Victor lived in Canada with his family and Aunt Emma and her family lived in Boston. When they were able to come for a visit, it was a real treat for everyone. Here are two pictures taken on a couple of those rare occasions. One is with Aunt Selma, Aunt Emma, Great Grandma Johnson and Aunt Carrie; the other is with Uncle Victor and Aunt Carrie. It seems that Grandpas nieces and nephews enjoyed these visits as much as anyone. Those we have talked to, said,Oh yes! I remember going to visit Uncle John.

I dont remember Grandpa ever being sick until after he turned eighty. At that time, he had a stroke and fell in the ditch while he was irrigating. Someone found him, clinging onto the weeds on the ditch bank. He needed 24 hour care while he was recuperating. I had the privilege of helping Grandma for a week or more. It was interesting. In his semi-conscious state, he still had a sense of humor. He kept saying, I dont understand how ducks get clean in muddy water. Ha! Ha! Another time, he was trying to tear his quilts so that he could divide them for his boys upstairs. Of course the boys were not up stairs but he was concerned that they were and he was afraid they were cold. After a couple weeks, he seemed to get somewhat better but died June 29, 1949, at the age of eighty-five. John was a wonderful example of pure charity. His actions showed that he truly loved others. His son, Ervin, my Father, made the statement many times I hope I can be half as good as my Father. We Grandchildren each have our own special memories of him and we are happy that he is our Grandfather.