Ansedel Bengt (Benjamin) Johnsson

1877-

Född 1877-10-10 i Kräftemåla, Kyrkhult
Död

Bengt (Benjamin) Johnsson Född 1877-10-10 i Kräftemåla, Kyrkhult Död	F John Fredlund F Jönsson. Född 1854-05-18 i Farabol nr 119, Jämshög Död	FF Jöns Johnsson. Född 1812-12-22 i Farabol nr 120, Jämshög Död 1865-11-07 i Farabol nr 1, Kyrkhult	FFF John Jönsson. Född 1770-09-01 i Knaggelid, Asarum Död
			FFM Bengta Måns(Mats)Dotter. Född 1773-01-05 i Farabol nr 120, Jämshög Död 1838-02-04 i Farabol nr 120, Jämshög
		FM Elna Petersdotter. Född 1817-04-10 i Åmma, Jämshög Död	FMF Peter Olsson. Född 1788 i Thorsås Död 1855-08-08 i Åmma, Jämshög
			FMM Hanna Håkansdotter. Född 1785-08-11 i Åmma, Jämshög Död 1823-12-26 i Åmma, Jämshög
	M Hanna Olsdotter. Född 1848-01-11 i Kräftemåla, Jämshög Död 1922-10-24 i Källeboda nr 1, Kyrkhult	MF Ola Ingemansson. Född 1822-06-16 i Sonarp nr 2, Näsum Död 1891-06-13 i Kräftemåla, Kyrkhult	MFF Ingeman Persson. Född 1792-12-21 i Sonarp, Näsum Död 1849-05-10 i Sonarp nr 2, Näsum
			MFM Sissa Månsdotter. Född 1790-03-27 i Holabäck nr 24, Gammalstorp Död 1852-09-03 i Sonarp nr 2, Näsum
		MM Botil Eriksdotter. Född 1824-01-08 i Kräftemåla, Jämshög Död 1869-11-10 i Kräftemåla, Kyrkhult	MMF Erik Carlsson. Född 1781-12-22 i Kräftemåla, Jämshög Död
			MMM Elna Svensdotter. Född 1798-08-20 i Kåraboda, Jämshög Död

Levnadsbeskrivning

Oäkta född. Emigrerar till Amerika 11/5 1895 från Källeboda nr 1.
Ett barnbarn, Vicki Nelson, i USA skriver:Benjamin (Bengt) Johnson
immigrated to North Dakota, USA, by way of Quebec, Ca nada, in
1895. He already had two uncles and an aunt here, Swan (Sven)
Charley (Carl) and Selma (Sissa). His first job w as at a dairy
farm in Casselton, North Dakota. His employer sent him to school
in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to learn Engli sh. In 1899 (Ben changed
his birth year to 1876, so he could get a homestead a year sooner)
Ben begins to homestead 16 0 acres of land between the homesteads
of Swan and Charley. Selma is married to Bennie Swanson, an inn
keeper, and the y live with Charley. Ben proves up his homestead
and receives title for his land in 1904. Ben then travels back to
Swede n for a wife. Apparently he thinks his old girlfriend is
waiting for him, but she had, of course, married someone else . On
the return trip on the ship, Ben meets Matilida Magnussen and
falls in love with her. She is from Perserud, Värmlan d, Arvika
Parish. (I have been able to locate info on her family already).
She is going to Minneapolis, MN, to stay wit h her sisters and
find a husband there, but Ben convinces her to marry him. They do
get married (about 1905-06), and hav e theirfirst daughter in 1907
and their second daughter in 1909. Matilda then becomes ill, and
is diagnosed with tubercu losis of the kidney, has surgery to
remove the kidney, but dies from a post-op infection on Ben's
birthday, 10-10-1910 . So Ben is now a widower with two small
girls. Matilda's sisters in Minneapolis ingore his plea for help,
as they didn' t approve of him marrying her in the first place. We
don't know for sure if Ben returns to Sweden or contacts his
mother , asking for help to find a housekeeper. Ingrid Svensson
was, at the time, staying and working for a Swedish family tha t
was living on the north coast of Germany. Apparently her brother
or brothers decide she should go to the US to be Ben' s
housekeeper, and she leaves directly from Germany, never seeing
her parents again. Thisis something that Ingrid deepl y regrets
for the rest of her life. She arrives in Ellis Island on June 12,
1912, and takes a train to Marion, North Dak ota, where Ben picks
her up and takes her home. Since their mother died, the girls have
been juggled back and forth betw een neighbors and Ben's uncles,
Swan and Charley, and aunt Selma. Ingrid was angry at the
condition of the girls and the n really hits the roof when she
finds out Ben hasn' t been taking them to church since Matilda
died. Ben and Ingrid are married 10-26-1912, only four months
since her arriv al. She is 20 years old and he is 35. Ingrid did
not come here expecting to marry Ben, she said she came here "to
work" . She even had a man she was interested in that she had met
on her trip to the US. So I guess I have always thought Ingr id
got forced into the marriage. My aunt,Matilda's oldest daughter
Lillian, said she remembered Ingrid cried a lot and w as very
unhappy here, and wanted to go home. Ingr id's first child is a
stillbirth. She then has 5 children, Edith, Arnes, Bert, Velva
Virginia, and MaryAnn Bernice. Ber t was my father. Ben made sure
his children were educated. The first rural schoolin the area was
located on a corner o f his farmstead. All his children finished
high school, and several went to college. My dad, Bert, was sent
to war in 19 41, and returned in 1945. Ben retired fromfarming
that year, and rented the land to sons Arnes and Bert. Ben and
Ingri d purchased a home in Valley City, about 30 miles away. It
is a large house next to the Sheyenne River, because Ben like d to
fish. Bert, my dad, marries Elizabeth Noot, a daughter of Dutch
immigrants, in 1947, and they take over Ben's farm. Benjamin
Johnson di es July 16, 1950, in Valley City, North Dakota. I was
born in 1964, so I only remember my Grandmother, Ingrid. I remembe
r her to be a very rigid and proper woman with a thick Swedish
accent, who made sugar cookies you swear came straight fr om
heaven. And you did as you were told! She was never "Ingrid" to
us, always Grandma Johnson. We would ask about Grandp a Ben and
where they came from, etc, and never got many answers, she seemed
like she never wanted to talk about him or S weden. Once I asked
Ingrid to speak in Swedish, and she wouldn't. She said "Ben
doesn't allow anything but English to b e spoken in his home" and
he had been dead for like 20 years! I get the idea that since
Matilda had died, he had gotte n rather short-tempered and mean at
times, and also drank too much. Most of my information about the
family came from Be n's oldest daughter Lillian, but she has
passed away many years ago now. One of Ingrid's brothers and hi s
family came to the US to visit once, otherwise I don't think she
had much contact with her family. My dad, Bert, die d from colon
cancer in 1978. I think my dad was Ingrid's favorite, and once he
died she started not taking care of herse lf, so she ended up in a
nursing home in Wapheton, North Dakota. Ingrid died on November
25, 1988, in W ahpeton. Ben, Ingrid, and Matilda are buried at the
Vasa Swedish Cemetery, located about 3 miles east of Ben's
homestead . I was the last of 6 children of Bert and Elizabeth, I
had four brothers. Aftermy dad died, the farm was managed by m y
mother, Elizabeth, and my brothers Bruce and Tom. When Bruce died
in 2000, my brother Mike came home to help with th e far m. Of
course, the farm has grown considerably since Ben homesteaded. My
brother Tom and his family and Bruce's son Mar k still live on the
original homestead. So that is that story.

Relationer och barn

Gift
Matilda Magnusdotter.
Född 1879-07-27 i Arvika
Död 1910-10-10 i USA, North Dakota

Gift i USA
Ingrid Svensdotter.

Född 1891-12-17 i Mörkamåla, Kyrkhult
Död 1988-11-25 i USA, North Dakota

Framställd 2025-09-21 med hjälp av Disgen version 2025.