JOHNSON, Axel U. - 1912 Bio (1858-1940)

JOHNSON, BERGMAN, LARSON, CAXO

Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 9/16/2007 at 12:27:21

History of Jefferson County, Iowa -- A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement, Vol II, Published 1912, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago
Pages 226-227

Axel U. JOHNSON.

The Scandinavians have always been among the foremost of the nationalities best suited for purposes of colonization since, through their industry and thrift and their adaptability in coping with the many hardships that must be encountered in a newly-settled country, they have proved that their virtues are of the stuff that endures. Axel U. JOHNSON belongs to the Swedish colony of settlers in Lockridge township, Jefferson county, Iowa, who have contributed no small share to the general upbuilding and growth of the agricultural interests of the state. His father, John JOHNSON, never came to America but remained in Sweden, his native country, where he was engaged in farming until his death June 3, 1907. His mother Emma (BERGMAN) JOHNSON, now in her seventy-seventh year, still lives on the old homestead in Sweden.

Axel U. JOHNSON was educated in Sweden and remained with his parents until he was twenty-five years of age. Then, bidding farewell to his family and kindred, he set sail for the new world. From New York he made his way westward to Princeton, Illinois. In that town he found various employments at which he worked for a year and a half. He then worked at hire as a farm hand, after which he rented a farm and operated it for a period of fourteen years. At the end of this time he gave up his residence in Illinois and came to Jefferson county, Iowa, where he bought two hundred and thirty-five acres in Lockridge township. This land he has been operating ever since making extensive improvements on it. It is a valuable farm and a worthy monument to the indefatigable labor which Mr. JOHNSON has expended upon it. He raises about one hundred to one hundred and fifty hogs a year, feeds seventy-five head of cattle and keeps ten horses.

The marriage of Mr. JOHNSON and Augusta W. LARSON occurred in November, 1882. She was the daughter of Swan and Stina (CAXO) LARSON, natives of Sweden. She came to this country alone leaving her parents in the land of their birth where her father was a farmer until his death about 1896. Her mother died in 1901.

Mr. and Mrs. JOHNSON are the parents of nine children. The order of their birth and their ages are as follows: Arthur, twenty-eight; Emma D., twenty-six; Elmer S., twenty-four; Mabel, twenty-three; Walter, twenty-one; Seth, nineteen; Ruth, seventeen; Myrtle, fourteen; and Irene, eight years.

Politically Mr. JOHNSON is a republican and in his religious faith he and his wife subscribe to the tenets of the Lutheran church which they attend. Fraternal associations he maintains with the brotherhood of the Modern Woodmen of America. Unwearied in his toil, patient, giving to every effort the best of the powers with which nature has endowed him, Mr. JOHNSON has moved towards his goal with the steady eye of the man who knows he has conquered.

*Transcribed for genealogy purposes; I have no relation to the person(s) mentioned.