Introduction

When putting together the various family histories, there are a few things that have been very helpful:

1. Having parents or grandparents who had been savers: pictures, obituaries, postcards, certificates, etc.

2. Living in Iowa City where one of the State Historical Libraries is located with its censuses, land plats, newspapers, etc.

3. Others in the various families willing to share their information to enhance the collection.

4. Knowing Dr. Gerhard Naeseth of the Genealogical Center in Madison, WI (Norwegian American Genealogical Center & Naeseth Library) as a very knowledgable resource.

Living in Decorah [Iowa] in the sixties and seventies, we attended many Sander reunions (Mrs. Gustav Johnson was a Sander) and Bill Johnson would comment that he knew quite a lot about his Sander relatives but not very much about his dad’s side of the family. So that started the research on the Johnson Family History.

In the late seventies, having moved to Iowa City, by doing much letter writing and aided by the help and expertise of the aforementioned Gerhard Naeseth, the data began to be accumulated.

Birth and marriage certificates were obtained from the Archives in Oslo, Norway; birth, death and emigration from the Norwegian church records are very useful, and I researched those a couple of times at the Salt Lake City Family History Library. Census records, old newspapers, plat books are available for use at the State Historical Library.

And maybe best of all, my mother-in-law [Lillie (JOHNSON) Williams] had been a saver and had handed down many pictures, obituaries, newspaper articles, etc. We had learned enough so that in 1986 when we spent a semester in Norway, we were able to travel to and take pictures of the home farm – Huusmoe – of Anna Gurine, the mother of Gustav Johnson. So for a Johnson ‘Cousin’ family reunion in 1992, I put together this book I call Gustav Johnson Descendants.

Andrew and Anna JOHNSON

Andrew and Anna JOHNSON (Bef. 1908). Images courtesy of Verla Williams.

Birth Certificate: Anne Gorine GULBRANDSDTR Huusmog

Certificate of Birth. Anne Gorine GULBRANDSDTR Huusmog (29 Mar 1831). Oslo: Statsarkivet, 1981. Image courtesy of Verla Williams.

C E R T I F I C A T E

In the parish register No. I/5 (1815-1835) for Nes parish, page 359, number 25, is introduced that

A n n e  G o r i n e

daughter of Gulbrand Saxesen Huusmog and Kari Gulbrandsdatter, was born on 29 - twenty-ninth - march 1831 - eighteen thirty-one - and was christened on 24 - twenty-fourth - april the same year. Oslo, 23 March 1981 by proxy Alfhild Nakken [English translation by Google.]

Digitalarkivet also has a copy of the Nes parish record that contains Anne Gorine's birth and baptismal dates.


Detail of SAO, Nes prestekontor Kirkebøker, F/Fa/L0005: Ministerialbok nr. I 5, 1815-1835, s. 358-359.

1870 US Federal Census: Andrew Johnson Family

Detail of 1870 US Federal Census. Image courtesy of Ancestry.com.

Johnson Andrew / 35 / M / W / Tailor / Norway
_____ Anna / 38 / F / W / Keeping House / "
_____ Gust / 12 / M / W / At Home / "
_____ Julius / 6 / M / W / " / "
_____ Bertha / 3 / F / W / " / Wis
_____ Emma / 1 / F / W / " / "
Moe Anna / 34 / F / W / Housekeeping / Norway

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Source Citation: Year: 1870; Census Place: Madison Ward 2, Dane, Wisconsin; Roll: M593_1708; Page: 314A; Image: 632; Family History Library Film: 553207. 

Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.

Andrew Johnson Family Gravestone

Gravestone. Andrew (1835-1900) and Anna Gurina (1831-1908) JOHNSON (Madison, WI: Forest Hill Cemetery). Front view. Images courtesy of Verla Williams.


Gravestone. Clara P. (1879-1882), Emma M. (1868-1882), and Carl L. (1870-1891) JOHNSON (Madison, WI: Forest Hill Cemetery). Lateral view. Images courtesy of Verla Williams.