Brief Life History of Christena Helena
When Christena Helena Johnson was born on 8 June 1902, in Minnesota, United States, her father, Andrew Johnson, was 42 and her mother, Karen 'Carrie' Neilson, was 42. She married Charles Leonard Besendorfer on 11 July 1925, in Faribault, Minnesota, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons. She lived in Ellendale, Steele, Minnesota, United States in 1930 and Frost, Faribault, Minnesota, United States for about 10 years. She died on 8 November 1950, in Albert Lea, Freeborn, Minnesota, United States, at the age of 48, and was buried in Emerald Cemetery, Emerald Township, Faribault, Minnesota, United States.
Photos and Memories (4)
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Family Time Line
Sources (11)
- Christina Besendorf, "United States Census, 1950"
- Christena Helena Besendorf, "Minnesota Deaths, 1887-2001"
- Johnson in entry for Charles J. Besendorf, "Minnesota Death Index, 1908-2002"
Spouse and Children
Parents and Siblings
Siblings (10)
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World Events (8)
1903 · Department of Commerce and Labor
A short-lived Cabinet department which was concerned with controlling the excesses of big business. Later being split and the Secretary of Commerce and Labor splitting into two separate positions.
1906 · The End of Capital Punishment
Between the state's entry into the Union and 1906, 27 people were executed by hanging in Minnesota. Public opinion soon shifted against the death penalty in the state and was formally abolished in 1911. Since its abolishment, there have been 23 attempts to reinstate the death penalty, but none of these bills passed the state legislature.
1915 · Home of the Federal Reserve Bank for the Ninth District
The first building for the Federal Reserve bank in Minneapolis was completed in 1915 and was a peculiar structure. It had no windows on the lower walls close to the street and later, a small skyscraper was added to the top. It was created to serve the states of Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and the northern parts of Wisconsin and Michigan. Even though it covers a wide area, it serves the smallest population base of the entire reserve system. Today the Federal Reserve is housed in three buildings that are housed a few blocks away from each other.
Name Meaning
English and Scottish: patronymic from the Middle English and Older Scots personal name Johan, Jo(h)n (see John ) + -son. It was often interchanged with Jenson and Janson . In North America, this surname has absorbed cognates from other languages, e.g. Norwegian, Danish, or North German Johnsen , Johannesen , Johannsen , Johansen , Jansen , Jantzen , and Jensen , Swedish Johnsson (see below), Johansson , Jonsson , and Jansson , Dutch Janssen , German Janz , Czech Jansa 1, and Slovenian Janša (see Jansa 2) and Janežič (see Janezic ). Johnson (including in the sense 2 below) is the second most frequent surname in the US. It is also the second most common surname among Native Americans and a very common surname among African Americans.
Americanized form (and a less common Swedish variant) of Swedish Johnsson: patronymic from the personal name John, a variant of Jon (see John ). Compare 1 above.
History: Surname Johnson was brought independently to North America by many different bearers from the 17th and 18th centuries onward. Andrew Johnson (1808–75), 17th president of the US, was born in Raleigh, NC, the younger son of Jacob Johnson and Mary (or Polly) McDonough. Little is known of his ancestors. The 36th president, Lyndon B. Johnson, dates his American forebears back seven generations to James Johnston (sic) (born c. 1662) who lived at Currowaugh, Nansemond, and Isle of Wight counties, VA. — Noted early bearers also include Marmaduke Johnson (died 1674), a printer who came from England to MA in 1660; Edward Johnson (1598–1672), a colonial chronicler who was baptized at St. George's parish, Canterbury, England, and emigrated to Boston in 1630; and Sir Nathaniel Johnson (c. 1645–1713), a colonial governor of Carolina, who came from County Durham, England.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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