Brief Life History of Benjamin
Benjamin Johnson was born in May 1874, in Norway as the son of John Olsen Johnson and Christina Ellingson. He married Clara Matilda Larson on 10 May 1899, in Humboldt, Iowa, United States. They were the parents of at least 8 sons and 2 daughters. He immigrated to United States in 1890 and lived in Barnes, North Dakota, United States in 1920 and Nelson Township, Barnes, North Dakota, United States for about 10 years. He died in March 1950, in North Dakota, United States, at the age of 75.
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Family Time Line
Sources (20)
- Ben Johnson, "United States Census, 1940"
- Benjamin Johnson, "Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934"
- Ben Johnson in entry for Clara Johnson, "Minnesota Deaths, 1887-2001"
Spouse and Children
Children (11)
+6 More Children
Parents and Siblings
World Events (8)
1875 · A Treaty with Hawaii
In the Mid 1870s, The United States sought out the Kingdom of Hawaii to make a free trade agreement. The Treaty gave the Hawaiians access to the United States agricultural markets and it gave the United States a part of land which later became Pearl Harbor.
1884 · There is now a Capital Building
The capitol building in Des Moines originally had a budget of $1,500,000 but complications arose because of the need of a redesign. The building was dedicated on January 17, 1884, but it wasn’t completed until 1886. On January 4, 1904, a fire started and swept through the areas that housed the Supreme Court and Iowa House of Representatives. A major restoration was performed and documented, with the addition of electrical lighting, elevators, and a telephone system. By the early 1980s, the sandstone exterior of the Capitol had started deteriorating and prompted the installation of canopies to protect pedestrians from falling rubble. The entire reconstruction process took around 18 years to complete.
1896 · Plessy vs. Ferguson
A landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities if the segregated facilities were equal in quality. It's widely regarded as one of the worst decisions in U.S. Supreme Court history.
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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