From: Clarence & Phyllis Shafer [mailto:c_pshafer@yahoo.com]
Sent: Fri 5/18/2007 9:36 PM
To: Moose, Nancy
Subject: Lee Family History
Thank you for publishing the Lee Family History on the web! I was so excited to
see that it included my great grandparents, John and Guri Hanson, and my great
aunt, Anna Hanson Ekse.
My father, Arthur Edwin Johnson, was born to Hans and Anna Olson Johnson near
Oldham in 1900. They had a total of 15 children but not all births were
registered, including my dad's.
Hans had come from Norway in 1870 with his parents John and Guri (sometimes
spelled Guro) Hanson (also spelled in Hansen in some documents), together with
another brother and 3 sisters.
Both boys took the last name Johnson according to Norwegian custom, but it
looks as though the girls took their father's last name.
The family came to Wisconsin and then settled in Minnesota. By the 1880
census both boys were still at the family residence, but the 3 girls are not
listed: Anna, Birgith, and Aslaug.
Soon after that 1880 census at least some of the family moved to Kingsbury
County, South Dakota. Birgith (Berget) had married Jens Olson, who
homesteaded. Hans and his brother Halvor also homesteaded in Kingsbury County.
I had not known anything about the 2 girls, Anna (sometimes listed as Anne) or
Aslaug. I really regret that I didn't ask my dad more questions about his
family.
Dad talked a lot about his cousins in South Dakota and had many pictures of
Liens, Ekses, and Olsons. I was given some of those pictures.
I was almost 13 when Dad's oldest sibling, Julia Johnson Bruce (christened
Gurine Isabelle!) died in North Dakota in 1955. It was decided to bury her body
in the cemetery with her parents and infant siblings in South Dakota, so we made
a trip to Oldham. The service was very well attended and I felt as though I was
related to nearly everyone in town. We had a wonderful time visiting at the
farm home of Mary Olson, daughter of Jens and Berget.
Sincerely,
Phyllis Johnson Shafer
c_pshafer@yahoo.com