Pottawatomie County Biographies
" Portrait and Biographical Album of Jackson, Jefferson and Pottawatomie Counties, Kansas"
1890, Chapman Bros., Chicago
JOHN A. JOHNSON.
The largest land owner
of Blue Valley Township,
Pottawatomie County, the
first Swede settler in Kansas, as well as the most
prominent representative of that
nationality in the entire community, is the gentleman whose personal history is outlined in these
columns, and who, although now
past life's prime, is yet vigorous and
active, full of energy and enterprise,
always working for the upbuilding
of his county and State, while at
the same time he has not neglected to accumulate
sufficient of this world's goods to insure his old
age against the cares of poverty.
So successful has Mr. Johnson been in his undertakings that he is now the owner and operator of
1,800 acres of valuable land, while his home, beautifully located on section 13, is a substantial stone
dwelling, and is remarkable as being the second
ever built in the township, having been erected as
early as 1864. Two barns, built respectively in
1864 and 1873, afford ample shelter for stock and
farming machinery, while four tenant houses add
to the completeness of the estate. The farm is
surrounded and divided into lots by good fencing,
while farm scales, granaries, and other requisites
of a modern farm are to be found conveniently
located.
Sweden was the birthplace of the father of our
subject, John Johnson, and in his native land he
followed agriculture on a small farm of his own,
where he died in 1858, leaving a widow and nine
children. The mother of our subject was Maria
Axelson, also born in Sweden. The year after the
death of her husband she came to the United
States, whither some of her children had preceded
her. After locating in Kansas, she took up a claim
of forty acres in Blue Valley Township, but never
lived to enjoy the fruits of her labors in a new
country; her death occurred in 1860, at the age of
fifty-five years. In memory of her the town of
Mariadahl was named, she being the mother of the
first Swedish settler in the county. Her children
left their native country and made homes for
themselves in the Sunflower State. Nels P., John A.,
D. A., G. C. and A. V., the five sons, are located in
Blue Valley Township. Christine, Mrs.
Christenson, of Riley County; Lottie, Mrs. Ekblad, of
Blue Valley Township; Clara, Mrs. Omon, of
Fancy Creek Township, Riley County; and Emma,
deceased, formerly Mrs. Ekblad, complete the
family record.
Linkoping, Sweden, was the place where our
subject first saw the light, the date of his birth being July 30, 1831. He remained on his father's
farm until he was seventeen years of age, enjoying
very limited school advantages, as it was prior to
the time of free schools. Between the ages of seventeen and twenty-one he worked on a farm, and
then, having determined to come to the United
States, he left Gottenberg in the spring of 1852.
setting sail in the vessel "Virginia," which, after a
long, monotonous and uneventful voyage of forty-five days, anchored in New York Harbor. Thence
our subject came to Illinois, and located in Galesburg, where he was employed as a farm hand until
1855. At that time his employer, Mr. Shannon,
resolved to locale in Kansas, and Mr. Johnson accompanied him, riding most of the distance
horseback, and driving cattle before him. They crossed
the "Father of Waters" at Burlington, and the
Missouri at Kickapoo Ferry. Coming west to the
Blue River, they settled in a desirable location,
and during the first summer of his residence there
Mr. Johnson was in the employ of Mr. Shannon,
in Northwestern Pottawatomie County. In the
spring of 1856 he located on his present land, having at first 160 acres. Mr. Shannon and our
subject were the first settlers in Blue Valley Township, and as the former is deceased,
Mr. Johnson is the oldest living settler. It was, at the period of
their settlement, a wild prairie, not a house to be
seen as far as the eye could scan, only wild animals,
such as deer, buffalo and smaller game.
Soon after locating in Pottawatomie County, Mr.
Johnson was joined by his brother N. P., who took
a claim three-fourths of a mile north, on which
they built a log house, and resided in it for three
years. In 1859 they purchased their land at the
Government land sale, and at Government prices.
During his early residence here Mr. Johnson
witnessed some exciting events, especially during the
border ruffian days, and during Quantrel's raid on
Lawrence, in 1864. In that year he joined the
State militia, and for a time was on the plains in
pursuit of the Indians, but had no active engagements. In 1873 he homesteaded a piece of land
adjoining his farm that he could get possession of
in no other way. It comprised sixty-three acres,
and was a fine addition to his property. As before
mentioned his landed possessions include 1,800
acres, which he has purchased from time to time,
paying therefor from $1.25 to $20 per acre, the
most of it, however, costing from $8 to $10 an
acre, and 700 acres lie on the Big Blue Bottom,
famous for the fertility of its soil.
Stock-raising also engages a considerable portion
of Mr. Johnson's time and attention, and of it he
has made a signal success, having some 300 head of
stock. He is more particularly interested in
raising and selling graded Norman horses, and is a
member and stockholder of the Blue Valley Stock
Breeders Association. The Bank of Randolph
owes its origin to Mr. Johnson, who started it privately, and is now its President and principal
stockholder. A fine bank building has also been
erected, and he owns lots and a residence in the
same town. He is a stockholder in the First National Bank at Westmoreland.
After a happy wedded life of nearly thirty years
Mr. Johnson was bereft of his wife, who had ever
been a faithful companion, and devoted to the
interests of her husband and her home. She also
was a native of Linkoping, Sweden, where she was
born April 28, 1842. Her maiden name was Emma
C. Klang, her parents being Jonas P. and Louisa
(Olson) Klang, also natives of Sweden. She was
united in marriage with our subject in Blue Valley
Township, Pottawatomie County, Nov. 13, 1859,
and passed to her last rest, July 5, 1888, when
forty-six years old.
Mr. Johnson was the first Justice of the Peace in
Blue Valley Township, and held the office for six
years; he has held various other offices of trust
and responsibility. In 1876-77 he was the County
Commissioner of Pottawatomie County. In the
fall of 1884 he was elected as Representative to the
State Legislature, serving the two sessions of
1885-86, taking an active part in the discussions,
and serving on the Committee of Railroads, the
Committee of Assessments and Taxations, and others. He has served in county
and State conventions, also on petit and grand juries.
Mr. Johnson was one of the organizers of the
Lutheran Church, of Mariadahl, and is a charter
member of the same, contributing generously to the
maintenance of the church, which, from a small beginning with a few members, has grown to a
flourishing congregation. He is also active in political
affairs, and supports with his vote the Republican
party. In every way he ranks high among the citizens of Pottawatomie County, who respect him for
the many worthy traits of character which he has
always displayed, and at the same time admire his
unusual business capabilities and successful financial management.
In connection with this biographical sketch appears a lithographic portrait of Mr. Johnson.
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This website created Feb. 9, 2012 by Sheryl McClure.
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