Johan August Anderson

  General Notes:

From Johan August Anderson Family History by Murray Anderson Roed:

The Anderson family history begins with Johan August Anderson who was bom on August 14, 1852, in Vikarbyn Nrl73, at Rattvik, "Dalecaria" Kopparberg County, near Jerna Fors. Sweden local archives list the family name spelled with two s's but only one s is used in Canada. (He listed himself as Store Kopperbergslan, of Battalion Adjutant, Army Division he belonged to). Johan was the son of Karl Johan Andersson, a pedlar who died in 186 1. His mother was Johanna Katarina Hedblad (daughter of E.0 Hedblad) who was bom on September 6, 1816 and died on March 10, 1879. Karl Johan Anderson and Johanna apparently had three children, two sons and one daughter according to Rattviles records in 1861. Johanna left Rattvik (because of Karl's death) to stay with Lars Andersson and his wife Ingrid Ersdotter when Johan was only nine. The third child was likely left with another family. Johan stayed with his mother until he was twelve. In 1865 his mother left this Parish (Segersta) for Svedja Nr2 to work for a farmer Johan Johansson and his wife Elizebeth Edlund and son Sven.. Here Johan continued his Christian education until he was fifteen.

Johan had one sister, Ulrika Augusta Anderson, bom on November 26, 1848 (a lady to be known to future generations as Aunt Sjolin), and a brother, as mentioned above, who was likely adopted by another family after the death of Johan!s father and for whom there is no further information.

Johan became a lumber sorter and for three years worked at the Sandarne sawmill, at the Lj sawmill for a year, and then at Sandarne for a summer and then for two summers at Ljusne again, spending his winters at Soderhamm with his mother and his sister. He worked at Kallskar's sawmill until 1875 and later at the timber yard of the Hudiksvall's Lumber Company. He then worked at the Iggesund Works for about six years, and then settled in the Lillhardal Parish, county of Jamtland.

On November 7, 1876, records show that Johan and his mother went to Iggesund in the Njutanger Parish, 10 km south of Hudiksvall. Johanna Katrina Hedblad died here on March 10, 1879, two weeks before Johan was to be married to Margreta Ersdotter Zackrisson. (Authoes note: Spelling of names is always a problem deciding on which one is right ... Margareta appears in places for Margreta as an example but many idiosyncbrosies remain).

Johan must have met Margreta Ersdotter Zackrisson prior to 1875 since a son, Erik Anderson (namesake of Margreta's great grandfather on her father's side) was bom to them on January 27, 1876. According to one interpretation of Swedish Law, the couple had to wait four years to marry, and on March 24, 1879 this was done. Johan was 21 years old when he married Margreta Ericksdot who was 20 years old and the only child of Erick Zackrisson and Ingeborg Ersdotter, on March 24, 1879, in the community of Lillhardal, province of Jemtlandstan (now Jamtland), Sweden.
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the family adopted the method of using the fathers last name without the double S in Canada "Came to Canada to Prince Albert on 27 July 1901, moved to Glenmary 5 August 1901, took up my homestead 1 January 1902, began building the same spring, and had my house ready to move into on 25 July of the same year."
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Johan was a good judge of horses. There were some unscrupulous men selling bad horses to unsuspecting immigrants. Johan warned the immigrants and helped them find good horses. These men waited for him one night when he came out of the hotel, waylaid him and killed him. The children were home alone when this happened as their mother had died just nine months earlier. This left them orphans, to be cared for by relatives. Johan was so tall that he was taller than his great draft horses. When he was buried, they had to put him across the full end of the square family plot because he was so tall.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Moved, 29 Aug 1870. Moved into Lillhardal from Njutanger.

• Occupation, May 1879. At the time of marriage it was stated that he worked as a foreman of the lumber mill in Njutånger.

• Moved, 22 Sep 1882. Moved out of Blekberg, Lillhardel to Delsbo.

• Moved, 1886. Moved in 1886 to Söderlivena, Delsbo and they became farmers there.

• Moved, 26 Oct 1892. Moved out from Delsbo to Idenor.

• Moved, 1 Jul 1901. Moved out from Backen, Idenor to Canada.The entire family except the 3 oldest the children emmigrated to Canada. Ev. the family was named Andersson in Canada.

• Left Liverpool, England, 11 Jul 1901.

• Left Derry, 12 Jul 1901. The whole family except for the three oldest boys plus nephews, John Sjolin, age 24 and Axel Sjolin, age 16 took second class passage, which cost $1400.00 total.

• Arrived in Canada, 20 Jul 1901, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

• Took up homestead, 1 Jan 1902, near Kinistino, Saskatchewan, Canada. This consisted of the East Half of Section 34, Township 46, Range 21, West of the 2nd Meridian.

• Moved to homestead, 25 Jul 1902, near Kinistino, Saskatchewan, Canada. Axel and John Sjolin helped build the house, which was a two-storey log house. It was completed in record time. Axel lived with the family for a year. The family had been living in a sheep barn at the John Cross farm at Glenmary during construction of the house. This house was destroyed by fire in 1920.

Johan married Margareta Ersdotter, daughter of Erik Zakrisson and Ingeborg Ersdotter, on 23 Mar 1879 in Lillhärdal, Jamtland, Sweden. (Margareta Ersdotter was born on 25 May 1859 in Lillhärdal, Jamtland, Sweden, died on 28 Feb 1908 in Kinistino, , Saskatchewan, Canada and was buried in Zion Lutheran Church Cem., Kinistino, Saskatchewan.)