Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Augusta (Johansson) Gustafson, Swedish Immigrant of Sioux City, Iowa Married Yankee Frank Hugh Robinson
My grandmother, Augusta Gustafson, born in Sweden in 1870.
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 Our grandmother, Augusta Gutafson, was born on January 31, 1870 in Lumheden, Dalarna Province, Sweden to parents, Gustaf Johansson and Elisabet (Lisbeth) Lisa "Lisbet" Ersdotter. In the picture is her husband and our grandfather, Frank Hugh Robinson and my young brother, David Goldfoot and myself, Nadene Goldfoot.
Augusta 's hip was broken when she was run into by a little boy who had accidently pushed
her over, so is in the wheel chair. Here she is with her 2nd huband, Frank Hugh Robinson and her
daughter's children, Nadene and David Goldfoot. Augusta died on April 19, 1955, so this picture was taken in about 1949, as David was born in 1942 and Nadene in 1934.
Augusta carried the DNA H2a1 MT haplotype of which my mother, myself and my daughter also carries and all our mothers preceding us. H stands for Helena, the branch on the family of homo sapiens that we belong to. Bryan Sykes, who wrote the book, THE SEVEN DAUGHTERS OF EVE, tells all about it.
Grandma Augusta was pushed by a running boy who ran into her when she was in her late 50's and the result was that she broke her hip, forever to be on crutches from then on.
She immigrated to the USA when she was about 18 years old with her older sister, Anna Lisa Gustafsdotter who was born August 14, 1855 in Backgarden, Lumsheden, Sweden. Below is a picture of her older sister, Anna Lisa when she was much older holding a grandchild.
Accompaning Lisa from Sweden was her son, Charles Karl August Olson of Sweden. Her son also carried the surnames of Gustavsson Johnson. Lisa's Olson husband didn't work out, so she and Augusta were headed for the USA.
While visiting my cousins, we came across a picture that said it was August Johnson, brother of Augusta. I didn't have him on my family tree, but there it was, written on the back of the picture! It said, "August Johnson, Brokussor Augusta Johnson...Gustafson Robinson. We don't know what Brokussor means. It's not in our Swedish dictionaries.
 
Here are 3 pictures of Johaan Gustafsson, brother of Augusta who was born September 8, 1861 in Lumsheden and his wife. He died on November 13, 1924 in Gavle, Sweden.
  When Augusta came to Sioux City, Iowa, she got a job as a cook with the people living in a mansion. In fact, later on the home was the famous John Pierce Mansion, built in 1893 and located at 29th and Jackson Streets. It features historical collections, pioneer objects, Native American apparel and artifacts, and a variety of programs and exhibits today. 
Augusta had a little girl by her first husband, Fred Olson, a Swedish tailor, who was called Dorothy Olson b: 1905. It seemed my records show both sisters had met two Olsons somehow; Anna Lisa's in Sweden and Augusta in Iowa. She was beautiful!
Augusta had divorced Olson at the time she was working in the Pierce Mansion and met the ice-man, my grandfather, Frank Hugh Robinson there who delivered ice for their ice box. (refrigerator). Dorothy had an appendicitis attack when about 5 years old in 1910 and Frank carried her to the doctor, but it was too late. She died. My mother was born to Frank and Augusta in 1913. Her brother, Kenneth Edward Robinson, was born 2 years later in 1915.
Here is the family line.
Descendants of Gustaf Johansson
1 Gustaf Johansson b: February 12, 1821 in Falun, Kristine Parish ?, Sweden
.. +Elisabet (Lisbeth) Lisa "Lisbet" Ersdotter b: December 07, 1830 in Parish Svärdsjö, Backgården, Lumsheden Village, Sweden
. 2 [1] Anna Lisa Gustafson Johansson b: August 14, 1855 in Backgården, Lumsheden Village, Sweden
..... +Olson b: Abt. 1855 in Sweden
. *2nd Husband of [1] Anna Lisa Gustafson Johansson:
..... +John Lindquist b: October 1836 in Sweden
. 2 Eric Gustafson Johansson b: February 01, 1860 in Lumsheden, Sweden
. 2 Johaan Gustafson Johansson b: November 14, 1858 in Lumsheden, Sweden
. 2 Johaan Gustafson Johansson b: September 08, 1861 in Backgården, Lumsheden Village parish Svärdsjö, Sweden
..... +Anna-Greta Hedlund b: March 26, 1864 in Sweden
. 2 Marta Gustafson Johansson b: January 06, 1864 in Lumsheden, Sweden
. 2 Brita Johannah "Hannah" Gustafson b: October 05, 1864 in Backgården, Lumsheden Village, Sweden
. 2 [2] Gustafva"Augusta" Johansson Gustafson b: January 31, 1870 in (Village) Lumsheden, Svardsjo parish, Kopparbergs lan (county)Dalarna Province, Sweden
..... +Fred Olson b: Abt. 1870 in Prob. Sweden
. *2nd Husband of [2] Gustafva"Augusta" Johansson Gustafson:
..... +Frank Hugh Robinson b: June 21, 1870 in Wenona,Marshall County, Illinois
2 August Johansson b: Abt. 1871
Anna Lisa Johaanson Gustafson's family: from her son: for 2 generations-- who married an OLSON!
Descendants of Anna Mathilda Olson
1 [1] Anna Mathilda Olson b: Abt. 1880 in Iowa
.. +Val Gibbons b: Abt. 1880
*2nd Husband of [1] Anna Mathilda Olson:
.. +Charles Karl August Gustavsson Johnson b: July 20, 1876 in Backgarden, Svardsjo, Lumsheden village, Sweden
. 2 Unknown Johnson b: Abt. 1911
. 2 Unknown Johnson b: Abt. 1912
. 2 Johnson b: Abt. 1913
. 2 Ralph McKinley Johnson b: January 29, 1914 in Sioux City, Iowa/Nebraska
..... +Evelyn Jones Meacham b: Abt. 1915 in Riverside, Iowa
. 2 Ruth Eleanor Johnson b: April 13, 1916 in Lincoln, Nebraska
..... +Sven Lars Anderson b: August 10, 1907 in Near Norberg, Olofsfors, Vastmanland province, Sweden
. 2 Richard "Dick" Carlton Johnson b: September 08, 1920 in Sioux City, Woodbury, Iowa
..... +Betty Unknown b: Abt. 1920
Minnie Johnson Olson's details: daughter of Frederick Olson and the sister of Charles Karl August Gustavsson Johnson's wife, Anna Mathilda Olson. She's so beautiful I had to include her in these family pictures: She married her 1st cousin, John Olson. She was born about 1882 as Minnie Wilhemina Albertina Olson in the USA and may have died in California. Linnea Anderson, our 2nd cousin once removed, told us that "6/7/07 Linnea tells that her mom and dad, her mom's parents-Anna and August and her mom's brothers, Ralph and Dick are in the same cemetery. The 2nd husband of her great Aunt Minnie is there, but Minnie is in California where she died. Minnie was a sister to her Grandma who was called Aunt Annie. Minnie was born an Olson and married an Olson; so her name was Wilhelmina Albertina Olson Olson Gainor. Her husband, John Olson, was born in Varmland, Sweden in about 1882. He died in about 1948 in California.
  Mildred Elizabeth Robinson, our mother, is in the middle in the back row, and her brother Edward Kenneth Robinson is kneeling with the dog on the left in front. Augusta's daughter, Mildred Elizabeth Robinson, was born June 29, 1913. Her son, Kenneth Edward Robinson, was born March 15, 1915. Kenneth "Edward", called Ed, married Elinor Lois Kalkwarf on August 21, 1937. Below is Augusta and Frank's son Kenneth Edward in the back row, and next to him is his sister Mildred, who is my mother, his wife Elinor, his father Frank. I'm the tall girl on the left of Augusta and in front of her is my little brother, David. To the right of Augusta are my cousins, Kenneth Edward's children Dianne and in front of her is Charlotte. This must have been about 1945- 1946. My cousin, Ken, wasn't born until December 1946 and he isn't in the picture yet.
  
Ed married Elinor August 21, 1937.
Mildred E. Goldfoot nee Robinson, daughter of Augusta when she married Morris Goldfoot April 29, 1932. I notice she's wearing flats in this picture so she's not taller than Dad.
Finally, our big Robinson-Gustafson family reunion at the coast, an overnight affair, with my mother, Mildred (Milly) before she died.
 Now it's my mother's turn to be in the wheelchair. Mildred has all the relatives surrounding her. I'm the one in the yellow tee shirt. Her brother, Edward Kenneth, died in 1988. Her nephew, Ken, is also in a yellow tee shirt behind her. My son, Steve, took the picture. My brother David and his family are out of town, so not in the picture. Neither was my daughter, who was living on the east coast. This was taken before October 2005, probably around 1994.
Other relatives from Augusta's sister, Anna Lisa below: The little girl with the hat is of the Albuquerque, New Mexico group, I believe. Lindquist Clough and Morrow are surnames in this group.  Below is Selma b: January 9, 1890 and Alice Lindquist b: January 14, 1893 to Anna Lisa in Sioux City, Iowa, then moving later to Albuquerque.  Update3/25/22: My brother asked, "Do you know why grandma came to the States? There weren’t religious or political reasons. Financial opportunity?" There was a big immigration that started in 1880. They were part of that. Why? During the 1880s alone, some 330,000 persons left Sweden for the United States, the peak year being 1887 with over 46,000 registered emigrants. The pace of immigration remained high after 1890 and by 1910, the U.S. Census recorded over 665,000 Swedish-born persons in the United States. What was going on? The mass exodus of some 1.3 million Swedes to the United States, often young and healthy men and women, during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was due to the economic and social circumstances in Sweden. "Push and pull" factors on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as the establishment of migration links, are other important factors that more precisely determined the scope and course of the migration patterns. A strong population growth in Sweden increased the pressure on a society that was fundamentally agricultural in nature, and moving to North America provided the Swedish emigrants with economic opportunity not available in the homeland. Religious and political reasons played a much smaller role for the move to America, although it was decisive in some instances. The trans-Atlantic mass exodus is one of the major events in Swedish history during the last two centuries, and the immense network of contacts that was established across the Atlantic has proven very important for the way in which Swedish society then and now has been oriented towards the United States. They came over in April 1888. That made our grandmother 18 years old, and Anna Lisa was 33 years old and Charles was 12. Gustava "Augusta" was born on a Monday and died on Tuesday at the age of 85 years 2 months 19 days. Grandma was born in Lumsheden Village, Dalarna, Sweden, parish Svärdjö, Stora Kopparbergs Ian (county).They lived in Lumsheden, Sweden. Lumsheden is a small village, a place in the eastern region of Dalarna in Sweden. Dalarna's capital Falun (Falun) is approximately 36 km / 23 mi away from Lumsheden (as the crow flies). The distance from Lumsheden to Sweden's capital Stockholm (Stockholm) is approximately 184 km / 115 mi (as the crow flies). Dalarna is the name of the Province or Landskap. The county is Stora Kopparbergs. Lumsheden is north of Vastmanland in Dalarna, not too far from the coastal town of Gavle. Latitude 60.7167 or 60 43"On Longitude is 16.2500 or 16 15'OTAltitude is 597 feet. The "stuga" (small home) that August, his mother Anna Lisa and Aunt Augusta (our grandmother) left in 1888 is now owned by Soren Hellbom and his sister Ingrid. Ingrid is a teacher (laarere?) in Lumsheden and Soren works for Class Ohlsson (?) in Ingjon. Ingrid's son Daniel goes to school and works part-time in an electronic store in Borlange. She was born as Gustafva Gustafsdotter and changed her name to Augusta Gustafson after she emigrated. However, she emigrated with the surname of her father, Johansson, so it was Augusta Johansson. Grandma came to the United States on a ship with sails in steerage, "vessel Orlando". I have a big picture of it on my wall. It's the icon of a Swedish university. It took two months, she said, and she went through several storms. She came in steerage, as that was the cheapest way. She came with her older sister Anna Lisa and her nephew, August Olsen (changed later to Johnson) Many people were sick. They thought they would never make it to the U.S.A. People were throwing up from sea sickness. They probably had to bring their own food and cook it. They came over with their things tied up in bundles or kerchiefs. This was part of a new immigration that started in 1880. She spoke about landing at the island. )Castle Garden). People laughed at them since they looked like immigrants. They came through Canada to the USA according to August, the 11 yr old son of Anna Lisa. Mildred, my mother, recalls not Canada but her mother telling her how the people stared at them, and that there were lots of people. I believe they were met at the ship by their aunt and her husband who had come over much earlier. 6-18-04 I sent for help at the Svenson Institute to find out how she came over. They spoke about taking a train to the port, so that would not have been Gefle. They may have gone to England first to get to Canada and the USA. She had a cousin in Chicago. Hanna, another sister, was in Chicago. Augusta was born in either l872 as she said, or l870 which my grandfather teased her about. Olle Lindahl confirmed it was 1870. She was 18 years old when she came over. She probably came here in June of 1888. She learned to read and speak English by herself. Mom remembers that an uncle met her when she landed and took her to Chicago. She told how hot Chicago was. They dragged their mattresses out onto a landing on the building to sleep at night. She told Mom a story about being in Chicago and going out in a little boat with a girlfriend. Grandma could not swim, and a big wind came up and they were in trouble. Someone came along and helped them get back to land. She had married another Olson, a very handsome tailor. They divorced because he had a roving eye for the women. She had a beautiful blonde daughter, Dorothy, who was very bright. She died at about age 5-10 from appendicitis when Augusta was dating Frank Robinson, my Grandpa. Grandpa carried Dorothy to the hospital, but it was too late. Augusta had been a cook in Sioux City, Iowa, and continued to be an excellent cook. She had worked in the famed Peirce Mansion which is now the Sioux City, Iowa Public Museum. It is on 29th & Jackson. Then she had a wood stove to cook on. She had met Grandpa Frank there where he was the ice man and delivered ice there. The mansion was a 21 room house and the exterior walls were of South Dakota quartzite. It was built in 1891. In 1900 the home went to William Barbour and he sold it in 1902 to Stella and William Gordon and they sold it to Dr. J.N. Warren. Then in 1908 it was sold to Thomas S. Martin who had the Martin Dept Store in Sioux City in 1889 and they lived there until 1920. I imagine Grandma worked for the Martins. It's now on the National Register of Historic Places. When she was about 67, a little boy ran into her and pushed her over. She broke her hip, and was on crutches from then on. I've been in touch personally, phone and messaging with our relative, Linnea Anderson, daughter of Ruth Johnson and Sven Anderson, who is the granddaughter of August, Johnson, son of Anna Lisa. She was most knowledgeable, provided me with pictures, facts, and has been to Sweden many times. Uncle Kenny and his 2nd wife made a trip to Sweden and visited the old family home, etc. They got a genealogy book with our family in it from Olle Lindahl who was like, me, amateur genealogist because his wife was from there. It's all in Swedish, of course. I tried everything to get someone to translate it including Swedish students here like you were in Germany, but they said, it was in Old Swedish, and didn't want to do it. So I have Swedish dictionaries.; one or several, and tried to do it. He finished it in 1979. One odd thing has happened. I had moved to Anchorage, Alaska and taught 2nd grade there for over a year in a public school, moving all my furniture there. When I left, I sold everything as it was to expensive to take with me. I sold my baby grand piano to a couple who turned out to be my Swedish cousins that I didn't know about and hadn't met before. What are the odds of that happening?
Stephen Grover Cleveland was president then, our 22nd president. Below are the New Mexico relatives.  |
Labels: Augusta Johansson Gustafson, family, genealogy, immigrant, Iowa, Lumsheden, Oregon, Sioux City, Sweden
