Further Research of the John and Annie Johnson Family

Jon Jonsson was born on September 26^th, 1843 in the village of Tin, Rättvik parish, Dalarna, Sweden. On May 6^th, 1870 along with his brother Anders, Jon left Sweden bound for Omaha, Nebraska.

Annie Morell was born May 26^th, 1855 in Mora, Kopparberg, Sweden. She and family immigrated to Omaha in 1864, traveling to America via Canada.

On July 18^th, 1872 John and Annie were married in Fremont, Dodge County, Nebraska. They settled on a farm in Leigh, Colfax County, Nebraska. I have yet to determine when but John, Annie and family eventually moved to Hemmingford, Box Butte County, Nebraska. Annie died on or around March 1st, 1888 while giving birth to her eighth child who also died.

The death of Annie was quite devastating to the family. Caring people that had heard of the families’ misfortune adopted the two youngest children. What the other children and John did after the death of Annie has yet to be figured out. An August 28^th, 1896 news abstract from the Oakland Independent shows that Lena Johnson was with Andrew Morell (Annie’s father) in Oakland, Burt County, Nebraska. I have yet to find any trace of this family on the 1900 US census except for Mabel and Mamie.

(1) Victor was the oldest. He played banjo and was also a great violinist. He also spent quite a lot of time in Washington State. Victor died May 1, 1944. He is buried in Thermopolis, Wyoming.

(2) Mabel married Frank A. Abbott on January 8^th, 1896 in Hemmingford, Box Butte County, Nebraska. Frank, son of William Abbott and Martha Engalls was born in March of 1866 in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. I have located the Frank A. Abbott family on the 1900 Nebraska, Hooker County census in the Abby Precinct. On that census, they had one child Ella, born in July of 1898 in Nebraska. On the 1910 census, Frank, Mabel and second daughter Frances Leone were living in Red Bank precinct of Big Horn County in Wyoming. This census tells us that Ella must have died prior to 1910. Frances Leone was born in Nebraska in 1903. Frank and Frances Leone have also been found in the 1920 Idaho census living in a small community of Yellow Pine. I have been told that Mabel died in Wyoming in 1911 but the Wyoming Vital Records office could not find any record of such.

(3) Lena Delia Johnson married Archie Dare Hull in Alliance, Nebraska on October 19, 1902. They had seven children. Lena died September 6, 1969 in Minatare, Scottsbluff Co., Nebraska.

(4) Floyd moved to Wyoming and met a tragic death by being struck by lightning while returning from the Worlds Fair. Floyd was 23 years old when both himself and the horse he was riding were killed on August 28, 1905. He is buried in Granger, Wyoming.

(5) Henry moved to Lost Cabin, Wyoming and worked on a sheep ranch. He married Ella Garin, Daughter of James Jasper Garin and Rebecca Alice Risewick and had one child, Merle Floyd Johnson (my father). Eventually moving to Riverton, Wyoming where Merle married Doris L. Beckman. Henry died October 2, 1976 in Sheridan, Wyoming.

(6) The Gerber family in Nebraska adopted Guy. Guy traveled to New Mexico due to poor health. Guy married Ruth Stewart and they had four children. Guy died in January of 1933 in Mountainair, New Mexico.

(7) Mamie was adopted by Alvin Martin Miller (4/30/1844 - 6/11/1935) and Adeline May Miller (11/4/1849 - 6/14/1917) and lived in Hemmingford, Nebraska. According to the 1900 Nebraska Census, the Millers had a daughter Georgia A. (who may have married Alesander Muirbead in 1903). The Miller family was quite wealthy and gave Mamie a good life. She married Rupert Walker, (son of William F. Walker and Lucilla Bries) on June 24th, 1914 in Hemmingford, Box Butte County, Nebraska. She was a great singer and performed using the name Josephine. Without having any children, Mamie died June 17, 1982 in Los Angeles, California.