Lovisa “Louise” Carlson
birth: 21 April 1857 in Gränna, Jonkoping, Sweden to Carl Gustaf and Anna Stina Lindahl Johannesson
death: 14 May 1937 in Porter, Indiana
burial: Ridgelawn Cemetery, Gary, Lake, Indiana
marriage: 16 September 1893 in Miller, Lake, Indiana
Anders Ludvig “Gust” Johannesson/Johnson
birth: 8 August 1839 in Norra Vi, Östergötland, Sweden to Johannes and Johanna Maria Danielsdotter Ingesson
death: 20 May 1906 Miller, Lake, Indiana
burial: Blake Cemetery, Portage, Porter, Indiana
Children of Lovisa “Louise” Carlson and Anders Ludvig “Gust” Johannesson/Johnson:
- Ruth Elizabeth Johnson (1894-1980) m. Bert Garfield Thompson
- Elsie Wilhelmina Johnson (1896-1968) m. George Bryant Harbaugh
- Helena “Helen” Eleanora Johnson (1897-1986) m. Walter Fredrick Bernhard Chellberg
Ancestor here lived in:
- Porter, Indiana
- Miller, Lake, Indiana
Other Information:
Lovisa “Louise” Carlson was born to Carl Gustaf Johannesson and Anna Stina Lindahl on 23 April 1823 in Gränna, Jonkoping, Sweden. She was the second of four children born to the couple. At age 27, Louise left Göteborg, Sweden on 16 May 1884 and sailed on the Orlando to Hull, England. Louise boarded in Liverpool, England, stopped in Queenstown, Ireland and arrived in New York via the ship City of Chicago on 13 October 1884. By the 27 May 1887 she had arrived in Chicago, Cook, Illinois. Interestingly, another Lovisa Carlson departed Sweden on the 27 May 1887 for Chicago; that Lovisa had the same birth year and place of origin. It is possible the Lovisa returned to Sweden after her initial voyage as both the 1900 and 1910 US federal census shows her emigration year was 1888. TYpically, the last year of entry was considered the year of emigration. How Louise came to Indiana is not known. She may have had a first marriage as a record was found for a marriage in Porter, Indiana on 4 January 1889 for a Lovisa Carlson to a Swan Hjalne. No records were found for a death or burial for Swan nor was he found in any subsequent records. Further research is needed.
On 16 September 1893 in Miller, Lake, Indiana, Louise married Anders Ludvig “Gust” Johannesson Johnson. The marriage certificate, in the possession of the submitter, states she was from Chicago and gives her name as “Miss Louise Johnson.” Perhaps the form completer erred and placed her married name as her maiden name. Maybe she had chosen to not use patronymics and instead of using the surname Carlson, took her father’s original last name as her own. Anders was previously married to Thilda “Anna Matilda” Johansdotter (1848-1891). The couple had 10 children. At the time Louise married Anders, his children from his previous marriage ranged in age from 4 to 24. Louise and Anders would go on to have three daughters together. In 1900, Louise, Anders, their daughters and four of Louise’s step-children lived in Hobart, Lake, Indiana. Although the couple would have been married 7 years, census records show the length of marriage was recorded as 19 years. Possibly that time was given as to make it appear that the oldest child in the household at the time was their daughter as a couple. Anders was working as a Section Hand on the railroad. He died on 20 May 1906 of carcinoma of the liver in Miller, Lake, Indiana. Louise was the informant on her husband’s death certificate and gave his given name as Agust. Possibly, Louise did not know her husband’s given name was Anders and assumed it was Augst as they were married with his name recorded as Gust. To make ends meet, Louise began to take in boarders to her home in Hobart. By 1920 she had moved to Michigan Avenue in Miller with her youngest daughter, Helen, likely to be closer to her two daughters who had married and resided in Miller. After Helen married in 1921, Louise moved in with her daughter Elsie’s family. She continued to live with them until shortly before her death on 14 May 1937 in Porter County where she had moved to reside with her daughter Helen’s family. Louise is buried in Ridgelawn Cemetery, Glen Park, Lake, Indiana, near her daughter Elsie and her son-in-law George Bryant Harbaugh.
A marriage record for Louise’s parents prior to their children’s births has not been found. Anna Stina Lindahl is recorded on the children’s baptism records. A marriage for an Anna Stina Lindahl and Carl Gustaf Johannesson was found on 3 November 1866 in Öhr annex, Kronoberg, Sverige. The family, however, resided in Gränna, Jönköping, Sverige until Louise departed alone for America. It is not known if the 1866 marriage was for another couple in Sweden with the same names.
Submitted by:
Lori Samuelson
Email: genealogyatheart@gmail.com