Biography of Charles A. Johnson - Henry County, Illinois



                             CHARLES A. JOHNSON

Galva township has no more honored or highly respected citizen than
Charles A. Johnson, whose home is on section 10. He has been a resident
of Henry county since 1870, and has done much to advance the moral,
social and material welfare of the community in which he lives.
He we born in Smoland, Sweden, on the 3d of January 1847, a son of Johan
and Katrine (Carlson) Johnson, both now deceased. In 1884 the father
came to this country to visit our subject, and returned to Sweden in
1887. Throughout his active business life he followed farming, and
always enjoyed good health. He was seventy-three years of age at the
time of his
death. In his family were only two children, the younger being Christine
Johnson, a resident of Sweden.

Mr. Johnson received but a limited education in the public schools of
his native land. He served two years in the National Home Guards, and
remained with his father on the farm until his emigration to America in
1870. He was twenty days in crossing the ocean and landed in the United
States with no capital with which to begin life in a strange land and
among a strange people.
 
Before coming to this county he spent some time near Victoria Illinois.
Taking an active interest in church work, he was given permission to
attend the theological seminary at Evanston and prepare for the
ministry. He found employment on a farm, and aided other boys in
securing their educations, and also devoted considerable time to
procuring supplies for his countrymen who were attending school. He
always made his home in families where they had family worship, and his
first reading was in the Bible.

On the 28th of February 1878, Mr. Johnson married Miss Clara C.
Bengston, who was born in Sweden in I849, and is the only survivor in a
family of three children. Her parents both died in Sweden. Of the six
children born to our subject and his wife two died in infancy. The
others are Gus Wilbur, who is attending business college in Galesburg;
Eskil E. and Osier, who are attending the district school near their
home; and Cora L, at home.

After operating rental land for some years, Mr. Johnson purchased a
tract of eighty acres on section 9, Galva township; and a few years
later added to it another eighty acres, making a good farm of one
hundred and sixty acres, which he has placed under a high state of
cultivation. He raises both hogs and horses for market, and owns and
operates a sorghum mill
quite successfully. He is a stockholder in the new elevator at Galva,
and was a promoter of the same, giving both time and money to the
enterprise. He is also a stockholder in the Westrand Manufacturing
Company of Galva.

Mr. Johnson takes an active interest in the welfare of the community in
which he resides, and is now serving as Chaplain of the Patrons of
Husbandry. He has always been an active worker in the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and has served as one of its trustees and as
superintendent
of the Sunday school. In the earlier part of his career he often
preached the gospel in the Swedish language, and has done much to
promote the moral interests of the community.

Politically he is a supporter of the Republican party, but has never
been prevailed upon to accept any office save that of road commissioner.
Although he is practically self-educated, he is a man of literary taste,
and owns a good library.

Source: The Biographical Record of Henry County Illinois
S. J. Clarke, Chicago Illinois, 1901, p.511

NOTE: The Patrons of Husbandry is more commonly known as "The Grange".

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