Bio of Jonas JOHNSON (b.1823 d.1891), Wright Co., MN USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. If you have found this file through a source other than the MNArchives Table Of Contents you can find other Minnesota related Archives at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm Please note the county and type of file at the top of this page to find the submitter information or other files for this county. Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Glen Pettit Transcribed by: Glen Pettit This Bio is from the HISTORY OF WRIGHT COUNTY, Volumes I and II, Published in 1915 by Franklin Curtiss - Wedge. Surname Index for The HISTORY OF WRIGHT COUNTY can be found at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/wright/wright.html Under HISTORY. NOTE: This file was scanned and changed to text so there may be some typos. Jonas Johnson, a pioneer, was born in Sweden in 1823, and there spent the early half of his life. He married Anne Peterson, also a native of Sweden, and they had four children: Anna, Andrew, John and Lewis. The family came to America in August, 1868, and located in Wisconsin. The daughter, Anna, remained in Wisconsin, but in April, 1870, the rest of the family came to Wright county. Jonas Johnson secured eighty acres of wild land in section 28, buying out the rights of a homesteader. A small log house, 14 by 12, stood on the place. The cabin was six feet high. Split logs were used for flooring. The first corn was planted with a grub hoe in between the stumps. In return for breaking wild steers the men of the family secured for a short time the use of the aninials that they tamed. After three years Mr. Johnson erected a barn and purchased a cow. Soon a pair of oxen was bought. Another eighty acres was purchased, and this was cleared with the assistance of the sons. Good buildings were erected and the family assumed a leading position in the community. They went through privations and hardships and in time reaped the reward of their hard work. Mr. Johnson was a prominent member of the North Crow River Lutheran Church at Knapp. He helped build the first church, served as trustee many years, and before the days of the organ led the singing. He died in 1891. His wife died in 1889.