Memorial weekend I headed for the country and my aunt and uncle's farm near McPherson. While I was there, we took a drive to two homesteads; the first was the home of my great, great grandparents, Jonas Petter and Stina Johnson who immigrated in 1870 from Vena, Kalmar, Sweden with there three daughters, including my Great Grandmother Ida Matilda. The other home sits just to the south and was the homestead of my great grandfather, John August Johnson.
Ida Mathilda lived in that home until she married John in 1883. It's still occupied by a cousin.
Walking around the house, I can imagine what it might have looked like when Ida was growing up. The decorative wood on the porch remind me of some of the homes I've seen in Sweden.
The barn that sits across the yard from the house, was built after Jonas and Stina were gone. I was intrigued by the large structure standing on the Kansas prairie, with it's roof against the blue sky .
The other homestead, built by John A Johnson (Ida's future husband), is much more difficult to see. The trees have grown up around it and all I could see was the the roof and second story. It has been unoccupied for many years but was once the pride of the family. I'm told it was one of the first to have an indoor bathroom. I wasn't prepared for climbing over barbed wire and tall grass, or encountering the wildlife that I might meet on my way. That adventure was for another day.
When John came to Kansas from Sweden and settled in the New Gottland area, there were not many women of marriageable age in the community. He solved that problem by waiting for the daughter of his neighbor to come of age. When Ida turned 17, they married and she moved next door.
This window in Jonas and Stina's house looks south toward Great Grandpa John Johnson's, homestead. Great Grandma Ida Matilda would have been able to see the land and home of her neighbor, and future husband, from there.
Ida Mathilda lived in that home until she married John in 1883. It's still occupied by a cousin.
Walking around the house, I can imagine what it might have looked like when Ida was growing up. The decorative wood on the porch remind me of some of the homes I've seen in Sweden.
The barn that sits across the yard from the house, was built after Jonas and Stina were gone. I was intrigued by the large structure standing on the Kansas prairie, with it's roof against the blue sky .
