Sibling Saturday: Finding a Previously Unknown Half-Brother

When I obtained the Civil War pension application of Samuel August Samuelson, the brother of my 3rd-great-grandmother Johanna Carolina Samuelson, I discovered a previously unknown family member.

Statement of C. J. Johnson. Samuel A. Samuelson (Pvt., Co. E, 73rd Ind. Inf., Civil War, pension application no. 283,424, certificate no. 217,996),Case Files of Approved Pension Applications..., 1861-1934; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

C. G. Johnson gave a statement, and was asked if he was in any was related to Samuel A. Samuelson. He answered, "I am what is called a half brother."

I knew that Johanna and Samuel had two older brothers, Johan Peter and Anders Fredrik, but I did not know that they had a half-brother. Their mother, Anna Lisa Torstensdotter, was thirteen years older than their father, Samuel Eriksson, so I wondered if C. G. Johnson was her son from a previous marriage.

I found Carl Gustaf Johnson's death certificate in Ancestry.com's database Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011. He had died in Westchester, Porter County, Indiana on 30 July 1909. The death certificate gave his date of birth: 27 October 1823. His birthplace was listed as Vastra Harg, Sweden.

Indiana State Board of Health. Death certificate no. 109, Carl Gustaf Johnson, 1909. Ancestry.com. Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

I had already known that the family had come from Västra Harg, Östergötland, Sweden. I looked at the Swedish records on ArkivDigital, and found Carl Gustaf's birth and baptismal record. He was not a child from a previous marriage; he was an illegitimate child. The record did not name his father.

Västra Harg C:1 (1797-1840) Image 179 / page 341 (AID: v42201.b179.s341, NAD: SE/VALA/00446)

I found the family in the household examination records, after Anna Lisa Torstensdotter had married Samuel Eriksson. Carl Gustaf was listed with the patronymic Jaensson.

Västra Harg AI:11 (1835-1840) Image 88 / page 159 (AID: v27140.b88.s159, NAD: SE/VALA/00446)

Carl Gustaf Johnson married Matilda Sofia Johnson. According to the 1900 United States Census, Matilda had six children.

1900 United States census, Westchester, Porter County, Indiana, population schedule, enumeration district 94, page 3B. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.

However, I have only discovered four of the children: Albertena Johnson (born 15 August 1868), Albert L. Johnson (born about 1874), Ida Johnson (born 24 March 1875 or 1876), and Gustaf Johnson (born 29 March 1883).

Madness Monday: Occupation: Deranged

My great-great-grandfather's sister Julia Tarkington married Frederick R. Johnson on 13 August 1898 in New York City. They separated less than a year later. Julia provided information about the Tarkington family to Edythe Rucker Whitley, and the compiled information includes the following statement about Julia's husband Fred: "He was so disipated [sic] that she was unable to live with him." Perhaps Fred took after his mother, Caroline R. "Carrie" (Dabbs) Johnson; she was listed as "Deranged" in the "Profession, Occupation, or Trade of each person, male or female" category in the 1880 United States census.

1880 United States census, Rutland Village, Rutland County, Vermont, population schedule, enumeration district 188, page 328A. Available from Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010.

Here is a closeup of the family's enumeration:

52 Ancestors: Week 5 "Plowing Through": Nels A. Samuelson, Killed in Cultivator Accident

When I saw that the 52 Ancestors Challenge Week 5 theme was "Plowing Through," I immediately thought of Nels A. Samuelson, the husband of my great-great-grandmother's sister Clara Matilda Borg. Nels (or Nils) was born in Indiana on 21 August 1871. He was the son of two Swedish immigrants, Carl August Samuelson and Sophia Johnson. Carl August Samuelson was a farmer, and Nels also became a farmer.

On 28 November 1900, he married Clara Matilda Borg in Porter County, Indiana. M. J. Lonner was the officiating minister. Clara's sister Malinda A. Borg married Charles August Lawrence on the same day. Clara was thirteen years older than Nels, and was 42 years old when they married. The couple never had biological children, but they raised an adopted daughter and son. The girl was born Etta Maria Carter, but was listed as Etta Samuelson, adopted, in the 1910 United States Census. The boy, Leroy G. "Roy" Johnson, had joined the family by 1920; he was listed as a lodger in the Samuelson home in the 1920 United States Census.

Nels' older brother John Samuelson committed suicide by hanging on 9 July 1929. John's daughter Anna was enumerated in Nels and Clara's household in the 1930 United States Census. Clara died at the Samuelson home in Baileytown, Porter County, Indiana on 18 March 1934.

On 29 June 1935, Nels was cultivating corn on his farm. When his team of horses became frightened, Nels was dragged under the blades of the cultivator and was killed. His memorial service was held at the Augsburg Lutheran Church, and he was buried in Augsburg Lutheran Church Cemetery on 2 July 1935.

Vidette-Messenger, 1 July 1935, page 1

Vidette-Messenger, 3 July 1935, page 4

National Adoption Day

The Saturday before Thanksgiving is National Adoption Day. The day is intended to raise awareness of the large number of children in foster care waiting for adoption, and to celebrate adoptive families.

My great-great-grandmother's sister Clara Matilda Borg and her husband Nils A. Samuelson never had biological children, but they raised a girl, Etta Maria Carter, and a boy, Leroy G. "Roy" Johnson.

1910 United States Census, Westchester Township, Porter, Indiana, population schedule, enumeration district 152, page 9A. Available from  Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.

1920 United States Census, Westchester Township, Porter, Indiana, population schedule, enumeration district 157, page 4A. Available from Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

The Vidette-Messenger, 20 March 1934, page 2. (The name of the daughter is listed incorrectly.)

My 3rd-great-grandfather's brother John G. Gatlin and his wife Martha Ann Gower legally adopted a little girl, Tennessee Reed (Minnie Gatlin after the adoption), in 1874.

Miller, Alan N. Nineteenth Century Tennessee Adoptions, Legitimations, and Name Changes. Baltimore, MD: Clearfield, 2009. Page 51.

The girl's biological parents reconciled after the adoption had approved, and wanted her back. The Davidson County, Tennessee Circuit Court ruled that it was in the best interests of the child for her to remain with her adoptive parents. The below excerpt from an article in the Nashville Union and American, 3 December 1874, shows that the adoptive mother and daughter had formed a close bond.

Nashville Union and American, 3 December 1874. Available from Chronicling America.

My great-grandmother Kathleen (Graham) Mapplebeck Boe was the biological daughter of James Graham, but when her mother Catherine Elizabeth Winters married James Mapplebeck, she took his name and he became her father. The adoption may have been informal rather than legal, but Kathleen's application for a Social Security account shows that James Mapplebeck was the man that she considered to be her father.

Kathleen Graham Mapplebeck Boe, SS no. 494-07-1459, 11 December 1936, Application for Account Number (Form SS-5), Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland.

Tombstone Tuesday: Julia Elizabeth (Tarkington) Johnson

Julia Elizabeth Tarkington was the daughter of my 3rd-great-grandparents Joseph Tarkington and Amanda Russell. She was born in Tennessee on 9 April 1865. She married Fred R. Johnson in New York City on 13 August 1898. They had one stillborn child. By 1900 they had separated and she was living with her parents in Nashville, Tennessee. She worked as a telephone operator. Julia died in Nashville on 18 March 1950 and was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville, section 13 lot 75.