Person Page 5

Reverend Johan Edwin Sahlen was born on 7 April 1872 in Krokstorp, Hössna, Älvsborg län (Väster Götaland), Sweden.¹ He and Anna C. Gustafson were married on 27 December 1905 in El Campo, Texas. He died on 18 January 1946 at age 73 in Texas.

Edwin left a six-page autobiography. He was born a farmer's son. His notes mention that his father's forebears had been farmers for generations, his grandfather on his mother's side was a contractor who built churches, and his grandmother's family were a line of priests and preachers. He had a teacher named Sahlen who tried to convince Edwin's father to let him attend high school, but his father refused and intended to raise his sons as farmers. Edwin later took the name, Sahlen, in honor of this teacher, when he found Rockford, IL, too filled with Johnsons, Petersons, Nelsons, and Larsons.

Edwin mentioned that at age 17 he got "America Fever." A friend loaned him money to pay for the passage. He emigrated from Sweden to the U.S., leaving Krokstorp on May 9, 1890. He arrived in New York on 30 May 1890 and took a train to Rockford, Illinois, arriving 2 June 1890. He settled initially in Rockford, Illinois, renting a room from the Björnbergs who were also from Hössna. Through a friend he found work in a furniture factory for 75 cents a day.

On the Swedish emigration list and in Swedish Church records, he is called Johan Edvin Johansson. He emigrated with Rebecka Sofia Johansdotter, born December 24, 1862, in Timmele, who was also living at Krokstorp; and two children: Sven Oskar Björnberg born September 9, 1884, in Hössna, and Ebba Lovisa Björnberg, born September 2, 1888, in Hössna, both of whom were also living at Krokstorp and are listed on the same page of the Household Examination book AI:11, p. 30, with Johan Johansson's family. Johan Wilhelm Björnberg had moved to Krokstorp, where he became a quarter owner, on November 3, 1883, and died February 15, 1888. He and Rebecka married September 6, 1884. Had the Björnberg parents emigrated at an earlier date, and were Rebecka and her children going to America to live with relatives? Or were their children adopted by the Björnbergs in Rockford? Anna-Lena said Gustaf Björnberg born 29 October 1878 and married Selma Justina Svantesdotter b. 20 June 1858 in Timmele and emigrated 22 March 1889 from Björstorp, a few months before Edwin. They settled in Rockford and had a foster daughter Elsa Maria b. 15 September 1891 in Hallefors. (The only Sven Björnberg I can find was born in 1871 and arrived in New York from Gothenberg on the Bothnia in 1893. The only other Björnbergs I can find are Sofia Björnberg, 57 in the 1920 Census, and her daughter, Ebba L, 29, living in Rockford, Winnebago Co., IL. These almost match with Sofia Johansdotter (name probably changed to Johnson or her husband's name) and Ebba Lovisa above. In 1920, Sofia and Ebba were living at 174 4th Avenue with the Oscar and Alma Johnson family, their three daughters, and Axel Beck, who was a boarder there. Ebba was a stenographer. No employment is mentioned for Sofia.)

It appears that Edvin took Rebecka and the children to Rockford, IL, where there was a Gustav Björnberg living.

After Edvin's family emigrated to Pontiac, R.I. in 1891, he joined them at their insistence. His notes say he lived there 11 years, working mostly in the cotton mills and on a truck farm. In Rockford, he was brought to Christ. Back in Rhode Island, he felt an inner calling to prepare for the ministry.

He returned to Illinois in 1893 and entered the Swedish Theological Seminary in Evanston. Edwin didn't complete the course of study due to poor health and at the invitation of a student friend went to Texas where the winters were milder.. He went into the ministry and served first in Waco, Texas, in 1904, then El Campo, Texas, then Swede Plain, Neb., 1909-1912, then Ong and Shickley, Kansas, 1912-16, then Scandia and Wayne, Kansas, 1916-19. From 1919 to 1924 he was district superintendent of the Western district and served as pastor in Lincoln, Nebraska. He later returned to Texas, where his wife's family lived, and went into partnership with his wife's father in the Gustafson Lumber Company in Crosby, Texas, from 1928 to 1934. He built a 4-unit apartment, a feed store, and a chicken house. By 1944 he had retired for good.

In the 1920 Census, the family is listed as living at 620 18th Street, Lancaster, Nebraska. Edwin was listed as a minister.

In the 1930 Census, he is listed as living in Precinct 3, Harris, Texas, with his wife and children. According to the Census record, he arrived in the United States in 1890, married when he was 32 years old, and is listed as a proprietor.

His grandson, Richard C. Sahlen, said that his father told him Johan Edwin changed his name to Sahlen because he was tired of getting his mail mixed up with other Johnsons or Johnssons in Rockford, IL. Also, he supposedly came to America to avoid serving in the Swedish army.

"I (Dick Sahlen) don't have many clues to Edwin Sahlen's personality. I do recall my father indicating that he was very strict and discipline was handled with a length of heavy electrical wire across the backside. However, Rev. Sahlen could supposedly be very emotionally drained after conducting funerals. My dad (Carl) indicated that by the time he was 14, his father would drag him along to funerals so that my dad would be available to drive Edwin home in their Ford Model T. When my father started school, Edwin announced that the family would begin speaking English in their home, although he would continue to serve his parishioners in Swedish. I think you also made some reference to some ancestors have been lumbermen. My dad did tell me that my grandfather would, at times take work in a sawmill to supplement his earnings as a pastor."

"I have a letter that my Aunt Alice wrote in March, 1980 to my mother, that provides a few more insights: "Noreen, you will never understand, just how much I appreciated, not only your letter, but the enclosure of something I have wanted to know -- since I was 14 years old, when we left Stromsburg, Nebr. Harper, the girls and my friends, since I married Harper, have not been able to understand, when I have said, "The first 19 years of my life are but a dream." Why? Because all the friends I learned to know as Preacher's Kids and almost 9; I have never had any contact with or known, who the girls married, or anything. So your letter brought me the names of people with whom both Carl and I enjoyed in our early teens. Our stay in Stromsburg was some different than the other 8 places, since we weren't the Preacher's Kids of that town; because Papa (Edwin) was a District Superintendent of the Swedish Methodist Church and didn't have a pastorate. Carl and I were with mostly the same group of friends of that little town and this list of his Class of '24 will give me a chance to catch up with a portion of my life." Source: Dick Sahlen, e-mail, 17 Oct 2009.

Dick Sahlen previously found a couple of reference to my grandfather and grandmother in SWEDISH CHURCHES IN AMERICA and here is an excerpt:

Swedish Methodist Church, El Campo, Texas:

". . . of the large group, only El Campo remains. Here a congregation was founded by six people on May 8, 1892, land was secured in the town and a church and parsonage was built in 1894. The parsonage was remodeled and enlarged in 1906 during Pastor Edwin Sahlen's tenure. The church was badly damaged in a storm which hit the area in 1909, but was repaired and improved soon thereafter. The property is worth $5,000.

This congregation has probably more than any other in the conference been hindered in its growth and development by its members constantly moving away from the area. The membership is currently around fifty, and an equal number in the Sunday school. Twenty five belong to the Youth Organization, and two women's societies work for home and foreign missionary work. The following pastors have served this church: John Ovall, Nov. 1891-Dec. 1894; J. F. Sarner, Dec. 1894-Dec. 1897; Aug. Wallin, Dec. 1897-Dec. 1900; Nels Nelson, Dec. 1900 to his death a few months later; C. J. Rosenquist, June 1902- Sept. 1903; F. A. Lundberg during the summer of 1904; Edwin Sahlen, Sept. 1904-Sept. 1909; Carl Fromen, Jan. 1910-May 1917; at this time E. J. Anderson took charge of the congregation.

From the original Victoria circle, two young men served for a short time within the church after having completed their training at the Seminary in Evanston, 111. These were C. E. Wohlander who died during his time in Hutto, and C. J. Rosenquist, who is the pastor of the Lutheran Congregation in the same town. (C. J. Rosenquist was Edwin's friend at the Swedish Theological Seminary who suggested to Edwin to move to Texas.)"

References: Born 1872-04-07 in Krokstorp, Hössna (P).
Moved 1890-05-09 from Krokstorp, Hössna (P) to Norra Amerika.
Se Krokstorp: Hössna AI:10 (1870-1878) Bild 32 / sid 27 (AID: v43934.b32.s27, NAD:
SE/GLA/13256)
Se Krokstorp: Hössna AI:11 (1878-1891) Bild 34 / sid 30 (AID: v43935.b34.s30, NAD:
SE/GLA/13256)
Flagga: Emigrant.

Hanna Elvira Johnson was born on 8 January 1874 in Krokstorp, Hössna, Älvsborg län (Väster Götaland), Sweden.¹ Oscar Albin Larson and she were married about 1902 in Warwick, Kent County, Rhode Island. She died on 23 September 1932 at age 58 in Cranston, Providence County, Rhode Island.

From Nancy Kilstrom, January 2000:

Hannah Johnson Larson
Married Oscar Larson
Children were:
Lillian Larson - Born I think 1903 (same age as my Dad). She and
Elsie are buried in the same grave in St. Paul's/All Saints. Fern may know
exact dates or we could check the stone.
Leonard Larson - Died as a relatively young man my mom recalled.
She didn't think he had married.
Clarence Larson - Married first at age 65 to a woman with
children/grandchildren.

- Raymond Larson
He married Mary ____. She was Portuguese.
They lived in Pawtucket. Had one son, Raymond Larson Jr. He had at least 2
daughters - I have a photo of them with Ray Sr.

- Elsie Larsen
Elsie never married. She, Lillian, and Clarence lived together on the street behind the Pontiac Mills.

- Apparently there were one or two other children who died as infants. One died
when Hannah fell down stairs when holding the baby (?). My mom and Lillian
mentioned that.

Reference: Edlund: Born 1874-01-08 in Krokstorp, Hössna (P).
Moved 1891-03-16 from Krokstorp, Hössna (P) to Norra Amerika.
Se Krokstorp: Hössna AI:10 (1870-1878) Bild 32 / sid 27 (AID: v43934.b32.s27, NAD:
SE/GLA/13256)
Se Krokstorp: Hössna AI:11 (1878-1891) Bild 34 / sid 30 (AID: v43935.b34.s30, NAD:
SE/GLA/13256)
Flagga: Emigrant.

Carl Victor Johnson was born on 29 August 1881 in Krokstorp, Hössna, Älvsborg län (Väster Götaland), Sweden.¹ He and Sandra Sarah Elizabeth ("Sandi") Oberg were married on 26 June 1907 in Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island. He died on 29 October 1953 at age 72 in Erie, Pennsylvania.

He received his US citizenship October 1, 1904, in the US District Court in Providence. He was living with his brother Claes Albert at 204 Dudley Street in Providence at the time. Doublecheck Swedish records as to birthdate -- citizenship says August 29, 1882. A witness was Oscar A. Larson of 204 1/2 Dudley Street. Oscar was Victor's sister Hanna's husband.

In the 1920 Census, the family was living at 241 East 5th Street, Erie, PA. Victor was a foreman in a machine shop. It's not clear when he moved to Erie from Rhode Island, but it must have been before 1913 when his daughter was born.

He had at least four grandchildren (not sure of parents): Ruth Elaine Johnson of Erie, PA; Donald, Patricia, and Sharon Johnson of Cleveland.

He was employed as a machinist for Oster Mfg. Co. in Cleveland.

He was a member of Charlie Campbell's Concert Band and the Musicians Local 17, AFofM. He played the trumpet and baritone horn.

There was another Carl Victor Johnson who was born July 5, 1883, lived at 56 King St., Pontiac, and had a wife named Alice when he registered for the World War I draft. This was another Carl Victor.

Reference: Edlund: Born 1881-08-29 in Krokstorp, Hössna (P).
Moved 1891-03-15 from Krokstorp, Hössna (P) to Norra Amerika.
Se Krokstorp: Hössna AI:11 (1878-1891) Bild 34 / sid 30 (AID: v43935.b34.s30, NAD:
SE/GLA/13256)
Flagga: Emigrant.

Maria Wilhelmina ("Minna") Johnson was born on 16 June 1879 in Krokstorp, Hössna, Älvsborg län (Väster Götaland), Sweden.¹ She died on 4 March 1957 at age 77 in Providence, Rhode Island.

Minna worked as a governess and/or house maid for a wealthy family in California in the 1930's. She travelled back and forth between California and Rhode Island by train several times. She returned to the East in the early 1940's and lived with the Kells' at 71 Hawthorne Avenue until Arthur Kells died in 1947. She then went to live at a Swedish old age home at 111 South Angel Street on Providence's East Side. Minna never married.

There was a Wilhemina Johnson working for the Harry Thurl Bodwell (real estate) family in Cranston, RI, in the 1930 Census, but she was 10 years younger than Minna. Bodwell was general manager of the Bonnet Shores Beach Club.

Reference: Edlund: Born 1879-06-16 in Krokstorp, Hössna (P).
Moved 1891-03-15 from Krokstorp, Hössna (P) to Norra Amerika.
Se Krokstorp: Hössna AI:11 (1878-1891) Bild 34 / sid 30 (AID: v43935.b34.s30, NAD:
SE/GLA/13256)
Flagga: Emigrant.

Klas Albert Johnson was born on 13 September 1876 in Krokstorp, Hössna, Älvsborg län (Väster Götaland), Sweden.¹ He and Ellen Amelia Anderson were married on 19 August 1909 in Rhode Island. He died in September 1958 at age ~82 in Cranston, Providence County, Rhode Island. He was buried at Bethany Lutheran Cemetery in Cranston, Rhode Island.

He was granted citizenship July 16, 1904. At the time he was living at 204 Dudley Street in Providence with his brother, Carl Victor. Doublecheck birthdate in Swedish records -- may be baptism. Citizenship record indicates a birthdate of September 13, 1876.

He was known as Albert -- "Uncle Albert" to me. He and his wife taught me to play pinnocle and cribbage. They lived in a house on (767?) Park Avenue in Auburn, RI. He was a machinist by occupation.

After his wife died, he lived with the Kells' for a time. He used to buy a weekly pass for the United Electric Rail system (the trolley bus system in Providence and vicinity) and ride the bus all day to pass the time.

Reference: Edlund: Born 1876-09-13 in Krokstorp, Hössna (P).
Moved 1891-03-15 from Krokstorp, Hössna (P) to Norra Amerika.
Se Krokstorp: Hössna AI:10 (1870-1878) Bild 32 / sid 27 (AID: v43934.b32.s27, NAD:
SE/GLA/13256)
Se Krokstorp: Hössna AI:11 (1878-1891) Bild 34 / sid 30 (AID: v43935.b34.s30, NAD:
SE/GLA/13256)
Flagga: Emigrant.

Elin Matilda Johnson was born on 26 April 1884 in Krokstorp, Hössna, Älvsborg län (Väster Götaland), Sweden.¹ Robert Ross McKenzie and she were married on 27 September 1905 in Providence, Rhode Island.² She died on 22 November 1966 at age 82 in Warwick, Rhode Island. She was buried on 26 November 1966 at All Saints Cemetery, Greenwich Ave., in Warwick, Rhode Island.

She was tall, very social, liked to entertain. She was known to some as Aunt Ellen and liked to be called Auntie Lollar. She lived near the Eden Park Elementary School.

Reference: Edlund: Born 1884-04-26 in Krokstorp, Hössna (P).
Moved 1891-03-15 from Krokstorp, Hössna (P) to Norra Amerika.
Se Krokstorp: Hössna AI:11 (1878-1891) Bild 34 / sid 30 (AID: v43935.b34.s30, NAD:
SE/GLA/13256). Flagga: Emigrant.

Robert Ross McKenzie was born on 26 October 1877 at 61 Blackamore Aveenue in Pontiac, Warwick, Rhode Island.¹ He and Elin Matilda Johnson were married on 27 September 1905 in Providence, Rhode Island.² He died on 11 September 1949 at age 71 at 34 Branch Avenue in Cranston, Rhode Island. He was buried at All Saints Cemetery, Greenwich Ave., in Warwick, Rhode Island.

The family was listed as living on Branch Avenue in the 1930 Census. Robert was a tool maker in a machine shop by occupation. Muriel and Wallace were living at home. Muriel was a stenographer at a bank.

In the 1950 Cranston City Directory, Robert and Elin were listed as living at 34 Branch Avenue, Eden Park.

The McKenzies lived near the Eden Park School in Cranston.

Kenneth Gordon MacKenzie was born on 13 December 1920 in Cranston, Providence County, Rhode Island. He and Majorie Horton Wilson were married on 11 September 1949 in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. He died on 30 July 1997 at age 76 in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. He was buried in Wilson Plot, Swan Pt. Cemetery, Providence, Rhode Island.

He graduated in 1942 from the University of Rhode Island, majoring in business.

In the 1950 Cranston City Directory, he was listed as being in advertising and living at 32 Branch Avenue, Eden Park. He and his wife later resided at 34 Branch Avenue and Fairfield Avenue in Cranston and 150 Cedar Avenue in East Greenwich, RI.

Oscar Albin Larson was born on 31 August 1871 in Göteborg, Sweden. He and Hanna Elvira Johnson were married about 1902 in Warwick, Kent County, Rhode Island. He died on 9 October 1942 at age 71 in Pontiac, Warwick, Kent County, Rhode Island. He was buried at Saint Paul's Lutheran Cemetary in Pontiac, Warwick, Kent County, Rhode Island.

Oscar emigrated from Haga, Göteborg, and arrived 21 December 1894. He was naturalized 27 Sep 1902.

In the 1910 Census, the family was living at 4 Margret Street in Cranston, near John and Maria Johnson. Oscar was a laborer in a machine shop.

At the 1930 Census, the family was living at 1 Stafford Street in Warwick. Oscar was a hardener at a tool maker. Both he and Hanna were U.S. citizens.

In the 1940 Census, Oscar had no occupation listed, and his wife had passed away. The children were living with him at 3 Knight Street in Pontiac.

Lillian, Elsie, and Clarence lived together in Pontiac until Clarence married late in life. Lillian and Elsie never married.

Fannie Lodema Smith was born in June 1879 in Cairo, Greene County, New York.¹ Minor S. Wait and she were married MAYBE 1930. Herbert Clinton Kells and she were married on 22 June 1898 in Albany, New York or Pittsfield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts.² Sidney Wells and she were married about 1910 in Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island. She died on 3 December 1966 at age 87 in Warwick, Rhode Island. She was buried at Kells Plot 31, Indian Ridge, in PIttsfield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

Herbert and Lodema were married by George Eltite in Albany, NY, although the marriage is listed in MA VR's. The marriage record lists her as Lodema F. Smith and her parents as James Smith and Elizabeth Lisk. Elizabeth was the sister of Herbert Clinton Kells' father Robert's wife, Esther Wright Lisk. Both Esther Wright Lisk and Elizabeth Lisk were daughters of Solomon Lisk and his first wife, Lodema Wait. Lodema Smith married (3) Minor Wait. Esther Wright Wait was the mother of Lodema Wait. I haven't yet figured out all the Wait relationships.

In the 1900 Census, Lodema is listed as living with Herbert Kells and his children in Pittsfield. According to the Census, her parents were born in New York. Her mother, Cornelia Elizabeth (Lisk) Smith was living with them. In 1910 she was living at 82 Olney Street in Providence. In the 1920 Census, she was working as a housekeeper for (Sydney A.?) Wells on Elmwood Avenue, Providence, and his two daughters, Margaret E. Wells, 4, and Harriet H. Wells, 2. Eva P. Kells was also living with them. Lodema was living at 850 Elmwood Avenue in Providence in 1923. She was known as Lodema Wait during my childhood and until she died. At some point between 1923 and 1930 she had married Minor S. Wait. In the 1940 Census, she was 60 and living with Minor "Minn" S. Wait, 70, in Athens, Greene Co., NY. Minn was a farmer. Athens was right across the Hudson River from Hudson, Columbia Co. Minn was the son of Orison Bradford Wait who was the brother of Lodema Wait, who was Lodema Smith Kells' aunt.

She lived at 120 Merle Street, Warwick, R.I., at time of death. She is buried in Kells plot, Indian Ridge #31, Pittsfield, MA, cemetery. She was the widow of (1) Herbert Clinton Kells, (2) Sydney A. Wells, and (3) Minor S. Wait.

My recollections: Fannie Lodema Smith was b. 1873 in NY. Source: NY Genealogical and Biographical Record (1921). She would have been 16 when Lena died. My mother told me that Lodema (she did not like the name Fannie) was hired to take care of Arthur and his twin brother (there is no record of Arthur having a twin brother, although Arthur had a half brother by Herbert's second wife) when Lena died. She later married Herbert after his second wife died. Herbert's father, Robert Kells, married Esther Wright Lisk, who was the daughter of Lodema's grandmother, Lodema Wait. Esther's sister, Cornelia Elizabeth Lisk, married James N. Smith, who was the father of Lodema, the grand daughter. Lodema was named after her grandmother, Lodema Wait. When she married Minn Wait, she came full circle back to being Lodema Wait.

According to my mother, Lodema was a full-blooded Mohawk, and Lodema meant "North Star" in the Mohawk language. She had the whitest skin of all in my family and no features that one would associate with being Native American. So far, genealogical research doesn't support a Mohawk ancestry.

I wish I had known some of the above and asked questions while Lodema was still alive. She was my cousin 3 times removed, but I knew her as my step great-grandmother. Fannie Lodema Smith lived in Pittsfield city Ward 6, Berkshire, Massachusetts, in 1900. She lived in Providence Ward 6, Providence, Rhode Island, in 1920.

Minor S. Wait was born in February 1870 in Athens, Greene County, New York. He and Fannie Lodema Smith were married MAYBE 1930. He and Mary E. were married in 1898 in New York.

He was living with his wife, Mary, in Deep River, Saybrook, Middlesex, CT in the 1900 Census. He had moved to Saybrook before the 1910 Census. He was a laborer with Key Board. In City Directories, he and Mary were lliving in Middletown, Ct, in 1915-1917. His first wife, Mary, was alive at the time of the 1925 NY State Census, and they lived in Athens, Greene Co., NY. No children. Mary died before the 1930 Census.

Harriet Mildred Oldale was born on 16 September 1842 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. Charles William Regester and she were married about 1860 in Sheffield, England.¹ She died on 17 December 1899 at age 57 in Auburn, Cranston, Rhode Island. She was buried on 20 December 1899 at Lott 233, Willow Avenue, in Locust Grove Cemetery, Elmwood Ave., Providence.

Listed: Charles W. Regester and Bridget Regan as kin at death. Harriet M. or Harriet E.? Harriet E. is the name on her headstone, next to Charles W. Regester in Lot 322, Locus Grove Cemetery in Providence, RI. But her middle name was supposedly Mildred.

There's some confusion on her birthdate. One Internet source lists it as September 16, 1842. Another as October 16, 1841. The 1851 Census lists her as age 7 and in school (birthdate of 1844?). RI VR lists it as October 16, 1842. Her tombstone lists it as 16 Sep 1842. The family Bible lists her birthdate as September 16, 1843.

There's an Alice Oldale, d. 20 Feb 1901, listed as being buried in the Charles Regester plot, but no headstone for Alice. Harriet Mildred Oldale lived at 210 Fitzwilliam Street in Ecclesall Bierlow, Sheffield, West Yorkshire, England, in 1851. She lived in Sheffield, Yorkshire (West Riding), England, in 1861. She lived in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, in 1871. She lived Census in Yorkshire, England, in 1881.

Sandra Sarah Elizabeth ("Sandi") Oberg was born on 29 October 1884 in Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island. Carl Victor Johnson and she were married on 26 June 1907 in Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island. She died on 15 April 1924 at age 39 in Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island.

Alexandra was born in Rhode Island of Swedish parents. She was known as Sandra.

Herbert Carl Edwin ("Herbie") Johnson was born on 18 September 1908 in Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island. He and Ruth Gertrude Bush were married abt. 1928? He died on 25 March 1995 at age 86 in Independence, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania.

In the 1930 Census, he was listed as a roomer living in a rooming house on 10th Street in Erie, PA. He was working as a clerk for a life insurance firm. In the 1940 Census, he was manager of a dental office and living at 135 East 10th Street.

He is most noted for his musical skills. He began by playing light classics on the piano at church socials, then moved on to accompanying silent films in the theater. From there he moved on to play with dance bands with Mendel Jones. A long run at the Public Auditorium followed, with yet more success playing on the radio. As a successful band leader, he took his orchestra to Shadowlands and Terrace Gardens. He then moved to playing at a variety of clubs in the Erie area.

Donald Victor Johnson was born on 1 July 1911 in Pennsylvania. He and Margaret E. Scherer were married on 10 February 1933 in Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania. He and Jean Saloma Starr were married on 26 November 1955 in Brecksville, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. He died on 8 July 2009 at age 98 in Independence, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. He was buried in 2009 at Woodvale Cemetery in Middleburg Heights, Cuyahoga Co.., Ohio.

In 1940, the family was living in Lakewood, Cuyahoga County, OH. Donald was an office clerk.

There were several other children: Ulrike m. Donald Haviland; Donald and Elaine Johnson; Sharon K. m. Gene Jasinski; Nancy m. Gary McCormick, and Thomas m. Leslie.

Anna C. Gustafson was born on 22 May 1883 in Bohus, Sweden. Reverend Johan Edwin Sahlen and she were married on 27 December 1905 in El Campo, Texas. She died on 14 February 1956 at age 72 in Texas.

According to the 1930 Census, she came to the United States in 1889 and was not naturalized as of 1930. She married when she was 20 years old.

I (Dick Sahlen) also have few clues about my grandmother Anna Sahlen's personality. I know that in a good natured way, my mother was not popular with her sisters-in-law because she was Anna's favorite, even though the others live closer, saw her more often, and did more for her. My mother seemed to take it as a personal challenge to find some way to establish good rapport with someone that others found "difficult to warm up to". As a kid, I saw my mother work her magic on a grouchy old guy who ran little refreshment shack along the community golf course in Evanston. No one could stand the guy, and yet my mother gradually got him to the point where he would greet her with a smile and save her the best of the "lost balls" that he had recovered and sold from his little shack. Back to my the relationship between my grandmother and mother -- my grandmother even confided to my mother that she had begged Edwin to drive to another town to buy contraceptives and he refused to do say, believing that it would be totally improper for a preacher to do so, since children were a gift from God. (I guess the Methodists weren't exactly in the liberal wing of the Protestant Church at that point in time.) Dick Sahlen, e-mail, 17 Oct 2009.

Wallace Albert Sahlen was born on 26 July 1912 in Swede Plain, Polk County, Nebraska. He and Lillian Irene Block were married on 6 April 1934 in Crosby, Texas. He and Donnie V. Moore were married on 14 February 1983 in Harris County, Texas.¹ He died on 14 July 1994 at age 81 in Houston, Harris County, Texas.²

Wallace is listed as a truck driver in the 1930 Census. He eventually worked for Waukesha Engines in Houston, where he became Secretary-Treasurer.

He married to Lillian Irene Sahlen, who died January 8, 1982, in Harris Co., TX. They had no children.

Leonard Oliver Sahlen was born on 8 September 1916 in Scandia, Kansas. He and Margaret Frances Ross were married on 3 October 1940 in Houston, Harris County, Texas. He died in August 1981 at age 64 in Denver, Colorado.¹

Leonard enlisted in the Army April 9, 1942, and served in the Army Air Corps as a private. He had had one year of college and was a railway signal operator. He was married, 5'8" tall, and weighed 165 lbs. He became a B-26 navigator and served in England, France, and Germany.

He had a distributorship for Waukesha Engines in Colorado. They lived near Denver.

Carl Edwin Sahlen was born on 7 January 1907 in El Campo, Texas. He and Noreen Paterson were married on 14 June 1942 in Lansing, Ingham County, Michigan. He died in February 1975 at age 68 in Wilmette, Cook County, Illinois.

Carl Edwin attended Nebraska Wesleyan for several years. He worked for the YMCA until World War II and served in the military in World War II He was corporate employment manager for US Gypsum Corporation in Chicago. The family lived in Chicago, IL.

Lloyd Merrill Sahlen was born on 6 November 1920 in Lincoln, Nebraska.¹ He died on 1 January 1983 at age 62 in Colorado City, MItchell County, Texas.²

Since 1932, he has been with the Austin State Farm Colony in Austin, TX, which was fully opened in 1933, renamed Travis State School in the 1960's, and closed in the 1990's.

Alice Marie Sahlen was born on 8 October 1908 in El Campo, Texas. Harper Carl Jacobson and she were married on 7 April 1928 in New Sweden, Iowa. She died on 29 August 1992 at age 83 in Eagle Lake, Colorado County, Texas.