An update on Erik Johan Elg, b. 1844

In my previous post I noted:

One Johan Elg, b abt 1844, emigrates to Chicago in Nov 1869, with wife Christina. I have no evidence that this is Erik Johan, except matching year of birth, and Johan comes from the same region of Sweden.

I have now found this family in Grantsburg, Wisconsin, where Johan is employed as a blacksmith. Johan and wife Christina are listed in the 1880 US Federal Census, along with a son, Carl Johan, born 1875.

In the 1895 Wisconsin census, the household consists of three males and one female. Only the head of the household is named in this census, but most likely another son has been added.

I still have no direct evidence that this is "my" Erik Johan Elg. The fact that John is a blacksmith, and the name of his son are circumstances in favor of this hypothesis. Erik Johan came from a long line of blacksmiths,and the name Carl Johan is used a lot in the family. Still, this is not unique, as this was the name of the Swedish king between 1818 - 1844..

The children of Johan Elg - and the mysterious Alexander Elge/Johnson

I have started to look closer at the family of Johan Elg, as so many of his children emigrated to the US. At least seven, possibly eight, of them emigrated to the US, two died young and only four settled in Sweden. At least seven grandchildren also emigrated. Seven of the emigrants settled around Helena, Montana.

Johan Elg was born in Gravendal, Säfsnäs, Sweden, but moved across the county line and spent most of his life as a blacksmith in and around Liljendal, Värmland. He was married twice:

First marriage: Johan ELG 1817 – 1896 +Kajsa HÅKANSDOTTER 1812 - 1853

........Karl Johan ELG 1839 – bef. 1900
............ +Edla BREDENBERG 1841 –
Note: All of their children were born in Sweden and stayed in Sweden, so most likely Karl Johan also stayed in Sweden.

........Anna Lisa ELG 1840 – 1854. Died young.

........Karl Gustaf ELG 1842 - 1918
............ +Anna Karolina BERGSTRÖM 1845 – 1915
Note: Daughter Hilda Maria Elg, b abt 1875, emigrates to the US on May 27, 1892. Daughter Olga Juliana Elg, born 21 jun 1878 emigrated to the US in 1894. Domestic servant in Chicago (1900 census), possibly married 1907 in Wisconsin.
Son Sigfrid Elg emigrated in 1912, 1930 census shows him in Fairfield, Connecticut.

........Erik Johan ELG 1844 –
Note: One Johan Elg, b abt 1844, emigrates to Chicago in Nov 1869, with wife Christina. I have no evidence that this is Erik Johan, except matching year of birth, and Johan comes from the same region of Sweden.

........Lars Fredrik ELG 1846 -
............ +Anna Karolina PERSDOTTER 1841 –
Note: Son August Elg (b 1870) emigrates to Helena, Montana in 1888, changed name to Elge
Daughter Beda Fredrika Elg emigrates to Montana in Sept 1893
Son Victor Elg,b abt 1878, emigrates 17 Apr.1903 from St. Tuna to McKeesport. Victor Elge,b abt 1879, is listed in the 1930 US Census as a guest of the Skagit County jail, Mount Vernon, Skagit, Washington.
Daughter Emma Christina Elg emigrated to Helena, Montana, in 1925, probably after her husband passed away.

........Per August ELG 1850 –
Note:Emigrated to the US 22 Oct 1868
The 1880 US Census shows an A Elge living as a laborer in the household on Chas. Hirsch, Ten Mile, Montana. No evidence that this was Per August, but Ten Mile is only ten miles from Helena..

........Jakob ELG (JOHNSON) 1852 – 1922
............ +Sofia KÄMPE 1854 – 1943
Note: Emigrated in 1879 (no emigration record found) Their story is told in Margaret Johnson's history of the Johnson Ranch

Second marriage: Johan ELG + Anna Stina OLSDOTTER 1834 - 1890

........Reinhold ELG 1857 –
Note: Emigrated to Oslo 25 nov 1890. Emigrated again to Norway 1 Aug 1893, now listed as widower. 1900 census shows him as day labourer, working on railroad construction. Oslo was normally a stepping stone for emigrating to the US but his children died in Sweden, so likely they never made the journey to the US.
............ +Josefina Andersdotter 1855 -.abt 1892
............ + Marie, b 1870

........Frans (Francis) Otto ELG 1860 – 1944
Note: emigrated in 1887, Involved in mining near Marysville and Bald Butte, Montana
............ +Christina Beata FRYKLIND 1861 - 1946
Note: Christina Beata visited Sweden in 1911, arrived Ellis Island on the s/s Lusitania from Liverpool 15 Dec 1911

........Alfred Emil ELG 1863 – 1937
Note: Arrived in the US 1897. Lived in Marysville, L&C cty, Montana. Joined his brothers Otto and Edward in mining operation at Bald Butte

........Edvard ELG 1866 – 1946
Note: Emigrated to Marysville, MT, 1887. In the 1920 census of Fairhaven County, Alaska, Edward is listed as superintendent of the Independence gold mine, Fairhaven, Seward, Alaska
............ +Christina Olsson 1868 -

........Amanda ELG 1866 – 1869 Note: Died in infancy

........Maria Sofia ELG 1869 – 1922
Note: Emigrated in 1887, to Montana
............ +Nels NELSON 1854 - 1907

........Emma Kristina ELG 1872 – 1958.
............ +Axel Wedelin 1865 - 1913
Note: In 1949, one Elsa Wedelin from Degerfors travels on a Swedish American Line ship to the US. This is possibly a granddaughter of Emma and Axel, since they appear to be the only Wedelin family in Degerfors.

The mystery of Alexander Johnson/Elge

According to Margaret Johnson’s history of the Johnson ranch , the ranch was first settled in 1879 by Jacob's brother Alexander Johnson and his wife Sophia:

“The ranch was first settled by Everett Johnson's great uncle Alexander Johnson and his wife, Sophia, in 1879. It was taken over by Alexander´s brother (Everett's grandfather) Jacob and his wife, Sophia, in 1888. Jacob's son (Everett's father) “

----

“Alex Johnson and his wife came from Sweden to the United States, arriving in Laramie on the Union Pacific Railroad. We assume that the area near the mountains reminded them of their homeland as many Scandinavians settled in the area.”

----

“Alex lived on the ranch until his death in 1888. No record could be found as to what happened to his wife and there is no record of children. Jacob then assumed control of the ranch.”

However, among the 14 children of Johan Elg there is no record of any Alexander, and little room left in the birth order.

My guess is that another brother changed his name to Alexander, possibly because it was easier to pronounce in English - this was not that unusual among Swedish emigrants.

I have two "suspects":

Erik Johan Elg, born 1844. One Johan Elg emigrated to Chicago in 1869, with wife Stina/Christina, from a place near Rämmen. I have no proof that this is Erik Johan, but the emigrant's birth year is also 1844.

Per August Elg, born 1850. He did emigrate to the US in 1868, but I have no note of his destination.

All other children of Johan Elg are "accounted for" in the records.

There is no Alexander or Alex Johnson listed for Wyoming in the 1880 or 1890 US censuses. The 1910 federal census lists an Alex Johnson from Sweden in Egbert, Laramie Co. Wyoming, but according to Margaret’s history Alex had passed away at that time.

Then I started looking closer at records for Johan Elg’s children by his second marriage, and came up with a surprise:

The arrival record of the"Britannic"., March 19, 1887 in New York, lists

Alexander Elge, 26, laborer
Marie “ ,18, spinster
Edward “ , 20, laborer
Otto Elge, 24, farmer
Beata “ , 24, wife
Ernfrid “ , 3, child

Note that there is an Alexander Elge listed here, and that he is grouped with Maria and Edward, which seems to indicate that they were traveling together. (Francis) Otto on the other hand is grouped with his wife Beata and son Ernfrid (Alfred Eugene).

In the arrival record their nationality is listed as "Norwegian", but this is clearly a mistaken assumption, based on the fact they started their journey in Norway. Liljendal is close to the Norwegian border, and Oslo (or Kristiania at it was known at the time) was the closest departure port for anyone leaving for America from Liljendal.

Another interesting observation is that the Montana Elge's are using the "Elge" spelling already on the passenger manifest. This is not a spelling used in Sweden, and when they boarded the ship they probably did not know enough English to understand that the "Elge" spelling would make the name easier to pronounce. Unless, of course, "Alexander" had emigrated earlier, and traveled back to Sweden to accompany his younger siblings.

Alisa Nelson has also found a record of an Alexander August Elge, of Sweden, marrying Eva June Smith, of Minnesota, on 6 Feb 1895 in San Bernadino, California. According to Margaret’s history, Alex Johnson was presumably dead by that time, so are there two mystery Alexanders in the same family?.

Was “Alexander Elge” really Jacob’s brother Per August Elg? There is a problem with this theory: The 1887 passenger manifest lists Alexander's age as 26, which would make him born around 1860 – ten years younger than Per August Elg, and a little young to be married and have settled the Johnson ranch in 1877. On the other hand, the San Bernadino marriage record lists Alexander August Elge’s age as 45 years, which matches Per August’s age, and Alexander August Elge is a resident of Montana.

And, of course, if Alexander Elge and Alexander Johnson are the same, Alexander did not die in Laramie in 1888?

Timeline
1850 Per August Elg born
1852 Jacob Elg/Johnson born
1864 Gold boom establishes Helena, Montana (many miners came from Minnesota, city named after St Helena, MN)
1868 Per August Elg emigrates to the US (source: Swedish emigration records)
1868 Union Pacific RR reaches Laramie
1875 Mining boom in Black Hills, S.D. Many miners leave Helena.
1879 Johnson ranch settled by Alexander and Sophia (Elg) Johnson
1880 Jacob Elge Johnson and his wife Sophia emigrates to Chicago
1880 A Elge day laborer in Ten Mile, Montana (ten miles west of Helena)
1881 First record of Johnson occupancy, loan secured by land
1883 Northern Pacific RR reaches Helena, Montana
1884 Jacob and family arrive in Laramie
1887 Alexander Elge,26, arrives, with Marie, 18, Edward, 20, Frans Otto,24 and Otto's family. Source US arrival, passenger list Edward and Frans Otto, settle in Marysville,MT, a mining town 20 miles NW of Helena,MT. No sign of Alexander..
1888 Ranch taken over by Alexander's brother Jacob, and his wife Sophia
1888 According to Margaret Johnson, Alex dies on ranch, no record of his wife Sophia or any children
1888 August Elg (b 1870) emigrates to Helena, Montana in 1888, changed name to Elge
1889 Marie marries Nels Nelson, in Helena, Montana
1892 Hilda Marie Elg emigrates to the US (no final destination noted)
1893 Beda Fredrika Elg emigrates to Montana
1895 Alexander August Elge, age 44, resident of Montana, marries Eva June Smith in San Bernadino, CA, on Feb 6
1903 Victor Elg,b abt 1878, emigrates 17 Apr.1903 from St. Tuna to McKeesport. Victor Elge,b abt 1879, is listed in the 1930 US Census as a guest of the Skagit County jail, Mount Vernon, Skagit, Washington.
1925 Emma Christina Elg emigrated to Helena, Montana.

Life on the ranch..

We are just back from two weeks visiting family in Minnesota and Wyoming. As time allows I will publish bits of history discovered on my journey. To start off, here is a wonderful glimpse of life on the ranch back in 1961. This should be read as a companion to Margaret Johnson's "History of the Johnson Ranch ( http://web.telia.com/~u85435856/emigration/johnson1.html ).

/ Lennart

Good Life is Even Better on ”Park” Ranch

Robert Beasley, The Cooperative Consumer, Oct 31, 1961

Johnsons stand over the spillway from the Big Laramie River into the Pioneer Canal, which carries water to the Johnson Ranch.

If farming is a good life, Wesley Johnson’s style of farming, or ranching, must be the best life. Johnson doesn´t plant or cultivate or strain to harvest any crops. He doesn´t even own a plow.He can see some of America’s most beautiful scenery every time he glances from his home’s windows. The trout-filled Big Laramie River flows through his “back yard”.

Johnson’s “Park Ranch” is 20-some miles southwest of Laramie, Wyo. It gets its name from its many little tree-circled meadows or “parks” carpeted with native grasses. The parks are perfect winter quarters for cattle.The ranch straddles the Big Laramie where the river flows out from between mountains onto the Laramie plain. The Johnsons’ buildings and most of their land is on the river’s north bank. Some of the land is on the south bank, spread out across the first gentle rise towards the peak of Jelm mountain.

Johnson’s uncle bought the ranch back in 1878. When he died, it passed on to Johnson’s dad. And Wes Johnson bought the place in 1924; he moved on to it in 1927. He and his wife, Carol, and their son and his family operate the ranch now.Besides those grassy-floored “parks”, the ranch’s most important assets include a couple of “rights” – the right to take irrigation water from the Big Laramie River and a permit to graze cattle from June 16 to Oct. 1 in the mountainous Medicine Bow National Forest six miles from the ranch. The Irrigation rights were granted to the Johnsons back in 1879 and ’80. That makes them old enough to be valuable in the West, where the man with the oldest rights gets first claim on the often limited supply of water.

The Johnson herd – basically 100 Hereford cows and their calves – leave their winter quarters in the ranch’s parks in the spring and walk five miles north to a spring range. In June, they clump up the trail to the cool, relatively insect-free national forest.In the summer, the Johnsons do their only “crop work”. They put the hay from the native grass in the parks around the ranch up in neat, “buck-fenced” stacks. And in September, they trail their Herefords down from the national forest.The cows spend their winters munching the native hay; their calves – except animals kept for the breeding herd – are sold to feeders. Johnson calves usually go to feeders in the Red Oak, In. area. In mid-february, the cows begin dropping their calves. As soon as all the calves have arrived and have been branded and vaccinated, the year’s cycle begins again.

Rustic corral on Johnson ranch is busy place in late winter and early spring. Calving is done in buildings at right. Later, calves are branded and vaccinated in the corral.

Mountain Meadow Drama

During our day on the Johnson ranch, we watched the first act in one of those little dramas that make livestock raising such rewarding, interesting work.A neighbour had spotted a Johnson cow, apparently in trouble on the summer range in Medicine Bow National Forest. Everett checked. He came back with unhappy news: The cow was suffering from foot rot, a mean, debilitating condition happily rare amomng range cattle.

We went with the Johnsons – Wes, Everett and Everett’s wife, Margaret – into the forest to look for the cow. We found her, thin and limping on a swollen left hind foot, in the edge of some timber just off a mountain meadow. Her calf, blocky and bright, quick and spooky, darted through the woods ahead of the cow as the Johnson men, armed with ropes, went after her. They caught her in a few minutes.

With the calf watching apprehensively but from a distance, Everett needled antibiotics into the cow’s flank, splashed a healthy dose of iodine on the bad foot, and jammed some elephant-sized pills down her throat. He and his dad wanted to truck the animal back to the ranch, but they hesitated running her calf down into the dangerous timber. So they left the cow, tethered to a tree, with good hay and a tub of water in easy reach.

The Johnsons wrote later that they decided to bring the cow down from the mountain by truck. They built a stockade around her in the woods, left the stockade gate open and waited “for nature to take its course”. When the calf stepped up for dinner, Everett closed the stockade gate on him. And he and his mother rode home, where good care and feed healed her quickly.

The rancher’s work is by no means finished when the cattle are trailed to the summer ranges. The herd is checked constantly for injury or disease, and medication is administered on the spot. This cow, afflicted with a bad case of foot rot, is given a penicillin shot by rancher Everett Johnson in the Medicine Bow National Forest range near Foxpark.

Charles John Elg

After my success in finding information about Louis Elg, I wanted to find out more about his brother, Carl Johan Elg, who also lived in Idaho Falls. I soon received this reply, and I would like to thank Ms. Judy House for her assistance:

Dear Mr. Elg,

Your latest request sent me on a long search for information about Louis Elg’s brother Carl. He did indeed change his name to Charles John. This is the information I discovered:

He came to Idaho Falls (then Eagle Rock) in 1889 from Osage, Kansas. His wife’s name was Sophia. His occupation was stonemason. He lived in Idaho Falls for 52 years and died at the age of 90 on August 2, 1941. His funeral was held at the Lutheran Church and he is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Idaho Falls. He and Sophia had two children, Ida and Elmer. Their residence was at 205 Cliff Street. They also had a boarder living there named William McBride.

At the time of his death, he was a widower. His closest relative at that time was Mrs. William Williams. According to the 1941 Idaho Falls City Directory, her first name was Ella, so I don’t know how she was related.

I hope this information is helpful. Thank you for contacting the Museum of Idaho. If we can be of further assistance,
please feel free to contact us again.

Sincerely,
Judy House,
librarian, Museum of Idaho Reading and Reference Room

Mrs William Williams was no doubt his daughter Ella, born 28 nov. 1882 in Osage City, KS. According to my notes, Charles and Sophia had a totasl of five children, Ida Cecilia, Oskar, Ella, Elmer and Iver, see http://web.telia.com/~u85435856/FAMILY/WC01/WC01_050.HTM .

A man of wealth and influence..

A couple of months ago, I received a set of interesting photos from a relative who is also researching the Elg family history, Ms Kerstin Abrahamsson. One was a photo of the “Central Drug Store, Louis Elg proprietor”. The photo had been sent to relatives back home, but carried no information about where the photo had been taken.

I knew that Louis was born Lars Erik Elg, on June 9, 1853, at Gravendal, Dalarna, Sweden. His father was Lars Elg (1823 – 1871), a blacksmith at the mill in Gravendal, his mother was Stina Carlsdotter, b abt 1820.

In November 1877 Lars Erik emigrated to the US, destination Iowa. I knew that he had lived in Helena, Lewis and Clark Cy. Montana, and at Idaho Falls, Bonneville, Idaho.

In order to identify the photo I wrote a letter to the Montana Historical Society, who quickly responded:

Dear Mr. Elg,

I searched the Helena City Directories from 1895 through 1905. There is no record of a Louis Elge in Helena. The Directories do list Elges. In 1900, for instance, there is a Francis O. Elge and an Otto. Otto was the Sexton at the Swedish Mission Church in Helena.

However, I did find a Louis Elg in the 1900, 1910, and 1920 Census. He was enumerated in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The 1900 Census reported his wife’s name as Charlotte. He was born in Sweden about 1854. His occupation was listed as “Druggist” in 1900. In 1910 his occupation was “Proprietor”, and in 1920 he was living with a son, Edward, and his occupation was listed as “None”.

I believe the building in the photo must have been in Idaho Falls.


The Bonneville County Historical Society also provided a swift reply:

Dear Mr. Elg:

This is the information we have on Louis Elg: He came to the U.S. in 1874, stopping in Chicago; Boone County, Iowa where he worked in coal mines; and Omaha, Nebraska where he worked as a blacksmith and in a machine shop. In 1879 he was working for the railroad in Rawlins, Wyoming and he went from there to Dillon, Montana, also with the railroad. The first information about him in Idaho Falls was in 1895 when he opened a drug store on the corner of Front Street and Main Street. These streets have since been renamed Park Avenue and Broadway. The photo you sent is probably of this drug store. In 1904 a fire destroyed 20 businesses on the north side of Broadway from Park Ave. to the Snake River three blocks to the west. Central Drug Store would have been in this area. Later he owned another drug store called Eagle Rock Drug. His residence was on Chamberlain Ave. He was a well-known citizen of Idaho Falls, serving on the city council and as mayor of the city from 1910-1911. His wife was Charlotta and they had at least one child, Eddie.

Attached you will find photos of the Chamberlain Street residence, Mr.and Mrs. Louis Elg and Eddie.


Elg family residence on Chamberlain Street, ca 1900

The Elg family

Edward August Elg

With this information I was able to find a biography from “History of Idaho”, published in 1914:

LOUIS ELG. From Sweden have come many of the substantial and representative men of Idaho, some with poor equipments, according to the world’s estimation, and others, like Louis Elg, proprietor of the largest drug business in the state and for eleven successive years mayor of Idaho Falls, after they had secured a fair education , the only capital which their parents could afford them. Like many others from North, South, East and West, Mr Elg’s entrance into Idaho was in a humble capacity, a worker on that greatest of civilizing factors, the railroad, and with this as a stepping stone he entered into other opportunities, took advantage of them, and today is a man of wealth and influence, both won entirely by self-effort.

Mr. Elg was born June 9, 1854, at Dahlena, Sweden, and is the son of Louis and Christina (Peterson) Elg, the former of whom, an iron manufacturer, died at the age of fourty-eight years, in 1869, while the latter, born October 20, 1820, still resides in Sweden. There were ten children in the family, of whom Louis was the sixth in order of birth.Louis Elg was given good educational advantages, attending public school and college in his native land, and graduating from the latter when he was eighteen years of age. In 1873 he decided to try his fortunes in the United States, and accordingly came to this country and spent a short time in Chicago, Illinois, from whence he went to Boone County, Iowa. He remained there but a short interval, however, moving to Omaha, Nebraska, where he worked at various honourable occupations, as he did also at Rollins, Wyoming, to which point he subsequently removed. He was next sent by the Utah and Oregon railway to Utah, working from Harriet, Utah, up to Montana, in the construction department, and continuing in the employment of the railroad for one and one-half years. At the end of that time Mr. Elg came to Idaho, first settling at Eagle Rock, now Idaho Falls, where he secured a position in the railroad shops, and later worked with a construction gang.

On leaving the employ of the railroad, he accepted a position in a liquor business, in which he purchased a one-half interest, and finally became proprietor, continuing to conduct the establishment for several years. On retiring from that line Mr. Elg bought an interest in a drug business, with which he was connected for seven years, then selling out and going back to his native land on a business trip, and after returning to Idaho Falls spent one year in retirement. Having valuable realty interests here, he erected what is known as the Elg Block, a part of which he rented out, while the other part he devoted to a grocery business. Several months later, the parties to whom he had sold the drug business having failed to meet their obligations, he repurchased the business, sold his grocery, and moved the drug stock to its present location, and it has since developed into the largest business of this section.

A man of the highest business ability and integrity, each year has marked a decided advance in the importance of his holdings, and he now has a branch store at Gilmore and large mining interests in Lemhi county, in addition to realty interests in and about Idaho Falls. Mr. Elg’s ample fortune has been accumulated through the exercise of industrious endeavour, backed by the ability to recognize opportunities and further happy faculty of being able to carry his enterprises through to a successful conclusion. His integrity is unquestioned, and among his associates his word of mouth is as valuable as any legal script. In politics a Democrat, he was first elected councilman of Idaho Falls in 1898, and became mayor when E. P. Coleman died in office, having been formerly chairman of the council. During his administration the first sewer system was installed in the city, and his term was also marked by the completion of the electric power plant.

Mr. Elg is a popular and valued member of the Commercial Club, and his fraternal connections are with the Masons, the Odd Fellows, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, the Order of the Eastern Star and the Yeomen. During the thirty-three years that he has made Idaho his home, he has had ample opportunity to observe and take part in its general development and advance, and his confidence that the future will bring about as great progress may be taken as the opinion of one competent to judge. He has a wide acquaintance throughout the state, among which he numbers numerous friends.On June 8, 1878, at Idaho Falls, Mr. Elg was united in marriage with Miss Charlotta Sellstrom, daughter or Mr. and Mrs. Nels Sellstrom, of Idaho Falls, and she died April 26, 1905, and is buried in this city. To this union was born one sun: Edward August, born November 30, 1892, in Idaho Falls, a graduate of the Idaho Falls High School, who is now in business with his father.

From “History of Idaho”, pp. 1277-1278

The biography mentions “going back to his native land on a business trip“, and Swedish emigrant records confirm that Louis had visited to the old country, 25 years after he emigrated. On Sept 5, 1902, the family – Louis, Charlotta and Edward – left Malmö, Sweden, on their way back to the US. There was also a fourth person travelling with them, an Ida Elg, born abt 1873. Louis’ older brother Carl Johan Elg (1851 – 1941) also emigrated in 1881 and settled in Idaho Falls. His daughter Ida Cecilia was born in Sweden and might have wanted a chance to see the old country. She could also have come along as a nurse for Edward or Mrs Elg who passed away only three years later.

Welcome !

This blog is about the history of the Elg family, originating in Säfsnäs county, Sweden (note that there are several unrelated Elg families from Sweden). It is a complement to the family history website at http://web.telia.com/~u85435856/ , I intend to post new information - and questions - here, where you can get access to it before I have time to update the website.

/ Lennart