USA > Illinois > Henry County > The biographical record of Henry County, Illinois > Part 72
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On the 24th of February, 1887, Mr. Gut- schlag was united in marriage with Mi'ss Mary Deutschland, who was born in Ger- many in 1863, but was only a year old when brought to the United States by her parents. William and Caroline ( Keuter ) Deutsch- land. The family located in Kewanee town- ship, this county, where the mother is still living at the age of seventy-four years, but the father died December 4, 1893, at the age of seventy-two. They had six children, namely : William, a farmer of Kewanee township; Minnie and Louisa, who both died in infancy: Amelia, a resident of Kewanee; Mary, wife of our subject; and Albert, who died in 1895, at the age of twenty-nine years. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Gut- schlag were Lenora M., William F. C., Louis T. and Margaret C., all living; and Paul R., who died in April, 1899, at the age of sixteen months.
Mr. and Mrs. Gutschlag are both mem- bers of the German Evangelical Church and he is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party and its principles. In April, 1899, he was elected alderman from his ward for a term of two years, and has filled that posi- tion in a most creditable and satisfactory manner.
NELS F. ANDERSON.
This well-known and prominent lawyer of Galva, Illinois, was born in the southern part of Sweden, February 11, 1858, a son of Vels and Maria ( Kolokowski) Anderson, Who were also born in Sweden, though the
The father of our subject was a well-edu- cated man and a lumber merchant of his na- tive land. In 1871 he brought his family to America and settled in Greene, Iowa, where he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty acres and devoted the remainder of his life to agricultural pursuits. On coming to this country he was well situated financial- ly, and throughout his business career met with excellent success. Religiously he was an active member of the Swedish Lutheran Church, and gave liberally to its support. He died in 1881, and his wife passed away in 1894.
Unto this worthy couple were born eight children, all of whom are still living, name- ly : Nelson, the subject of this sketch ; Chris- tine. a graduate of Ann Arbor University and now a physician of Detroit, Michigan; Andrew W., who was educated at Knox College, Galesburg, and is now station agent for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company at Lake Elmo, Minnesota; F. E., a graduate of Ann Arbor University and an attorney of Tacoma, Washington ; Otto, also a graduate of Ann Arbor University and a dentist of Stillwater, Minnesota; Theodore, a graduate of the Iowa University, and a resident of Tacoma, Washington; Hannah. an artist of Chicago, who pursued a literary course at the Chicago University, and was graduated from that institution; and Cor- nelius, who was graduated from Knox College, Galesburg, and is now studying medicine at the Northwestern Medical Col- lege of Chicago.
The early education of Nels F. Anderson was obtained in a Latin school in Sweden. He accompanied his parents on their emi- gration to the new world and remained with them until he had completed his education.
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In 1877 he entered Knox College, where he pursued a literary course and was graduated in 1882. He took a preparatory course at the law school of the Union College of Law in Chicago, where he was a student for one year, and for eighteen months thereafter he read law with Thomas E. Milchrist, now state senator. After his admission to the bar in 1886 he remained in Chicago until the following year, and then went to Salina, Kan- ass, where he opened an office and engaged in the practice of his profession for three years. In 1800 he came to Galva, and has since had his office at his present location. He has accumulated a very complete and valuable law library, and has built up a large and lucrative practice which is constantly increasing.
enterprises which he believed would benefit his adopted town and county, and is recog- nized as a valuable citizen of the community. As a successful attorney he had made for himself an enviable reputation, and in 1807 he was the Democratic candidate for cir- cuit judge. His name has also appeared on his party ticket for other county offices. So- cially he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Masonic fraternity, both of Galva, while religiously his wife bolls membership in the Congrega- tional Church, and he is a supporter of the
GEORGE H. JOHNSON.
Among the representative citizens and
In 1880 Mr. Anderson was united in marriage with Miss May Winn Williams, prominent farmers of Andover township is who was born in Henry, Illinois, in 1863, a daughter of William Potter and Petronella ( Hoagland ) Williams. Her mother died in 1894. and her father, who was by occupa- tion a farmer, is now living in Henry. They had five children, namely : Kate Esmond, a resident of Newburg, New York : Archie. a farmer of Henry, Illinois: Bessie, at home; Anetta Wiley. of Utica, Illinois; and May Winn, wife of our subject. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have four children : Leland H., born in 1891; Sumner B., 1895 : Richard Stanley, 1897; and Nelson Paul, 1899. The family own a pleasant home in Galva. George H. Johnson, whose home is on sec- tion 31. He was born in that township on the 22nd of February, 1849, and is a son of Gustus and Caroline ( Swanson ) Johnson, both natives of Sweden, the former born October 24, 1824. the latter in 1819. Our subject's paternal grandfather, who was a blacksmith by trade, spent his entire life in that country, but the maternal grandfa- ther crossed the Atlantic, and located in Henry county, Illinois, where the last seven years of his life were passed. He followed farming after the primitive methods with a Swedish grub hoe. The mother of our sub- Since 1890 MIr. Anderson has been iden- tified with the Democratic party, and has most creditably and acceptably served as village attorney for eight years. He was a member of the school board during the erection of the new school building in Galva, and served on the buikling committee. He has always been a strong advocate of those ject was the only one of his family to come to America, but Gustus Johnson had two sisters and one brother who emigrated to America, these being Jonas Peter, who is still living in Nebraska at the age of eighty- two years: Christine, who married Carl Carlson and both died of cholera in 1852; and Mary, who wedded S. Stephenson and
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died in Anderson township, in 1882, while her husband is now living in the village of Andover.
Gustus Johnson, the father of our sub- ject, followed farming in his native land un- til after his marriage and then came to the new world in 1848. He was one of the first to locate on the prairie in Andover town- ship, Henry county, Illinois. His first pur- chase consisted of only ten acres, to which he later added thirty acres, making forty acres in the home place, where our subject now resides. He erected theron a log cabin, which is now crumbling away. As he suc- ceeded in his farming operations he kept add- ing to his land until he owned four hundred and eighty acres in this county and one hundred and sixty acres in Kansas. This property he divided among his children be- fore his death. In connection with general farming he engaged in raising cattle, horses and hogs, and met with success in that en- terprise. The Republican party always found in him a stanch supporter of its principles, but he would never accept office. He always took an active interest in church work, and was one of the organizers of the Swedish Lutheran Church, with which he held mem- bership until after the completion of their house of worship in Andover, when he with- drew and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, which he also assisted in building 11p. Ile died on the old homestead April 24, 1895. and the mother of our subject passed away there in 1873.
Of the ten children born to this worthy couple three died in infancy. Those who reached years of maturity were George II .. of this review; Mary Ellen, wife of Gust Anderson, who lives on the Andover roads Lonisa, who married E. Anderson and died ip Kansas in 1809: Emily, who died in
1879, unmarried; Andrew, a resident of An- dover township: Mrs. Laura A. Moore, of San Diego, California: Mrs. Celia Mosen- feldt, a widow living in that state; and Ju- lia, wife of John Lee, also of California. The children were all born, reared and edu- cated in this county, but since their mar- riage they have become widely scattered.
During his boyhood George H. Johnson attended the district schools of Andover township, but his educational privileges were rather limited, as he was required to assist his father in the support of the family, being the eldest of the children. The knowl- edge he obtained in school, however, has been greatly supplemented by reading good literature in later years. He remained at home until he attained his majority and then started out in life for himself as a farmer, meeting with success from the beginning.
1871 Mr. Johnson married Miss Eng- strom, who was born in Sweden in 1851, a daughter of Swan and Louisa (Sunberg) Engstrom. Her father died in Sweden, and ir 1856 her widowed mother came to Amer- ica, bringing with her their five children, namely : Eric, who died in Minnesota ; Eliza- beth, wife of Alex Isaacson, of Boone county, Iowa: Christine, wife of Charles Johnson, of Lynn township; Ellen, deceased; and Annie, wife of our subject. The children were educated in the district schools but had little opportunity to avail themselves of its privileges. The mother made her home with them until her death, which occurred in Linn township.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have been born eight children, as folows: Dora is the wife of Gilbert Samuelson, of Osco town- ship, and they have two children, Grace and Herbert. Della is the wife of William Sam- uelson, of Andover township, and they have
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two children, Lester and Gladys. Almon banner for draft horses. He is also inter- assists his father in the work of the home farm. Mabel is the wife of Nettleton Burg- son, who lives in Lynn township, near Lynn ( enter. Wallace, George Harrison, Inez and Ruth are all at home. They have all received good common school educations, and the oldest son took a collegiate course at Moline.
AAfter his marriage Mr. Johnson located on section 25, Lynn township, where he owned three hundred and sixty acres of land, and as a stock raiser and farmer he has had a very successful career. He continued his residence in Lynn township until 1897, when he returned to the old homestead on section 31, Andover township, consisting of two hundred acres. He purchased the interests of the other heirs in this place, for the pur- pose of keeping it in the family. Ile makes a specialty of raising Poland China hogs, short horn cattle and shire and Norman horses, and has always carried off several premiums at the county fairs where he has exhibited his stock. In 1900 he received the
ested in sheep raising. He still owns three hundred and sixty acres of land on sections 25 and 26, Lynn township, besides the old homestead of two hundred acres on sections 31 and 32 Andover township, and has been wonderfully successful in business affairs. He has made many useful and valuable im- provements upon these places.
In his political affiliations Mr. Johnson is an ardent Republican, and has taken quite an active and prominent part in public af- fairs. He is president of the township central committee; was supervisor of Lynn township five years; and was school direc- tor during his entire residence there, and since his return to Andover township has fill- ed that office here. He is one of the direc- tors of the State Bank of Orion, and is very prominent and influential both in business and political circles. He is one of the trus- tees of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is a member of the Odd Fellow's lodge of Woodhull.
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