John A. Johnson papers, 1854-1969

Biography/History:
John Anders Johnson was born in Telemark, Norway, on April 15, 1832. He was the oldest of five children who were born to Anders Johnson (1804-188) and Aaste Killing Koven (1808-1893). The family emigrated to the United States in 1844. By 1852, the family moved to Pleasant Springs, Wisconsin – near Koshkonong. Johnson first married Karen Thompson in 1856. Before she died, they had a daughter, Caroline. Both died in 1860. He remarried in 1861 to Kaia Nicoline Kildahl, and had six children together: Frederick, Ella, Ida, Carl, Hobert, and Maurice. Johnson’s brother was Ole Skipness Johnson, a Norwegian-American soldier who served in the Civil War (Scandinavian Regiment). 

He was founder and president of Fuller & Johnson Manufacturing Company, of Gisholt Machine Company, and of Hekla Fire Insurance Company. In 1896, he was elected president of the National Association of Implement and Vehicle Manufacturers. Johnson helped found Amerika, a Chicago newspaper, in 1873. He wrote frequently on political, economic, and social topics such as tariff free silver, temperance, slavery, and education. 

Johnson was a member of the Wisconsin legislature in 1857 and 1873-1874 and county clerk (1861-1869). His philanthropies included the University of Wisconsin, St. Olaf College, and the Gisholt Home for the Aged. NAHA published John A. Johnson, by Agnes M. Larson, in 1969.

Scope and Content:
Papers of a Norwegian-born industrialist, inventor, and philanthropist from Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin. Materials include articles, clippings, contracts, correspondence, indentures, patents, pamphlets, receipts, records, reports, scrapbooks, and statements. Besides several pamphlets, publications include Det skandinaviske regiments historie (1869) and Fingerpeg for farmere og andre (1888).