Grandpa Gus Burton immigrated from Sweden in 1890, when he was 22 years old. He was the eldest of seven children born to Jonas Peter Svensson and Carolina Johannesdotter. At that time, the family was living in a small village in Sweden called Hvetlanda. According to the patronymic naming convention used in Sweden at that time, Gus’ full name was Gustav Fredrik Jonsson.
Gus departed Hvetlanda, Jönköping, Sweden on a ship bound for Gothenberg, Sweden on 22 March 1890. He traveled alone. When he arrived in Gothenberg, he boarded the Ariosto, a new ship built that year by Wilson Lines. The Ariosto was a commuter ship that ran between Gothenberg and Hull, England.
After arriving in Hull, Gus would have taken a train from Hull to the port of Liverpool where he would have boarded a steamship bound for America. Gus would have likely traveled in the steerage section along with hundreds of other immigrants from all over Europe. This was a trip of a lifetime that would take him to his new future in America!
There is a family story that tells when Gus arrived in Minnesota, he learned there were literally dozens of Gus Jo(h)nsons in Minneapolis and surrounding areas. “Too many Johnsons!” Said Gus. “Everyone here is named Johnson!”
So according to the family story, he changed his surname to Burton and became Gustaf F. Burton. This wasn’t an uncommon event. Many immigrants changed their names in an effort to assimilate. But it’s unclear how he chose Burton as his new last name, instead of say, Adams or Brown.
This name change made the genealogy trail difficult to follow, initially. But, we know that by 1892 he was employed as a laborer for Western Lumber Co. in Minneapolis. He appears in the 1895 Minnesota state census living at 4119 Colfax Ave., Minneapolis, MN, with six other men, likely in a boarding house, working for C.A. Smith Lumber Co. He remained at this location from 1895-1900, according to the Minneapolis City Directories.
The Minneapolis Journal, a newspaper of that time, tells us Gus applied for a marriage license and married 23-year-old Miss Emma Louise Johnson on 22 June 1901. We don’t know how the newlyweds met, as Emma was from the town of Scandia, in Chisago County, located north of the Twin Cities. Gus was ten years older than his bride and lived in Minnetonka Township, which was west of the Twin Cities.
By 1910, Gus and Emma were living at Deephaven Junction, so named for the nearest streetcar line that traveled from Hopkins to Deephaven. They owned their own home, located near Excelsior Boulevard. The 1910 census classified this property as a farm. Gus cultivated raspberries on his seven acres, as did many of the Hopkins area farmers. (Gus’ grandson Burt Johnson still grows raspberries from cuttings received from Grandpa Gus.) By 1910, Gus and Emma had three children: Laura, age 7; Earl (my paternal grandfather) age 5; and Florence, age 1.
By 1910, Gus worked as a lumber manager for Justus Lumber in Hopkins. He was a smart man who reputedly could do math in his head. He knew the lumber business, as that had been his profession all of his adult life. The owner of Justus Lumber was Andrew Justus. Andrew and Gus were neighbors who lived two doors apart according to census records. Gus continued to work for Justus Lumber for the next 36 years.
Sadly, in November, 1925 wife Emma passed away from cancer. She was just 48 years old. Gus and Emma had been married almost 25 years and it appears from newspaper advertisements that widower Gus tried to sell his home and farm within months of his wife’s passing. The first of many FOR SALE ads appeared in the 14 February 1926 Minneapolis Journal:
“FOR SALE – Good berry farm, 7-1/2 acres. Located one mile west of Hopkins, adjoins Minnetonka Line and Boulevard. Good buildings, fruit trees and berries. Gust Burton, Hopkins, Minnesota. Owner.”
Newspapers.com – Star Tribune – 14 Feb 1926 – Page 28
It’s unknown what the asking price was, but comparable properties of the day sold for $12,000 – $15,000. Gus continued to advertise the property for many years, until eventually it was sold and he went to live with his youngest daughter Florence and her family in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, in the early 1940’s.
Unfortunately, Gus met with an untimely end. After decades of employment at Justus Lumber, on 31 January 1946, Gus fell from a railcar load of lumber while loading/unloading lumber and he broke his back. He was hospitalized at Swedish Hospital, but he developed pneumonia and passed away within a week on 7 February 1946.
Astonishingly, he was 78 years old!
Why was Gus working a young man’s job at his age? The Social Security Administration was available in those days to provide retirement benefits for the elderly, but perhaps Gus needed the income. He also probably had strong social ties with his employer and co-workers. And, in addition to being a dependable employee and a hard worker, he maybe just really liked his job. But it seems to me he deserved a better ending than the one he was dealt.
Gus is in the center of the photo wearing a dark hat and holding grandson Burt Johnson. The middle row, left to right: unknown man, Mae Burton, Earl Burton, Florence Burton Johnson, Gus Burton, Burton (Burt) Johnson, Laura Burton, L. Earl Devore, unknown woman. Front row, left to right: Ronald (Ron) Burton, Robert (Bob) Burton, Richard (Dick) Burton, other children unknown. (Photo submitted by Burt Johnson.)
RUNS IN THE FAMILY 