By Walt Johnson

This is a story of Helmer Johnson and Alfrida (Susag) Johnson as I remember it, heard it,  or read about how everything was or is.  Helmer was born to Jakobine Antonsdatter and Johan Martinussen on June 28, 1886 at Eidfjord, Vesteralen, Norway.   Helmer was two years old, his sister Oline was three, and his brother Johnie was not yet born in 1888 when his father died.  Johan Martinussen (Helmer's father) was raised by his stepfather, Sivert Knudsen, and mother, Martha Pederson, at Dungen, Vesteralen.  They had three other children, one of whom was Sofie Sivertsen (aka Aunt Sophie).  She married Ole Bentsen at Stokmanes in 1904.  Ole Bentsen emigrated to Lake Park, Minn, in 1905.  Sofie followed in 1906, after which they went to Redstone, Montana.  

Jakobine (Helmer's mother) married Johan Johnson, and they had five children: Almar, Thorvald, Margit, Elfrida, and Jenny. They and their half-sister (Oline) stayed in Norway. 

Helmer grew up on the home farm at Eidfjord.  The family went by the name of Johnson.  He told many stories of sailing and rowing far to sea for fish.  One was that he dipped his hands in the ocean to warm them.  He had to walk about five kilometers (3 miles) to church in Eidfjord.  He must have been a lot of help to his stepfather, whom he always called Papa.  He went to Sulitjelma, near the Swedish border, to work as a young man in a gold mine.  He said he was good at telling gold ore from plain rock, so he was put in charge of a line doing just that.   (See the note below, which shows a document from the Sulitjelma Mines.  It was not specifically a 'gold mine'.  "In its approximately 100 years of operation, six million tons of metal and sulfur were extracted. Most of this was sulfur. The remainder was 0.47 million tons of copper, 215 tons of zinc, 282 tons of silver, and 3.7 tons of gold."  Helmer was a "hand-picking man" and may have been good at finding the gold, thus calling it a 'gold mine.')

Helmer left Sulitjelma Mines and came to America in September 1907.  He said he sure played a lot of accordion music for the passengers on the ship.  He came to Lake Park, Minn, in 1907.  If his Aunt Sofie weren't there, then her father-in-law would have been there.  Helmer got a job on the railroad.   At that time, he did have a first cousin nearby.  Charles Gulstad and his wife lived near Lake Franklin.  Mrs. Gulstad was Helmer's first cousin, according to Nina Trostad.

It is not known when Helmer went to North Dakota for the wheat harvest or to Saskatchewan to file on a homestead. Helmer was back in Jessie, North Dakota, in 1909. Postcards mailed to him from Invermay, Saskatchewan, postmarked 1909, exist. 

 Sigurd Susag (my uncle) once told me that those grain wagons sure were rough riding on frozen ground in the fall. I asked when and where that was. He said he had hauled grain to town for Helmer Johnson, that Helmer farmed southwest of Binford, and that the year was 1911.

Helmer Johnson Comes to the America….and Marries 5 Years Later

Written by Kristin Peterson

Aunt Sofie Bentsen played an important role in how and when Helmer Johnson came to America.  Aunt Sofie is the half-sister to Helmer’s father, Johan Andreas Martinsen (Martinussen).   Helmer’s father, Johan Andreas Martinsen, died at the Gravdal Hospital in Nordland, Norway in 1889 from peritonitis when Helmer was 3 years old (born June 28, 1886) and Helmer’s brother, Johan Martin Johansen (Johnie Johnson) was a few months old (born January 8, 1889).  Helmer & Johnie’s sister, Oline, was 4 years old (born June 21, 1885).   Johnie and Oline's life stories.

Excerpt from website Genealogy Jottings (by Teri Hjelmstad, Aunt Sofie’s great-great-granddaughter and my third cousin)

Johan Martinsen (Martha’s son and Sivert’s stepson, 1861- ca. 1889) eventually became a fisherman and married Jakobina Bergite Antonsdatter in 1884. His stepfather Sivert served as his best man. Johan and Jakobina had a daughter, Olina, and two sons, Helmer and Johan. The boys emigrated to America and married sisters, Alfreda and Marie Susag, in North Dakota. Helmer remained in that state where he farmed and raised a large family. Young Johan, who became known as Johnnie Johnsen, moved on to Bremerton, Washington. He, too, had a large family. Tragically, he died in 1947 (age 58) while fishing in the Gulf of Alaska when he was washed overboard during a storm.

1904 – Aunt Sofie’s husband Ole Bentsen (age 24) sailed to America

1905 – In April 2005 Aunt Sofie (age 27) and her young son, Riborg, joined Ole in Lake Park, Minnesota. 

1905 – In September 2005 Ole Bentsen’s parents (Lorenz Nikolai (Nick) Bentsen and Karen Marie (Johansdatter) Bentsen) (51 and 54 years old) joined their son and daughter-in-law in Lake Park, Minnesota.

1907 – Aunt Sofie and Ole Bentsen traveled together by train to Culbertson, Montana on July 30, Sofie’s 29th birthday.  Settling on a quarter section of land in a Scandinavian community near Medicine Lake, they built a two-room sod house that was lined with wood boards.

1907 – Helmer Johnson (21 years) journeyed from Norway to Lake Park, Minnesota (possibly sponsored by his Aunt Sofie).  Helmer did not meet up with Aunt Sofie as she had already left for Montana earlier that year.  Helmer possibly stayed with Aunt Sofie’s in-laws as they were still in Lake Park, MN.  Nick Bentsen could have helped Helmer get the job on the railroad where Ole (Sofie’s husband) had worked and Nick was possibly still working at.  (Most of this paragraph was created by Walt Johnson from memories of stories his Dad, Helmer, told him).

1908 - In 1908 Nick and Karen Bentsen again followed their son’s family, this time to a Scandinavian community in Montana. The town of Homestead was a Great Northern Railroad stop on the Big Muddy River south of Medicine Lake. The elder Bentsens moved in with Ole and his family in their 2-room sod house. 

Homestead, Montana is about 30 miles from Plentywood, Montana where Ole and Sofie Bentsen retired to in the early 1950s.

1909 – Walt Johnson, Helmer’s son, wrote that Helmer went to Saskatchewan to file on a homestead and that he was back in North Dakota in 1909 as Helmer received postcards from Invermay, Saskatchewan from a girl we presume he met there. 

1910 - Helmer quit his job at the railroad and went to North Dakota to work and help with the wheat harvesting.  This proved very profitable as Helmer was soon renting a farm of his own.  He had procured four horses, some machinery and he planted wheat.

Helmer had a first cousin, Charles Gulstad.  Charles & his wife lived next door to the David Susag family.  The Gulstads along with Helmer and Johnie visited often with the Susags at their Franklin Place near Lake Franklin, MN.  Two sisters, Alfrida and Marie Susag were the daughters of David and Julianna Susag.

1911 - Sigard Susag (age 20), Alfrida and Marie’s older brother, went to North Dakota to haul grain for the then 25 year old Helmer Johnson.  Johnie Johnson (Helmer’s brother) also lived and worked with Helmer off and on in North Dakota.

1912 - Alfrida’s mother, Julianna, suggested that Alfrida should go help those bachelors in North Dakota and soon Alfrida was cooking for the group.  A short time after that, Alfrida and Helmer were married in Cooperstown, North Dakota.  The date was August 1st, 1912.   Alfrida was 18 years old.

1914 - When Helmer and Alfrida’s second child, Nina, was born in 1914, 18 year old, Marie Susag went to help her sister.  Johnie (Helmer’s brother) was also living in North Dakota at the time.

1916 - Marie had known of Johnie for many years and on December 9, 1916, Johnie & Marie were married in Cooperstown, North Dakota.

The following is a letter from Alfrida to her son Lester.  Larry Shaw had a copy of the letter.   There was no date on the letter.

Dear Lester and Family

Received your letter this morning and were glad to hear everybody is fine.  We are quite well here and so are the rest of the family.  I will try to answer all of your questions as best I can tho I don’t have any birth certificate of myself the best I can do about that is that I was born near Abercrombie in Richland Co. N. Dak on January 26, 1894.  Now I will put down from Pa’s baptism certificate.

Helmer Marcelius Johnson his parents (Johan Andrea(s?) Oshaug and wife Jacobine) born at Hadsel in Vesterdalen, Norway on June 28-1886.  And from his naturalization papers

“No. on Paper is 392715, Petition, Volume 2, Page 100”

“Stub(?), Volume 13045 Page 15” This must be the Alien Registration now naturalization.  Was held at regular term of District Court of Griggs Co. at Cooperstown, N. Dak. On the 8th of November, 1915, Previous to his naturalization he was a subject of Norway.  This paper was signed by Gunder Fregaard, Clerk of Dist. Court.

         I have copied from the paper the important parts if you want more I will send the papers out by registered mail

         Now for all the birthdays.  They are all in North Dakota.

Johnnie D. born March 20-1913 in Bryon Township, Griggs Co.

Nina E. Johnson Trostad August 27-1914 in Bryon Township, Griggs Co.

Arnold L. Johnson March17-1916 in Kingsley Township, Griggs County

Lester E. Johnson October 17- 1918 in Kingsley Township Griggs Co.

Walter E. Johnson October 1- 1920 in Bryon Township Griggs Co.

Hillard A, Johnson August 31-1922 in Bryon Township Griggs Co.

Eleanor  D Johnson Ramsey June 26-1924 Clearfield Township Griggs Co.

Levi G. Johnson July 13-1926 in Clearfield Township Griggs Co.

Helen I Johnson Shaw June 26-1928 Clearfield Township Griggs Co.

Norris E. Johnson born May 17-1930 Clearfield TownsHip Griggs Co.

         Died May 27th 1930 at Binford, N. D. 10 days old.

Mencer H. Johnson April 23-1932 Clearfield Township Griggs Co.

         I forgot to put down Pa’s port of Entry, he landed at Quebec Canada and came by train from there and entered the U. S. at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and on from there to Lake Park, Minnesota.  He arrived in Lake Park on or about May 7th 1907.  That is as close as I can remember now.

         I hope this is the information you will need, if not I will try again to help you with it.

                                                                     Love

                                                                     Mom and Pa

Helmer Johnson Family

Helmer Johnson was born in Lofoten, Norway on June 28, 1886.  He came to Minnesota in 1907 and to Griggs County in 1908.  He worked on farms in Pilot Mound Township for a time and then started farming near Binford in 1911.  He married Alfrida Susag of Vergas, Minnesota at Cooperstown in 1912.  They lived in Bryan Township several years and then moved to the A. Evers farm in Clearfield Township where they lived 23 years.  They were the parents of seven boys and three girls.

By Mrs. Roy Trostad

Source: Griggs County History 1879 - 1976 page 260

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