On a little farm in southwestern Norway there lived a farmer, his wife and a
happy family of eleven children. My Great-uncle Torger Johnson was the eleventh
child, and he was an adventuresome little lad, indeed.
The farm was
situated twelve miles from Christianson, the nearest town, and as they had no
more convenient means of travel, they walked. Therefore, you can well imagine it
was a great occasion when they made the journey.
Torger spent his
childhood happily on the farm, but when he was about twenty years of age he
decided to go to that great land of promise, America. It was approximately the
year of 1850 that he bid a fond farewell to his family and set out walking to
Christianson and there boarding a large immigrant ship bound for New York.
Luckily uncle did not suffer from sea sickness, as many people do, but stood
on the deck and watched the shores of his native land disappear in the distance.
I wonder if he suffered any pangs of regret at leaving, or if he was full of
hope and expectation of the future?
After six long tiresome weeks at sea
they finally arrived at New York.
Ah! America at last! Upon landing,
Uncle Torger went to a boarding house, where he boarded during his stay at New
York. It was not long, however, before he left this city and started for the
prairies of Illinois. It is not known clearly how he made the journey, but we
believe he came by way of the Erie canal and Great Lakes to Chicago. Thence he
went to Elgin, where he stayed with his sister, Mrs. Nelson, who had come to
this country at an earlier date, being one of the very early immigrants to this
state.
At this date the settlers did not hive the Indians to attack
them, but they had other obstacles to contest with; for instance, they had no
railroads, or cars, and no good roads, and the farmers were forced to go the
long distance from their farms to Chicago with their grain in their wagons.
Uncle often made the journey. However, it was not long after uncle came here
that the first railroad was started from Chicago westward through the
wilderness, and Torger worked on this. While working here he became interested
in the territory around Leland, and when the railroad was completed he came here
and settled. He witnessed the construction of the first depot in Leland, and saw
the first train pass over the tracks. It was a great sight! The little steam
engine puffing along the shiny new rails, and men and women standing along the
sides cheering and waving their hats!
This seemed to tell of how the
West was prospering and bind the state closer together, bringing the people more
quickly from one place to another. Now the farmers had but to haul their grains
to the railroad station and send it from there to Chicago.
As land was
cheap in those days Torger Johnson purchased some land three and one-half miles
southeast of Leland and transformed it into a pleasant farm.
When the
Civil war broke out in 1861 Torger was living happily on his farm, and although
he was willing to enlist, he was not taken. Instead, he went to stay with his
sister, Mrs. Nelson, and her children, while her husband served in the war. It
was a trying four years, although the effects of the war was not felt so
severely in Illinois; but they passed quickly, and Mr. Nelson returned unharmed
to his family. Uncle was anxious to start farming again, so he left soon after
Mr. Nelson came home, and came back to the spot dearest to his heart.
As
he became more and more successful in America he began thinking of the dear ones
he had left behind in Norway, and longed to have them with him. Therefore he
sent tickets to his old home and bid them come to America. So in due time many
of his relatives arrived, and many of them settled near Leland. Uncle was a
bachelor, and before this time had been living alone, but now his sister Anna
insisted on staying with him and keeping house.
The last years of his
life were spent happily on his farm. He now had succeeded in doing all he had
planned. His sisters and brothers were all in America with him and getting a
good start at some occupation. He died at the age of seventy-four years, from
the results of an operation.
In the little Indian Creek cemetery there
is a little stone which marks the spot where the most honored of all our
ancestors lies, Greatuncle Torger Johnson, who came to America when only a lad
and made a success, helping those less fortunate to find a home in America.
Extracted 08 Nov 2018 by Norma Hass from Stories of Pioneer Days in La Salle County, Illinois, by Grammar Grade Pupils, published in 1932, page 41.
| Lee | DeKalb | Kane |
| Bureau |
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Kendall |
| Putnam | Grundy | |
| Marshall | Woodford | Livingston |
