I was the first born of the 12 children of Andrew Gustave Johnson and Charlotte Christina Anderson Johnson in Brevik, Skaraborg, Sweden, 23 January. 1870. I had a younger sister born in Sweden who died when she was 11 days old. When I was about 2-1/2 years of age my parents having been converted to the Mormon Church started for America and Utah.

When we arrived in Salt Lake City we found a small room, a bed, table, stove and 2 chairs. There was a door that led to another apartment. One night my father carried me into that other room and instructed me to stay there until he came for me. After a long time he came back and carried me back to our room to show me my new little brother.

After Charley was born we moved to Grantsville. We lived in one room so small that my bed was made on the table. Then father brought logs from a nearby canyon and built a three room log house. We were soon joined by Uncle Charley and Adolph, then grandpa, grandma, Aunt Louisa, Aunt Lottie, Uncle Victor and Uncle Alfred: 12 in all in that 3 room house.

One day my father carried me over a big ditch to one of the neighbors. He told me to stay until he came for me. But he was gone 80 long that I crawled (crawled because I had a scolded foot that I could not step on) back home and sat on the front porch. The door was open and finally a lady came out and said, "Come in, I have something to show you, you know, Chubb, the Indian, found this in the greasewood and brought it to me. I thought you would like it. Now I want a big kiss and a hug for lt." Charley was ready with that kiss and hug but not me. It was too fishy. I knew better. That was my sister Emma.

Not long after that, grandpa and grandma found a house and moved out. Then I remember father bought a cow and mother cried as she put her arms about the cow's neck. Why should she cry?

The Indians were frequent visitors begging for "biscuit". Some of the Indians did chores for the Whites. One day I was about 5-1/2 years, Mother left the house and told me that if the Indians came I was to lock the door and not let them in. Well, I locked the door but the window was not locked. The Indians opened the window and showed me a big knife. They wanted "biscuit." I was frightened and got out the bread and pressing it against my body tried to cut a piece off. The knife slipped and cut across my eyebrow. As the blood streamed down my face the Indians ran away.

In Sept. 1842, my father had saved enough money to pay mu tuition to a private school. I did well, I read the complete primer, but when the teacher sent me out to find a stick to punish a child, I just went home. That finished my schooling.

One fall when Charley and I were six and eight years we worked picking up potatoes for one bushel out of every seven we picked up. We were very happy to be making a contribution.

About 1878, Father bought part of a homestead with a shack on it, located on Provo Bench. We cleared some of the ground while we lived one winter in Little Andrew's house in Pleasant Grove. The land was planted to wheat and corn. It was doing very well when the grasshoppers came. The whole family joined in the drive to a trench where the intruders were covered with straw and burned.

The spring of 1879, we moved to the shack on the farm. Mother filled the cracks between the rough boards with mud and newspaper to keep out the snakes and other creeping things. We spent much of our time cutting sage brush to burn in the cook stove. It also 6erved to clear the land.

Mother would sometimes take we children with her to gather the wool that had been torn from the sheep, passing over the country. This wool was washed, carded and spun to make clothes for the family. When we went to school the kids called us "Homespun."

When Charley and I were about 7 & 9 years, we hauled water for house use. Charley would get on top of the mule's back and straighten the harness as I handed it up to him. We had 2 - forty gallon barrels on the wagon to be filled at a spring west of Pleasant Grove. We took buckets to scoop up the water and by the time we were finished we were almost icicles. Then as we started home we would put our mittens on the endgate rod, the mittens would freeze to the rod, we would put our hands in the mittens and run behind the wagon. When we reached home mother would take off our wet clothes and put us to bed. The mules always knew the way home.

One spring Mother was ill, starved I think. She called us to her, "Children there is no bread, we will have to pray for some." We had been taught to pray when in trouble. I found some bran in the cellar. Mother made hot cakes with water. Then for supper we had mush. The next day we sat on a log in front of the house and waited for our prayers to be answered. Many covered wagons passed. We thought each one might be the one. In the afternoon a big wagon did turn in and asked, "Where is Sister Johnson." "She's sick" we shouted in chorus. "Well I've been owing Brother Johnson for sometime, but couldn't get the money to repay him. Could you use some flour?" We jumped up and down saying, "Yesl Yesl" He brought out the biggest sack of flour I had ever seen and set it inside of the door and left.

Mother was out of bed and crying softly. She made some gruel for us and then some bread. That was the best bread I have ever eaten I have realized since then that mother probably went hungry many times In order to give that food to her children,

When we first moved to the "Bench" father got some second hand adobes, now we used these to line the shack, so it was much warmer that winter. By now we had 2 cows, a pig and some chickens.

In the spring, father and Charley, between planting and working on the canal, would go to the canyon to get logs. One day, while logging, something frightened a young horse, he broke away and ran down the canyon, dragging the log which bumped and rolled In all directions. He was so frightened that he finally fell exhausted. His "wind was broken" and he was not much good after that.

All their spare time was spent getting logs out and finally there was enough to bulld two bedrooms and a kitchen This new house was under construction a long time, but by the time Mary was born, It was completed.

When I was 13, the bishop decided it was time to organize the Young Women's M.I.A Martha Wooley was chosen president, Harriet Cullimore as first counselor and I was second counselor with Annie Mayhew, secretary. We held one meeting and then the president had to go underground as the polygamous families were being raided. That left three young girls to run the M.I.A. and the amusements for the ward.

Then it was decided that I should talk to the Bishop about organizing the young men as they always gathered outside the school house where we held our meetings. On my way I met George Shaw. When I told him what I was seeing the bishop about, he said if the Bishop was willing, he would take the boys in his house for their meetings. So it was arranged. By the next year another room had been added to the schoolhouse and both organizations met at the schoolhouse. That was the beginning of the M.I.A. for Pleasant Grove Second Ward.

We were in charge of all the amusements, entertainments and plays. The music for dances consisted of violin and banjo. The floor was full of knots, but we knew where the worst ones were and would hop over them without any difficulty. We staged several money making projects for the ward and had a lot of fun.

Uncle Alf had contracted tuberculosis and had been ill for three years. I nursed him the last three months of his illness. Uncle Adolph had also died from "lung fever" a year previous.

Sometime after that I began to cough and by fall I too, seemed to have tuberculosis. I was sixteen years of age and should have been full of life and energy but was tired and languid and coughed. I read a pamphlet on the disease and decided to cure myself. I slept outdoors In summer, indoors with windows open in the winter. I watched my diet. It took about a year to stop coughing. Then I gained a little in weight.

I did a lot of walking, I sometimes walked to Pleasant Grove carrying our butter and eggs to get cash for the much needed things we could not produce. I have walked to Chipmans in American Fork to shop. Also once I walked to Provo for Conference. However I was fortunate in getting a ride back home.

Then father bought a horse for $5.OO. He was very scabby but father put axle grease on his sores and cleaned him up. Then with a light wagon I need not make those long trips on foot.

Someone gave father some strawberry plants I begged father to give me a small plot of ground to grow them in. I planted six rows. Their production was a happy surprise. So we enlarged our berry patch. From just such small beginnings, Provo Bench has become noted.

When I was seventeen, Charlie and I went with our parents to Logan to do some temple work. On our trip, as we were entering Kaysville, we had to go up a steep sandy hill. The horse was having a hard time to keep going so we all got out to lighten the load. A young man drove up with a team and light wagon. He took us to the top of the hill. When we thanked him for the ride, he invited us to stay that night with him and his mother. We gladly accepted.

We had supper, talked a while and then they offered to make bed on the floor for us, however, we realized that would be very Inconvenient for them having only two rooms. We spent the night very comfortably in the hay barn, after breakfast the next morning we were on our way.

I didn't have a conversation with Edward Ogden but I was impressed by his thoughtfulness and kindness. It was the latter part of November and it was cold. Charlie and I were sealed to our parents and we did some baptisms. Then we had nothing to do, so it was thought wise for us to go home. We would drive home and they would come later on the train.

We stayed over night in Ogden and drove on to Sandy the next day. The nearer we got to the point of the mountain the harder the wind blew. It had been snowing but had not packed and we were ln an open rig drawn by one horse. We bundled up with all the blankets we had but we couldn't keep warm. Then we tried walking thinking the exercise would help to warm us. But the wind and stinging snow was so cold we nearly froze in our tracks. No one lived within miles of there so there was only one thing to do, endure it and keep going. When we got home we found the children playing outside without coats and all had colds, later on. The next day we took the lady our parents had hired to take care of the children left at home, to her home.

After the folks got home, Edward wrote father asking if he might visit us. Father wrote back inviting him to come. After several visits, he asked me to marry him. He was such a jolly fellow, so quick and active that twenty years between our ages, had no particular significance. I had had responsibility and was mature for seventeen.

We were married 11 April 1888 in Logan Temple. We spent three days in the temple and on our way home, we stopped off in Ogden and spent the night with Clara and Tom Browning. Clara was Edward's niece and Tom was Ogden's chief of police. That was our honeymoon.

Mother Ogden was eighty years old when we were married and quite feeble. I had to bathe and dress her. She was used to handling the finances and it was very difficult for her to relinquish this responsibility to me when it was my right.

Kaysville was a Mormon Community and Edward was in everything. His team and wagon as well as himself were every ready to serve. He was called to guard Pres. John Taylor, during the polygamist raid, when his life was in danger. The Black Hawk War was on. While he was rejected for health reasons they took his fine bay riding horse, for no pay.

Edward was always the life of the party. He was full of stories, jokes and songs. He loved to dance: jig and tap dance. He also played the according and the bones.

Our first child was born 7 Feb 1889. We were so happy. It was the first grandchild on both sides of the family. There was so much to do!; our breakfast, then grandma to dress and prepare breakfast for, my baby's bath, my house to clean and then it was time to get dinner. The men would be in on time and must not be kept waiting for their dinner. Then there was washing and ironing my baby's long dresses, bread to bake and cakes, sewing and churning butter. But I was happy! Time where did it go.

When Sadie was a little over a year old, I was pregnant about six months. The horses got out of the corral so I ran to get them in. I would get nearly to them and they would break and run. Sadie came toddling after me. I picked her up and carried her back to the house. That night I lost twin babies, a girl and a boy, and nearly died myself.

A month later as I came in from milking, grandma said she was hungry and would like some tea. I hurried to prepare lt for her but as she lifted the cup, her arm dropped and she fell and was in a come for two hours then passed away.

We were doing very well in our little house. Sadie, Louise, Ella and Edward were born in Kaysville.

One evening papa went out to get a horse from the field. It got dark but he had not returned. About 10:30 it was pitch dark, he came. His head and shoulders were muddy. I helped him to bed and then went out to find Lady, but it was too dark. In the morning an angry neighbor brought her in, complaining that she had pulled hay from the side of her stack. He wanted a bushel of wheat to pay for it. He got the wheat. I discovered that the bridge had been broken, Lady's leg was scratched and Papa's hat was pressed in the mud bank.

He spent most of that winter in bed. When spring came on he felt better but could not work. He trembled and was bewildered. We went from doctor to doctor, but no relief. In those days there were no X rays. Years later I took him to Dr. Pyott. He examined him and told me that the axis was pressing on the brain and it was a wonder he had not gone stark mad. What a pity! It was too late for correction.

The cold in the fall, sent him to bed year after year. As spring came he would get up and try to help. Finally the farm had to be sold or given away so that the debts could be paid. We moved to Provo Bench where my folks lived. Father gave us two acres and we bought four more. There was a two room brick house that we built on to. Papa could help me in the summer, so we planted an orchard, berries and a garden.

Our berry patch grew to a good size and our son Edward was growing up. Early in the morning we would get up and pick berries, then papa and Edward would put them in the spring wagon and h-ul them to wherever they could market them, Salt Lake City, Provo or the neighboring towns.

One day when Papa returned from selling berries he brought home a large davenport and two chairs to be renovated and recovered. I had had no experience in such work and I sat down and cried. However after my cry I got a book of instructions and decided to try. It turned out better than I had anticipated and Papa proudly returned them. That was the beginning of a small business. We also renovated and made new mattresses, cleaned feather beds and pillows.

Life was pretty hard. My babies were small and coming every two years. There were tears at night which made me less able to carry on the next day. Then I was brought to my senses by a dream, which made me decide to face my trials and burdens and do my best to make my life better for all of us.

We used the front room for a small store, where we sold ice cream, candies and small commodities. This brought in a few pennies.

Before Ina was born, my parents left for a mission to Sweden. Tom and Beada stayed at the home to take care of things. One night Beada became deathly sick from a mis-carriage. We called the doctors Aird and Taylor, who pulled her through.

Emma, too, had many disappointments. She had lost four babies and when Amy was born, she was having convulsions. She vomited after feeding. I decided to give her my breast. (Etta at that time was about three months old) Amy slept for several hours. I continued to nurse both babies until Amy got a good start and Emma got to feeling better. Then Otto was called on a mission to Sweden. The next winter was very difficult. Papa was sick all winter. I knew I must do something to add to our income. Even if there had been enough work in upholstery, it was too hard for me and Papa was too shaky to help. It was at this time that I talked to Dr. Steel. She had cared for me when my last babies were born. She suggested that I take the course which was to be offered at the B.Y.U. The tuition might be paid for by the Relief Society. But the Relief Society would not approve, fearing my educational background was not sufficient to make a success of it. Now I was determined and borrowed the money ($200.00) for my tuition.

That fall I entered Dr. Cluff's School of obstetrics and Nursing. I lived at Dr. Cluff's home and sometimes went out with her on cases. I was given every consideration and experience in practical work.

Sadie was fourteen years old. She took charge of the family during the week. I could go home week ends and catch up on the laundry and make preparations for the family for the week to come. Papa was unhappy about my being away and many times I felt like giving up, but still I knew I had to go on. A retired German doctor who taught one of the classes gave me special attention and told me a great deal about his practice.

It was very difficult to get started in a practice, after my graduation, especially among people who had known me for years and doubted my educational qualifications. But I did get started and had a good practice for about five years when my health began to fail. I went to the hospital in Salt Lake for an operation but passed out on the operating table. The doctors advised that I rest and return in about a month.

I had six cases scheduled for the next six weeks, so I was late getting back for the operation. Those were terrible weeks. I fainted so often that I was afraid to ride in the seat of the buggy. I tied the lines around the whip and got down in the bottom of the buggy and let "Fan" take me home. When I got home someone was always ready to help me into the house and unhitch "Fan."

Dr. Middleton was quite provoked at me for putting off surgery so long. He insisted that I have a lawyer make my will to make sure that my family would have a home that no one could touch. I did as I was told. The next morning I was on the operating table. I lost so much blood, I was unconscious for six weeks. When Dr. Middleton called on me one morning I could not believe I had been there six weeks.

I knew I would get well faster at home, so I persuaded the doctors to let me go. They put me on the train for Pleasant Grove, where my brothers waited with a bed in a spring wagon. It took me a year to get well, but then I was fine.

During this time I had to carry on my work whenever possible. Sometlmes I sat in a chair, drawn up to the bed in order to deliver a baby. I drove my horse and buggy all over Provo Bench and the neighboring towns and became acquainted with many fine people, some of whom became life long friends.

Even though I had a good practice and was kept busy, I did not make much money. The people were all struggling to make an existence off their small farms, so there was very little cash. Even though my fee was only $10.00. I might have to collect it a dollar at a time or take it out in produce of some kind. I remember once I had to take molasses on an account. Another time I took cedar posts. Thus it was, we tried to help each other by exchanging our services.

I learned to do everything around the house. I hung wall paper, painted the house inside and outside, sewed all the girls clothes, made quilts, canned hundreds of quarts of fruit and always kept a nice vegetable garden and flower beds.

One time when I returned from the hospital I found to my dismay that some one had taken all the bottled fruit from our cellar. Another time nearly all of our coal was hauled away while I was in the hospital.

I was called upon to help relatives and friends in any and all sicknesses. My brother's wives and my sister were having families and I delivered all their babies as a matter of course.

Sadie had a good deal of trouble when her babies were born, so I nursed her through some serious illnesses. Papa was sick much of the time and I was worried about Ora. I was trying to find a doctor who could do something for her.

Life had many responsibilities and problems. Yet we had some good times too. We used to go up the canyon on picnics or down to the Lake for a swimming party. We always did something very special on the fourth of July after the program. We had frequent family gatherings and sleighing parties in the winter.

When the children finished high school, we had to make plans for college. Louise had been with my sister Mary in Logon where she had had three years of college. June and Ella were ready for college. Ina and Etta were in high school. Edward had gone to the mines to work when he was seventeen. He had had one year at the B.Y.U. doing Janitor work to help pay expenses. Now he felt his help was badly needed so he worked in Bingham or Eureka and sent all the money home that he possibly could.

We sold our home (1916) and moved to Provo, where the family could be together and the girls could finish school. I got a few patients in Provo and walked from one patient to another. We were very happy in Provo. Louise met Ray Knight and upon graduation they were married and went to Heber where both taught in high school.

We took in roomers and boarders. June graduated from normal and went to Mlnersville to teach. There she met and married Lewis Griffiths. Papa was anxious to spend his remaining years doing temple work. Ina and Etta were out of high school and were eager to get jobs, so we decided to sell the home and move to Salt Lake. We located a large house on North Temple just across from the Temple gate. It was dirty and run down. They would not give me a lease but said I need not worry. I cleaned it up, got new furnishings and had no trouble keeping it filled with roomers. Mother had become ill and had no one at home to care for her so I went down and brought her up to live with us. Papa attended the temple regularly.

Then a bomb shell broke over our heads. We were told we would have to move. I had just finished paying for the furnishings and thought now I could have some money for myself. Pleading was of no avail so we bought a two story house near the corner of Eleventh East and Third South. I rented 2 rooms up stairs to University students. Ella helped me keep things going as I still got a few calls from patients.

In April 1919 Ella and Henry were married. Mother passed away in May and Edward and Rose were married in June.

As there is not space in this book for the interesting details of the rest of Louisa's life, I will attempt to summarize lt. She has had a very difficult up hill pull to get where she is. Now, however, her children are grown, married and independent. Did I say independent - not quite. They were a very close knit family very dependent on and helpful to each other. Louisa, because of her training, was in constant demand by her family. Had she been self centered she could have established herself in a community and had a steady and rewarding practice. But now If one of her children needed her she was there whether it was Provo, California, Salt Lake City, Lehi or where ever they were. 1926 she thought she could take care of my family while I studied at the University of Wisconsin. However, as she climbed the hill between my house and Ella's she began to realize that the undertaking was too much. Dr. Middleton ordered her to the hospital for a goitre surgery.

About the next thing we heard she was in California. She has had several serious accidents and narrow escapes, been to the hospital many times, but always with determination she was back in the going. But in spite of her devotion to what she thought was her duty and calling, she had the capacity for enjoyment. Yellowstone was a thrill! The Mormon Trail! New York! the Pageant at Hill Cumorah! Three weeks spent with us in Honolulu at age 85, gave adequate evidence of her capacity for love of people, places and things She loved to shop. She bought enough of that lovely brocade for a dress which she sewed herself when she got home.

Her last trip to California was taken in June 1959. She was very ill and her family rushed to her bed side. But she was determined to go home to Satie's in Provo. In October she was able to go. She took ill on Nov. 3 and died the next day. Sadie, Marx and Ina were with her. An amazing woman!