Born in Iceland on 22 September 1862, he came to Canada in 1888. After spending four years in Minnesota, he settled in Winnipeg where he worked as a building contractor, responsible for the construction of apartment blocks and homes around the city. In the late 1920s, he resided in the eastern United States, returning to Winnipeg in July 1929. He and wife Astdyr S. Eggertson (1868-?) had eight children: John Eggert Johnson (1896-?), Astrose “Rose” Johnson (1899-?), Josephine Johnson (1900-?), Lillian “Lily” Johnson (1905-?), Alfred K. Johnson (1907-?), Alexander Johnson (1908-?), Franklin Edvald Johnson (1908-?), and Laurence Johnson (1913-?). He was a member of the Masons (Prince Rupert Lodge No. 1), Canadian Order of Foresters, and First Lutheran Church. He died at Winnipeg on 17 February 1930 and was buried in the Brookside Cemetery.
Some of his construction works in Manitoba included:
Building
Location
Year
Status
471 William Avenue, Winnipeg
1910
351 Victor Street, Winnipeg
1911
693 Maryland Street, Winnipeg
1912
Montrose Apartments (completion)
400 Toronto Street, Winnipeg
1922
Birth registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1921 Canada census, Ancestry.
Death registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituary, Manitoba Free Press, 19 February 1930, page 17.
“Early Icelandic builders in Winnipeg” by S. Aleck Thorarinson, Logberg Heimskringla, 30 March 1967, page 7.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 26 March 2023
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