Simon Johnson (26 September 1874 - 16 July 1970) was a Norwegian-born American newspaper editor and author. He frequently wrote about
Norwegian-American
Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...
immigrant frontier and pioneer life. He is most associated with his novel, ''From Fjord to Prairie or in the New Kingdom.''
Biography
Simen Johannessen was born in
Øyer
Øyer is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Tingberg. The two largest villages in the municipality are Granrudmoe ...
in
Oppland
Oppland is a former county in Norway which existed from 1781 until its dissolution on 1 January 2020. The old Oppland county bordered the counties of Trøndelag, Møre og Romsdal, Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Akershus, Oslo and Hedmark. The co ...
County, Norway. His family emigrated to the United States in 1881, when he was 7 years old. In 1882 they moved into a sod house located in
Traill County, North Dakota
Traill County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census listed the population at 7,997. Its county seat is Hillsboro, and its largest city is Mayville.
History
The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on ...
. The children had little schooling and Simon was largely self-taught. Johnson took the job as secretary to the temperance movement in North Dakota in 1901 and continued with it for 7 years. He bought his own property near
Minot, North Dakota
Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 20 ...
and began on his writing.
In 1907, his first novel ''Et geni'' was published. His next book, ''Lonea. Fortælling'' followed in 1909. ''Fire fortællinger'' was released in 1917. ''Fallitten paa Braastad'', written in 1922 tells of a farm built by hard work. The 1925 novel ''Frihetens hjem'' was a sequel with a focus on next-generation emigrants. Johnson' s third book, ''I et nyt rige'' was published in 1914. It was subsequently translated into English and two years later published by
Augsburg Publishing House
1517 Media, formerly Augsburg Fortress Press, is the official publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), also publishing for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) as ''Augsburg Fortress Canada''. Headquar ...
under the title ''From Fjord to Prairie or in the New Kingdom''.
Johnson often provided a description of poor immigrant farmers on the prairie. He also wrote about the moral struggle in avoid alcoholism. Johnson frequently provided an idealized image of Norwegian folk culture. At the same time, he was often skeptical of populist groups in the Midwest and he criticized American political efforts to achieve assimilation.
During 1910-11 Johnson went back to Norway to give lectures on Norwegian American culture. In 1912 he received membership in the
Norwegian Society for Literature. During 1920-24, he moved to
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...
where he was editor of the Norwegian language publication ''Nordmands''. In 1929, he moved to
Decorah, Iowa
Decorah is a city in and the county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,587 at the time of the 2020 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S. Route 52, and is the largest commun ...
to work as co-editor of ''
Decorah-Posten
''Decorah-Posten'' was a notable Norwegian language newspaper published in Decorah, Iowa. It was founded in 1874 by Brynild Anundsen (publisher), Brynild Anundsen, a native of Skien, Norway, and widely read by Scandinavian immigrants in several s ...
.'' He served there until his retirement in 1945.
Simon Johnson was appointed Knight of the First Class of the
Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
in 1954. He died during 1970 in
Winneshiek County, Iowa
Winneshiek County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,070. The county seat is Decorah.
History
A largely rural and agricultural county, Winneshiek County has a rich cultural history from ...
at 95 years of age.
''Simon Johnson''
(Social Security Death Index)
Selected works
*''Et geni'' (Eau Claire, Wi: 1907)
*''Lonea. Fortælling'' (Eau Claire, Wi: 1909)
*''I et nyt rige'' (Minneapolis, MN: 1914)
*''Fire fortællinger'' (Minneapolis, MN: 1917)
*''Fallitten paa Braastad'' (Minneapolis, MN: 1922)
*''Prærien min, i Jul i Vesterheimen'' (Minneapolis, MN: 1922)
*''Frihetens hjem'' (Minneapolis, MN: 1925)
*''Skjønlitterære sysler blandt norsk-amerikanere'' (Decorah, Iowa: 1939)
Note
Sources include information from Simon Johnson’s unpublished memoirs entitled ''Opplevd: Noen minner, funderinger, og skildringer - og livsoppsjør tilslutt''. The original manuscript is in the possession of the Norwegian-American Historical Association
Norwegian-American Historical Association is a non-profit, member-supported organization dedicated to locating, collecting, preserving and interpreting the Norwegian-American experience. It publishes scholarly books and maintains a historical arc ...
.
References
Related reading
*Johnson, Simon (2009) ''From Fjord to Prairie or in the New Kingdom'' ( Charles Orrin Solberg, translator. Kessinger Publishing)
Other sources
*Gulliksen, Øyvind T. (2011) "Transnationalism and the Norwegian-American experience" in ''Norwegian-American Essays'' (Norwegian-American Historical Association)
*Næss, Harald S. (1976) ''Norwegian Influence on the Upper Midwest'' (Universitetsforlaget)
* Øverland, Orm (1996) ''The Western Home. A Literary History of Norwegian America'' (Norwegian-American Historical Association)
*Rogers, Drew (1979) ''The Norwegian Immigrant Experience as Depicted in the Fiction of Simon Johnson'' (Telemark Regional College)
*Thaler, Peter (1998) ''Norwegian Minds-- American Dreams: Ethnic Activism Among Norwegian-American Intellectuals'' (University of Delaware Press)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Simon
1874 births
1970 deaths
People from Øyer
Norwegian emigrants to the United States
20th-century American novelists
People from Decorah, Iowa
People from Minot, North Dakota
People from Traill County, North Dakota
Novelists from Iowa
Writers from North Dakota
American temperance activists
American male novelists
Recipients of the St. Olav's Medal
20th-century American male writers