Matching family tree profiles for Christian Erikson Johnson Rukke
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About Christian Erikson Johnson Rukke
Christian was the son of Erik Bardsen from Lier and Margrethe Olsdatter Rukke. Eric and Margrethe worked together on Norderhov parish farm when Christian was born. He was the third illegitimate child of Erik, but was Margrethe's first child. Later, Erik ran away from his job, mother and child. Sometime after Eric ran away, Margrethe married a man whose name was Ludvig.
Why Christian chose the name Johnson is somewhat of a mystery. He was born Christian Erikson Rukke. The 1857 census for Newry Township lists his surname, as well as Randi's and their three oldest children as Erickson. The 1860 census, and all the subsequent census show his name as Johnson. It appears certain that after 1860, his name was Christian Erickson Johnson and all his children were Johnson's.
One possibility is that when they took the 1857 census, he discovered that in the American system, the children carry the same surname as the father, and you carry that name for life. In the Norwegian system the surname's change when they move, and the children's surnames are often different than the fathers. Upon realizing this, Christian may not have wanted to keep the Erickson name for his descendants since his father Eric had abandoned him, and since there was a Christian Rukke (his uncle), living close by, he chose another name. He also had two cousins living close by who both dropped the Rukke name and named all their children Christianson. That may have been another factor in why he did not name his children Christianson.
One theory is that Christian was very much into the political scene. Around this time Senator Andrew Johnson (later President Johnson) was very popular with the small farmers and immigrants because of his strong support of the homestead bill which granted free government land to any actual settler. Since Christian received his land (in a sense from Johnson), he may have chosen that as his "farm name". It is certain that his farm name was "Johnson", so it appears that his name came from the farm name rather than the farm name coming from him. After he receieved the farm he was known as Christian Erikson Johnson.
Christian and Randi were married in Norway on April 16, 1852. Soon after the marriage, they emigrated to America. They settled in the "Norwegian Rectangle" which lay between Janesville, Wisconsin and Rockford, Illinois on the Illinois side. For the next 4 years, they lived in Illinois where their first two children were born. In 1856 they relocated and settled in the Red Oak Grove area in Minnesota where they lived until 1900 when he sold his farm and moved to Ward County, North Dakota.
He was a Republican and was active in politics. He served as Sargent-of-Arms for some years in the Legislature. He was a charter member of the Red Oak Grove Lutheran Church.
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Christian Erikson Johnson Rukke's Timeline
| 1824 |
July 18, 1824
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Nes, Ringerike, Buskerud, Norway
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| 1853 |
February 1853
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IL, United States
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| 1855 |
April 1, 1855
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Illinois, United States
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| 1857 |
February 9, 1857
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Newry Township, Freeborn County, Minnesota, United States
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| 1859 |
May 14, 1859
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Newry Township, Freeborn County, Minnesota, United States
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| 1861 |
January 29, 1861
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Freeborn, MN, United States
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| 1863 |
June 5, 1863
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Freeborn County, Minnesota, United States
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| 1865 |
April 15, 1865
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| 1867 |
April 26, 1867
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Freeborn, MN, United States
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October 26, 1867
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Newry Township, Freeborn County, Minnesota, United States
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