Carl Emil Johansson Carlson (originally Karl Emil) was born on June 18, 1871 in Målilla, Kalmar, Sweden, in the province Småland, to Carl Johannson and Eva Marie (?) Johannson. He was christened on July 2 in Målilla Kyrka (Målilla Church). Carl was married to Elsa “Elsie” Olivia Eugenia Larson in Sweden.
When Elsa got pregnant with their first child in 1902, Carl set out for America to search for opportunities for their new family. Elsie stayed behind in Målilla. In Sweden there was very little opportunity to own land, but in America’s Wild West homesteads (160 acres of land) were being given away to populate the region.
Carl Emil Birth Record
Carl Emil Birth Record
Carl Emil Birth Record
Målilla Kyrka
Carl Emil At Homestead
Carl Emil and Horse in North Dakota
Traveling with Ernest Carlson, Gust Carlson, and Carl Swenson, Carl arrived in North Dakota in the spring of 1902. They stayed around Taylor and Halliday, Dunn, North Dakota with Ernest’s uncle John Gustafson. Carl secured land here and built a nice farmhouse on the land. He also Carl worked as a hired man on a North Dakota farm for a while while he established himself there. His first son, Carl Erick, was born January 1, 1903 in Målilla. In 1904, Elsie left Carl Erick with relatives in Sweden and traveled to join Carl on the homestead. In North Dakota, she worked as a domestic servant.
Carl Svenson, Brother-in-Law of Carl Emil (Elsa Larson’s Brother), at Carlson homestead in North Dakota
Carl Emil Immigration Record
Carl Emil Immigration Record
Carl Emil Immigration Record
For years, Carl and Elsie sent money for Carl to come over, but the relatives never sent him. He eventually emigrated to North Dakota when he was in high school. On the homestead, Carl and Elsie had five more children: Oscar Hugo (b. September 12, 1906), Signe Mabel (b. July 12, 1909), Gustove Emil Alf (b. September 13, 1913), Folke Anselm (b. September 2, 1918), and Helge Eugene Einor (b. September 26, 1920). Life on the homestead was interesting…it was still very much the wild west. Carl’s son Oscar Hugo had a pair of moccasins given to him by a tribe passing through his father’s land.
Early Farming, North Dakota
Carl died of an infection on February 21, 1927 in Halliday. He was buried in the Halliday Cemetery in Halliday, Dunn County, North Dakota.
Marie, Elsa, O. Hugo, and Carl Emil Carlson
