John August Carlson was born June 28, 1859 in Lannaskede, Sweden the son of Carl Gustof Johanson and Anna Marie Jonnasson. During the 1880s John joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and opted to move to the Utah Territory, United States to be among fellow church members. While sailing to the United States he met his future wife Anna Britta Lundstrom, also Swedish and immigrating to the Utah Territory.
After arriving in the Utah Territory, John briefly settled in Smithfield, Utah and opened a blacksmithing shop. A year later John procured land in nearby Logan, Utah and relocated to pursue farming. He also continued to work as a blacksmith. After moving he met Anna B. Lundstrom again, who had moved to Logan to work at her brother’s furniture business. Shortly thereafter, John and Anna were married on November 10, 1886 in Logan. They later had ten children together.
In 1894 John was called by his church to serve as a missionary in Sweden, where he proselyted for three years. After completing his missionary duties, he returned to his family in Utah but moved the family to Smithfield. In Smithfield John opened a blacksmithing shop. John lived most of his remaining life in Smithfield. John died January 19, 1944 in Logan.
Source: Parker, Virginia Carlson, “Biography of John Wilford Carlson,” 1975.
Provenance Note:
The materials in this collection were donated to USU Special Collections & Archives in 1975 by Virginia Carlson Parker, the granddaughter of John A. Carlson.
Scope & Content Note:
This three-box collection contains the papers of John A. Carlson. His papers consist of correspondence, missionary papers, blacksmithing records, genealogical information, and a scrapbook. The majority of Carlson’s papers concern his mission in Sweden and his blacksmithing business. Some of the items included in this collection are; the letters written between Carlson and his wife while he was serving as a missionary in Sweden, his blacksmithing ledgers which show work preformed and fees, and a scrapbook containing clippings from Utah Korrespondenten, a Swedish Salt Lake City newspaper.
The materials in this collection have been organized topically and then chronologically. The researcher should be aware that some of the material in this collection is written in Swedish, such as some of Carlson’s correspondence and blacksmithing records. Some items from this collection were removed and have catalogued separately. These items include; issues of Utah Korrespondenten, an issue of Fyrbaken, and issues of Nordstjaman and Skandinaviens Stjerne.
Note: Researchers interested in the Carlson family should also see the papers of J.A. Carlson’s son;
Coll Mss 27: The John W. Carlson Papers.
Inventory:
Box 1: Correspondence and Financial Accounts (234 pieces, 10 items).
Fd 1: Swedish Missionary Correspondence, A-G, 1894-1897 (6 pieces).
Fd 2: Swedish Missionary Correspondence with Hoglund, A. J., 1894 (20 pieces 1 item).
Fd 3: Swedish Missionary Correspondence with Hoglund, A. J., 1894-95 (20 pieces).
Fd 20: Accounts paid by John A. Carlson (23 pieces).
Fd 21: Accounts paid by John A. Carlson (20 pieces).
Box 2: Blacksmithing Papers, Missionary Papers And Genealogical Records (103 pieces, 12 items).
Fd 1: Blacksmithing materials, 20 1/2 x 13 1/2 cm. (2 items)
Fd 2: Accounts of ordination to Priesthood positions prior to mission to Sweden. (l piece)
Fd 3: Missionary Items, 1890-1895, written in Swedish. (23 pieces), Names of people who bought tickets to the dance of the 7th Ward, March 28, 1890. Monthly missionary reports, January-December, 1895. Quarterly income report of N. N. Branch of N. N. Conference, 4th quarter, Quarterly expenditure report of 1st district Council, 4th quarter, Tithing list of N. N. Branch. Record of people deceased, Wengokers Branch, -March, 1894-December, 1895. Daily notebook of income-and expenditures, 4th quarter, book report from August to November, 1895. Total books and amount of money, Improvement Era, 1895. Diploma of graduation from Elementary School, November 25, 1872. List of books which are found in Wengokers Branch. Records of 119th Quorum of Seventies. Record of members in branch. Quarterly statistical report of the N. N. Branch, November 10, 1890. Subscription for North Star, January 1. Subscription for brethren in branch to North Star. Collection of Konrad Haglunds, March 8, 1895.
Fd 4: Record of members of N. N. Branch, 1895-1897, and missionary diary, Swedish. (3 items)
Fd 5: Genealogical notes written in Swedish (2 items)
Fd 6: Lundstrom family records and genealogical materials written in Swedish. (8 pieces)
Fd 7: John A. Carlson personal records and family materials (14 pieces)
Fd 8: Genealogy of John A. Carlson family and Lundstrom family. (1 item)
Fd 9: Record of temple work done by Sene Catherine Mikkelson Sorensen. (1 item)
Fd 10: Personal items of John A. Carlson. Genealogical records of Carlson and Lundstrom families written in Swedish. (15 pieces)
Fd 11: Miscellaneous items. (9 pieces)
Fd 12: Miscellaneous items written partly in Swedish (15 pieces, 3 items)
Fd 13: John A. Carlson printed advertising cards from Sweden, 1894-1897 and miscellaneous items (18 pieces).
Box 3: Blacksmithing Account Book (1891-1894) and Scrapbook (contains clippings from Utah Korrespondenten, circa 1890s).
Item 1: Scrapbook and loose newspaper clippings, (contains clippings from Utah Korrespondenten) circa 1890s.
For more information: 435/797-2663; Manuscript Librarian.
Special Collections & Archives, Merrill Library, Utah State University Libraries, Utah State University 84322-3000
