Person:Claus Carlson (1)

    CLAUS AUGUST CARLSON was the son of CARL STEN and CATHERINE LARSON.  Carl was born ca. 1810 and died ca. 1900 in Floda Sodermanland, Sweden.  Catherine was born ca. 1810 and died ca. 1902 in Sweden. (see 1 below)
    CLAUS AUGUST CARLSON was born September 6, 1851 in Sweden.  On April 6, 1885 he married ALBERTINA CHARLOTTA LARSON, daughter of CARL and KATHRINA LARSON.  Claus’ profession was a carpenter and he lived his entire life in Sweden.  He died of pneumonia on September 13, 1900 and is buried in Sweden.  (see 1 below)
    Albertina’s parents, Carl and Kathrina Larson came to American in May of 1886 and lived with Kathrina’s son, Lars E. Lundquist on his farm in Brantford Township, Washington County, Kansas until their deaths.  Carl died on August 14, 1913 and Kathrina died on October 3, 1916.  They are both buried in the Swedish Mission Cemetery at Clifton, Kansas. (see 1 below)
    After Claus’ death, Albertina thought it would be easier for her to raise her six children in the United States, especially due to the Military Conscription in Sweden.  The family took the train to Goteburg, Sweden; then a ship across the North Sea to Hull, England and then from Hull to Liverpool, England.  They left Liverpool on August 30, 1901 aboard the S. S. Celtic and landed on September 8, 1901 on August 30, 1901 at New York Harbor’s Ellis Island. (see 2 below) While on board the ship, they received the news of President McKinley’s assassination.  On Ellis Island they were fenced in like cattle until they were cleared by the customs officials.
    From New York to Clifton they came by train.  Somewhere along the line the conductors were changed and the old conductor did not tell the new one that the Carlson family could not understand English so they missed their connection at Junction City, Kansas and somehow realizing they had missed, they got off the train at Abilene, Kansas.  The Lundquist family had a big welcome dinner planned for them, but instead they spent the night huddled around the coal stove waiting to catch the next train back to Junction City and make the right connection to Clifton.
    Albertina made her home in Washington County, Kansas for twenty years.  She and her children were naturalized U. S. citizens on March 3, 1909 in Washington County District Court.  (see 3 below).
    In 1921, Albertina moved to Topeka, Kansas and she lived in a small apartment above a house on West Fourth Street, behind the West Side Baptist Church of which she became a member.  She lived in this apartment until she needed more care in her daily life, at which time she moved to the home of her son, Carl A. Carlson, 1204 West First, Topeka, Kansas.  she lived with Carl and Laura until her death on September 16, 1951. (see 4 below) She was 87 years of age and had lived in the United State for fifty years.  She was born May 19, 1864 in Nykoping, Sweden and is buried in Memorial Park Cemetery, Topeka, KS.

(Copied from a story Judy (Carlson) Leonhart wrote and revised by Marjorie Eaton.

1. Ruth (Olson) Carlson and Judy (Carlson) Leonhart 2. Manifest of S. S. Celtic from National Archives 3. Naturalization Papers 4. Death Certificate from Kansas Bureau of Vital Statistics