Great Grandparents Søren Andreas Jansen Mong & Anne Gurine Larsdatter Stapnes

This section of the collection focuses on Søren Janson Mong and Anne Gurine Stapnes. Chapter one includes a picture of Søren Janson Mong and Anne Gurine Stapnes taken 1834, a letter to Rasmus Johnson telling of the death of his father from Rasmus’ son Anders Sørensen Stapnes (Anders Johnson), the death announcement of Søren A. Jansen Mong, and genealogical information of the children of Søren and Anne. There are also three short biographies entitled: “Rasmus S. Johnson,” by Arne G. Johnson, “I Remember ‘Onkel’ Rasmus,” by Anders Anderson, and “My History and Family Happenings,” by Arne Johnson.

Biographical Information

Søren Andreas Jansen Mong (born 1811) died at age 83 on 22 May 1894. One of his sons, Rasmus S. Johnson, is remembered in a memoir by Rasmus’ son Arne G. Johnson. Rasmus was born on 19 March 1851 in Stapnes in the parish of Egersund, Norway. His parents made their living by fishing and raising a few cattle and sheep. His father, Søren, was a sailor, pilot, and fisherman. Rasmus was confirmed in the Lutheran State Church of Norway. At age fifteen he became a sailor. He came to America by sail ship in 1872 and ended up in Chicago where he helped with cleanup of the aftermath of the Chicago fire. Then he worked on railroads and on farms. He stayed for awhile on his sister and brother-in-law’s farm (Anne and Anton Berentson) in Waseca County, Minnesota. Rasmus returned to Norway the fall of 1874 and took up sailing for about four years. He married Gjertina Alava Amundsen Haaland, and they moved to America together. They homesteaded land in Norton County, Kansas. With the death of Gjertina, Rasmus went to fishing on Lake Superior with his brother Andrew. Rasmus married Charlotte Lonn in 1888. They moved to Washington Territory. They built their house and had cattle and an orchard. They had two children, Jenny Ruth and Selmer (Sam) Anthony. Rasmus continued fishing. With the death of his second wife, Rasmus went, the spring of 1898, to Alaska to prospect for gold. He returned to Washington in September 1899 and bought a farm near Edison. He and his brother Andrew took a bike trip through Norway during the summer of 1902. On his way to Norway, he met Anne Berntsen Mong, whom he married in 1902 in Seattle. They had two children, Birger and Arne. Rasmus died on 30 May 1920. Anders Anderson remembers his “Onkel” Rasmus in a memoir he wrote June 1995 at 92 years old. Rasmus loved boats and the water. He had rheumatism, but claimed the salt water helped it. Arne Johnson, son of Rasmus and Anne, was born on 13 December 1906. He tells memories of his family from 1913 to 1915.

Genealogical Information

This covers the first generation beginning with Søen Andreas Janson Mung, born 1811 in Mong, Sokndal, Rogaland, Norway [son of Jan Hansen Mong (Logevig) i Sokndal and Anna Rasmusdatter Barstad i Sokndal] and Anne Gurine Larsdatter Stapnes, born 1834 in Stapnes, Egersund, Rogaland, Norway (daughter Lars Klausen Stapnes and Malena Sivertsdatter Svaanes) They had eight children. All were born in Stapnes, Egersund, Rogaland, Norway. The youngest child died in 1920.