Johan-Petter Johansen Autobiography

An autobiography of Johan Peter Johansen from 1847 to 1928. He led a hard life, always looking for work to sustain his family. Also included is genealogical information for their children and the seaman records for Johan.

Biographical Note

Johan Peter Johansen was born in Kolbjørnvig, Arendal, Norway, on 24 August 1847 to Johan Andreas Jonasen and Ragnhild Petersdatter. Johan started school at age seven. He was confirmed at Hisa Church at age fourteen and went to sea, first as apprentice in a shipyard in Fevig, then sailing as a carpenter. On 23 December 1868 he married Anne Regina Hansdatter, and they had their first child in October the following year. In 1873, he and his brother Andrew got passage on the ship “Racehorse” and worked their way to Quebec. From there, they traveled to Milwaukee, landing 17 May 1873. They got jobs at a shipyard for $2.00 a day. They did not know English. He then got work in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, where his family joined him in the fall of 1874. Johan bought a house from O. Torrison.
In the fall of 1883 he decided to try his luck getting a job in the Puget Sound. He left his family and he and his partner Martin Hansen arrived at Port Discovery in November. He worked in the area for the next three years. Johan’s son, Andrew, joined him in Port Discovery in 1886 and got a job. Johan returned to Wisconsin that November to be with his family and worked on a shipyard. Johan became a citizen the winter of 1887. He was offered a job as a millwright at Port Discovery by his friend Ira Smith. This time the whole family moved, but Anne did not like the area, so she and the kids moved back to Wisconsin. Johan and the two oldest boys stayed and worked in Discovery and later in Gig Harbor. In March of 1889, Anne and the rest of the family came back to rejoin Johan in the West. Johan continued working wherever he could get work. They had seven children, one of whom died as an infant.