Erick Johnson

[David Gustafson Registered Find all posts View Profile Close David Gustafson]

I am researching Erick Johnson who was a missionary from Moody Church in Chicago to Vaasa (Strandgatan 13), Finland in the 1880s. He may have been a Swede, and worked with Baptists in Finland. Can you help me?

[Kaj Granlund Registered Find all posts View Profile Close Kaj Granlund]

Do you need iformation from Finland or USA (or both). If from Finland I can try to contact some baptist friends here to see what they know.

[Kaj Granlund Registered Find all posts View Profile Close Kaj Granlund]

Some information. He was born in Petalax, Finland. Petalax is just south of the town of Vasa in Finland. He was a sailor and on one of his journeys he ended up with Moody. As he returned to Finland he at first started a work together with a lutheran preacher in Petalax, later he became one of the pioneers of the baptist church in the swedishspeaking area around Vasa. He died in 1927 in Vasa. In his obituary he is still called "missionär". His name is "Erik Jansson" here.
There is a thesis (in swedish) written where there will be a lot of information about him. Do you read swedish? In that case I could get you copies of the pages with the information about him. I'll try to find that book. Haven't read it myself.

[ulla Registered Find all posts View Profile Close ulla]

Erick Johnson

The Baptist movement was spread first to the north of Ostrobothnia but in the early 1880’s there was also founded a Baptist church in Petalax, Åmossa. There were three leaders: Jonas Staffans (later Staffan Johnson), Erik Åmossa and Erik Jansson. Already in 1882 there was a schism between the leaders. Some people had insisted on having Staffans as a leader, but he was not accepted by the majority and left, went first to USA and from there to New Zealand where his descendants are still living. Erik Åmossa, too, had ”dissentient opinions on some points” and at his own request he was expelled from the community, and after that Erik Jansson was elected leader. – This information was found in the book ”The Baptist Movement in Swedish Ostrobothnia” written by Nils Näsman in Vasa, Doctor of Theology (Lutheran) for his Doctor’s Diploma in 1962.
Ulla

[David Gustafson Registered Find all posts View Profile Close David Gustafson]

Thanks so much. Actually I will be at Stockholms kungliga bibliotek on Tuesday and will look up Nils Nasman's dissertation, since there is a copy there. Thank you!

[syrene Registered Find all posts View Profile Close syrene]

Johnson/Jansson

Welcome to Finlander, David. And other new members as well.

We appreciate it very much if new members include a little information about themselves in the membership file. Your profile may remind other members that they have information pertinent to your work. This is a very generous bunch of family researchers.

Thanks,
Syrene

[ulla Registered Find all posts View Profile Close ulla]

Johnson/Jansson

I quess that you can also find Petalax Historia I at the Library in Stockholm. There is a chapter (pages 267-304) about the Baptism in Petalax, Åmossa, written by Nils Näsman, where he tells a lot about Erik Jansson and the other leaders. Also about Erik Jansson's participation in Moody's meeting in Chicago in 1871, where it all began, as far as Jansson is concerned.
Ulla

[Margaret Rader Registered Find all posts View Profile Close Margaret Rader]

I am very interested in this information -- my grandmother Anna Mathilda Johan-Eriksdtr. Svartnäs, and her parents, family, etc. were Swedish Baptists. Some of the relatives are buried in the Baptist cemetary in Åmossa. Is any of this material in English?

Margaret Holm Rader

[granskare Registered Find all posts View Profile Close granskare]

Rev. Erik Jansson

http://www.genealogia.fi/emi/art/article317e.htm

I am wondering if this Rev Erik Jansson in the article from genealogia website is the same man as the one in this thread.

Chuck