FINDING AID
Gustaf A. Johnson carpentry records, 1905-1947
COLLECTION SUMMARY
Collection Title:
Gustaf A. Johnson carpentry records
Collection Number:
MSS P:340
Dates:
1905-1947 and undated (bulk 1920-1935)
Size:
8 boxes (3.25 linear feet) and 1 oversized box
Language:
English
Creator/Collector:
Johnson, Gustaf Adolph, 1880-1947
Subject Headings:
Carpenters--Illinois--Moline--Biography.
Contractors--Illinois
Moline (Ill.)
Swedish Americans--Illinois--Moline
House construction.
Blueprints.
Repository:
Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
Abstract:
Gustaf Adolph Johnson emigrated from Sweden to Moline, Illinois in 1899. He worked as a carpenter and contractor in Moline, building 80 houses between 1909 and 1945. The collection includes journals, records, and receipts that record the hundreds of construction jobs completed by Gustaf throughout the Quad Cities (mostly Moline and Rock Island, Illinois). Also includes advertisements for various companies related to the building industry and services, mostly in the Quad Cities.
RIGHTS AND ACCESS
Conditions Governing Access:
Collection is open for research.
Reproduction and Use:
Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the Swenson Center and the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation:
[item identification], in MSS P:340 Gustaf A. Johnson carpentry records, Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.
ACQUISITION AND RELATED MATERIALS
Source of Acquisition:
Gift of Curtis Roseman in 2015. Gustaf Adolph Johnson was Curtis Roseman’s grandfather.
Accruals:
Further accruals of blueprints are expected.
Location of Copies:
Photocopies of journal pages related to individual properties are included in Series II.
Publication Note:
Roseman, Curtis C. “Building the American Dream: A Swedish Immigrant Carpenter, Contractor, and Family in Moline, Illinois.” Moline: Heritage Documentaries, Inc., 2012.
Notes:
Journals were arranged, numbered, and dated by donor. Revised dates noted in brackets. Notes in journals to indicate specific projects are by the donor and copied to archival paper by the archivist.
Processed By:
Initial arrangement in 2015. Processed by Lisa Huntsha in 2018.
CONTENT AND STRUCTURE
Administrative/Biographical History:
Gustaf Adolph Johnson emigrated from Sweden in 1899. He came to meet his older sister Hilma in Moline, Illinois. Also in Moline were family friends from Sweden, the Hogbergs, with whom Gust would have a life-long friendship and professional relationship.
Gust went to Oakland, California to work as a carpenter in 1903 and stayed for two and a half years. He came back to Moline and married Selma Anna Sofia Carlson, also from Sweden, in 1908. He bought two lots of land and promptly began building their home in Moline. This was the first of 80 houses he would build between 1909 and 1945. In addition to worked as carpenter, Gust also served as contractor for many projects as well as completing other repairs and odd jobs.
Scope and Content:
The collection includes journals that record the hundreds of construction jobs—large and small—completed by Gustaf Johnson throughout the Quad Cities (mostly Moline and Rock Island, Illinois) and surrounding areas. Most records list work completed, the customer’s name and address, hours spent on the project, lists of materials purchased, subcontractors hired, and summaries of costs and payments received.
System of Arrangement:
Arranged according to material type and chronologically.
Series I: Journals (1905-1947 and undated) includes 23 notebooks where Gust Johnson noted various building and repair projects. Entries include time, costs, other laborers, location, and dates. Some estimate books include advertising for local companies.
Series II: Specific Properties (1911-1942) includes materials related to specific properties that Gustaf Johnson worked on in the Quad Cities and surrounding region. Includes both original materials and photocopies of journal pages related to that location.
Series III: Advertisements, Receipts and Other Business Records (1913-1947 and undated) includes Gust A. Johnson’s personal stationary and business cards; advertisements from building companies and more of the Quad Cities and other areas; receipts from local companies (mostly Rock Island Lumber & Manufacturing Co.; Rock Island Sash and Door Works; and Dimock, Gould & Co.); notes on various jobs; and workmen’s compensation policies.
Series IV: Oversized Materials (1906, 1941) includes blueprints for buildings and school drawings.
Collection Inventory:
Series I: Journals
Box 1
• Journal 1, 1905-1916
• Journal 2, 1911 & 1930s
• Journal 3, 1911-1916, 1923-1929
• Journal 4, [1911] 1913-1916
• Journal 5, 1917-1920
• Journal 6, 1919-1929
Box 2
• Journal 7, [1919], 1920-1921
• Journal 8, 1920 & 1924
• Journal 9, 1922-1924
• Journal 10, 1922-1925 and undated
• Journal 11, 1924, 1931 & 1932
• Journal 12, 1925-1927
• Journal 13, 1927, [1928], [1936], 1937, 1938 and undated
• Journal 14, early 1930s
Box 3
• Journal 15, 1930s
• Journal 16, 1930-1935
• Journal 17, 1936-1941
• Journal 18, 1937
• Journal 19, 1938
• Journal 20, circa 1943
• [no journal 21]
• Journal 22, 1941-1944
• Journal 23, 1944-1947
• Journal 24, undated
Series II: Specific Properties
• Emil Olson house, 109 6th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1911
• Gust Johnson’s rental properties, 15th Street and 20th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1911-1940
Box 4
• C.E. Nelson house, 966 38th Street, Rock Island, Illinois, 1911
• John A. Melin house, [unknown address], Moline, Illinois, 1912
• John A. Rosene [Roseen] house, 1317 4th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1912
• Charles F. McCrossen house, 221 17th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1912
• Plambeck house, 1124 18th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1913
• V.E. Carlberg house, 1856 14th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1913
• C.E. Nelson house, 2034 15th Street, Moline, Illinois 1913
• Carl Gustafson house, 2116 14th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1913
• Petrus Sanders house, 1418 28th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1914
• Carl Gottsche house, 1743 14th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1915
• Mrs. Hickey house, 1605 12th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1915
• Henry Carlson 1115 14th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1915
• Gustaf Olson house 1113 44th Street, Rock Island, Illinois, 1916
• Charles G. Chillberg house, 2036 13th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1916
• Mrs. Hepburn house, 2016 13th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1916
• C.O. Wahlstrom house, 2124 14th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1917
• Richard E. Rosecrantz house, 2355 23rd Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1917
• Hans C. Thompson house, 2614 17th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1917
• John W. Sward house, 2126 15th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1919
• Severen Olson house, 2317 11th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1919
• Maritz C. Palm house, 1924 32nd Street, Moline, Illinois, 1920
• Richard Bjorndahl house, 175 19th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1920
• James L. Salisburg house, 504 19th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1920
• Wallace Young house, 2509 46th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1921
• Henry and Mrs. Schutter house, 721 Grand Court, Davenport, Iowa, 1921
• Elaine M. Lear house, 1200 25th Street, Rock Island, Illinois, 1922
• James McNamara house, 1521 28th Street, Rock Island, Illinois, 1922
• G.H. Haguis house, 1219 2nd Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois, 1922
• A.B. Dunsmore house, 2629 6th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1923
• Clarence F. Schutter, 911 Grand Court, Davenport, Iowa, 1923
• W.F. Perry house, 2540 22nd Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois, 1923
• Gust Johnson house, 2120 12th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1924
• James A. Bishop house, 2707 Grand Avenue, Davenport, Iowa, 1924
• Fred W. Bladel house, 1041 12th Street, Rock Island, Illinois, 1924
Box 5
• Dr. W.H. Caradine house, 2729 15th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1924
• Walter E. Nelson house, 2916 16th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1925
• Fred Flodeen house, 3401 14th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1925
• East End Chapel (later Elim), 5th Avenue and 52nd Street, Moline, Illinois, 1925
• Elmer Freeman house, 2442 15th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1925
• Commercial Bank, [unknown address, Moline, Illinois], 1926
• Clarence Hogberg house, 1637 23rd Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1926
• George Wildermuth house, [unknown address], Osco/Geneseo, Illinois, 1926
• Hannah Carlson house, 2310 23rd Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1926
• Nels Nelson house, 2428 15th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1926
• Clarence Hogberg house, 1533 23rd Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1927
• Karl V. Froude house, 2525 21st Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois, 1927
• Alvin Larson house, 501 26th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1927
• Byrd McLain house, 320 23rd Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1928
• Edwin Johnson house, 1619 33rd Street, Moline, Illinois, 1928
• George Ickes house, 2419 27th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1929
• Byrd McLain house, 322 23rd Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1929
• Battles Estate, 1011 2nd Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois, 1929
• Byrd McLain house, 2418 27th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1929
• Pete Levin house, 2830 41st Street, Moline, Illinois, 1929
• Charles G. Hogberg house, [address unknown, city unknown], 1930
• Gust Johnson house, 2124 12th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1931
• Charles Sohlberg house, 2011 12th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1937
• John H. Geise house, 2005 12th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1937
• George and Mrs. Frank house, [address unknown], Pleasant Valley, Iowa, 1938
• Carl Magnuson (Ollie/Helen I.) house, 2910 24th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1938
• Rev. J. V. Nordgren house, 921 34th Street, Rock Island, Illinois, 1939
• William R. and Astrid M. March house, 2906 22nd Avenue, Rock Island, Illinois, 1939
• Robert E. Lee house, 1008 4th Avenue, Silvis, Illinois, 1939
• Roy Carey house, 152 14th Street, Silvis, Illinois, 1939
• Marion E. Kidd house, 2525 6th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1940
• Fred A. Grube house, 1920 29th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1940
• Vincent and Mrs. Halgren house, 2024 11th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1940
• William J. and Mrs. Loding house, 505 10th Street A., Silvis, Illinois, 1940
• Frank J. DeGheselle house, 1510/1512 3rd Street, East Moline, Illinois, 1941
• Edward and Marjorie F. Hanell house, 1852 32rd Street, Moline, Illinois, 1941
• Glen L. Benninger house, 2311 18th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1941
Box 6
• Fred B. and Vivian Smith house, 120 18th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1941
• Emil and Marie Bonte house, 2506 26th Avenue, Moline, Illinois, 1942
• Oscar Anderson house, 1216 12th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1942
• Everett A. and Gertrude L. Johnson house, 2662 12th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1942
• Robert L. and J. Avadia Mickey house, 3025 14th Street, Moline, Illinois, 1942
Series III: Advertisements, Receipts and Other Business Records
• Gust A. Johnson’s personal stationary and business cards, undated
• Advertisements for Quad Cities building-related companies, 1913, 1921-1937 and undated
• Advertisements for other Quad Cities companies, 1917 and undated
• Advertisements for other building-related companies, 1921-1929 and undated
• Advertisements for other companies, 1929 and undated
• Receipts, 1913
• Receipts, 1922-1924
• Receipts, 1925-1928
• Receipts, 1929-1930
• Receipts, 1931
• Receipts, 1932-1933
• Receipts, 1934-1936
Box 7
• Receipts, 1937
• Receipts, 1938-1939
• Receipts, 1940s and undated
• Various jobs, Moline, Illinois, 1913, 1920-1946 and undated
• Various jobs, Rock Island, Illinois, 1920-1945 and undated
• Various jobs, Silvis and Coal Valley, Illinois, 1931 and undated
• Various jobs, Davenport, Iowa, 1922
• Various jobs, unspecified locations, 1936-1947 and undated
• Various jobs, unspecified locations, 1931-1940 and undated
• Various jobs, unspecified locations, 1923-1943 and undated
• Various jobs, unspecified locations, 1922-1930 and undated
• Gust Johnson estimated income, 1943
• Various bids and estimates, 1921, 1929, 1935-1939 and undated
• Specifications (including Moline Public Schools; G.W. Swanbeck), 1936-1938 and undated
Box 8
• Contracts, 1930-1942 and undated
• Workmen’s Compensation correspondence and policies, 1916, 1926-1933, 1945 and undated
• Workmen’s Compensation policies, 1925-1932 and undated
• Traffic Ordinance, Moline, Illinois, 1927; Rules and Regulations for the Guidance of Motor Vehicle Owners and Dealers, 1928
• Tri-City Carpenters District Council, constitution and correspondence, 1926 and undated
• Correspondence, 1923-1924, 1932, 1937
• Building sketches, undated
Series IV: Oversized Materials
• School drawings, 1906
• Blueprints, 1941