Realtor, contractor, consul.
Born in Iceland on 2 November 1867, one of 16 children born to Jon Jonasson and Gudny Gudmundsdottir, he was self-taught, having attended no school in his youth, but he spoke Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, and Icelandic languages. He came to Winnipeg in 1886 and worked on railway and farm work. In the early 20th century, he started in the real estate business and was responsible for the erection of many of the city’s largest buildings.
In July 1895, he married Elisabeth Sigridur Johannesson (1874-1951) and they had six children: Gwendolin “Gwennie” Johnson (1894-1975, wife of Frederick Harley Deeks), Gudrun Johnson (1896-?, wife of H. R. Gray), Haraldur B. Johnson (1899-?), Alma Johnson (1901-1977), Albert Valtyr “Ab” Johnson (1907-1969, husband of Lillian Ruby Furney), and Helen E. Johnson (1912-1993, wife of Rudolph Peterson). He was interested in church work and was honorary treasurer of the First Lutheran Church. In 1924 he was appointed Consul in Winnipeg for the Danish and Icelandic governments, serving until his death.
He died at his Winnipeg home, 414 Maryland Street, on 15 May 1938 and was buried in the Brookside Cemetery.
Some of his construction works in Manitoba included:
Building
Location
Year
Status
615 Sherbrook, Winnipeg
1910
641-645 Westminster Avenue, Winnipeg
1911
Pandora Court
759 Winnipeg Avenue, Winnipeg
1912
Demolished (?)
510 Maryland Street, WInnipeg
1914
“Building permits,” Winnipeg Tribune, 11 May 1910, page 11.
1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
“Building permits nearing million,” Winnipeg Tribune, 13 February 1914, page 2.
Pioneers and Prominent People of Manitoba, Winnipeg: Canadian Publicity Company, 1925.
“Engagements,” Winnipeg Tribune, 1 September 1934, page 5.
Death registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Danish consul, A. Johnson, dies,” Winnipeg Tribune, 16 May 1938, page 17.
“Early Icelandic builders in Winnipeg” by S. Aleck Thorarinson, Logberg Heimskringla, 30 March 1967, pages 4-5.
Obituary [Albert V. Johnson], Winnipeg Free Press, 28 November 1969, page 30.
Obituary [Gwennie Deeks], Winnipeg Free Press, 9 August 1976, page 21.
Obituary [Alma Johnson], Winnipeg Free Press, 10 September 1977, page 277.
Obituary [Helen E. Peterson], Winnipeg Free Press, 25 March 1993, page 46.
Obituary [Lillian Ruby Johnson], Winnipeg Free Press, 12 March 1998, page 39.
We thank Nelson Gerrard for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 1 June 2022
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