Johnson, Mrs. Christina

Born in Öland, Sweden, in 1852, Anton John Johnson spent his early life at sea as a sailor before arriving in San Francisco, where he worked on oyster beds and learned English. After visiting Sweden and becoming engaged to his childhood schoolmate, Christina Sabelstrom, Johnson settled in Fresno County to farm alongside his brother, William. Christina joined him in California in 1888, and following their marriage, the couple initially farmed at Traver before relocating in 1889 to the Riverside Colony near Reedley and Parlier, where Johnson eventually built up a 50-acre ranch of improved fruit and grain land.

Following Johnson’s death in January 1914, his widow, Christina Johnson, continued to manage the family estate while maintaining active membership in the California Associated Raisin Company and the California Peach Growers, Inc. Supported by her two daughters, Anna—whose husband, Clarence McCreary, served in France during World War I—and Freda, a graduate of Heald’s Business College, Mrs. Johnson remained a prominent community figure deeply involved in the Swedish Lutheran Church at Kingsburg and regional Red Cross work.