Johan Ekström

Who was Mr Johan Ekström?

Mr Johan Ekström was a 45 (forty-five) year-old Swedish general labourer and farmer who tragically perished in the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912. He was a third-class passenger who had embarked on the ill-fated voyage with his elderly father, both seeking a new life in America after the recent death of Johan’s mother.

Early Life and Family

Swedish Roots and Siblings

Johan Ekström was born on July 29, 1866, in Reftele, Jönköpings County, Sweden. He was christened as Amandus, though he would later go by Johan. His parents were:

Father: Johan Svensson (born 1837), a farmer
Mother: Brita Lisa (née Börjesdotter; April 11, 1837 – February 6, 1912)

Johan grew up in a sizeable family, with several siblings:

Janne Leander (born August 22, 1870)
Karl Agard August (born May 14, 1874)
Emma Lovisa (born August 29, 1878)
Oscar Frithiof (born July 22, 1882)
Oscar’s twin (stillborn)

Journey to America and Marriage

On February 20, 1890, at the age of 23 (twenty-three), Johan took a leap of faith and emigrated to North America, joining the wave of Swedish immigrants seeking new opportunities across the Atlantic. His decision would shape the course of his life and ultimately lead to his fateful journey on the Titanic.

Four years after arriving in America, Johan married Annie Cecilia Larsson on February 5, 1894, in Carver, Minnesota. Annie, born in 1874, was a native Minnesotan of Swedish parentage, embodying the blending of old-world heritage and new-world dreams.

Family Life in America

Children and Homestead

Johan and Annie built a life together in South Dakota, raising a large family. Their children included:

Edgar Oscar (1894-1921)
Lillie Marie (1898-1977)
Lulu (1898-1898, twin of Lillie)
Myrtle Carolina (1900-1966, later Mrs. Helmer Newman Eide)
Robert Clarence (1902-1941)
Mabel Concordia (1908-1991, later Mrs. Carl Hawkinson)
Bernard Victor (1909-1985)

By 1900, the Ekström family had established themselves on a farm in Effington Rut, Roberts County, South Dakota. Johan co-owned this land with his brother Oskar, showcasing the close-knit nature of immigrant families supporting each other in their new homeland.

Community Connections

The Ekström family maintained ties with their extended family across America:

Sister Emma Swanberg resided in New Jersey
Sister Maria Larson lived at 165 Chatham Street, New Haven, Connecticut

These connections highlight the dispersal of Swedish immigrants across the United States and the maintenance of family networks despite great distances.

The Fateful Titanic Journey

A Sorrowful Errand

Tragedy struck the Ekström family when Johan’s mother, Brita, passed away on February 6, 1912. This loss prompted Johan to embark on a poignant mission: to travel back to Sweden and bring his elderly father to America to live with them.

Boarding the Titanic

Father and son boarded the RMS Titanic at Southampton as third-class passengers. Johan’s ticket details were:

Ticket number: 347061
Cost: £6, 19s, 6d

The Tragic Outcome

Both Johan and his father perished in the sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912. Their bodies, if recovered, were never identified, leaving their family without closure and forever altering the course of the Ekström family’s history.

Aftermath and Legacy

Red Cross Support

The tragedy left Annie Ekström a widow with six children to support. The Red Cross files provide a poignant glimpse into the family’s struggles:

A farmer was returning to his home in South Dakota where he had lived for 23 years. After the death of other relatives in Sweden, he had gone home to bring back his aged father to live with him. Both were drowned. He is survived by his wife and six children, the eldest of whom is 18 and the youngest 2 years of age, and the woman’s dependent mother, 80 years old.

The family received significant financial assistance:

$200 for immediate needs
$216 for mortgage interest
$4,079 to cancel the mortgage
An additional $2,827.33 from other relief funds

This support was crucial in helping the family retain their farm and survive the devastating loss of Johan.

The Ekström Family’s Future

Annie Ekström never remarried, remaining in Roberts County, South Dakota until her death on March 3, 1949, at the age of 74 (seventy-four). She was laid to rest in Walla Church Cemetery, New Effington.

Tragically, the family would face further loss when their eldest son, Edgar, who had joined the US Navy, was lost at sea in 1921, echoing his father’s fate.

The last surviving child of Johan and Annie, Mabel, passed away in Hennepin, Minnesota, on February 1, 1991, at the age of 82 (eighty-two), marking the end of an era for the Ekström family.

Johan Ekström’s life and tragic death on the Titanic serve as a poignant reminder of the hopes, dreams, and sacrifices of countless immigrants who sought a better life in America, only to have their journeys cut short by fate’s cruel hand.