Johan Svensson

Johan Svensson was a passenger on *Titanic*.

\* (not to be confused with 19 year old Johan CERVIN Svensson.

## Early life

Johan Svensson was born in 1837 on the 17th of May. He was a native of Kulltorp, Jönköping County, Jönköping, Sweden. His parents were Swedish from origin. They were Sven Magnusson and Martha Larsdotter. Johan was the middle child, as before him came a brother and a sister: They were Magnus and Johanna Carolina, born in 1832 and 1835 respectively. In 1840 another daughter was born into the family: Lovisa. His other two siblings were twins, born on October 21, 1845: Maria and Nicolaus.

Growing up, he worked as a farmer, now a resident of Nennesmo Korsgård in Reftele, Jönköping’s County . On May 25, 1860 he wed Brita Lisa Börjesdotter.

They had several children. Their first was Maria Kristina who was born in March 1861. A son was born to them in 1866 by the name of Amandus, which he would later change to Johan Ekström but was often called John.

His second daughter was Janne Leander, born in 1870. He was also the father of a pair of twins who were born in 1874: Karl Agard August. and Frederik Oskar, Tragically Frederik was a stillborn so only Karl survived. Another daughter was born to the Svensson family in 1878: Emma Lovisa. Their last child was conceived in 1882: Oskar Fridolf.

In the late 1890s their grandson also lived with them. He was born in 1886 and named Viktor. In those years, John Ekström, Oskar Fridolf and Emma Lovisa all emigrated to the United States. John Ekström settled in South Dakota. Father Johan was a farmer back in Sweden.

Johan became a widower when his wife Brita Lisa died on February 6, 1912. Emma Lovisa was married to John Larson and lived at 165 Chatham St. in New Haven, Connecticut while Oskar and John both lived on a farm together in Effington Rut, South Dakota. In 1912, John came back to Sweden to bring his father over to his farm in America. He was meant to spend his last time in life with his sons there because he had very few relatives left in Sweden.

There was also a niece named Mathilda Holm who lived in Reftele, Småland, but the closest relatives lived in America. Reluctant to leave his hometown, Johan shed tears when he went along with his son John.

## *Titanic*

When they bought their tickets for *Titanic,* Johan was already 74 years old. They took the voyage in Third Class on April 10 in Southampton. *Titanic* set off on her Maiden Voyage from there shortly after 12 o'clock.

On the cold night of April 14, what had been smooth sailing so far, *Titanic*'s fate took a turn for the worst when she was at a high speed of 22,5 knots before she encountered an iceberg too late to be able to slow down in time and steer round it. *Titanic* brushed a large part of her forward starboard side against the thick mass which caused a lot of damage. The result was seawater entering the ship at a rapid rate. Upon learning about the collision, Captain Smith investigated the damage with the ship's designer Thomas Andrews. They had concluded that she would not stay afloat so the Captain ordered for evacuation after midnight on April 15.

What happened to Mr. Svensson isn't known. The ship sank at the fateful night. Father and son were lost in the terrible maritime disaster and their bodies were never found.