Born in Darlana Kapperberg Sweden, June 1, 1868. Her father was a shoe cobbler and a blacksmith, also a lay preacher, self-educated, but not licensed to speak.

Her mother died of cancer, and Grandma often spoke of her father (Glad) and herself being so mean to her mother, that her mothers brothers (2 or 3) came and took her away to their home, where she died three months later.

Grandma didn’t seem to mind telling this about her father and herself, because she idolized her father. She didn’t seem to have any affection for her mother at all. Grandma was about 17 years old then. After she and Bodeen were married she and her husband came to the United States in 1892 and lived in Minnesota a few years. She also spoke about Kandiyohi County or Township in Minnesota.

They left Minnesota in the year 1900 and homesteaded in North Dakota.

That fall, Bodeen took work on a threshing rig to make some money and was crushed between the engine and separator at Enderlin, North Dakota where he was buried, but she never saw his grave. She was left with seven children, Anna, Victor, Arvid, Albert, Hjalmer, and Andrew. The baby a girl died at age 3 months. The oldest son Andrew went with some other men hauling coal from a mine along the Des Lacs Lake, and fell from his wagon and broke his neck, and died at 15 years of age.

Her son Hjalmer who was about 6 years became ill with Spinal Meningitis and she had a doctor come out from Minot, North Dakota to see him but he died July 11, 1904. The doctor cost her $30.00.

After this her two room house burned, and a neighbor by the name of Lan Rause, and who was still a bachelor and who had land south of the Bodeen place took them in and let them stay with him.

Neighbors all came together and built Grandma a 2-room house, right over the same basement. One could only enter through a trap-door in the hallway to the stairs.

It was not connected to the one Grandpa Johnson must have had dug, when he had the entrance, hall, kitchen and pantry built on.

Grandma never told Geneva why she didn’t appreciate or mix with the neighbors when they had been so good to her. She never said they really helped me. She only spoke once about living at Daddy Rouses after her house burned down. Grandpa Johnson lived at the Bodeen place, after they were married and just built his barn and outer buildings on his homestead. The four Johnson children were born before he built the house on his place. Grandma said she was never in the house or near it until she had told him to build it with high ceilings and he sure did. Grandpa wouldn’t paint so they calcimined the walls and ceilings and also the Bodeen place.

Grandma got her sisters Lena and Betsy and her brother Eric over from Sweden. Betsy married an older man, a bachelor by the name of Mauritz Welta on a quarter of land east of the Bodeen place the (Rollie Ross farm now) Betsy was real young when she was married after they lost their farm they moved to Canada and homesteaded, Lena Coteau married an Erickson and lived in North Dakota. Then they moved to Billings, Montana. He had lost his leg in a mine accident near Kenmore, North Dakota then she divorced Erickson.

Albert Bodeen (her son) joined the Army and was sent to Ft. Leaverworth, where he caught that terrible flu in 1918 and died October 25, 1918. They called for Grandma but she sent Annie instead.

Grandma said Bodeen was slow-witted, but that she loved him best of the two husbands.

Erick, Anna’s brother never married, and became a drunkard while studying for the Ministry and went around preaching like his father did.

Do not know where he is buried, possibly in Chicago, where he was living at one time.