The Simon Johnson family history:

Simon Johnson (1883-2005) and Olga Johnson (1885-1957) raised two children: F. Walter Johnson (1907-2005), and Lillian Johnson (1913-2003). In addition to his work at the leather factory and on his farm, Simon served on the Burlington (MA) School Committee that oversaw the building of the high school.

Son F. Walter worked as an accountant in the “fresh fish” industry. He and his wife Marion (b. 1909- ) had three children, Walter Jr., Lois, and Robert.

Daughter Lillian and husband Francis Gaffney of Winchester, MA, had three children, Brenda, Jean and Judith. Lillian was reportedly the first telephone operator in Burlington.

The Simon Johnson family data can be found on the SweAme website at:

http://www.sweame.org/swedesinILNYMA/

You can search for Johnson, Frans Simon in the two main Search fields on the website and view his immediate family records.

Or, you can link directly to Simon Johnson:

http://www.sweame.org/swedesinILNYMA/getperson.php?personID=I73&tree=massachusetts

The Prouty family history

Augustus Prouty, who died in 1911, came from Castine, Maine, and built the house at 26 Prouty Rd. some time in the 1860s. He was one of Burlington’s first Library Trustees, in 1894, and was also a noted defender of one-room schools.

Augustus and his wife Rachel had two children, Harriet and Samuel. Records indicate that Harriet Prouty (b. 1854) married a man named Oliver Staples in 1877, and they had seven children. Samuel (1864-1938) married a woman two years his junior, Nellie M. Baldwin (1866-1934) in 1888, and they apparently had no children.

Burlington Historical Commission Report: The Prouty-Johnson House

Summary of report created by John Goff d/b/a Historic Preservation and Design, commissioned by and created for the Burlington Historical Commission

The Prouty-Johnson House in Burlington, MA., was one of about 85 historically significant Burlington properties when the Historic Preservation Survey of Burlington was prepared by John V. Goff d/b/a Historic Preservation & Design in 1998 for both the Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) and the Burlington Historical Commission (BHC) of the town of Burlington.

This Phase I Final Report determined that the property was historically significant for two primary reasons: (1) for its associations with Augustus Prouty for whom Prouty Road was named; and (2) for its associations with the family of Simon Johnson from Sweden, and its use as a Scandinavian-American cultural center and meeting place during the Johnson ownership period in the early 20^th century.

Fifteen years later, the house was threatened in 2013 with demolition by its owners. Goff prepared a Phase II Study of the house and property in July 2013 to shine more light on the property’s history, significance, and adaptive re-use and restoration potential.

During the giving season of Christmas,, let us recall one local family that gave much over many years--the Fogelbergs. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the passing of Burlington’s great historian John E. (Ed) Fogelberg (1910-2003) making this Fogelberg reflection a timely tribute. - See more at: http://www.wickedlocal.com/x140444175/Remembering-the-Fogelberg-family-of-Burlington#sthash.JlL5SAl5.dpuf

For complete article:

http://www.wickedlocal.com/x140444175/Remembering-the-Fogelberg-family-of-Burlington

"Notes from Burlington's Past: Music at Johnson's Grove"

By John Goff

Published 1-9-2014

Lillian Johnson (1914-2003) was a Burlington treasure in the early 20th century. A talented piano and accordion player

with a wonderful voice, Lillian played music for dancers and groups who congregated near her Prouty Road farmhouse---

and at Johnson’s Grove. In addition, she ran a local music radio show and worked as Burlington’s first telephone operator.

For complete article:

http://www.wickedlocal.com/x407167209/Notes-from-Burlingtons-past-Music-at-Johnson-s-Grove

"Patriots' Day and Burlington's Early Alexanders"

By John Goff

Published 3-31-14

"...the Prouty-Johnson House at 26 Prouty Road may actually have been built upon the old basement of the pre-1758 Alexander house. [Fogelberg] also made reference to the “Alexander-Prouty Farm” and proposed perhaps Augustus Prouty was born in the old Alexander House in the 1820s. Clearly, any full study of the endangered Prouty-Johnson House on Prouty Road should consider possible 18th century origins.

For complete article:

http://burlington.wickedlocal.com/article/20140331/NEWS/140339532

Save Simon Johnson's American farmhouse!

On this page:

During the giving season of Christmas, let us recall one local family that gave much over many years--the Fogelbergs.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the passing of Burlington’s great historian John E. (Ed) Fogelberg (1910-2003)

making this Fogelberg reflection a timely tribute.