Mary Sandburg Johnson
By Barbara Schock
Mary
was the first child of August and Clara Sandburg.
She was born May 20, 1875, in a three-room cottage
close to the railroad tracks in Galesburg,
Illinois. (It is now the Carl Sandburg State
Historic Site.) Her brother Carl was born about 2
½ years later in the same house. There followed
five more children, three boys and two girls, in
the years to come.
Mary Sandburg was a bright
child who did well in school in spite of the
cramped household and poverty. She learned several
hundred Swedish words while growing up, as well as
being proficient in English.
After graduating from high
school, she taught at several country schools. She
was paid $30 per month ( more than $800 in today’s
money.) Her earnings contributed a great deal to
the family’s well-being. She also helped Carl
financially while he was attending Lombard
University from 1998-1900.
Mary also shared her high
school textbooks with Carl. He was always seeking
to learn about the world. She practiced teaching
techniques with him as her first student. In a
way, it was part payment for her chance to attend
high school and Carl being forced to go to work to
help support the family after he finished eighth
grade. Mary had better grades than Carl so the
parents had decided she would have the opportunity
to go to high school. When she had gotten a
teaching position, Mary could contribute to the
household expenses.
Mary taught at Bishop Hill,
Illinois, from 1900 to 1904. She had the lead role
in a locally produced play. A local newspaper
reviewed the production and was very complimentary
of Mary’s acting and singing. For the next two
years she taught music at a school in Rockville,
Indiana. Then, she helped to care of her brother
Mart’s son who had been very ill. The attending
physician suggested she become a nurse because of
the excellent care she had given her nephew.
She graduated from
Galesburg Cottage Hospital School of Nursing in
1907. She worked for Dr. J.F. Percy, who sent her
to the Mayo Clinic to learn anesthesiology. She
was the first nurse in Knox County trained in the
work. She was able to make all the preparations
necessary for emergency operations in the homes of
patients. She worked for several other doctors who
thought highly of her ability.
In 1916 Mary became the
wife of Allie C. Johnson. She was 41 and he was
26. They adopted a son, Eric. Allie Johnson died
February 18, 1923. Mrs. Johnson continued to work
as a visiting nurse and lived in their home at
1324 North Kellogg Street. In 1945, she moved to
California to be near her son and his family.
Throughout her life Mary
Sandburg Johnson was close to her brother Carl.
They exchanged letters giving one another advice
and support. Carl entrusted his early writings to
Mary for safekeeping. She and younger sister
Esther were the only family members present when
Carl married Lilian Steichen in Milwaukee in 1908.
Mary had a severe stroke in
1950. Carl paid thousands of dollars for her care.
She died in July 1958. She was buried next to her
husband in Linwood Cemetery.