I am the fourth child of John Matson (Mathiason) and Christina Sophia Abrahamson, who were emigrants from Sweden who came to America for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I was born 5 October 1870 at Upsala, Sweden. My parents were baptized into the Mormon church shortly after I was born.

I was baptized when I was twelve years old [by] J. C. Wiburg, May 17, 1883. We left Sweden for America when I was almost fourteen years of age. There were Father, Mother, and eight of us children in our group, as one sister and one brother had previously emigrated. My sister came about a year before us and my brother came two years before, but he stayed in Chicago until a later time. We were ten days on the ocean and about a week coming on the train from New York to Chicago where we landed August 1844.

When we stepped from the train, my sister Matilda, who had come a year previous, was there to meet us. I can see her come running down the street with her arms flying, as she was a little late for the train. She wore a pretty dress with big red flowers in it. We were all so happy to see each other again.

Then we met with a great surprise when she took us to the home she had prepared for us. She had rented a three-room house and furnished it through and had a lovely dinner all cooked, ready for us to eat. I can remember she had a boiler of nice fresh bread she had baked all ready for us, a big beef roast and potatoes and fruit, with the table all set.

My parents came to LaBelle Idaho in 1887 and I followed in three years after they came. The following 4 November 1891, I was married to George Andrew Browning at Menan by the Justice of the Peace, a Mr. Comstock. The next year, 15 June 1892, we went to the Logan Temple. After we were married, we moved to Annis Idaho where we lived for 26 years and where all of our ten children were born. While there, my husband was Presiding Elder and Bishop for 17 years and I was president of the Primary for 7 years and counselor to the president of the Relief Society for 10 years.

When our youngest child was one year old, we moved to Antelope. There I was a counselor in Relief Society. Then we moved to Poplar, where we lived for a little more than a year. While there, I was President of the Relief Society. We then moved back to Antelope and also built a home in Idaho Falls. My husband died in 1933. I came to St. Anthony in 1938 after selling my home in Idaho Falls.

I was a Relief Society teacher in Idaho Falls and am also one here in St. Anthony. I love my work in the Relief Society and I have a testimony of the Gospel of which I am very proud -- and I hope I will prove faithful until the end of my days.
 
 

Some of the Personal Memories of Emma Browning

She left Sweden when she was nearly fourteen years of age. The exact time of leaving July 1884. The family left Upsala, went to Stockholm and then to Copenhagen, Denmark. They then crossed the North Sea in a steam ship and then went across the channel to Liverpool. They stayed there one day and one night and then sailed to America. After traveling ten days and nights they docked in New York harbor. The ocean in the harbor was very rough and the ship nearly tipped over. All the dishes and everything came tumbling down. One other day while crossing the ocean, Emma was sitting on the rail with her feet hanging over when she was just grabbed back by a sailor just as a big wave came over and would have washed her overboard if she hadn't been saved by the sailor. It cost 350 crowns to cross on the ship. They went to Chicago by train and changed trains for the west. They nearly left Uncle John on the train at Chicago, but they got him woke up and on the right train.

When they got to Ogden, Tillie was there to meet them. She had everything already for them. A nice three-room house with a stove, table, chairs, beds, and a bed for the baby. A big roast was cooking and plenty of bread, grapes, and peaches. It was a very pretty location.

Aunt Emma went to school in Sweden. She started to school when she was six years old. She had to go by a railroad track and her mother told her not to open the gate, but Aunt Emma was in a hurry so she started over and caught her foot in the railroad track. A man grabbed her back, but she lost her shoe and had to go back home and of course got a scolding and put on her best shoes and went back to school. She finished the fifth grade in school there. They had to memorize all of their lessons. They studied reading, writing, spelling, history, and geography. Her favorite study was history.

In the winter time, it was dark when they went and came back to school. They had to burn the lights until after 10:00 and then again at 2. They always lived in an apartment house and were considered above the average in living conditions. Grandma baked bread about every three months. They had a bakery room in the apartment with a huge stone oven that would hold 20 knackbread at a time. It was made out of rye flour in a big vat. She got up at 2 in the morning and mixed it and then it would be ready to bake in the morning. The loaves were round like a plate with a hole in the center and after they were baked, they were strung on a small pole and hung from the ceiling of the bake room and then they were packed in paper lined boxes and stored. They bought other bakery breads, fuar limpa and others and Grandma made skorpers. They made all kinds of small cakes and breads not like what we have here. They had so many more kinds over there.

Aunt Emma saw such pretty prancing horses in Liverpool and New York.

About he middle of the summer they had the Midnight Sun. Aunt Emma lost the house key while they were going to the park to listen to the birds. They had so many beautiful parks with swans and so many beautiful flowers. When they returned at 11:30 she could see the key plainly from the sun and at midnight you could easily see to the road.

Grandma Matson's two brothers who were ministers came to see her before she left Sweden. They were ministers and they just begged her not to go to America. One had black hair and one had almost bright red curly hair. She also had a sister Wilhelmina who worked in the king's palace as a house keeper, and Grandma Matson's mother used to weave cloth for the Queen. One of Grandma's brothers came to America and lived in Chicago. Uncle Oscar stayed with him when he came to America in 1882. This uncle wanted him to stay with him and live with him but after Grandma's family came to Ogden he came out there and worked as a carpenter. While there, he met Annie Grandine and married her about 1886.

Grandma and Grandpa Matson came to LaBelle Idaho in 1887. Matilda married Frank Lundquist in Dec. 1887 and worked for a dressmaker and then came by train to Idaho Falls and was met by Grandma and Frank. She took care of Tillie until Lillie was born and then went back to Idaho Falls. Emma met george Browning who was a school teacher in LaBelle and the were married in 1891. Wilhelma died from measles in Sweden when one year old.