Mrs. Otto Johnson lived in Garfield, a small city in Douglas County of west-cental Minnesota.
This small prairie community was named for President James Garfield who had been recently assassinated when the town was platted in 1882.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield,_Minnesota
Sometime in a year around 1910, Mrs., Johnson received a postcard photograph from Emma Foslien.
The postcard was not mailed; I suspect that it was enclosed with a letter, or delivered by an intermediary.
The picture was taken in Garfield during a visit by Emma.
In the Research Note, we learn that Emma lived in Moe – a town about 7 miles southwest of Garfield.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moe_Township,_Douglas_County,_Minnesota
Unfortunately, the individuals were not identified except for an “E” on the woman standing on the left.
We may assume that this is Emma.
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The photograph includes three women standing, with two young men seated in front of them.
Perhaps due to proximity of the camera, the faces of the men are much clearer than those of the women.
Each of the women is wearing a shirtwaist and skirt; each young man sports a suit with a long tie.
The poor condition of the postcard makes details of the photograph difficult to discern.
I made significant digital repairs to the face where long creases and streaks distorted the image.
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On the reverse, Emma begins her message without a greeting.
She declares, “This is a picture we took up there when we were there for a visit.
It is probable that one of the women is Mrs. Johnson.
The postcard photograph was preserved for more than a century.
I like to think that the damage to the postcard resulted from the many occasions when it was handed around and shown proudly to others.
RESEARCH NOTE
There are dozens of persons named “Otto Johnson” recorded throughout Minnesota in 1900, so I turned to Emma Foslien.
On August 28 of 1875, Emma Foslein was born in Moe (Douglas County),Minnesota.
https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/L4WT-W45
She was the first child of Harold (Haakon) Fingerson Foslien (1849-1894) and Seriana Winkjer Foslien (1850-1930).
Seriana had been born in Norway, Harold had been born in Wisconsin.
Harold and Seriana were married in Minnesota in 1870 and were pioneer farmers in Douglas County.
Emma had four sisters and three brothers, although at least two of her sisters died before the age of 20.
Emma was christened in the West Moe Lutheran Church shortly after her birth.
For most of her life, Emma lived in Moe – she never married.
Sometime between the Minnesota Census of 1935 and the US Census of 1940, Emma moved to Minneapolis.
The US Census of 1950 lists her as “Housekeeper”.
Emma died in Minneapolis in September of 1962 at the age of 87. She is buried in the cemetery of the Lutheran Church in West Moe.
https://www.westmoechurch.org/history
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/119862649/emma-foslien
