Alina Johnson as a young woman
Alina Vilhelmina Johnson was a passenger on Titanic.
Background[]
Alina Vilhelmina Backberg was born to Stefan Backberg and Amanda Lovisa Gustafintytär in Helsinki, Finland on the 21st of April 1884. People close to her often named her 'Alice.'
She married at a young age to Karl Victor Neffling, but the marriage was unhappy and they seperated quite soon.
Alina had emigrated to America in 1905, using her husband's last name, Neffling. However, the couple got a divorce in 1907. Alina didn't have to be alone for long, as she remarried to another Scandanavian emigrant in the same year: He was Oscar Johnson, a journalist from Småland, Sweden.
Two children were born to them: Harold Theodor in 1908 and Eleanor Ileen in September 1910. At the time the couple lived in St. Charles, Missouri and Oscar had a job in a bowling alley and at a bar later.
Soon after Eleanor's birth, Alina received a troubling letter from Finland. Her father was terminally ill and still hoped to see his beloved daughter. Alina made a daring decision: she would travel with little Harold and baby Eleanor back across the Atlantic.
Alina came to Finland because it looked like her father was dying. In spite of her efforts to get there as fast as possible, Alina arrived too late, When she reached her parents' home at Mikonkatu in Helsinki in the spring of 1911, she found out that Mr. Backberg had died in late February. Alina spent the next nine months meeting other relatives in Finland and Sweden.
A postcard that Alina Vilhelmina Johnson sent to her sister Anna just before boarding the Titanic
On the front of the card is a coloured image of the Royal Pier of Southampton. The card was stamped in Helsinki on 12.4.1912
In the early spring of 1912, Alina and the children traveled to eventually get back home to the United States. On the way, Alina visited her husband's Swedish grandparents with the children in Ramkvilla, Oscar's native town. There she met two young Swedish women, Elin Braf and Helmina Josefina Nilsson, who joined Alina to move to the United States. The entourage continued to Malmö, where Alina bought Third Class tickets for a ship to get her to America.
They travelled via Copenhagen to England and arrived in Southampton. It wasn't until they were at port that Alina found out that they wouldn't be able to join the steamer she thought they could go because of the coal mine strike, but would instead be transferred onto the Titanic. Alina decided to explore a part of the port and she had found colorful pictures which she thought would be great as souvenirs. She sent a postcard with the picture to her sister Anna. The postcard would only arrive at Anna's home when Titanic's foundering became front page news later. She would also write a letter to her husband.
On board Titanic[]
Alina was 27 years old at the time of the voyage. She and her children were Third Class passengers when Titanic started her trip on the 10th of April just after noon. Alina's voyage was pleasant. One of the stewards in the Third Class Dining Room was very nice and had complimented Alina's entourage. He made sure that she received excellent service.
On the night of April 14th, the women woke up to a collision, and the force of it threw the 4-year-old Harold, who was sleeping in his bed, to the floor. Helmina, together with Alina, went out to see what had happened. There were pieces of iceberg lying on the deck but the women laughed and were eager to kick some ice to each other. A crew member who happened to be there ordered the women back to the cabin, as he explained that the ship would soon resume its journey.
Not long after, the friendly steward from the Dining Room knocked on their door and, with a group of other Swedes, escorted them to the Boat Deck, where they were guided to lifeboat 15. Alice was helped into the boat with Eleanor in her arms and called up to Braf to get into the boat with Harold. Braf remained frozen on deck, so a crew member took Harold from her arms and tossed him into the boat, leaving Braf behind, despite Mrs. Johnson's calls to her. Braf would perish in the sinking, although Helmina Nilsson did escape the ship, possibly in lifeboat 13.
Alice and her children were picked up by the rescue ship RMS Carpathia and arrived in New York on April 18th, 1912.
After the sinking[]
Alina Vilhelmina Johnson and her children: Eleanor Ileen and Harold Theodor
In New York, Alina had to prove and convince the immigration authorities that they were not immigrants but already U.S. citizens. This wasn't easy for Alina, who had a poor understanding of English.
They were taken care of in St Luke's Hospital. Alina had suffered from a bit of icy water around her ankles sitting in the lifeboat, and her voicebox was infected. A telegram reached Oskar informing him of what happened to his other half and children, and he was hit hard. He was desperate for his community to loan him money so he could go and meet them. Oskar's neighbours managed to raise $100 for him by charity and he hasted to go and find them.
Alina received a financial grant from the Red Cross, as well as a new suitcase. A week later, on April 24, Alina traveled with her children to Chicago, where Oscar met them. The next day, April 25, Alina's mother, Amanda, received a telegram sent to Helsinki via Malmö, informing her that Alina and both children had been saved.
Later life[]
A new boy was born, and they welcomed Herbert to the family. On the 31st of December 1917, Oskar died at the young age of 35, which left Alina to be a young widow.
Several years later, Alina had found love in Hans Thorvald Amundson, a Norwegian she wed on 2 December 1918. They had one child, Vernon Hans Amundson. Alice had seemingly been cursed in her marriages. Yet again her husband died extremely young and also insanely soon after the vows had been done, on December 23 that year. Less than a month after their vows. He was only 37 years old.
She didn't wait for longer than 2 years and had said the yes-word on 28 August 1920 to Carl Oscar Peterson, who was a farmer and immigrant originating from Sweden. He was widowed too, and had 4 children from his marriage that his wife, who died in 1920. Alina and Carl were joined as spouses in Chicago. Alice's suffering of losses didn't stop at the husbands either. In 1923, one of her children, a girl was stillborn. Another daughter, Irene did survive after coming into this world in 1925.
Alina with her children Harold and Eileen, watching the Titanic movie 'A Night to Remember' in 1958.
During the 1930's and 1940's this large family which was a mix of a lot of half-sisters and half-brothers, all lived in Wayne Township in DuPage County, Illinois, Alina and her oldest children Elin and Harold were often guests for the screening of the movies 'Titanic' in 1953 and 'A Night to Remember' in 1958. On 25 April 1964 she became a widow for the third time and losing a marriage for the fourth time, when Carl passed away who at least had gotten to a more respectable age of 79.
The last few years of her life, her daughter Irene took care of her at Irene's home in St Charles and had survived even her eldest son Harold, who died less than a year before Alice. She passed away on 19 December 1968 in the Delnor Hospital at the age of 84. She was laid to rest in the St. Charles' North Cemetery,