Johnsen, Magnhild

Magnhild (Torsvik) Johnsen was born on April 26, 1908 in Kristiansand, Vest-Agder, Norway. Her parents were Adolf Andreas Torsvik and Hanne Kristine Tønseth, and she had two sisters and one brother: Hjørdis, Bergljøt, and Harald; her father was the manager of the biggest lumberyard in Kristiansand and her mother taught first through seventh grade. Her mother was one of the first female professors in Norway, graduating from the University of Oslo, but became a teacher because she would have had to live in Oslo to be a professor. Magnhild's father had a farm just outside of Torsvik, but the family moved into Kristiansand when WWI broke out. Magnhild attended school, graduated from high school, and attended one year of college.

Her mother died around 1920 and after college, Magnhild kept house for her father. She then wanted to attend Stabekk husmorsskole in Oslo to become a home economics teacher, but she had to have a year's employment in housework to qualify. She decided to immigrate to the U.S. and work for one year in Brooklyn, where her father's oldest brother, Bernhard Torsvik, lived. Magnhild left from Kristiansand aboard the "Stavangerfjord" on March 9, 1929. While on the dock in Kristiansand, an old boyfriend introduced her to Olaf Johnsen, a fellow passenger, and Olaf brought her water when she was seasick and in bed. She landed directly in Brooklyn, bypassing Ellis Island, and her uncle and his 20-year-old daughter met her and took her home to Woodhaven, Long Island. Magnhild began her first job as a housegirl for a Jewish family, but the job did not last long because the family moved back to Israel. Olaf Johnsen had emigrated in 1923 and had been visiting Norway when he and Magnhild met, and he got her a job as a cook at the same home where he was a chauffeur and caretaker. The owners, the Youngs, were wealthy Americans who owned a business school in Brooklyn, and Magnhild stayed at this job until after she married and was pregnant with her first child.

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