Erna Alexandra Andersson was born 10 October 1895 in Kulla village, Strömfors, (Lovisa), in the Swedish-speaking part of Finland. Her father was Anders Israelsson Aspelin (b. 18 July 1861?) and her mother was Fredrika, nee Johansson.
She was 5'7'' tall, had brown hair and grey eyes.
She boarded the Polaris at Hangö to Hull and then travelled on to Southampton where she boarded the Titanic as a third class passenger. She was en route to her brother Rudolf Andersson, 201 Brown Place, New York City.1
She seems to have been travelling with Mr. and Mrs. Backström and Mrs. Backström's brothers, Anders and Johan Gustafsson, on the Titanic.
She and Mrs. Backström were saved. It is not known in which lifeboat she escaped, however.
She later worked as a maid; in 1923, she was a housekeeper.
Erna stated she was not married by 11 August 1923 when she applied for US citizenship. However, she had married Anders Alfred Johansson2 on 29 January 1921.
In 1930, her husband was a carpenter and they lived in the Bronx, New York City; she called herself Erma Johnson. In 1940, she fashioned herself Anna Johnson. Her husband was a watchman in the construction business at the time. They still lived in the Bronx. She was alive as of July 1944. Her husband died in August 1968 in the Bronx, aged 84.
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