The Johnson Family

George W. Johnson in History of Sac County, Iowa (1914

The full biographical sketch as printed in 1914, transcribed from the public-domain book. Spelling and wording are the original author’s; a few scanning errors may remain.

GEORGE W. JOHNSON.

The life of a veteran pioneer is full of interesting details which are not usuallv (liscernil)le in the writings concerning the comm<jnplace and mediocre. The story of the settlement of Sac county and western Iowa will alwavs have a fascinating effect upon the discriminating reader. What at one time was ignorantly referred to as the Great American Desert has l)een transfijrmed into a garden of luxuriant fertility unsurpassed in the American continent. Many of the early pioneer settlers were Union veterans, who. becoming restless with the environments of their earlier homes, moved westward with the tide of empire and became important fixtures in stable conditions which later followed the redemption of a wilderness and its subsequent transforma- tion. One of these who has lived a useful and honorable life and is still en- joying the power of enjoyment and possessing a keen zest for all that is good and desirable in living is George W. Johnson, of Schaller. Iowa.

Mr. Johnson was born September lo, 1836, on a farm in b'ranklin county, Ohio. His father was William Johnson, a native of New York, and who (bed in July, 1890, at the great age of one hundred anil one years. His mother was Mahala Thomas, whose nativity was in the state of Pennsyl- vania. She lived to the age of ninety-four years, dying in March. 1893. I" the \ear 1838 William Johnson migrated to Belmont. Grant county, Wiscon- sin, and erected the first territorial ca])itol Imilding for Wisconsin in the town of Belmont. He then traveled to what is now Sauk county, Wiscon- sin, across the Wisconsin river, and settled upon an immense prairie farm. Habitations were few and far between in the earl}- days, but William John- son was a pioneer by virtue of his upbringing and ancestry and he had a broad and favorable outlook of what the future would eventually bring to him and his. Thev, the father and sons, cultivated an entire section of land in Sauk countw ami in time built a l)eautiful and sulistantial home in the

jSo SAC COUNTY, IOWA.

midst of the estate. William became very wealthy and was one of the innu- ential and commanding figures of his part of Wisconsin. He and his eight stalwart sons tilled their land with oxen, as horses were not plentiful in those days and the ox was the best beast of burden on many pioneer farms. He was the father of the following children: John: Benjamin: Roswell, de- ceased; George W. : ThMiiias, deceased; William and Joseph, of Baraboo, Wisconsin ; Janies, a resident of Rice Lake, Wisconsin. George W. was a member of the Twenty-third Indiana Regiment; Benjamin was a member of the Third Regiment of Union \'olunteers ; William was a soldier in the Eleventh Wisconsin Regiment, and Joseph enlisted in the Forty-seventh Wisconsin Infantry Regiment.

George W. Johnson enlisted August 13, 1862, in Company K, Twenty- ihird Wisconsin \'olunteer Infantry, and served for two years and eleven months, or until the close of the conflict. He participated in sixteen im- portant engagements, among them iieing the great battle of Vicksburg, Sa- bine Cross Roads, Carrion Crow Bayou, Jackson, Mississippi, Jackson, Louis- iana. b^)rt Blakelv and the liattle of Mobile Bay. It can be truthfully said cif him that he was a faithful and willing soldier whu uncomplainingly bore the hardships of the soldier's life and was ever ready to take his place in the fighting ranks of the army.

In September, 1865, Mr. Johnson came to Iowa and located on a farm near Grinnell. Poweshiek county, where he resided until 1877. He then mi- grated to Sac county and purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land in section 23, Cook township, for a consideration of one thousand seven hun- dred dollars. He later invested in eighty acres in section 25, just over the line in Boyer Valle\' townshi]). paving fourteen dollars and fifty cents for his second investment. In the fall of 1892 he disposed of his land holdings at forty-five dollars per acre and moved to Alta in the spring of 1893, '^"^ one year later he removed to Schaller and has here made his home. Mr. John- son's wealth is wisely and safely invested in desirable residence properties located in Schaller and Storm Lake, which yield him a good income from rentals. He devotes much of his tiine to personal supervision of his prop- erties and to keeping them in good repair. He and his faithful wife have traveled extensively of late years and enjoy their winters in California and Florida each season.

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are both members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Johnson is a Progressive Republican, and is a member of Price Post No. 392, Grand .\rmy of the Republic, and is fraternally connected with the

Ancient i^'rcc and Accepted Masons and liastern Star, nf the latter ol wli.cli Airs. Johnson is an active memlier.

Mr. Johnson was married March 20, 1861, to Mary L. Baldwin, a daughter of Philander and Charlotte Baldwin, natives of New York, and who migrated to Wisconsin in 1836 and became pioneer settlers of that great commonwealth. This worthy and progressive couple are the parents of the following children; George, a prominent citizen of Siou.x City, who served as chief government inspector of the Sioux City stock yards for over si.xteen years and who is now engaged in the cereal manufacturing business; Mrs. Myrtilla A. Satchell, of Schaller, Iowa; Orville C, who died in June, 1903, at the age of twentv-eight years. He was the father of one child, Orville C, who was born four months after his father's death. This son followed the illustrious example of his father and enlisted as a soldier in the Union army for services in the Spanish-American War. His lamented death was caused l)y his contraction of typhoid fever on the eve of his embarkation for service in the Philippines and which weakened his health to such an extent that he never reccwered.

In the plenteous and even serenity of enjoyment of their declining years, secure and peaceful in the knowledge that they have lived a useful and hon- orable life, we leave this grand old veteran pioneer and his faithful wife to live many, manv years more in the esteem of their fellow citizens. This tribute is given with the hope that a perusal of this review will be an inspira- tion to the reader.

Source: History of Sac County, Iowa (1914. See the original pages at the Internet Archive.