The Johnson Families of Portage County, Ohio

HARLOW S. JOHNSON, Health Officer, Ravenna, was born February 1, 1821, in Nelson, this county. His father, Alanson Johnson, a native of Litchfield, Conn., was a great-grandson of the famous Sir William Johnson, who took great part in settling a colony in the Mohawk Valley, N. Y. The town of Whitehall, Washington Co., N. Y., was built on an estate of the family. Alanson Johnson was a cousin to Richai'd M. Johnson, late Vice- President of the United States, and also to Mrs. Iartin Van Buren, and was second cousin to President Andrew Johnson. He married Miss Betsey Northrop, of Cornwall, Conn., a descendant through her grandmother of the family of Sir Francis Drake, and one of the oldest Puritan families of New England. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and in 1816 they came to this county, and settled in Nelson. Of their five children Mrs. Elizabeth S. Spencer now lives in Windham, this county; Mrs. Antoinette Couch, of Nelson, died July 6, 1884, aged seventy; Mrs. Julia Hunt, of Nelson, died April 6, 1884, aged sixty-six, and one daughter died in childhood. The father and mother lived the lives of useful pioneers and were honored by a large circle of friends. She died March 6, 1877, aged eighty-three. He died January 2, 1880, aged eighty-eight. Our subject was their only son. He married Miss Emily Baldwin, of Nelson, 'August 22, 1844. She was born October 19, 1827, and is a daughter of Stephen Baldwin, who was among the earliest settlers of that township, having come from Granville, Mass., in 1803. Her mother's maiden name was Hannah Clark, a native of Cornwall, Conn. To Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have been born four children: Loren Alanson, Auditor of the freight department of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad, Cleveland, Ohio; Andrew J., in Warren, Ohio, inventor of a successful fire-escape and Superintendent of the Warren Fire Escape Company; Frank H. (deceased), late journalist. Bay City, Mich., and an infant (deceased). After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Johnson resided on their farm until 1872, when they sold out and located in Ravenna. Our subject has held the position of Health Officer of the city since 1880. He is discharging his duties faithfully and efficiently and has put the city in first-class sanitary condition. 'Mr. Johnson is a life loDg Democrat. Mrs. Johnson is a consistent member of the Congregational Church.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

S. W. JOHNSON, farmer, P. O. Atwater, was born in New Haven County, Conn., in 1825; son of Levi and Eliza (Riggs) Johnson, who crossed the country, arriving in this county in 1834, and settling in Rootstown Township, where the father purchased a farm and founded a home. In 1846 Levi Johnson removed to Atwater Township, where he lived till the close of his life, August 25, 1862. His widow is now in the eighty-sixth year of her age. Of the children born to this couple, but two survive: S. W. and Henry. The subject of this sketch was married, in 1849, to Miss Sally, daughter of Stephen Wooley, deceased. His living children are James R. and Eliza, wife of B. F. Hathaway, present Clerk of Atwater Township. In 1850 Mr. Johnson settled on a farm of 100 acres in the northern part of Atwater Township, on which he resided until 1882, when he moved to his present farm, comprising sixty acres, situated near Atwater Station. He has spent a life-time of labor and toil in clearing land and creating from the wilderness scenes of growth and abundance.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

ALONZO JOHNSON, farmer and butcher, Kent, was born in Shalersville Township, this county, May 25, 1835, son of Ebenezer and Annis (Stoddard) Johnson, natives of Vermont and New Hampshire respectively, the latter born April 8, 1811. His paternal grandfather, Sylvester Johnson, was a farmer of Rutland, Vt., and his maternal grandfather, Stoddard, a native of New Hampshire, settled in Freedom Township in 1834, afterward removed to Iowa and died there. The parents of our subject settled in Stowe Tov/ship in 1834, and in 1835 located in Shalersville Township, this county, where they purchased an eighty-acre tract of heavily timbered land which they cleared and improved, and where they lived until the death of the father m 1850, in his forty-second year. They had seven children: Alonzo, Lucinda (deceased), Emeline (Mrs. Willard Seward), Sylvester, Leander, Silas (died in the army during the late war) and Eben. The mother next married Rufus Newton, of Franklin Township, this county, in 1857. He died in 1862 and she moved to Daviess County, Mo., in 1869, and subsequently married William Hughes, who died in 1879, and his widow returned to Ohio in 1880, and is now residing in Kent. Our subject was reared in Shalersville Township, this county, and was educated in the common schools. He resided in Shalersville Township until 1863, when he removed to Kent, Ohio, and embarked in the grocery business, in which he was engaged two years. He then built the hotel known as the " Collins House," which he conducted for three years, and during that time opened a meat market, which he carried on from 1866 to March 30, 1885, when he retired from that business. He is also engaged in farming, now owning three farms in Franklin Township, this county, in company with his two eldest sons, living on the farm formerly occupied by Warren Burt. Mr. Johnson was married in November, 1855, to Mary J., daughter of William and Lavina Cook, of Franklin Township, this county, by whom he had twelve children, nine now living: Willard, Perry, Emma (Mrs. Henry Barker), Albert, Ora, Nella, Clayton, Cora and Selah. Mr. Johnson is a representative citizen of the township. In politics he is a Democi'at.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

R. B. JOHNSON, physician, Ravenna, is a native of Stark County, Ohio, born November 14, 1839. His grandfather, Joseph Johnson, was a pioneer of Stark County, settling in the woods in 1822, and clearing a farm where he passed the remainder of his years. John Johnson, the father of our subject, who was born in Fayette County, Penn., in 1815, married Esther Holloway and resides on the farm where he first settled. Of their children, three are now living: R. B., Nathan W. and Sarah, wife of Isaac Scott, of Kosciusko County, Ind. Our subject was brought up on a farm and received the advantages of a common school education, attending also the high school of Alliance, Ohio. He taught school for four successive winters, commencing when nineteen years old. He studied medicine in the office of Dr. J. G. Heaton (deceased), in Alliance, and graduated at the Cleveland Homoeopathic College in 1869. The same year he began practice in Ravenna, where he has since remained. He was married, in Washington County, Penn., in November, 1861, to Elizabeth Lilley, by whom he had six children, three now living: Nellie L., Thaddeus L. and George D. The Doctor has won popularity both as a physician and as a citizen, and has given successful advancement to Charles D. Painter, of Alliance, and M. G. McBride, of Ravenna, both of whom are practicing physicians. He united with the Disciples Church in 1860, and has held some official position for the last fifteen years, and is now an Eider in said church. He is an honored member of the I. O. O. F.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.