Emmons Johnson

As printed in 1915

EMMONS JOHNSON.

One who is a keen judge of human nature has said that Emmons Johnson "is one of the most prominent business men of Waterloo. He ranks at the top socially, financially and morally." It is not the province of biography to give voice to a man's modest estimate of himself and his accomplishments but rather to leave the record establishing his position to the consensus of public opinion, and judged in this light it is safe to characterize Emmons Johnson as one of the foremost citizens of Black Hawk county. He has been prominently identified with commercial interests of the state and for many years has been actively engaged in the banking business, being now president of the Leavitt & Johnson Trust Company and president of the Waterloo Savings Bank. He is almost an octogenarian yet remains an active factor in the business world. He was born January 23, 1835, in Ellicottville, New York, a son of Elisha and Herma (Jewett) Johnson, the former a native of New York and the latter of Connecticut. The father also reached an advanced age, passing away in 1870.

In early boyhood Emmons Johnson attended the schools of Ashford and Otto, New York, embracing every opportunity to acquire an education up to the time he reached the age of twenty-two or twenty-three years. For a time he was a student in academies at Springville and Fredonia, New York, and for one term attended Brown University at Providence, Rhode Island. Mr. Johnson was a young man of twenty-five years when he sought the opportunities of the growing west, making his way in 1860 to Waterloo, where he has spent most of the time since, although he made his home in Independence, Iowa, for a time, was also a resident of Evanston, Illinois, for a year and although from 1864 until 1870 he was engaged in the banking business in Waverly. Following his arrival here he became connected with the grain and lumber trades and was associated with C. A. Farwell in building the first grain elevator at Waterloo, which he afterward operated. He also conducted a grain business at Independence, Iowa, where he made his home for a few months, also owning the first elevator in that place. For a year he conducted a grain commission business in Chicago and was a member of the Chicago Board of Trade, making his home in Evanston during that period. Removing to Waverly in 1864, he there established the first bank in Bremer county, remaining its owner until 1870, when he sold out to a stock company and returned to Waterloo to become a partner in the firm of Leavitt, Johnson Lusch, conducting a private banking business. After six years Mr. Lusch sold out to his partners and the firm continued as Leavitt & Johnson until 1898, when the business was reorganized into the Leavitt & Johnson National Bank. Although the name of Mr. Johnson is continued he is not connected with that institution at present. In 1902 he organized the Waterloo Savings Bank, in which he owns two-thirds of the stock.

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As printed in History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, and its people (1915). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.