Johnson - William W. - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

William W. Johnson, a prominent farmer and stock-raiser, and an honored citizen of Montgomery County, residing on section 6, Walnut Township, controls large and valuable farming interests and is one of the most successful men of his calling in this portion of the State. He is descended from one of the early pioneer families of Ohio and was born in Clinton County, that State, twelve miles from the town of Wilmington, June 12, 1836. His father, Robert W. Johnson, was also a native of Ohio, born in Highland County, October 15, 1811, his father, William Johnson, who was reared in Virginia, having been one of the early settlers of that county. He was a Quaker in religion. He married Mary Watkins and they had a family of nine children, of whom the father of our subject was the seventh in order of birth.

Robert W. Johnson grew to man's estate amid pioneer environments in the county of his nativity, and was there married to Miss Salina McCoy, a daughter of Arthur McCoy. The McCoys were from Virginia and were early settlers in Highland County. After his marriage Mr. Johnson first located in Clinton County, in the State of his birth, and engaged in farming there until 1849, when he left Ohio for Indiana with his wife and children, performing the journey to their destination in Walnut Township with wagons. He and His family were not pleased with the aspect of the country, which was but partially developed and still retained much of its primitive wildness, and they moved to Peoria County, Ill. They were not any better satisfied with the condition of the country there, and coming back to this county for a load of goods that had been left behind, they decided to stay here a while before returning to their old home in Ohio. That winter, however, Mr. Johnson bought land, upon wh ich the family settled in the spring, and after that there was no thought of return. Mr. Johnson's first purchase was an eighty-acre tract of land in the timber, of which thirty acres had been cleared. He lived thereon until 1858, when he bought another place of like size on mile west of where he originally located. There his busy and honorable life was prolonged until March 23, 1886, when he passed away. He was one of the upbuilders of the township and county and acquired a comfortable property while helping to develop the agricultural resources of this region, although he began with a small capital - not more than $200. He was a Whig in his younger days, but after the formation of the Republican party he transferred his allegiance to that and remained one of its stanchest supporters until the day of his death. He was a Quaker by birth, but did not continue in the faith of his fathers. His good wife survives him at a venerable age. They had four children, two sons a nd two daughters, of whom one son and one daughter grew to maturity. Mary Jane, who was the wife of William A. Dice, of Walnut Township, died at the age of forty-one; Sarah Ann died at the age of four years; and George W. died when two years old.

Our subject is the only son and child of his mother's old age. He was an active, intelligent lad of fourteen years when the family settled in this county. He was reared to the life of a farmer and was well grounded in agricultural pursuits ere he had attained manhood. He remained on the old homestead to help in its management until his marriage, in the spring of 1860, when he located on the farm upon which William A. Dice now lives. He remained upon that five years and then took possession of his present farm, which then comprised but one hundred and thirty acres, of which only forty acres were cleared from the forest growth that originally covered this region. In conducting his farming operations he early showed himself to be a wide-awake, clear-headed farmer, ready to adopt new methods of agriculture if feasible, and keeping pace with the times in all things, besides being a thorough man of business, who, while yet in the prime of life, had become one of the most subs tantial and well-to-do citizens of Walnut Township. He formerly owned eight hundred and ten acres of land, including real estate in Kansas, and had four hundred and ninety acres here until he deeded a quarter-section to his daughter in the fall of 1890. He also has valuable real estate in Chicago. His land is all well improved in a fine conditions to cultivation, and this is one of the best-equipped farms in this vicinity. Ample buildings for every needed purpose add greatly to the value of the place, and include a neat and commodious frame dwelling, erected in 1875. Mr. Johnson raises a good deal of stock, all of standard breeds, and he has a fine herd of Shorthorn cattle.

Our subject is a high-minded, candid, even-tempered gentleman, endowed with a firm character, a tenacious will and pleasant social qualities, and he is sincerely esteemed by the entire community where he has lived as boy and man for so many years. In him the Christian Church finds a devoted member, one who has borne an active part in advancing its interests and in the upbuilding of Union Chapel, its house of worship. In politics he is a sound Republican and a strong advocate of party principles.

April 18, 1860, the marriage of Mr. Johnson with Elizabeth Jane, daughter of Harrison and Eliza (Covington) Linn, was solemnized. Her parents came here from Butler County, Ohio, and were early settlers in this county. Mrs. Johnson is a woman of fine personal attributes, who has sustained her relations as a wife, mother and friend with true grace and dignity. She is a Christian in every sense of the word, and a faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Her wedded life with our subject was hallowed to them by the birth of two children: Anna May and Robert Grant. The daughter only is left to be t heir solace in their declining years. She was born March 28, 1862, was educated at the Ladoga Normal School, and is now the wife of William B. Dice, a farmer living in Walnut Township, south of Mace, and a son of Christopher Dice.

Robert Grant Johnson, the beloved son of our subject and his wife, whose bright young life was seemingly so untimely closed by his death in the opening years of a glorious manhood that held great promise of future distinction, was born in Walnut Township, Montgomery County, Ind., May 23, 1865. He early showed scholarly tastes and in the district school, where he obtained the preliminaries of his education, he was particularly noted for his studious habits and remarkable faculty for memorizing. He was always a favorite at the Friday "dress parades' in the schoolroom, his talents as an amateur speaker contributing much to their success and enjoyment. He was a great reader, especially of history and books of travel, and when only a small boy was master of Dickens' "Child's History of England.'

With such a mind and a deep-seated longing for higher culture, young Johnson naturally became restless and dissatisfied with farm life, and while toiling in the fields in the hot sun his busy thoughts were far away in the city, dwelling upon more congenial avocations. He was sixteen years old when his cousins from college came to see him, and from listening to their account of college life he first began to definitely shape his resolution to obtain a college education. He told his parents of his determination to leave the farm and fit himself for a profession, and as they highly approved of his plans, he met with substantial encouragement. In the fall of 1883 he entered the De Pauw University at Greencastle, and showed his capacity by doing two years of preparatory work in one, winning high rank for brilliant scholarship. In his freshman year he became a member of the Delta Kappa Epsita College Fraternity, and bore a conspicuous part in its proceedings while he remained in the university. He became famous among his fellow-students for his oratorical powers, won the first prize in declamation over the sophomore and junior contestants, and was thenceforth recognized as a formidable foe in debates. Gifted with a voice of remarkable richness and strength, which he assiduously cultivated, and having an earnest and direct style of speaking, he always made a good impression. He took the first prize at the Inter-State Oratorical Contest at Greencastle in 1888, delivering a speech on "Principles of Political Parties,' which won high encomiums, not only on account of its magnificent delivery, but for the subject matter contained therein, which was peculiarly adapted to the political outlook of Indiana at that time.

After his graduation from the university in 1888, Robert Johnson devoted his talents as an orator to the service of the Republican party in the campaign of 1888, and created a very favorable impression wherever he spoke. As soon as election was over he went to Chicago and found employment as a newspaper reporter. But he had a preference for the legal profession and a few months later he began his preparatory studies in the law office of Sheldon & Sheldon. In the fall of 1889 he entered the senior class of the Chicago College of Law, from which he was graduated the following June with high honors, receiving the prize of $50 for the best essay. He was admitted to the Bar and took a position as managing clerk for Sheldon & Sheldon, with whom he had learned the principles of law. But he was not destined to attain the realization of his ambition to become a great lawyer, for the career begun with such fair prospects was soon clouded by his illness, and though he was taken to his home, where the most tender care was bestowed upon him, he was unable to rally and died June 13, 1891. His death was the source of great grief to his parents and sister, who had watched his course with loving pride, but their sorrow is tempered with resignation born of their firm religious faith in an all-loving Father, who still cherishes the noble life thus well begun and has but called it to "broader fields of action and duty, where nobler struggles shall tax the strength and more precious crowns award the victor, where the hopes and dreams of earth shall be turned to sight, and the broken circles of life be rounded to the perfect orb.'

History of Montgomery County, Indiana. Ripley Township. DANIEL SMITH, P 1120

Among the venerable farmers of Montgomery County, no one is more worthy of a place in her chronicles than is the gentleman of whom this is a life record, as he is a member of a family whose history has been closely connected with that of this region for more than half a century. Daniel Smith, of Ripley Township, who has attained the advanced age of eighty-three years, has proved a very useful acquisition to the citizenship of the county since he took up his abode here, his ability as a farmer making him a valuable assistant in maintaining and extending the most important of the industries of this region. He is a self-made man in the broadest sense of the word and the architect of his own fortune. He has been a resident of the Wabash Valley country for many decades, and during that time has been one of the chief promoters of its upward progress, laboring harmoniously with other co-workers in the march of improvements, and winning, in his efforts for the common good, the esteem of the community by whom he has been surrounded, and he in every way is deserving of the high regard in which he is universally held, for his life had been carefully lived, with regard to right and wrong, and he has been helpful to his neighbors.Mr. Smith was born in the state of Ohio, on December 1, 1827. He is a son of Solomon and Jane (Marshall) Smith. The father of the subject was a farmer all his life, and he settled in Ohio in a very early day. His family consisted of six children, of whom Daniel, of this review, is the only one living. Daniel Smith grew to manhood on the home farm, and there worked hard when a boy, for the sons of all pioneers had plenty to do in developing the virgin soil and winning a living from resisting Nature. He had scarcely any opportunity to obtain an education, schools being scarce in his time and were taught only a few months in the winter time. However, later in life, he read extensively and became a well informed man on current topics.

On November 1, 1857, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Catherine Thomas, who was born in Ohio April 17, 1838. She proved to be a very faithful helpmate and she was call to her eternal rest on April 17, 1905.Seven children were born to Daniel Smith and wife, five of whom are still living, namely: Edward, Howard, Hamlet, Lenley, who is postmaster at Alamo, this county; Daniel is deceased; George is also deceased; and Estella, the youngest, married Harry Cheney, and they have one child, Ruth. They live with the subject and Estella keeps house for her father.

Mr. Smith learned the carpenter's trade when a young man, and he became a very skillful workman, his services being in great demand. He followed his trade until he was fifty years old, when he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, purchasing the farm which he still owns in Ripley township, and here he has become quite well established, and has engaged successfully in general farming and stock raising. He is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres, well improved and under a fine state of cultivation, Mr. Smith having made all the improvements himself. He has a pleasant home and good outbuildings. His land is all tillable, and it has been so well looked after that it has retained its original fertility and strength of soil. Although now one of the patriarchs of the country, he is comparatively well preserved, and looks after his farm and livestock in a general way. He attributes his long life and his health to steady and temperate habits and right thinking. He first came to Montgomery county in 1835, and since then has been one of our most enthusiastic citizens, and has lived the life of a good citizen in every respect.

Politically, Mr. Smith is a Republican; however, he has never been much of a worker politically. Fraternally, he belongs to the Masonic Order at Alamo, and he is a member of the Presbyterian church. --kbz