(This biographical sketch of James and Maggie (McCann) Johnson appeared in "Some Descendants of Thomas and Jane (Jefferson) Stephens of Baltimore County, Maryland, 1745-2005" by Edmund G. Fisher, 2005.)
James Johnson spent his infancy and early adolescent years on the family farm in Crawford Township, Washington County, Iowa. In 1871, in his thirteenth year, he set out for Oregon with his parents, reportedly taking a railroad route east to New York City, and thence by sailing ship to the Isthmus of Panama, which they crossed on foot, boarding a ship on the Pacific Ocean side for the remaining sea voyage to Portland. After a three-year residence in Portland, James settled with his parents and other relatives on a wilderness homestead east of the modern day community of La Center in Clark County, Washington Territory. The apprenticeship James served in the farming trade in his youth stood him in good stead later, when the day-to-day operation of the family farm fell to him during his father's active career as a "circuit minister" to the widely scattered Baptist population of southwest Washington Territory. During this time, James also worked in a shingle mill, and tried his hand at seine fishing on the Columbia River.
In 1883 James traveled to Milwaukie, Oregon, to make arrangements for his father's new ministerial assignment with a local Baptist congregation. When James entered Milwaukie's railroad station to claim his parents' baggage, he met his bride-to-be, Maggie McCann, who, with her younger sister Jennie, was a licensed ticket agent for Southern Pacific Railroad. They were married in the spring of 1884, after a brief courtship.
James's diminutive young bride had come from a family background markedly different than his own. A daughter of Irish immigrant parents who had entered the United States during the Civil War years, Maggie had been reared and educated in north Clackamas County, Oregon, where her family had settled in 1868 following a memorable land and sea journey from the upstate New York town of Oswego, on Lake Ontario. In spite of James and Maggie's contrasting cultural and religious backgrounds (he was a Baptist, she a Roman Catholic) the couple enjoyed a strong and loving bond that sustained them through nearly six decades of marriage.
With the exception of a brief residence in Washington early in their marriage, the Johnsons lived exclusively at Milwaukie, Oregon. The family home was located in the Minthorne neighborhood, east of the town's central business district, where James engaged in truck farming on right-of-way property he leased cheaply from Southern Pacific Railroad. Oregon Agricultural College — now Oregon State University — occasionally used his fields as a testing ground for experimental grades of vegetables.
A spare time inventor-hobbyist, James Johnson produced several workable, if impractical, farm conveniences. Music was another of his leisure interests, and he was noted locally for his spirited "fiddle" accompaniment at various social events. James's violin is still in the possession of family descendants.
Though the maintenance of the family home and the education of her seven children remained her foremost interests, Maggie Johnson also found time to forge an outstanding and unique social career in her community. A longtime political activist in Milwaukie and Clackamas County, she probably made her greatest impact during her tenure as a member of the central committee of the Clackamas County Republican Party. Her non-partisan civic activities were equally notable. She was a charter member of the Milwaukie Chamber of Commerce; served as the librarian of the town's first public library, which she helped establish in a back room of the local pharmacy; and enthusiastically devoted herself to the activities of the local chapter of the American Red Cross. Maggie exhibited a notable flair for business, as well, operating a real estate agency in Milwaukie beginning in 1908 and for many years thereafter, working first from offices in the old city hall building, and later from her home on Minthorne Hill.
The Johnsons remained actively involved in their community until their deaths at advanced ages, James from heart disease at 84, and Maggie from pneumonia, at 91.
James Johnson spent his infancy and early adolescent years on the family farm in Crawford Township, Washington County, Iowa. In 1871, in his thirteenth year, he set out for Oregon with his parents, reportedly taking a railroad route east to New York City, and thence by sailing ship to the Isthmus of Panama, which they crossed on foot, boarding a ship on the Pacific Ocean side for the remaining sea voyage to Portland. After a three-year residence in Portland, James settled with his parents and other relatives on a wilderness homestead east of the modern day community of La Center in Clark County, Washington Territory. The apprenticeship James served in the farming trade in his youth stood him in good stead later, when the day-to-day operation of the family farm fell to him during his father's active career as a "circuit minister" to the widely scattered Baptist population of southwest Washington Territory. During this time, James also worked in a shingle mill, and tried his hand at seine fishing on the Columbia River.
In 1883 James traveled to Milwaukie, Oregon, to make arrangements for his father's new ministerial assignment with a local Baptist congregation. When James entered Milwaukie's railroad station to claim his parents' baggage, he met his bride-to-be, Maggie McCann, who, with her younger sister Jennie, was a licensed ticket agent for Southern Pacific Railroad. They were married in the spring of 1884, after a brief courtship.
James's diminutive young bride had come from a family background markedly different than his own. A daughter of Irish immigrant parents who had entered the United States during the Civil War years, Maggie had been reared and educated in north Clackamas County, Oregon, where her family had settled in 1868 following a memorable land and sea journey from the upstate New York town of Oswego, on Lake Ontario. In spite of James and Maggie's contrasting cultural and religious backgrounds (he was a Baptist, she a Roman Catholic) the couple enjoyed a strong and loving bond that sustained them through nearly six decades of marriage.
With the exception of a brief residence in Washington early in their marriage, the Johnsons lived exclusively at Milwaukie, Oregon. The family home was located in the Minthorne neighborhood, east of the town's central business district, where James engaged in truck farming on right-of-way property he leased cheaply from Southern Pacific Railroad. Oregon Agricultural College — now Oregon State University — occasionally used his fields as a testing ground for experimental grades of vegetables.
A spare time inventor-hobbyist, James Johnson produced several workable, if impractical, farm conveniences. Music was another of his leisure interests, and he was noted locally for his spirited "fiddle" accompaniment at various social events. James's violin is still in the possession of family descendants.
Though the maintenance of the family home and the education of her seven children remained her foremost interests, Maggie Johnson also found time to forge an outstanding and unique social career in her community. A longtime political activist in Milwaukie and Clackamas County, she probably made her greatest impact during her tenure as a member of the central committee of the Clackamas County Republican Party. Her non-partisan civic activities were equally notable. She was a charter member of the Milwaukie Chamber of Commerce; served as the librarian of the town's first public library, which she helped establish in a back room of the local pharmacy; and enthusiastically devoted herself to the activities of the local chapter of the American Red Cross. Maggie exhibited a notable flair for business, as well, operating a real estate agency in Milwaukie beginning in 1908 and for many years thereafter, working first from offices in the old city hall building, and later from her home on Minthorne Hill.
The Johnsons remained actively involved in their community until their deaths at advanced ages, James from heart disease at 84, and Maggie from pneumonia, at 91.
(This biographical sketch of James and Maggie (McCann) Johnson appeared in "Some Descendants of Thomas and Jane (Jefferson) Stephens of Baltimore County, Maryland, 1745-2005" by Edmund G. Fisher, 2005.)
James Johnson spent his infancy and early adolescent years on the family farm in Crawford Township, Washington County, Iowa. In 1871, in his thirteenth year, he set out for Oregon with his parents, reportedly taking a railroad route east to New York City, and thence by sailing ship to the Isthmus of Panama, which they crossed on foot, boarding a ship on the Pacific Ocean side for the remaining sea voyage to Portland. After a three-year residence in Portland, James settled with his parents and other relatives on a wilderness homestead east of the modern day community of La Center in Clark County, Washington Territory. The apprenticeship James served in the farming trade in his youth stood him in good stead later, when the day-to-day operation of the family farm fell to him during his father's active career as a "circuit minister" to the widely scattered Baptist population of southwest Washington Territory. During this time, James also worked in a shingle mill, and tried his hand at seine fishing on the Columbia River.
In 1883 James traveled to Milwaukie, Oregon, to make arrangements for his father's new ministerial assignment with a local Baptist congregation. When James entered Milwaukie's railroad station to claim his parents' baggage, he met his bride-to-be, Maggie McCann, who, with her younger sister Jennie, was a licensed ticket agent for Southern Pacific Railroad. They were married in the spring of 1884, after a brief courtship.
James's diminutive young bride had come from a family background markedly different than his own. A daughter of Irish immigrant parents who had entered the United States during the Civil War years, Maggie had been reared and educated in north Clackamas County, Oregon, where her family had settled in 1868 following a memorable land and sea journey from the upstate New York town of Oswego, on Lake Ontario. In spite of James and Maggie's contrasting cultural and religious backgrounds (he was a Baptist, she a Roman Catholic) the couple enjoyed a strong and loving bond that sustained them through nearly six decades of marriage.
With the exception of a brief residence in Washington early in their marriage, the Johnsons lived exclusively at Milwaukie, Oregon. The family home was located in the Minthorne neighborhood, east of the town's central business district, where James engaged in truck farming on right-of-way property he leased cheaply from Southern Pacific Railroad. Oregon Agricultural College — now Oregon State University — occasionally used his fields as a testing ground for experimental grades of vegetables.
A spare time inventor-hobbyist, James Johnson produced several workable, if impractical, farm conveniences. Music was another of his leisure interests, and he was noted locally for his spirited "fiddle" accompaniment at various social events. James's violin is still in the possession of family descendants.
Though the maintenance of the family home and the education of her seven children remained her foremost interests, Maggie Johnson also found time to forge an outstanding and unique social career in her community. A longtime political activist in Milwaukie and Clackamas County, she probably made her greatest impact during her tenure as a member of the central committee of the Clackamas County Republican Party. Her non-partisan civic activities were equally notable. She was a charter member of the Milwaukie Chamber of Commerce; served as the librarian of the town's first public library, which she helped establish in a back room of the local pharmacy; and enthusiastically devoted herself to the activities of the local chapter of the American Red Cross. Maggie exhibited a notable flair for business, as well, operating a real estate agency in Milwaukie beginning in 1908 and for many years thereafter, working first from offices in the old city hall building, and later from her home on Minthorne Hill.
The Johnsons remained actively involved in their community until their deaths at advanced ages, James from heart disease at 84, and Maggie from pneumonia, at 91.
James Johnson spent his infancy and early adolescent years on the family farm in Crawford Township, Washington County, Iowa. In 1871, in his thirteenth year, he set out for Oregon with his parents, reportedly taking a railroad route east to New York City, and thence by sailing ship to the Isthmus of Panama, which they crossed on foot, boarding a ship on the Pacific Ocean side for the remaining sea voyage to Portland. After a three-year residence in Portland, James settled with his parents and other relatives on a wilderness homestead east of the modern day community of La Center in Clark County, Washington Territory. The apprenticeship James served in the farming trade in his youth stood him in good stead later, when the day-to-day operation of the family farm fell to him during his father's active career as a "circuit minister" to the widely scattered Baptist population of southwest Washington Territory. During this time, James also worked in a shingle mill, and tried his hand at seine fishing on the Columbia River.
In 1883 James traveled to Milwaukie, Oregon, to make arrangements for his father's new ministerial assignment with a local Baptist congregation. When James entered Milwaukie's railroad station to claim his parents' baggage, he met his bride-to-be, Maggie McCann, who, with her younger sister Jennie, was a licensed ticket agent for Southern Pacific Railroad. They were married in the spring of 1884, after a brief courtship.
James's diminutive young bride had come from a family background markedly different than his own. A daughter of Irish immigrant parents who had entered the United States during the Civil War years, Maggie had been reared and educated in north Clackamas County, Oregon, where her family had settled in 1868 following a memorable land and sea journey from the upstate New York town of Oswego, on Lake Ontario. In spite of James and Maggie's contrasting cultural and religious backgrounds (he was a Baptist, she a Roman Catholic) the couple enjoyed a strong and loving bond that sustained them through nearly six decades of marriage.
With the exception of a brief residence in Washington early in their marriage, the Johnsons lived exclusively at Milwaukie, Oregon. The family home was located in the Minthorne neighborhood, east of the town's central business district, where James engaged in truck farming on right-of-way property he leased cheaply from Southern Pacific Railroad. Oregon Agricultural College — now Oregon State University — occasionally used his fields as a testing ground for experimental grades of vegetables.
A spare time inventor-hobbyist, James Johnson produced several workable, if impractical, farm conveniences. Music was another of his leisure interests, and he was noted locally for his spirited "fiddle" accompaniment at various social events. James's violin is still in the possession of family descendants.
Though the maintenance of the family home and the education of her seven children remained her foremost interests, Maggie Johnson also found time to forge an outstanding and unique social career in her community. A longtime political activist in Milwaukie and Clackamas County, she probably made her greatest impact during her tenure as a member of the central committee of the Clackamas County Republican Party. Her non-partisan civic activities were equally notable. She was a charter member of the Milwaukie Chamber of Commerce; served as the librarian of the town's first public library, which she helped establish in a back room of the local pharmacy; and enthusiastically devoted herself to the activities of the local chapter of the American Red Cross. Maggie exhibited a notable flair for business, as well, operating a real estate agency in Milwaukie beginning in 1908 and for many years thereafter, working first from offices in the old city hall building, and later from her home on Minthorne Hill.
The Johnsons remained actively involved in their community until their deaths at advanced ages, James from heart disease at 84, and Maggie from pneumonia, at 91.
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