Born Flora Missellier DuFour. Daughter of Charles Edwin DuFour of New Haven (Jul 27 1867-Feb 6 1950) and Mary Adelaide Beardsley (dates unknown). World War II veteran. A member of the Democratic Party, Flora ran for the Congress of the United States in 1940, the first woman in the history of Onondaga County, NY to do so. She lost, reportedly due to personal scandal. She ran again for an at-large congressional seat in 1942, this time losing to feminist Republican Winifred C. Stanley of Buffalo.

First husband was Ambrose Alexis Johnson of Scranton PA (Sep 12 1891 - Aug 18 1950), with whom she had her two children, Flora M. Johnson and Ruth Anne Johnson (nee Ruth Louise Johnson). Ambrose Johnson owned a small machine tool company, for which Flora was Vice President. The couple obtained a Nevada divorce in 1943. In 1944, Flora married Thomas Ballantyne. Ballantyne had this second marriage annulled in 1948, at which time a court ruled she was still married to Johnson. Ambrose Johnson died two years later. Flora retained the name Ballantyne on correspondence for decades thereafter, but finished her life as Flora D. Johnson.

Flora lived in Tully, NY during the Depression at a farmhouse called Windswept, where she and her daughters picked their own strawberries. Licensed real estate broker. Lived in Dewitt, NY (1950s-1960s), Fairfax, VA (1970s) and Cocoa Beach, FL (1977-early 1980s). Frequently visited Europe, especially Venice, where she once shared a flooded hotel with playwright Thornton Wilder.

Thanks to Ed Hutchison and the New York Times for additional info on my grandmother. - Karen

Born Flora Missellier DuFour. Daughter of Charles Edwin DuFour of New Haven (Jul 27 1867-Feb 6 1950) and Mary Adelaide Beardsley (dates unknown). World War II veteran. A member of the Democratic Party, Flora ran for the Congress of the United States in 1940, the first woman in the history of Onondaga County, NY to do so. She lost, reportedly due to personal scandal. She ran again for an at-large congressional seat in 1942, this time losing to feminist Republican Winifred C. Stanley of Buffalo.

First husband was Ambrose Alexis Johnson of Scranton PA (Sep 12 1891 - Aug 18 1950), with whom she had her two children, Flora M. Johnson and Ruth Anne Johnson (nee Ruth Louise Johnson). Ambrose Johnson owned a small machine tool company, for which Flora was Vice President. The couple obtained a Nevada divorce in 1943. In 1944, Flora married Thomas Ballantyne. Ballantyne had this second marriage annulled in 1948, at which time a court ruled she was still married to Johnson. Ambrose Johnson died two years later. Flora retained the name Ballantyne on correspondence for decades thereafter, but finished her life as Flora D. Johnson.

Flora lived in Tully, NY during the Depression at a farmhouse called Windswept, where she and her daughters picked their own strawberries. Licensed real estate broker. Lived in Dewitt, NY (1950s-1960s), Fairfax, VA (1970s) and Cocoa Beach, FL (1977-early 1980s). Frequently visited Europe, especially Venice, where she once shared a flooded hotel with playwright Thornton Wilder.

Thanks to Ed Hutchison and the New York Times for additional info on my grandmother. - Karen