Johnson, Lewis

The following data is extracted from History of Madison County, Indiana.

LEWIS JOHNSON. Prominent among the highly esteemed agriculturists of Madison County who have won success through the medium of energy, industry and well-applied exertion, Lewis Johnson, of Adams Township is deserving of more than passing mention in a work of this nature. He has been a lifelong resident of this Township, and has witnessed and participated in the remarkable growth and development of its interests, which have changed it during this time from what was little more than a wilderness into one of the most flourishing and prosperous sections of the Hoosier State. Mr. Johnson was born in Adams Township, Madison county, Indiana, July 30, 1846, and is a son of James and Amanda (Johnson) Johnson.

James Johnson was born in Jackson County, Kentucky, and as a young man came to Madison County and located in Adams Township, having a farm on Fall Creek, where he spent his entire life. Here he was married to Jane Johnson, who was born in Greenbrier County, Virginia, and came to Madison County in 1835, and she died when Lewis Johnson was still a babe. Mr. Johnson, being thus deprived of maternal care, was reared to manhood by his maternal grandmother, and received his education in the district schools, although the greater part of his schooling in his youth was in the sch0ol of hard work. He was taught the numerous duties necessary for the good farmer to know, and when about twenty-one years embarked upon a career of his own, renting land, carrying on general farming, and engaging to some extent in cattle trading, which later occupation he has followed off and on during his entire career. Being sober, honest and industrious, he managed to accumulate enough money with which to purchase his first piece of property, and as the years have passed he has added to this from time to time, as his finances 'have permitted, and has erected new buildings and made other improvements on this land. This has resulted in the development of a handsome farm, the appearance of which shows its owner to be a man of intelligence and thrift, an able agriculturist and an experienced manager, while his sleek, well-fed cattle give evidence of his ability and good judgment in the line of stock raising. He has always been ready to embrace new ideas and methods, believes firmly in the use of modern machinery, and is justly considered one of the most progressive men of his section.

Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Martha A. Slaughter, who was born in Madison County, Indiana, a daughter of James and Rebecca (Fessler) Slaughter. The father was a native of Chester County, Pennsylvania, and came to this County when he was eight years old. His father, John Slaughter, entered land from the government. Two children were born to James Slaughter and his wife, John, living in this County, and Martha, who became Mrs. Johnson. The Slaughters are an old pioneer family here. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson there have been born four daughters and two sons, as follows: Carey A.; Cora B.; Georgianna, a graduate of the Adams Township public schools and the Pendleton High school, who also took a course in the State University and is now engaged in teaching in Adams Township; Everett L., a graduate of the Pendleton High school and the State University, and also an Adams Township school teacher; Stella, who has been given a good education, and now resides at home with her parents; and James L., who is engaged in farming in Adams Township.

In fraternal circles, Mr. Johns0n is known as a valued member of Ovid Lodge No. 164, Free and Accepted Masons. He is a man of broad and liberal views, tolerant of the opinions of others. By his own industry he has won himself a competence and has reared a family that is a credit both to himself and to the community in which they are filling honorable places. Politically a Democrat, he has manifested a commendable interest in affairs that affect his community, and in addition to serving as assessor and deputy assessor acted as door-keeper in the Fifty-third General Assembly of Indiana, in 1913. His wide circle of friends testifies to his popularity, in which his wife and children share.

Source: History of Madison County, Indiana

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