Emma May Johnson
Pioneer Laid To Rest
Emma May Engelking was born on March 11, 1866 at Chicago,
Illinois. She was married to Mr. Johnson in 18851.
She suffered a stroke ten days ago and passed away at St.
Martin’s hospital on May 8, 1953. She was a member
of the Seventh Day Adventist church.
Following their marriage in 18851, Mr. and Mrs.
Johnson made their home in Minnesota and three children were born to
them, Florence, Luella, and Sidney.
The call of the far places was strong, however, and in 1890 the Johnson
family piled their belongings in a covered wagon and, accompanied by
Mr. Johnson’s parents, both over 80 years of age2,
in another wagon, started the long, slow journey west.
After many miles and many adventures they arrived in the Milk River
Valley in Montana and started a new home. Dissatisfied after
a time the old folks made the return drive to their old home in
Minnesota, while the young family resumed their migration to the west,
over the Oregon Trail through Grant’s Pass, stopping now and
then to look over a likely spot for a home; until they finally arrived
at Lakeview, near the Oregon-California border, where they settled down
again and Mr. Johnson operated a general store and stage depot where
the passengers could rest a while and fresh horses hitched up to the
stage coach. Still looking for the ideal, they up-rooted
again and moved to Walla Walla where the two girls, young women now,
entered college.
In Walla Walla, Mr. Johnson became the owner of a portable magic
lantern outfit and around it as the main attraction he built a
traveling show consisting of pictures, jokes, songs, which they took
from town to town and were enthusiastically received by the frontier
people. Mrs. Johnson and Sidney accompanied him on these
tours and had parts on the program, and occasionally the girls lent
their talent to the show.
Their travels took them north into Washington and while showing in
Chelan and Lakeside, they heard of the Okanogan country and came on up
to investigate. Mines were booming in the Palmer Mountain
cliffs and ravines. Golden was still a town, and Wannacut
Lake looked like the end of the rainbow.
As soon as arrangements could be made in Walla Walla, they came back
and homesteaded on a beautiful place at the south end of Wannacut Lake
in 1903.
For many years Mr. Johnson drove a stage and mail route between
Oroville and the Wannacut post office, besides ranching. One
year Mrs. Johnson ran a fruit and vegetable store in Molson, while Mr.
Johnson brought and hauled produce from Oroville to the store, and
Thomas Sapp made trips with wagonloads of fruit, melons and vegetables
over the Molson and Chesaw country where nothing like that was grown.
The life history of Mrs. Johnson is necessarily the history of the
Johnson family, because like the true pioneer wife she was, she shared
in every venture, many times taking a man’s part, yet never
neglecting for a minute her duty to her home and children.
She lived to see the mining activity collapse, the promoters,
prospectors and miners move to other lands, the town of Golden
abandoned and the dozens of prosperous little ranches which once
blanketed the Wannacut Lake district dry up and become
unproductive. Even their own, and one by one the families
moved down off the mountains into the valley and the whole mountain
area became but a great cattle ranch.
Her last years were spent in the home of her daughter, Mrs. Frank
Buckingham of Oroville. The son, Dr. Sidney Johnson of
Louisville, Kentucky, and the other daughter, Mrs. C. B. Jaynes of New
Florence, Missouri, two brothers and one sister of Northome, Minn., one
brother near Seattle, six grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren,
are the surviving relatives.
Maybe the Wannacut and Palmer Mountain country will never be anything
but a great range for cattle; or, maybe some day Wannacut Lake will
become one of the world’s great health resorts on account of
its mineral value; but either way, the memory of those who once lived
there will never fade, and Emma Johnson is one of those to be
remembered.
1 They were
married on 12 December 1883 at Owatonna, Steele County, Minnesota.
2 Mr.
Johnson’s parents were not 80 years old at the time of the
journey west. His father, Jens Hansen, was born in
1821. R. C. Johnson’s mother, Carrie Hansen, was
born in 1816. They would have been about 68 and 74,
respectively at the time of the journey west.
---This obituary is from
the Oroville Gazette Newspaper, Oroville, Washington
Back to the Homepage
This page created and maintained by Gary Jacobson. Comments
or suggestions regarding the content of this page may be directed
to Gary at gary@garyjacobson.org
©1999-2006 Gary K. Jacobson-All rights reserved. Last updated
on 15OCT2006.