Wayne County Biographies



Part of the Indiana Biographies Project



Benjamin Johnson

History and biography for the most part record the lives of only those who have attained military, political or literary distinction, or who in any other career have passed through extraordinary vicissitudes of fortune. The unostentatious routine of private life, although in the aggregate more important to the welfare of the community, cannot, from its very nature, figure in the public annals. But the names of men who have distinguished themselves in their day and generation for the possession, in an eminent degree, of those qualities of character which mainly contribute to the success of private life and to public stability,—of men who without dazzling talents have been exemplary in all their personal and social relations, and enjoyed the esteem, respect and confidence of those around them,—ought not to be allowed to perish. Few can draw rules for their own guidance from the pages of Plutarch, but all are benefited by the delineation of those traits of character which find scope and exercise in the common walks of life.

Among the individuals of this class in Richmond is Benjamin Johnson. His record is the accunt of a life which is uneventful, indeed, as far as stirring incident or startling adventure is concerned, yet is distinguished by the most substantial qualities of character. His life history exhibits a long and virtuous career of private industry, performed with moderation and crowned with success. It is the record of a well balanced mental and moral constitution, strongly marked by those traits of character which are of especial value in such a state of society as exists in this country. A community depends upon commercial activity, its welfare is due to this, and its promoters of legitimate and extensive business enterprises may well be termed its benefactors.

Prominent in the business circles of Richmond stands Benjamin Johnson. He was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, in 1833, his parents being Benjamin and Martha (Grissell) Johnson. The Johnson family is of English descent, and during the early colonial history of the country representatives of the name came from England, settling on the James river, in Virginia. James Johnson, the great-grandfather of our subject, was a native and lifelong resident of the Old Dominion, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits. John Johnson, the grandfather, was born in 1771, in Bedford county, Virginia, and there was reared to manhood. He married Dorothy Crew, and in 1811 went with his family to Columbiana county, Ohio, where he died in 1857. He was a prosperous and successful farmer. Like his ancestors, he was identified with the Society of Friends and took a very active part in its work. His wife, n&3acute;e Dorothy Crew, was the daughter of Jonas and Judith Crew, of Hanover county, Virginia.

Benjamin Johnson, Sr., the father of him whose name introduces this review, was born in Hanover county, Virginia, in 1797, and in 1811 accompanied his parents on their removal to Columbiana county, Ohio, where he spent his remaining days, devoting his energies to the quiet pursuits of the farm, whereby he acquired a good property. He died on the old homestead there in 1888, in his ninety-first year. In religious faith he was a Friend, and in political belief was first a Whig and afterward a Republican, being firm in his convictions and zealous in support of the principles in which he believed. He married Martha Grissell, who died in 1864, at the age of sixty-seven years. They were the parents of ten children, of whom four sons and four daughters are yet living.

Upon his father's farm, in Ohio, Benjamin Johnson, the well known lumber merchant of Richmond, was reared, and in Salem, Ohio, he pursued his studies in a private school conducted by Professor Moore, a prominent educator from the east. Putting aside his text-books in 1854, Mr. Johnson, came to Richmond in September of that year, for the first time visiting the city in which he was to become so prominent a factor in connection with its business interests. He was so well pleased with the little town and its future prospects that he resolved to make it his permanent home. He had little capital, but soon arranged to go into the lumber business on a small scale and has since developed the enterprise to large proportions. In 1858, in connection with B. P. Perry, he established a lumber yard and built a saw-mill at the northwest corner of North Twelfth and E streets. After a few years Mr. Johnson purchased his partner's interest, continuing in the general retail lumber trade, in connection with furnishing lumber and ties to the railroad company. In 1874, however, he disposed of his entire retail interest and continued to furnish material to the railroad, for this branch of his business had in the meantime become very large and made heavy demands upon his time. In 1893 he admitted his son, John H. Johnson, to a partnership in the business. Since then they have increased their trade until now they handle from forty to fifty million feet of material annually. While their main office is in Richmond, they handle material ovtr a large part of seven states, and derive from their extensive trade transactions a good income. In addition to his lumber business Mr. Johnson is also the owner of a fine stock farm of five hundred and forty acres, in Blackford county, Indiana, where he breeds draft horses, cattle and hogs.

In November, 1857, was celebrated the marriage of Benjamin Johnson and Miss Elizabeth Barker. Her parents, Mathew and Ruth Barker, were born and reared at Newport, Rhode Island, and she was born on the island of Nantucket. She died in 1887. Mathew and Ruth Barker's ancestors came from England. Mathew Barker was a son of Peter Barker, and his grandfather, James Barker, who was born in 1623, came from Harwick, Essex county, England. He started for America with his parents, James and Barbara (Dungan) Barker, when a child, and his father died on the voyage over. The family settled at Newport, Rhode Island. Mathew Barker's maternal grandparents were Richard and Mary (Wood) Mitchell, and were born in 1686 and lived in Rhode Island. Ruth Barker was a descendant of John and Susan Anthony, the former of whom was born in 1607, at Hempstead, England, and died July 28, 1675, at Portsmouth, Rhode Island. They came to America in the ship "Hercules," April 16, 1634. Ruth Barker's maternal ancestors were Phillip and Sarah (Odding) Sherman, born February 5, 1610, at Dedham, Essex county, England, and came to America in 1633 and settled at Roxbury, Massachusetts. Benjamin and Elizabeth (Barker) Johnson's children are: John H., who was formerly connected with the banking interests of Richmond, but is now the junior member of the firm of B. Johnson & Son; and Mary M., wife of Dr. Charles Marvel, of Richmond.

Although Mr. Johnson has led a busy life, he has yet found time to devote to those interests which develop the intellectual and moral nature of man, living not to himself alone, but laboring to aid his fellow men. For a number of years he has been a member of the board of trustees of Earlham College. He is a prominent and leading member of the South Eighth street Friends' meeting, an elder and overseer, and a member of the board of trustees of the foreign missionary work, in which he takes a very zealous and active interest. He is charitable and benevolent and the poor and needy seek not his aid in vain.

It is no very rare thing for a poor boy in our country to become a prosperous man and occupy a commanding position in the business world, but many who have fought their way from poverty to wealth, from obscurity to prominence, retain some marks and scars of the conflict. They are apt to be narrow and grasping, even if not sordid and unscrupulous. Mr. Johnson, however, is an instance of a man who has achieved success without paying the price at which it is so often bought; for his prosperity has not removed him farther from his fellow men, but has brought him into nearer and more intimate relations with them. The more means he has had, the more he has done for those around him, and numbered among Richmond's most promlinent citizens is this honored lumber merchant.

Source:
Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana, Volume 1, The Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1899