Mrs. R. B. Johnson 1851-1943

JOHNSON, SINKEY, BYERLY, WHITE, MEEKS, STUDER

Posted By: Sharon Elijah (email)
Date: 12/6/2020 at 07:12:16

June 17, 1943 - The Anamosa Journal

Funeral service for Anamosa's oldest resident, Mrs. R. B. Johnson were held this Thursday at Smykil Funeral home. Burial was made in Antioch cemetery.

Mrs. Johnson died at the home of a daughter, Mrs. Charles Sinkey, Monday, June 14 at 9:25 p.m. She was 91 years years of age.

Coming of pioneer stock a daughter of Michael and Elizabeth Byerly who moved to Jones county from near Columbus, Ohio, in 1846, Mrs. Johnson was born on Nov. 20, 1851, a mile south of the Antioch church. She is believed to have been the oldest native born resident of Jones county.

Watching the progress and transformation of this community from virgin soil to the present day highly cultivated fields, Mrs. Johnson provided a source of accurate information of pioneer days.

Until recent months Mrs. Johnson followed her hobby of making rugs. Two years ago she put together more than 30 rugs and on her 89th birthday she presented each of her eight children one of her home woven rugs.

In 1878 she was married to R. B. Johnson, an Englishman who was past 20 years of age when he came to his newly adopted country. Johnson and his two brothers bought a farm next to the Byerly farm south of Antioch and it was on this farm that he and his bride lived the first year of their married life.

For the next two years they lived on a farm east of Antioch church and then bought a 168 acre farm one mile west of Antioch. Forty acres of this farm has changed hands but four times since it was virgin prairie and the ownership has always remained in the family.

Even though Mrs. Johnson's mother was born and raised in Virginia, being a first cousin of Colonel Robert E. Lee, Mrs. Johnson favored the cause of the North in her youth.

Five years after the death of her husband, she moved to Anamosa to live with Mrs. Sinkey, it being the first time she had resided outside the Antioch school district.

Eight of Mrs. Johnson's children survive and all of them were in Anamosa to help their mother celebrate her 90th birthday on Nov. 20, 1941. The children are Mrs. Charles Sinkey, Anamosa; Mrs. Arthur B. White, east of Anamosa; Mrs. Arthur Meeks, three miles east of Anamosa; Mrs. Bert Sinkey, Dubuque, Mrs. Frank Studer, Mrs. John Sinkey, Dubuque, and Mrs. Vern Johnson.

Also surviving are 15 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Casket bearers were Harvey Witham, Ed H. Herren, J. E. Porter, Thomas Hanlan, Bud Cook and Milton Chesire.