George Johnson (1895)

JOHNSON

Posted By: Pat Hochstetler (email)
Date: 3/9/2008 at 09:40:14

Winterset Reporter – July 25, 1895
Winterset, Iowa
Page 5

Chips and Whetstones

An old gentleman named Geo. Johnson, who has been about Winterset for nine or ten years, filing saws and doing such other light work as he could for a livelihood, died suddenly at the home of O. W. Leach, in Scott township, Monday night at 9:30 o’clock. He stopped at Mr. Leachs’ to stay over night, and retired about nine o’clock. In a few moments after retiring he took a violent spell of coughing and in thirty minutes was a corpse. He appeared well in the evening and ate his supper without making complaint. Coroner Martin was summoned Tuesday and held an inquest before a jury composed of R. Neal, John Barber and J. Harrell, Dr. Davidsson being the examining physician. The verdict was death by heart trouble. Very little is known of the old man, and no means of finding a single relative are at hand. He was buried at Union chapel. His native state was California, so he said. He buried a wife and two children a few years ago in New York. A purse containing $32.22 was found on his person. His grip is still at the auditor’s office where he left it a few days ago.