OLIVER S. JOHNSON

Oliver S. Johnson, well known as a successful auctioneer and progressive farmer, is the proprietor of Forest Place on section 17, Red Oak township. His entire life has been passed in Cedar county, for he was born on the 8th of November, 1871, two and one-half miles south of Mechanicsville in Pioneer township, his parents being among the early settlers of this region. His father, John Thomas Johnson, was born in Warren county, Ohio, May 11, 1838, and was a son of Elijah and Ann (Collins) Johnson, both natives of Delaware, though they were married in Ohio. In 1850 they brought their family to this state and settled on a farm three and one-half miles west of Tipton in Cedar county, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Their children were: Sarah Elizabeth, now the widow of Solomon Mowry and a resident of Tipton; Margaret Ann, who married Jackson Fraseur and died in California; John Thomas, the father of our subject; Mary Jane, the deceased wife of Silas Hoon; Elijah and William H., both deceased; and several children who died in childhood.

On starting out in life for himself, John Thomas Johnson commenced farming, to which he ever afterward devoted his attention, with the exception of seventeen months spent in Idaho during the Civil war. He started out with eighty acres of land in Pioneer township, upon which he continued to make his home until his death, which occurred on the 19th of November, 1896. At that time he was the owner of four hundred and fifty-six acres of well improved and valuable land. He was married in 1858 to Miss Susan Mowry whose birth occurred in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, January 28, 1833. It was in 1856 that she accompanied her parents on their removal to this state, the family locating three miles west of Tipton. She continued to reside on the home farm for three years after the death of her husband but now makes her home in Tipton. Her parents were George and Margaret (Fair) Mowry, native of Pennsylvania and Maryland respectively. Her mother died in the Keystone state and her father subsequently remarried. His death also occurred in Pennsylvania, but his second wife died in Kansas. He had eight children by the first union, of whom six lived to years of majority, and one son by his second wife. The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are: Tanny, thedeceased wife of Milton Miller; Albert, a stock-buyer of Mechanicsville; Wilson, of Cedar Rapids, who is connected with the Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Interurban Company; Oliver S., of this review; Frank G. and James H., both residing on the old homestead in Pioneer township; and one son who died in infancy.

Oliver S. Johnson spent the first twenty years of his life on the home farm and then removed to his present place, which was owned by his father and which he operated on shares for some time, but since 1897 it has been in his possession. Here he has one hundred and ninety-six acres of very productive and highly cultivated land on sections 17 and 18, Red Oak township, and upon the place he has made many substantial improvements, including the erection of a beautiful home in 1906. All of the buildings are good, substantial structures, erected at a recent date and there being a fine grove upon the farm, Mr. Johnson has given it the name of Forest Place. During the summer season he devotes his attention largely to general farming and stock-raising but throughout the winter is engaged in auctioneering and during the past season sold over a million dollars’ worth of property, mostly farm land and live stock. He was one of the earliest advocates of the split log drag and was one of the first to drag the roads in his locality. He is very progressive and public-spirited, taking a commendable interest in the affairs of his township and county, and exercises a wide influence for the benefit of the community.

In 1892 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Johnson and Miss Susan E. Yule, a daughter of Samuel and Mary (Potter) Yule, both now deceased. Her father was born in Scotland, while her mother was a native of England. Mrs. Johnson, who birth occurred in Red Oak township, June 6, 1870, died on the 8th of June, 1909, leaving three children, namely: George Frederick, Alexander Oliver and Esther May.

Spending his entire life in the county, Mr. Johnson has materially aided in its progress, especially along agricultural lines, and is widely recognized as a man of exceptional business ability. His enterprising spirit enables him to carefully direct all the details of his business and to give to each its due importance.