Wherever the Road Leads - Family Meanderings: #4 John McGee Johnson

09 March 2022

#4 John McGee Johnson - husband of Minnie May Marion Kendall

John McGee Johnson

Husband of Minnie May Marion Kendall

Sometimes writing family history is not fun. Some people are enjoyable, but I don't get to choose to write about the 'bright lights' in the family. I write about them all, hoping I'm not jaundiced by personal bias.

John McGee Johnson was the father of John K Johnson Sr and paternal grandfather of John K Johnson Jr. He only knew his grandfather slightly.

Vitals:

Born 25 Aug 1894 in Boston Massachusetts to

Mother: Mary Catherine Caroline McGee of Hopetown, Bonaventure, Gaspe, Canada and ? Johnson [unconfirmed that he was "John Johnson"] of Boston Mass, possibly a Swedish or Norwegian immigrant.

Married 30 Nov 1915, Minnie May Marion Kendall of Waterloo, Shefford, Quebec, Canada

- 1916 their 1st child, Marjorie, was born

He was working for Boston & Maine Railroad

- 1918 their 2nd child, Gordon, was born

- 1920 their 3rd child, Ronald, was born

- 1922 4th child, John Kendall, was born in E. Putney, VT

- 1928 5th child, Reta, was born

Then on 1 Mar 1938, his wife Minnie, died in New Hampshire.

He worked for B & M Railroad in eastern New York

Died 25 Nov 1959 in Pinellas Park, Florida Buried: Cycadia Cemetery,Tarpon Springs, FL

Unfortunately, neither his son, other relatives, including in-laws who knew him, did not have good things to say about JMJ (John McGee Johnson).

His son, John K Johnson Sr was close to his mother, but not his father. And, when his mother (JMJ's wife) died in his adolescent years, my father-in-law bonded with his Aunt Grace, his cousin Ray Miner and his eldest brother Gordon (all now deceased).

This is what I’ve heard about JMJ: an alcoholic, a philanderer, not a good husband, not kind and he played favorites with his (some of his) children. Even taking into account that it was a different era, and expectations about fathers were different, that is bad.

In his favor, from his work history, he did support his family. I wouldn’t say they were well-off, but they were cared for.

I would mention that Aunt Grace looked after his son John K Johnson after his mother died. That might be a credit to JMJ. Perhaps he was aware of his limitations, of his inability to nurture a son in his grief. I'm not sure how it came to be, but perhaps he saw the wisdom in allowing an aunt to step in to assist his son.

This is the end of family stories, to turn back to the facts of John McGee Johnson.

If his father and mother married, his father died quite soon after his birth. Te

His mother re-married a man named Porter, or they considered themselves married (no proof).

They appear in the 1910 Census in Medway, Massachusetts. Porter is the Head of the house, Mary the wife and John Johnson as stepson. Eva Porter is listed as "adopted."

According to the census they had boarders (as many people did).

Soon after his wife Minnie's death, John M Johnson moved his family to eastern New York (Hoosic Falls) area. They lived in Eagle Bridge and later in Stillwater, NY.