Early Johnson Travels to Northwest - abt 1905

My great grandfather was one of the eleven children of Washington Abraham Johnson and Mary Ann Smith.  They were married on 21 Aug 1855 in Jefferson Co., TN and lived there until abt 1862 when they left Tennessee for Iowa.  Presumably to get away from the Civil War – Washington couldn’t have been in a good spot.  His cousin, Andrew Johnson, was the Union appointed military governor and he lived in an area where there were a lot of Confederates and Unioinist’s alike who were battling for supremacy.  It probably seemed to be the wisest thing to pack up what you could and leave and travel somewhere safe – in this case Iowa, where his older brother and family lived.  Their oldest daughter, Nanny, was still quite small when they left Tennessee.  She was born 17 Oct 1857 in Jefferson Co., TN and by 1862 they were in Iowa and had moved to Kirkman, Shelby Co., IA by 1865 which is where the family settled.

Nanny Eleanor Johnson Gill

Nanny Johnson and husband William Gill

Nanny married a William A. Gill abt 1874 and lived in Shelby Co., IA until abt 1887 when they moved to Whitman Co., WA.  That seemed to by quite a change of location.  I would guess that they moved with the railroad and I know that the Whitman Co., WA area was a growing place at the time with possibly a lot of opportunity.  They lived in near the small town of Garfield Co., WA which is in the heart of the Palouse hills.  It is still today a rural farm community.  I suspect that the attraction was the train station and the ability to work for the railroad.  Their youngest son was born while they were in Whitman Co., WA.

I’m not sure – but they left Whitman Co., WA sometime after 1905 and before 1910.  They moved to Hill City, ID.  If you go to Hill City, ID today – there is literally nothing there.  At one time, I was told that it was one of the largest places in the world to ship sheep to market via the train.  It must have been quite a change to move Hill City, ID.  Garfield Co., WA is a beautiful area with rolling fields usually filled with crops – Hill City, ID is in a high mountain semi desert.  The winters were more than likely quite brutal as it is in quite high elevation.  I’m sure the summers were also brutal because of the harsh weather. 

John Sira Johnson

Perhaps there was opportunity to be had – because two of Nanny’s brothers came west and joined them in Idaho including John Sira Johnson and Lytle Woods Johnson.  Not too long after Lytle Woods Johnson had probably arrived (at least a few years) he dies on 28 Apr 1915 at the age of 52 years old, perhaps an early victim of the onset of the flu epidemic.  Her older brother, John Sira Johnson died on 18 Feb 1918 and a few months later Nanny died on 12 Jun 1918.  All three were in Hill City, ID and while there is a cemetery there, I do not know where they were buried.  Since it was probably a time of a lot of death…perhaps they are in unmarked graves.  At some point, I will order their death records and find out what they say about death cause…but the dates certainly suggest the flu epidemic as the cause.  Neither John or Lytle ever had children, but Nanny left behind four children: - I have pasted their info below.

Descendants of Nanny Eleanor Johnson

Lytle Woods Johnson

Generation No. 1

1.  NANNY ELEANOR⁴ JOHNSON  (WASHINGTON ABRAHAM³, MOSES², WILLIAM¹) was born 17 Oct 1857 in Jefferson Co., TN, and died 12 Jun 1918 in Hill City, Camas Co., ID.  She married WILLIAM A. GILL Abt. 1874 in Shelby Co., IA, son of H. GILL and MARTHA PIPER.  He was born 17 Sep 1850 in KY, and died 19 Jul 1927 in Gooding, Gooding Co., ID.

More About NANNY ELEANOR JOHNSON:

Census 1: 1880, Douglas, Shelby Co., IA, Pg 137A

Census 2: 1860, Jefferson Co., TN, Pg. 250, #1790

Census 3: 1870, Jackson Twp., Hardin Co., IA, pg 29, #1

Census 4: 1900, Dist. 101, Garfield, Whitman Co., WA, Pg. 13B, #278

Census 5: 1910, (Blaine Co., ID)Gill, Nancy E,  Corral 52 F Tennessee T624 222 Page 186

Death Fact: Died of the flu

More About WILLIAM A. GILL:

Burial: 22 Jul 1927, Hill City Cemetery, Camas Co., ID (DC says Fairfield)

Census 1: 1870, Shelby Co., IA - 40-43, Harlan Twp

Census 2: 1880, Douglas, Shelby Co., IA, Pg 137A

Census 3: 1900, Dist. 101, Garfield, Whitman Co., WA, Pg. 13B, #278

Census 4: 1910, (Blaine Co., ID) Gill, Wm A  Corral 59 M Kentucky T624 222 Page 186

Census 5: 1910, Blaine Co., ID, Corral Precinct

Death Fact: 19 Jul 1927, DR#058294

     

Children of NANNY JOHNSON and WILLIAM GILL are:

               i.   CHARLES A.⁵ GILL, b. 09 Nov 1879, Shelby Co., IA; d. Feb 1950, ID; m. GRACE G., Abt. 1903; b. Abt. 1881, NE.

More About CHARLES A. GILL:

Date born 2: Aug 1876, IA

Census 1: 1880, Douglas, Shelby Co., IA, Pg 137A

Census 2: 1900, Dist. 101, Garfield, Whitman Co., WA, Pg. 13B, #278

Census 3: 1920, Dist. 34, Vancouver, Clark Co., WA, Pg. 4A, #82

Census 4: 1930, Dist. 52, Vancouver, Clark Co., WA, Pg. 2A, #34

More About GRACE G.:

Census 1: 1920, Dist. 34, Vancouver, Clark Co., WA, Pg. 4A, #82

Census 2: 1930, Dist. 52, Vancouver, Clark Co., WA, Pg. 2A, #34

              ii.   JOHN EDWARD GILL, b. 29 Oct 1880, Shelby Co., IA; d. 05 Jan 1962, Boise, Ada Co., ID; m. ALDA GOHEEN, 04 Nov 1903, McMinnville, Yamhill Co., OR; b. 04 Nov 1882, Broken Bow, Custer Co., NE; d. 04 Apr 1977, Boise, Ada Co., ID.

More About JOHN EDWARD GILL:

Census 1: 1900, Dist. 101, Garfield, Whitman Co., WA, Pg. 13B, #278

Census 2: 1910, Dist. 264, 42 Pct- Whitman Co., WA, Pg. 7B, #169

Census 3: 1920, Fair Ground, Ada Co., ID, Pg. 15A, #106

Census 4: 1930, Dist. 32, Fair Ground, Ada Co., ID, Pg. 7A, #156

More About ALDA GOHEEN:

Census 1: 1920, Fair Ground, Ada Co., ID, Pg. 15A, #106

Census 2: 1910, Dist. 264, 42 Pct- Whitman Co., WA, Pg. 7B, #169

Census 3: 1930, Dist. 32, Fair Ground, Ada Co., ID, Pg. 7A, #156

Social Security Number: 518-30-9686, Issued ID

             iii.   WILLIAM H. GILL, b. Aug 1886, Shelby Co., IA; m. GERTRUDE E. MAXWELL, 21 Aug 1911, Blaine Co., ID; b. Abt. 1889, NE.

More About WILLIAM H. GILL:

Census 1: 1910, (Blaine Co., ID)Gill, Wm H  Corral 23 M Iowa T624 222 Page 186  

Census 2: 1900, Dist. 101, Garfield, Whitman Co., WA, Pg. 13B, #278

Census 3: 1920, Dist. 12, Boise, Ada Co., ID, Pg. 1B, #20

Census 4: 1930, Dist. 5, Hill City, Camas Co., ID, Pg. 2A, #44

More About GERTRUDE E. MAXWELL:

Census 1: 1920, Dist. 12, Boise, Ada Co., ID, Pg. 1B, #20

Census 2: 1930, Dist. 9, Boise, Ada Co., ID, Pg. 7B, #160

             iv.   GEORGE W. GILL, b. 14 Aug 1889, Whitman Co., WA; d. Dec 1964, ID.

More About GEORGE W. GILL:

Census 1: 1910, (Blaine Co., ID) Gill, Geo W  Corral 20 M Washington T624 222 Page 186 

Census 2: 1900, Dist. 101, Garfield, Whitman Co., WA, Pg. 13B, #278

Census 3: 1920, Dist. 12, Boise, Ada Co., ID, Pg. 1B, #20

Census 4: 1930, Dist. 5, Hill City, Camas Co., ID, Pg. 2A, #43