Welcome to the Johnson Family Page. This is my maternal grandmother's family. The information on this branch of the family is several sources. Some of it comes from information shared at family reunions. Some from other books. I want to thank everyone for all their hard work. I have gathered some information from other sources- census records, message boards and other researchers. Please feel free to email me if you have a connection or a correction at brendatanner@excite.com

I will be adding pictures and documents as time permits.

Click a name to go directly to that person, or browse the whole file.


1st generation. Ida Marjorie Johnson Elliott
2nd gen. Charles E. Johnson, Florence V. Crapo Johnson
3rd gen. George W. Johnson, Eveline Burdick Johnson , Leonidas L. Crapo, Alice M. Holbrook Crapo
4th gen. Ezekiel Johnson, Julia Hills Johnson, Joseph J. Crapo, Mary H. Collins Crapo, Hannah Holbrook Holbrook,
5th gen.Mary Ann Jeffery Holbrook




IDA MARJORIE JOHNSON ELLIOTT


Born July 25,1918 in Provo, Utah Died April 6, 2005 in Fillmore, Utah Married Jack Elliott September 22, 1937 in Provo, Utah Grandma was the baby of the family. There were four girls and three boys. The oldest son, Loren, died just after she was born of an illness. Grandma doesn't remember much of her father because he died the summer before she turned nine. She learned values in her youth that she holds to today. She was engaged to Karl Johnson at age 17. Her mother had told her that if she married him, her children would go to school barefoot - Karl came from a family in Moab. This really bothered her, and soon the engagement was off. It's kind of funny how some of her kids and grandkids go barefoot now! When she was 15, she was selling poppies for the American Legion at the Strawberry Day's celebration in Pleasant Grove. She sold one to Jack Elliott and he invited her to ride on the Ferris wheel. She was a very beautiful girl and is still a beautiful lady. They dated off and on for three years, part of the time she was engaged to Karl, and then she and Jack were married. Grandma did what she could to help. During the war, the stores didn't stock laundry soap, so grandma made it and sold it. It was so good, that even after the war was over and the stores stocked it, people bought it from her until she quit making it. She said it was bars of soap that you had to grate to use. Ida has had a heart attack, that is why grandpa wouldn't let her watch the grandkids because it was too stressful. She was in a coma for three weeks in 1970. She had had gaul bladder surgery and developed an infection, her temperature went sky high, so they froze her. They then did another surgery to fix the first one. It was some time during this that she went into the coma. She was in the hospital for a total of three months. Sometime during her stay, I was born. They wouldn't let her go upstairs to the nursery to see me so she had to wait until mom was released. The nurse took her to the elevator and mom stopped on her floor. She said I was the most beautiful baby she had ever seen. Grandma is a great cook. She used to sew and I can remember several Grandma perms. One thing she wouldn't and still doesn't stand for is hair in your eyes. It was an automatic reaction, she saw hair in your eyes, she had scissors in her hands cutting it before you knew what was going on! Her greatest love is painting. She has wonderful paintings that everyone enjoys and that will be cherished for generations to come.


FLORENCE VIOLA CRAPO JOHNSON


Born October 30, 1882 in Moab Utah
Died March 19, 1960 in Provo Utah
Married Charles Edwin Johnson April 16, 1901 in Moab Utah

Florence was a very pretty and small woman, five feet tall and weighed 90 pounds when she and Charles were married. They were quite a site since He was over six feet and weighed over 200 pounds. She was one of the first children born in the Moab valley. When she was born, she had either two or four teeth. She had health problems all her life. It started with rheumatizm and St. Vitus Dance when she was four. Because of this, she only completed the first and second grades, after that, she would start the year and end up missing most of it from rheumatizm. The became a very good reader because of it. After Charles died, she went to work to care for her young family. She did house cleaning for people - mostly the stuff no one likes to do, like ironing, washing, and scrubbing. At first she made a dollar a day. She got a raise and made 25 cents an hour. She was a practical nurse and midwife. When she delivered a baby, she would stay with the family for ten days. She cared for mother, baby and rest of family doing all of the cooking and cleaning. She made $10.00 for the whole delivery and stay. Later on she started making $20.00 for it. She worked at a printing shop where they made braille books. She lost her middle three fingers when they were caught in the press. Grandma said it never stopped her from doing things, it just slowed her down a bit. It was when her hand wouldn't heal that they found out she had diabeties. She was insulin dependent the rest of her life. She was a hard worker and never went into debt. Her motto was if you don't have the money, you don't buy it. We could really take a lesson from her there! She was always willing to help. She died of complications due to diabetes.



. GEORGE WASHINGTON JOHNSON


Born February 19, 1823 in Pomfret, New York
Died January 22, 1900 in Moab, Utah
Married Evelin Burdick October 1, 1851 in SLC, Utah

His family moved to Kirkland Ohio in 1833. There he was baptized with the other younger members of the family. It was here that they became acquainted with the Prophet Joseph Smith as well as other General Authorities. They often received instructions directly from the Prophet's lips. George received his Patriarchal Blessing from Joseph Smith Sen.. They watched "the falling of the stars", the meteor shower in 1833. He was in Kirtland Camp, he helped build the Nauvoo Temple, he was a worker in the temple, and he watched as it burned. He came to Utah in 1851, with the Alfred Cardon Company. He built the first cabin in Santiquin - previously called Summit Creek. Because of Indian problems, they moved into Springville. After things settled down, he was called to build up Iron County. It was here that He and his nephew, Nephi Johnson compiled the Pah-ute dialect. He was a Bishop, Bishop's counselor, High Priest, Branch Clerk, and a member of the 25th Quorum of Seventy, as well as other positions in the church. He founded Fountain Green, laying out the whole town. He moved to Huntington were he was a jack of all trades. He made matches, tin cups, brooms, salves, and other medicines. He was the only "doctor" in the area. He was postmaster for 35 years, a poet, writing JOTTINGS BY THE WAY, a seeds man, and a florist. He moved to Mona and helped settle things there, and then finally to Moab, where he died of Brights disease.



. CHARLES EDWIN JOHNSON


Born October 16, 1871 in Mona Utah
Died May 19, 1927 in Provo Utah
Married Florence Viola Crapo April 16, 1901 in Moab, Utah

Charles was a very kind and gentle man. Very easy going and likeable. He never said a cross word to Florence, or the children. He always kissed her hello and goodbye. He was a very hard worker. He was a big man, very tall - over 6 feet, and weighing over 200 pounds, with no fat on him. He was well built and good looking. Florence thought he looked like Clark Gable! He was the last of thirteen children and grew up in Mona, Utah. He was raised by his father and married brothers and sister after his parents separated. He traveled a lot with his father, and by 16, he was living with freight drivers and began smoking. He was married to Maud Carter before Florence. It didn't last long and they were divorced. He never formally attended school, so he didn't read or write well. He smoked until his oldest son Loren had a dream that they needed to be sealed in the temple. After they went through the temple, he never smoked again. Loren died not long after. He had a dog named Brownie. She was a brown Water Spaniel. Charles would be working at the garage, and Brownie would get hungry and go there. Charles would write a note telling Florence to feed her and stick it in the dogs mouth to take home. She would give it to Florence and get fed. Pretty soon, she would just find a piece of paper, skip the garage, and take it to Florence! Charles died at age 55 after a long illness. His truck that he used to haul freight with got stuck in the mud when he was with his young son Lee. After trying to work it out and failing, he lifted the front of the large truck out of the mud by himself. His heart "blew a gasket", the doctors called it leakage of the heart. He never recovered from it. Grandma said that they moved his bed into the kitchen so he could be closer to the stove to stay warm. His bed was at one side of the room and the table at the other, grandma said you could feel his heart beat just by putting your hand on the table because it beat so hard.



. ALICE MATILDA HOLBROOK CRAPO


Born October 26, 1850 in Leepool, Nottinghamshire, England
Died December 10, 1917, in Moab, Utah
Married Leonidus Leonard Crapo, February 24, 1876 in Paradise, Utah

She was born in England to Hannah Holbrook. Hannah had two illegitimate children before she was married. Her new husband accepted the younger child but not five year old Alice, she was sent to live with her grandparents. She and her grandparents came to America when she was ten on the ship Benjamin Franklin. They crossed the plains in the Am. B. Preston company, arriving in Utah in October of 1863. Her family was among the first that settled Paradise. After her marriage to L.L. Crapo, they lived in Green River, Utah, where because of Indian problems they moved to Moab. She was one of the first women in the Moab valley. She was a religious lady. She was one of the members of the original organization of the LDS Relief Society in Moab. She was the first president of the Young Ladies MIA, and also the first visiting teacher in the church there. She was a very pleasant, easy going person. She had a lot of health problems such as stricture of her esophagus, which makes it hard to eat. This was either caused or worsened by the mass amounts of baking soda she swallowed when she was pregnant to cure upset stomachs. She had colitis, which is intestinal inflamation, and dropsy - a collection of fluid in the body tissues or cavities. She was never diagnosed with diabetes, but had all the symptoms, and most of her children developed it. She died of cancer of the stomach.



LEONIDAS LEONARD CRAPO


Born January 16, 1838 in Fall River Massachusetts
Died September 11, 1929 in Moab Utah
Married Alice Matilda Holbrook February 24, 1876 in Paradise, Utah

Leonidus came to Utah in 1853 at age 15. By age 27, he had made five trips across the plains to help others to Utah. In 1863, he married Carey Louise Cravens in Council Bluffs Iowa. While he was in Utah, she died while giving birth to their daughter, the daughter died a few days later. His family joined the church in about 1840. He guided about five pioneer wagon trains and ran a freight line across the plains. He would rather walk than ride a horse. He had several experiences crossing the plains. One of which happened when the was riding a horse across the Nebraska plains. He was about asleep in the warm sun when he had a feeling to look up. Above him in the tree he was passing was an Indian in war paint with his arrow aiming a Leonidas's heart. LL shot him with out even drawing his gun from the holster. The Indian fell on the horses neck. He made one trip by himself. He would hid during the day and walk at night. Thirteen years later, he married Alice Holbrook. They had fifteen children. In 1879, they lived in Green River, Utah where the first house was built out of adobe bricks he had made. During this time, there were Indian problems in the area, they were told to leave. They moved to Moab. There was scarcely a trail leading there, he had to build a road down the canyon. In some places, they had to dismantle the wagon and lower it over the cliffs. They arrived September 13, 1880. There were only five other families there. L.L. homesteaded 160 acres that later became the town site of Moab. He took a prominent part in building up the town and held several positions including District & County Attorney, Justice of the Peace, and Postal Carrier, which he did riding horse back between Moab and Paradox, Colorado. Alice Called him "Len". He was small in stature but carried himself as straight and tall as possible. He smoked a little curved pipe. He was self-educated and would rather read than do manual labor. He died at age 91 of bronchial pneumonia.



HANNAH HOLBROOK HOLBROOK


Born February 14, 1837 in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, England
Died November 15, 1883 in Old Bassford, Nottinghamshire, England
Married Henry Holbrook abt 1860 in England

Not much is known about Hannah. She had two illegitimate children. The first, Alice, when she was 15. The second, Francis, was thought to belong to her future husband, Henry Holbrook, her cousin. He wouldn't have anything to do with Alice, who was 8 at the time they were going to get married, and so she was sent to live with her grandmother. He accepted Francis and raised her as his own. Hannah and Henry had 11 more children; John, Hannah, Sarah, Henry, Edward, George, Harriet, Elizabeth, James, and a set of twins, Henry and an unnamed boy. When she sent Alice to America with her grandmother, Alice remembered a lady crying on the docks. Could it be that Hannah knew it would be the last time she saw her daughter or mother? It was in America that Alice learned the lady crying on the docks in England was her mother and not her an older sister.



MARY ANN JEFFERY HOLBROOK HOLBROOK JAMES


Born January 7, 1807 in Arnold, Nottinghamshire, England
Died September 2, 1890 in Paradise, Cache, Utah
Married abt 1833 in England to John Holbrook

Mary Ann had either 4 or 5 children, Thomas, Hannah, Samuel, Samuel Jefferies, Mary Ann, and Elizabeth. I say 4 or 5 because it is not known if Samuel and Samuel Jefferies is the same person or if one died in infancy and the next son was named after him. Mary Ann raised her granddaughter, Alice, after Hannah's husband wouldn't accept her. Her husband John died in Oct. of 1845 and she married William Holbrook. They converted to the Morman Church and She immigrated to Utah with three of her children, and Alice. William didn't come, wether they were divorced, or he died, isn't known. She settled in Cache Valley Utah were she became the plural wife of Bishop David James in Paradise.



JULIA HILLS JOHNSON


Born September 28, 1763 in Upton Massachusetts
Died May 30, 1853 in Council Bluffs Iowa
Married Ezekiel Johnson January 12, 1801 in Grafton Mass.

Her father died when she was young from tuberculosis. Her mother married Enoch Forbush. She was from a substantial New England family, being a descendent of the early Massachusetts settlers, intelligent, and reasonably well educated. She was a staunch Presbyterian and taught her children to read the bible and pray. Her oldest son, Joel H. went to Anerherst where he was baptized, She sent him a letter warning them of the "Mormons". He wrote back and said he'd already been baptized and sent a copy of the Book Of Mormon. She read it with family members and close friends, and when Joel and the missionaries came, she was secretly baptized in the middle of the night. When Ezekiel found out, he was very upset, he had been considering baptism also, but because she did it without discussing it first, he was turned away from the Church. She was the first mother-in-law of plural marriage. Her daughter Almera became the Prophet's 1st plural wife and also the first plural wife in the church. Julia made hats, neckties, and did needle work to help make ends meet and later to help with building the Kirkland Temple. She wrote the hymn THE JOY AND THE SONG which Emma Smith requested be put in THE FIRST BOOK OF HYMNS FOR THE RESTORED CHURCH. Because Ezekiel wouldn't join the church and had left the home for good, Julia was advised to be sealed to John Smith. She was a member of the first Woman's Relief Society of the Church. She trusted fully in the Lord. When writing to her half sister of the death of her four children, she said "What can I say, but the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away." In all she did she was faithful. She traveled with "Kirkland Camp" to Missouri. During the trip, near Springfield, Illinois, Samuel Hale and his wife died leaving a ten year old daughter. Julia adopted her and raised her as one of her own. While they were in Springfield, Julia and her son George Washington contracted typhoid fever and nearly died. She was a very strong member and loved the church very much. When the great migration west started, she stayed in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where she died. She was a very loved and highly thought of person.



EZEKIEL JOHNSON


Born January 12, 1776 at Uxbridge Massachusetts
Died January 13, 1845 in Nauvoo Illinois
Married Julia Hills January 12, 1801

He was by nature a most tender and affectionate husband and parent. He was obliging and true - a man of truth and honor among men. He had a problem with intemperance which at times, changed his whole nature. He was 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a solid build. He had fine light brown hair and mild, but piercing blue eyes. He had tight smooth skin. He had the habit early on of the use of "ardent spirits". He never met his father, who went to fight in the Revolutionary war before Ezekiel was born. Some say he was killed in battle, others say he just never came back. His mother was fined for being pregnant out of wedlock. She eventually married John King. Ezekiel didn't get along with him because he was abusive. When the opportunity came at about 14 years old, he ran away, never to see his mother again. It is believed that she eventually went to Canada. This is all the information of his early life, there isn't any record of him until he is in his twenties. Some notes were found giving the impression that he was in the cow bell business. He was a thrifty man. After he was married, he worked as a carpenter building cabins for the new settlers and clearing the timber for farm land. I guess you could say he was an early realtor. He was a wanderer. He would build a cabin in a secluded area, when a few neighbors moved in, he would move on . He was considering baptism into the Mormon Church, when he found out his wife had secretly been baptized in the night. He was very distressed and said he would never have anything to do with the Church. In 1835, he left the family home for good. He lived with his daughter Esther and her family in Nauvoo. He eventually gave up drinking and had a change of heart about the church. He was very upset when Joseph Smith was killed. He became a one man army of defense. He carried his double-barreled shot gun "Old Bess" and held off a company of soldiers by hiding behind a tree and stepping out pointing the gun at the captain when they got right on him. He told them to leave or he would shoot. They left and tried to sneak in on another street, but he was waiting for them and did the same thing, this time he told them if they did it again, he would just shoot. This gave the saints enough time to escape. This incident led to his death. He became a marked man. On a trip into Nauvoo, a mob captured him and tied him to a wagon wheel were he was whipped to near death. He never recovered and died shortly after. He had asked for baptism but because of his sudden death, never received it. President Wilford Woodruff gave permission for his descendants to do his temple work and seal him to his family. President Woodruff said that Ezekiel "was one of the first Martyrs to the cause of the Church in this dispensation."



EVELINE BURDICK JOHNSON


Born September 18,1832 in Jamestown, New York
Died February 12, 1911 in Provo, Utah
Married George Washington Johnson October 1, 1851 in SLC Utah

She was the second wife of George Washington Johnson. They had 11 children together. She eventually left him and moved to Mexico with some of her children. She never got back with him. She came to Utah in October 1851. They stayed in Salt Lake for a short while, then went to Summit Creek, and then Santaquin. In 1852, because of the Indian problems, they moved to Iron County, and then to Mona, Juab County in 1867, where they lived for several years. She was a tailor by trade and made a lot of the men's suits. The sewing was done by hand as there were few sewing machines at that time. After Mona, they moved to Huntington for awhile. In her later years, she spent the summers in Provo with her son, and her winters in Moab with other children. She lived with her son Charles and his family in Provo at the time of her death. She died from old age and general debility. There is a story in the book PRESIDENTS OF THE CHURCH pg 25-26 that tells about when she was a child in Kirtland. One day she was playing on the floor while her mother cleaned house, when a man came looking for her father. He came over to her and picked her up, putting her on his shoulder. He then crossed the room to the mirror, where they both looked into it. He then put her down and went to ask her mother where her father was. After he left, her mother told her that it was the Prophet Joseph Smith, and what a good man he was.



JOSEPH GEORGE CRAPO


Born November 7, 1806 in Freetown, Bristol, Massachusetts
Died September 20, 1886 in Paradise, Cache, Utah
Married Mary Hicks Collins June 18, 1826 in Fall River, Mass.

He was the eldest son of Charles and Sarah Crapo. He was small of stature like his mother, and had her alert business nature, also. He didn't like farm work and dreamed of owning a fishing boat, or "smack" as they were called then. When he fell in love with Mary Hicks Collins, his father was against the marriage. He gave consent after Joseph agreed to stay on the farm until his brother was old enough to take his place. After three years passed, Joseph and Mary moved to Maine to earn money for the boat. In twelve years, they returned to Massachusetts to buy the boat. After seven years fishing, Joseph was caught in a storm and shipwrecked in his oyster beds. He was rescued by a ship heading to France. It took a tear for him to earn enough money to return to his family, they thought he had drowned. He and his family joined the LDS Church in 1841. They arrived in Utah September 9, 1853 in the John A. Miller and John W. Cooley company, and settled in Draper. By 1860, the need for better range for stock was great. Joseph and 3 companions headed out to find a new location. They arrived in Cache Valley in April. They liked the area where Avon is and built cabins and a fort. He died in Paradise, the area just north of Avon, at the age of 81.



MARY HICKS COLLINS CRAPO


Born October 15, 1809 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts
Died May 24, 1888 in Paradise, Cache, Utah
Married Joseph George Crapo June 18, 1826 in Fall River, Mass.

She was very pretty. She had sparkling eyes with dark auburn, curly hair. She was an invalid when Joseph was shipwrecked and gone for a year. She crossed the plains to Utah in the Miller and Cooley company arriving the 9th of September, 1853. They settled in Paradise, Cache, Utah.






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Copyright Brenda Tanner 2002.