_____________________________
_Albert Lee JOHNSON _____________|
| |_____________________________
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|--Clark Alexander JOHNSON
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| _Alexander Padian DUCKWORTH _
|_Martha Ellen "Ellie" DUCKWORTH _|
|_Martha Adaline GILLESPIE ___
!MARRIAGE: Original first marriage license in my possession. Divorced 5 May 1947. Copy in my files. Information on second marriage from Ruth (Hamrick) Johnson, Conroe, Texas. Copy of marriage record in my files.
!DEATH: Died in Houston from heart attack. Obituary in my files. We attended memorial services and burial. Buried in Friendship Cemetery, a few miles west of Sherman, Texas. Will recorded in Conroe, Montgomery County, Texas on 1 May 1991. Copy in my files.
!NOTES: As noted above, he was born in Oklahoma Territory, but he returned to Fannin County with his parents when he was about two weeks old and grew up and was married there. He had interesting stories to tell of his early years. At one time he had wagon of manure he was taking to put on the garden. His father and mother had just returned to the house and watched from the porch. The wagon was in a soft spot in the garden, and the wheels sank into the ground. Clark wanted to move, and got the best effort from the horses, who pulled, their legs trembled, and the new double tree on the wagon broke. On another occassion he and his father were hauling hay, and crossed Red River at Sowells bluff on a ferry. There was another man there who was not able to get his team to go on the ferry. Grandpa told Clark to hook up and help him get on. Clark hooked his mule team on the wagon tongue and led them on the ferry. At one time he had a team of mules hooked to a cultivator and was plowing. Something spooked the mules, and they ran away. He kept the sweeps in the ground in an attempt to stop them, but they kept going. He had to jump off the cultivator, which was completely torn up across the field. This same team later ran away with his brother, Emmett. His father traded a riding horse (Ted, whom I later rode) for a bay horse. As they were returning, something spooked the bay horse. He reared and fell back on the empty saddle, breaking the horse's back. They were able to get the other horse trader to return Ted. He tells the story of the time his father traded for a young bay horse which had not yet been broken to work. He put a good older horse on one side of the wagon tongue, put harness on the yonug horse, and put him on the other side of the tongue. With a poker, his father reached down an hooked the young horse to the tongue and single tree. The young horse reared and tried to run. The old horse turned and bit him in the neck. The young horse promptly settled down. He farmed for one year after his marriage. He remembers his father gave him a new set of harness, with 27 feet lines. Worked as railroad switchman for Missouri-Kansas-Texas (Katy) railrosd in Denison, Texas, later as truck driver and fireman for City of Sherman, returned to Katy as switchman until his retirement. Then moved to Pasadena and later to Conroe, Texas where he worked as security guard for several years before final retirement after the age 80. Always particularly enjoyed outdoor activities in his garden and yard. Of course I have many memories of him. Perhaps the most striking thing was his ability to do a great number of different types of work. He could build, do electrical wiring, plumbing, and until automobiles became more complicated, he could do auto repairs. I remember one Sunday drive in Fannin County when the axle on the car broke. He had someone pull the car to a family member's house, bought a new axle, and replaced the old one, all on a Sunday afternoon. He moved to Conroe when he was in his mid 70's, and at that time he wired and installed his electric garage door opener. Later he built a small tool house, and later a small house for plants. He did the electric wiring for both of these. During the depression years he was a young father, and part of the time was without work. We lived almost one year with my maternal grandparents on a farm near Floyada, where I began school in a two room country school (Muncie). We then moved back to Sherman, where he began working as a laborer for the City of Sherman, advancing to truck driver, and later fireman. But we always had enough to eat (pinto beans are almost a complete food), a warm house in which to live, and adequate clothing. There was almost always candy on Saturday night. His chief love remained railroad work. He had worked as a section hand, switchman, and brakeman for the Katy before the depression. When he was able to return full time as a switchman, he did so, and worked there until his retirement at the age of 65. For a while he operated a service station, but soon gave that up. However he was dissatified without a regular job, and moved to Pasadena, where he began working as a custodian, and later as a gate keeper at various locations. He moved to Conroe, and worked as a gate keeper for Eckerd's warehouse until his final retirement about age 80. In 1944 he and his first wife, Estelle, were separated and subsequently divorced in 1947. He married Ruth Hamrick, and they had one sone, Bill. They always enjoyed their children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. For his eightieth birthday his wife prepared a book on his life, including pictures, with letters and articles written by family members and friends. A copy of my memories of him for this book is in my files. For his memorial service at the time of his death, excerpts from these letters and articles was used.