Leonard Johnson, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Leonard Johnson
BIOGRAPHY OF LEONARD JOHNSON
I, Leonard Johnson, was born January 24, 1899 to Swedish parents, Albert and Hulda Johnson, in Pine Township near Beverly Shores, south of Hiway 12. One brother, George, died in infancy, and another brother, Arthur T. Johnson, was born March 31, 1896. I, Leonard, attended Pine Township schools for eight years, and Elston High in Michigan City for two years. I had to quit because of World War I.
My brother, Arthur, graduated from Elston High, and later from Augustana College, in Rock Island, Ill., in 1917. Arthur, with members of the college band, joined the U.S. Army as a unit. Arthur later transferred to the Signal Corps. He became First Lieutenant and was an observer on Reconnaissance Planes flying over Germany. He was shot down September 12, 1918, during the St. Mihiel drive at the town of Fluery, France. His body was returned three years later, and is buried in the Augsburg Church Cemetery in Porter.
I, Leonard, left the farm in the 1930's to become a masonry and concrete contractor, retiring in 1968.
In 1949, I married Lucile Wheeler, daughter of Raymond and Frances Wheeler of Valparaiso. She retired in 1956 after teaching school 33 years -- 32 in Pine Township. Her sister, Lenora E. Wheeler, a graduate of Michael Reese School of Nursing, was a Porter County School nurse, before joining the 5th Army stationed in England during World War II. We are living in the house that my father built in 1897, and enjoying retirement.
Submitted by Leonard Johnson Beverly Shores, Indiana
Source: American Revolution Bicentennial Committee of Porter County. 1976. A Biographical History of Porter County, Indiana. Valparaiso, Indiana: American Revolution Bicentennial Committee of Porter County, Inc. 180 p.
Page(s) in Source: 127
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook