William F. Johnson, 1858 – 1938

Headstone GPS Coordinates: 

Birth: 05 October 1858, Spencer County, Indiana

Death: 27 November 1938, Bremerton, Kitsap County, Washington

Relatives in Seabeck Cemetery: None.

 

William F. Johnson was born on October 5, 1858, in Spencer County, Indiana. He was the youngest of five children born to William S. Johnson, a Tennessee native, and his wife. Historical records present a slight mystery regarding his mother’s identity: while his death certificate names her as Mary Montgomery, census records from his childhood identify her as Sarah.

Following the likely passing of his mother in the 1860s, William was raised in the household of his father and stepmother, Lucinda Johnson, in Luce, Indiana, where his father worked in the tobacco industry.

By 1880, a twenty-one-year-old William was working as a hired laborer on the farm of Samuel Shourds in Ohio Township, Indiana. It was here that he met the neighbor’s daughter, Martha “Mattie” Shourds. The couple was married on March 8, 1885, in Rockport, Indiana. Together, they had three children:

• Ebert Wesley Johnson (1889)
• Claude Johnson (1890)
• Virginia Johnson Kingsbury (1898)

The Johnson family spent many years farming in Grass, Indiana, before joining the westward migration. By 1910, they had relocated to Seattle, Washington, where William found work in the burgeoning electric industry. The family eventually settled in Kitsap County, moving to Charleston by 1920 and finally to Bremerton in 1923. During his final years, William worked as a laborer at the Puget Sound Navy Yard.

While local lore—specifically the writings of Fred Just—suggested William was a veteran of the Spanish-American War, official military records and his own 1930 census declaration do not confirm veteran status.

 

The Kitsap Sun – November 28, 1938

William F. Johnson dies here; Funeral To be held Tuesday

A resident of Bremerton for 15 years, William F. Johnson, 80, a retired laborer, died yesterday at his home, 1550 Naval Ave. Funeral services will be held Tuesday at 2 o’clock at the Steltz Funeral chapel, the Rev. William Clifford officiating. Internment will be in the Seabeck Cemetery.

Johnson was born Oct. 5, 1858 in Indiana, and removed from Bremerton to Seattle 15 years ago. He was married to Mattie A. Johnson in Rockport, Ind. March 8, 1885.

Surviving besides his widow are two sons, E.W. Johnson of the family home, and Claude Johnson of 1555 Naval Ave, and a daughter, Mrs. Virginia Kingsbury of San Francisco.