Berkley Estes Johnson

Berkley Estes Johnson

     Marshall Johnson was born on a large, prosperous farm in southwestern Spotsylvania County on Christmas Eve 1805. He was the youngest of six children born to Jonathan Johnson and Nancy Casell. After his father's death in 1825, Marshall acquired possession of the family's 247-acre farm.
Marshall was a farmer, slave owner and gold miner. During the 1820's he was a principal in the Virginia Gold Mining Company, and Johnson's Gold Mine was located on his farm.

Sarah Estes Johnson (Ancestry)

     Marshal married Sarah Estes (1804-1869) about 1830. Sarah was born on Greenfield plantation, my family's old farm in Spotsylvania, and was a younger sister of my great great grandmother, Nancy Estes Row. Marshall and Sarah had six children together--two girls and four boys. The youngest of these was Berkley Estes Johnson, born in September 1849. He was named for his mother's brother, who had moved to Missouri in the 1820's with two other Estes brothers, Ambrose and Richard.

Berkley Estes (Ancestry)

     Marshall Johnson died at the age of 46 on January 13, 1852. Apparently he had been suffering from heart disease, since the invoice of Dr. Towles (shown below) indicates that he provided Marshall with digitalis. His brother, Jonathan "Nathan" Johnson (1803-1873) stepped in to ensure that his nieces and nephews received the resources for a proper upbringing. Nathan became what was then called a "curator," which meant that Marshall's children became his wards.  Nathan was married to Frances Estes (1802-1871), a sister of Sarah Estes Johnson. Nathan and Frances had no children of their own, so it was natural of them to wish to take care of Marshall's children. Since Nathan was one of the wealthiest men in Spotsylvania County, this obligation would not impose any financial hardship on him. Nathan owned Walnut Grove, the fine home he built near Marshall's farm. In June 1864, Walnut Grove was pillaged during a raid by Union soldiers.

Invoice of Dr. Towles

Invoice for the coffin of Marshall Johnson

     The surviving papers of Nathan Johnson indicate that he provided all that could be expected for the Johnson children, especially for Berkley, his sister Sarah Ann ("Nannie") and his brother Richard Jonathan. Accounts were set up at Fredericksburg's finest clothing stores, generous allowances were given and no expense was spared in educating these three promising children.

Nathan Johnson's allowances for Berkley

Clothing bought for Nannie and Richard Johnson

     Nannie received her early education at Oakley, the home of Leroy Wonderful Dobyns. This invoice shows that not only did Nannie receive her lessons at Oakley, she was also a boarder there for 10 months.

Invoice of Leroy W. Dobyns for Nannie Johnson's schooling

     Nannie then attended the prestigious Albemarle Female Institute in Charlottesville. This school for young women had a long and interesting history and was administered by members of my family later in the 19th century.

Invoice of the Albemarle Female Institute for Nannie Johnson's expenses

     When Berkley and Richard Johnson were still youngsters, they attended a school taught by Amanda M. Anderson at her home near Andrews Tavern:

Invoice of Amanda Anderson for tuition for Berkley and Richard Johnson

     Richard then attended school at Green Hill, the home of James Boswell Rawlings, whose son, Benjamin Cason Rawlings, left home at age 15 and made his way to South Carolina in order to join the Confederate army. This invoice is dated September 1859:

James B. Rawlings invoice for tuition for Richard Johnson

     Richard Johnson then attended Allegheny College in Blue Sulphur Springs, (West) Virginia. His cousin (and my great grandfather) George Washington Estes Row was a student there during the winter of 1861. The school's superintendent, William E. Duncan, wrote a letter to Nathan Johnson in February 1861, asking for reimbursement for money he advanced to Richard and George so that they could make the trip home to Spotsylvania, where both would join the Confederate army that spring.

Letter by William E. Duncan to Nathan Johnson, February 1861

     After his time at Amanda Anderson's school, Berkley Johnson boarded at the Locust Dale Academy in Madison County just prior to his enrollment in the University of Virginia. This invoice was sent to Nathan Johnson by the school's headmaster, Andrew James Gordon:

Andrew J. Gordon invoice for expenses of Berkley Johnson

     Not long after he graduated from the University of Virginia in 1871, Berkley moved to Missouri, where he began a long and distinguished career as a civil engineer. In 1878, Berkley married Margaret Wise in Joplin, Missouri:

Marriage record of Berkley Johnson and Margaret Wise

     Berkley and Margaret lived in Joplin for a time before settling in Kirkwood, a suburb of St. Louis. They had three daughters together: Maude Margaret (born 1881), Blanche (born 1889) and Grace Lucille (born 1891).
     During his years in St. Louis, Berkley held two important jobs as a civil engineer. First, he worked as the surveyor of St. Louis. In 1893, he published "An Atlas of St. Louis County"  a collection of maps that he had prepared.

     Berkley later became the chief engineer of the St. Louis Belt and Terminal Railway Company. This article from the May 1, 1902 edition of The St. Louis Republic provides a glimpse into one of the many challenges Berkley faced in that role:

     In addition to his professional interests, Berkley bred and raised Buff Plymouth Rock chickens, and by 1899 he owned 600 birds. His skill as a breeder was noted in the trade journals of his day:

Poultry Home & Garden, 1899

Big Four Poultry Journal 1906

Poultry, Volume 3, 1907

     In May 1905, Berkley and Margaret's oldest daughter, Maude, married Robert Bruce Brown. Robert was the son of Benjamin Gratz Brown, who had served as a United States senator during the 1860's and was elected as Missouri's 20th governor in 1871. In 1872, Benjamin Brown was the vice-presidential candidate in Horace Greeley's unsuccessful run for the president of the United States.

Campaign poster of the Greeley-Brown ticket, 1872

     Maude's sister Grace was one of the attendants at her wedding. Just three months later, Grace died of peritonitis. Berkley was devastated by the death of his daughter, and he never recovered from the shock of her passing. Just a year and a half later, on February 9, 1907, Berkley Estes Johnson died.

The Daily Star, 12 February 1907

     Maude and Robert Brown settled in Brooklyn, New York. In 1910, their daughter Margaret Wise Brown was born. Margaret was an intelligent child and attended private schools before enrolling in Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia, where she graduated in 1932. Margaret soon thereafter began a highly successful career as a writer of children's books. Perhaps the best known of the dozens she wrote was Goodnight Moon, published in 1947.

Margaret Wise Brown

Goonight Moon