Yuma County, Colorado
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Yuma County Pioneers:

 

Frederick D. and wife Mary (Newell) Johnson, wife Margaret (Campbell) Johnson


One possible is the Davis Fred Johnson in 1870 Sullivan County, New Hampshire, 9, with parents ? Amos D. 46 and Cynthia 32. George Johnson is a farm laborer, 20. All were born in New Hampshire.
In 1880 Strafford County, New Hampshire (the same county as the Newells) Fred Johnson is 20, living with George B. Johnson 42 - but at the end of the eight shoe-workers, as though he was not a son.
In 1880 Sullivan County, Fred E. Davis is stepson of Amos D. Johnson 55. Cynthia A. is 42.
Cynthia A. Johnson, widow of Amos D., is living in Claremont, New Hampshire in 1905, at 28 Tutherly Avenue.

In 1900 Wray, Fred D. Johnson is widowed, born April 1860 in Maine, a ranchman. Frank S. was born January 1890 in Colorado, Lura A. Decembeer 1893 in Colorado. Ellen J. Dalyrimple Nov 1849 in Wisconsin is a servant.


November 2, 1900 "F. D. Johnson and Miss Maggie Campbell were the guests of Mrs. M. L. Hayes Tuesday."

1904 Wray Gazette special edition:

Fred D. Johnson, who is a native of New Hampshire, came to Yuma county eighteen years ago, and since then he has been a most prominent and potent factor in developing the resources of both city and county.

[F.D. Johnson arrived in Wray on June 1, 1886.]

In the city Mr. Johnson owns a very extensive lumber yard, which is well stocked with lumber and other building materials of all kinds, posts, barbed wire, etc. He keeps also, a full stock of all kinds of agricultural implements which he offers at very low prices. He supplies coal in any quantities desired, delivered promptly on the most reasonable terms.

[In the 1908 fire "During the fire the F.D. Johnson lumber yard a block away caught fire several times, but was extinguished. Shingles and burning brands as large as one's hand fell two and three blocks away, and but for careful watching would have started fires in numerous places. The fact that the night was comparatively still, with scarcely any breeze stirring, is the only reason that there are any of the nearby buildings left. "]

In addition to his business in the city, the gentleman is one of the most extensive and successful ranchmen in the county. He owns 1,500 acres of choice grazing and farming lands, which are peculiarly well adapted for the cattle industry. In addition to this he controls many thousands of acres of free range, on which buffalo, gramma and other nutritious native grasses grow luxuriantly. On an average Mr. Johnson keeps about 800 cattle, a large herd, each, of horses and hogs. As the accompanying engraving indicates, his cattle are well bred and unusually valuable, and he has become noted for the excellence of his horses. His ranch situated adjacent to the northern boundary of Wray, is very valuable, as much of it is situated in the valley of the Republican river, the stream flowing through it. Mr. Johnson is untiring in his industry and his energy is unceasing. The vigilant and vigorous personal attention he bestows on his business is one of the chief secrets of his remarkable success and the reputation he has acquired as a shrewd and progressive business man.

The gentleman owns one of the most beautiful homes in Wray, where he is recognized as an honorable business man and a most useful citizen.

In 1890-1891 F.D. was treasurer of the Town of Wray.

Mrs. Fred D. Johnson became a member of the Wray Presbyterian Church in 1895.


Lura and Frank are with father Fred H. Johnson in 1910 Wray. Fred runs a retail lumber yad, married for the second time, nine years to Margaret C. - her first marriage. Margaret is 50, born in New York. Frank is 18, a farm laborer. They have a servant, Ethel M. Green, 19.
Margaret's parents were Peter Campbell 1827-1915 buried in Washington County, New York, # 126382440, with Mary J. Campbell 1829-1922, # 126382394.

In 1880 Washington, D.C., Peter is a banker and broker, 54, with Mary J. 50, and Margaret 21, all born in New York. They have a maid..

In 1890 (census fragment) Washington, D.C., Elizabeth C. Dallas is 40, divorced, born in New York. Her children Mary C. 16, Everett H. 12, and John C. 6, all three born in New York, father born in Ohio. S Sister Margaret Campbell, 30 is with them.
July 13, 1901 Wray "John Dallas arrived from Washington, D. C., yesterday and will spend the summer vacation with his grand parents, Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, and his aunt, Mrs. F. D. Johnson. He was accompanied by the Misses Miller of Chicago."
November 8, 1907

1909 Colorado Experiment Station bulletin-



1910 Fort Collins "Mrs. F.D. Johnson and son, Frank, and daughter Laura, and William and Margaret Rosencrans, all of Wray, are guests this week of Mr. and Mrs. A.J. White. They are attending the short course."

1913 "Fred Johnson and family of Wray visited at the Rosencrans ranch last Sunday."
September 23, 1915 "Mrs. E. C. Dallas left Tuesday for her home in Washington, D. C. Mrs. Dallas is a daughter of Mrs. Peter Campbell and a sister of Mrs. F. D. Johnson and had been visiting in their homes for three weeks. She is employed by the government in the treasury department in Washington."


Margaret Campbell married F.D. Johnson on January 1, 1901, recorded in Yuma County.
"Miss Lura Johnson came down from Fort Collins yesterday morning, called here by the death of her grandfather, the late Peter Campbell."
January 14, 1915 "John A. Campbell of Trenton, N. J., and his sister, Mrs. E. C. Dallas, of Washington, D. C. reached Wray Saturday morning, called here by the death of their father, the late Peter Campbell. They departed Tuesday night for their respective homes."

October 1915 " Mrs. Mary Campbell and daughter, Mrs. Fred Johnson, departed yesterday morning for Mankato, Kansas, where they will visit their friend, Mrs. Margaret Bishop, for a week or ten days."


May 4, 1916 Wray "John Campbell arrived Friday morning from his home in Trenton, N. J., and remained until yesterday visiting with his mother, Mrs. Mary Campbell, and his sister, Mrs. F. D. Johnson. While here Mr. Campbell had a memorial window placed in the Presbyterian church as a tribute to his father, the late Peter Campbell, who for so many years was one of the most prominent members of that congregation. The window was placed above the pulpit and Rev. A. N. Wolff held a brief dedicatory service Sunday morning, dedicating it to the memory of Uncle Peter Campbell, as he was familiarly known in Wray and vicinity."

September 7, 1916 "Mrs. Dallas of Washington, D. C., is in town visiting her mother, Mrs. Peter Campbell, and her sister, Mrs. F. D. Johnson."

May 31, 1917 "Mrs. F. D. Johnson and mother, Mrs. Peter Campbell, arrived home the first of the week from a visit of two months or more with relatives and friends in Trenton, New Jersey, New York City and Washington."


May 4, 1922 "The bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Campbell were taken back to the old home at Cambridge, N. Y., for burial, Mr. and Mrs. F. D. Johnson having accompanied the bodies and started on the long journey last Friday evening. A short funeral service was held over the remains of Mrs. Campbell last Friday afternoon."

April 27, 1922

In 1920 Wray, Frederick D. 60 and Margaret 59 are alone. In 1930 they're 70, and a lodger Thomas Collins, 51 is iwth them, doing odd jobs.

In 1940 Wray, Fred and Margaret are 80, with a housekeeper Myra D. Rosenkrans 73, widowed, like Margaret born in New York.


Fred D. Johnson 1860-1944 is buried in Wray # 64261738, next to Mary A. Johnson 1851-1899.

FRANK

June 8, 1906

April 13, 1916 "Frank Johnson returned Monday from a two weeks visit with friends and relatives in several points in New York."

Frank Samuel Johnson registered for WWI with a Wray address, born June 1, 1891, sorking for F.D. Johnson as a farmer and water commissioner.

Frank S. Johnson of Wray proved up some land in 32, 2N 43W in 1919, witnesses Sadie Gentry, Leonard D. Smith, Harry K. Shriner, and George Grigsby, all of Wray.

April 17, 1919 "Frank Johnson has recently returned from a trip to New York, where he had been visiting his wife. Mrs. Johnson has been in New York the greater part of the winter, but will return soon."

In 1920 Wray, Frank is 28, a rancher, married to Margaret A. 42 born in New York. She's a school teacher.
In 1940 San Diego, Frank is 49, widowed, born in Colorado - in Wray in 1935. He's a loader at an oil refinery, in a big boarding house
Frank Samuel Johnson, born June 1, 1891 in Colorado, mother Chamberlain, died May 31, 1953 in San Diego County.

He's buried in Mount Hope, San Diego, # 57712901.

LURA

In 1910 Yuma County, Walter N. Ainslie is 17, with farming parents Thomas N. 50 and May E. 42, both born in Ohio. Prentice is 13 born in Georgia, Andrew 2 in Ohio.

May 12, 1911

August 6, 1914


August 25, 1918 Walter Ainslie married "Lina" Johnson, recorded in Yuma County.

1918 "Walter M. Ainslie, for the past eight months district representative of the Armour Packing company, with headquarters in Steamboat Springs, departed Saturday for Berkeley, Calif., to enter the School of Military Aeronautics, having been accepted as a member of the Aviation corps."

In 1920 Glenwood Springs, Colorado, Lura is 26, married to Walter M. Ainslie, 27, born in Georgia, a commercial meat dealer.
June 2, 1920

October 1, 1920

Perhaps nothing caught the attention of Glenwood Springs residents more than the sound of an engine high in the clouds. In May 1920, pilot Walter M. Ainslie did just that when he landed his new Curtiss Humphreys biplane on the polo grounds. Ainslie brought awe, curiosity and a fledgling industry to Glenwood Springs.

Ainslie was not the first pilot to land in Glenwood Springs. Just eight months earlier, on Aug. 16, 1919, four DeHaviland bombing planes flown by the Transcontinental Aerial Squadron, landed on Glenwood Springs' polo field, the location of today's Polo Road.

The mission of the Transcontinental Aerial Squadron was to interest others in the new and rapidly expanding field of aviation, and to demonstrate how flight could bring economic benefits to a post-war society.

When Lt. Erick H. Nelson and his mechanic, Sgt. J.J. Kelly, landed the first plane, the crowd, which had anticipated their arrival for days, had to be ordered away from the plane. Ropes were installed to prevent damage from the curious.

The vision of aviation's future held by Ainslie was more than mere stunts performed by barnstormers. In April 1920, Ainslie formed the Colorado Aviation Corp., capitalized with $10,000. He offered airplane sales, passenger carrying, exhibition and aerial advertising.

Ainslie was no novice to the skies. During World War I, Ainslie served as an aerial instructor. He grew up in Laird, a small community in northeast Colorado.

Strawberry Day 1920 found Ainslie performing aerial stunts which amazed visitors and encouraged the bravest to take a ride in the sky. At $10 to $25 per ride, the experience was one none forgot.

In the months following, Ainslie took his plane to communities across Colorado's Western Slope and into Utah, where there, too, he often gave communities their first glimpse of an airplane. At times his wife, Lura, home economics teacher for Garfield County High School in Glenwood Springs, traveled with him.

The summer of 1920 closed, and Ainslie shifted his operations to warmer climates, flying to Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. Accompanying him was his mechanic Harold A. Park, and a student pilot from Gypsum, V.J. Olesen.

Bad weather, bad gasoline and aircraft damage plagued the trip. At Farmington, N.M., the plane was held as collateral until settlement could be reached regarding a car damaged in a fire accidentally set by mechanic Park.

Ainslie had only been in operation for about three months when Rex Smith entered the field. Smith, a 1916 graduate of Garfield County High School, had also enlisted in the Aviation Corps in World War I.

Smith and his plane competed with Ainslie. The Glenwood Springs newspapers hoped both men would make the town the new center for the aviation industry for the Western Slope and Utah.

As competition increased and the novelty faded, Ainslie's sales fell. In January 1922, the Denver hangar storing Ainslie's planes burned, signaling the end of Ainslie's business. The Colorado Aviation Corp. dissolved in March 1922. Ainslie later became a salesman in Illinois.

Many a Western Slope man learned to fly from Walter Ainslie, and it was through his passion and skill as pilot, instructor and showman that the future of Colorado's aviation industry was shaped.

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July 1920 "The other day an airplane left Denver for Glenwood Springs -- westward over the divide -- and got a hint of what winds sometimes do among the high peaks. Buffeted by a gale which swept over the backbone of the continent at a velocity of 60 miles an hour, forcing his 363-horsepower Curtiss biplane back and down, Walter M. Ainslie, president of the Colorado Aviation corporation, was compelled to abandon his attempt to fly from Denver to Glenwood Springs, and made a forced landing two miles this side of Golden. For one and one-half hours the big plane wrestled with the storm. Ainslie and his mechanician, Harold Park, then turned back. Riding with the wind, they covered in ten minutes the distance which had taken nearly one and one-half hours against the wind."

January 12, 1922

They're in Lake County, Illinois in 1930, Walter a salesman. Margaret Agnes 9 was born in Colorado.

1938 Long Beach

The three of them are in Long Beach, California in 1940.

Walter Melvin Ainslie, born Nov 26, 1892, mother Prentice, died January 28, 1954 in Kern County, California.

"The Kern County traffic toll was on-its way to setting a new monthly record this morning with the death of Walter M. Ainslie, 61, in San Joaquin Hospital. Ainslie was the third fatality in the Tuesday evening head-on collision of two sedans, 10 miles west of Wasco on Highway 466."

Lura Abigail Ainsley, born December 6, 1893 in Colorado, mother Chamberlain, father Johnson, died October 21, 1994 in Los Angeles County.


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