Grayson County TXGenWeb

Adolph Benjamin Johnson Sr.

Charles A. Johnson

Adolph B. Johnson (1849–1911) was the son of a Swedish couple who died in Hudene Parish, Sweden. He emigrated to the United States in 1867.

Margaret "Maggie" Dorris (1861–1933) was born in Van Buren County, Arkansas, but by 1880 she was living in her mother's home on Sears Street in Denison, Texas. In 1881 she married Adolph Johnson. By 1887, Adolph had set himself up as a "merchant tailor" at 108 West Main Street. That year, the Denison City Directory said that he lived above the shop. Four years later, in 1891, he and Maggie were rooming at 321 West Morton Street. Later they acquired the property and lived there until Adolph's death in 1911. Maggie was still living there in 1930.

Advertisement for A. B. Johnson Merchant Tailor
108 West Main Street
1887 Denison City Directory

Adolph Johnson had a brother named Emil Johnson (1860–1951). He arrived in the United States from Sweden in 1885. His first wife was Marie L., with whom he had as many as six children. By 1891 he had joined Adolph in the Denison tailor shop. In 1893, Emil married Adda B. McMillan (1858–1911). In 1895, they had a daughter, Luella. The 1910 Census found the couple living in St. Louis, Missouri, where Emil worked as a tailor. Adda passed away in 1911, as did Emil's brother Adolph. By 1913 Emil was back in Denison, living alone at 412 South Fannin Avenue.

Adolph and Maggie Johnson had five children: Eva Johnson Puckett (1884–1949); Lottie Johnson Rockwell Anderson (1886–1958); Charles A. (18821954); Harry (1890–?); and Adolph Benjamin Jr. (1885–1958). By 1909, Charles had joined his father in the merchant tailor shop, now called A. B. Johnson & Son. The store had moved to 228 West Main Street. The 1910 Census listed Adolph as a tailor in "own store"; Charlie was a tailor in "father's store"; and Lottie was a saleslady in a millinery shop. That year Eva had married Justus Garfield Puckett, a clerk in a railroad office, and the couple lived a few doors away from Adolph and Maggie.

On November 6, 1911, Adolph Johnson passed away. He was buried in Denison's Oakwood Cemetery, as was his wife Maggie.

In 1913, according to the City Directory, Charles A. Johnson was a merchant tailor at 409 West Main and was living with his mother at 321 West Morton. His uncle Emil had returned to town and was working with him in the tailor shop. At this point, Lottie Johnson was a stenographer at W. D. Collins Safe & Fixture Company. She boarded at 331 West Heron Street.

Charles was living in Sulphur Springs, Texas, when he registered for the draft for World War I. On July 12, 1919, he married Mary C. Curran (1882–1975) in Denison. Mary had moved there from Parsons, Kansas, with her widowed mother after 1905.

Charlie spent the rest of his life working as a men's tailor in downtown Denison. He and Mary lived at 622 West Owings Street. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage on January 1, 1954. Mary lived a long time after that, passing away in Houston, Texas, at age 91, on January 6, 1973. Both were buried in Calvary Cemetery in Denison. They had one child, Mary V. Johnson.

Detail, Mural of Early Denison Shops. Mural by Vicki Roberson.
Located at 200 West Main Street, along South Austin Avenue.
Depicts storefronts in 100 block West Main Street, south side, late 1800s

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