Johanna wins the day…

On September 28, 2015September 28, 2015 By jenbumannIn Uncategorized2 Comments

johanna deadrich john — Johanna Deadrich John

In my research on my JOHN ancestors very little has been said about Johanna, which is not unusual, but certainly frustrating. Her being a woman automatically makes her of little interest when it comes to history, especially if she didn’t go out in the world and make a name for herself. But recent research in the Oconto newspapers, which are being thoroughly digitized, yielded this great story — told by F. W. of course:

ON THE SIDE.

F. W. John: Away back in the early days, Ernst Funke, Louis Pahl, O. W. Bloch, and William Klass used to come out to my place in the woods for a hunt. Upon one occasion we were shooting at a mark, for chickens, when Mr. Funke — who was the poorest shot in the crowd — asked if he would be allowed to furnish a substitute, which request was granted, when he placed his gun in the hands of my wife, and her unerring aim won him three chickens out of the lot.1

It is nice to know that Johanna was well known in the area for being a great shot, and was also well respected for it. She had probably honed this talent during the Civil War while F. W. was off fighting. Being the only parent around she had to be able to put food on the table for her and the children, Clara, Alfred, Henry and William (who ranged from about 10 to 4 years in age) and a fine job of it she did too. In fact, she was so good that she was able to provide meat for their neighbors too.

1 Friday, March 6, 1896; v25, issue 10; page ? col 4

Cemetery walk…

On September 21, 2015June 23, 2019 By jenbumannIn Uncategorized2 Comments

This last Sunday (September 20) the Gillett Historical Society held a cemetery walk with members representing 5 different citizens of the city of Gillett that were buried in the Wanderer’s Rest Cemetery. My father, spouse and I decided to attend as two of the persons being represented were relatives of the John family. The weather co-operated by being sunny and relatively warm to the delight of all.

monument for John — Dad at the monument for F. W. and Johanna John.

Our cousin, Ron Hinz, played the part of Calvin John, and did a fine job of it too. After the ‘speeches’ everyone met at the Gillett Historical Society for some snacks and talk.

The coolest part of the day was meeting folks who knew Cal or F. W. or of them and the cousin we met who was a descendant of F. W. and Johanna. I am looking forward to more contact in the future.

So if you missed the walk, I have uploaded to our YouTube site the two videos I took with my iPhone of F. W. John and Calvin John. The first 1-10 seconds are missing from each talk, operator error, Enjoy!

Jury duty anecdotes…

On June 16, 2015July 28, 2015 By jenbumannIn Uncategorized2 Comments

3275124578_e9cfc514ed_o — FW John out in the woods.

While perusing the newspapers of Oconto County, (by the way thanks for the heads up on this Ron), I came across an amusing little story regarding F.W. John I thought I would share:

When Postmaster Frederick William John of Gillett visited Oconto a few weeks ago he was greeted by a bunch of old residents gathered at the Beyer House with:

“Frederick William John, by J____s!”

Many who heard the expression were astonished, but those who were present and who had lived here when Mr. John was a young man knew the full meaning of the greeting.

Mr. John is one of the pioneers of Oconto county, and a great many years ago was prominent among the then young men of the vicinity. He scarcely failed to be drawn on the jury at every term of the circuit court, and one time, as usual, he was summoned to appear at the county seat as a juror. He entered the court room, dressed in the garb of a lumberman, wearing a red sash tied around his waist, which in those days was considered essential to the efficient vocation of a lumberjack. He was in his shirt sleeves and wore high boots, and being tall, broad shouldered and as straight as an arrow, he presented a find specimen of physical manhood. On entering the court room he took a seat at the rear, and soon Richard Hall, who was then clerk of the court, began calling the roll.

Soon the clerk called, “Bill John.”

There was no response. Again the clark called:

“Bill John.”

And again there was no response. For the third time the clerk called in a loud voice:

“Bill John!”

Still there was no response, and Judge Cotton, who at that time presided in this circuit, inquired of Clerk Hall whether Bill John was in the court room.

“Yes, your honor,” replied Mr. Hall, “there he sits in the rear of the hall–that big fellow wearing a red sash.”

“Is your name Bill John?’ thundered the judge, pointing straight at him with his finger.

“No, sir,” replied Mr. John indignantly, “my name is not Bill John. My name is Frederick William John, by J___s!”

“Well Mr. Frederick William John by J___s, you will take your seat in front with the rest of the jurors.” commanded the judge, suppressing a smile.

Some of the old residents were reminded of the incident when Mr. John entered the hotel.1

tt-82 — A lumberjack in dress most similar to what FW John would have been wearing.

Now if only there were more stories about Johanna that were to be found.

1 The Lena Enterprise, volume1, issue 21, page 1 column 4, 1903-10-30.

Enjoying living relatives…

On June 9, 2015July 28, 2015 By jenbumannIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

One of the fun results of researching ones ancestors is finding living relatives that you never knew existed and then meeting them and sharing stories, pictures, research, or just plain having fun.

This last weekend Dale and I decided to take the time to visit, and catch up with, my John side cousin Ron and his wife Nancy down in southern Wisconsin. The day was almost perfect (I can always do with a little bit warmer). It was warmish, sunnyish and downright nice. So we had good food, lots of laughs and even got to feed a crane. Well I did. Our next visit will not be 9 years in the future.

Nancy shared her abundance of rhubarb with us and I made some of my luscious rhubarb muffins.

We will be seeing them again this September in Gillett, when the Gillett Area Historical Society has their cemetery walk, two of our ancestors will be represented, FW John and Cal John. Ron will be pretending to be Cal, with the aid of a high platform. Cal was 6’6 or so. Ron, not so much : )