Mahala
(Miner) Johnson
(1837-1893)
Mahala
Ann (Miner) Johnson was
born in 1837 at Sego, Perry County, OH, the
daughter of Frederick and Jane (Richardson) Miner
Sr. She and her husband were pioneer settlers of Kansas.
Mahala was one of three cousins who shared the unique first name that was popular in the early to mid 1800s. The other two are Mahala (Miner) White and Mahala (Minerd) McKnight.
Mahala married David R. Johnson (1833-1918). Their children were Laura Catherine Swearingen, William Albert Johnson and Lillian Mana Prachar-Haas.
The Johnsons lived at Sego for a number of years, leasing a farm from Mahala's father. David worked as a farmer and also as a coal miner. When Mahala's father died in 1871 at age 94, they were chosen to settle the estate. The file of papers today is on file at the Perry County Courthouse in New Lexington, OH.
Once they completed the task of settling the Miner estate, the Johnsons moved to Kansas, settling near Concordia, Cloud County in 1876. They homesteaded a farm about 7 miles southeast of Concordia.
The main street of Concordia in a rare old postcard image.
According to one story, David had to build a house within a certain number of days to qualify for the Homestead Act. They got the back and walls done, but time ran out. Thinking quickly, they pulled their covered wagon in front of the structure and told officials they were cooking in the home. They succeeded in their ruse, and kept the homestead.
The Concordia Weekly Empire later said that "For several years Mr. Johnson and George Scott [were] the only settlers of Centre Township." Their house was built into the side of a bank, made from natural rock found in that area of the state. The house has since been torn down.
In 1893, Mahala died of stomach cancer at age 56. David lived for 25 more years. He died on March 15, 1918, and is buried at the Pleasant Hill Cemetery.
In 1871, when Mahala was 34 and still living in Ohio, cousin Allen E. Harbaugh came from Pennsylvania and paid a visit to her and her dying father. He later remembered Mahala and her father when he read aloud his Sketch of Minerd Family - Historical and Traditional at the 1st annual Minerd Reunion at Ohiopyle. A week after the speech, reunion secretary Roy S. Minerd wrote to Harbaugh, with the following request:
Just now I am deep in the systematic arrangement of the data concerning the Minerds. What can you tell me about Frederick Minerd who died in Perry Co., Ohio, in 1871? You merely mention him and his daughter, Mrs. David R. Johnson, and, to date, that is all the information I have of that branch of the family.
Harbaugh's reply is not recorded, and shortly afterward Roy Minerd got married and entered medical school, which may have effectively ended their dialogue.
Copyright © 2000-2002 Mark A. Miner