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| Misc. Notes |
Became superintentendant of schools in Ypsilanti, MI. But didn't think he could make enough money to educate his children. Went to Putnam, NY where Corb thinks a relative of his wife Anna Darling (probably a brother or uncle of Anna) lived. His son Corb was born there in 1903. In 1904 he moved to Solon Township, NY where he bought a farm near McGraw, NY, 5 miles East of Cortland. After some time he realized he could not make an adequate living as farmer, so he moved to Cortland in 1909 and became an insurance salesman. His last son Porteous Johnson was born in Solon, NY, 2.5 miles East of McGraw. Later he moved to 30 miles North to Syracuse "to be in a university town." One year he was the top insurance salesman in his company (Corb didn't know if it was state-wide or what). He got a large bonus for this and took a road trip with his wife and son Thomas to the West Coast in an Oldsmobile touring car. This was all on dirt roads with flat tires being a normal occurence during a day. Three of his sons, Thomas, Corbet, and Porteous all went to Amherst College. He said that he sent them all on the same $100: Thomas first, who got scholarships and jobs and repaid the money; and then in turn Corbet and Port. In fact each son started Amherst in the year that the previous so graduated. They each worked as waiters in the same boarding house.3
The selection of Cortland-Syracuse as a place to live may be related to the fact that his father Lyman J. Johnson was born in Manlius, NY about 5 miles East of Syracuse. |
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