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J. E. Johnson, the son of Thomas and Lucy Johnson, was born in Perry County in 1875 and was raised near Chavies. At the age of 14, he was employed to teach school on Squabble Creek. He later attended the University of Kentucky, when it was under the leadership of Dr. James Patterson. When Johnson was 24, he met and later married Ada Johnson of Jackson, Ky. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson started house keeping on the spot where the Baker Building would later be built in downtown Hazard. The couple then built the first house in the Backwoods section of Hazard on Broadway. The home is located across the street from the Lower Broadway School. It was later the home of Boris Simon. Of the seven children born to the family, six were born in Hazard. Johnson, a staunch Republican, was elected Perry County Clerk around 1890. He served two terms and was appointed Deputy Clerk of the Court of Appeals in Frankfort. In his political activities, he was a delegate many times to the Republican National Conventions, a member of the State Central Committee, and Republican Chairman of the old 9th Congressional District. Johnson joined Bailey P. Wootton, E.C. Wooton, Jesse Morgan and F. J. Eversole Sr., in the study of law. These five young men conducted their own classes in law, one acting as the instructor each week, while the other four were students. When the group passed the State Bar exam, J. E. became associated with E. E. Hogg in the law firm of Johnson and Hogg. With the coming of the railroad to Hazard, he acquired coal land around Chavies, naming his company the Coneva Coal Company. Later, with M. T. McArthur and other associates, he purchased the Blue Grass Mining Company, Darb Fork Coal Company, Black Gold Mining Company and the Blue Bird Mining Company. In 1917, Johnson was named Secretary of the Hazard Coal Operators Association. The offices were moved to Lexington in 1919, and Johnson established his residence there. He served as Secretary of the Association from 1917 to 1934 and as its President in 1923 and 1924. Although he made his home in Lexington in 1917, Johnson spent much of his time in Perry County. In later years, he vested the operation of his coal interests in his sons - Ed, Dick, Mark, Joe Jr., and his sons-in-law, Joe Pryor and Maxwell Barrett. He was a leader in the establishment of the Presbyterian Church in Hazard, and one of the first financial contributors to Witherspoon College at Buckhorn. Congratulations to Bob Byrge of Hazard for correctly identifying the latest Mystery Person. |
