A capable and upright man, whose life is consistent with his faith and who has won and retains the confidence and esteem of all who know him, it is quite within the province of this volume that our subject should be represented in the biographical portion thereof.
Silas Johnson was born in Greene County, Pennsylvania, on January 29, 1846, being the son of Zephania and Rachel (Ulery) Johnson. Our subject was educated and grew to manhood in his native place, and for fifty-two years he dwelt on the old home place, within three miles of where his father had been born in 1812. On July 8, 1875, at the native place, Mr. Johnson married Miss Nannie, daughter of John and Maria (Lockard) Rudabaugh, natives of Pennsylvania and residents of Westmoreland County, where Mrs. Johnson was born on May 13, 1854.
Mr. Johnson followed farming and raising stock there until 1898, when he came on the long journey to Nez Perce landing here on March 31, 1898. He soon bought the relinquishment to his present place and settled down to make a home. The land was wild then, but he has it all cultivated now, well fenced and adorned with a fine eight room house, large and substantial barn and all accessories needed on a well regulated farm.
Mr. Johnson is one of the thrifty and prosperous farmers of the country and is of exceptionally good standing. He and his wife and their children are all members of the well known German Baptist Church, with the exception of Howard, and are devout supporters of the faith. Six children have been born to this happy home, namely: Leslie married to Gertrude Young; Alice, wife of David John; Melvin, married to Daisy Center; Ethel, wife of Peter Pike; Pearl and Howard, both at home.
Mr. Johnson has always evinced the keenest interest in advancing the educational facilities of the land where he has dwelt, as also in the general progress and substantial development of the country.
Back to: Nez Perce Biographies
Source: An Illustrated History of Northern Idaho, Embracing Nez Perce, Idaho, Latah, Kootenai and Shoshone Counties, Western Historical Publishing Company, 1903