Yolo County CA Archives Biographies.....Johnson, Henry Bonapart 1840 - 
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 23, 2006, 9:30 pm

Author: Tom Gregory (1913)

HENRY BONAPART JOHNSON

    This prominent citizen of Madison, Yolo county, was born in South Carolina,
in September, 1840, and at an early age he moved with his parents to Cherokee
county, Ala. His father, Enoch Johnson, a planter, died in Alabama. The mother
dying when Henry was six years old, he was left an orphan and knew little of a
parent's care. His brother Robert was killed in the Mexican war. His brother
John enlisted as a soldier in the Civil war, went away to the field of carnage
and never returned. Henry was sixteen when he struck out for the Pacific, but he
"rounded" the Isthmus all right, and landed in San Francisco one stormy December
day in 1856. Subsequently he came to Yolo county and here he worked on ranches
for about twelve years. Finally he "fetched up" near Madison and became a real
farmer and for himself. He bought a tract of one hundred and sixty acres
southwest from Madison, where he remained for several years.

    Mr. Johnson married Martha A. Sneath, a native of Missouri, who had come to
this state across the plains in 1857. After her death, which occurred about two
years later, he returned east by way of the Isthmus for cattle. In Texas he and
several others who were on the same quest bought stock young and old for as low
as $6 a head, and they soon had a band of three thousand. As they drove their
great herd along working towards the west, Mr. Johnson saw that they would be
late getting over the mountains and down into the California valleys. He thought
of the snows of the Sierras and concluded to sell his band of about six hundred
cattle, which he did. It was a fortunate conclusion for him, for between the
cold and cattle thieves many of the herd were lost enroute. He returned to this
state in 1868 and went back to ranching. Having sold the Madison farm, he leased
for awhile, then purchased. His second marriage was to Martha C. Butler, from
his native Alabama. Their five children are James, Richard, Sallie, May and
Josie. James resides on the home farm. Sallie is now Mrs. Fred Thomas of
Winters. May married Dr. D. Heran of Porterville. Richard lives near Woodland.
Josie is Mrs. Linn Caruth, of Esparto.

    During the last fifteen or twenty years Mr. Johnson has been very successful
in his farming ventures. First he raised grain and stock exclusively, later he
planted fruit trees and grape vines, and now he has a fine vineyard of about
twenty acres of wine grapes on his home place. But he is a grain producer and
his farms have always turned out full harvests. He keeps about thirty-five head
of stock—horses and cattle—on his places. He is a breeder of thoroughbreds, and
has several blooded draft stallions at the stock farm. Fraternally Mr. Johnson
is a member of Buckeye Lodge No. 195, F. & A. M., at Winters, and in politics is
a Democrat. He also takes much interest in the educational matters of his
neighborhood and for several years has served as a trustee of the high school
board at Esparto.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY CALIFORNIA
WITH
Biographical Sketches
OF
The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been Identified With Its Growth
and Development From the Early Days to the Present

HISTORY BY
TOM GREGORY
AND OTHER WELL KNOWN WRITERS
ILLUSTRATED COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME

HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA [1913]


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