Ada County ID Archives Biographies.....Johnesse, Frank E. 1869 - 
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/id/idfiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 January 23, 2012, 1:35 am

Source: See below
Author: S. J. Clarke, Publisher

FRANK E. JOHNESSE, whose forcefulness and resourcefulness are manifest in the
substantial success which he has attained as a mining engineer and promoter of
mining interests in Idaho, is now field engineer and general manager of the
Metals & General Development Company and makes his home in Boise. He was born on
the ist of September, 1869, in Montrose, Iowa, a son of W. M. and Adaline
(Johnson) Johnesse. The father was of early Canadian French ancestry and the
paternal grandfather of Frank E. Johnesse served in the French revolution. W. M.
Johnesse became a ship carpenter and contractor and for many years was
identified with the building of Mississippi river steamboats. He became a
resident of Iowa during the early '50s and there remained until called to his
final rest. At the time of the Civil war he put aside all business and personal
considerations and responded to his country's call for military aid, serving for
four years as a member of the Tenth Illinois Regiment. He was married at Fort
Montrose, Iowa, to Miss Adaline Johnson, a native of Wheeling, West Virginia,
whose parents were pioneer settlers of that place, locating there during the
early '40s. 

    Frank E. Johnesse, the third of the children of W. M. and Adaline Johnesse,
acquired his early education in the public schools of Iowa and then in the
continuance of his studies made a specialty of applied science, particularly
chemistry and mineral analysis. Turning for the practice of his chosen
profession to the west, he soon became well known as a mining engineer. He first
mined in the Black Hills of South Dakota, acquiring an early experience that
constituted the foundation upon which he has built his later progress and
success. From 1889 until 1893 ne was employed in that district on a salary and
then left the Black Hills for mining regions farther west. He first made his way
to the Wood River district of Idaho, where for a year he engaged in mining and
then spent a similar period as plateman and engineer with the Hailey Sampling
Works. On leaving Hailey he went to Silver City, where he had charge of the
machinery of the Tip-Top Mining Company, and with the development of the mining
boom at Cripple Creek, Colorado, he became a prospector in that region and also
followed his profession. After six months, however, he returned to the Idaho
fields and through the greater part of the intervening period his labors have
been directed in this state. He followed mining in the Elk City country of
northern Idaho until 1902 but in the meantime made several trips to the Cripple
Creek fields of Colorado and to the mining district of Silver City, New Mexico,
as well as to various other mining towns. In 1898 he was connected with the
Buffalo Hump excitement and was at Thunder Mountain in 1902. In the latter year
he became a permanent resident of Boise, where he has since made his home,
practicing as a mining engineer, and he is well known also as field engineer and
general manager of the Metals & General Development Company. He has also been
called upon to fill various offices of public trust, largely along the line of
his profession. In 1904 Governor Morrison appointed him superintendent of the
Wagon Road construction and in 1905 he organized the Blue Jacket Mining Company
on the Snake river, in Idaho county. This was formed for the purpose of
developing the copper mines of that region, resulting in one of the largest and
most practical mining enterprises in central Idaho. He received federal
appointment to the position of mineral inspector and capably served in that
capacity from 1909 until 1911 inclusive. In December of the latter year,
however, he resigned the position to give his attention to mining projects in
which he is directly interested. The Metals & General Development Company, with
which he is so intimately and actively connected, was organized for the
development of the mining industry in the northwest, with offices at Boise. The
purpose of the company includes the exploiting and mining of all kinds of gems
and minerals in the state, the development of its own mining properties and the
development on contracts of mining properties of other corporations. Mr.
Johnesse as representative of the company purchased the Rock Flat placer mines
in Idaho and at once began work in the development of its gold and silver
deposits and gems. 

    In 1900 Mr. Johnesse was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Patten, daughter
of F. D. and Emily Patten, who were then residents of Iowa but are now living in
Portland, Oregon. Her father was born in the former state and for several years
before his removal to the Pacific coast was a chief engineer on the Mississippi
river. Mrs. Johnesse is a granddaughter of Colonel Bryan Whitfield and a
descendant of Adjutant William Whitfield of the Revolutionary army, who had the
distinction of capturing General McDonald, the British commander, at the battle
of Morris Creek in North Carolina. Another member of the family was George
Whitfield, the distinguished evangelist associated with John Wesley. Mrs.
Johnesse is also descended from the William Whitfield family of Whitfield Hall
in Cumberland, England. Tradition has it that the first member of the Whitfield
family went from Denmark, into England about the same time as William the
Conqueror made his way from Normandy into Britain. On the pages of family
history appear many distinguished names. A daughter of Robert Whitfield of
Newborough in County Sussex, England, became the wife of the famous Whittington,
who seemed to hear the bells say "Turn again, Whittington," thrice lord mayor of
London. Elizabeth, a daughter of John Whitfield, whose name also appears in the
ancestral records, in 1634 married Sir Edward Culpepper of Surrey, who became
prominent in forwarding the early settlement of America. In 1707 William
Whitfield came to the new world and became the progenitor of a large branch of
the family that lived in Virginia in early days and has since become widely
scattered throughout the country. To Mr. and Mrs. Johnesse have been born two
children, Adaline and Mary Louise. The family occupy a beautiful home in Boise
which is the center of a cultured society circle. 

    They are communicants of the Episcopal church, in which Mr. Johnesse has
served as vestryman, and in the various branches of the church work they take an
active and helpful interest. Mr. Johnesse belongs to the Knights of Pythias and
is a member of Boise Lodge, No. 310, B. P. O. E., and of the American Society of
Mining Engineers. His political allegiance has usually been given to the
republican party but he does not hold himself bound by party ties. He was
elected to represent his district in the state legislature, where he gave
earnest consideration to all vital questions which came up for settlement. His
wife has been very prominent in war work and is the president of the Columbian
Club, the leading woman's club of Boise. In all that makes for good citizenship,
for municipal and cultural progress and for the material development and
upbuilding of the state the Johnesse family are deeply interested and for many
years Mr. Johnesse has held a place in the front rank of his profession in the
northwest and has made valuable contribution to those interests and activities
which have figured very largely in connection with the development of the
natural resources of Idaho. 


Additional Comments:

Extracted from:

IDAHO
DELUXE SUPPLEMENT
CHICAGO
THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY

1920



Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/id/ada/photos/bios/johnesse63gbs.jpg

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/id/ada/bios/johnesse63gbs.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/idfiles/

File size: 8.2 Kb