Betsy Sharpe and all of her family left England in 1870 or 1871 and came to Kansas. The Sharpe children ranged in age from the 19 or 20-year old William, Jr. down to the infant Herbert. Among the children was Ada, who at four, was the next to youngest daughter. The Sharpes settled in Morris County with their children. Betsy was the first to be married, but over the years, the other children married and established their own homes. In 1881, Rebekah Sharpe died - at that time Ada and Maude, the two youngest children, were in their early teens. The two of them continued to live with their father until marrying in the 1890s.
In 1895 Ada married Morris or Maurice Johnson, who just happened to be from her hometown in England, Mareham le Fen. According to census records he emigrated in 1875, but I haven't discovered any records that indicate where he lived in the U.S. Other coincidences, his father's name was Richard Sharpe Johnson and he had a sister, Ada. I've assumed that somewhere in the past the families intersect, but so far I haven't found the connection.
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| Ada and Morris Johnson Pueblo CO 1912 |
After their marriage in 1895 or so, Ada moved to Pueblo, CO, to join Morris. Pueblo was then the largest city in Colorado. Prior to his marriage, Morris ranched and operated a farm implement business.
In 1908 Edna and Grace then 20 and 22, traveled to Pueblo, Colorado to visit their mother's sister, Ada Sharpe Johnson. The Johnsons had moved into their recently completed home at 1927 Greenwood.
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| Morris Johnson, Edna and Grace Walker, 1908 |
Below is a link to an application for the home to become a landmark. (Erin and I looked at the listing for their first home in Pueblo and Erin didn't believe it was this one. Turns out Erin was right.) In the Google street view, it's obstructed by trees, etc.
Ada Sharpe Johnson home in Pueblo Co
I've never found a date of death for Ada, but she appears to have died sometime between 1917 and 1919. In the Pueblo city directory of 1919 another couple is living in the home. I could find neither Ada or Morris in the 1920 US census, but Morris appears again in the 1930 Pueblo US census. According to the application for landmark status, he died in Pueblo in 1952.
Tomorrow I hope to post photographs from Edna and Grace's trip to visit the Johnsons.
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ReplyDeleteHave a newspaper cutting of his obituary that says:
ReplyDelete"He left Pueblo about 1920, and moved to Long Beach, Calif., where his wife, Ada Johnson, died July 28, 1928. He remained in Pueblo after bringing her body back here for burial."
My wife's grandmother was a different Ada Johnson, the daughter of Morris' brother, who lived in Manchester, England.
I don't check these former posts often, but thanks for the information. From my research, it appeared that Ada died in Colorado Springs before 1920. But maybe you're right. With a date maybe I can find more. Thanks again.
ReplyDelete