Allied Families:
B. Johnson
The biggest mystery in my genealogy is the identity of my great-grandfather,
whose name is said to be Charlie Baker (see photo). All I know is that he
was in or near Alvarado, Texas in 1892 where he met my great-grandmother Emma
Lucinda Johnson. No one knows what happened to Charlie Baker or why they split,
but my great-grandmother kept his picture all her life. I found it after her
death where she kept her most valuable possessions--in her sewing kit.The
photograph was made by H. H. Austin, Photographer, Alvarado, Texas. Charlie
looks so much like my grandfather that there is no doubt that he is my great-grandfather
At the time they met my great-grandmother was 17 years old and living with her parents William M. (Bill) and Elizabeth (Bettie) Johnson near Alvarado, probably on a farm. Bill Johnson's brother Burrill had lived in the area since before 1880. Another brother Hall lived in the area and was killed in a shooting incident in 1894. William Johnson was born in Georgia, a son of Benjamin Franklin Johnson, but he grew to adulthood in Simpson County, Mississippi. Elizabeth Johnson was from Wilcox County, Alabama. Some time in late 1892 or early 1893, the Johnson family, including Emma, moved to De Soto Parish, Louisiana where my grandfather Franklin (Frank) John Johnson was born on May 15, 1893. Perhaps the reason Charlie and my great-great grandmother split, but the culprit could be Emma's father Bill, who had a violent temper and was called by some in the family a "mean old man".
The Johnson family eventually settled in Angelina County, Texas. It is said that Charley Baker visited Emma Johnson, by them married to Arthur Arrington, at Burke, Texas around 1900.
I have never been able to find a Charlie Baker in Johnson County. Recently I ran across a McCarty web site and an Arrington site bothof which show Emma as the second wife of Arthur Arrington. Interestingly, she is referred to a "Emma Brown Johnson". I have been unable to discover the source of the Brown reference, but I decded to make the assumption that Charlie Baker was actually Charlie Brown.
In the 1900 census for Johnson County, Texas I found a James Brown and wife Abie Jane, who had a 26 year old son Charlie M. living with them. On Lyle Brown's web site, I found the same Brown family. Charles (Charlie) Brown was not married until 1900 when he was 26 years old. The Brown family lived not only in Johnson County but at Alvarado. Additional research shows that the Browns lived in Johnson County until at least 1930, and both James and Abbie are buried there.
Charlie Brown lived near Alvarado for many years and was a dairy farmer. He later moved to Oklahoma where he died.
According to Lyle Brown, the Brown family suffers from a hereditary ailment known as symphalangism, aka "stiff fingers". The first joint nearest the fingertip is fused or missing. Symphalangism is an autosomal dominant disorder: If one parent has an abnormal gene and the other parent a normal gene, there is a 50% chance each child will inherit the abnormal gene, and therefore the dominant trait. Children who do not inherit the abnormal gene will not develop or pass on the disease. Of the six escendants of Emma Johnson and "Charlie" - Frank Johnson, my mother and her brother, myself, and my two daughters - none seems to have any hand ailments..
If you have any information that would help me establish the identity of "Charlie Baker/Brown", pleasee contact me at 248-723-8373 or send an email.
Please report any Baker information by e-mail to Lee. Please mention this web site in your message.
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