Dates

• Existence: 1850 - 1923

Biographical History

William Derby Johnson, Jr. (1850-1923) was a polygamist, bishop, school administrator, doctor, and colonizer in Mexico.

William Derby Johnson, Jr. was born on May 2, 1850, in Council Bluffs, Iowa to parents Jane Cadwallader Brown and William Derby Johnson, Sr. Johnson spent the first ten years of his life living in Council Bluffs, Iowa and Winter Quarters, Nebraska. In 1860, he crossed the plains with his parents and spent the next ten years of his life in Salt Lake City, Utah. During these years, Johnson served as a volunteer for the Black Hawk War in Sanpete County, Utah and he studied at Deseret University (now University of Utah) where he received a diploma in bookkeeping and accounting.

It was also while living in Salt Lake City that Johnson met and married his first wife, Lucy Annie Salisbury in 1869. They had one son together. During their marriage, William and his family moved to an area fifteen miles east of Kanab, Utah, where they settled the town of Johnson. He taught school in Kanab and participated in John Wesley Powell's explorations of the Colorado River. They lived in Johnson until 1885. William also married three more wives: Lucy Elizabeth Brown (1877), Charlesetta Prescott Cram (1879), and Mary Agnes Riggs (1884).

In 1885, apostle Erastus Snow recommended that Johnson take his families to Mexico in order to escape persecution for practicing polygamy. It was while making arrangements for his wives and families to follow him to Mexico that Johnson learned of the death of his first wife, Lucy Salisbury (in later years he would also suffer the death of their only son). He eventually settled Colonia Diaz in Chihuahua, Mexico where he served as bishop until 1911. He also acted as a doctor for the Mexican people and had a high profile career as Superintendent of Church schools for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Johnson died on October 17, 1923 in Tucson, Arizona.

Citation:

Legacy of Faith: The Family of Willliam Derby Johnson Jr., via www.johnson.naflod.com, January 23, 2014: Brigham Young University (William Derby Johnson Jr.; b. May 2, 1850 in Council Bluffs Iowa to Jane Cadwallader Brown and William Derby Johnson, Sr.; spent the first ten years of life in Iowa and Winter Quarters, Nebraska and the second ten years in Salt Lake City, Utah after crossing the plains with his parents; volunteered for the Black Hawk War in Sanpete County, Utah; studied at Deseret University, received a degree in bookkeeping and accounting; married Lucy Salisbury in 1869, had one son with her, moved with Lucy to town east of Kanab,they settled it and named it Johnson, lived there until 1885; also married Lucy Elizabeth Brown (1877), Charlesetta Prescott Cram (1879), and Mary Agnes Riggs (1884); worked as a teacher in Johnson, explored the Colorado River with John Wesley Powell; was advised by Erastus Snow in 1885 to escape polygamy persecution by settling Colonia Diaz and moving his family there; experienced deaths of his wife and son while in Mexico; worked as a doctor and superintendent of Church schools in Mexico; was a bishop until 1911 in Mexico; d. October 17, 1923 in Tucson, Arizona)

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