Family Artifacts Honor Memory of Local Master Carpenter
This past fall brought the addition of two items to the SHS collection with special importance to the society. Both belonged to William E. Johnson (1855-1939), the local master carpenter who oversaw construction of the hall that now houses the Sheridan Historical Center.
As followers of the SHS may recall, the Historical Center was originally built in 1927 for the Sheridan chapter of the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows (IOOF). According to Glenna Niebel’s history of the building, Johnson prepared the plans and laid out the work, with the assistance of Harvey M. Bailey. When the hall was complete, a newspaper notice appearing in the Dunkirk Evening Observer noted the “special interest” Johnson had taken in the project, as a charter member of the Sheridan IOOF. “It is due largely to his interest that the lodge has so fine a structure at a moderate a cost,” the article noted.
The same could be said for other structures, in town, too. The historical record shows that Johnson started out in farm labor, likely on his father Andrew’s farm. But by the 1880 U.S. Census he was listed as a carpenter. By the time of Sheridan’s sesquicentennial celebration in 1954, it was noted in The Sheridan Settler that he had worked with his uncle (who was also named William Johnson) to build “many of the Sheridan houses of 1890-1925.” Indeed, the Johnsons left an unparalleled mark on Sheridan’s built landscape.
Though the donated artifacts don’t relate directly to William E.’s carpentry career, they speak to his legacy as a family man who was active in the community. They also reveal another talent that he shared with his neighbors and friends. They include a wooden armchair that belonged to Johnson and a woolen hat he wore while performing in a local band. Both items were passed down through the family to donors William S. Rice and his wife, Susan. William was married to Cora Ella Aldrich (1861-1927) and had four daughters: Grace, Licenna, Martha, and Frankie. His daughter, Frankie E. Johnson Rice, was William’s mother.
The second item is a fun reminder of the talented musicians who have lived in town through the years. A photo of William’s band shows him in the center of the back row holding what appears to be a French horn. The letters that are barely identifiable on the musicians’ hats suggest they may have been the Sheridan Cornet Band (SCB), which was remembered to have played at many Memorial Day celebrations in the 1890s. The sesquicentennial Sheridan Settler refers to a “well organized and colorfully outfitted band which led every Memorial Day parade.”
Notably, the Odd Fellows also boasted an orchestra with Henry Miller playing the “fiddle,” Alfred DeLand the “bass viol,” Will Craswell the flute, and “Will Johnson” the trombone. John Griswold added harmonizing chords on the piano. If Johnson, indeed, played the trombone plus the French horn, his talents were prodigious, indeed!
