Person Page

     Robert Maxwell Runion was born on 26 July 1928 in Erwin, Unicoi Co., Tennessee.⁴ He married Helen Katherine Bowditch, daughter of Edwin Dennis Bowditch and Elvie Bernice Hamrick, on 14 November 1954 at Vians Valley Presbyterian Cemetery in Bakersville, Mitchell Co., North Carolina. This was a double wedding with the groom's sister Betty Lou Runion and Ernest Sanford Harris.^5,1 He died on 5 November 2017 at home in Bakersville, Mitchell Co., North Carolina, at age 89.³ He was buried on 10 November 2017 in a Masonic ceremony with military honors at Bakersville Memorial Cemetery in Bakersville, Mitchell Co., North Carolina.³
     He served in the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers from 11 March 1948 to 10 March 1952, in Japan, on Okinawa, and in England.⁶
     After their marriage he and his wife Helen lived on a 160-acre farm in Pennsylvania.⁶ They moved back to North Carolina in January 1957 to take over the Bowditch Apple Orchard that had been started by Helen's father, then run for several years by her brother Edwin. They also raised cattle and grew Christmas trees, and as Frederick Tryon Bowditch could "enthusiastically testify," produced and marketed "very fine country hams." Helen served as the family company's bookkeeper.^6,2 He also owned and ran a waste management company in Mitchell Co. for several years.³
     He was elected as a Mitchell County commissioner in 1988, and re-elected four years later, serving as vice chairman and then chairman. He also served on the county Social Services board and the Senior Citizens board of firectors.³
     He was a member of Bakersville Masonic Lodge #357 for more than 50 years, serving as Worshipful Master, and as District Deputy Grand Patron and Past Patron of the Bakersville Order of the Eastern Star. He was also a member of the Bakersville Lions Club.³ He and his wife Helen were both ruling elders at Vians Valley Presbyterian Cemetery in Mitchell Co.⁶

     Jesse Samuel Johnson was born on 2 January 1888 in Toecane, Mitchell Co., North Carolina.² He married first Maude Bowditch, daughter of Joseph Bowditch and Martha Elizabeth Anderson, on 31 January 1909 in Bakersville Twp., Mitchell Co., North Carolina.⁵ He married second Ruth Howell on 4 August 1954 in Marion, McDowell Co., North Carolina.⁶ He died on 1 June 1966 at Community Hospital in Spruce Pine, Mitchell Co., North Carolina, at age 78 from congestive heart failure.⁴ He was buried at Vians Valley Presbyterian Cemetery in Bakersville, Mitchell Co., North Carolina.⁴
     After their marriage he and his wife Maude lived for a time with Maude's parents in Bakersville Twp., Mitchell Co., North Carolina, and are listed with them there in the 1910 census.⁷ By 1920 they had their own place in Bakersville Twp., where they are listed in the 1920-1940 censuses. In 1940 their daughter Lois and her husband Silas McKinney were living with them.^8,9,10
     He was a farmer until at least 1930.^8,9 He also owned a cafe in Toecane for a time, and later a general store in Loafers Glory, both in Mitchell Co.¹¹

     Lillian Jane Johnson was born on 23 December 1909 in Mitchell Co., North Carolina.¹ She married Carroll Conley, son of W. W. Conley and Mattie Gage, on 17 May 1930 in Bakersville, Mitchell Co., North Carolina.³ She died on 26 August 1997 in Mitchell Co., North Carolina, at age 87 from heart disease.⁴ She was buried on 29 August 1997 at Vians Valley Presbyterian Cemetery in Bakersville, Mitchell Co., North Carolina.⁵
     The genealogy by Frederick Bowditch gives her middle name as Mary.⁶ She and her husband Carroll were living with his parents in Bakersville Twp., Mitchell Co., North Carolina, in 1940.⁷

     Vaughtie Johnson was born on 7 January 1912 in Toecane, Mitchell Co., North Carolina.^6,2 She married Charles David Jones, son of James Allen Jones and Nancy McKinney, on 21 October 1933 in Bakersville, Mitchell Co., North Carolina.⁷ She died on 2 April 2006 at Brookside Care Center in Burnsville, Yancey Co., North Carolina, at age 94.¹ She was buried at Vians Valley Presbyterian Cemetery in Bakersville, Mitchell Co., North Carolina.¹

     Lois Johnson was born on 14 October 1914 in Bakersville Twp., Mitchell Co., North Carolina.¹ She married Silas Lee McKinney, son of Ed McKinney and Maude Hall, on 22 August 1939 in Erwin, Unicoi Co., Tennessee.^5,2 She died on 30 April 1997 at Columbia Mercy Medical Center in Canton, Stark Co., Ohio, at age 82.^6,7 She was buried at Vians Valley Presbyterian Cemetery in Bakersville, Mitchell Co., North Carolina.⁷
     After their marriage she and her husband Silas lived for a time with her parents in Bakersville Twp., Mitchell Co., North Carolina, and are listed with them there in the 1940 census.⁸

     Joseph Wilson Johnson was born on 15 November 1916 in Bakersville Twp., Mitchell Co., North Carolina.¹ He married Inez Ledford, daughter of George Ledford and Ruth (?), on 15 October 1940 in Elizabethton, Carter Co., Tennessee.^4,2 He died on 7 February 1974 at Aultman Hospital in Canton, Stark Co., Ohio, at age 57.⁵ He was buried at Indian Run Cemetery in East Canton, Stark Co., Ohio.⁶
     When he was enumerated in the census in April 1940 he was living with his parents in Bakersville Twp., Mitchell Co., North Carolina, and working in his father's general store.⁷ Later that year, when he registered for the World War II draft in October, he was working for his mother's brother Ed Bowditch in Mitchell Co., probably at his apple orchard.⁸ He was working as a truck driver in East Canton, Stark Co., Ohio, in 1964.²

     Gladys Johnson was born on 30 May 1918 in Toecane, Mitchell Co., North Carolina.^1,2 She died from "tuberculosis of the bone" on 2 November 1925 (the Bowditch genealogy and online transcribed cemetery records say 3 November 1925) in Toecane, Mitchell Co., North Carolina, at age 7.^1,2,3 She was buried on 3 November 1925 at Vians Valley Presbyterian Cemetery in Bakersville, Mitchell Co., North Carolina.¹

     Jess Samuel Johnson was born on 23 June 1921 in Bakersville Twp., Mitchell Co., North Carolina.^2,1 He married Juanita Dale.^5,1 He died on 19 January 1999 in Bell Co., Texas, at age 77.⁶ He was buried at Killeen Memorial Park in Killeen, Bell Co., Texas.⁷
     The Bowditch genealogy by Frederick Bowditch gives his name as Jess Samuel Johnson Jr., and he is listed as J. S. Junior in the 1940 census, but he went by Junior (or Junior Jess) Johnson.^1,8,9,6
     He was listed with his parents in the 1940 census, but noted as absent, and was working with the Civilian Conservation Corps doing reforestation work.⁸ He later joined the U.S. Army, serving during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.⁷
     He may have officially adopted his wife Juanita's son Daniel. Birth records list Daniel as Danny Truett Guin, son of Paul T. Guin and Juanita L. Dale,¹⁰ but he is listed as Danny Truitt Johnson in his marriage record and as Daniel T. Johnson, son of J. J. Johnson and Juanita Dale, in his obituary.^11,12

     Ray Johnson was born on 3 October 1924 in Bakersville Twp., Mitchell Co., North Carolina.¹ He married first Thursa Mae Black, daughter of George Black and Violet Burchfield, on 26 May 1944 in Carroll Co., Ohio.⁵ They were later divorced.⁶ He married second Ruth Elizabeth Bissell, daughter of Oscar N. Bissell and Mary E. North, on 20 April 1949 in Canton, Stark Co., Ohio.^7,2 He died on 10 October 1992 at Aultman Hospital in Canton, Stark Co., Ohio, at age 68.⁸ He was buried at Indian Run Cemetery in East Canton, Stark Co., Ohio.⁹
     The identification of his second wife Ruth's parents as Oscar Bissell and Mary North is based on Oscar's obituary, which names children William J. Bissell, Mrs. Ray Johnson, and Mrs. Harry Bender¹⁰, and Margaret (Bissell) Bender's obituary, which names her parents Oscar Bissell and Mary North, husband Harry, and siblings Bill Bissell and Ruth Johnson.¹¹
     According to the Bowditch genealogy, in 1964 Ray was living in La Puente, Los Angeles Co., California, and working as an electrician. However, no other records have been found for him in California.²

     Carroll Conley was born on 22 January 1910 in Toecane, Mitchell Co., North Carolina.² He married Lillian Jane Johnson, daughter of Jesse Samuel Johnson and Maude Bowditch, on 17 May 1930 in Bakersville, Mitchell Co., North Carolina.³ He died on 4 March 1991 at home in Bakersville, Mitchell Co., North Carolina, at age 81 from lung cancer.⁴ He was buried at Vians Valley Presbyterian Cemetery in Bakersville, Mitchell Co., North Carolina.⁴
     When they were enumerated in the census in April 1940 he and his wife Lillian were living with his parents in Bakersville Twp., Mitchell Co., North Carolina,⁵ and he was then working on his father's farm.⁵ Later that year, when he registered for the World War II draft in October, he was working for his wife's uncle Ed Bowditch in Mitchell Co., probably at his apple orchard.⁶ He was later employed as a maintenance worker in a hosiery mill.⁴