EDWARD A. JOHNSON, Rochester, New York.
Edward A. Johnson was born in Bethany, Genesee County, New York, on September 19, 1837, being the son of George H. Johnson, a clerk in the Rochester post office. After leaving school Mr. Johnson engaged in boating on the Erie Canal, and after two years he went to work on the repair boat, where two years later he was advanced to superintendent of construction, a position he held for the same length of time. He resigned in 1856 and went to Canandaigua, New York, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits for a year, entering the employ of the Erie in 1857 as an engine watchman in the Rochester shops. In 1859 he was advanced to fireman and ran on the Rochester Division for a period of three years, being promoted to engineer in the winter of 1861. He ran freight, gravel and local trains until 1875, when he was given a passenger run, being now on passenger between Mt. Morris and Rochester.

On July 4, 1857, Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Francis Lowery, of Rochester, who died in that city in 1884. Two children were born to them, Augustus H. Johnson, an engineer in the employ of the Erie, and Lillian, who is the wife of Charles Baldwin, a stockbroker of New York City. On November 1, 1890, Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Ellen Storing, daughter of Thomas Storing, a railroad man. Mr. Johnson is a member of Yonnondio Lodge, No. 163, F. & A. M., of Rochester. He is a man of sterling qualities, and the forty-two years he has been with the Erie Company speak volumes regarding his ability.


Excerpted from: "American Locomotive Engineers, Erie Railway Edition," H.R. Romans Editor; Crawford-Adsit Company Publishers, Chicago, IL 1899.