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HON. DARLINGTON J. JOHNSON. - Though Petrolia, Humboldt county, is so named because of the fact that it lies
in a region manifestly rich in petroleum, the oil fields in that vicinity have never been popular or profitable
for the reason that up to now no means have been found of separating the product from the earth it saturates. From
time to time, however, capitalists and others interested in its possibilities have come here to investigate, and
one of the prominent citizens of that section of the county so attracted is Hon. Darlington J. Johnson, member
of the firm of Hart & Johnson, the oldest and most prominent merchants of Petrolia, and for two terms representative
of his district in the state legislature, where he was influential in securing the passage of some of the measures
of vital importance then before that body. It is almost fifty years since he first came to this vicinity, and with
the exception of nine years' residence in Tulare county has made his home here since.
Besides the Johnsons Mr. Johnson counts among his ancestors others prominent in the Society of Friends and of old
Pennsylvania stock, the Darlingtons and Jeffries notably. All three families were of English origin and resident
in Pennsylvania from Provincial days, about 1711. There their descendants also lived contentedly until after 1850,
when some moved west, though Darlington J. Johnson and his sister are the only members of his immediate family
in California. Simon Johnson, his father, was a native of Fayette county, Pa., and married Jane Jeffries, who was
born there, her father moving to that county from Chester county, Pa., among the first settlers. Simon Johnson
and his wife lived and died in Pennsylvania, following farming. Of the twelve children born to them only four now
survive, Mifflin still living in Fayette county, Pa.; Ellis Bailey residing at Charlestown, W. Va.; and Mrs. Sarah
Elizabeth Plaskett in San Luis Obispo county, Cal.
Darlington J. Johnson was born August 29, 1839, near Uniontown, in Fayette county, Pa., where he grew to manhood.
Like the Friends generally, his parents prized education, and the boy had excellent advantages, attending Waynesburg
College, in Greene county, Pa. After teaching for a time in Fayette county, Pa., he went westward to Illinois,
and followed his profession in Lasalle county. While in the latter state he responded to the first call for troops
in the Civil war and the day after the call was made, on April 15, 1861, he enlisted in Company H, Eleventh Regiment,
Illinois Volunteer Infantry, under Col. W. H. L. Wallace, who was killed at Shiloh, and Capt. Theodore Gibson,
being enlisted in the three months service at Ottawa, Ill. He served in Missouri until after the term expired,
when he was honorably discharged at Cairo, Ill., and returned to Lasalle county and continued teaching. Though
all were reared in the Quaker faith, besides Mr. Johnson four of his brothers served in the Civil war, as follows:
Joseph served in the Eighty fifth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry all through the war and rose to the rank of lieutenant;
Bailey was in the same regiment and was orderly sergeant; Jesse was a mounted orderly to General Rosecrans and
his dispatch carrier, and in an engagement in West Virginia was three times wounded and was taken prisoner to Libby
prison; Samuel was also in the Eighty fifth regiment during the entire war.
In the fall of 1864 D. J. Johnson was one of a party of thirty five which started across the plains for California,
with fourteen ox teams of four yoke each. They arrived at Salt Lake City too late to cross the Sierras, owing to
the frequency and violence of snowstorms and snowslides, and remained there until spring. Meantime a copy of the
Humboldt County Times (1864), of Eureka, happened to fall into Mr. Johnson's hands, and the account it contained
of the oil lands at Petrolia determined his location when he arrived in California, reaching the region of his
choice in the fall of 1865. For nine years he taught school in Humboldt county. In 1889 he became a member of the
firm of Hart & Johnson, general merchants at Petrolia, with which he has been connected continuously since.
In all his relations to his fellow citizens, whether as educator, business man or public servant, he has been markedly
progressive, a leader of thought and action, and thoroughly trusted on the record he has made by his conscientious,
upright life.
Mr. Johnson's ability and qualities of leadership have been demonstrated in the various responsibilities he has
undertaken. In 1892 he was elected to the legislature on the Republican ticket, and reelected in 1894, and during
his two terms had the privilege of obtaining and supporting some particularly good laws for the benefit of public
education. As an experienced educator he was appointed chairman of the committee on education. A great many bills
relating to schools and educational features of all sorts were introduced by various members, and the committee
condensed them, using the best points of each, into the bill called the educational bill, passed in 1895. This
celebrated measure has proved a wise piece of legislation in the test of two decades, and the authors deserve the
thanks and praise of the state for their care in framing its provisions and in eliminating undesirable clauses.
Mr. Johnson also introduced the high school bill, which was brought up and passed as a separate measure. The joint
bill known as the butter bill was introduced in the state senate by Senator Frank McGowan and Mr. Johnson had charge
of it in the lower house, the bill passing in 1895. It has been a material help to the dairy industry in California,
a great protection to one of the important interests in Humboldt county, where Mr. Johnson was warmly applauded
for his efforts.
Mr. Johnson has his home about two miles north of Petrolia, on a ranch of ten acres which he purchased in 1886
and which he has put under excellent cultivation, having a fine orchard, fruits and flowers in profusion and all
the accessories of a delightful home. He was married, near Petrolia, November 21, 1872, to Miss Rosina M. Wright,
who was born April 7, 1852, near Lake Geneva, Wis., daughter of Lucian and Lucy A. (Farnsworth) Wright, late of
Petrolia; they were among the earliest permanent white settlers in the Mattole district, settling here in the spring
of 18W. The father was born in Quebec, Canada, his parents having migrated there from Massachusetts. He was married
near Lake Geneva and brought the family with horse teams and wagons across the plains to California in 1859, and
in 1860 they settled in Mattole valley, locating on a farm two miles north of Petrolia, a part of the place now
owned by Mr. and Mrs. Johnson. The father died in 1886 and the mother in 1913. Of their seven children five are
living, all in Humboldt county. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are leading members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Petrolia,
and he was a member of the building committee which had charge of its new house of worship, just completed. They
are highly esteemed in church, social and educational circles generally, being recognized as hearty supporters
of the best influences which have affected the life of this community, and as able advocates of any cause which
they consider worthy of espousal. Mr. Johnson's unquestioned integrity in all his transactions has made him especially
valuable in the many positions of trust to which his ability has made him eligible.
Petrolia is an inland town, without railway connections at present. Oil was discovered here in the early '60s,
but the field remains undeveloped, though some wells have been struck which have yielded as much as ten barrels
a day, of a very fine grade of paraffin base oil. Though oil seeps through the ground in innumerable places, no
large pockets have ever been struck in drilling, all the free oil being in small finds. Gas has been struck in
many places. When some method of extracting it not too expensive to eat the profits is found there should be fortunes
for many in the vicinity.
From:
History of Humboldt County, California
With a Biographical Sketches
History by Leigh H. Irving
Historic Record Company
Los Angeles, California 1915
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