Last updated: 25 August 2026
Col. Ernest Edgar Johnson
1863-1962
Ernest Edgar Johnson was a newspaperman and during World War I was a colonel of Infantry with the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.) in France. He had a love for words, a hatred for poor grammar, a good sense of humor, and the knack of how to tell a good story.
He was born during the Civil War in 1863, and grew up on a farm in White Eyes Township just outside of Coshocton, a small rural town in Ohio. His father died when Ernest was only five years old. His widowed mother continued to run the farm with the help of a hired hand.
His mother was a strong believer in education and Ernest was one of only 15 students to graduate from Coshocton High School. He then attended college in Boulder Colorado before then going to Cornell University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Letters and a Certificate for Proficiency in Military Science.
His newspaper career included editor and part owner the Coshocton Age (Ohio), reporter for the New York Morning Journal, biographical department of the Philadelphia North American, copy editor on the news staff of The New York Times, editor for The Saturday Evening Post (Philadelphia), and in "retirement" worked as editor for the Coral Gables Miami Riviera and then the Miami Beach Tropics.
He lived for 98 years.
Father: Jesse Newport Johnson (1815-1868)
Mother: Martha Jane Dinsmore (1820-1903)
Spouse 1: Elizabeth "Bessie" Johnson Stewart (nee Ells) (1870-1901)
Children:
- Isabelle Dinsmore Johnson (1892-1984)
Spouse 2: Edyth Alexandra Bowler Harris (1876-1956)
(no children)
Timeline
-
1863
September 7 - Born in White Eyes Twp, Coshocton County, Ohio. The 9th child of Jesse Newport and Martha Jane (nee Dinsmore) Johnson, though only 2 of their children were still living at the time of his birth.[1]
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1868
15 September - His father Jesse dies aged 53.[2]
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1882
He is one of 15 students who graduates from Coshocton High School. Spends first of three summers working for land surveyors in northwest Colorado. In the intervals of those summers, he attends a new, small college in Boulder Colorado which later grows into the University of Colorado Boulder.
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1885
Autumn - Enters Cornell University, skipping the freshman year. Studies focussed on history and political science, philosophy and literary subjects.
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1888
June 21 - Graduates from Cornell with a Bachelor of Letters and a Certificate for Proficiency in Military Science.
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1888
Returns to Coshocton, Ohio. Works for the Coshocton Age newspaper and becomes its editor and part-owner.
-
1891
January 17 - Marries Bessie Stewart in Coshocton.[3]
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1892
Sells his half interest in the Coshocton Age and looked towards New York to further his career.
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1892
November 13 - Daughter Isabelle born in Coshocton.
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1895
Works as part of the reportorial staff of the New York Morning Journal. Has this position for several years.
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1900
Head of the biographical department of the Philadelphia North American. Works for this publication for about 5 years.
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1901
February 10 - Wife Bessie dies in Philadelphia aged 31.
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1905
August 22 - Marries Edyth Alexandra Bowler Harris in New York City.[4]
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~1906
Works as copy editor on the news staff of The New York Times for about 10 years.
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1916
Transfers to the Sunday Department staff of The New York Times.
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1917
Called into active service into the Quartermaster Corps. Goes to Camp Jackson, Columbia, South Carolina before being sent to Europe for 10 months. Discharged February 1919.
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1920s
Part of the editorial staff of the prestigious The Saturday Evening Post in Philadelphia.
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1929
"Retires" and moves to Coral Gables, Florida, but then becomes managing editor of a new weekly local paper in Miami Beach.
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1937
Moves to Sea Island Beach, Georgia, to be near his daughter and grandchildren.
-
1956
July 17 - Wife Edyth dies. Moves the short distance to St Simons Island.[5]
-
1962
March 8 - Dies in Brunswick, Georgia, aged 98 years. Buried in Frederica Cemetery, St Simons Island, GA.[6]
Stories
1882-1885
Adventures in Colorado
1885-1888
Studying at Cornell
More stories to come!
Ernest with his wife Edyth
Footnotes and Sources
- [1] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants: Together with notes on related families, the author/compiler is purportedly Rev Hubert Rex Johnson (location unknown, privately printed, undated but perhaps c1926), p110. This work relies heavily on the oral traditions of the Richard Johnston family of Jefferson County, Ohio; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/792596/ : accessed 17 Septempber 2022). This record states that Ernest "was born on his father's farm in Coshocton County, Ohio on September 7, 1863". Other records give a variety of birth years (1863 to 1868), but September 7th is consistently given as the day of his birth. As he is listed as 6 years old in the (June) 1870 US Census and 1863 is on his gravestone, I believe that 1863 is the year he was born. Some records list Ohio as his place of birth while others list Virginia. The 1870, 1880 & 1900 US Censuses list his place of birth as Ohio. I believe he was born in Coshocton County, Ohio, and most likely on his parents' farm in White Eyes Township.
- [2] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants: Together with notes on related families, the author/compiler is purportedly Rev Hubert Rex Johnson (location unknown, privately printed, undated but perhaps c1926), p68. This work relies heavily on the oral traditions of the Richard Johnston family of Jefferson County, Ohio; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/792596/ : accessed 17 September 2022).
- [3] Sources:
- State of Ohio, Coshocton County, the original Marriage License (see image) for Earnest E. Johnson and Elisabeth Johnson Stewart, dated 17 January 1891. After the death of Ernest E. Johnson, this document was in the personal papers of their daughter Isabelle Johnson Huston. After her death, the document was passed to Isabelle's daughter, Judith Huston Ely, and the document was photographed by Hope Stewart.
- "Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993," Coshocton, 1887-1898, database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61378/images/TH-1-17963-5890-51 : accessed 23 August 2026), marriage register image, Ernest E. Johnson and Elizabeth Johnson Stewart, 17 January 1891, Vol. 6, p257, image 129/476; citing Marriage Records. Ohio Marriages. Various Ohio County Courthouses.
- [4] FamilySearch, "New York, Marriages, 1686-1980," index (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F6Q9-42K : accessed 8 April 2012), entry for Ernest Johnson and Edith Harris, 22 August 1905. This record is a typed transcript; original record not sighted.
- [5] Georgia, Dept. of Human Resources, Vital Records Service, Atlanta GA, Certificate of Death no. 16616 (1956), Edith Alexander (sic) B. Johnson, died 17 July 1956; certified copy issued 2 July 1993 to Hope Stewart, Melbourne, Australia. Informant was her husband, EE Johnson.
- [6] Georgia, Dept. of Human Resources, Vital Records Service, Atlanta GA, Certificate of Death no. 8011 (1962), Ernest Edgar Johnson, died 8 March 1962; certified copy issued 2 July 1993 to Hope Stewart, Melbourne, Australia. Informant was his daughter, Isabelle Huston.