Page 644. Robert L. Johnson, prominent in the business and political life of Austin, is a native son of Mower county, being born at Waltham, Minn., September 14, 1863. He received his education in
Page 645. the district schools of this county, concluding with a course in the Rochester business college of Rochester, Minn. After teaching school for a few terms near home, he gave his attention to the operation of the old home farm until 1889, when he moved onto a 360-acre farm of his own in section 13, Waltham township, on which he followed general farming for the next three years. In the fall of 1892 he was elected auditor of Mower county, succeeding himself for the ensuing ten years, and then, refusing another term, he engaged in the insurance business at Austin, enjoying a large patronage throughout this section of the state. Mr. Johnson is secretary of the Austin Mutual Hail Insurance Company of Minnesota, has served as secretary and bookkeeper of the Minnesota Farmers’ Elevator Association since 1908, and was instrumental in the organization of the Farmers’ Brick and Tile Company, December, 1909, now acting as treasurer and director. His politics are Republican, his long service as auditor attesting to his popularity throughout the county. He is associated with the Masonic order as a Knight Templar, and is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. January 14, 1889, he was married to Lizzie V. Lyons, at Lansing, Minn. They have two children: Louise L., born September 29, 1898, and Hazel I., born March 1, 1901. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are loyal members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Their home is at 104 South St. Paul street. George and Dorothy (Bailey) Johnson, parents of our subject, were natives of Leicestershire, England. After coming to the United States they first located at Buffalo, N. Y., subsequently removing to Marquette county, Wisconsin, and engaging in farming for a time. They were among the pioneers of Mower county, the father carrying on farming in Red Rock township for two years, and then purchasing a quarter section in Waltham township, gradually adding to this until he owned a section of wild land. With true pioneer courage he took up the immense task of clearing and rendering the land fit for farming purposes, erecting a house and farm buildings, and adding improvements from year to year, successfully following general farming up to the time of his death, which occurred July 2, 1872. His wife died in October, 1892. (The History of Mower County Minnesota, Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge, H. C. Cooper, Jr., & Co., Chicago, 1911)