CHAPTER SIX
THE WILBERT AND AMANDA JOHNSON FAMILY
(Pages 427-441) This Chapter: In 1923, Amanda Johnson, born on May 16, 1897, daughter of John "Johnny" Jackson Johnson, Jr. and Emily Tomlinson, met Wilbert Franklin
Johnson of St. George, Georgia. Wilbert was born on January 14, 1887, in Canaan, Ohio, son of Monroe Marion Johnson and Bertha Pfeiffer. The story of Amanda's parents is the subject of Chapter Four and the story of Wilbert's ancestors is the subject of Chapter Five. When Wilbert Johnson and Amanda Johnson met, Amanda was living alone and employed as a clerk in Campbell's mercantile store in St. George. Campbell's store in St. George was situated on the site of the present
Canada/s store. St. George is located a short distance from Hilliard on the Georgia side of the St. Marys River. Although Wilbert and Amanda had the same family name, they were not related. Wilbert came to the area in 1908, with his father and mother, his brother Earl and sisters Cora and Laura. St. George was started in 1906 and quickly became a developing community in the Big Bend Country of the St. Marys River, the eastern border of Georgia and Florida. Settlers were
recruited from the north especially in the states of Ohio and Indiana. With the rapid influx of people looking for a new life, St. George became a prosperous community. 
WILBERT FRANKLIN JOHNSON
(ca. 1924)
(Page 430)
Shortly after arriving in St. George, enterprising Wilbert started a grocery store
business. His store was located on the east side of Route 23/121, one block south of the intersection of Route 23/121 and Route 94. This is across the street from the present St. George post office. The Monroe Johnson family made their home in the house that faced eastward, located directly behind Wilbert's grocery store. Wilbert was very accommodating to customers and his grocery business thrived. Wilbert's business
became very successful and as automobiles became popular, he added automotive services to his grocery operation. 
AMANDA JOHNSON JOHNSON
(ca. 1924)
(Page 431)
Until 1918, St. George was a developing city and business center with an expanding population. But soon the lack of industry began to take its toll and the dynamics of the
area began to dwindle. During the 1920s many families moved away which severely restricted the city's resources to maintain the community. The people who remained could not afford the effort and money to continue to operate the city of St. George. With little hope for a future, the Legislature in 1924 repealed the city charter of St. George. On April 10, 1924, Amanda Johnson and Wilbert Franklin Johnson were married. After
their marriage Wilbert and Amanda made their home with Wilbert's parents in the family home located behind Wilbert's grocery store in St. George. Wilbert had the responsibility of caring for his aging father and mother, Monroe and Bertha. Monroe was a farmer but as he grew older many of the farm chores fell to Amanda and Wilbert in addition to their duties of operating their grocery store. Mother Bertha Pfeiffer died on
July 11, 1926, and is buried in the family plot in the St. George Cemetery. By 1925, the population and business community of St. George had severely declined. The widespread economic depression of the late twenties and early thirties was a severe blow to the people of St. George. Wilbert continued to operate the store with fewer and fewer paying customers. The area was in decline and few people had any
money. Wilbert, true to his Calvinistic teachings, began to extend credit to the needy. The credit accounts began to mount and jeopardize the cash flow of Wilbert's business. In 1930, Amanda and Wilbert became parents to a son who sadly died at birth. He is buried with his grandmother Bertha in the St. George Cemetery. The year 1931 was better as Wilbert and Amanda were blessed with a daughter, Viva Jean, born on May 14, 1931.
A fire that destroyed the family home followed this happy event. The family moved to a house located on several acres, located two blocks north of Route 94 and five blocks east of Route 23/121. The house no longer stands and the property has been divided into several small parcels. Wilbert and Amanda added to their family with the birth of a son, Wilbert "Frank" Franklin, Jr., born on April 2, 1933.
By the mid-thirties Wilbert's business was swamped with bad debts. People's inability to pay their grocery bills forced Wilbert and Amanda to close their store. Wilbert found work as a butcher at one of the other grocery stores and later at another. Amanda and Wilbert increased their family with the birth of a daughter, Lillian Walker, born on February 9, 1935. As a result of a tragic accident, their son Frank died of severe burns on February 13,
1936. He is buried with his grandmother Bertha and brother in the family plot in the St. George Cemetery. Wilbert and Amanda completed their family with the addition of another daughter, Norma Sandol, born April 15,1938. 
THE GRAVES OF WILBERT, JR. AND INFANT BROTHER
(Page 434)
During the last of the 1930s, times were very difficult for the residents of St. George. St. George was on the decline and paying jobs and people began to fade away. Wilbert could no longer find work as a meat butcher so he retreated to the family farm. With the collective hard work of Wilbert and Amanda they were able to provide for the family. By 1940 St. George as a community had almost disappeared from the map. Few
settlers remained and most of those who did were poorer than church-mice. What work was available was timbering and tapping pine trees for turpentine. The Johnsons were proud people and worked hard by doing odd jobs and working the farm, tilling the soil and raising animals for food. Monroe Marion Johnson, Wilbert's father, passed away on May 30, 1940, and is interred with his wife Bertha Pfeiffer in the family plot in the St. George Cemetery. 
THE WILBERT AND AMANDA JOHNSON FAMILY
(ca. 1939)
(Page 435)
In the 1940s the roads in and out of St. George were not improved. They were soft, dry sand roads except as they passed through the swamp that surrounded the area. In which case they were muddy and sometimes covered with water. Heavy rains made the roads through the swamps impassable. Dry weather turned the sand roads into
deep, powdery quagmires that only the very skilled could navigate. Automobile traffic to surrounding towns was severely restricted which made St. George rather isolated. The isolation allowed the business of producing moonshine to develop. The town was still being serviced by the railroad twice a day and trains would stop if flagged down. The train provided limited transportation to Valdosta, Georgia and to points north and northwest, and southeast to Jacksonville, Florida.
Money was scarce for Wilbert and Amanda and living was difficult. Perhaps for this reason, strong cohesive family bonds were forged among the family members. During the late forties and fifties Wilbert found employment with the state forest service as a firewatcher and Amanda worked in the St. George school lunchroom. Wilbert and Amanda's children, Viva Jean, Lillian, and Norma grew-up in St. George.
In 1948, Wilbert and Amanda's daughter Viva Jean was graduated from St. George High School. She moved to Jacksonville, Florida where she found employment. She made her home with her Aunt Gertie and Uncle Boe Peacock until she married in 1950. 
VIVA JEAN JOHNSON
(ca. 1949)
(Page 437)
LILLIAN WALKER JOHNSON
(ca. 1949)
(Page 437)
NORMA SANDOL JOHNSON
(ca. 1949)
(Page 437)
On December 29, 1951, Wilbert and Amanda's daughter, Lillian Walker married James Walter Chesser. In 1952, she was graduated from St. George High School and soon thereafter moved to Jacksonville. Wilbert and Amanda's daughter, Norma Sandol, was graduated from St. George High School in 1956. Shortly after graduation Norma found employment in Jacksonville. She moved to Jacksonville where she lived with her Aunt Sandol and Uncle Harry Dahlman. She spent her weekends taking care and providing for her aging mother and father in St. George. 
AMANDA JOHNSON JOHNSON
(ca. 1961)
(Page 438)
Mother Amanda Johnson, suffering from a heart problem, died on November 16, 1964, and is buried in the family plot in the St. George Cemetery. The following is a copy of Amanda's obituary that appeared in the Tuesday, November 17, 1964, edition of TheFloridaTimesUnion, a Jacksonville newspaper. JOHNSON — Amanda J. Johnson, 67, of St. George, Ga., died Monday in a
Jacksonville hospital. She was born in Hilliard and had lived in St. George for many years. She was a member of the St. George Baptist Church. She is survived by her husband, Wilbert F. Johnson; three daughters, Mrs. Viva Jean Outterson of Tampa, Mrs. Lillian W. Chesser of Jacksonville and Miss Norma Johnson of Jacksonville; four sisters, Mrs. Arrie Rowe of Hilliard, Miss Allie Johnson, Miss Leila Johnson and Mrs. Gertie Peacock, all of Jacksonville: and
five grandchildren. Funeral will be Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the St. George Baptist Church with Rev. George Wilkinson officiating. Burial will follow in the St. George Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Adkins Morticians of Folkston.
After Amanda Johnson's death, with all three daughters having left the area, Wilbert lived alone in St. George. An aging Wilbert worked each day assisting the town's
postmaster but as his health began to fail, it was decided that he needed the care provided in a nursing home. Wilbert spent his last days in a nursing home in Milledgeville, Georgia. Wilbert Franklin Johnson died at the age of 84, on March 19, 1971, in Milledgeville. Wilbert is buried with his wife Amanda, their sons, and his father and mother in the family plot in the St. George Cemetery. 
WILBERT FRANKLIN JOHNSON
(ca. 1969)
(Page 440)
The following is a copy of Wilbert's obituary that appeared in the Sunday, March 21, 1971, edition of TheFloridaTimesUnion, a Jacksonville newspaper. JOHNSON — Wilbert F. Johnson of St. George, Ga„ died Friday in a Milledgeville hospital after a long illness. He was 84 and a retired postal clerk.
He had lived in St. George for 61 years. Funeral services will be Sunday at 3 p.m. at the St. George Baptist Church with the Rev. George W. Wilkerson officiating. Burial will be in the St. George Cemetery. Survivors include three daughters, Mrs. Viva Jean Outterson of DeLand, Mrs. Norma King of Jacksonville, and Mrs. Lillian Chesser of Jacksonville; a brother, Earl M. Johnson of Pomona Park; and six grandchildren. Akins Morticians, Folkston, are in charge of arrangements.
THE GRAVES OF WILBERT AND AMANDA JOHNSON
(Page 441)
This Chapter: | 
