NORTHWESTERN IOWA ITS HISTORY AND TRADITION VOLUME II 1804-1926 A. W. JOHNSON Possessing no advantages at the outset of his career, Augley W. Johnson belongs to that class of men whose every faculty must be exerted in order to achieve distinction, and through the stimulating friction of battling with difficulties he has risen superior to circumstances, taking his place among the foremost attorneys of Sioux City and northwestern Iowa. He was born November 14, 1888, at Centerville, South Dakota, and comes of sturdy Scandinavian stock. His father, John D. Johnson, emigrated from Sweden to the United States and sought the opportunities of the west. He took up the study of photography and for several years was employed in the Butler studio at Vermilion, South Dakota, mastering every phase of the business. In 1896 he went to St. Paul, Minnesota, opening a studio, which he operated for seven years, and in 1903 chose Sioux City as the scene of his activities. He was recognized as an expert retoucher and his work displayed the lastest improvements in photography. His artistic skill and honorable dealing new to him a large patronage and he continued the business until 1920, when he retired. His wife, Ebba (Hanson) Johnson, was a daughter of Ture Hanson, of Stockholm, Sweden, who left his native land in 1872 and came to the new world, locating in Sioux City. For several years he was captain of a steamboat plying between Sioux City and Fort Benton, Montana, and Bismarck, North Dakota, and after abandoning a steamboating life took up a homestead in Clay county, South Dakota. From time to time he added to his holdings until he became the owner of many acres of valuable farm land. During his declining years, however, he lived retired in Sioux City, his death occurring July 25, 1917, at the age of eighty-four. Mr. Johnson received his early education at Centerville, South Dakota, and was a student in the Cleveland high school at St. Paul, Minnesota. He paid his expenses at Morningside College by working in the telegraph department of the Illinois Central Railroad at Sioux City and for two years read law in the offices of the firm of Harding, Nickle & Kindig. He next went to Des Moines, Iowa, becoming connected with the Western Union Telegraph Company, and was engaged exclusively in government work which required an expert operator with a thorough knowledge of the code. During this period he attended Drake University, from which he received the degree of LL. B. in 1913. He completed a three-year course in tow years and was graduated with high honors, winning a prize for excellence in the studies of evidence and real property. Mr. Johnson began the practice of law at Sioux City in June, 1913, and his ability soon won recognition. In 1916 he was chosen for the position of assistant city attorney, which he filled for two years, and in 1921 was appointed United States commissioner for the northern district of Iowa. He has since served in this capacity, meeting every requirement of the office, and also has an extensive and desirable clientele. He has a comprehensive knowledge of the fundamental principles of jurisprudence and the ability with which he presents his cause has won for him many favorable verdicts. In 1914 Mr. Johnson married Miss Hildur E. Ohlund, a daughter of John and Mathilda (Swanson) Ohlund, of Sioux City. to this union has been born one child, Arlene, who is ten years of age and attends the public schools. Mr. Johnson is a prominent Mason, belonging to Tyrian Lodge, No. 508, A. F. & A. M., and Sioux City Consistory, No. 5, A. & A. S. R. of which he is junior warden of Boaz Chapter, Rose Croix, No. 5. He is a member of Woodbury Lodge, No. 98, K. of P.; Western Star Lodge, No. 282, I. O. O. F., and is also identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, Sioux City Lodge, No. 112. He has served as president of the Sioux City Consistory Club and is also connected with the Hi Twelve Club and the Swedish Business Men's Club. he is affiliated with the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran church and was its secretary for a number of years. He founded the Sioux City Bar Library, which now contains approximately five thousand volumes, owned by the local bar association, of which he is an ex-president. He is also a member of the Iowa Stat and American Bar Associations and a man of high intellectual attainments and fine character who had dignified the profession of his choice. Debbie Clough Gerischer Iowa Gen Web, Assistant CC, Scott County http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/ IAGENWEB: Special History Project: http://iagenweb.org/history/index.htm Gerischer Family Web Site: http://gerischer.rootsweb.com/