Saturday, March 29, 2014

Warren Marshall Johnson - Forgotten Saint


Great Grandfather



One of the purposes of this blog was to find obscure stories, pictures, etc... about my ancestors. Now I knew Warren Marshall Johnson had a missionary journal but I could not find a copy of it. Well, I finally found a copy at the Church History Library and it was in a "do not copy" film. This meant the film had not been gone through to see if there were items that should not be copied but I figured my GGrandfather's journal should be copied and as a GGranddaughter I had the right to access of the journal. I guess I talked to the wrong person because this Church History missionary told me that I couldn't have a copy of it and even if I could they were way too busy with important stuff do this for me. It was lunch time and there was no one else available to seek help from. Needless to say, I left furious. There had been previous treasures on ancestors there and they bent over backwards to help me so this was disappointing. I needed to leave to head back home so I didn't have time to wait for someone else to come.
I have been thinking of this journal ever since. I have done web searches at least once a month hoping someone would post it, but there was none. This morning I got up and this journal was big on my mind again. I decided that I would go to the Church History's web site and see if there was a way I could contact someone who would copy it for me. When I searched their catalog I found the journal listed and guess what! When I clicked on the link, it had been digitized. Hurrah!!!!
What I find important about this journal is the list of names of the family back in New Hampshire. Warren had gone on his mission back to his home town in New Hampshire. From the names in this journal, we get an idea of who his family was that he was close to. This is a big picture of his life. The most touching part is when his family gathered together toys to send back to his children. I thought, "what a nice, caring family."
This is the information page from the Church History Library on this journal.  Click on the link MS 1979/f0001 Warren M. Johnson diary  and it will take you to his journal.

 Below are links to histories about Warren. He was an incredible man and an inspiration to all who take the time to learn about him.

Posted by Julie Johnson Brinkerhoff at 11:24 AM 1 comments
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