ELISHa F. JOHNsoN', (54) born in Mt. Pleasant township, October 27, 1857; married in Auburn (Postoffice, Douglas), Fayette county, Iowa, February 26, 1880, Reubena, daughter of Robert and Charlottie (Anson) Patterson, born in Toronto, Canada, November
12, 1857.
He was fifteen years old when his parents moved from Wisconsin to lowa, where he assisted in building the houses and mill, and the construction of the dam; after which he worked as "boy" in the mill, and attended public school, with a short term at business college in 1877, fitting himself for bookkeeping; then commenced learning the millers' trade under the instruction of his future father-in-law, Robert Patterson, and from the standard system then in use has advanced with all new features introdaced in the process of milling, and his knowledge of bookkeeping enabled him to have a thorough understanding of costs and returns, so that whatever concern he was connected with, several of which he has had financial interests in, he had full knowledge of its condition in all branches, but conditions of markets and other reasons have caused him many and frequent changes.53