Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-04-16
John G. Johnson, Noted
Lawyer, Frequent Visitor
Here in Important Case.

John G.. Johnson, the famous Phil
adelphia lawyer. who died Saturday,
was not a stranger in Harrisburg. He
appeared before Dauphin county court
in important cases. and was friend
of many in official life. His opinion
was sought in municipal loans and
upon his approval the several issues of
public improvement bonds were au-
thorized
AS his paintings form one of the
few really great private collections in
America, as he was himself one of the
country's few real .connoisseurs, John
q. Johnson was just two things where
most men are a dozen; he was a law
yer and he was a collector of pictures
And he knew paintings as thoroughly
as he knew corporation law. We knew
the history of every recognized master
piece, critics say, and he had many
times discovered priceless little paint
ings that had gone unrecognized be-
fore. No dealer could impose upon
him.
The nurse said that after taking his
medicine at o'clock Saturday morn
ing he turned to her with a smile and
said: Good night, I'm going to sleep
now" Those were his last words, for
when the nurse return at o'clock she
found Mr.. Johnson dead.
The funeral service will be held at
his late home, $40 South Broad street,
on Tuesday. His private secretary,
Charles McDermott, and his brother,
A. G. Johnson, will complete all ar
/ ransements within day or two. The
obsequies will be private, and the hour
of the funeral will be made public
later. No honorary pallbearers and
no service at the grave in Ivy Hill
Cemetery have been decided upon.
General Edward deV. Morrell. a step
son, will aid in the arrangements.
The service will be marked by i'm
rressive simplicity. There will be an
utter absence of fornlality, and as the
distinguished lawyer was not actively
connected with any church or any of
the prominent fraternal organizations
! there will he no ceremonial.
John Graver Johnson was born in
Germantown in lS41. His father was
o blacksmith and his mother a mill-
ner. who added to the family ex-
chequer by her personal labors.
The boyhood OF Mr.. Johnson was
passed between the fathers forge and
J the mothers millinery establishments
where the thrifty wife manufactured
such hats as would please the taste of
her wealthy clients. 1t was no un-
common sight either in that section to
see johnnie" Johnson, as he was
known, delivering the hats, when he
was not in school. His devotion to
his mother was idyllic, and as long
as she lived he cared for her with a
tilial tenderness and assiduity that
were remarkable.
! Girard in the Philadelphia Ledger
says:
Hardly anybody remembered that
this Philadelphia high school boy was
a soldier in the Civil War, but he was.
/ Mr. Johnson was a member of that
! famous Lands battery in which C.
Stuart Patterson was an officer and
such other notables as Richard Wat
son Glider, "Hans Breitmann," the
| humorist, and DIR. A. c. Lambdin, the
editor, were privates. 1t was when
this battery was guarding the Susque-
hanna bridge at Harrisburg that Gill
der, who was on picket duty saw i'm
the dim morning light a Confederate
/ vidette. That was the furthest north
any Confederate soldier got during the
rebellion"