WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
NEPHI JOHNSON
(early missionary, explorer, settler)
BIOGRAPHY
Nephi Johnson was baptized into the Mormon church in May of 1842 by John Smith. He migrated to Utah in 1848 with the Franklin D. Richards Company.From 1851-1853 he lived at Cedar City, one of the first settlers in Iron County. He was called on an Indian mission and for many years after that he worked diligently in settling the valleys along the Rio Virgin and the Muddy.
In 1858, he went out with Col. Wm. H. Dame's exploring company to explore the desert west of Utah. Johnson led some of the party as far west as Death Valley.
In the September of 1858, Brigham Young ordered a young Mormon missionary by the name of Nephi Johnson to explore for possible settlement the area from newly settled Toquerville up along the East Fork of the Virgin River. Johnson, along with a Paiute guide by the name of Nauguts, went east probably as far as what later became Shunesburg.
After returning to Cedar City and reporting his findings, Johnson was sent back to establish a settlement (Pocketville/Virgin) on the Upper Virgin River. He assembled a company and on December 6, 1858, they started building a road a little south and east of Toquerville to go up over the 500 foot high Hurricane Fault. This road became known as Johnson's Twist (aka Johnson Twist and Nephi's Twist). It was used for a long time as the main route east out of Dixie.
Johnson lived in the settlement of Virgin for thirteen years, acting in succession as presiding elder, acting bishop, and bishop's counselor. In common with other settlers on the Virgin River, he experienced its fickle nature ranging from roaring floods to drought.
In 1871 Johnson moved to Kanab, where he was first counselor to the Bishop. He also served three terms as county commissioner, acted as town president for several years, was superintendent of waterworks three years and road commissioner ten years.
In 1872, he was employed by John Wesley Powell's Colorado River expedition.
In 1889, he moved to Juaarez, Mexico, where he stayed until 1894. Then he moved to Bunkerville, Nevada, were he served as a patriarch to the Mormon community there.
Nephi Johnson died June 21, 1919 in Mesquite Nevada and was buried in the Mesquite City Cemetery.
FAMILY
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Parents and Siblings:
Joel Hills Johnson Annie Pixley Johnson Johnson Julia Ann Johnson Sixtus Ellis Johnson Sariah Anna Johnson Nephi Johnson Susan Ellen Johnson Seth Guernsey Johnson |
(5/23/1802-9/24/1882) (married xx/xx/xxxx) (8/7/1800-9/11/1840) (xx/xx/1827-xx/xx/1829) (xx/xx/1829-xx/xx/1916) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/1832-xx/xx/1925) (married Xxxxxxx X. Workman) (12/12/1833-6/21/1919) (married as shown below) (xx/xx/1836-xx/xx/1918) (married Xxxxxxx X. Martineau) (xx/xx/1839-xx/xx/1927) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) |
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First Wife and Children: Mandana Rebecca Merrill Johnson Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx |
(xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married xx/xx/1856) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) |
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Second Wife and Children: Conradina Albertine Sorensen Mariger Johnson Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx |
(xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married xx/xx/1860) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) |
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Third Wife and Children: Bodel Margarethe Anderson Jensen Johnson Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx |
(xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married xx/xx/1889; a widow with six children) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) (xx/xx/xxxx-xx/xx/xxxx) (married Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx) |
PHOTOS
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REFERENCES
Biography of Nephi JohnsonFind-A-Grave entry for Nephi Johnson
A Journey Through Mukuntuweap
Book by David Oswald
Pages 55-56
A History of Washington County from Isolation to Destination
Book by Douglas D. Alder and Karl F. Brooks
Pages 30, 32, 47, 202