J. Fred Johnson Family Collection, 1893-mid 1990s

KC Manuscript Collection 49

 INTRODUCTION

Title: J. Fred Johnson Family Collection

Collection Number:Kingsport Community Manuscript Collection (KCMC) 49

Physical Description: 4 Boxes, 1 oversize folder

Creator: various

Repository: Archives of the City of Kingsport

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Provenance: Stephenson Todd donated this collection in December 2005.

Access/Restrictions: There are no restrictions on use of this collection for research purposes. The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Processed by: Jeff A. Jenson processed the collection in February 2006. Brianne Johnson made revisions in November 2008.

COLLECTION CITATION

This collection should be cited as:

J. Fred Johnson Family Collection, 1893-mid 1990s. KC Manuscript Collection 49, Archives of the City of Kingsport,Tennessee.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The J. Fred Johnson and Family Collection consists of correspondence, photographs, financial reports, clippings, publications, and a signed baseball from the first game played in J. Fred Johnson park.  Included in the correspondence are both incoming and outgoing letters.  A few letters concern the Congress of Industrial Organization’s (CIO) attempts to collectively organize workers in Kingsport, Tennessee during the late 1930s.  Photographs are primarily of Johnson and either his business associates or family members with numerous images of various Kingsport Residences and businesses.  In addition to materials related directly to Johnson, one notable manuscript is by US Senator Kenneth McKellar documenting his unofficial trip to Europe in 1923.  Family items were kept primarily by the Doggett and Todd families or Elizabeth Johnson following J. Fred Johnson’s death in 1944 through the early 1980s.  Following Johnson’s death in 1944, condolence letters came from throughout the community and around the nation.  All of these documents are included in a commemorative binder.

SUBJECTS

Carter, George L., 1857-1936.

Dennis, John Bartlett–Photographs.

Industries–Tennessee–Kingsport.

Johnson, J. Fred (John Frederick), 1874-1944.

Kingsport (Tenn.)–Buildings, structures, etc.

Kingsport(Tenn.)–Economic conditions.

Rotherwood (Tenn.)–History.

Tri-City Regional Airport (Tenn.-Va.)

BOX AND FOLDER LIST

BOX 1

 

1.         Death of Mrs. J. Fred Johnson, July and September 1933

2.         Doggett, Marshall regarding school and health, August 1925

3.         Incoming and Outgoing, 15 November 1929-18 December 1931

4.         Incoming and Outgoing, 11 January 1932-26 December 1933

5.         Incoming and Outgoing, 10 January 1934-15 December 1938

6.         Incoming and Outgoing, 25 February 1939-1 December 1941

7.         Incoming and Outgoing, February 1942-28 June 1944

8.         Incoming and Outgoing, regarding Wiley H. Weaver and his attempts to work in Brazil for Tennessee Eastman Company, February-March 1940

9.         Labor Relations, June 1939

10.       Miscellaneous, 1927-1968

11.       New Year’s Card from Nancy and Estes Kefauver, undated

12.       Stamp Collecting, June-July 1932

BOX 2

1.         Financial Dealings, Kingsport Farms Inc., Kingsport Land Company, Kingsport Improvement Company, 1916-1941 and Kingsport Real Estate Sales, 1916-1938 (compilation totals)

2.         Hilton-Dodge Lumber Company, Report on Examination of Books and Accounts, 30 April 1913

3.         Kingsport Land Company, Sevier Terrace shares for Mrs. Frank Yoakley, 1931

4.         Kingsport Stores, Inc., Statements, November 1906 and 31 December 1920

5.         Virginia Iron, Coal & Coke Company, Description of Accounts, June 1901

6.         a. “Tennessee Eastman Corporation; The First Twenty-Five Years,” by P.S. Wilcox, 15      March 1947 (2 copies)

b. “The Story of a City” by Robert St. John, 1944 (3 copies)

c. J. Fred Johnson Memorial Library – Dedication, 19 November 1961

d. “A Lay Sermon by the Editor” Richard H. Edmond, 1925 (regarding the Scopes Monkey Trial)

e. “A Speech” by the Rt. Honourable Winston S. Churchill, 1943

7.          a. Army-Navy Production Award to the men and women of Tennessee Eastman Corporation and Holston Ordnance Works, 6 December 1943

b. McKellar Tri-City Airport, Dedication, 5 November 1937

8.         Carter, George L., Articles, early 1980s and 1986 (with photographs, 3 duplicate images)

9.         a. “Kingsport, Tennessee, 1917-1967: Keys to a Bright Future,” 1967

b. Davidson Journal, Thomas “Tommy” Peters article, Spring 1987

10. “Early Kingsport,” A Talk by Margaret Stone to the Kingsport Book Club, October 1985

11. “John Bartlett Dennis, 1866-1947: An Appreciation” by Joseph Hamblen Sears, 1946

12.  McKellar, Kenneth Douglas.  Report on trip to Europe, August-September 1923 (136 leaves)

13. Pulaski Address, author unknown, 1925

14. Doggett Family, Papers, Programs, and Awards, 1913-1962

15. First Presbyterian Church, Recognition of Mrs. J. Fred (Elizabeth) Johnson, 8 October 1981

16. Hospital Service Plan for J. Fred Johnson, Holston Valley Community Hospital, September 1935

17. Memorial Record of J. Fred Johnson, October 1944

18.       a. Public Service, State Civil Service Commission, Certificate, 1939

b. Public Service, United States Fuel Administration, Certificate, 1919

c. Public Service, United States Good Roads Association, Certificate, 1922

19. The Echo: Commencement Number, published by The Kingsport High School, June 1919 20. Johnson, J. Fred, Identification Cards, c. 1940 (Driver’s License, American Airlines, and Holston Ordnance Works with thumb print)

BOX 3

1. Photographs, Kingsport Leaders, undated

2. Photographs, Johnson’s Residence on Watauga Street, undated

3. Photographs, City Views, undated

4. William S. Todd, American Legion Hats, 1956 and undated

5. William S. Todd, American Legion Medal, 46th National Convention, 1964

BOX 4

1. Kingsport Leaders, undated (Primarily Images with J. Fred Johnson and others)

2. Kingsport Inn, Souvenir [sic] Menu, 1960 and  Placemat, Netherland Inn Program, 6 April 1967

3. Memorial Record of J. Fred Johnson with News Clippings, Correspondence, and Condolence Cards, 1944

4. Clippings, mid 1980s-mid 1990s

5. Clippings, 1917-1944

6. Blueprint, J. Fred Johnson home, undated

7. George Eastman, memento of a dinner given him by the Society of the Genesee at the Commodore, New York, February 9, 1931

8. J. Fred Johnson vs. W.H. Bostwick Construction Company, et. al., 1917

9. Johnson’s Residence on Watauga Street, undated

10. Merchandise Order Lists, c. 1917

11. Public Service, United States Fuel Administration, Certificate, 1919

12. Baseball, First Official Ball Thrown in J. Fred Johnson Park, 1 May 1942 (Kingsport vs. Elizabethton)

 

Oversize Folder

1. Poem, “Ode to the Mountain Climber,” written for J. Fred Johnson by George Penn (words) and Percy Wilcox (music), late 1920s or early 1930s

2. Johnson, J. Fred as a teenager, Painting, undated

3. Sketch of J. Fred Johnson, undated

4. Certificate, Civil Service Commission, June 1939

5. Certificate, Member of Tennessee Advisory Commission for New York World’s Fair, June 1939

6. Diploma, Oxford College, Ruth Evelyn Carter, June 17, 1893