Byron Wesley Johnson

Byron Wesley Johnson was born Sep 14, 1895 in Colonia Diaz, Mexico to Byron Elwood and Martha Ann Hendricks Johnson. Byron was a veteran of World War I.

History

"The Church dissolved the law of polygamy in 1890, but people are not just statistics and it was impossible to break up these large families as if they had never existed.

"Utah was in a transitional period, between territorial government and statehood. This brought additional malevolence to these people and a great many of them fled across the border into Mexico, to seek asylum. My parents, though not numbered among the polygamists, went to Mexico to be with my mother's family."

Bryon and his younger brother were born in Colonia Diaz, Mexico. After Utah obtained Statehood in 1896, the Johnson family moved back to Richmond. In 1903, Byron's father died while in Mexico trying to treat an ongoing illness.

"My unfortunate mother was unable to attend his funeral and I can remember the many nights she cried, seeking comfort to help her through this bad time....

"The next spring my mother worked for a man named Cook and I went to Swan Lake, Idaho, where I worked for my Uncle John Hendricks during the school vacations until I was 16 years old. Through the winter months I attended school at Richmond."

In 1916, Byron began attending Utah State Agricultural College (USU), and while there, he met Eulalia Myler. They were married Dec 17, 1917 in the Salt Lake City, Utah Temple.

World War I Service

"Things were very uncertain then, as the First World War had started, and we made a temporary home with my wife's parents in Logan, and then in Lewisville, Idaho. I had no desire to be drafted so I volunteered my services. I left for the army in June 1918.

"I was first sent to the University of Utah, and then to Camp Dodge, Iowa, where I was stationed for eight months. My outfit was scheduled to go overseas when the Armistice was signed, November 11, 1918, and I arrived home February 5, 1919."

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