GEORGE H. T. JOHNSON.
There is considerable distinction in being the oldest practicing physician in Atchison county, and this well merited honor properly belongs to Dr. George H. T. Johnson, of Atchison, Kan., who for nearly half a century has practiced his profession continuously in the city with ever increasing prestige and success which has never abated during the long period of his career. Dr. Johnson is one of the best loved and well respected professional men of the city who has won his place in the front rank of his profession by sheer merit and ability of a high order. Despite his seventy-three years of age he still continues to minister to the ailing and has kept abreast of the wonderful advances made in medical science.
G. H. T. Johnson
Dr. G. H. T. Johnson was born near Mt. Vernon, Jefferson county, Illinois, October 15, 1842, a son of James and Lydia (Cricle) Johnson, the former a native of Connecticut and the latter of Illinois. His paternal grandfather, George Johnson, was a soldier in the American army during the War of 1812. The father of Dr. Johnson died when he was an infant and his mother departed this life at the age of seventy-eight years. George H. T. was educated in the public schools of Jefferson county and Mount Vernon. He remained at home until the summer of 1862, when he enlisted in the Union army as a member of Company G, One Hundred and Tenth regiment, Illinois infantry. In September of the same year this regiment was assigned to the command of General Buell, then at Louisville, Ky., and first saw action at the battle of Perryville, Ky., October 8, 1862. Subsequently, the One Hundred and Tenth was transferred to General Rosecrans’ army and took part in the great battle of Stone River and the campaign which resulted in the capture of Chattanooga, and the great battle of Chickamauga. He was under General Thomas at the battles of Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. General Grant in person directed the maneuvers of Generals Thomas’ and Rosecrans’ combined forces during these famous engagements. Subsequently, his regiment was assigned to the command of General Sherman and served under Sherman until the close of the Civil war. He took part in the siege and capture of Atlanta and the famous March to the Sea, which culminated in the capture of Savannah, which city Sherman presented to President Lincoln as a Christmas gift. He also participated in the campaign of the Carolinas and was at the last battle fought by Sherman’s army at Bentonville, N. C., and at the surrender of the Confederate army under Gen. Joseph Johnston near Raleigh. From there the victorious army marched to Richmond, thence to Baltimore and on to Washington, where they participated in the Grand Review. Mr. Johnson was honorably discharged from the service and mustered out June 8, 1865. The doctor tells many anecdotes of his long and varied army experience which are all interesting and show that he proved himself not unworthy of the martial blood coursing through his veins and transmitted from his grandfather.
Upon his return home from the war Mr. Johnson taught one term of school and then decided to take up the study of medicine and make the science of healing his life vocation. Accordingly, he entered the Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College and subsequently attended the Homeopathic Medical College of St. Louis, Mo., where he was graduated February 26, 1869. While a student at college he heard of the city of Atchison and was impressed with the idea that it would be a good place to locate. After looking around for a few weeks he became convinced that Atchison was a desirable location for a young physician and he came here in April of 1869 and soon built up an excellent practice which grew in volume as the years went on. In 1885 Governor Martin appointed Dr. Johnson a member of the State board of health, and in April of that year he was elected president of the board and retained the position for eight years. He is president of the Atchison board of pension examiners for the United States Government and has acted in that capacity for several years, his service as pension examiner beginning during the term of President Arthur and continuing under the administrations of Presidents Harrison, McKinley, Roosevelt and Taft. He always takes an interest in the brothers who fought in the army under the stars and stripes for the preservation of the American Union and does everything in his power to aid the old soldiers. He is a charter member of the Homeopathic Medical Society of Kansas and served two terms as president of this society. He is also a member and has been a senior member of the American Institute of Homeopathy, the oldest medical institute in the United States. For many years he has been a member of the American Public Health Association, as well as the County, State, and American Medical Associations. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and has been a surgeon of John A. Martin Post, No. 93, Grand Army of the Republic, since its organization, excepting two years when he served as the post commander. Dr. Johnson is a man of wide and thorough experience, broad and tolerant in his views, who has commanded the confidence and high esteem of the people of Atchison and the surrounding country during the many years in which he has been a resident of the city. He is one of the best known men in the county and holds high rank as a physician whose skill has not suffered abatement as the years have gone by.