Albert Mussey Johnson
Encyclopedia
Albert Mussey Johnson was an eccentric millionaire who served as President for many years of the National Life Insurance Company
, built Scotty's Castle
in Death Valley
, and was variously partner, friend, and dupe of infamous Wild West
con man Death Valley Scotty
, for whose outrageous antics he later served as financier.
, the product of a long-prominent family in Oberlin. He was the son of Albert Harrison Johnson (1838–1899) and his wife Rebecca A. Jenkins (1842–1915). Johnson's father was an extremely wealthy man who owned several banks, a utility company, and a few stone quarries in the vicinity of Oberlin. He was also President of the Arkansas Midland Railroad Company, which was based in Helena, Arkansas
.
Although records of Albert M. Johnson's early life are frequently contradictory and uncertain, it is known that he was given a very religious upbringing. It has been asserted numerous times that Johnson was raised a Quaker, but some sources indicate that due to the close affiliation between Johnson's grandparents and John Shipherd, Presbyterian minister and founder of Oberlin College
it is far more likely Johnson's family was Presbyterian or Congregationalist. Either way, however, Johnson lived a devout lifestyle and was a lifelong non-smoker and teetotaler.
Johnson attended Oberlin college for one year before transferring to Cornell University
in Ithaca, New York
. While a student in the civil engineering program at Cornell, Albert met and fell in love with Bessie Penniman
, a fellow student at Cornell, and the daughter of a wealthy fruit and nut rancher from Walnut Creek, California
. Albert Johnson graduated from Cornell in 1895, and a year later married Bessie.
Not long after his marriage to Bessie, Johnson borrowed $40,000 from his father to invest in a lead-zinc mine in Missouri
, which turned out to be an extremely profitable investment. Flush with cash and success, Johnson prevailed upon his father to travel with him out to the Wild West
to inspect more mining claims for possible further investment. The trip was ill-fated, however, and in December, 1899, while riding on a train on the Denver and Rio Grande line near Salida, Colorado
, Albert Johnson and his father were victims of a terrible train accident. The Johnsons' train was struck from the rear by another train, and Albert Johnson's father was killed as he slept. Albert Johnson himself suffered from a broken back, for which he was given an initial prognosis
of certain and imminent death, as well as lifelong paralysis below the waist.
Albert Johnson made a near-miraculous recovery, regaining his ability to walk within eighteen months, and living for well over forty years past the accident. He never quite returned to full health, however, and walked with a limp for the rest of his life, which he took great pains to disguise.
In 1902, after his recovery, Johnson moved to Chicago, Illinois, to join his father's former business partner, Edward A. Shedd, in taking over some of his father's business interests as well as establishing new ones of his own. Shedd and Johnson jointly purchased the National Life Insurance Company
at a foreclosure sale. Through a bargain with Shedd, Albert Johnson acquired 90% of publicly available National Life stock, and quickly became President of the company. Johnson's annual salary as President of National Life Insurance was said to have been approximately $1,000,000.
, also known as Death Valley Scotty, a man notorious for his story of having discovered a mysterious gold mine in Death Valley
. Scotty was often soliciting wealthy investors to grubstake
his supposed mining operation, and Johnson and Shedd were no exceptions. For an initial investment of $2,500, Scotty offered the pair a two-thirds interest in any mines he discovered in Death Valley. Scotty then offered Obadiah Sands a 20% interest in the mine as a reward for having acted as an intermediary. Johnson and Shedd split their two-thirds interest evently between them.
by 1906, Johnson and Shedd had begun to notice the distinct lack of a return on their investment. Johnson banded together with a few more of Scotty's investors and purchased train tickets out to Death Valley so they could inspect Scotty's findings themselves. Scotty and his brother Warner collected his visitors and brought them out to a wash in Death Valley where some of Scotty's friends had hidden themselves, disguised as bandits to scare off the investors before they discovered that Scotty's mine was fictitious. In the ensuing mock gunfight, popularly known as "The Battle of Wingate Pass", Warner was shot and badly injured, prompting Scotty to call the whole thing off in order to go to Warner's assistance. By the time the shooting stopped, most of Scotty's investors realized they'd been fooled and pulled out of Scotty's scheme. Johnson, however, felt that there might still be a chance that Scotty had found gold and decided to pursue the matter further.
After returning home to Chicago, Johnson hired a man named either Arthur MacArthur or Alfred MacArthur, depending on the source consulted. Johnson sent MacArthur out to Death Valley to follow Scotty day and night until he discovered whether or not Scotty had a mine. Scotty tried to fool his pursuer by planting gold ore in an exhausted mine shaft, but MacArthur was not convinced. MacArthur sent a telegram to Albert Johnson to inform him of Scotty's dishonesty.
In spite of having several independent confirmations that Scotty's mining scheme had no substance to it, Johnson persisted in his belief that Scotty really had found gold in Death Valley. Beginning in 1909, Johnson made many trips out to Death Valley to visit Scotty in the hopes of finally being shown the gold mine he had been promised. Although it is almost certain that Johnson realized after a few years that the gold mine did not exist after all, he continued his trips to visit Scotty, as he had learned to enjoy Death Valley as well as Scotty's company.
from a man named Jacob Steininger, and in 1916 began building the first of many structures he constructed on the property, a small shack that he and Death Valley Scotty
used for camping. After Albert Johnson spent several winters of desert vacations with Scotty, Bessie began to grow curious about Death Valley and its attraction her husband had for it.
Bessie began to accompany Albert, but after a year or two decided that though she also found Death Valley appealing, she was not content to sleep on the ground in a dirty tent or shack. In 1922, to mollify his wife, Albert Johnson began constructing what was eventually to become Scotty's Castle
. In 1927 Johnson purchased more land in Grapevine canyon from Fred M. Sayre and his wife Vida L. Sayre, and also from Beveridge Hunter and his wife Ruth, bringing the total size of his Death Valley Ranch to approximately 1500 acres (607 ha).
There is also some speculation that Johnson was also forced to carry a colostomy bag with him for the rest of his life, based on the observations of a few of his friends that Johnson frequently wore clothing that was too baggy for him, possibly to disguise certain side effects of his injuries.
National Life Insurance Company
National Life Insurance Company was chartered on November 13, 1848 “upon the principle of mutual participation in the funds or profits” of the company. As such, the National Life of Vermont was a mutual company even though that fact was not apparent from its name...
, built Scotty's Castle
Scotty's Castle
Scotty's Castle is a two-story Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival style villa located in the Grapevine Mountains of northern Death Valley in Death Valley National Park, California, U.S.. It is also known as Death Valley Ranch...
in Death Valley
Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park is a national park in the U.S. states of California and Nevada located east of the Sierra Nevada in the arid Great Basin of the United States. The park protects the northwest corner of the Mojave Desert and contains a diverse desert environment of salt-flats, sand dunes,...
, and was variously partner, friend, and dupe of infamous Wild West
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
con man Death Valley Scotty
Walter E. Scott
Walter Edward Perry Scott , also known as Death Valley Scotty, was a prospector, performer, and con man, who was made famous by his many scams involving gold mining and the iconic mansion in Death Valley, popularly known as Scotty's Castle.- Early years :Scott was born in Cynthiana, Kentucky to...
, for whose outrageous antics he later served as financier.
Early years
Albert Johnson was born in Oberlin, OhioOberlin, Ohio
Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, to the south and west of Cleveland. Oberlin is perhaps best known for being the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students...
, the product of a long-prominent family in Oberlin. He was the son of Albert Harrison Johnson (1838–1899) and his wife Rebecca A. Jenkins (1842–1915). Johnson's father was an extremely wealthy man who owned several banks, a utility company, and a few stone quarries in the vicinity of Oberlin. He was also President of the Arkansas Midland Railroad Company, which was based in Helena, Arkansas
Helena, Arkansas
Helena is the eastern portion of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. As of the 2000 census, this portion of the city population was 6,323. Helena was the county seat of Phillips County until January 1, 2006, when it merged its government and city limits with...
.
Although records of Albert M. Johnson's early life are frequently contradictory and uncertain, it is known that he was given a very religious upbringing. It has been asserted numerous times that Johnson was raised a Quaker, but some sources indicate that due to the close affiliation between Johnson's grandparents and John Shipherd, Presbyterian minister and founder of Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
it is far more likely Johnson's family was Presbyterian or Congregationalist. Either way, however, Johnson lived a devout lifestyle and was a lifelong non-smoker and teetotaler.
Johnson attended Oberlin college for one year before transferring to Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
in Ithaca, New York
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
. While a student in the civil engineering program at Cornell, Albert met and fell in love with Bessie Penniman
Bessilyn Johnson
Bessilyn Johnson , known also as Bessie Johnson and Mabel, was the wife of Chicago millionaire Albert Johnson, a man who was variously partner, friend, and dupe of famed Old West figure Death Valley Scotty...
, a fellow student at Cornell, and the daughter of a wealthy fruit and nut rancher from Walnut Creek, California
Walnut Creek, California
Walnut Creek is an incorporated city located east of the city of Oakland. It lies in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While not as large as neighboring Concord, Walnut Creek serves as the business and entertainment hub for the neighboring cities within central Contra Costa...
. Albert Johnson graduated from Cornell in 1895, and a year later married Bessie.
Not long after his marriage to Bessie, Johnson borrowed $40,000 from his father to invest in a lead-zinc mine in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, which turned out to be an extremely profitable investment. Flush with cash and success, Johnson prevailed upon his father to travel with him out to the Wild West
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
to inspect more mining claims for possible further investment. The trip was ill-fated, however, and in December, 1899, while riding on a train on the Denver and Rio Grande line near Salida, Colorado
Salida, Colorado
The City of Salida is a Statutory City that is the county seat and most populous city of Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. The population was 5,504 at the U.S. Census 2000.-History:800px|thumb|left| Panoramic View of Salida, 1910...
, Albert Johnson and his father were victims of a terrible train accident. The Johnsons' train was struck from the rear by another train, and Albert Johnson's father was killed as he slept. Albert Johnson himself suffered from a broken back, for which he was given an initial prognosis
Prognosis
Prognosis is a medical term to describe the likely outcome of an illness.When applied to large statistical populations, prognostic estimates can be very accurate: for example the statement "45% of patients with severe septic shock will die within 28 days" can be made with some confidence, because...
of certain and imminent death, as well as lifelong paralysis below the waist.
Albert Johnson made a near-miraculous recovery, regaining his ability to walk within eighteen months, and living for well over forty years past the accident. He never quite returned to full health, however, and walked with a limp for the rest of his life, which he took great pains to disguise.
In 1902, after his recovery, Johnson moved to Chicago, Illinois, to join his father's former business partner, Edward A. Shedd, in taking over some of his father's business interests as well as establishing new ones of his own. Shedd and Johnson jointly purchased the National Life Insurance Company
National Life Insurance Company
National Life Insurance Company was chartered on November 13, 1848 “upon the principle of mutual participation in the funds or profits” of the company. As such, the National Life of Vermont was a mutual company even though that fact was not apparent from its name...
at a foreclosure sale. Through a bargain with Shedd, Albert Johnson acquired 90% of publicly available National Life stock, and quickly became President of the company. Johnson's annual salary as President of National Life Insurance was said to have been approximately $1,000,000.
Johnson and Death Valley Scotty
Albert Johnson and Edward Shedd were approached in 1904 by a man named Obadiah Sands, who was acting as an intermediary for Walter E. ScottWalter E. Scott
Walter Edward Perry Scott , also known as Death Valley Scotty, was a prospector, performer, and con man, who was made famous by his many scams involving gold mining and the iconic mansion in Death Valley, popularly known as Scotty's Castle.- Early years :Scott was born in Cynthiana, Kentucky to...
, also known as Death Valley Scotty, a man notorious for his story of having discovered a mysterious gold mine in Death Valley
Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley located in Eastern California. Situated within the Mojave Desert, it features the lowest, driest, and hottest locations in North America. Badwater, a basin located in Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet below...
. Scotty was often soliciting wealthy investors to grubstake
Grubstake
Grubstake, known also as Apache Gold, is an american western movie directed by Larry Buchanan.-Cast:*Stephen Wyman*Jack Klugman*Neile Adams*Lynn Shubert*Kort Falkenberg...
his supposed mining operation, and Johnson and Shedd were no exceptions. For an initial investment of $2,500, Scotty offered the pair a two-thirds interest in any mines he discovered in Death Valley. Scotty then offered Obadiah Sands a 20% interest in the mine as a reward for having acted as an intermediary. Johnson and Shedd split their two-thirds interest evently between them.
by 1906, Johnson and Shedd had begun to notice the distinct lack of a return on their investment. Johnson banded together with a few more of Scotty's investors and purchased train tickets out to Death Valley so they could inspect Scotty's findings themselves. Scotty and his brother Warner collected his visitors and brought them out to a wash in Death Valley where some of Scotty's friends had hidden themselves, disguised as bandits to scare off the investors before they discovered that Scotty's mine was fictitious. In the ensuing mock gunfight, popularly known as "The Battle of Wingate Pass", Warner was shot and badly injured, prompting Scotty to call the whole thing off in order to go to Warner's assistance. By the time the shooting stopped, most of Scotty's investors realized they'd been fooled and pulled out of Scotty's scheme. Johnson, however, felt that there might still be a chance that Scotty had found gold and decided to pursue the matter further.
After returning home to Chicago, Johnson hired a man named either Arthur MacArthur or Alfred MacArthur, depending on the source consulted. Johnson sent MacArthur out to Death Valley to follow Scotty day and night until he discovered whether or not Scotty had a mine. Scotty tried to fool his pursuer by planting gold ore in an exhausted mine shaft, but MacArthur was not convinced. MacArthur sent a telegram to Albert Johnson to inform him of Scotty's dishonesty.
In spite of having several independent confirmations that Scotty's mining scheme had no substance to it, Johnson persisted in his belief that Scotty really had found gold in Death Valley. Beginning in 1909, Johnson made many trips out to Death Valley to visit Scotty in the hopes of finally being shown the gold mine he had been promised. Although it is almost certain that Johnson realized after a few years that the gold mine did not exist after all, he continued his trips to visit Scotty, as he had learned to enjoy Death Valley as well as Scotty's company.
Later years
In 1915, Johnson purchased a ranch at Grapevine Canyon in what is now Death Valley National ParkDeath Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park is a national park in the U.S. states of California and Nevada located east of the Sierra Nevada in the arid Great Basin of the United States. The park protects the northwest corner of the Mojave Desert and contains a diverse desert environment of salt-flats, sand dunes,...
from a man named Jacob Steininger, and in 1916 began building the first of many structures he constructed on the property, a small shack that he and Death Valley Scotty
Walter E. Scott
Walter Edward Perry Scott , also known as Death Valley Scotty, was a prospector, performer, and con man, who was made famous by his many scams involving gold mining and the iconic mansion in Death Valley, popularly known as Scotty's Castle.- Early years :Scott was born in Cynthiana, Kentucky to...
used for camping. After Albert Johnson spent several winters of desert vacations with Scotty, Bessie began to grow curious about Death Valley and its attraction her husband had for it.
Scotty's Castle
Scotty's Castle is a two-story Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival style villa located in the Grapevine Mountains of northern Death Valley in Death Valley National Park, California, U.S.. It is also known as Death Valley Ranch...
. In 1927 Johnson purchased more land in Grapevine canyon from Fred M. Sayre and his wife Vida L. Sayre, and also from Beveridge Hunter and his wife Ruth, bringing the total size of his Death Valley Ranch to approximately 1500 acres (607 ha).
Johnson's Health
In spite of his speedy and remarkable recovery from the spinal injury he received in the train accident in 1899, Albert Johnson continued to feel the effects of his injury for the rest of his life. Although he regained the ability to walk, he suffered from partial paralysis below the waist, specifically paralysis of the excretory organs. His paralysis was such that Johnson was forced to catheterize himself multiple times every day to assist in his ability to urinate, and keep meticulous records of his daily fluid intake and output in order to monitor his own health.There is also some speculation that Johnson was also forced to carry a colostomy bag with him for the rest of his life, based on the observations of a few of his friends that Johnson frequently wore clothing that was too baggy for him, possibly to disguise certain side effects of his injuries.
Sources
- Albert Johnson vertical file, Scotty's Castle Resource Library, NPS: DEVA.
- Bessie Johnson vertical file, Scotty's Castle Resource Library, NPS: DEVA.
- Dubovay, Charles. Interview, Scotty's Castle Resource Library, NPS: DEVA.
- Historic Resource Study: Death Valley Scotty Historic District, Draft Version, Scotty's Castle Resource Library, NPS: DEVA.