Bessilyn Johnson
Encyclopedia
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
. Bessie was one of the main characters who provided the impetus for the construction of Scotty's Castle
in what is now Death Valley National Park
in California
.
in Walnut Creek
, California
, as well as one of Walnut Creek's most prominent early citizens. Bessie was the youngest of Hiram's children and was doted upon. Bessie entered Stanford University
in 1891, a member of its first incoming freshman class, and a classmate of future President
Herbert Hoover
.
While at Stanford, Bessie met and became close friends with a young engineering student Mat Roy Thompson
. The two became sweethearts, and later engaged to be married. After Mat Roy's family lost their moderate fortune in the Panic of 1893
, Bessie was forced to break off her engagement to him, and immediately transfer to Cornell University
.
While at Cornell, Bessie met another young engineering student by the name of Albert Mussey Johnson
. Bessie and Albert later wed and moved to Chicago
, where Albert's business interests lay. Bessie had been given a religious upbringing and busied herself in Chicago trying to do good works. Among the tasks Bessie undertook was taking women of ill repute into her own home in the hope that exposure to genteel surroundings would provide them with moral rehabilitation
.
In 1904 Bessie's husband Albert and his business partner, Edward A. Shedd, were introduced to Death Valley Scotty
through intermediary Obadiah Sands, and began investing in Scotty's gold mine scam, not yet aware of its fraudulent nature. In 1915, Albert Johnson decided to visit Scotty in Death Valley in the hopes of seeing the mine he had been promised a one-third share in. The mine did not exist, but Albert eventually decided its existence was not important. He discovered he enjoyed Scotty's company, and also enjoyed camping in Death Valley as its dry climate and the exercise he got while accompanying Scotty improved his health significantly. After a few years, Bessie grew curious about the appeal of Death Valley and began joining her husband on his annual outings with Scotty. She eventually determined that although she wished to continue to accompany her husband on his Wild West
vacations, she would prefer to do so in the comfort of a vacation home, and construction of Scotty's Castle
began.
. In 1922 the Johnsons began building, adding on to their new "castle" in fits and spurts however inspiration struck them. Bessie ensured that her former sweetheart Mat Roy Thompson was hired to oversee the construction project, and although the nature of their relationship remains elusive, Mat Roy's son, Mat Roy Thompson, Jr., confirmed long after the fact his firm belief that Mat Roy's involvement with the construction of Scotty's Castle contributed directly towards his divorce from his first wife, Patience O'Hara.
Aside from the break necessitated by five years of land ownership dispute brought on by Herbert Hoover
's early efforts to create Death Valley National Monument, the Johnsons vacationed in their Death Valley "castle" regularly until 1943, when Bessie met her fate. Bessie was killed in an automobile accident at Towne Pass while she and Albert were driving through Death Valley.
Due to Albert Johnson's poor health following severe injury in a train accident in 1899, Bessie and Albert were never able to have children. After Bessie's death, Albert stopped visiting Scotty's Castle altogether. Because of a lack of heirs, when Albert died of cancer in 1948 he left their Death Valley properties to the Gospel Foundation, a charitable organization Albert created in 1946 for that very purpose.
church of charismatic preacher Paul Rader. She later brought her husband Albert into the fold, and the two of them shared a close personal relationship with Rader, to the point of purchasing a home for him next door to their own mansion in Chicago, and Albert paying Rader's personal salary out of his own pocket so that Rader could remain above any possible suspicion of dipping into the funds donated to his church for good works.
Bessie was at least outwardly devoutly religious. She hosted her own religious radio show in Chicago directed towards the spiritual needs of the working woman, and also wrote articles for a religious newsletter published by Paul Rader. Bessie used a good deal of her time she spent at Scotty's Castle to write sermons that she would preach on Sundays. Among the employees hired to work on the construction of the castle, Bessie had a reputation for being overly staid, and possibly a bit crazy. Her sermons were said to be a "Torment", and were frequently more than two hours long. Bessie styled her preacher persona after that of evangelical darling Aimee Semple McPherson
, wearing flowing white and red robes and a tiara during her sermons, and always carrying a Bible
with a red ribbon in it.
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...
figure 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...
. Bessie was one of the main characters who provided the impetus for the construction of 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 what is now Death Valley National Park
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,...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Early years
Bessie was born Bessilyn Morris Penniman in 1872, daughter of Hiram Penniman and the only child of his second wife, Carrie. Hiram Penniman was the founder and owner of Shadelands RanchShadelands Ranch
Shadelands Ranch was established by Hiram Penniman, an early American settler of California in 1856 as one of the first and largest farms in California's Ygnacio Valley....
in Walnut Creek
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...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, as well as one of Walnut Creek's most prominent early citizens. Bessie was the youngest of Hiram's children and was doted upon. Bessie entered Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1891, a member of its first incoming freshman class, and a classmate of future President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
.
Mat Roy Thompson
Mat Roy Thompson , known also as Matt Roy Thompson, Matthew R. Thompson, Mathew R. Thompson, M...
. The two became sweethearts, and later engaged to be married. After Mat Roy's family lost their moderate fortune in the Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
, Bessie was forced to break off her engagement to him, and immediately transfer 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...
.
While at Cornell, Bessie met another young engineering student by the name of Albert Mussey Johnson
Albert Mussey Johnson
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...
. Bessie and Albert later wed and moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where Albert's business interests lay. Bessie had been given a religious upbringing and busied herself in Chicago trying to do good works. Among the tasks Bessie undertook was taking women of ill repute into her own home in the hope that exposure to genteel surroundings would provide them with moral rehabilitation
Victorian morality
Victorian morality is a distillation of the moral views of people living at the time of Queen Victoria's reign and of the moral climate of the United Kingdom throughout the 19th century in general, which contrasted greatly with the morality of the previous Georgian period...
.
In 1904 Bessie's husband Albert and his business partner, Edward A. Shedd, were introduced to 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...
through intermediary Obadiah Sands, and began investing in Scotty's gold mine scam, not yet aware of its fraudulent nature. In 1915, Albert Johnson decided to visit Scotty in Death Valley in the hopes of seeing the mine he had been promised a one-third share in. The mine did not exist, but Albert eventually decided its existence was not important. He discovered he enjoyed Scotty's company, and also enjoyed camping in Death Valley as its dry climate and the exercise he got while accompanying Scotty improved his health significantly. After a few years, Bessie grew curious about the appeal of Death Valley and began joining her husband on his annual outings with Scotty. She eventually determined that although she wished to continue to accompany her husband on his 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...
vacations, she would prefer to do so in the comfort of a vacation home, and construction of 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...
began.
Later years
Once the decision had been made for the Johnsons to build a vacation home in Death Valley, Albert purchased the Steinenger Ranch, which consisted of about 1500 acres (6.1 km²) of land 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,...
. In 1922 the Johnsons began building, adding on to their new "castle" in fits and spurts however inspiration struck them. Bessie ensured that her former sweetheart Mat Roy Thompson was hired to oversee the construction project, and although the nature of their relationship remains elusive, Mat Roy's son, Mat Roy Thompson, Jr., confirmed long after the fact his firm belief that Mat Roy's involvement with the construction of Scotty's Castle contributed directly towards his divorce from his first wife, Patience O'Hara.
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
's early efforts to create Death Valley National Monument, the Johnsons vacationed in their Death Valley "castle" regularly until 1943, when Bessie met her fate. Bessie was killed in an automobile accident at Towne Pass while she and Albert were driving through Death Valley.
Due to Albert Johnson's poor health following severe injury in a train accident in 1899, Bessie and Albert were never able to have children. After Bessie's death, Albert stopped visiting Scotty's Castle altogether. Because of a lack of heirs, when Albert died of cancer in 1948 he left their Death Valley properties to the Gospel Foundation, a charitable organization Albert created in 1946 for that very purpose.
Bessie's Death
A great deal of controversy surrounded Bessie's death immediately after it occurred because her husband Albert, who had been driving the vehicle at the time, had a widely-known reputation for driving recklessly. According to Albert's testimony, he had lost control of the car and crashed into a rock, whereupon Bessie was thrown from the car and killed. Many friends and acquaintances held the belief, however, that Bessie may have survived the initial impact and been killed by Albert after the fact either through negligence or through purposeful effort. Although Albert was the only witness of the actual accident, others who arrived after the fact stated they felt that the scene of the alleged crime had been altered, possibly to cover up suspicious activity.Bessie's Religion
In the year 1914, Bessie converted to the evangelical ChristianEvangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
church of charismatic preacher Paul Rader. She later brought her husband Albert into the fold, and the two of them shared a close personal relationship with Rader, to the point of purchasing a home for him next door to their own mansion in Chicago, and Albert paying Rader's personal salary out of his own pocket so that Rader could remain above any possible suspicion of dipping into the funds donated to his church for good works.
Bessie was at least outwardly devoutly religious. She hosted her own religious radio show in Chicago directed towards the spiritual needs of the working woman, and also wrote articles for a religious newsletter published by Paul Rader. Bessie used a good deal of her time she spent at Scotty's Castle to write sermons that she would preach on Sundays. Among the employees hired to work on the construction of the castle, Bessie had a reputation for being overly staid, and possibly a bit crazy. Her sermons were said to be a "Torment", and were frequently more than two hours long. Bessie styled her preacher persona after that of evangelical darling Aimee Semple McPherson
Aimee Semple McPherson
Aimee Semple McPherson , also known as Sister Aimee, was a Canadian-American Los Angeles, California evangelist and media celebrity in the 1920s and 1930s. She founded the Foursquare Church...
, wearing flowing white and red robes and a tiara during her sermons, and always carrying a Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
with a red ribbon in it.
Further reading
- Death Valley Scotty by Mabel, by Bessie Johnson. An account in Bessie's own words about what it was like to live alongside the famed ScottyWalter E. ScottWalter 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...
in Death Valley. It is a charming book, but may lack historical objectivity as it was written for consumption by tourists at Scotty's Castle in the 1930s.
Sources
- Albert Johnson vertical file, Scotty's Castle Resource Library, NPS: DEVA.
- Bessie Johnson vertical file, Scotty's Castle Resource Library, NPS: DEVA.
- Bessie Johnson: Death vertical file, Scotty's Castle Resource Library, NPS: DEVA.
- Bessie Johnson: Religion vertical file, Scotty's Castle Resource Library, NPS: DEVA.
- Dubovay, Charles. Interview, Scotty's Castle Resource Library, NPS: DEVA.
- Mat Roy Thompson vertical file, Scotty's Castle Resource Library, NPS: DEVA.
- Historic Resource Study: Death Valley Scotty Historic District, Draft Version, Scotty's Castle Resource Library, NPS: DEVA.