Bosque County: Land and People (A History of Bosque County, Texas) Page: 418

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Johle Home-1910-Carl Johle, Edison (Doc) Johle, Emma Johle, two friends, and Ewald Johle

Ernest and Rosa Johle-1966

man). Carl and Emma Weinert Johle fol-
lowed the move to Bosque County in 1903,
bringing with them their six children: Ernest,
Lydia, Ida, Ewald (Jake), Walter (Fat) and
Emma. A seventh child, Ella, died before this
move. Edison (Doc) Johle was the last child
of Carl and Emma Johle and the only one to
be born in Bosque County.
Adolph and Reinhold Johle also joined
their brothers in Bosque County. Adolph, a
blacksmith, lived in Clifton. Having no
natural children of his own, Adolph and his
wife, Meta Ickert Johle reared J.G. Fincher
in their home. Meta Johle died in 1934 and
Adolph remarried Gelinda Grandrude in
1935. Adolph died in Clifton in 1952.
Reinhold Johle married and had three
children. He lived near his brother William
and helped in farming. In 1909, Reinhold
died. His wife later married Fritz Johle, a half
brother of Reinhold Johle. They lived in.
Bosque County for a few more years before
moving to Carmine.
William Johle moved to Temple to seek
better medical care for his chronically ill son,
Henry.
With the exception of Ernest, all of the
children of Carl and Emma Johle moved
away from Bosque County. Ida, Walter and
Ewald settled in Brownwood; Lydia, Emma
and Edison, in Amarillo.
Carl Johle was a carpenter and storekeep-
418

er. He built and operated a general store for
several years in Womack. The Johle store was
a convenient meeting place for local residents
who could purchase necessities and exchange
news. Carl Johle purchased the farm across
the road from his brother, William. He
constructed several barns and two houses,
one a two-story. Many of these structures
remain today as a testament to his construc-
tion skills.
In 1920, Carl and Emma Johle separated.
She left Bosque County to live with her son
Walter for several years in Brownwood and
later she lived in both Brownwood and
Amarillo with her children. Emma Johle died
in 1941 and is buried in Brownwood. Carl sold
his store and farm and moved to Clifton
where he traded in furniture and performed
handyman services. He died in 1940.
Ernest Johle married Pauline (Knust (see
Knust family) in 1909. They lived on a 136-
acre farm seven miles east of Clifton near
what is now FM708. On their first wedding
anniversary, an infant son was stillborn. In
1915, Ruth Regina Johle was born to this
marriage. Typhoid fever took the life of
Pauline in 1917 and Ernest and Ruth moved
to the Knust home near Womack to live for
four years. Ernest commuted to Clifton each
day where he had an insurance agency.
Ernest remarried in 1921 to his previous
sister-in-law, Rosa Knust. At about that same
time, he purchased the Johle family farm
from his father. Ernest and Rosa later
enlarged the acreage of the original farm.
By 1937, Ernest and Rosa had gained
considerable recognition for their skills as a
farm family. It was that year that Progressive
Farmer magazine and the Texas Extension
Service selected the Johles as Texas' "Master
Farmers of the Year". Ernest raised show-
quality Rambouillet sheep., Holstein dairy
cattle, and Berkshire hogs. He was a frequent
exhibitor at stock shows throughout Texas.
In addition, Ernest was an early pioneer in
soil conservation, being one of the first
farmers in his community to utilize terraces
and special grasses to minimize soil erosion.
Certified seed was also produced on the Johle

by Gordon Arnold
(See photo next page)
COX, JOHN WILLIAM
F632
John William Cox, one of the pioneer
settlers in the Lanes Chapel community near
Clifton, was born 1837 in Clark County,
Missouri. His name appears on the Pool Park
monument, which lists early pioneers of
Bosque County.
As a young man, Cox came to Texas with
his parents and settled in Coryell County,
near Gatesville. He lived there for several
years, then moved to Brown County, where
he married Eliza Tennessee Keese in 1858.
Eliza, the daughter of Thomas Jefferson and
Eleanor (Campbell) Keese, was born 1837,
the fourth of six children. To John and Eliza
were born ten children: Louisa Eleanor, John
William, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Matilda
Esibell, Mary May, Thomas Jefferson, Laura
Vernice, Sowyel S., Joseph M., and Lillard
Alice.
In 1858, John and Eliza moved to San Saba
County, where they resided for nine years.
During this time, John W. joined the Texas
Rangers and engaged in protecting the homes
of early settlers from Indians and outlaws. In
1866, John and his family moved to Lanes
Chapel, where they settled on a large acreage
of land and built their ho.ne one mile north
of the site of the present Lanes Chapel
Church. John William was instrumental in
the development of the Lanes Chapel com-
munity, where he remained until his death
January 16, 1924. His wife, Eliza, died in
1919.
by Bryan E. Sowell
JOHNSON FAMILY
F633
On the family paternal side we are descen-
dants of Houston Britton Johnson of Tennes-
see. On the maternal side we are descendants
of James H. (Jim) Speer, whose own great-
grandfather William came to America from
Ireland in 1772, and fought in the Revolu-

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farm and sold throughout the state.
Notwithstanding the financial burdens of
the Depression, Ernest and Rosa Johle were
intent upon providing a strong educational
experience for their daughter, Ruth. As was
the common practice in such cases, Ruth
boarded in Clifton while she completed high
school. Later she graduated from what is now
Texas Women's University in Denton and
did graduate work at both Columbia Univer-
sity and the University of Wisconsin.
Ernest and Rosa Johle lived on their farm
until their deaths. Ernest died in 1969; Rosa,
in 1970. Both were active in their communi-
ties until the end of their lives. Rosa was
involved in a wide range of activities in the
Zion United Church of Christ at Womack.
Ernest was Democrat precinct chairman at
Womack for many years. Both were active in
Bosque County Farm Bureau. In their retire-
ment years, the Johles were fond of traveling
by car to points all over the United States.
Ernest was able to recall the smallest details
of their trips. They left their community
much the better for their having been there.

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