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Johnson, Sam (Samuel Spencer), 1911-1984

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1911 - 1984

Biography

Samuel “Sam” Spencer Johnson was born in Berkeley, California, in 1911. In 1921, his parents moved to France while he attended a boarding school in San Francisco. In 1924, he joined his parents in France, and the family returned to the Bay Area two years later. He attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and in 1934, he earned a bachelor’s degree in forestry from the University of California at Berkeley. He spent the next five years working in the timber industry in Sisters, Oregon. In 1944, he and Elizabeth Avery Hill were married; they later had two children. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. From 1964 to 1978, he served in the Oregon House of Representatives. In 1978, he was elected mayor of Redmond, Oregon. He died in office in 1984.

Source: Information provided by Johnson in his oral history interview; vital records on Ancestry.com.

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

Oral history interview with Becky Johnson

 Collection
Identifier: SR 1115
Abstract Oral history interview with Becky Johnson conducted by Rick Harmon and Jim Strassmaier from June 25, 1986, to March 31, 1993, as part of the Oregon Legislature Oral History Series. Johnson, who was the wife of Oregon State Representative Samuel S. Johnson, discusses her family background; her experiences during the Depression, Prohibition, and in college; her experiences serving with the WAVES during World War II; her husband and his work in the timber industry and as an Oregon legislator;...
Dates: 1986 June 25-1993 March 31

Oral history interview with Sam Johnson

 Collection
Identifier: SR 9454
Abstract

Oral history interview with Sam Johnson conducted by Linda S. Dodds from July 2, 1980, to June 25, 1981. Johnson discusses his career in the timber industry in California and Oregon; his service as a state legislator in Oregon from 1964 to 1978; and his service as mayor of Redmond, Oregon, from 1978 to the time of the interview.

Dates: 1980 July 2-1981 June 25