Wheeling Intelligencer
Booker T. Washington's Last Descendant Dies at 84
August 21, 1969
MONTGOMERY - Benjamin H. Johnson, whose uncle was Booker T. Washington, died Sunday at Riverside Nursing Home in St. Albans. Mr. Johnson's exact age wasn't readily available but he was believed to have been about 84.
Mr. Johnson's mother was Booker T. Washington's sister. Mr. Johnson was the last descendant of the famed educator to live in the Kanawha Valley.
As a young man, he attended his uncle's college at Tuskegee. He later described his uncle as "the big chief" at the Institute and remembered that, "He was always after me to be a good boy."
Mr. Johnson lived at Montgomery for more than 50 years. For many of them he worked at Montgomery City Hall. His house was destroyed by fire in 1968 and in an unusual gesture, the mayor, ministers and other residents of Montgomery helped repair it.
He was a member of the First Baptist Church here and was a former employe of Fayette Bottling Co. He was a veteran of World Wr. I.
His only survivor is his wife of nearly 40 years, Mrs. Janie Johnson.
The body is at Anderson-Hairston Funeral Home here.
Sources on Booker T. Washington