William R Johnson (abt. 1895 - aft. 1952)

Husband of Cecilia (Unknown) Johnson — married about 1930 (to after 1950) in Illinois, United States [uncertain]

Died after 1952 after about age 57 in Glen Ellyn, DuPage, Illinois, United States [uncertain]

Biography

Bill was born about 1895.^[1][2][3]

Research Notes

There are two U.S. Census records for men named "William R. Johnson," who might have been the same man. One of these men was allegedly born in Wisconsin, circa 1896, and resided, in 1950, in Lombard, DuPage County, Illinois; the other was allegedly born in Illinois, circa 1895, and resided, in 1950, in Milton Township, DuPage County, Illinois. The former man had a wife, three daughters, and a son; the latter was single, and lived alone. It's possible that these were the same gambling czar convicted of tax evasion in the 1930s, and pardoned, in December of 1952, by President Harry S. Truman, and living out the remainder of his days in Glen Ellyn, Milton Township, DuPage County, Illinois.^[4] Tavern-2 01:17, 26 February 2024 (UTC)

According to The Chicago Tribune, on "Christmas Eve 1952, President Harry Truman granted Johnson, the former overlord of Chicago gambling and convicted tax cheat, a full pardon. Johnson lived out his days on a large estate on Butterfield Road near Glen Ellyn."^[3] Tavern-2 01:17, 26 February 2024 (UTC)

Sources

1. ↑ "United States 1950 Census", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6X1X-9S8Z : Tue Oct 03 04:05:43 UTC 2023), Entry for William R Johnson, 28 April 1950.[1]
2. ↑ "'Czar' of Gambling Guilty in Chicago." The New York Times, October 12, 1940.[2]
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "Dev-Lin illegal gambling house flourished in 1930s just outside Chicago" The Chicago Tribune, March 3, 2013.[3]
4. ↑ "United States 1950 Census", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6X11-SR5L : Thu Oct 05 15:02:49 UTC 2023), Entry for William R Johnson and Cecelia Johnson, 15 April 1950.[4]