Bessilyn Johnson

Bessilyn Johnson (January 16, 1872 – April 22, 1943), 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.

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 Ranch 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 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.

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 convert|1500|acre|km2 of land in what is now Death Valley National Park. 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.

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 Christian 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.

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 Scotty 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.

ources

*"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.

Persondata
NAME = Johnson, Bessilyn
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Johnson, Bessie; Penniman, Bessilyn; Penniman, Bessie; Mabel
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Wife of eccentric millionaire Albert Mussey Johnson, provided inspiration for the construction of Scotty's Castle.
DATE OF BIRTH = January 16, 1872
PLACE OF BIRTH = Walnut Creek, California
DATE OF DEATH = April 22, 1943
PLACE OF DEATH = Death Valley, California