William T. Johnson

While Bailey was establishing a home, a business and a family on the southern tip of Whidbey and Raphael Brunns was filing his claim on Mutiny Bay, another white settler, William T. Johnson, settled on Double Bluff. Few written records concerning him have been located, although Jacob Anthes, in his memoirs, refers to having visited a Mr. Johnson living in the vicinity of Double Bluff in 1880.
The actual date of Johnson’s arrival is not known but it is known that he took an Indian girl, Gah-toh-litsa born in 1860, as his wife. She was closely related to one of the Snohomish tribal chiefs and the land upon which Johnson and his wife settled apparently was tribal land belonging to her. According to her great grandson, Robert Porter of Langley, her English name was Jane Newberry.
William Johnson and Gah-toh-litsa had several children, including a daughter, Louisa. They were farmers and it was Johnson’s custom to row across Admiralty inlet periodically with a boat load of vegetables and other produce to be sold or traded at Port Townsend. He would load his boat and row out at high tide, transact his business at Port Townsend and then return with the flow of the tide.
He had made such a trip the latter part of February, 1886, according to the story handed down in the family and recalled by Robert Porter. Having transacted his business in Port Townsend where he received a considerable sum of money from the sale of his produce, he embarked on his homeward journey but he never reached home. Instead he was found dead in his boat the following morning. There was no sign of violence and his death was presumed by authorities to have been from natural causes, but his family believed differently because no money was found on his person or in the boat, although he was known to have left Port Townsend with a sizable sum. His family believed that he was murdered for his money. The only known record of the occurrence is found in the log book of ship’s captain, Christian Madsen. It reads: March 1, 1886. News that Bill Johnson was found dead in his boat off Haller’s Point. Tuesday, March 2, 1886. Went to Johnson’s funeral and returned.