Viva (Johnson) VanWyke (1890 - 1966)

Born 15 Oct 1890 in Colonia Diaz, Chihuahua, Mexico

Ancestors

Died 20 Oct 1966 at age 76 in Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Leigh Anne Dear [send private message]

Biography

Birth
Viva Johnson was born 15 October 1890, ^[1] Colonia Diaz, Chihuahua, Mexico to parents William Derby Johnson, Jr. and his wife Lucy Elizabeth (Brown) Johnson. Colonia Diaz was a Mormon colony established just before the federal outlawing of polygamy in the United States. Viva's father having three additional wives. Viva had thirty-one (31) brothers and sisters although most were sisters.

After the destruction of Colonia Diaz by Poncho Villa and his banditos the colonists lived several years in refugee camps across the international border in El Paso, Texas, United States. Viva became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1915.^[2]

Marriage
At El Paso, Texas, USA, on 2 May 1915 Viva Johnson married George VanWyke. ^[3] George had immigrated from Holland in 1895 and became a United States naturalized citizen in 1904. ^[2] Viva and George continued to live in El Paso for several more years until they relocated to Tucson, Arizona where her parents and many other family members had relocated after the Colonia Diaz destruction.

In the 1930 U.S. Federal Census Viva's occupation is a "Telephone Operator" She and George have no children. George is recorded as being a hospital attendant at the U.S. Veteran's Hospital [VA] in Tucson. ^[4]

Death
At age seventy-six years Viva (Johnson) VanWyke passed away October 21 1966 at Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona. ^[1] Viva was buried at the South Lawn Memorial Cemetery, Tucson, Pima county, Arizona. ^[5] She is buried next to her husband George.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "Social Security Death Index, Master File" pub. Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA. Reprinted as "U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014" Published (subscription online db) by Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Accessed 10 Mar 2022. Source Text: "Viva VanWyke, SSN 527880926; b. 15 Oct 1890, d. Oct 1966, Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona, USA, 85012"
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "1920 U.S. Federal Census: Tucson, Pima county, Arizona; Tucson Ward 1, District 0097" Roll: T625_50; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 97; Image: 856. Reprinted (subscription online db) Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Accessed 10 Mar 2022. CAUTION: The Ancestry.com 1820 census electronic indexed record summary tagged to the actual census image record says Viva was b. in Connecticut which is inaccurate. https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/27681227?h=de1b05
3. ↑ "Texas, Select County Marriage index, 1837-1965" FamilySearch.org FHL Film No. 25061. Reprinted (subscription online db) Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Accessed 10 Mar 2022. Source Text: "Viva Johnson, age 24, married 2 May 1915, El Paso, TX., USA, George Van Wyke."
4. ↑ "1930 U.S. Federal Census: Tucson, Pima county, Arizona; Tucson Ward 6, District 0097" Roll: 61; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0067; Image: 1025.0; FHL microfilm: 2339796. Reprinted (subscription online db) Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Accessed 10 Mar 2022. CAUTION: The Ancestry.com 1830 census electronic indexed record summary tagged to the actual census image record says her father was b. in Idaho which is inaccurate [he was b. at Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa]. Also, Viva's location of birth in the imaged census form itself is shown as New Mexico which is inaccurate. https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/27681428?h=6990f8
5. ↑ Find-A-Grave memorial with gravemarker image. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/163606250/viva-johnson-van_wyke

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile Johnson-11730 created through the import of alice.ged on Feb 8, 2012 by Alice Neff.
• Contributions by g.niece descendant Leigh Anne (Johnson) Dear