Wanda Johnson in 1908, age 17

Wanda Johnson is identified by #3 on the Seneca High School photo from Seneca, Kansas. (Whole photo originally posted here.) Her bow is magnificent isn’t it? Wanda was from a larger family, and one I wish I had the time to delve into more. She was born about 1890/91 in Kansas to Irvin Johnson (1856, CA) and Ellen Burger (1854, Canada). Her parents married in Ontario but the children were born in Kansas. Irvin was a farmer naturally. Wanda was the 6th of 7 children as well as I can tell.

In 1908, when this photo was taken, Wanda was 17 or 18. In 1910 she lived in Seneca with her parents. Her older sister Effie and husband and small child lived in a nearby town, Richmond, with older brother Claude. Claude was a widower at 26 with a baby (Claude Jr.).  See what I mean? So much more I’d love to research. But back to Wanda.

She married Elmer Britt sometime before 1915 when the couple appeared in the 1915 KS census. In 1920 they lived in Seneca, Kansas and Elmer was a barber. But, by 1930 they had made a move to Los Angeles, California. Older sister Effie (now Stevens) and family were also living in CA, near Los Angeles. I’m not sure who followed whom. Elmer was working as a salesman for building materials. The couple had no children and that may have been the reason that by 1940 they were divorced.

Wanda was a single border in LA working in a clerical position for the board of education – at age 49 it may have been her first job. And unfortunately her sister, Effie, would die in LA a few years later in 1944. I hope Wanda wasn’t as lonely as she appeared on paper (or even in this photo). While I’m not totally sure this is her, a Wanda Britt born 10/29/1890 died in Arizona in April of 1978.