Fisher and Nora

Fisher D. Johnson and
Nora Thornton Johnson


Fisher's nephew, Randal Owens, told us that Fisher's middle initial stood for "Demarcus" which is probably correct since Fisher's son Julius has a middle name of Marcus.

As for Nora's name, it was actually pronounced Norie. Cousin Randal has a story about her name too. Seems she and Fisher got into an argument with Fisher implying that Nora wasn't as smart as he was. Nora said, well you're so smart you didn't even know my real name when we got married. What is your real name, Fisher asked. Toliethel, she replied. Fisher, who apparently had quite a wit, said, "Well, if I'd known your name was Toliethel, I wouldn't have married you."

I'm not sure if Toliethel was Nora's real name. Most records, including social security, show only Nora, but the 1930 census lists her as Nora E. Maybe her name was Nora Ethel?

Fisher was a playful, fun-loving character in contrast to the serious-minded Nora.