Patrizia Barrera - Robert Johnson Devils Son

I cannot hide that I dont find his characterlikeable and many of you may hate me for this: however, I do nothave the quality of embellishing things to the contrary, I adorerevealing the unpleasant truth. In the case of Robert Johnson, Iwent through a lot of trouble to come to the TRUE reality ofevents and I assure you that I have found delicious treats for youreaders! But lets take it one step at a time. His childhood was most certainly difficult, but there isnothing dark about it, as many have claimed. His mothers name was Julia Major and she definitely was a vivaciousgirl! In 1889, she married a man called Charles Dodds, who was a landowner and had asmall wicker furniture shop. The man seems to have been of Jewishorigin and was not very popular in the small town of Hazlehurst, on the Mississippi River, where thefamily lived. This is the first house of Robert Johnson in Hazlehurst. This is the first house of Robert Johnson in Hazlehurst.

It wasalready a wreck, when in the 90s the small town decided to restoreit and turn it into a museum. The small house was constructed byCharles Dodds and it originally had a colonnade, that can be seenin some old photographs of Johnson. At that time, they even hadrunning water in the house! It is known that at that time things were happening quitequickly: after a fight with the Marchetti brothers (in which he almost lost hislife), Charles had to run away the very same night, in 1909, notleaving a trace behind. Left alone to look after 10 children, poorJulia does not know what to do: isolated, pointed at, subject ofvarious vexations, she does not manage to run the small factory,which goes to rack and ruin. In the meantime, her husband had movedto Memphis and had changed his name to Spencer. Scraping together some money from bothsides, Julia manages to send, two at a time, the smallest kids totheir father, until she remains in Hazlehurst only with the oldestdaughters. This is the same house after the restoration, looking more orless the same way it looks today. Here she has a brief relationship with a local villager, NoahJohnson, and she becomes pregnant with Robert, who was raised byhis sisters in the first years of his life. This is the same house after the restoration, looking more orless the same way it looks today. Here she has a brief relationship with a local villager, NoahJohnson, and she becomes pregnant with Robert, who was raised byhis sisters in the first years of his life.

For a while, thisdidnt reach the ears of her husband Charles, but not for too long!Unable to understand the loneliness of his wife, he is furious andfor years to come refuses to recognize the child as his own,despite making desperate attempts to reunite the family. He willsucceed in this 10 years later, but little Robert (Leroy) willalways remain the barely tolerated and unloved bastard. Toconsole himself for his wifes betrayal, he had an ongoingrelationship and two children with another woman, so when thefamily was finally reunited, it actually was a widened familythat included the 10 children of Charles and Julia, the two born byCharles mistress and little Robert. There was not a lot to behappy about in a situation like that! This is the original certificate from the 1920 census. At thattime, little Robert was living with his mother and his stepfather,Dusty Willis, in Arkansas. It is interesting to notice that thechilds surname in the certificate is Spencer
Needless to say, the marriage between Charles and Julia fellapart; in 1919 she marries again to Dusty Willis and the new couple goes to live in Robinsonville, on the delta of the MississippiRiver.

Robert is with them, but his relationship with hisstepfather is very difficult. The boy had recently learned who hisreal father was, and full of rancour for both his stepfathers, hedeclares to everyone that his surname is Johnson. He is quarrelsome,quick-tempered, and suffers from constant headaches. Although healready knew how to read and write (and some even say he had abeautiful handwriting!), he doesnt want to go to school any moreand doesnt even get an elementary school diploma. His onlyconsolation was to sit at the riverbank and play the harmonica andthe Jewsharp . His is completelyuseless at home and doesnt want to hear about working in thefields.

In 1920, the family moves to Arkansas, in Lucas Township, CrittendenCounty, as demonstrated in the1920 census, but things do not improve much. It is known that hehad one wobbly eye, that was smaller than the other, and that hehad great difficulty concentrating. It was rumoured that he mighthave suffered from epilepsy, but I cannot confirm this, alsobecause many of the aggressive crisis typical of adolescence can beconfused for this illness. And it seems that good old Robert hadplenty of crisis, since in the end his family made their peace withhim living as a lowlife!