† Beadle knowingly or unknowingly gave in the by-lines of several novels the name of the translator instead of the author. All of the stories listed under the name Francis Johnson are translations from the German. For proof of this see under Friederich Gerstäcker and Stanislaus Grabowski.

† Francis Johnson was born in Rostock, Mecklenburg, Germany, in 1837. His father was professor of modern literature and history in the University of Rostock. When Francis was eighteen, he came with the family to the United States and settled in Lafayette, Indiana. In 1868 he visited Europe and upon his return went to Chicago, where he was connected with The Lakeside Monthly from May, 1870, until the business portion of the city was destroyed by fire in October, 1871. Removing to New York, he became connected with the Evening Mail, for which he wrote articles on European affairs. He also did some translating from the German, perhaps even as early as 1870.

† In 1873, Mr. Johnson returned to Lafayette and the next year established Der Deutsch-Amerikaner, a German newspaper, which he continued to publish until 1904, when failing health compelled him to retire. Besides writing for his own paper, he wrote many criticisms and magazine articles, occasionally using the pen name "P. Jordan." He translated, among other books, many of Gerstacker's novels and novels of Hacklander, as well as Muhlbach's Louise of Prussia and Her Times (Harper, 1888). In 1903 he wrote Famous Assassinations of History, which was published by McClurg. On March 5, 1908, he died at Lafayette.

† The novels translated by Francis Johnson from Gerstacker are given in Volume II of this book under Gerstacker's name. Here also are given several novels translated from the German whose author is not definitely known but who may be Grabowski.

† REFERENCES. R. P. deHart, Past and Present of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Indianapolis, 1909, I, 407-408; R. E. Banta, Indiana Authors and Other Booths. Crawfordsville, Ind., 1949, 168 (Adds nothing to deHart).

† Correction made as per Volume 3.