Biography of Robert Johnson, first mayor of Hometown, Indiana From Chapter 3 The death of Rebecca and her newborn baby—a son, whose name would have been Peter—impacted all of the Johnson children. Katherine, who was not yet three, and William, who was only seven, cried for their mother constantly. Charles was similarly inconsolable. He maintained the farm and never failed to provide financially for his remaining family, despite the difficult economic times the nation currently faced. Yet, while his achievements as a provider were notable, he lacked the ability to be a nurturer to his children. Even prior to his wife's death, Charles had been a relatively stoic figure, a product of his time. After Rebecca's passing, however, he became even more emotionally cut off from his family than ever before. Thus, it fell upon eight-year-old Robert to provide his younger siblings with the support they needed after their mother's death. The young boy was forced to grow up fast. As the eldest son, he had the responsibility of helping his father with a large portion of the work around the farm. His father also wanted his children to receive a proper education, so after finishing his morning work around the farm, Robert would accompany William to school. After returning from school in the afternoon, both boys helped their father with additional chores around the farm until evening, when Robert would relieve whichever neighbor had been tending to Katherine and take over the role of caretaker to his baby sister. Without a mother, the young girl had to settle for her brother's hapless attempts at playing house and braiding hair. But Robert doted on his baby sister, often referring to her as "his little flower," and did his best to supply the care and love she could no longer receive from their mother. Katherine responded in kind, coming to appreciate all that her brother did for her. As the story goes, even when she began attending school and the other girls teased her for having lopsided braids, she refused to have anyone but Robert braid her hair.