CAPE FEAR RIVER JOHNSTON/JOHNSON FAMILY

                                Part 2

     The following will was copied from the original will, #13, in  
    Dickson Co., TN, not from the copy transcribed in the will book.
    "Whereas Samuel Johnson of the State of Tennessee and county of  
    Dickson is in a Low State of helth But having a Sound mind and in  
    the full exercise of his Reson Makes his Last will and Testament as  
    follows "My Negro Elick I Leave to My Dear Wife polly while she  
    Lives and the Beds and hous furniture I give to my Wife to Dispose  
    of as she pleaseth allso one cow an yearlin heffer and all my hogs  
    for her to suport the family on.  The said Negro Elick after my  
    wife's Death I leave to my three sons William Johnson Dunkin  
    Johnson and James Johnson.  Allso I give my wife two mares a Brown  
    and a Duns allso give 50 acres of Land Lyin on the head of White  
    Oak Creek of Tennessee River to my two sons Dunkin and James and  
    after all my Depts is payed out of the monies Due to me By other  
    obligation and accounts the Balinces of said monies I want equally  
    Divided amongst all my Children.  Whereunto set My hand and seal  
    this 25th of March 1816                       Sam'l Johnson Seal
     Test
       William Givin Exacators
       John Epperson                     owes    )  James King
                                         the fees)  William Johnson
     January Term 1817 the last Will and Testament of Samuel Johnson  
     Deceased was this day produced in open Court and proven by the  
     Oathes of William Given & John Epperson and ordered to be 
     received and Recorded.
          Jany 7, 1817                              Field Farror Clerk
 
     State of Tennessee)           January 25th 1817
     Dickson County    )           Then was the within
                Will Recorded in Book A page 30 & 31
                                   Field Farror Clk
 
     CFR lists other children for Samuel.  I wonder if they are  
     included in "all my children" which he does not name or are the  
     three sons "all my children"?
 
     On the deed in Bk. 34, p. 194, Bladen Co., NC, Samuel includes  
     this statement, "In witness whereof the said Sam'l Johnston hath  
     hereunto set his hand and seal the day and year first above  
     written reserves to him & his heirs and family connection one  
     eighth acre of land including the grave yard which land by the  
     agreement of the parties is to remain same for a burying ground."  
     I do not know whether this grave yard still exists but probably it  
     was lost 150 years ago.  I wonder if this reservation is still  
     legal?

    21 William JOHNSON listed in father's will.  There is a William in  
       the 1820 Census of Dickson Co., age 18 to 26, wife age 16 to 26,  
       1 dau. under 10.  In the 1830  he was age 20 to 30, wife age 20  
       to 30, 2 dau. under 5, 1 dau. 10 to 15.  In the 1830 is also a  
       Wm. and wife age 20 to 30.
    22 James JOHNSON is listed in father's will.
       (At this time I have no direct evidence that this James is a  
        brother of our Duncan but I do have good circumstantial  
        evidence and have found no other persons in the counties who  
        could fit into these facts.  People have been hung on such  
        evidence.  That is pretty positive.  Starting with the  
        following  statement, I worked down the steps to some new  
        information.)  "The Johnsons and Stewarts of Calhoun Co., MS,  
        have long called each other cousin; Robert Stewart and his  
        wife, Caroline, were Cousin Bob and Cousin Calline" (no "r"  
        pronounced).

        1. Robert C. Stewart and wife Calline M. b. Mar 1842 AL, 1900  
           Cen. Calhoun Co., MS.
        2. Robert Stewart and wife Mary C. age 38 b. AL, 1880 Cen.  
           Calhoun Co.
        3. Robt. Stewart and wife Mary age 31 b. AL, 1870 Cen., Bibb  
           Co., AL.
        4. Robert E. Stewart m. Caroline Johnson July 28, 1861 Bibb  
           Co., Marr. Bk E, 1850-1868, p. 291, Bibb Co., AL.
        5. Harriett Johnson age 38 b. Tenn. ) 1850 Census Bibb Co.,  
           Fam. #1048    Caraline Johnson age  7 b. AL.  )
                         Pleasant Rice    age  1 b. AL  )
           (I had found this census many years ago because this  
            Pleasant Rice was the son of Duncan's deceased daughter  
            Mary Freeman (Johnson) Rice.  I have wondered many times  
            who was this Harriett.  The name was not in our family that  
            I knew of.  I wondered why was not Duncan's grandson with  
            some of his family?)
        6. James Johnson m. Harriett Tate Feb. 13, 1841, Bibb Co. Marr.  
           Bk D, p. 189, by David L. Brown, J.P.  (Samuel TATE in his  
           will listed his dau. Harriett Johnson.  As James is not in  
           the 1850 census, he probably died.)  Harriet is listed with  
           two children, one is Duncan's grandson and the other is  
           Caroline.
        7. A James Johnson is listed in CFR as a brother of a Duncan.
        8. If Caroline was James's dau. and James was a brother of  
           Duncan, then this would make Caroline a cousin (first) of  
           Joshua West, which was the family tradition that we started  
           with.  There are no other persons in Bibb Co., that could  
           fit all these relationships.  There is no person named James  
           in the Bibb census from 1820 through 1850.  James might have  
           been missed by the census taker or recently moved from TN,  
           or another county, when he m. Harriett.  This is more  
           circumstantial evidence for Duncan being a son of Samuel.

    23 Duncan JOHNSON b. 1797 Bladen Co., NC, d. 30 Oct 1877 Banner,         
       Calhoun Co., MS, bur. Banner Cem., m(1) 14 Mar 1820 Cahawba Co.,  
       Letty MORRIS b.c. 1801 SC, d. Spring 1835 Bibb Co., dau. of John  
       MORRIS and his wife Rebecca LEWIS, dau. of David LEWIS Jr. and  
       his 2nd wife Elizabeth LOCKHART of Spartanburg Co., SC.  He m(2)  
       11 Feb 1845 Bibb Co., Sarah (DICKERSON) PRATT, widow of Hopkins  
       PRATT who died in 1841 and is bur. in the Pratt-Wallace Cem. at    
       River Bend.  Her children by Hopkins are listed with Duncan in  
       the 1850 and 1860 Censuses but in 1850 they are given the name  
       JOHNSON in error.  Before I found the 1845 marriage license,  
       this wife and these children were difficult to place.  These  
       names were unknown in the family.  Maybe this wasn't my Duncan,  
       BUT there is only one in the county.  The marriage license and  
       two letters written back to Bibb Co. by Mollie (GLASS) DEW  
       reminiscing about old times, referring to "Old Uncle Duncan  
       JOHNSON was there" cleared up any confusion.  I have not been  
       able to find any mention of Sarah after the 1860 census.  She  
       might have died before the family went to MS in 1866.  There has  
       been no mention of a wife of Duncan coming to MS with them or of  
       one being buried with him at Banner.  Aunt Angie never mentioned  
       her to my mother.  Aunt Angie was about 12 at the 1860 census  
       and certainly would have known her step-grandmother.  She would  
       not have known any other grandmother.  Possibly she did not like  
       her and later refused to mention her.  Another strange thing is  
       that as of 1859 when Joshua West Johnson sent all of the family  
       information to Wm. Terrell LEWIS and mentioned that Duncan's  
       wife Letty had died in 1835, there was NO mention that Duncan  
       had married again in 1845 and that then, 1859, he still was  
       living with his wife Sarah.  We know this as Sarah was listed in  
       the 1860 census with two children named Pratt.  The Lewis  
       ancestry of Letty MORRIS may be found on pages 209-210 of The  
       Genealogy of the Lewis Family in America, by Wm. Terrell Lewis,  
       1893.
 
       Duncan was not the first to ask for the hand of Letty.  In the  
       Loose Papers of Bibb Co., I found the following note,
               March the 29   1819
               Sir  Please to let luke Johnson have
               lison, an you will obblige
               yours
               Trully       John Morris
                Anar  Tate  (what does this mean?)(a wit. named Anna  
               Tate?)
 
       Marriage Bond - 29 March 1819, Territory of Alabama, Cahaba Co.
                        Luke Johnston to Letty Morris

       But 10 days later is found :
       Marriage Bond -8 April 1819 Territory of Alabama, Cahaba Co.
                       Luke Johnston to Anah Helms.

       Luke did marry Anah, and so the next record was possible:
       Marriage license - 14 March 1820 State of Alabama, Cahawba Co.
          Dunken Johnston to Letty Morris  - performed by Joshua West    
          M.G.
       I wonder - Did Letty get "cold feet"?, did Anah have a bigger  
       dowry?, was Luke just fickle? or?  We will never know.
 
       Duncan and Letty were married by the early Methodist minister,  
       Joshua WEST and I am sure that is where Duncan's son got his  
       name.  This caused me to wonder about the denominational  
       affiliation of our ancestors.  The Lewises were long time  
       members of the Church of England in VA.  Rebecca Lewis could  
       have brought John MORRIS into that church or possibly he was a  
       member already.  The census says Duncan could not read.  If so,  
       he would not know how his name was spelled on his marriage  
       license.  Since it was spelled Dunkin Johnston, I think that was  
       probably the way he pronounced it.  Maybe the closest Letty   
       could get to the Episcopal Church on the AL frontier would be  
       the Methodists.  Cousin Maria said that Joshua West remained a  
       Methodist while his wife and most of his children went to the  
       Baptist church.  Ron Johnson has found that Duncan was a Sunday  
       School leader for many years in the Methodist Church.  This  
       leader would be the same as teacher in Baptist churches.                                                       
 
       Duncan was listed as a charge customer of James C. C. Wiley in  
       his account book in Centreville before 1829.  See p. 237, Bibb  
       County, Alabama, The First Hundred Years 1818-1918, by Ellison.   
       He also was a patient of Dr. David R. Boyd in 1829, p. 25, the  
       original ledger is in the Centreville-Brent Library.  It was  
       pub. in 1993, by Chester R. Johnson as, The Wiley-Boyd Ledger,  
       Before 1823 - 1839.  Duncan was listed in Wiley's index.  The  
       actual pages of Wiley's ledger were cut out long ago probably by  
       Dr. Boyd before he started to use the ledger.  Dr. Boyd kept  
       Wiley's index and added his patient to it.  We are fortunate  
       that Wiley's index was not cut out also.  The index is missing  
       the letters B, C, E, F, M, N. for both Wiley and Boyd.  Duncan  
       was a petient in 1829.  I used his patient page as the photo  
       cover for my book.
 
       Duncan was listed in his father's will as Dunkin and inherited  
       1/2 ownership in 50 acres in Dickson Co., TN and 1/3 ownership  
       in a slave named Elick, to be received after his mother's death.   
       I have not found what happened to the land or the slave Elick.
 
       Kate (Johnson) Cannon had a tintype of Duncan wearing a small  
       derby.  This was copied in a large (12x16) charcoal? portrait  
       without the hat.  I have seen two copies of this.  Kate had one.   
       I have photographed her tintype and portrait.
 
       Since the CFR book only mentions that Samuel had a son named  
       Duncan and that he went to AL, the following data is offered to  
       prove this relationship.  Samuel of the CFR family moved from  
       Bladen Co., NC to Dickson Co., TN, c. l807.  Duncan is shown in  
       the 1850 and 1860 census of Bibb Co., as b. 1797 NC.  Trad. said  
       Duncan came to AL from TN.  CFR says Samuel and his family moved  
       to AL.  As Samuel died in Dickson Co., he did not move.  But  
       Duncan was in Bibb Co. in Mar 1820 and married there.  CFR says  
       Samuel m. Polly FREEMAN.  Duncan named his dau. Mary Freeman.   
       Polly is a nickname for Mary.  I think I can show beyond  
       resonable doubt that Cousin Caroline is a dau. of James JOHNSON.   
       CFR says Duncan had a brother James.  Here is a James in Bibb  
       Co. with a dau. Caroline who could be a first cousin of Joshua  
       West.  There are no known Freemans in Letty's family.  I know  
       quite a bit about her LEWIS line.  I know nothing about her  
       father's family, the MORRISes.   
         
       Finally there are NO other Duncan JOHNS(T)ONs in the AL census  
       1820 - 1860.
 
       Also in Harriet Johnson's household was Pleasant RICE, son of  
       Duncan's dau. Mary Freeman (JOHNSON) RICE who had d. in 1849.  I  
       have found no other persons named Duncan, James or Caroline who  
       could fit all of these situations.
 
       The 1850 and 1860 censuses say that he cannot read or write.   
       Another researcher told me that one man she found that was  
       marked "can't read or write" also had in the margin that he had  
       a broken thumb.  If a man was now blind, he could be so marked.   
       That does not mean that he didn't know how.
 
       Sarah PRATT is on a list of members of Schultz Creek Baptist   
       Church inserted between the minutes of Feb. 1844 and April 1844.   
       There was no entry of the March minutes.  Saturday before the  
       5th Sabbath in June 1844 Sister Pratt was received by letter.   
       In a list of members dated 1856, Sarah Johnson is listed  
       immediately after Mary Pratt.  Mary Pratt was her sister.  See  
       Shultz Creek Church Book by Chester R. Johnson.           

     231 Joshua West JOHNSON b. 21 Feb 1821 Bibb Co., AL, d. 29 Jun  
         1900 Banner, Calhoun Co., MS, m. 11 Dec 1845 Bibb Co.,  
          Maria(h)BLAKE b. 23 Feb 1826 Bibb Co., d. 8 Jul 1910 Banner,  
         both bur. Spring Creek Cem., Calhoun Co.  Maria(h) was a dau.  
         of Archibald Henry BLAKE Sr. and his wife Theodocia PRATT (see  
         The Blakes of Bibb County, Alabama 1819-1988, by Chester R.  
         Johnson. 
 
         All of my life I have heard it said that they had 13 children.   
         So it was a surprise when I found in their census record of  
         1900 and 1910 Mariah told the census taker that she had had 14  
         children, 12 of which were still living.  Theodocia Frances  
         had died in Texas in 1895 with no surviving children.  The  
         existance of another child was not known in the family until  
         on 1 April [not a joke] 1999, I received a copy of the letter  
         that Joshua West Johnson wrote on 17 July 1859 to Wm. Terrell  
         Lewis about his family.  Joshua West was living in  
         Scottsville, Bibb Co., and Wm. Terrell Lewis was living in  
         Louisville, Winston Co., MS.  These letters have just been  
         found in the AL State Archives in Montgomery.   A son was born  
         between 6 May 1852 and 26 Jun 1855, only lived three days, and  
         was not named. 
 
         Kate (Johnson) Cannon had Joshua West's Bible.  It only lists  
         13 children by name.  It did not list the infant son.  All of  
         the family record section is complete but the title page, plus  
         a few more, are missing.  Ron Johnson has Uncle Lattimer's  
         Bible and it is identical and complete.  They were most likely  
         bought at the same time.
 
         Joshua West was a farmer in both AL and MS.  He was initiated  
         and Passed in 1871 in Dallas Lodge #319, Dallas, Lafayette  
         Co., MS, (Tocopola P.O.), Raised to Master Mason in the same  
         lodge in 1872 and demitted the same year to the Banner Lodge  
         #329 Banner, Calhoun Co., MS.  This Masonic record shows that  
         when the Johnsons came from AL, they spent about 5 years in  
         Lafayette Co., before finally settling in Calhoun Co.)  He  
         served as Junior Warden in 1873 and a member from 1874 until  
         demitting in 1877.  He was reported Non - Affiliated, Paid, in  
         1886.  He reaffiliated with the Banner Lodge in 1887 and was  
         a member until 1894 when he was suspended for non-payment of  
         dues.  He was reinstated in 1898 and was a mem. until he died  
         30 Jun 1900.
 
         During the short existence of the Banner College at Banner,  
         Joshua West Johnson was one of the trustees and advisory  
         council.  A catalogue for the first year, 1887-1888, was found  
         by Jimmy Johnson of Oxford among the items in the estate of  
         Eudora Welty which he purchased.  He furnished me with a copy.   
         The college only lasted 3 years.  I checked with the Library  
         of the Univ. of MS, in Oxford, about catalogues of other years  
         but they did not know of the existence of any catalogue of any  
         year.  With Jimmy's approval, I let them copy my copy for  
         their educational archives.  They were delighted with Jimmy's  
         find.  Family members listed among the students were: Sidney  
         Brantly, Rosana Cobb, Luther Cobb, Will Johnson, and Mack  
         Johnson.
 
         His wife's tombstone says he was a Capt. (in the Confederate  
         Army).  Aunt Angie Brantley said that she remembered him  
         drilling men up and down the streets of Centreville.  She was  
         13 years old in 1861.  The Confederate records of many states  
         are incomplete and I have not yet found any record of him  
         being in the Confederate Army.  Possibly he in a militia  
         company that recruited soldiers.  Cousin Maria said in her  
         book that he recruited men of the area and they elected him  
         their officer, that they served with Clanton's Division  
         throughout the Civil War.  I have not found any mention of  
         this group in the records of Clanton's Division.  This does  
         not mean that it is not true as the records are incomplete.   
         He was 45 and had 10 children at that time, 1 died at birth.    
         The AL Confederate Archives show only a J. W. Johnson who was  
         21 in 1862 and was not from Bibb Co.
 
 [Continued in Part 3]


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Chester R. Johnson / Fort Worth, TX / cjohnson@fastlane.net