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Note: he parents of William and Thomas Johnson.
No connections have been found with any Johnsons in Kanawha County, West Virginia (the birthplace of Thomas according to his Civil War Draft papers) who could be connected as parents. In case the parents moved to Lawrence County, Ohio with William and Thomas documents have been checked there. There are no wills in Lawrence County for the period 1825-1850 by a male Johnson naming a William or Thomas as heirs. The Gallia County, Ohio (the parent County of Lawrence County) Historical Society and the Kanawha County, West Virginia Historical Society also have no wills for the same. [On re reading these notes in 2018, I give pause to question how carefully or thoroughly I searched for said wills].
The entire 1850 Lawrence County census has been searched manually for a male or female Johnson of the appropriate age (parents would have been born around 1790 and possibly in Virginia) living in Lawrence County. There are no couples or single individuals of that age (though some are close) or surname living in Lawrence County on the 1850 census. The missing link may be my inability to find William Johnson and his wife Mahala on the 1850 Lawrence County census. They should appear, as they were in residence there and had children born as early as 1839 and DO appear on the 1860 Lawrence County census. Neighboring counties have been checked and the unusual name of Mahala Johnson along with the unusual children's names have been used as a search nationwide on Ancestry census listing to no avail. Perhaps variations on surname spelling might work. If William is found, it might be likely that an aged parent could be living with him.
In attempting to reconstruct the early family of William Johnson (his parents and siblings) Thomas Johnson, living in Lawrence township, Lawrence County, was long a person of interest as a brother. He was born between 1812 and 1815 according to the 1850, 1860, and 1870 Lawrence County census records on which William is listed on the 1860 and 1870, which would put him in the position of older sibling. Another important connection is that Thomas' son, Robert Johnson, married Emily J. McKnight, the step child of William Johnson and daughter of Serilda Ann Martin (William's second wife) and James H. McKnight. Another further connection is finding William Johnson living next door to this same Robert Johnson (presumably his nephew) and Eliza Johnson, widow (presumably his sister in law), in the 1880 Lawrence County census. In addition, I found 1 selling of land purchased by Thomas and Eliza Johnson in 1858 for 86 acres in sec. 22, twp 3, range 17 but no transaction of where he bought this piece. Therefore, I checked the online land patent site at: http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx#searchByTypeIndex=0&searchTabIndex=0
and typed in Thomas for Lawrence Co., Ohio. This is where he got the land on 8-5-1837. I then cross-referenced land patents for William Johnson in Lawrence and he sold some land on the exact same date, and same sec, twp, and range as Thomas, so we know for sure that piece bought by Thomas was William's. Thomas is also buried near William in the same small rural Ross Cemetery in Lawrence County, Ohio. Thomas Johnson also named his first son William. Another interesting point is that Robert named a later son Benjamin, which could be after a grandfather, as there is a Benjamin Johnson in the 1830 and 1840 Lawrence County census. While there is no primary evidence, it is on this strong and consistent circumstantial evidence that I have added Thomas as a brother of William Johnson.
According to both (2) of Thomas, Sr.'s discharge papers from the Civil War, he was born in Kanawha Co., WV. He served first in Co. C, 5th WV Inf., then reenlisted with his sons, in Co. G., 1st WV Inf. In 2018 I discovered I have lost this document which cites birthplace as Kanawha County, but this service is confirmed by "United States Records of Headstones of Deceased Union Veterans, 1879-1903," database with images, <i>FamilySearch</i> (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V6HW-3Q5 : 12 March 2018), Thomas Johnson, 01 Nov 1875; citing , Lawrence, Ohio, NARA microfilm publication M1845 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 11; FHL microfilm 2,155,586.
Name Thomas Johnson
Event Type Cemetery
Event Date 01 Nov 1875
Event Place Lawrence, Ohio
On consulting the original further data says 'Thomas Johnson, Private, Co. C, 5th Reg., West Virginia Inf., cemetery Perry Tp., Lawrence County, OH, death March 1 1875.'
As Thomas' discharge papers list his birthplace as Kanawha County, Virginia, that would be a logical place to begin to look for civil or church marriage and birth records among Johnsons during the period 1800-1820. Another note of interest relating to the origins of the family is an entry on the 1930 Scioto County, Ohio census report for William's daughter, Nancy Ellen Johnson Moore. In that census the birthplace of her father is listed as Virginia, Nancy Ellen presumably being the source for that information. While William's birthplace is always listed as Ohio on census records during his life, that may be carelessness, and Nancy's reporting of the birthplace of her father as Virginia could confirm or point to Kanawha County again. Further complicating this, is the entry on the 1880 Lawrence County, Ohio census for William Johnson which states his father was born in Ohio and his mother in Virginia. While information on census records must often be taken with reservation, this family was a particularly complicated one to record, both partners having mutual children, as well as children from former marriages in the household, all with different places of birth. On this particular census the census taker entered all data correctly for this convoluted family (many step children and half brothers and sisters), so the distinction between Ohio and Virginia for the birthplaces of the father and mother of William Johnson should be strongly considered.
Any strong search for the father of William and Thomas should include searches between 1810 and 1830 in Kanawha County, West Virginia and Gallia and Lawrence County, Ohio (Gallia County due to the fact that Lawrence was not created until 1816 and was created out of Gallia).
I feel a strong candidate for the father of William and Thomas Johnson would be Benjamin Johnson, found in the 1810 Kanawha County, Virginia census, the 1820 Gallia County census and the 1830 Lawrence County census, assuming this is the same Benjamn. In the 1820 Gallia census Benjamin, Perry (a name also found in Kanawha County) and a William Johnson are living next door to each other as householders. The names varies from Johnson to Johnston. Future research will no doubt bring the relationships to light.
Another point to consider while searching is that Thomas' name is spelled "Johnson" in the 1860 and 1870 Lawrence County census, but is spelled "Johnston" in the 1850 Lawrence County census. Both spellings should be searched.
Note: As of May, 2014 no information has been found giving the identity of t
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