Eighth Generation (Continued)
Family of Silas Johnson (590) & Abigail 'Nabby' Rhodes

1107. Elizabeth S. Johnson (Silas7, Simeon6, Moses5, Joseph4, Nathaniel3, Humphrey2, John1). Born Dedham, Mass., on 20 Nov 1805. Died Rochester, Vt., on 29 Aug 1867. Buried Brookside Cemetery, Leicester, Vt.

Their home was later referred to at the Robertson Place on the Crossroad leading "Over East."

Sources: "Annals of Silas and Abigail Johnson Assoc." Leicester, Vermont.

She married Verras Stanley, on 25 Feb 1836 in Leicester, Vt. Born in 1803. Died on 23 May 1860. Buried Brookside Cemetery, Leicester, Vt.

Died at age 66-6.

They had the following children:

 1370 i.  Abby E. (-1892)

1371 ii.  Jane Eliza (1840-1919)

1108. Abigail Johnson (Silas7, Simeon6, Moses5, Joseph4, Nathaniel3, Humphrey2, John1). Born Dedham, Mass., on 2 Mar 1807. Died Westfield, N.Y., on 2 Jul 1888.

Abigail died a little less than 8 weeks before her husband, after 58 years of married life.

Sources: Family Census, Leicester, Vt. 1850-1870.

She married Russell Sunderlin, on 3 Mar 1832. Born Poultney, Vt., on 1 Sep 1806. Died Westfield, N.Y., on 25 Aug 1888.

Of Bridgeport, Vt. and Westfield, N.Y. Russell Sunderland engaged in the wheelwright business. "Ile was one of the most enterprising citizens of Westfield. He was Constable and deputy sheriff, always faithful, efficient and honest in the performance of his official duties, and had the entire confidence of the law abiding citizens."

They had the following children:
i.  Wallace. Died Leicester, Vt., in 1835. Buried Brookside Cemetery, Leicester, Vt.
Possibly died on a visit to Vermont. Buried in his Grandfather's lot.


ii.  Mariah A..
She married Henry Grannis.

Civil War veteran. Probably resided in Westfield, N.Y.

1372 iii.  Edwin

1109. Silas Stone Johnson Jr. (Silas7, Simeon6, Moses5, Joseph4, Nathaniel3, Humphrey2, John1). Born Roxbury, Mass., on 19 Mar 1809. Died Portage, Wis., on 22 Jan 1891.

Willis and Silas Henry, sons of Willard, spent a good part of their youth with Sarah and Silas Stone Johnson Jr. aunt and uncle. The latter, of retiring disposition, was highly respected for his integrity and his charity. His wife had an extremely fine mind, and was influential in getting legal proof of the "Rhodes Fortune" recorded under Moses. Soon after Moses' death, Silas Jr.'s house burned down, destroying the remaining legal papers, so laboriously collected. In later years Moses twin, Abigail, and later still her Son Edwin, endeavored to assemble them again. It would be most interesting to get together all the threads of family tradition in regard to the Rhodes Estate.

Sources: "Annals of Silas and Abigail Johnson Assoc." Leicester, Vermont.

He married Sarah T. Tower, on 30 Nov 1836. Born Shoreham, Vt., in 1811. Died Portage, Wis., in Oct 1899.

Resided at Shoreham, Vt. when married.

They had one child:
i.  Albro Silas. Born Leicester, Vt., on 31 Oct 1842. Died Portage, Wis., on 7 Sep 1899.

1110. Willard Rhodes Johnson (Silas7, Simeon6, Moses5, Joseph4, Nathaniel3, Humphrey2, John1). Born Roxbury, Mass., on 1 Feb 1811. Died Eureka, Wis., on 24 Oct 1897. Buried Eureka, Wis.

Willard Rhodes, born in Roxbury, Mass., spent his later boyhood in Leicester, Vermont, with his parents. After his marriage, the couple joined the stream of emigrants to the new west. They first settled in Ohio, for about eight years. Again they started westward and stopped at Eagle, Wis., where they lived for five years, until his wife's parents came from Vermont to a farm near Eureka, Wis., in Winnebago Co. Willard and his family, with covered wagon and yoke of oxen, since there were yet no railroads, then made the trip across the state to Eureka. As a citizen he was highly respected, endowed with the truly essential characteristics that are requisite for the true American type of manhood, and trained his children to steadfastness and conscientious performance of life's duties.

Sources: "Annals of Silas and Abigail Johnson Assoc." Leicester, Vermont. 1947, p. 10.

He married Louisa Marie Coates, daughter of Stephen Coates & Belinda Palmer, on 14 Jan 1838. Born Shoreham, Vt., on 5 Nov 1820. Died Pittsville, Wisc., on 13 Jul 1900. Buried Eureka, Wis.

Her father, Stephen Coates, b. Aug. 15, 1791, Ticonderoga; d. June 2, 1867, Eureka, Wis.; m. April 28, 1819 at Shoreham, Vt. to Belinda (Husted) (Palmer); b. July 12, 1799; d. Eureka, Wis. Jan. 16, 1886 who was born on a plantation on the Susquehanna in Penn. of Quaker parents who freed their slaves 30 years before the Civil War.

SML Comment: A descendant of Stephen Coates and Belinda Palmer provided this information in August 2004: Stephen Coates married Belinda Palmer, who was born in Bristol, Addison County, Vermont 12 July 1798, and died 16 Jan 1886 in Eureka, Winnebago County, Wisconsin, where she is also buried alongside Stephen. Her parents were Amos Palmer (born 17 Dec 1757 Nine Partners, Duchess County, New York, died Bristol 18 March 1814) and Catherine Husted (born 13 April 1763, died Shoreham, Addison County, Vermont 1 Aug 1841).

They had the following children:

 1373 i.  Eliza E. (1842-1914)


ii.  Charles Edwin. Born Hamden, Ohio, on 17 Aug 1845. Died Alroona, Ga., on 10 Mar 1864.
Died on Battlefield in Civil War, 18th Wis. Infantry.

1374 iii.  Warren Rhodes (1847-1925)

1375 iv.  Rollin Ronaldo (1850-1917)

1376 v.  Willis Stone (1852-)

1377 vi.  Lilly D. (1855-1929)


vii.  Etta. Born on 16 Jan 1857. Died on 3 Mar 1857.

1378 viii.  Silas Henry (1858-)

1379 ix.  Ida May (1861-1941)

1111. Sabillah E. Johnson (Silas7, Simeon6, Moses5, Joseph4, Nathaniel3, Humphrey2, John1). Born Dedham, Mass., on 1 Feb 1813. Died Westfield, N.Y., on 19 Mar 1888.

The name "Sibellah" made its first appearance in the Johnson history doubtless when Silas' grandfather, Moses, was married to Sabilla Plympton at Holliston, Mass. in 1732. Different family records give various spellings for the name. In the first syllable an a, e, i or y may be used; the second syllable bel or bil, and the last is la or lah. This daughter was also called Sybil or Se or Sibbetha.

Sources: "Annals of Silas and Abigail Johnson Assoc." Leicester, Vermont. 1947, pp. 15, 16, 17 & 18.

She married Ralph Sweet. Born Westfield, N.Y., on 7 May 1815. Died Westfield, N.Y., on 9 Apr 1869.

They had one child:

 1380 i.  Emma (1841-1880)

1112. William Johnson (Silas7, Simeon6, Moses5, Joseph4, Nathaniel3, Humphrey2, John1). Born Roxbury, Mass., on 29 Apr 1815. Died Leicester, Vt., on 26 Jan 1871. Buried Brookside Cemetery, Vt.

SML Comment: Leicester, Vt. Census 1850, 1860, 1870.

He married Laverna White, daughter of David White & Mercy Morton, on 1 Dec 1836. Born Leicester, Vt., on 8 Oct 1817. Died Leicester, Vt., on 15 Jun 1877.

They had the following children:

 1381 i.  Harriet Gertrude (1837-1922)

1382 ii.  Janetta Elizabeth (1841-1892)

1383 iii.  Oscar William (1842-1928)

1384 iv.  Julia Mercy (1854-1939)

1113. Abner Enos Johnson (Silas7, Simeon6, Moses5, Joseph4, Nathaniel3, Humphrey2, John1). Born Roxbury, Mass., on 18 Oct 1817.

Abner in his young manhood, accidentally lost the sight of one eye. In appearance he was of medium height, with brown eyes; his habitual expression was stern and he had a somewhat irascible temper, but be possessed a very kindly disposition and had a special fondness for children. Besides farming, he followed the old time occupation of shaving shingles by hand. He was captain of the home guard in the Civil War, and the long red scarf and the fife, which he used on duty, are heirlooms in the family.

Sources: Leicester, Vermont Cemetery Inscriptions (Brookside Cemetery).
Montpelier, Vermont Records.
"Annals of Silas and Abigail Johnson Assoc." Leicester, Vermont. Beulletin 6, 1947, pp. 15, 18.

He married Laura Clark, on 22 Apr 1846. Born Pittsford, Vt., on 12 Aug 1817. Died Leicester, Vt., in Aug 1888.

They had the following children:

 1385 i.  Ione Elizabeth (1847-1923)

1386 ii.  George Wallace (1850-)


iii.  Frank. Born Salisbury, Vt., on 24 Apr 1852.

1387 iv.  Austin (1855-1925)

1388 v.  Martha Luella (1857-1896)


vi.  Julius Clark. Born W. Arlington, Vt., on 27 Oct 1859. Died Leicester, Vt., on 13 Aug 1865.


vii.  Alice Jane. Born on 29 Jul 1862. Died Leicester, Vt., on 9 Aug 1865.

1114. George W. Johnson (Silas7, Simeon6, Moses5, Joseph4, Nathaniel3, Humphrey2, John1). Born Leicester, Vt., on 7 Dec 1820. Died Leicester, Vt., on 24 Feb 1892.

Sources: "Annals of Silas and Abigail Johnson Assoc." Leicester, Vermont. Bulletin 6-1947, p. 18.

He married Mary Bartlett.

Of Port Chester, N.Y.

They had one child:
i.  Emma.
An adopted niece. She lived with her foster parents even after her own marriage, and kept her Uncle George's house when his wife, Mary, died. When be suffered a stroke of paralysis, his brother Darwin brought him back to Vermont to live in the old "Red House" in Leicester.

She married John Tennyson.

Possibly related to the poet.

1115. Almon Dunbar Johnson (Silas7, Simeon6, Moses5, Joseph4, Nathaniel3, Humphrey2, John1). Born Leicester, Vt., on 9 Oct 1823. Died W. Salisbury, Vt., on 9 Oct 1913.

Almon was station agent for the Rutland Railroad for forty years, upright and honest.

He married Adaline Church, daughter of Charles F. Church & Minlenda Eaton, on 13 Sep 1855 in Whiting, Vt. Born Hancock, Vermont, on 9 Sep 1834. Died Rutland, Vt., on 16 Mar 1919.

They had the following children:
i.  Mary Susan. Born Salisbury, Vt., on 10 Jun 1856. Died Salisbury, Vt., on 5 Jun 1874.

1389 ii.  Martha A. 'Mattie' (1866-)

1116. Darwin Johnson (Silas7, Simeon6, Moses5, Joseph4, Nathaniel3, Humphrey2, John1). Born Leicester, Vt., on 7 Nov 1829. Died Leicester, Vt., on 13 Apr 1920. Buried Brookside Cemetery, Leicester, Vt.

The following history is from the Johnson Annals of the Silas and Abigail Johnson Association:
One of Darwin's first chores was on the Rutland railroad. Water for the engines in those days, came to the railroad yards in smaller towns, from nearby springs via acqueducts made out of hollow pine logs. It was his job to make periodical trips to inspect and repair those aqueducts over a route extending from Shelbourne to Chester or Bellows Falls, Vt.
In the war of the Rebellion, Darwin was a volunteer soldier and served nearly two years or until it ended. He went to Pittsford, Vermont, to enlist before the draft of '64, in order that his wife, left at home with two little girls, besides a two month old baby Jeanette, should have the benefit of $100 bounty given to men who volunteered. He enlisted Dec. 7, 1863, in the first Vermont Artillery, battery C. 2nd Brigade, in the Army of the Potomac, and was mustered into the service of the U.S. Army five days later. He entrained at Brattleboro, Dec. 18, and at Christmas was stationed at Fort Stevens, just below Washington, D.C., which it protected from the Confederate Force on the opposite side of the river. He belonged to the 11th Vermont Reg. called the "heavy 11th" because of their weapons, and also because of the fact that every man was over six feet tall.
He had the memory of a visit from President Lincoln to this force. While inspecting the cannon placements, Lincoln jumped tip on the rather low parapet overlooking the river. The officer in charge suggested that the President's tall figure made a perfect target for a Confederate bullet. But Lincoln was indifferent to the warning. At last the officer gave the definite order, "As commander of this fort, I must command you to use the protection of this fort, and not so unnecessarily expose to danger, the President of the Union." Lincoln's slow smile came then, as be stepped down from the embankment, but he said, "You forget that I am Commander-in-Chief of the Union Army."
Darwin recalls Sheridan's famous ride from "Winchester twenty miles away." As a convalescent from sickness, Darwin was stationed at Winchester with the duties of an orderly. To him it was an honor that he equipped and brought out the fiery black steed which Sheridan mounted for the dash that stemmed the Confederate menace to Washington and turned the defeat of Cedar Creek into Union Victory.
Company C. entered Richmond, Virginia after its surrender. One of the men was a printer, who, with a few comrades, entered a print shop and hurried to set up a little news sheet. Darwin's copy was sent to the Sheldon Museum at Middlebury, Vermont.
Darwin was representative of Leicester in the State Legislature of 1876 where he served on a special committee of Military Affairs.
His diaries of 1854 and of the Civil War period and some of his account books still exist, in Bristol, Vermont, in care of Anna Cooley, his grand-daughter.
He possessed that interesting inherited characteristic of the Johnson family, fine brown hair which never turns gray.

He married Melvina Fortier, daughter of Lewis Fortier & Mary LaFountain, on 3 Dec 1857. Born LaPierre, Canada, on 28 Aug 1841. Died Leicester, Vt., on 4 Oct 1928. Buried Brookside Cemetery, Leicester, Vt.

They had the following children:
i.  Mary Fortier.


ii.  Lenora M.. Born Leicester, Vt., on 11 Dec 1858. Died Leicester, Vt., on 15 Aug 1937.
She married Frank E. Gambell, on 11 Nov 1891. Born Goshen, Vt., on 18 Sep 1860. Died on 26 Dec 1937. Buried Brookside Cemetery, Vt.

1390 iii.  Emma Jane (1860-1937)


iv.  Janette W.. Born Leicester, Vt., on 17 Oct 1863. Died Leicester, Vt., on 14 Jun 1946. Buried Brookside Cemetery, Leicester, Vt.
See Annals of Silas and Abigail Rhodes Johnson, Bristol, Vt., Bulletin #5, page 6: "Her interest in the Silas Johnson Association was not exceeded by that of anyone else, and she was alert to do whatever she could to promote its work.
"During both World Wars she was a most diligent Red Cross worker, cutting the work for the Leicester sewing in the first war, and sewing and knitting for the Putney Red Cross work in the last war.
"For more than twenty-five years preceding death, Nettie was almost totally deaf, yet she bravely carried on in such a courageous way as to leave a lasting influence for patient endurance of the vicissitudes of this life. She often quoted Whittier's words which she firmly believed:
'I know not where His islands lift
Their fronded palms in air;
I only know I cannot drift
Beyond His love and care'."

Sources: Annals of Silas and Abigail Johnson Assoc., Bristol, Vt., Bulletin #6, 1947, p. 19.


v.  Julius Darwin. Born Leicester, Vt., on 27 Dec 1867. Died Leicester, Vt., on 13 Feb 1872.
Res. Putney, Vt.

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