JOHNSON ANCESTRY
A Possible Johnson Ancestry
The primary sources on the Johnson Ancestry in England are
The Ancestors and Descendants of Ira and Abigail (Furbush)
Johnson, by Gerald G. Johnson, 1984-5, and Johnson and allied
families Herald, Sheila Vertrees, Editor. Information for
the line through Francis, son of Maurice Johnson, is based on
an article by Chuck Fitzgerald in Issue 55 of Heritage Quest
(p. 41-42), supplemented by additional information from various
undocumented sources, including digital compedia.
It is highly recommended that any search for the JOHNSON ancestry
begin with the detailed research presented in The Biography
and Genealogy of Captain John Johnson from Roxbury, Massachusetts,
by Gerald Garth Johnson (2000, Heritage
Books, Inc., Bowie, MD), available from the publisher. The
author summarizes and critiques a number of conjectures about
the JOHNSON roots, presenting abstracts from English records and
reaching to the conclusion that Capt. John JOHNSON's "ancestry
remains a mystery."
Caution: This ancestry JOHNSON in England requires source
documentation before it can be accepted for Capt. John JOHNSON.
With the extensive Hertfordshire connections of the HEATH family,
ancestors of Capt. John JOHNSON's wife's family, it may be that the JOHNSON
is also from Hertfordshire, rather than Kent. The following is
presented subject to verification. One clue, other than the location
of the HEATH family, may be the name Humphrey given to a son of
Capt. John Johnson and Mary Heath. This name has not been seen
among the known kin of Mary (Heath) Johnson, so may appear in the
early Johnson family.
The following are noted. Genealogies of Woodstock Families,
Volume Seven, by Clarence Winthrop Bowen (Worcester, MA 1943),
page 147: "John Johnson of Herne, co. Kent, England, came
with the Winthrop Fleet, 1630" - no documentation cited.
Capt. John Johnson Genealogy, by Paul Franklin Johnson
(Los Angeles, CA 1948), page 426: "John Johnson, son of John
Johnson, was born possibly in Wilmington Parish in Kent near London,
England, about 1590" - no documentation cited. "The
Heath Connection...", by Douglas Richardson, NEHGR,
146:270 (July 1992): "Thus, the question of John Johnson's
parentage and place of birth remains unanswered."
Whether or not this is the ancestry of Capt. John JOHNSON,
it is a very interesting lineage and may provide accurate ancestry
for other JOHNSON emigrants to New England. It would be an honor
to be descended from this family. Comments on the validity of
this line would be most welcome!!
Maurice and Jane (Lacy) Johnson
Maurice JOHNSON - b. about 1480, England; d. 1551, probably
at Stamford. His will, dated Feb. 20, 1551 and proved Oct. 19,
1551, requests that he be buried at All Hallows Parish, Stamford.
Maurice served Constable of Stamford (1507-8), chamberlain (1508-9),
member of the Second Twelve (1508-1512, member of the First Twelve
(1512-1551), mayor (1517-8, 1538-9), and as a Member of Parliament
from Stamford (1523, 1529, 1536). He had interests in both the
mercantile and maritime trades, and lived in All Hallows Parish,
Stamford, where he was assessed for subsidy in 1546. Maurice was
Catholic, and had a sister who married Robert SMITH of Standground,
Co. Hunts. His will gives the middle name of Morrice to his three
sons.
Jane LACY - b. and d. in England. Daughter of Henry
LACY of Stamford, England. Henry was a mayor of Stamford,
and a Member of Parliament in 1536. Except for the birth years
for Rev. Robert and Rev. Geoffrey, the order of birth of the children
of Maurice and Jane is uncertain.
Children of Maurice and Jane Johnson
- Geoffrey - b. 1525, possibly in Leicester;
bur. Sep. 28, 1585, Chapel of Wigston's Hospital, Leicester.
Son of Maurice and Jane.
- Katherine - d. Jan. 20, 1629. Married Edward OVERTON of Marcote,
Rutland.
- Francis - b. about 1530. Of Pinchbeck.
- Henry -
- Robert - b. 1540; d. Jul. 23, 1625. Archdeacon of the Church
of England. Chaplain to Sir Nicholas BACON, and Vicar of North
Luffenham for 50 years, he founded two schools and two hospitals
of Christ in Oakham and Uppingham, Rutland. Married three times,
first to Susanna DAVERS and second to Maria HIRD. Rev. Robert
and Maria were the parents of -
- Abraham - b. Jul. 6, 1577, North Luffenham, Rutland. Abraham
knew Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, Spanish and Italian by age
13, when he entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge. At about age
17 he studied law at Lincoln's Inn. Among other positions, he
was the Sheriff of Rutlandshire. Much family information appears
in a paper written by Abraham in 1638, including Abraham's opposition
to his son Isaac's marriage to Lady Arbella ("that over
high match"). Abraham also writes that Isaac "in his
covetousness and ambition, unnaturally got from him <Abraham>,
his father's <Robert's> whole estate", with the aid
of a clerk called "a lewd fellow, ...worthless, ...an enemy
to good ministers and religion and goodness." Abraham married
first Anna MEADOWS (daughter of Robert of Stamford), who was
the mother of Isaac, and died "ere she was 20 years old."
Abraham married, second, Elizabeth, only daughter of Dr. Laurence
CHADDERTON and Cicely CULVERWELL, first Master of Emmanuel College,
Cambridge, and one of the translators of the King James version
of the Bible. Abraham and Elizabeth were parents of Samuel, Ezekiel
(married and had daughter Anne), Daniel (perhaps married Martha
PARKER of Lynn, MA in 1674), James (married Mary and had Daughter
Hannah, who married Thomas Jackson), Nathaniel, Francis, and
Elizabeth (married Henry SALMON, of Cheshire and Vicar of Standground,
and had daughter Elizabeth). Abraham and Anna were the parents
Mary, who died in infancy, and of -
- Isaac JOHNSON (d. Sep. 30, 1630, Salem, MA) of Chilsham,
Co. Rutland, England and Boston, MA, who married Lady Arbella
FIENNES (d. Aug. 1630, Salem, MA), daughter of the 3rd Earl of
Lincoln, Thomas FIENNES and Elizabeth KNYVETT. Isaac JOHNSON
is mentioned in the first chapter of Nathaniel HAWTHORNE's The
Scarlet Letter (set in 1647; published 1850): "In accordance
with this rule, it may safely be assumed that the forefathers
of Boston had built the first prison-house, somewhere in the
vicinity of Cornhill, almost as seasonably as they marked out
the first burialground, on Isaac Johnson's lot, and round about
his grave, which subsequently became the nucleus of all the congregated
sepulchres in the old church-yard of King's Chapel." (Note:
This fictionalized account is probably inaccurate as to location,
as there is no evidence the Isaac JOHNSON was ever in Boston,
in life or in death.) Lady Arbella (FIENNES) JOHNSON, a descendant
of British royalty, provided the name for Gov. John WINTHROP's
flagship, the 'Arbella.' Her sister, Susan FIENNES, married,
as his third wife, Maj. Gen. John HUMPHREY, of Chaldon, Dorset,
England, founder of Lynn, MA, and Deputy Gov. of MA. (Anne HUMPHREY,
only surviving child of Maj. Gen. John's second marriage, to
Elizabeth PELHAM, married first William PALMES, and second Rev.
John MILES of Swansea, MA. Anne and Rev. John's son, Rev. Samuel
MYLES, was Rector of King's Chapel, Boston 1689-1728.)
- Margaret -
- Beatrice -
Sons of Maurice Johnson
Geoffrey and Bridgett (Harbottle) Johnson
Geoffrey JOHNSON - b. 1525, possibly in Leicester; bur.
Sep. 28, 1585, Chapel of Wigston's Hospital, Leicester. Son of
Maurice JOHNSON and Jane LACY. He attended
St. John's College, Cambridge, and became an Anglican priest of
the Church of England.
Bridgett HARBOTTLE - Daughter of Robert HARBOTTLE
and Emma FOWLER, and granddaughter of William FOWLER
of Humbledon, Co. Rutland. The order of birth of the children
of Geoffrey and Bridgett is uncertain.
Children of Geoffrey and Bridgett Johnson
- Samuel -
- Moses -
- John - b. about 1550, possibly in
Wilmington, Co. Kent.
- Rebecca -
- Susanna -
- Elizabeth -
- Sara -
- Anne -
- Alice - Married Mr. ROGERS (d. before Dec. 1643) of Bromley.
Francis and Elizabeth (Thorogood) Johnson
Francis JOHNSON - b. about 1530. Of Pinchbeck. Son of
Maurice JOHNSON and Jane LACY.
Elizabeth THOROGOOD - Daughter of Nicholas THOROGOOD
and Dorothy ALLEY.
Children of Francis and Elizabeth Johnson
- Francis - Married.
- John - b. about 1560.
Grandsons of Maurice Johnson
John and Alice Johnson
John JOHNSON - b. about 1550, possibly in Wilmington,
Co. Kent. Possibly the son of Geoffrey JOHNSON
and Bridgett HARBOTTLE. John's will was dated Dec. 14, 1643.
In it he names wife Alice, daughter Alice and husband John HOLMDEN,
daughter Joane, daughter Susan and husband Jeremy MANNING, and
sister Alice ROGERS. Lived at Wilmington Parish, Kent, England.
The home (called Barne End) which was the residence of the Johnson
family from 1590 to 1648, was originally built about 1460, had
a major addition in 1770, and still stands.
Alice -
Children of John and Alice Johnson
- Abraham - Lived and died in England.
- William - Perhaps the William JOHNSON who d. Dec. 9, 1677;
settled at Charlestown, MA; and had son James (b. 1643).
- Edward - b. Sep. 1598, Wilmington, Co. Kent; bap. Sep. 16,
1598, Canterbury, Co. Kent; d. Apr. 23, 1672, Woburn, MA. To
MA from Herne-Hill, Co., Kent, England. Freeman May 18, 1630;
member of artillery company 1637; settled first at Charlestown,
then at Woburn, MA. Founder of Woburn 1642; representative from
1643-1671, except 1655; captain; and town clerk about 30 years.
Author of a history of New England - the Wonder-Working Providence.
Married about 1620 in England to Susan MUNNTER (bap. Oct. 5,
1597, St. Marys, Dover; d. Mar. 7, 1690, Woburn, MA). Children:
Edward married Catherine BAKER; William died as infant; George;
William died as infant; Martha; Matthew married first Hannah
PALFREY (daughter of Peter and Edith, and sister of Rebecca,
who married Peter ASPINWALL, ancestor of Pres. Franklin ROOSEVELT),
and second Rebecca WISWALL; and John married Bethiah READE.
- Solomon - Possibly the Solomon JOHNSON of Sudbury, MA 1639,
who married Elinor; freeman 1651; and father of twins Joshua
(or Joseph) and Nathaniel, Mary, and Caleb (accidentally shot
May 4, 1654, Watertown). Solomon lived in "Watertown liberties"
in 1654 as a widower, and married second, at Watertown on Feb.
1, 1686/7, Hannah GRAFTE (or CRAFT?).
- John - Some claim that this is Capt.
John JOHNSON of Roxbury, MA. See also his cousin, grandson
of Francis Johnson.
- Alice - Married John HOLMDEN of Darenth. Possible daughter:
Mabel.
- Joane -
- Susan - Living in 1678 as a widow. Married Jeremy MANNING,
son of Jeremy (d. 1651) and Cicely MANNING, and grandson of Henry
MANNING (d. 1620). Henry, also called Harry, MANNING was probably
the son of William, who descended from Symon MANNING as follows:
Symon; Stephen (d. 1309); William (d. 1342) and a daughter of
Richard de CHERFHOLT; Simon and Catherina; John and Alicia WALDEN;
John and Juliana BROKHILL, daughter of Richard and widow of William
WALLYS; Hugh and a daughter of Sir William BRANDON; Richard,
father of William, Thomas and John. Children: Jeremy; Anne; and
Sara.
John and Hannah (Throckmorton) Johnson
John JOHNSON - b. about 1560. Son of Francis
JOHNSON and Elizabeth THOROGOOD.
Hannah THROCKMORTON - Daughter of Sir William THROCKMORTON
and Cicely BAYNHAM, and granddaughter of Sir Thomas THROCKMORTON
and Elizabeth BERKELEY, and of Thomas BAYNHAM and Mary WINTER.
Son of John and Hannah Johnson
- John - Some claim that this is Capt.
John JOHNSON of Roxbury, MA. See also his cousin, grandson
of Geoffrey Johnson.