New Findings In Johnson Family Research By Suzanne Johnston SSJ145@aol.com May 2002 My husband's great grandfather Joseph Watkins Johnson kept a book, in which in the year 1882, he wrote the names of all his known ancestors. I have looked at this book many times, but several years ago I looked carefully at the book in an attempt to get some inspiration for the brick walls we had been facing in our research. What I found in his writings was unexpected. I was unable to find the name Lucretia Massie Johnson in the book as I had expected, but I did find the name Elizabeth Massie Johnson. This surprised me. My goal in the last several years has been to find an original source of information that would tell us what her name was. I have also been searching for some verification about the time that the Johnson's became Quakers, since they do appear early on in the St. Peter's Parish records. I recently learned from Swarthmore College, that the records of some of the Virginia meetings had been microfilmed many years ago and were available at local Family History Centers. So, after a search, I ordered into our local FHC film #0031762, the Henrico County, Virginia Friends Records 1699-1757. The records of Henrico MM were abstracted by Hinshaw, but I was interested in what the original records said. The Henrico meeting was a monthly meeting for business that had jurisdiction over the meetings held at Curles, New Kent and James Howard's. These were the meetings that existed at the time. According to Swarthmore College, "Non-Quakers attended and signed Quaker marriage certificates - marriage took place within the context of a meeting for worship, generally at the bride's meeting house; usually close family members signed the certificate directly below the bride and groom." So, I began to go through the Henrico MM records, in search of Johnson's. The first Johnson I located was Michal and Sarah Jonson who witnessed the marriage of Thomas Lankford and Martha West. Since they did not appear again in the records for many many years, I assume that they were non-Quakers who attended the wedding. In a meeting held the 6th day of ye 1st mo 1719, the minutes say, "This meeting thinks proper to appoynt John Jonson overseer for the Swamp Meeting and for Curles Meeting they appoynt Robert Hunnicutt and for Curles Meeting in the home of Nicholas Hutchins. At a meeting held the 2nd day of the 2nd mo 1720 Andrew Crew and Hanah Elyson announced their intentions of marriage and Benjamin Jonson and Wm Lead were appointed to attend the marig. Benjamin Jonson signed as a witness to the marriage. On the 11th day of 1 mo 1720 John Jonson was appointed Oversear for the meeting at the Swamp. In a meeting held the 6th day of 11th mo 1721, James Magehay and Rebeckah Prist did propose their intentions of taking each other in marig. The meeting appoints Margaray Johnson and Elizabeth Johnson to inquire into the young woman's orderly walking among friends as also in that of her clearness in relation to marig with any other. At the same meeting, John Johnson & Benja Johnson are appoynted to inspect into the young man's clearness in relation of marig with any other as also his being in unity with friends. At a meeting held the 8th day of the 9th mo 1721, John Johnson and Benja Johnson reported that they had inquired into the young man's clearness, which was satisfactory. In the same meeting Elizabeth Johnson and Margary Jonson who had been apoynted to inquired into the young woman's clearness and not being there, their husbands also named did in their behalf give a satisfactory out coming her. John Johnson and Garret Robt Elyson were apoynted to attend the marige. The marriage took place on the 9th day of the 10th mo 1721 and signing as witnesses were John Johnson, Agnes Jonson and Margery Johnson At a meeting held on the 3rd of 6th mo following, Samuel Magahe and Mary Lead published their intentions of marig and John and Benjamin Johnson were apoynted to make inquiries into the clearness and conversation of the young man in relation to marig with another. They reported their findings ye 7th day of ye 2 mo 1722, that the young man's clearness was satisfactory. In a meeting held the 8th of 2 mo 1722, Wm Elyson son of G. Robt Elyson and Agnis Johnson daughter of John Johnson did at this meeting publish their intentions of taking each other in marig. Wm Lead and Robt Crew were apoynted to inspect into the clearness of the young man in relation to marig with any other and help as to his life and conversation. Mary Magahe and Margery Johnson were apoynted on behalf of the young woman as like. The minutes go on recounting until 1757 the Henrico Monthly Meeting, and the activities of the Johnson family among others. Going back over what we have found, however, has revealed some very important things, that will change our Johnson researching. Two astounding new facts are now known, which are: 1. It is unlikely that any of the Johnson's were Quakers before about 1719 when John and Benjamin were first mentioned in the Henrico MM business, as it included all of the Quaker meetings in the area. Had they been members, they would surely have been mentioned as others were. 2. The name of John Johnson's wife was not Lucretia Massie as it was said to be, but her name was Elizabeth, and from what I read in the book of my husband's great grandfather, her name was Elizabeth Massie. She has been mistakenly called Lucretia, probably in confusion or attempting to make some sense of the Ashley Cooper story. Never in the Henrico MM minutes is a Lucretia mentioned. but it is clear from the Henrico records that John and Elizabeth Johnson were husband and wife, and Benjamin and Margery Johnson were husband and wife. In addition, reading through the minutes gives one the distinct impression that John and Benjamin Johnson are very closely related since their names are often contained in the same sentence, with activities in which they are engaged. Likewise, their families are often witnesses at each others weddings etc. The results suggest to me that Benjamin Johnson who married Margery Massie is not the same Benjamin born to Edward Johnson in 1702. The DNA tests also agree with this, showing a close relationship between the line of John and Benjamin. And finally, there appears to be no evidence that Edward Johnson or William Johnson and his wife Sarah Massie were ever Quakers. William and Sarah Massie Johnson had both died by the time the Johnson name appears in any records, and the first of their children to appear in the Henrico MM is Cecelia at her marriage. Edward's family is absent from the records for many years after that. In closing, let me say that any research we do in the future, must include our looking carefully into the original Quaker records. They contain much more information about the family than the Hinshaw abstractions do. In fact, I don't know why we haven't known about the original records, but now that we do, perhaps we can make some progress.