Sunday, November 7, 2010

Monday Madness - Origins of Captain John Johnson

**Please note that this blog has been moved. CLICK HERE for the updated blog post and related comments. Comments on this blog have been disabled (and there's good stuff on the current link)

The origins of Captain John JOHNSON, born abt 1585/1595, who married Mary Heath in 1613 in England (father of Captain Isaac Johnson) seem to be in great dispute. For years I have had him listed as the son of John Johnson and Hannah Throckmorton. Do a quick search at the LDS or Rootsweb, and you'll find numerous different options for his lineage.
Until, once again, Google Books, came to the rescue. Well, that is if you believe the disputes of Gerald Johnson.

I have paraphrased the Theories from his book, The Biography and Genealogy of Captain John Johnson, 2000

Theory #1... Isaac Johnson and Lady Arbella Fiennes of Lincolnshire.
"If Isaac Johnson was born in 1601 and John Johnson was married in 1613, there is NO WAY that Isaac Johnson and Arbella Fiennes were the parents of John Johnson. John Johnson could not have been 12yrs old at the time of his marriage to Mary Heath... Furthermore, both Isaac and Arbella died soon after arriving in New England in 1630. The Will of Isaac Johnson clearly establishes that he and Lady Arbella Fiennes had no living issue"

Theory #2... John Johnson's father was John Johnson of Wilmington, Kent, England because (a) his wife was Margery Scudder who was named in the will of John Lowers of Darenth, Kent, England and (b) in which is names a John Johnson, the elder and a John Johnson, the younger (Presumably, "our" Captain John Johnson) in the 1650 will.
First, John Johnson did NOT marry Margery Scudder. Margery Scudder, who was actually "Margaret Scudder" was married to Thomas Stacy who outlived her.
Furthermore, study of the county of Kent birth and death records did not reveal any John Johnson being born to a John Johnson. Further, there is no record of a John Johnson birth in Herne or Herne Hill parish, Kent, England.
Captain Edward Johnson of Woburn, Massachusetts WAS from Herne Hill, Kent, England. There is no evidence, however, that Edward Johnson and John Johnson were related.
It is concluded that Captain John Johnson of Roxbury, Mass was not born in either Wilmington, England or Herne Hill, England.

Theory #3... Francis Johnson and Elizabeth Thorogood
"The dates are all wrong for these people to be the parents of Captain John Johnson. The mother of Elizabeth Thorogood was Cecily Baynam. Baynam would have been only four years old when her supposed grandson, John Johnson was born in 1590.

Theory #4... John Johnson born abt 1570 and Hannah Throckmorton.
The birth date of 1588, Langton, Lincolnshire, England submitted by a Richard Miner to the Ancestral Files, is not listed in any of the Lincolnshire parish records.... Mr. Miner, believing that the information researched by his mother was correct, submitted the information to the LDS church.

Theory #5... father was John Johnson, grandparents Geoffrey Johnson and Bridgett Harbottle.
Neither Geoffrey Johnson, son of Maurice, nor Bridgett Harbottle, wife of Geoffrey, are listed in any of the Herne Hill, Kent, England parish records. Geoffrey Johnson, if related, woul dhave been a grandfather of our Captain John Johnson. He died Sept 1585 at age 60 in Leicester England. Ms. Lynda Hotchkiss, genealogist for the county of Lincolnshire Council Genealogical Research Service, extensively researched this connection in November 1998. Ms. Hotchkiss clearly establishes that John Johnson and Isaac Johnson were NOT brothers as all sources clearly show "Abraham, father of Isaac Johnson, had no son John."
Robert Johnson and grandfather of Abraham Johnson, was married three times with the last marriage being in Rutland. According to Ms. Hotchkiss this suggests other children, but she did not find any definite leads to a John Johnson who could have married in 1613 in Ware, Hertfordshire, England.

Theory #6.... John Johnson and Alice Prior of Ware.
Captain John Johnson is already in America (1630) when this John Johnson was born in Ware, Hertfordshire, England. Thus, he is not our Captain John Johnson.

So.... as of this publishing in 2000, it is not known who the parents of John Johnson were. He is currently without family.

Madness, indeed.