JAMES E. and MARY JOHNSON, [1] born in Virginia, with three of their children remaining in their household, were listed in the 1850 Monroe County, Kentucky Census. They were listed on the same page as Nancy Flippin, widow of Isaac Flippin, who lived near the mouth of the East Fork of Barren River, northwest of Gamaliel:

1850 Monroe County Kentucky Census
448 Johnson... James E.... 77 M Farmer... VA
448 Johnson... Mary.... 61 F ... VA
448 Johnson... Mary.... 25 F .... TN
448 Johnson... Andrew... 21 M Farmer... TN
448 Johnson... John... 19 M Farmer... TN

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1840 Sumner County Tennessee Census
James Johnson
Males—————————Females
————————————0-5: "0"
5-10: 1————————-5-10: 1
10-15: 2———————————
15-20: 2———————-15-20: 1
———————————--30-40: "0"
50-60: 1———————-50-60: 1

1830 Sumner County Tennessee Census
James Johnson
Males————————-Females
0-5: 2————————————
5-10: 2——————-—-5-10: 2
———————————40-50: 1
50-60: 1———————————

1820 Sumner County Tennessee Census
James Johnson
Males————————Females
0-10: 1————————0-10: 2
———————————-10-16: 1
———————————-26-45: 1
45+: 1————————————

The family profile of "James Johnson" listed in the 1830 and 1840 Sumner County, Tennessee Censuses (see also Photos) appears consistent with the family profile of "James E. Johnson" in the 1850 Monroe County, Kentucky Census, whose known children were born in Tennessee. Two daughters, age 5-10, and two sons, Richard and David, age 5-10, were counted in 1830. Andrew and a fourth unidentified son (James J. Johnson?), age 0-5, were also counted in 1830. The fifth son, John, who was present in the household in 1850, was born later in 1831. [2] The age difference of James E. and Mary is reflected across the 1820, 1830, 1840, and 1850 Censuses, and also the ages of five identified of seven children. There may have been other older unidentified children: [3]

1. David N. Johnson 1820-1883 (155356743)
2. Richard M. Johnson 1820-1879 (185284843)
3. Mary Johnson b. ca. 1825- ___ (1830, 1840, 1850 Censuses) [4]
4. Unidentified Son (1830, 1840 Censuses)
5. Andrew J. Johnson 1829-1880 (13071488)
6. John J. Johnson 1831-1891 (27873161)
7. Unidentified Daughter (1830, 1840 Censuses)

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James E. and Mary Johnson evidently moved to Monroe County, Kentucky, about 1840. [2] Marriages of their sons, Richard M. Johnson and David N. Johnson, [5] probably occurred after 1840 in Monroe County, [6] which was the residence of their respective betrotheds, Rhoda Arterburn and Martha Flowers (Memorials 185201649 and 191351572). The oldest children of David and Richard were born in Kentucky after 1842, according to census and family records. About 1847-49, Richard and David returned to Sumner County, Tennessee, where their families were listed together in the 1850 Sumner County Census. [7]

The estate settlement of Rev. Richard Johnson (1760-1849) of Sumner County occurred during the period, 1849-51. The promissory note of "Jas. Johnson" for $50.87 from August 25, 1843 was recorded as a receivable asset of the estate of Rev. Richard Johnson. "R. M. Johnson" was a recorded purchaser in the estate sale of Rev. Richard Johnson. [8]

The whereabouts of James E. and Mary Johnson after the 1850 Monroe County Census have not been discovered. [6] Given their ages, James or Mary or possibly both might have passed away before 1860 in Monroe County. James E. Johnson had no real estate value listed in the 1850 Monroe Census, so they must have been tenants or living with friends or relatives. We currently have no definite clue that might explain their location in 1850, [9] and no clue of whether their homesite could have changed afterwards or before the death of either. The homes at old Pikesville (Flippin, Lamb) of the Arterburn and Flowers Families of their daughters-in-law were located about 8 miles north. The Arterburns were Methodists, and their home was also the site of a Methodist Class (1847) that became Bethel M. E. Church (1857).

If not deceased in Monroe County, one or both might have returned to Tennessee, or have followed some of their children or relatives to Missouri or Arkansas or Texas.

...............

ENDNOTES

[1] The ancestral Family line of James E. Johnson has yet to be discovered. Although not directly documented, Mary Johnson appears almost certainly to have been the daughter of Rev. Richard Johnson (1760-1849) and Lucy (Hunter) Johnson of Sumner County, Tennessee. Rev. Richard Johnson (Memorial 210067110) was born in Hanover County, Virginia, and married in Louisa County, Virginia. Rev. Johnson was an ardent Methodist and preacher, first ordained a Deacon by Francis Asbury in Virginia and then an Elder by Bishop McKendree in Tennessee. According to his obituary in the Christian Advocate, he was "well and favorably known in the Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky Conferences." Richard and his brother, John, were both pensioned veterans of the American Revolutionary War. The children of Richard and Lucy Johnson, born in Virginia, were named in his Last Will & Testament: "George, Mary, Richard, Benjamin, Samuel, Nancy, and the lawful heirs of Austin Johnson, David, Nathan, Andrew & Sally." The following is excerpted directly from Descendants of Richard Johnson and Lucy Hunter by Erick D. Montgomery (2006), as originally posted on RootsWeb:

"Mary Johnson, b. abt 1786 in Louisa County, Va. Little is known of Mary Johnson. She is named in her father's will, written in 1848. It is unknown who she married, but it is likely that she married a Johnson because of the information found in a loose record."

(Bolded emphases added)

SOURCES:

1. Sumner County Probate Records (County or Chancery Court) Wills Vol. 1 - 5; July 1789 - July 1904. TSL&A Microfilm - Roll #91.
(https://sites.rootsweb.com/~providence/will_richjohnson.htm)

2. Descendants of Richard Johnson and Lucy Hunter / Erick D. Montgomery, 2006.(https://sites.rootsweb.com/~providence/scr_richardjohnson.htm)

[2] Only one "James Johnson" was listed in the 1840 Sumner County Census (see Photos). The family profiles of James Johnson in the 1830 and 1840 Sumner County Censuses appear consistent, and also with that of James E. Johnson in the 1850 Monroe County Census. Two daughters were counted (excluding two "0" overwritten corrections) in 1840, a match for the two daughters in 1830. One of these daughters—unidentified—was probably married by 1850, and the other must have been Mary, age 25, present in the 1850 Monroe Census. Five sons were counted in 1840, and their ages are apparent matches for David N, Richard M, Unidentified Son, Andrew J, and John J. Johnson. This must have been the family of James E. Johnson, which implies the move to Monroe County must have occurred after this 1840 Census. This James Johnson household listed in the 1840 Sumner County Census was missing from the Sumner County Census of 1850.

"John and Elizabeth Johnston" (Memorials 21862648 and 21963292)—from South Carolina according to the 1850 Monroe County Census, were donors (1840) of the land for Bethlehem M. E. Church and are buried in Bethlehem Cemetery—their Deed of Gift was re-recorded after the war. "James Johnson," age 85 from South Carolina as listed in the 1850 Monroe County Census, was apparently the same—one and only— "James Johnson" listed in the 1840 Monroe Census (age 70-80), the 1830 Monroe Census (age 60-70), and the 1820 Monroe Census (age 45+). This James Johns[t]on was apparently the oldest in Monroe County of this Johnston Family from South Carolina. This "James Johns[t]on" Family represents a different "Johnson" Family—after the "t" was dropped in public records—in Monroe County, although "Johnston" appears on some of their gravestones. No other "James Johnson" or "James Johnston" was listed as head of household in the 1820, 1830, or 1840 Monroe County Census.

[3] Only one "James Johnson" was listed in the 1820 Sumner County Census, and the age difference of James E. and Mary is also reflected in that 1820 Sumner Census. One male under age 10 was counted in the household, which would have been David. Three females—two under age 10 and one age 10-16—were also counted in the 1820 Sumner Census (see Photos). None of these three females appear in the 1830 Sumner Census, in which only two females ages 5-10 were counted, which must have been Mary and the other unidentified daughter counted in 1840.

Martha Ann Johnson (Memorial 93527351), who married Thomas J. Flowers in Sumner County in 1838, has been attributed as a possible daughter of Mary Johnson (daughter of Rev. Richard Johnson). Martha and Thomas named their first-born daughter, "Mary." Martha would certainly fit as one of these daughters in the 1820 Sumner Census, but if one of these was Martha, where was she in 1830—before she married Thomas Flowers in 1838? Martha's uncertain parentage notwithstanding, these three unidentified females counted in 1820 could have all been married by 1830. Finally, Richard C. Johnson and Samuel Johnson—brothers of Mary, were listed adjacent to James Johnson in the 1820 Sumner Census, suggestive of a Family connection.

[4] According to Find A Grave Contributor #46810898, Mary Johnson is buried in Salem Cemetery (#769478), in Bearden, Ouachita County, Arkansas.

[5] David N. Johnson was identified as "a son of James Johnson" In the biographical sketch of David's son, "John N. Johnson," in the Monroe County section of Perrin and Battle's Kentucky: A History of the State (see Photos).

[6] Monroe County is a burned (1863) county.

[7] Before 1860, Richard and David had moved their families to Lafayette County, Missouri, accompanied by Thomas & Martha (Johnson) Flowers of Sumner County, and Richard C. Johnson (1789-1881)—brother of Mary. All except David were listed in the 1860 Lafayette County Census, in Sni A Bar Township. The gravesite of Richard C. Johnson (Memorial 44652660) is there in McKendree Cemetery.

After a few months, David N. & Martha Johnson resettled permanently in Monroe County, Kentucky—as also attested in Perrin and Battle's historical Sketch (see Photos), where David's family was listed in the 1860 Monroe County Census.

Thomas J. & Martha Flowers eventually resettled in Fannin County, Texas. Richard M. & Rhoda Johnson later moved to adjacent Ray County, Missouri.

[8] Source: Rev. Richard Johnson Estate and Inventory, 1850. Sumner County Probate Records (County or Chancery Court). Estates (Loose Records) Roll # A-5182. Vol. 1350 - 1562; 1786-1930.
(https://sites.rootsweb.com/~providence/estate_revjohns.htm)

[9] "Mrs. Flippin" was named as a Methodist Class Leader during the 1850s in Quarterly Conference Minutes of the Tompkinsville Circuit. This was most likely Nancy Flippin, widow of Isaac Flippin, who was listed on the same page as James E. and Mary Johnson In the 1850 Monroe Census (see Photos). Given the prominence of Rev. Richard Johnson—Mary's father—among Methodists of Tennessee and Kentucky, might this be a clue that could explain why the Johnsons were living where they were in 1850?

© Charles R. Arterburn

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(Updates welcomed)