Edmund Johnson (abt. 1612 - abt. 1651)

Born about 1612 in England

Descendants

Died about 10 Mar 1651 at about age 39 in Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire, Colonial America

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message]

Edmund Johnson migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 4, p. 62) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Edmund Johnson was born about 1612 in England (he was aged 23 on 13 July 1635 when he enrolled in London as a passenger for New England on the ship, James (second voyage)). On this registration, his name is spelled Edmond.^[1][2] Edmund's origins (parents and birthplace) are unknown according to Anderson.^[1] Some books and online trees give Edward's origins as Romsey, Hampshire, but there are no records found to support this.

Edmund, a carpenter by trade, first resided in Newbury, Massachusetts and had removed to Hampton (now in New Hampshire) by 1639.^[1]

Edmund married Mary ______ by 1639.^[1][3] Edmund and Mary had four children:

• Peter,^[4] baptized in Hampton 1639, married Ruth Moulton^[1]
• John,^[4] baptized 16 May 1641, died unmarried by 5 December 1692^[1]
• James,^[4] born about 1643, married first to Sarah Daniel and second to Hannah _____^[1]
• Dorcas,^[4] born about 1650, married Samuel Pearson^[1]

In June, 1640 Edmund was granted a house lot,

which extended to the common way; and in Sep. "Bro. Crosse wth five other brethern are appointed to set out unto Edm Johnson a little ground about his house; not prejudicing the beasts going to drink at the Runne. Besides this, was a small grant on them other side of the road, "about thirty rod, which his house stand of in the meeting-house gree; laying near upon a square, joyning up to a common way towards the east, otherwise the green goeth round about it;" and on February 23, 1646, three shares in the cow-common.^[5][6]

Edmund died 10 March 1650/1 in Hampton.^[1]

Inventory of the estate of Edmund Johnson of Hampton, taken by Robert Page, Robert Tuck, and Jeffrey Mingy March 4, 1650/1; amount, £111.19.0.^[7]

After Edmund's death, his widow married Thomas Coleman.^[1] Coleman put up the bond and assumed the responsibility for Edmund's children. This responsibility included a requirement to see that they were all taught to read and write.

Order of court Oct 7, 1651, that the children have the following portions out of the estate: Peter Johnson, the oldest, £32 at the age of twenty-one, John Johnson £16 at the age of twenty-one, James Johnson £16 at the age of twenty-one, and Dorcas Johnson £16 at the age of eighteen or day of marriage with her mother's consent. Thomas Coleman, step-father to said children, was ordered to give bond in the sum of £80, and to bind over the house and land in Hampton belonging to the estate for these payments, and he was to pay the cost of educating the children, having them taught to read and write.^[8]

Particulars of the disbursement to the children confirm their names and ages. Some trees report a fifth child named Mary. There is no child named Mary mentioned in these particular documents.

Wheras at ye Court held at Hampton the (7th) of ye (8th) mo : 1653 It was ordered yt ye Children of Edmond Jonhson late of Hampton deceased should have out of their fathers estate for their portions as followeth viz Peter Jonson the eldest thirty two pounds att ye age of one & twenty years John Jonson sixteen pound att ye age of one & twenty years James Jonson sixteen pound att ye age of one & twenty years & Dorcas Jonson sixteen pound att ye age of eighteen years or at ye day of hir marriage wth hir mothers consent wch of ym shall first The court document goes on to include Thomas Coleman's agreement to the details of his duties as administrator of the will and tells of the properties that will come to each child.^[4]

His wife Mary Johnson Coleman died 30 January 1663.^[9]

Research Notes

Disputed Parents

Raymon Tingley Meyers,^[10] notorious for false genealogies, claimed that Edmund was son of Davy Johnson and Elizabeth Cole without citing any evidence. Anderson (GMB) says that Mr. Davy Johnson had no recorded children, and that Edmund's parents are unknown. See Great Migration 2:4:64. See also GMB 1095-96 for Davy Johnson who had *no* children.

Wife's LNAB

Mary's maiden name is commonly reported as Green but there is no known source for this. Mary is often reported to have come over on the ship from England with Edmund. The James' passenger list does not show a Mary who would be a plausible wife for Edmund.^[11]

Disputed Daughter

According the the Great Migration 2:4:64 Mary Johnson, the second wife of John Woodin and probably the mother of his eleven children, was unlikely the daughter of Edmund Johnson. The death record of Mary's daughter, Mary (Woodin) Clinton referred to her as the "nephew of John Johnson," identified by Anderson as Edmund's son.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10} Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume IV, I-L. NEHGS: 2005, pp. 62-65. AmericanAncestors($).
2. ↑ "Passengers of the James Master John May Second Voyage of 1635". (Winthrop Society.com: via Wayback Machine on 29 Dec 2022).
3. ↑ Henry Fritz-Gilbert Waters. Families of The First Settlers of Eastham, Mass. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. New England Historic Genealogical Society. The Society, 1852 pg. 232.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4} Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636-1686 (The Essex Institute, 1911) Vol. 1. Page 237: Court Held at Hampton, 7 : 8 : 1651. "Ordered that the children of Edmon Jonson, late of Hampton, deceased, namely, Peter, John, James and Dorcas, shall have the following portions..."
5. ↑ George Dale Johnson, Ancestors and Descendents of Elisha Johnson, of Freedom, Waldo County, Maine. written shortly after Oct 26, 1914; published 1915. Reference page 3.
6. ↑ Norfolk County, Mass., Deeds, vol. 1, p. 31.
7. ↑ Essex County, Mass., Probate Files.
8. ↑ Norfolk County, Mass., Court Records.
9. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 27 July 2016), memorial page for Mary Johnson Coleman (unknown–1663), Find A Grave Memorial no. 36,838,228, no sources cited however consisted with Anderson's The Great Migration Begins sketch of Edmund Johnson; there are no accompanying photographs and do not provide a legible image of the inscribed data or place of burial.
10. ↑ Tingley, Raymon Meyers, Some Ancestral Lines: Being a Record of Some of the Ancestors of Guilford Solon Tingley And His Wife, Martha Pamelia Meyers. Rutland, Vt.: Tuttle Publishing Co., 1935. Johnson pp 165,166
11. ↑ Hotten. Original lists of Persons of Quality, (GPC, 1978): page 107.

See also:

• Documents Relating to Towns in New Hampshire on WikiTree (Rumford Printing Company, 1907) GoogleBooks Vol. 31, Page 20-22: "Administration on the estate of Edmund Johnson granted to his widow, Mary Johnson, April 8, 1651"
• Joseph Dow. History of the Town of Hampton, New Hampshire on WikiTree (Salem, MA, 1893) p770.
• William Richard Cutter. Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts on WikiTree Lewis historical Publishing Company - Boston, Mass., 1908.
• Arthur Meredyth Burke. "The prominent families of the United States of America." London : The Sackville press, ltd, 1908. Archive.org
• State Paper Department of Her Majesty's Public Record Office. The original lists of persons of quality; emigrants; religious exiles; political rebels; serving men sold for a term of years; apprentices; children stolen; maidens pressed; and others who went from Great Britain to the American Plantations, 1600-1700, England, 1874.Archive.org
• Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, Vol. 48-49. GoogleBooks.com
• Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 27 July 2016), memorial page for Edmund Johnson (1612–1650), Find A Grave Memorial no. 36,838,216, NO Burial no sources cited however consistent with Anderson's The Great Migration Begins sketch of Edmund Johnson; there are no accompanying photographs and do not provide a legible image of the inscribed data or place of burial.
• Warren Brown. History of the Town of Hampton Falls, New Hampshire from the Time of the First Settlement Within Its Borders: From the Time of the First Settlement Within Its Borders, 1640 Until 1900 Vol. 2, Published & Printed by the John B. Clarke Co., 1900, pg. 617: Davy Johnson.
• Unlikely birth record: "London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812", London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; London Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: P85/MRY1/342, Ancestry Sharing Link (free access); Ancestry Record 1624 #1848337 ($), Edmund Johnson baptism on 26 May 1611, son of Edward Johnson, in St Mary At Lambeth, Lambeth, Surrey, England.