Immigration mystery

I mentioned above my still unsuccessful efforts at finding the immigration records of my great-grandfather Per Gustaf "August" Anderson. It is really mysterious. I know that he came from Ulrika, a village in Östergötland, Sweden, when he was about ten (and he was born in 1859, so he would have come in 1869-70). I know he was brought by his grandparents, Petter Magus Andersson and Sara Catharina Persdotter. I know his mother, Sara Maja Persdotter, stayed behind with her husband and other children (August's half-siblings), and then came to America a couple of decades later after her husband died.

In the "emigration" lists from Ulrika parish I find this:

As far as I can understand this, the "Peter August Andersson" listed fifth in 1870 is my ancestor. This unfortunately doesn't give an age, but indicates he came from "Sten[kullen]," which is the farm where he lived. Also unfortunately, the "clerical survey" (like a census) for this period doesn't seem to exist, so I can't cross check with the page number of the clerical survey listed here. Then my assumption is that the last name here is his grandfather, Peter Magnus Andersson. Why he would be listed separately from the young grandson is a mystery to me. But this indicates he left with a party of two men and two women. The men would be himself and probably his son Franz Otto, who also came to America in 1870; the women presumably his wife Sara Catharina, and then I don't know who the other would be.

But then I found the following ship's passenger list record:

This is a ship's passenger list for the Albion, leaving from Gothenburg in April 1870. In entry 2370 we see "Gustaf Anderson," age 10, coming from Ulrika, which one would presume would be my great-grandfather. He is traveling with two older women, Sara Catarina Anderson and Sara Maja Anderson, the names of his grandmother and mother, all from Ulrika. But the ages of these women don't match the ages his grandmother and mother should be (they are about a decade too young). Furthermore, if this is the right family, where is Petter Magnus Andersson? And why is Sara Maja here, when she stayed in Sweden? And why is Sara Catarina listed as "Andersson" when one would expect the Swedish records to list her by her own patronymic, Persdotter? Yet the emigration records for Ulrika show no other persons in April 1870 with names anything like this.

They appear to be bound for Jamestown; far as I can tell, there are three Jamestowns in the US, in Virginia, New York and North Dakota, and none of these states are associated with this family as far as I know. The family, my great-aunt said, came first to Pennsylvania, but then fairly soon to Nebraska.

One can see why this is mysterious . . .

My Top Ten Genealogy Mysteries

My top ten genealogical mysteries

Every genealogist has “mysteries”—aka as “brick walls,” but I prefer “mysteries” since they are really just puzzles that need to be solved, rather than brick walls I keep beating my head against! So I thought I might make a list of my top ten. Perhaps that will help clarify what I need to work on next. So here goes:

(1)   Whatever happened to John Hastings? My third-great-grandfather appears in the 1850 census of Marion co. IN, and then disappears. The family story (not from my direct family, but from a much older distant cousin with whom I corresponded some years ago) is that his wife, Mary Ann (Wheeler) Hastings, died in 1852, and that John left and was never heard from again. This cousin said she always had the sense that he had abandoned his family, but she wondered if perhaps he had gone in search of land or some better opportunity, and then something happened to him and his family was never notified. In any event, in the 1860 census his younger children were “farmed out” to relatives. A couple of them lived with their oldest brother, my great-great-grandfather Oliver Perry Hastings; a couple more lived with their uncle Harvey Wheeler. So obviously John was “gone” by that time (maybe dead, maybe disappeared). What ever became of John Hastings?

(2)   What was John L. Johnson’s war record? My great-great-grandfather fought for the Confederate army. A resident of Franklin and/or Crawford co. AR, he never returned from the war. Family tradition is that he died in Texas, “on the Red River,” as he was returning from Arkansas after the war. Some years ago a descendant of his brother William T. Barry Johnson told me that his grandfather possessed an old cannon ball or shell of some kind that had resulted in his brother losing his foot as he was returning home from the war. I have tried for years to find John L. Johnson’s civil war service record, but without success. I’ve looked at service records for various other men who were his neighbors in Arkansas, trying to get clues as to what unit he might have served in. My assumption is that it would be a unit that served on the Western front, since he allegedly died in Texas, and there were some Northwest Arkansas units that did serve in Texas. But I’ve not been able to find any with a John Johnson who seems to be my ancestor. Where did he serve, and how did he die?

(3)   Who was August Anderson’s father? My great-grandfather, born Per Gustaf Anderson in Nykil, Östergötland, Sweden, was an out-of-wedlock child. The family story is that his mother and her family were tenant farmers, and his biological father was the “son of the landowner”—one of those stories that may or may not have some basis in fact! As he grew, he was the “spittin’ image” of his biological father, and when he was 10 the paternal grandparents paid the maternal grandparents to take him to America and eliminate the embarrassment. I’ve inspected the Swedish parish records, thinking there might be some clue as to his parentage—especially since it seemed to be “known” in the community. But I’ve found nothing. Who was his father?

(4)   When did August Anderson come to America, and where did he land? The story about him being brought by his grandparents seems to be confirmed by the fact that the boy and his grandparents are listed in the Swedish parish records as leaving for North America in 1870, but I’ve not found any records indicating their arrival in America. My great-aunt said there was a connection to Pennsylvania before they settled in Nebraska; does that just mean perhaps they landed in Philadelphia rather than New York? I really want to find their immigration records.

(5)   Who was Frances (Elliott) Johnson’s father? My great-great-grandmother was Frances Jane Elliott who married John L. Johnson. The records suggest that her mother was Elizabeth Elliott, and family tradition says that Elizabeth’s maiden name was Booker. But who was Elizabeth’s husband? She seems to have been unmarried (presumably widowed) fairly early, as she is a landowner in Franklin co. AR and appears in the 1840 census under her own name. Who was Mr. Elliott, and what became of him?

(6)   When and where did Peter Likins and Mary Alfont marry? My great-great-grandparents were married about 1848, according to the 1900 census. But where, and precisely when? I think it is quite likely that they were married in Madison co. IN, and unfortunately one of those courthouse fires destroyed the marriage records from that period. Can I ever find confirmation of that, and perhaps some indication of the actual date?

(7)   What became of cousin Bobby? My grandmother’s first cousin, Robert George “Bobby” Jones, moved, according to my grandmother, from Indiana to Florida, where he became a gem cutter. I have found a Bob Jones in the 1935 state census of Dade co. who is listed as a jeweler, and then another listing in the 1940 census. He is single in both listings. But then the trail goes cold. What became of him? Did he ever marry and have children?

(8)   Where did Jason Wheeler come from? My 3^rd-great-grandfather, Jason Wheeler, was born in 1765. He seems to have raised his family in Herkimer co. and Chenango co. NY, and then settled in Marion co. IN, where he died. But where was he born? I suspect that he came from Vermont, where there seem to be a lot of Wheelers; but I haven’t found anything that definitively ties him to Vermont. Is that, in fact, where he was born? If not, where?

(9)   What became of Joseph Street? My third-great-grandfather Joseph Street was born in VA ca 1782, and then followed a common westward trek to North Carolina, Tennessee, and finally Arkansas. His wife, Margaret (Carmichael) Street, and one of their sons, Thomas Street, are buried in Madison co. AR. An old genealogy of the Street family suggests that Joseph emigrated to Oregon and died there, but I have found no record of him after the early 1850s in Madison county. Did he really go to Oregon? When and where did he die?

(10) What happened to the other Hastings children? In the family of my 3^rd-great-grandparents, John and Mary Ann (Wheeler) Hastings, in 1850 there are nine children. I’ve worked hard at tracing them, but there are still some holes. There is a “Wesley Hastings” listed, though the census says this was a girl; and a boy William Hastings, and a girl Almira Hastings. None of these have I found after 1850. Then there is James H. Hastings; I have followed him a good ways, and I know he married Amanda Meyer in Polk co. OR in 1872. But in the 1900 census, he is not living in the household with Amanda and their children, yet she is still listed as “married.” The 1910 census shows the same thing. Then in 1920 and 1930, Amanda is listed as “widowed.” No sight of James after 1880. What became of him?

That’s my top ten mysteries! Maybe by this time next year at least one of them will be solved.

Leonard Dozier: Separating fact from fiction

One of my earliest American ancestors is Leonard Dozier, a Huguenot (allegedly) who came to Virginia as early as 1673. There have been many genealogists interested in the Dozier family through the years, some more responsible and careful than others. One of the challenges in genealogy is always to try to "separate fact from fiction," so here's my attempt to do so with regard to Leonard and his children:

Dozier Family: Separating Fact from Fiction

Leonard Dozier 1.  The immigrant, Leonard Dozier, is known to have been in Virginia by 20 Aug. 1673, on which date he purchased three hundred acres of land “in forrest between Rappahonock Creek and Nominy River” from Morgan Jones for 8,000 pounds of tobacco.  [Westmoreland co. VA Deeds & Patents, pp. 162a-163]  Leonard Dozier became a naturalized citizen of Virginia on 28 Jan. 1683/84.  [Westmoreland co. VA, Records and Inventories #1 p. 147; I have photocopy]  The naturalization document indicates that he was born in France, that he was a Protestant, and that he had taken the oath of allegiance and paid the appropriate fees.

Dozier is also mentioned in a deed between Thomas Collinsworth and William Moxley in January 1683/84 (the land adjoined his).  He was still living 25 Mar. 1692 when he brought suit against the estate of Thomas Collingsworth; and in May, 1692, when judgment was granted him against Jane Collingsworth, executrix of Thomas.

He apparently died within a year or so of this date, for on 26 July 1693 “Eliza Dozier, relict of Leonard Dozier” was granted administration of Leonard’s estate, along with Richard Dozier and Thomas Browning.  She returned an inventory, in which she is named Elizabeth Dozer, on 27 Sept. 1693.  [Westmoreland co. VA order Book Part II, pages 100 and 105]

The Compendium of American Genealogy 5:225 alleges that Leonard Dozier’s wife was Elizabeth Depuy. This work is badly flawed, and should not be accepted as accurate unless information is substantiated elsewhere. I have seen no record that would substantiate the maiden name of Leonard’s wife Elizabeth.

There is also no evidence which indicates whether Leonard and Elizabeth married in France or Virginia; whether she was his first and only wife; or whether she was, in fact, the mother of any or all of his children. She apparently married, after Leonard’s death, Nathaniel Garland of Cople Parish, Westmoreland co. VA, in 1702.

Some claims have been made regarding the birth date of Leonard; I have seen it stated both as 13 May 1627 and ca. 1643. The former date apparently was given in a letter of H. L. Dozier to L. Dozier Willis which was relayed by the latter to Miss H. C. Dozier in letter of 18 June 1930; this according to the late Jessie Thomason. There appears to be no documentary evidence for this date. There is also no evidence for the occasional claim as to his date of death; obviously he died prior to 26 July 1693 but after May 1692.

There is, unfortunately, no document which provides a clear list of the children of Leonard Dozier. There is documentary evidence for his son, Richard Dozier, who in January 1734 petitioned the court to admit a copy of the naturalization paper of his father to record (for reasons that are not clear to me). One Frances Dozier apparently brought suit in 1713 against Richard Dozier, her brother, to recover part of her father’s estate; this establishes that she was a daughter of Leonard 1 (and indicates an approximate birth date of 1673, since the document here states she is forty years old). [Richmond co.? Will Book 6, p. 207] There is also circumstantial evidence for the fact that Leonard had a son named Leonard Dozier, for a man by that name appears to continue to own property matching the description of Leonard 1’s land, but after Leonard 1’s death. It is thought that Leonard also was the father of John Dozier and William Dozier.

Regarding each of his children:

Richard Dozier was married by 5 Oct. 1699 to Elizabeth [or Mary?] Hudson/Hodgson [Westmoreland co. Will & Deed Book #3, p. 37]. His will, dated 5 May 1750 [unsure of date, obvious typographical error in my source] and proved 21 Nov. 1751 lists wife Elizabeth, and name her executrix; also son-in-law Thomas Templeton, grandson Dozier Templeton; sons Richard, Thomas and William; daughters Margaret Templeton, Elizabeth Wilson, Sarah Dozier, Hannah Muse, Martha Bellefield, Mary Dozier; granddaughter Elizabeth Bellefield. [Richmond co. Will book 11, p. 328.] I have seen a 1668 birth date given for Richard, but with no apparent justification.

Frances Dozier was b. ca. 1673, and was still unmarried when she filed suit against her brother in 1713.

William Dozier listed by one researcher as b. ca. 1677 but with no further information; only source seems to the Thornton family history.

John Dozier apparently married twice, first to Sarah ---- and second to Susannah Jacobus (widow of Robert Davis).  There is a William Dozer, son of John and Sarah, b. 27 Jan. 1723/24 in Richmond co. Lunenburg parish.  John and Susannah buy land 1 Mar. 1725 [Richmond co. Deed Book 8, p. 10]; they are involved in a suit in Chancery Court 6 May 1746 [Order Book 10, p. 541]  Apparently he was dead by 7 Mar. 1747, when an inventory is filed of his estate [Will Book 5, p. 541].

Leonard Dozier 2. Leonard (who is my ancestor) married Elizabeth Ingo, the daughter of John and Mary Ingo and the widow of Thomas Ascough. Her father John died in 1701, at which time she was named as Elizabeth Ascough [Richmond co. Wills & Inventories 1699-1709, p. 27].  Her husband Thomas also died that year, leaving a will [Will Book 2, p. 32] naming a son Christopher Ascough and a daughter Anne (who married Richard Doggett).

Leonard 2 died intestate in Richmond co. in 1733 [Wills & Inventories Bk. 5, p. 207].  His wife died testate and left a will dated 7 May 1748, proved 4 July 1748 [Will & Deed Book #5, p. 558 and 554-555]. In this will she names son James Dozier; granddaughter Elizabeth Doggett (whose mother had apparently died); children John Dozier, Leonard Dozier, Mary Jones, Elizabeth Thornton, Sarah Jeter, Peggy Baker, Susannah Bragg.

I love unusual names!

One of the joys of genealogical research is discovering that your line includes some unusual surnames. It's a real challenge trying to do research on a name like "Johnson," but occasionally one taps into a line in America whose surname is so unusual that almost anybody in America who has that surname is likely a descendant of a common ancestor. Probably my most unusual family name is "Alfont"--my paternal grandmother's paternal grandmother was Mary Alfont. As I've researched this unusual name, it has pretty much been true that virtually anyone named "Alfont" or "Alfonte" are descendants of Mary's father, William Alfont. (The final "e" shows up in some branches, but most of them seem to omit it.) William Alfont settled in Madison co. IN in the 1830s, and there was a little village named for him. Alfont, IN doesn't really exist as much more than a street anymore, though it made the news as recently as 1924 when there was a train accident there. But here's what I've learned about William Alfont, my 3rd-great-grandfather, and his background:

Summary on William Alfont

            William Alfont, my third-great-grandfather, is said to have been the son of John Alfont. Family tradition passed along to me by Harold Alfont says of John that he “was born in an old castle in France, but when he was but a boy, he ran away from home and became a sailor. He visited countries in all parts of the world, and while he was in Australia, he met Frances Davis, who later became his wife . . . [They] had one child, William. The mother died soon after the birth of the son. John never remarried. He made his home in Philadelphia where he lived until his death in 1833.” Other family members have expressed the belief that John Alfont was of Walloon descent. (The Walloons were a French-speaking people who lived in what is today Belgium.)

            The following records appear to belong to John:

(1)           Cecil co. MD records the marriage of John Alfond and Mary Davey on 18 Jan. 1798 by [Jeremiah] Cosden, an Anglican clergyman who served St. Augustine and North Sassafras parish 1794-1801. It is unclear whether this record shows that Cosden actually performed the marriage, or was simply the one who officially recorded it; in this period in Maryland apparently the local Anglican clergyman had the responsibility of officially recording marriages. This record is not a church record, but a record of marriages in Cecil co. The parish, however, was in the southern part of Cecil co., near Chesapeake City. The record is found in a DAR compilation, and it places a question mark after “Davey.” I have inspected the original record at the Maryland State Archives in Annapolis, and it quite clearly says “Davey”; perhaps the question mark reflects the transcriber’s suspicion that this may have been an error, since the name Davey doesn’t seem to appear elsewhere in Cecil co. records during this period while the name “Davis” is relatively common.

(2)           John Alfont appears in the 1800 census of Cecil co. MD (p. 28), showing him between ages of 26 and 45 (thus b. ca. 1754/1774). A woman apparently his wife is listed, age 16/26 (b. ca. 1773/1784), as well as a young boy under 10. William Alfont’s tombstone gives his birthdate as 26 Mar. 1799—so this boy in the census is likely he. There is also an older woman listed, over 45 (b. before 1755).

(3)           A transcription of the baptismal register of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Philadelphia, which was published in 1908 in the Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia, records the baptism of William Alfont on 3 Nov. 1805, “born in Maryland, Mar. 22, 1799, of John Alfont and his wife Mary Davis, Catholics; sponsors—James and Margaret Enue [Eneu?].” This is certainly the same couple married in Cecil co. in 1798, and the child is certainly our William Alfont (despite the four day discrepancy in his birth date).

No further public records of John Alfont have been found (though there is a John Alphin in the 1810 census for Fredericksville, Albemarle co. VA, over 45, wife same age, a boy 10-16, and a young woman 16-26). The name itself is quite unusual, and it is also worth noting that the records of First Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Philadelphia include reference to a Rebecca Allefont who died 13 July 1806, aged 10 months 3 weeks. No further information is given.

            William Alfont is said to have married Elizabeth Freeburn in Philadelphia about 1818. No record of this marriage has been found. Philadelphia co. did not keep records that early, but various church registers are extant, and no marriage has been found for this couple.

William appears in the 1820 census of Philadelphia, in Blockley twp. His age is listed as 16-26, with a wife in the same age group (i.e., b. ca. 1793-1804), and one son under 10.

The Franklin Gazette in Philadelphia published a “List of letters remaining in the Philadelphia Post-Office October 15, 1820” on 17 Oct 1820 and 19 Oct 1820, and on the list is Wm. Alfont.

Land records for Philadelphia co. show that William Alfont, carpenter, was sold a lot on the south side of James St., village of Hamilton, Blakeley twp., by Silas Evans for $125 on 21 Jan. 1826. A second deed is recorded in which Thomas Davis and Hester/Esther his wife sold William Alfont, sawyer, a lot in the same village and township on the south side of Social Street, 14 July 1830. This second transaction was actually the north half of four different lots (cost $187.50); the south half of the same lots conveyed at the same time to Philip Hardin (about whom more below).

William appears on p. 34 of the 1830 census of Blockley twp., age 30/40, wife age 20/30,), and three children, a boy 10/15, a boy 5/10, and a girl under 5. There is also an older man in the household (age 50/60). This may be William’s father, or, perhaps more likely, Elizabeth’s father, Robert Freeburn; there is a definite statement in a biographical sketch of her nephew that Robert Freeburn lived in Philadelphia with Elizabeth and her family in his old age.

A history of Madison co. IN contains a sketch of one Philip Hardin, who, it is said, was married to Mary Alfonte. The Hardin family was obviously connected to the Alfont family, but; it seems clear that Philip Hardin’s wife was Mary Freeburn, a sister to Elizabeth Freeburn rather than to William Alfont.

A newspaper biography of Elizabeth (Freeburn) Alfont states that the family came to Indiana in the fall of 1834. This is confirmed by land transactions in Philadelphia at that time. Alfont conveyed the land originally purchased from Thomas Davis to Philip Hardin (which land adjoined Hardin’s own property) for $400 on 21 Apr. 1834; he conveyed his other property on James St. to Lucretia Larazin on 26 Aug. 1834 for $600. The latter deed mentions that this property included a two story “message or tenement.” These deeds suggest that Alfont had done well with his real estate investment in Philadelphia co., and that he left the county soon after the latter conveyance was made. Note that this is just a year after the supposed date of John Alfont’s death.

William then purchased land in Madison co. IN in Oct. 1834 (90 acres) and Aug. 1835 (78 acres) from Alexander Jordon and Conrod Crosley respectively. The earlier deed refers to him as “William Alfont of Philadelphia.” From this time on, William and Elizabeth appear consistently in Madison co. IN.

Johnson family history

When I first began asking questions about my ancestry, my great-aunt Elma Craig wrote to her cousin, Beatrice Thomas (Mrs. E, W.). There were three Johnson brothers who came to California as children with their uncle; my great-grandfather, Alfred, was the youngest; Beatrice's father was the middle brother Columbus. The following is a copy of what Beatrice's husband sent to Elma, with parenthetical notes by me offering additions and corrections.

Johnson History

[The following is a transcription of a document sent to Elma (Johnson) Craig by Elmer W. Thomas, husband of Beatrice Johnson, in 1963. The document concerns the family background of three brothers, William B. Johnson, Columbus J. Johnson, and Alfred J. Johnson, who were orphaned after the Civil War and were brought to California by an uncle. Beatrice was the daughter of Columbus J. Johnson, and a first cousin of Elma Craig (daughter of Alfred J. Johnson). It reports two different “versions” of the history of the Johnson family, one supposedly related to the Thomases by another cousin, Alfred Johnson ( son of William B. Johnson); and the other apparently compiled from written notes made by Beatrice Thomas’s sister, Ila, based on conversations with their father, Columbus, prior to his death in 1936. Bracketed notes are by Richard O. Johnson, based on many years of research into this family.]

Unfortunately, we also failed to get much history concerning the Johnsons while Columbus was alive. However, I doubt that any of the boys knew very much about their ancestry due to the troubled times of the civil war and their extreme youth. We do have a pretty clear record of their activities after arrival in California which we presume you also have.

In 1947 we called on cousin Alfred Johnson and his wife Carrie from whom we obtained some information as passed down from Uncle Willie Johnson. Also we have a memo written by our late sister Ila covering certain facts obtained from Columbus. In these two accounts which we will record for you, there is one discrepancy as follows: Columbus told Ila that an uncle, William Johnson, brought the three boys to California, but Willie told cousin Alfred that an Uncle Bill Elliott brought them to California. We don’t know which is correct. [There can be no question that it was William Johnson (William Taylor Barry Johnson) who brought the boys to California; the story of this trip is handed down among his descendants, as well, and the boys were living in his household in Merced co. in 1870. The boys did have an uncle William T. C. “Rough” Elliott, brother of their mother, who was also an early California settler and who was known to them. Certainly William B. Johnson was not mistaken about who brought him to California; he was the oldest of the three boys and the one who probably knew the most about their history. No doubt in later years his youngest child Alfred conflated what he had heard about the two uncles. The uncle William Johnson was dead before Alfred was born, while the uncle William Elliott lived several years longer and was probably better known by Alfred, at least by reputation. In a letter to me dated 1 May 1997, Frank H. Johnson, a grandson of W. T. B. Johnson, wrote as follows: “Rough Elliott did go to Cal. Before Civil War. He came back to Arkansas after his sister, Mrs. John Johnson, had died but never came to see the 3 boys. He was appointed their Guardian & sold everything & left, before Capt. Billy Johnson arrived in Ark. This was what my grandmother Johnson told me.” I have not found anything to document this claim, but it is certainly a possible explanation for the confusion.] Here are the two brief accounts of record: (Cousin Alfred’s version)—Bill (Rough) Elliott, an uncle, came to Calif. during the Civil war. [Both William Johnson and William Elliott came to Calif. first in 1849 or 1850, well before the Civil War began.] As soon as the war ended, he returned to Arkansas to see his sister, Mrs. John Johnson, and found that she had just died leaving three orphan children. He had himself appointed administrator of the estate, and guardian of the three children. He sold the plantation and grist mill and moved to Calif. with the children. He was captain of the wagon train overland to Calif. [So far this is a reasonably accurate description of William Johnson, except for the relationship to “Mrs. John Johnson.” Apparently William Johnson’s trip to Arkansas was not happenstance; he had been notified of the death of his brother and his wife, and returned for the express purpose of taking charge of his young nephews.] He was a big man with a hot temper and inclined to take the law into his own hands. Family legend states that he killed a man in Arkansas before coming West. At one time in Calif. he organized a posse and captured a band of bandits. [This is definitely W. T. C. Elliott, who was a principal in the famous lynching of Lucky Bill Thorrington in the Carson Valley of Nevada; Elliott some years later killed a man named John White and was sentenced to death, though a series of legal maneuvers led to his eventually being set free. There was some question as to whether the killing was in self-defense.] He was so mean that the children left home as soon as they were able to get jobs and care for themselves. Bill Elliott never gave the children any money and never made any accounting of the estate. Willie was the first to leave, and went to work for a cousin, Billy Wilson. Soon after that Bill Elliott whipped Alfred unjustly—so hard that Columbus crept out in the night, took a horse and went to see Willie about getting them away from Bill Elliott. In a short time, both Columbus and Alfred left and went to work for Billie Wilson. (Carrie Johnson [widow of the Alfred J. Johnson who was the son of William B. Johnson] might be able to give you more information as she is quite a historian. In case you do not have her address, it is Rt. 4, Box 17, Hood River, Oregon.) [This generally agrees with the story told by Alfred. The cousin Billy Wilson was the son of William and John Johnson’s sister, Nancy (Johnson) Wilson; she and her husband apparently died leaving two children, who were raised by their grandparents and brought to California in 1852 by William Johnson.]

The following is an exact copy of notes taken by Ila Johnson as told by Columbus: The three boys were all born in Franklin County, Arkansas and in 1862 the family moved to a plantation in Crawford County, near Little Rock, Arkansas, where they remained until they were brought to California. [Basically correct, except that Crawford County is adjacent to Franklin County, and nowhere near Little Rock.] The father, John S. Johnson (middle name not mentioned), served in the Confederate army and died in Texas on the Red River, May 11, 1865. He was born Sept. 3, 1826. [There is uncertainty about the middle name; a biographical sketch of W. B. Johnson in An Ilustrated History of Baker, Grant, Malheur, and Harney Counties, Oregon (Western Historical Publishing Co., 1902) gives the initial as “L,” and tax records in Crawford co. AR seem to confirm that, with an 1865 listing for the estate of John L. Johnson and a subsequent listing for Mrs. Jane Johnson, same parcel; but on the other hand is quite possible John was named for his maternal grandfather, John Sanford.] The mother, Frances Jane Elliott, was born April 8, 1833 and died Feb. 27, 1868. The three boys lived with a neighbor, Mr. Dyer, until 1869 when an uncle, William Johnson, came from California and got the boys in March and came across the plains to California by oxteam. [“Mr. Dyer” was Joel Dyer; the story in the family of W. T. B. Johnson, told to me in the 1970’s by his granddaughter Marguerite Stanley, is that it was actually Dyer’s daughter, Caroline, who cared for the boys and contacted Johnson. W. T. B. Johnson married Caroline Dyer while he was in Arkansas and brought her back to California with him.]

The father, John Johnson’s business was farming and operating a grist mill. Jane Elliott’s grandfather’s name was Booker. His business was shoemaking, operating a tannery, and cotton farming. Jane Elliott’s father was a cotton farmer. In 1849 John Johnson’s father moved to Calif. and settled near San Bernardino. (We find no mention of John Johnson’s father’s first name but wonder if perhaps it was also John.) [His father was Alfred M. Johnson; he came to California in 1852 and settled at El Monte, but after his death in 1855 his widow Huldah and most of the family moved to San Bernardino.] Bill Johnson and Frank Johnson were brothers of John Johnson and all moved to California during the gold rush in 1849. [While Bill Johnson apparently first came in 1849, Frank, the youngest son, came in 1852 with his parents at the age of 8.] There were 21 children in all in that family, most of whom were not known to Columbus. [Ten children are known to have lived to maturity; census records indicate there were at least a couple of others who possibly died young. If there were in fact 21 children, many of them must have died in infancy.] John Johnson was probably one of the younger children. [Actually he was one of the older children--probably number four.] Columbus mentioned only four sisters of his father, a Huldah James, Mrs. Wilson, Mrs. Merrill, and a Mrs. Russell. All of these raised their families in California. [He’s on the right track here, but again these aunts have been conflated. The women he mentions are really as follows: Nancy (Johnson) Wilson, the oldest sister who apparently died in Missouri or Arkansas, mother of Billy Wilson; Margaret (Johnson) James, who raised her family in San Bernardino; Lucy (Johnson) Russell, who died after the birth of her only son; Huldah (Johnson) Pearl, who lived in San Bernardino; and Susan (Wilson) Merrill, actually not an aunt but a cousin, though much older than Columbus. Nancy Wilson, Lucy Russell, and Susan Merrill were all dead before Columbus and his brothers came to California, so he never knew them personally.] One sister, a Mrs. Raglyn, lived and died in the East. [This woman has not been identified. There is some indication that Frances Jane Elliott may have had a sister who married a Ragsdale; a young woman by that name is listed in the household of her mother, Elizabeth (Booker) Elliott, possibly a granddaughter of Elizabeth.] The grandmother Johnson (your great-grandmother), the mother of 2l children, lived to the age of 98. [She was actually 75 years old when she died.] Billy Wilson’s mother was a sister of John Johnson.

Both John Johnson and Jane Elliott were probably born, and spent their entire lives, in the same area, in the vicinity of Little Rock, Arkansas. They were married Dec. 11, 1851. [John was born in Missouri and came to Arkansas in his late teens; Frances Jane was born in Tennessee and came to Arkansas as a young child. They lived near each other in Crawford and Franklin counties, again nowhere near Little Rock. The marriage date is correct; it took place in Franklin co. AR and is recorded there.]

The Johnsons were tall, slender people of Scotch ancestry. The Elliotts were shorter and stouter, of sandy or reddish complexion, of Welsh ancestry. William, Columbus and Alfred had a younger brother, Cyrus, who died at the age of 4 during the civil war. Cyrus was a family name on the father’s side. [There is no other evidence for this fourth son, but no reason to doubt it. Cyrus was a family name in the Sanford family. It seems somewhat more likely that Cyrus was between Columbus and Alfred in birth order (which would place the boys all two years apart).]

John Johnson served three years in the Rebellion. Grandmother Elliott (your great-grandmother Elliott) died in 1863 and is buried on her father’s plantation (which would be the old Booker plantation). There is no record of Jane Elliott’s father’s name or when he died, but he must have died young. [Probably correct. Elizabeth Elliott “of Crawford County, Arkansas” was granted a federal land patent in 1843 for land in Franklin co., and is listed in the Franklin co. AR census for 1840, 1850 and 1860. (Franklin was formed from Crawford co. in 1837.)]

The three boys started across the plains to California March 15, 1869 with a wagon train of 47 wagons and between 200 and 300 people. They landed in Stockton October 7, 1870 [Thomas notes in a footnote that this must have been 1869], rested a few days then moved on to Merced County, making 7 months for the trip.

The above compiled from scattered memos March 12, 1963 in San Jose, California.

E. W. Thomas

A tale of two uncles

When I first became interested in family history (at the age of 13!), one of the first stories I heard was that of my great-grandfather, Alfred John Johnson. I was fascinated by him because I can actually remember him (I was 7 when he died). The story was that he was the youngest of three brothers who had been left orphaned in Arkansas after the civil war. Their father had not come home from the war, and their mother died soon thereafter. They were brought by an uncle to California. The uncle treated them cruelly, and so they essentially ran away from home and became cowboys and later ranchers in Modoc county. That was about the extent of the story as far as my grandfather remembered it. He wasn’t sure of the uncle’s name, or even if it was a paternal or maternal uncle.

One time when my great-grandfather was visiting my grandparents, who lived in Susanville, my grandmother got him a history of Lassen county from the library to read since he was interested in the old West. There was a prominent character in the history named W T. C. Elliott, known as “Rough” Elliott. My great-grandfather said, “Well, that’s my uncle—my mother’s brother.” He proceeded to tell a story about how he and his brothers had heard that this uncle had been arrested for murder down in Bishop, CA; that he, being the youngest of the brothers, was the one deputized to ride horseback from Modoc county down to bishop to see if he could help; that when he got there, he found his uncle had been exonerated and released, and he didn’t know where he had gone. My grandfather said he thought Grandpa Johnson would have mentioned if that was the uncle who had brought him to California, so he thought it probably wasn’t.

My grandfather had a cousin who he thought might know more. Unfortunately my grandmother didn’t get along with this cousin, so they got my grandfather’s sister, who did get along with the cousin, to write and ask. The response came back that it was actually the boys’ father’s brother, William Johnson, who had brought them to California. The cousin provided a bit more information—the uncle lived around Merced. So this set me off on an effort to find out more.

I went to the 1870 census of Merced county, and there I found them—the uncle, W. T. B. Johnson; his wife and some children; and the three brothers. So now I knew I was on the right track. I discovered that William Johnson was quite a prominent early settler in the area, in the town of Plainsburg. I found a photograph of him in a historical library in Stockton, CA:

  

I eventually learned that he had actually made three trips to California—the first in 1849, during the gold rush; then he went back to Arkansas and brought his father and several of his siblings out in 1852; then he went back to collect these three nephews after their parents died in 1869. I learned also that while he had settled in Merced, when he brought his parents and family out in 1852 they had settled in San Bernardino. So I wrote to the historical society there, inquiring about any information they might have. Very shortly I received a letter from an 84-year-old woman named Marguerite Stanley. She was, she said, the granddaughter of William T. Barry Johnson, and the woman at this historical society had given her my letter. She knew that her grandfather had brought these three orphaned boys to California—and she figured I must be the son or grandson of one of them.

So we had a great time swapping stories. The version of the story from her side of the family was rather different. Remember from my side the uncle had been cruel and the boys had run away from him as soon as they could. But Marguerite’s story was that her grandmother had always spoken of these three boys whom she had taken in in response to their mother’s dying request. She had then contacted the uncle in California, who came to get them. The uncle was a widower, and when he came back to Arkansas he fell in love with this young woman who had cared for his nephews, and they were married. She came with him and the nephews back to California. She had loved and cared for these boys as if they were her own—and then one day they just disappeared, and she never heard from them again. Marguerite went on to tell several stories of how generous and kind her grandfather had been.

How to reconcile the two versions? Well, we sort of concluded that the boys had essentially been without a father most of their lives, since they were just very young when he went off to war. Now having a “father figure” was perhaps a little more discipline and expectation than they were used to! At any rate, not long after this, Marguerite came and visited me, and we both a little teary at the idea that this family rift from 100 years ago had now been healed! I’ve since learned a lot more about Uncle William, and have been in touch with many of his descendants.

Now back to the other uncle, William “Rough” Elliott. He’s always been one of my favorite ancestors. I mentioned that we first learned about him when my great-grandfather read stories of him in a history of Lassen county. Turns out Uncle Rough, as I call him, had a pretty colorful life here on the frontier. He also came in 1849 or 1850, and actually lived first in Rough and Ready, a gold rush era community in Nevada county, about ten miles from where I now life—that’s allegedly where he got the nickname “Rough.” He wasn’t in Rough and Ready too long, though there is a brief mention of him in the little history of the town that was published a number of years ago. He then headed for Honey Lake Valley, the Susanville, Calif., area, where he ranched for a number of years. Here’s a photograph of him:

How I got this photo is an interesting story in itself. My grandfather had a friend who was a grandson of Isaac Roop, the founder of Susanville. After my great-grandfather had revealed that Rough Elliott was his uncle, my grandfather mentioned it to his friend, who said, “Oh, he was a good friend of my grandfather’s. We have a photo of him!”

One of the things interesting about Elliott was his involvement in a rather notorious lynching that took place over in Carson Valley in the 1860s—the hanging of Lucky Bill Thorrington. This is a very dramatic episode that still causes controversy. Some are convinced that Lucky Bill himself was a murderer, and got what was coming to him; others are equally convinced that he was framed, and that he was really kind of a folk hero, sort of a Robin Hood character who often robbed from the rich and gave to the poor. Rough Elliott was closely involved in the capture and hanging of Lucky Bill, so he looks like a villain or a hero depending on what you think of Lucky Bill. One common theme in this story is that Rough Elliott was quite a glib talker—very persuasive, a good orator, altogether a smooth and polished speaker who could talk his way into or out of just about anything.

But of course I was interested in the story of the murder accusation, and so I set out to see what I could learn. I first found a brief mention of it in a San Francisco newspaper from 1888. Having narrowed down the date, I spent hours looking through microfilm of the Inyo Register, the newspaper in Bishop in that time. I found a full account of the alleged murder, and extensive coverage of the trial. It seems the dead man was the uncle of Rough’s estranged wife. Rough claimed that he had killed him in self defense, but nobody in Inyo county bought that. The dead man was an old and respected settler, and Rough was regarded with a great deal of suspicion (and the stories about Lucky Bill kept coming up!) Rough was convicted of murder and sentenced to be hanged.

Then I found that his case actually went to the California Supreme Court. It overturned his conviction on what would be called a technicality, though the court’s decision made it clear that they thought the citizens in Inyo county and the inflammatory press coverage made it impossible for him to have gotten a fair trial there. So they ordered a new trial, with a change of venue. The trial was moved to Bakersfield, and it ended in a hung jury. A third trial also ended in a hung jury, and Rough was released and not tried again—not quite the “exoneration” my great-grandfather had claimed, but at least he avoided the noose!

A few years ago I found the entire transcript of the first trial in the California State Archives, which was lots of fun to read. I also found in the file a letter from Rough’s attorney which mentions that my great-grandfather was presently in Inyo county trying to assist his uncle.

A couple of other interesting things. First, I mentioned that Rough Elliott was a polished and accomplished speaker. I learned some years ago, much to my surprise, that his grandson was a prominent figure in the 7^th Day Adventist Church, and in fact taught speech and preaching at their seminary near Napa, CA!

Some years ago I got into a conversation with Tony Waters, a friend who teaches sociology at California State University, Chico, about Rough Elliott. Tony was very interested in his trial (he teaches criminology), and actually ended up using Rough Elliott as a case study in a book he wrote about murder!

A couple of years ago I was contacted by a woman in Massachusetts who was doing genealogy and whose husband, it turns out, is a great-grandson of Rough Elliott. They knew a little about him, but not much. They were out in California for a family wedding last Labor Day, and invited us to meet them at Lake Tahoe and have lunch. We had a grand time talking about old Rough!—though when I told my sister I was having lunch with Rough Elliott’s great-grandson, she asked me if I was going to take a gun for protection!  (I didn’t.)

There's always something new to be discovered

After posting the timeline for my great-grandpa Milton Richard Likins, I was doing some "web surfing" in one of the digital newspaper sites and found some very interesting notes about him--a couple of them rather dramatic incidents, neither of which I knew anything about. Here they are:

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27 Oct 1891 Jeffersonville News, Jeffersonville, IN:  Broad Ripple, Ind. Oct. 27—Milton Likens, of this place, took his five-year-old boy quail hunting with him. He left him by a stump, while he circled around a covey of birds, but when the time came to shoot, he forgot his bearings, and thirty shot took effect in the boy. The lad was badly hurt, but he will recover.

15 Nov 1892 Connersville Daily News, Connersville, IN.  “Broad Ripple, Ind., Nov. 15—Milton R. Likens, the village baker, was terribly burned by an explosion of natural gas. The pressure increased, extinguishing the fire and filling the oven with gas. Mr. Likens opened the door and the explosion followed. He was thrown across the room, his beard and hair was burned off his face and head, and he was frightfully burned and bruised about the body.”

10 Aug 1894 Milton R. Likins, Broad Ripple post office, commissioned Justice of the Peace for Marion co. IN. Annual Reports of the Officers of State of the State of Indiana . . . for the fiscal year ending October 31, 1894. [Similar listing in 1898]

This one about the explosion is particularly interesting, and helpful for a rather odd reason. I have an old photo which was in my grandmother's effects, but had come from her mother. It is a picture of a couple, the man with a rather generous beard. My grandmother said she didn't know who they were. I thought it was her parents--and I've continued to think so, in studying the photo carefully and comparing features with photos of her parents.; but she told me one time that it couldn't be her parents because she was sure her father had never worn a beard. But here, in this account of this gas explosion, is evidence that in fact he did have a beard at the time of the accident--four years before my grandmother's birth, so she may have never known him with a beard. 

Here's the photo that I think is Milton Richard and Nettie Belle (Hastings) Likins:

And here's one that I know is Milton Richard and Nettie Belle (Hastings) Likins, with eldest son Ford Likins (b. 1885, so this photo ca. 1889 or so):

Sure looks like the same couple to me; what do you think?