Elliott County?s Union Civil War Veterans in 1890 By John A. Stegall < johnstegall@hotmail.com One installment in a series of articles Mr. John A. Stegall prepares and publishes in The Elliott County News. This article is a continuation from Dec 20, 1996. Transcribed with permission from the author by Samone Ratcliff on Jan 10, 2000. John M. Johnson: Pvt., Co., A. 68th KY MA (USA). In 1890 this veteran stated that he entered the military May 20, 1864, and was discharged June 22, 1864. He indicated that his address was Fielden, but mentioned no war related injuries or current illnesses. The official papers of Gov. Luke Blackburn names John M. Johnson as having been a member of the Regulators of Elliott Co in the 1880s. His name appeared on a list of Regulators who had petitioned the Governor for a pardon. Johnson family researchers say John M. Johnson was born about 1842 and was a son of Jesse and Mary APolly@ Boggs Johnson. Jesse Johnson, a native of NC, and Mary Boggs, a native of Lee Co, VA, were married Aug 27, 1826 in Lawrence Co, KY. These same records indicate that John M. Johnson and Josephine Wellman were married Nov 22, 1860. The 1870 Elliott Co census shows John M. Johnson living in the Little Fork Precinct. He was 28 years of age; Josephine was 28. Four children were listed: Elisha, 7; Mariah, 5; Bennet, 3; and Mary, 1. The 1890 Military Census and the Elliott Co Tax Assessments both indicate that John M. Johnson was still a resident of the Little Fork Precinct. He owned 100 areas of land and named John Gilliam as being his nearest neighbor. Another John M. Johnson is named on the tax records for the Little Fork area, indicating that he owned 130 acres and A. (Alfred) Waddell as his nearest neighbor. I do not find John M. Johnson in the 1900 records; however, he was found still living in the Little Fork area when the 1910 census was taken. He was 67; Josephine was 66. Peter Johnson: Pvt., Co., A. 5th Ky., Inf., CSA. He indicated that he entered that Confederate Army in 1861 and served into 1862. His address was Trench, a post office that served the people of the upper Bruin area from 1889 to 1942. It is obvious that Peter Johnson was a resident of Elliott Co, and more specifically, of the Bruin area. While a Peter Johnson in named in various Elliott co records, he does not seem to be the veteran named above. Age, residence, etc., simply do not seem to be characteristic with him. I an just unable to place him in a specific Johnson line, and would hope that someone might be able to identify him. I am inclined to believe that he might have been in the Carter Co line of Johnsons, but no proof whatsoever. William Johnson: Pvt., Co., I, 5th Inf., CSA. The only dates he gave for his military time were 1863 to 1864. He indicated that his post office was Newfoundland, but gave no other information. The 1870 Elliott Co census names only one William Johnson that would have been of sufficient age to be a Civil War veteran. His family was enumerated in Precinct #4, Little Fork; however, the post office named was Newfoundland. In 1870, William Johnson stated that he was 34 years of age; Lucinda, his wife, was 38. Their children named i the 1870 report were; Mary, 16; Alfred, 14; Mason, 10; William, 9; John L., 5; Thomas, 4; and James R., 5 months. Since the military census names William Johnson, it seems obvious that he would have been in the general census for that year. But I do not find a William Johnson in the 1880, 1900 or 1910 census reports for Elliott Co whose age would correspond with the veteran. Willis W. Johnson: Pvt., Co., I, 5th Ky Mtd. Inf., CSA. This veteran stated in 1890 that he entered the Confederate Army in 1862 and served to 1864. His address was Newfoundland. Johnson family researchers say Willis Washington Johnson was born Jan 22, 1846, and indeed, information taken from his gravemarker in the Gray-King Cemetery at Newfoundland indicates that same. This same source of information gives Jan 12, 1915 as his date of death. Willis W. Johnson was a son of Jesse and Mary APolly@ Boggs Johnson. Jesse Johnson, a native of NC, was the progenitor of the Johnson family of present-day Elliott Co, but resided in Lawrence Co when he first moved to KY, and most likely in that area that was later included in Elliott Co. On Dec 14, 1868, Willis W. Johnson and Cynthia Ann Rose were married. Cynthia was a daughter of Robert L. and Sarah Perry Rose, and is most often referred to as Ann in various records. When the 1870 census was taken in Elliott Co, Willis Johnson was 24 years of age, and living in Precinct #1, Martinsburg; however, judging by the names of his neighbors, he appears to have been a resident of the Newfoundland (Cracker’s Neck) area. Cynthia, his wife, was 18; Julia, their only child at the time, was 6 months old. Willis indicated that he was born in KY and was a farmer. The 1880 census indicates that W. W. Johnson was a resident of the Little Fork Precinct. He was 34 years of age, and a farmer. Ann was 31. Their children named in the 1880 report were: Julia L., 8; John, 6; Bob, 4; Mary E., 3; and Ellington, 1. Also in the home was Jesse Johnson, the 81 year old father of Willis. Information contained in this census revealed that Jesse was a widower and blind, and that he had been born in NC. Since there is no general census for 1890, we can use the Tax Assessments for the year to locate Willis W. Johnson. He was a resident of the Cracker’s Neck Precinct, but there was no indication of acreage he might have owned, neither did it name a nearest neighbor. It did, however, show that he owned property valued at $592. In the Elliott Co census of 1900, Willis W. Johnson was 54 years of age, and gave his profession as “Physician”. Cynthia A. was 47, stating that she was born in Aug 1852. They indicated that they had been married 31 years and were the parents of 12 children, 1 of whom was deceased. Children named in this report were: Sarah P., 19 (born in Nov 1880); George M., 16 (June 1883); Dr. V., 14 (May 1886); Ida E., 11 (Aug 1888); Florence, 7 (July 1892); and Elias H., 4 (June 1895). The older children, named in the 1880 census, had married and established their own homes. Julia Lee had married Milliard Lewis; “John” whose real name was Herschel Vaughn, had married Cora Bailey; Robert “Bob” had married Laura Whisman; Mary was married to Rufus Flannery; and Ellington married Lucy Harper. When the 1910 census was taken, W.W. Johnson was still a resident of Newfoundland, and stated that he was 64 years of age. Again, his profession was listed as “Physician”. Anna (Ann) was 58 years of age, and indicated that she and Dr. Johnson had 12 children, 3 of them being deceased in 1910. They stated that they had been married 41 years. Their children still at home in 1910 were: D.B, age 23; Ida, 21, and a “Teacher”; Florence, 18; and Homer, 14. Children who married since 1900: Sarah P., had married Charles Hogge of Morehead; George had married Susie Goodman; Vergil (“Dr. V.” in the 1900 census) had married Effie Manning; Ida E., the teacher, married Ollie Lyons: Florence had married Estill Holbrook; and Homer married Belle Duvall. One child, Effa Mae, is not named in the census reports, which leads me to believe that she may have died in infancy. As indicated, Dr. Willis W. Johnson died Jan 12, 1915; however, Cynthia Ann lived until Oct 18, 1933, and, like her husband, is buried in the Gray-King Cemetery. Roy Johnson of Brown Ridge is one of the very few grandchildren of Dr. Johnson that are still living. To Joe There In Florida: I really appreciated your phone call while you were visiting here in Elliott. It’s always nice to talk with you, especially about genealogy. (Joe was one of my students at Elliott County High, and he never fails to call me when he is in this area. He is a reporter for a Florida newspaper, and, from what I hear, he does an excellent job.) Keep up the good work, Joe. Finished USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free genealogical information on the Internet, data may be freely used for personal research and by non-commercial entities as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format or presentation by other organizations or persons. 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