USA > New Hampshire > Genealogical and family history of the state of New Hampshire : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Vol. I > Part 96
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than goe to Prison. Objected against that Clause of acknowledging that to be Lawfull Authority which administered : would see the Seals."
Major Johnson was a member of the orthodox Congregationl Church at Woburn, and led an up- right and honorable life.
He married, May 16, 1655, Esther, daughter of Thomas Wiswall, ruling elder of the church of Newton. They had nine children-six sons: Will- iam, Edward, Ebenezer, Joseph, Benjamin and Josiah; and three daughters, Esther, Susanna and Abigail.
(III) Captain Edward (2), second son of Major William and Esther (Wiswall) Johnson, was born in Woburn, March 19, 1658, and died August 7, 1725, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. He re- sided about half a mile from the place where Burl- ington meeting house was afterward built in a house on the most easterly path to Shawshin, now the road to Bedford, the cellar of which was till re- cently visible. Through life he stood high among his fellow townsmen, in reputation and usefulness. He was a gentleman of handsome property for his time, was a person of good judgment and well qualified to do public business, and was for many years one of the selectmen of Woburn, and its representative to the general court in 1700. He was a prominent member of the church, and about 1720 was chosen deacon. He was also captain of a military company of Woburn. He married (first), January 12, 1686, Sarah Walker, and (second) widow Abigail Thomp- son, whose maiden name was Gardiner. He had seven children by his first wife and two by his second wife. Of these Ichabod, the youngest son of the first wife, one of the four grandsons of Major Will- iam Jolinson, who were with Captain Lovewell at the fight at Pigwocket, May 8, 1725, appears to have been the darling of his heart. Two Johnsons, Noah and Josiah, were wounded but recovered. Ichabod was killed, and the news of his death quickly brought his father to the grave; and his death followed that of his son in less than three months.
(IV) Edward (3), son of Captain Edward (2) Johnson, was born in Woburn, May 4. 1689, and died there, October 5, 1774, aged eighty-five years. He took an active part in gathering the church in the second parish, now Burlington, of which he was elected deacon in 1741, serving till the end of his life. He married Rebecca Reed, about 1711, and they had children.
(V) Jotham, son of Edward (3) and Rebecca (Reed) Johnson, was born in Woburn, June 13, 1720, and died November 30, 1793, aged seventy- three years. He was a private in Captain Joshua Walker's company, Colonel David Greene's (second Middlesex company) regiment, which marched prob- ably on the alarm of April 19, 1775, but whether he did other service does not appear. He married Saralı Wilson, of Woburn, in 1748, and they had several children.
(VI) Jotham (2) Johnson, son of Jotham (I) and Sarah (Wilson) Jolinson, was born in Woburn, November 28, 1753, and died in Burlington, Mass- achusetts, June 15, 1827, aged seventy-four years. With his father he responded to the alarm of April IS. 1775, and the two were in the same company. His name is also on the list of training soldiers be- longing to the third Woburn company under Captain Timothy Winn, dated May 13, 1775. He married, February 23. 1775, Eunice Reed.
(VII) Jotham (3) son of Jotham (2) and Eu- nice (Reed) Johnson, was born in Burlington, May 6. 1778, and died in Charlestown, May 24. 1850. In the old days Charlestown Neck was something of a
J.M. Johnson
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business place, and many of the residents there were among the most thrifty and enterprising citizens of the town. Their houses would bear comparison with those of any other locality, and their families vied with the most intelligent and ambitious in the social circles of the place. Among these were the Wymans, Hoveys and Johnsons. Jotham Johnson went to reside in Charlestown. The large brick building, No. 465 Main street, still standing, but put to a very different use from that of its earlier days, was built by him and was his home for many years till his death. He was one of the first board of di- rectors of the Bunker Hill Bank, elected July 27, 1825, and continued to October, 1845, and he was one of the original proprietors of the Harvard Unitarian Church. The Johnsons were all dealers in cattle and provisions. They carried on an active business on the inargin of the Mystick and Charles rivers, in the slaughter of cattle and sheep for retail dealers in summer, and beef, and pork packing for shipment in the winter. Jotham Johnson was town collector of Charlestown.
Jotham Johnson married, November 14, 1802, Susanna Tufts, born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, daughter of Samuel and Martha (Adams) Tufts, and died February 12, 1852, aged forty-nine years. Their son, Charles Barkley Johnson, was a partner in the old firm of E. A. & W. Winchester & Com- pany, extensive soap and candle manufacturers, and packers and dealers in provisions. George was a grocer and West India goods dealers in the stone building on Main street, and afterwards a lumber merchant at the Neck. Other sons were lumber dealers in the town.
(VIII) Jotham (4) son of Jotham (3) and Sus- anna (Tufts) Johnson, was born at Charlestown, July 25, 1809, and died July 25, 1851. He was for a long time a merchant on Chelsea street. He mar- ried (first) Sarah Howard Rand, April 28, 1835; she died February 22, 1837, aged 22 years. He mar- ried (second), March 19. 1839, Elizabeth Stowell.
(IX) Gardner Rand, only son of Jotham (4) and Sarah (Rand) Johnson, was born in Charles- town, September 8, 1836, and died there November 29, 1883, aged forty-seven years. He was educated in the schools of Boston, and was later an accountant in that city. In politics he was a Republican. He married. January 12, 1865, Lizzie Abby Ridgway, of Nashua, born in Nashua, April 30, 1840, daughter of Charles T. and Abby F. (Ingalls) Ridgway, of Nashua. She died in Nashua, April 15, 1884. They were the parents of five sons.
(X) Edward Jotham, third son of Gardner Rand and Lizzie A. (Ridgway) Johnson, was born in Charlestown, August 29, 1873, and since the death of his father has resided in Nashua, New Hamp- shire. He was educated in the public schools of Nashua, and at Dartmouth College, graduating from the latter in 1896, with the degree of Bachelor of Science. Returning to Nashua he engaged in civil engineering. In 1902 lie was elected city en- gineer of Nashua, which position he has since held. He is a member of the Boston Society of Civil En- gineers, and the New England Water Works Asso- ciation. From 1900 to 1903 lie was a member of the signal corps of the New Hampshire National Guard. He is a member of Granite Lodge, No. I, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the fol- lowing Masonic organization, Ancient York Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. In politics he is a Republican, and in religious faith an Episcopal- ian, being a communicant of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Nashua.
Mr. Johnson married, at Oswego, New York,
June 17, 1903, Fanny Herrick Weed, born in Oswego, New York, May 5, 1878, daughter of William H. and Harriet Harback (Herrick) Weed, of Oswego, and granddaughter of the late Hon. William H. Herrick, of that city. Two children have been born of this union: Edward Ridgway and Harriet Her- rick.
(Second Family.)
The family of this name from which JOHNSON Hon. James Willis Johnson de- scended, is from William Johnson, born in England in 1600 who migrated from St. Christopher, Ireland, and was probably the first of the family to set foot on the soil of New England. His wife's name was Elizabeth. Their son (2) Joseph was born in 1636. The succeeding genera- tions were (3) Joseph 1667; (4) Isaac; (5) Will- iam; (6) Thomas; (7) John; (8) Joseph; (9) Moses; and (10) James W. Joseph Johnson (8) was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.
James Willis, only son of Moses and Lavinia (Härdy) Johnson, was born in Enfield, New Hamp- shire, February 24, 1826, and died December 18, 1886. His education was obtained in the country schools, which he quit at an early age to engage in commercial life, from which he had from early boy- hood a strong preference. His first position in this line was that of clerk in a country store. In 1852 he began buying potatoes and other produce for the Boston market. His first shipment was a carload of long red potatoes. His business soon expanded and he included stock in his line of purchases, buy- ing cattle in Canada and Northern New York and driving them to New Hampshire, where he dis- posed of them to farmers. Wool was another staple in which he dealt largely, his purchases in this line increasing from year to year.
When the Civil war. began, Mr. Johnson recog- nized the fact that the gigantic armies raised for the defense of the Union would require immense amounts of woolen clothing, and he set about pur- chasing wool in great quantities, knowing that the immensely increased demand for it would raise the prices correspondingly and enrich any dealer who could handle it in great quantities. Accordingly he bought up all the wool he could reach in New Hampshire, Vermont and Canada. From that time, 1861 or 1862 till 1876, Mr. Johnson was one of the largest, boldest and most successful dealers in wool and produce in New England. In one day a neigh- bor, James F. Bryant, who was acting as his agent, paid out between $60,000 and $70,000 dollars in cur- rency for wool received. Barley was one of the farm products he handled and of this he was one of the largest shippers from New York and Canada. On one occasion he called on a prominent and wealthy brewer of Boston, a Mr. Souther, and after showing him a sample, solicited an order. The brewer replied "Yes, I want your barley, and will take ten thousand bushels." Mr. Johnson was astonished at the magnitude of the sale, which brought him more clear profit than he had ever ex- pected to be worth, and lost no time in procuring grain and closing the deal. On another occasion some time later, in the presence of his neighbor, Wyman Pattee, Mr. Johnson in five minutes made $5000 from the sale of fifty thousand bushels of barley.
In 1874 he had realized sufficient out of his business to justify his ambition of being the pro- prietor of one of the largest and best hostelries in Boston. Accordingly in that year he bought the Quincy House, and from that time till his death was its proprietor. One of his first moves was to raze
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and rebuild the hotel from its foundations. The present house not only occupies the site of the earlier Quincy House, but also includes the space occupied by the Central Hotel and several stores, is seven stories high, and one of the leading hotels in New England. The amount of money necessary to put this house in condition to please Mr. Johnson was a full million dollars.
Mr. Johnson always remained a citizen of his native town. He was a stalwart Republican and as prominent in local politics as he was in business. His success in the latter inspired his fellow citizens with confidence in his ability as a politician and he was frequently the standard bearer of his party. He was elected to the New Hampshire house of repre- sentatives in 1860. and re-elected in 1865, 1866 and 1875. In 1876-77 he was state senator, and in 1878 and 1879 was railroad commissioner. In 1878 his views on the question of national finance had brought him into sympathy with the Greenback party, and he was then a candidate for congress on that ticket, in the third New Hampshire district.
Mr. Johnson was born to poverty, and entered upon life's journey with a meagre equipment in many of those things that most people deem essen- tial to success. He had neither money, education or influential friends, but he had what proved to be of much greater value to him-good judgment, quick perception, tireless energy, strong ambition and a genial disposition that made him an agreeable companion. With that kind of equipment he needed but an opportunity to assure him success. His op- portunity came with the great Civil war and its con- comitants. He saw it, grasped it, made the most of it, and won. The time was ripe for another step when he bought the Quincy House, and with his ex- perience and mature talent he made it a great suc- cess.
Mr. Johnson's sympathy was always with the poor and unfortunate, and he was quick to relieve the wants of the distressed. This was no doubt largely due to the conditions of his early life. The following incident will show that when a child he knew what it was to be poor. When seven or eight years old his mother sent him to the store a mile and a quarter away, whither he walked barefoot through the snow an inch deep, and with a little money his mother had earned by weaving for a neighbor, bought a pint of molasses, three cents worth of tea and as much flour as he could get for twenty-five cents.
And yet the privations of his youth did not sour his disposition or turn him from the scenes of his childhood. On the contrary, these things seemed to have developed in his nature a love of home and a sympathy with and a regard for all that was con- nected with his early years. The little red home he lived in as a child he owned in his later years, and till the time of his death. He never allowed it or anything about it to be changed, and when it was repainted he always had it done with paint of the same red color, a souvenir, as it were, of old times. The new modern residence he later occupied as a home was built not far from and in sight of the first home. His love for his early home and early friends made him an ever popular man in that lo- cality.
Mr. Johnson married, December 20, 1846, Susan Smith, daughter of Rev. Uriah Smith, of Barnard, Vermont, and they had four children : Ella H., wife of William W. Hill; Carrie E., wife of Dr. Otis H. Marrion, of Allston, Massachusetts; Belle F., wife of Otis Fellows, a grain merchant of Boston; Helen
S., wife of Albert W. Meade, of Manchester, Mas- sachusetts.
(Third Family.)
This name was borne by many of JOHNSON the leading citizens of southeastern New Hampshire of the pioneer period, descendants of the Puritan pioneers of Mas- sachusetts.
They have carried their part in the social, material and moral devolopment of a com- monwealth, and have usually been found as thrifty, upright and industrious people.
(1) Among the original proprietors of Andover, Massachusetts, was Lieutenant Stephen Johnson, said to have been of Ipswich. Unfortunately the early records of Andover have disappeared, and the time of settlement of the proprietors is unknown, their early acts being now also a matter of con- jecture. In a list of inhabitants and householders made in 1681, the name of Mr. Johnson appears. That he was a freeholder much earlier is apparent from the fact that he served as constable in 1672, as grand juror and surveyor in 1673, and selectman in 1676-7. He subscribed to the oath of fidelity in 1678. He was the owner of a sawmill, and in 1671 was granted "so muchi old seader timber as would make twentie thousand of shingles," and next year was granted timber for ten thousand of cedar al- ready cut down. He died in 1690, in Andover, and was survived about thirty-two years by his widow. She was Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. Francis Dana of Ipswich and Andover, being the second minister of the latter town. She was among those con- demned in January, 1693, as a witch and sentenced to be hung, but escaped in the general jail delivery when the panic was checked. Her son, Stephen, was also indicted when only thirteen years old. She died in 1722. Their children were: Francis, Stephen, Joseph and Benjamin.
(II) Stephen (2), son of Stephen (I) and Eliza- beth (Dana) Johnson, was born 1679, in Andover, and resided in Haverhill and Hampstead, probably being among those who found themselves in the latter town when the boundary between Massachu- setts and New Hampshire was fixed in 1740. He was admitted to the Hampstead church by letter from the north parish of Haverhill, and was long prom- inent in church and town affairs. He was seventy- six years old at the time of his fourth marriage. No record of his death appears, but he must have reached a good age, being known for several years as the "aged sexton." He first married Sarah Whit- taker, who bore him four children and died June 14, 1716. Mr. Johnson was married December 13, 1716, to Ruth Eaton, daughter of Thomas and Eunice (Singletary ) Eaton. She was born Novem- ber 21, 1784, in Haverhill, and died April 6, 1750, having also borne four children to Mr. Johnson. She first married Ebenezer Kimball, who died in 1714. Mr. Johnson was married August 11, 1750, to Priscilla (Farnum), widow of .Ephraim Holt, who died in 1699. She was born 1769 and died 1754. and Mr. Johnson was married (intention published March 15, 1755) to widow Sarah Clark, of Methuen. His children were: Sarah, Ruth, Stephen, Samuel, Ebenezer, Abigail, Eunice and Timothy.
(III) Stephen (3), eldest son and third child of Stephen (2) and Sarah ( Whittaker) Johnson, was born about 1713-14, in Haverhill, and resided in Hampstead until about 1768, removing to London- derry. He was admitted with his first wife to the church at Hampstead from the North parish of Haverhill, June 3, 1752. He married Susanna Love- kin, who was born February 8, 1739, in Haverhill,
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daughter of Jonathan and Ruth (Johnson) Lovekin of that town. She was the mother of nine chil- dren, born between 1742 and 1760, the first two and last two being twins, namely: Stephen, Susannah, Mary, Timothy, Joseph, Jonathan, Samuel, Henry and Sarah. After his removal to Londonderry, Mr. Johnson married Ruth Johnson, and they had two daughters, Hannah and Susanna. ( Mention of Samuel, the fifth son, and his descendants appears in later paragraphs of this article).
(V) Joseph, third son and fifth child of Stephen (3) and Susanna (Lovekin) Johnson, was born December 3, 1751, in Hampstead, and was among the first settlers of Sutton, this state, going there im- mediately after his marriage. He was married April 16, 1781, to Sarah Philbrook, of Hampstead, who was born February, 1757, and died December 20, 1843, in Sutton. She was a daughter of Benjamin and Sarah (Choate) Philbrook. Mr. Johnson cleared up a farm in Sutton, and died there July 5, 1849. His children were: Joseph, Henry, Sarah, Stephen, Moses, Susanna, Asa, Nabby, Syrena and Moody.
(VI) Moses, the fourth son and fifth child of Joseph and Sarah (Philbrook) Johnson, was born July 31, 1789, in Sutton, where he was a prominent and respected citizen. In early life he engaged in farming and lived in Peterborough for a few years. Returning to Sutton he became a partner with Jacob S. Harvey in the operation of a store at the south village, which they purchased. Before 1861 he removed to Claremont, where he kept a boarding house for several years. He was a highly respected citizen, and passed away July 5, 1882, in his ninety- second year. He was married October 30, 1816, to Jemima Stevens, adopted daughter of Obadiah and Jemima (Williams) Eastman. She died October II, 1861, in Claremont. She was the mother of two children. Mary Ann, the eldest, died at the age of four and a half years. The only son is the sub- ject of the following paragraph.
(VII) Daniel Webb, only son of Moses and Jemima (Stevens) Johnson, was born October 16, 1827, in Sutton, and was eighteen years old when he went with his parents to Claremont. There he entered the Monadnock mill, in the cloth room, and was subsequently employed in the office as assist- ant. He was soon promoted to bookkeeper and pay- master, and became a valuable and trusted assistant to the superintendent. In February, 1858, he was appointed agent and manager of the Phoenix cotton mills at Peterboro, which was owned by the same proprietors. He continued in that position five years, until the resignation of the agent of the Monadnock mills, when he returned to Claremont as his successor. From July 1, 1863, until his death, April 29, 1894, he continued as agent and manager of the Monadnock mills, to the entire satisfaction of the owners and employes, and enjoyed the friend- ship and esteem of the people of Claremont to the fullest extent. In 1874 he made an extended tour in Europe in the interest of his employers, and gained much information of value to himself and the business, by his observations. During his admin- istration the mills were largely extended and ampli- fied in product, and the value of their output many times multiplied. Upon liis removal to Peterboro, the citizens of the town tendered him a farewell ban- quet, and throughout his residence at Claremont he received testimonials of the regard in which he was held. Though he was a Democrat in political prin- ciple, the town, always largely Republican, chose him as its representative in the State legislature in 1892, and he served on several important commit- tees. He took an active interest in many of the
leading institutions of the town, and was ever ready to promote its growth and welfare by any honorable means. He was president of the Sullivan Savings Institution for twenty-three years, was a director of the Concord & Claremont railroad from 1882 until his death, and president and director of the Clare- mont Water Works Company. He was a trustee of the State Industrial School at Manchester from 1877, and many years a trustee of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Claremont. The National Eagle of Claremont said of him: "He was not am- bitious for political distinction, and show or ostenta- tion of any kind seemed to be distasteful to him. He was endowed with a large share of good practical common sense, had positive ideas upon subjects, but was not offensive to those who differed from him; was just and generous, and commanded the respect of all who knew him. As a citizen he was public spirited and liberal, and as a neighbor, kind and generous. His death, so sudden and unexpected, seems untimely, and is deeply deplored by his rel- atives, neighbors and community. As the managing liead of the largest industrial establishment in the county, his loss is very great."
Mr. Johnson was married March 4, 1849, to Syena P. Walker, who died February 5, 1873. He married, (second), January 7, 1880, Miss Mary A., only daughter of John Tyler (see Tyler, VI), who survives him, and resides in Claremont.
(IV) Samuel, fifth son' and seventh child of Stephen (3) and Susanna (Lovekin) Johnson, was born April 25, 1756, in Hampstead, and resided in that town. He married Phebe Hall, and their chil- dren were: Betsey, Caleb, Kimball and Phebe.
(V) Deacon Caleb, son of Samuel and Phebe (Hall) Johnson, was born about 1780-82, in Hamp- stead, and died in 1854-55, at the age of seventy-three years, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, He was the deacon of the First Congregational Society of Manchester, and later an early member of the Universalist So- ciety. His wife, Hannah (Butler) Johnson, traced her descent from one of the earliest Puritan immi- grants in New England. Deacon Caleb and Hannah ( Butler) Johnson had five children to grow to ma- turity : 1. Mary, married (first) a Mr. Perry; (sec- ond) a Mr. Foster. By her first marriage she had two children : Lucy, who married Rev. Dr. Frederick A. Noble, a prominent clergyman who finished his labors in Chicago, Illinois. Mary J., who married Mr. Charles Morris, of New Jersey. 2. Sarah, mar- ried the Rev. Mr. Bailey, had two children: Sarah and Mary, who married David F. Lincoln, of Bos- ton, Massachusetts. 3. Augusta, married Joshua M. House, three children: Charles H., Mary and Lizzie. 4. William, father of subject. 5. George Quincy. All of the above children have passed away.
(1) James Butler, progenitor of the Butler fam- ily in America, came from England, and is found on record at Lancaster, Massachusetts, in 1659, and was at Woburn in 1676.
(2) John, son of James Butler, born in Wo- burn, 1677, settled in Pelham, New Hampshire, where he was the progenitor of a race of hardy, ro- bust ycomanry. He was deacon of the early church, and one of the most prominent settlers. His wife's name was Elizabeth. One of his daughters, Sarah, married Jonathan Morgan, who was killed at the massacre of Fort William Henry, in 1758.
(3) Jacob, eighth child of John and Elizabeth Butler, married Mary Eames.
(4) Jacob (2), son of Jacob and Mary (Eames) Butler, married his cousin Sarah, daughter of Jon- athan and Sarah ( Butler) Morgan.
(5) Hannah, daughter of Jacob and Sally
1
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(Morgan) Butler, married Caleb Johnson, as above stated.
(VI) William Butler, eldest son and fourth child of Deacon Caleb and Hannah (Butler) John- son, was born December 4, 1818, in Pelham, New Hampshire, and died January 23, 1884, in Manches- ter. Before he was ten years old he went to Man- chester and worked in the old mill on the island at Amoskeag, and through his industry and energy rose to the position of overseer of its dressing and weav- ing departments. At seventeen years of age he served as overseer in the first of the Stark mills, which were erected on the east bank of the Merri- mack.
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