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THE
JOHNSONS. The senior
of the Newbury family was Solomon, born Nov. 29, 1763, in
Massachusetts married Mary Morton some time about
1791. He died at Newbury, in 1842, aged seventy-eight.
Mary, born in 1765, died in Newbury, in 1830. Mrs.
Johnson, at the time of her marriage, was the widow Earl,
and mother of John Earl.
Solomon Johnson and his eldest son,
Seth, in seeking a new home in the West, went first to New York,
thence to the head-waters of the Allegheny river, in the autumn of
1814, and spent the winter in the pine woods, making shingles.
In the spring, in company with another, the owner of lumber, they
undertook to rail, their property to Cincinnati, were wrecked; lost
their cargo, made their way to that town, and across the woods to
Sandusky, and down the lake to Painesville. Here they heard
that an old friend, J. M. Burnett, had purchased in Newbury,
and they went there, purchased near him, and sent for their family,
while they remained, built a cabin, and cleared land. The
family arrived in the summer of 1816. It consisted of the
wife, a daughter, Diodama, who became the wife of Josiah
Burnett (see the
Burnetts),
and Solomon, Jr., the youngest son, who remained single and
died many years ago. With them came John Earl, Mrs.
Johnson‘s son, his wife, Jemima, and three children (see
history of
Newbury); also Jonah Johnson, the second son, his
wife, Polly, and one son, Theodore.
Seth Johnson married Saloma
Curtis in 1821, built a house, and replaced it with the one in
which his son Daniel now lives, where he and Saloma
lived and reared a family of twelve, all of whom survive but three.
The parents both died many years ago.
Helen B. is the wife of Edward Crafts,
of Auburn, and reside on the homestead of William Crafts,
Edward's father, wealthy and well esteemed.
William S. married Roxy Vinton,
and lives in Michigan.
Mary A. married Professor Seible,
and died in 1857.
Alma J. lives with a second husband in Huron
county, Ohio.
Alma married Dr. Coolage, and
lives in Wisconsin.
Randie is a widow, living in Portage county.
Louisa is a teacher in the high school of East
Saginaw, Michigan.
Lepha is the wife of the Rev. H. L. Canfield,
and lives in Norwalk, Ohio.
Sarah lives in Kent, Portage county.
Lettie became the wife of G. W. Morley,
of the firm of Morley Brothers, East Saginaw, and died
January, 1873.
Didama died, unmarried, in 1855.
These ten daughters had an unusual share of good looks,
intelligence, and character.
DANIEL JOHNSON,
The second son of Seth,
was born at Newbury, June 22, 1826, had the common-school advantages
of that region, was a boy of unusual intelligence, grave, and a
little shy, yet with something of the wit and sparkle for which all
the elders were noted, especially his father and Uncle Jonah.
He was married to Belle M. Gould, daughter of Simon Gould,
Mar. 9, 1852. He became the owner of the Seth Johnson
homestead, and still resides there. His neighbors and
townsmen early discovered his intrinsic worth, and elected him to
the various responsible township offices. He is now the senior
of the board of county commissioners, and is in his second term of
service. He is a man of superior capacity, much general
information, of wide influence, and esteemed for his sterling
qualities. Belle, his wife, was born in Summit county,
Ohio, May 19 1836; is a woman of pleasing person and manners.
They are the parents of four children, - Estella,
wife of R. B. Roe, lives in St. Louis; William C., now
twenty-two, is at school; S. Dayton, seventeen, is at home on
the farm; and sweet Lettie Grace, three years old, is
playing the part of pet to an admiring household and neighborhood.
Of the numerous family of Jonah Johnson,
not one remains in Newbury. Mrs. Jonah
Johnson, much beloved, died about 1852, and the father and
several other members of the family moved to Michigan, where
Theodore and some of the others reside.
The Johnsons filled a prominent place in the
Newbury of the old time, and Daniel and his family alone
remain to preserve the name and keep alive the traditions of the
family of that day.
Source: History of Geauga and Lake Counties, Ohio,
Publ. Philadelphia by Williams Brothers - 1878 - Page 180 |
Source: