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Archiver > NJHUNTER > 2006-02 > 1139613323


From: "Harry Spade" <>
Subject: Re: [NJWARREN] A mystery to solve: Johnston family
Date: Fri, 10 Feb 2006 18:19:04 -0500
References: <001001c62c3f$239580c0$37c3ef04@oemcomputer> <001f01c62e61$8675a480$197e3018@bflony.adelphia.net>


Hi Phyllis and everyone,
I have a 3 year old and a 4 month old, so I don't get a lot of time at the computer! haha!! I was very excited to hear from you and everyone that responded. My husband and I are both into genealogy, so I am happy to share any info I have. My husband suggest that we take pictures and email it that way. If not, we will try to scan it.
I know Teeters that still live in Warren Co., so it was neat to see that in your line, Phyllis. My father has large gravel pits on our farm land, and at one time it was a public dump. (It is now Shandor's Used Auto Parts, for those of you still in the area). People would pay to dump anything except household garbage. A lot of time it would be houses that were cleaned out when people died. We would go through the stuff that people dumped. I was very young at the time (I am now 36), and it was fun for me. That is how my family ended up with this book.
I will try to get out copies in the next few days.
:) Jennifer Shandor Spade
----- Original Message -----
From: Phyllis Johnston
To: Harry Spade
Sent: Friday, February 10, 2006 11:46 AM
Subject: Re: [NJWARREN] A mystery to solve: Johnston family


Harry, I agree with John W. Taylor, who descended from Jane Crow Johnston, that what you have is extremely valuable. I think you should give photocopies of the information, at the very least, to the Warren County Historical Society as well as the Hunterdon County Society, so that this material is available to Johnston researchers. I am a descendent of a Samuel Johnston (there were so many that it is a real Gordian knot to trace them) who was probably a nephew of the first Samuel Johnston in your amazing record. My ancestor Samuel was born 28-9-1781 in New Jersey and died 13-11-1838 in Tompkins County New York. He married Susanna Teeter of Warren County, NJ, (at that time part of Sussex County), and they moved with all their children to Tompkins County, New York.

According to an old Bible I have, my Samuel Johnston was born Sept. 28, 1781, to a David and Margaret Johnston, and I have much circumstantial evidence that points to this David being the son of the colonial judge Samuel Johnston of Hunterdon County, NJ. The Samuel in your dictionary might well have been a brother of this David and a son of the colonial judge Samuel Johnston.

I say this because I did find at the Hunterdon County Historical Society a list of the colonial judge Samuel Johnston's children (he had 15!) and among those children were sons William, Samuel, Lewis, and Joseph, as well as a daughter Elizabeth. These individuals were born too early to be those children listed in your book, but may have been siblings of the father Samuel named in your book. Since people of that time frequently named their children after their parents and siblings, the common names suggest some close connection between the Samuel of your book and the colonial judge Samuel Johnston. In addition, one of the sons (Philip) of the colonial judge Samuel named one of his daughters Martha Ann...one of the daughters of the colonial judge seemed to have known and admired Martha Washington, and the Johnston family were active participants in the Revolution. Relevant to this, the Samuel Johnston in your book named a daughter Marth W. (Perhaps the Martha Ann was a !
niece of this Samuel.)

Three years ago I visited the historical societies of both Warren County and Hunterdon County and was disappointed at how little documentation has been done on the Johnstons of those counties, who were numerous, but seemed to have moved to different states. And because there are no federal census records for New Jersey prior to 1830, researchers really have to dig. That's why your information is so precious. Blessings on you for salvaging that book, saving it, and sharing it. I am really interested in getting all the information from your book and am willing to pay for your time and expenses. I don't want the book as I am not a direct descendent; I think it should go to one of the historical societies if no direct descendents turn up.

More on my connection:
The paper mentioned above said that the colonial judge's son David had married a Margaret Nixon; my Bible says that my Samuel was born to a David and Margaret Johnston, and census records say that my Samuel was born in New Jersey. I did find a record of baptism of one of the children of my Samuel and Susanna Johnston in 1809 in Stillwater, which is very near the line between Warren County and Sussex County. The birthdate and other particulars matched the birthdate, etc. in my Bible, so I am confidant that I can place my Samuel and Susanna in that area in 1809. Also I have a copy of a record of sale of mill property in Lebanon Township, Hunterdon County, by Samuel and Susanna Johnston to a John Teeter, who was the same age as Susanna's brother John Teeter. I have other circumstantial evidence as well as the word of an earlier Teeter family researcher (1938), to show that my Samuel and Susanna lived in Warren and Hunterdon Counties, but haven't yet found a list of David!
Johnston's children. My research is ongoing. I give all this information, at the risk of boring you, to lend credence to the information I gave in the first two paragraphs and to illustrate how challenging it is to put together the story of the descendents of the first Samuel Johnston in Hunterdon County. Thank you for your time in reading this very long passage.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Harry Spade" <>
To: <>
Sent: Tuesday, February 07, 2006 6:34 PM
Subject: [NJWARREN] A mystery to solve: Johnston family


> Hi Everyone,
> I have a mystery to solve. I grew up in Harmony, Warren Co., NJ and currently live in Lancaster Co., PA. My father had a dump that we would "treasure hunt" in when I was young, and I have a Webster's Dictionary dated 1854.
>
> In the front it says:
> Chan (or Chas) Johnston, Private Capt., Reading & Compton, New Jersey Militia, November 1812, No. 40219 Bounty Land 120 Acres
>
> In the back of the book is listed the Johnston family like you would see in a Bible with births in one column and deaths in the column next to it. It starts out with Samuel Johnston, b. 1747 d. Feb. 7, 1830 in Hunterdon Co., NJ
> Jeanette Campbell b. 1753, d. Sept.21, 1840 in Hunterdon Co, NJ
>
> It lists their children (here are some that I am listing without all of the dates, etc.):
> William C.
> Joseph
> Lewis
> Jeanette
> Martha W.
> William C. (died on island of Jamaica)
> Edward C.(died in Illinois
> Samuel A. (died in Cook Co., Illinois)
> Elizabeth
> Charles P.
>
> It then lists the family of Charles P. b. May 20 1793 d. June 22, 1874
> his wife: Frances Golden b. 1794
>
> Their children (I am listing without dates, etc)
> Margaret K.
> Hiram C.
> Theodore
>
> There are a few more, but is this anyone's line? Does Hunterdon Co. have a website like this one? I want to find a relative or a place where I can take this wonderful piece of history. Any suggestions?
>
> Thanks in advance. My NJ line is Shandor, Stecker, Amey, DeWitt, Raub, Van Tassel, Ehasz, Carpenter, and some more!
> Jennifer Shandor Spade
>
>
> ==== NJWARREN Mailing List ====
> You can contact the listowner at:
>
> ==============================
> Census images 1901, 1891, 1881 and 1871, plus so much more.
> Ancestry.com's United Kingdom & Ireland Collection. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13968/rd.ashx
>
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