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Elizabeth “Bessie” Nelson Johnson

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Elizabeth “Bessie” Nelson Johnson

Birth	:	1828 Nether Poppleton, York Unitary Authority, North Yorkshire, England
Death	:	24 May 1920 Sarnia, Lambton County, Ontario, Canada
Burial	:	Cameron's Langman Cemetery, Springwater, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate	:	44.5291530, -79.9576860
Description	:	In 1906 the J H Beers Company of Toronto published A Biographical Dictionary of Lambton County, Ontario. This was a commercial venture which involved interviewing Lambton County residents about their families and backgrounds and then selling them the results, a $15 appeal to vanity and or family pride with gilt-edged pages. My grandmother, Dorothy Johnson, was born in Lambton County five years later, the daughter of Robert Johnson and Sarah Montgomery. Both the Johnson and Montgomery families were interviewed for the book, and while I have no idea if either family purchased it, what they told the interviewer... Read More	In 1906 the J H Beers Company of Toronto published A Biographical Dictionary of Lambton County, Ontario. This was a commercial venture which involved interviewing Lambton County residents about their families and backgrounds and then selling them the results, a $15 appeal to vanity and or family pride with gilt-edged pages. My grandmother, Dorothy Johnson, was born in Lambton County five years later, the daughter of Robert Johnson and Sarah Montgomery. Both the Johnson and Montgomery families were interviewed for the book, and while I have no idea if either family purchased it, what they told the interviewer enabled me to trace both families back many generations in England and Ireland. I compiled the story of Robert Johnson's Yorkshire ancestry in 1996, but have always wanted to look more closely at the story of the Johnsons' life in Canada. The Commemorative Biographical Dictionary, or CBD, does contain errors but it is a wonderful starting point….and really gives the feeling of a personal interview: I can almost hear Bessie Johnson telling the Beers interviewer about her pound of tea. I will reproduce the CBD entry on the Johnsons in full, and follow it with a review of what is known about Thomas and Bessie's lives. I will follow that with short write-ups on each of the thirteen Johnson children, combining the CBD's information with what I have been able to find out about each one, as well as a brief summary of the next generation, although note that it is not my intention to make information on descendents complete down to the present generation. I do devote more space to the children of Mary Ann and Eliza Johnson, as both these sisters died young, far back in the nineteenth century, and I wanted to reclaim these families for the Johnsons, so to speak. The CBD errs in Thomas' birthdate and place. He was born in 1823, in Rufforth, a small village about five miles outside the city of York. His father, Thomas Johnson, Sr., (1792-1870) was a farm laborer who had moved into the area as a young man from his home parish of Pannal. Thomas mother, Ann Mortimer (1793-1869) had been born in Rufforth and her family had been there a long while. Thomas' maternal grandparents, John and Betty Mortimer, and lots of other relatives still lived in the parish while Thomas was growing up. The 1841 census found Thomas, who was 17, living with a neighboring farmer, Robert Wilstrop. That census also shows 60 year old landowning farmer John Jolly residing in Rufforth, substantiating Thomas' report in the CBD that his father was employed by "Squire Jolly". The next census took place in 1851 and in that ten years quite a lot had changed. Thomas and Ann Johnson had relocated to Tockwith, a few miles away from Rufforth,. The census that year showed Thomas and Ann, both 59, living with their 15 year old son, Joseph, and a 5 year old granddaughter named Mary. Also present were their newlywed son Thomas and his wife, Bessie Nelson. This census, taken on Sunday night, March 31, 1851 captured Thomas and Bessie at a crossroads in their lives. They had married a week before, on March 24, at the York registry office. A week later, they would sail for a new life in Canada. The marriage record, reproduced here, shows that the ceremony was witnessed by Sarah Bowser and Henry Johnson. Henry was Thomas' younger brother and the 1851 census shows that he was a farm labourer employed by John Kirk in the parish of Nether Poppleton. John Kirk was an immediate neighbour of Robert Nelson, Bessie's father. It seems likely to me that Thomas and Bessie met because his brother was working next door to Bessie's family home. (Henry did not follow his brother to Canada but lived his life out in Tockwith; he was still living there at the time of the 1901 census. ) . Robert Nelson's family can be traced back through Poppleton's history to the reign of Henry VIII (see my "Ancestry of Robert Johnson"), and Elizabeth, known as Bessie, was his second daughter. Her exact date of birth is uncertain. She was baptised on September 2, 1828, a ceremony that normally took place within a few days of birth. Bessie gave a birthdate of September 25, 1828 to a 1901 census taker, which cannot be correct. Ten years later the census taker asked only for the month and year of birth, and this time a birth date of September 1826 was listed. Bessie's death certificate lists an exact age which would place her birth on May 19, 1828. I think the closest we can come is to say that she was born between May 19 and September 1, 1828. Thomas and Bessie sailed from Liverpool on April 8, 1851, on board the ship Henry Clay. The CBD reports that they made their way, via Rochester, NY, to Maskinonge, Quebec. The George Graves that the CBD says they went there to join was in actuality George Groves, and he was Bessie's uncle rather than Thomas'. The 1851 Canadian census ( which was actually taken in 1852) shows the Johnsons listed next to the Groves family, with a 1 year old daughter Anna. According to what the Johnsons told the Beers reporter, they left Quebec after 5 years, and settled in Lambton County. They rented land from Archibald Ferguson ( according to A Small Town Affair- A History of Wyoming, Ontario by Isla Smith). After another 5 years, about 1861, they settled on the London road…which connected Sarnia to London, Ontario, on Lot 1, Concession 4. This is where the family settled, and where Thomas and Bessie's children were raised. The 1861 census shows Thomas and Bessie along with children Ann (10), Sarah (7), Elizabeth (5), Eliza Ann (3), and William (2). Thomas' brother Joseph (25), had come over from England that year and was also living with the family. Joseph was a carpenter and according to a history compiled by Doris Johnson , daughter-in-law of Thomas and Bessie's youngest son George, Joseph built Thomas and Bessie's house. Joseph also built the Anglican Church of Camlachie in Lambton County as well as his own home beside that church. Joseph remained settled in Lambton County, raises a large family, and died in 1924. Looking at Thomas and Bessie's home today, surrounded by flat and well cultivated farm land, it's hard to picture the land as it must have been when the Johnsons arrived there, with timber so dense that they had to clear trees in order to find a spot to build the house. The family continued to grow throughout the 1860s and 70s. There was a five year gap between William and Robert, who was born in 1866. I would imagine that perhaps Thomas and perhaps one or both of the two babie slost on infancy were born and died in that period. John came along in 1868, followed by Miles in 1869 or 1870, George in 1871, and finally, Selena in 1874. Thomas made out his will in 1897, and left the farm and all his assets to youngest son George, with the proviso that he take care of Bessie for the remainder of her life. Each of the other children was left $1 apiece. The CBD states that the Johnsons had helped each of their children get set up on their own, so hopefully the will didn't cause any hard feelings. It's not clear how close the Johnson siblings were; my great-grandfather Robert was certainly on good terms with Lizzie(based on letters from Robert's wife Sarah), but doesn't seem to have had much to do with George. I base that on the fact that the children of Robert and George had very little contact with each other, despite growing up in close proximity to each other. George's children were only vaguely aware of Robert's children's names when contacted in later years. (based on phone conversations I had with George's daughter June, and on letters from George's son John ). Thomas Johnson died on Saturday January 11, 1913. His obituaries and death certificate said that he was 90, but based on the date of his baptism, which normally took place within a few weeks of birth I think he was more likely 89. One obituary mentioned that Bessie was then 85 and still in good health. She and Thomas had been living in a small home on the family property since son George took over the farm. Robert s son Charters Thomas Johnson wrote to me in 1999 that he remembered his grandmother Bessie as a small, kind woman who brought candy when she came to visit their farm. My grandmother Dorothy Johnson had another memory of Bessie. She recalled that Bessie had a woodburning stove in her house, and once when she was visiting her grandmother, Dorothy laid a comb down on the stove. Bessie was quite cross with Dorothy when the comb melted on the hot stove. Bessie lived until she was 92, dying on May 24, 1920. One obituary states that she died in the Sarnia General Hospital, but her death certificate says that she died at her daughter Lizzie Pulse's home at 353 Davis Street in Sarnia. I think she had probably been in the hospital just before her death, as the death certificate states an operation had taken place, but was released to Lizzie's home just before her death. The cause of her death was cancer. There was a sale of Bessie's possessions after her death and my grandmother remembered seeing Bessie's stove out on the lawn with the other items; the outline of her melted comb was still visible on it.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Elizabeth “Bessie” Nelson Johnson's memorial?
Elizabeth “Bessie” Nelson Johnson's memorial is located at: Cameron's Langman Cemetery, Springwater, Simcoe County, Canada.
When did Elizabeth “Bessie” Nelson Johnson death?
Elizabeth “Bessie” Nelson Johnson death on 24 May 1920 in Sarnia, Lambton County, Ontario, Canada
Where are the coordinates of the Elizabeth “Bessie” Nelson Johnson's memorial?
Latitude: 44.5291530
Longitude: -79.9576860

Family Members:

Parent

Spouse

Thomas Johnson

(1823 - 1913)

Siblings

Children

Mary Ann Johnson Hitchcock

(1851 - 1886)

Sarah Jane Johnson

(1853 - 1897)

Eliza Johnson McLaughlin

(1858 - 1886)

William Henry Johnson

(1861 - 1947)

(1866 - 1948)

(1868 - 1923)

(1870 - 1950)

(1871 - 1956)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Cameron's Langman Cemetery
Springwater, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.5291530, -79.9576860

2. Allenwood Cemetery
Allenwood, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.5747260, -79.9592690

3. Vigo Roman Catholic Cemetery
Vigo, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4866430, -79.9228790

4. St. Thomas Anglican Church Cemetery
Allenwood, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.5741800, -79.9244200

5. Ebenezer United Missionary Cemetery
Jack Lake, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4611510, -79.9958500

6. Saint Patricks Catholic Cemetery
Phelpston, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.5168300, -79.8503800

7. Wasaga Beach Cemetery
Wasaga Beach, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4656870, -80.0455040

8. Elmvale Union Presbyterian Cemetery
Elmvale, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.5869800, -79.8596400

9. Old Zion Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Sunnidale Corners, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4315220, -80.0200980

10. Minesing Union Cemetery
Minesing, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4386300, -79.8384400

11. Swan Community Cemetery
Elmvale, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.5526000, -79.7777700

12. Apto Cemetery
Apto, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.5082200, -79.7725500

13. Stayner Union Cemetery
Stayner, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4306519, -80.0987652

14. Hillsdale United Church Cemetery
Hillsdale, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.5776150, -79.7675010

15. Marlow Family Cemetery
Hillsdale, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.5771980, -79.7672330

16. Bethel Union Pioneer Cemetery
Clearview, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.3851800, -79.9773800

17. St. Andrew's Presbyterian Cemetery
Hillsdale, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.5723490, -79.7584350

18. Craighurst Presbyterian Cemetery
Craighurst, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.5332600, -79.7284300

19. Saint John's Anglican Cemetery
Craighurst, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.5283500, -79.7238800

20. Batteau Christ Church Anglican Cemetery
Batteaux, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4655100, -80.1762400

21. New Lowell United Church Cemetery
New Lowell, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.3586520, -79.9684820

22. All Saints Anglican Cemetery
Collingwood, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4898850, -80.1931570

23. Saint Mary's Cemetery
Collingwood, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.4889820, -80.1936510

24. Saint Patrick's Roman Catholic Cemetery
Perkinsfield, Simcoe County, Canada
Coordinate: 44.7072890, -79.9722090