Brief Life History of Joseph
When Joseph Johnson was born in 1734, in Coventry, Kent, Rhode Island, British Colonial America, his father, John Johnson Sr., was 35 and his mother, Sarah Phillips, was 34. He married Annah Bailey in Coventry, Kent, Rhode Island, United States. They were the parents of at least 7 sons and 2 daughters. He died on 9 September 1808, in Coventry, Kent, Rhode Island, United States, at the age of 74, and was buried in Washington, Coventry, Kent, Rhode Island, United States.
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Family Time Line
Sources (7)
- Joseph Johnson, "Find A Grave Index"
- Joseph Johnson in entry for Lawton Johnson, "Rhode Island Deaths and Burials, 1802-1950"
- Joseph Johnson in entry for Christopher Johnson and Zilpah Spink, "Rhode Island, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1630-1945"
Spouse and Children
Children (10)
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Parents and Siblings
World Events (6)
1763 · First Synagogue in America
The first Jewish Synagogue in America was built in Newport, Rhode Island in 1763. It still stands today, making it the oldest synagogue in the United States.
1772 · The Gaspee Affair
On June 9, 1772, colonists that are angry with the trade restrictions that Britain put them under, board the HMS Gaspee and set it ablaze. This was the first act of violence against the British on the North American continent.
1776
Thomas Jefferson's American Declaration of Independence endorsed by Congress. Colonies declare independence.
Name Meaning
English and Scottish: patronymic from the Middle English and Older Scots personal name Johan, Jo(h)n (see John ) + -son. It was often interchanged with Jenson and Janson . In North America, this surname has absorbed cognates from other languages, e.g. Norwegian, Danish, or North German Johnsen , Johannesen , Johannsen , Johansen , Jansen , Jantzen , and Jensen , Swedish Johnsson (see below), Johansson , Jonsson , and Jansson , Dutch Janssen , German Janz , Czech Jansa 1, and Slovenian Janša (see Jansa 2) and Janežič (see Janezic ). Johnson (including in the sense 2 below) is the second most frequent surname in the US. It is also the second most common surname among Native Americans and a very common surname among African Americans.
Americanized form (and a less common Swedish variant) of Swedish Johnsson: patronymic from the personal name John, a variant of Jon (see John ). Compare 1 above.
History: Surname Johnson was brought independently to North America by many different bearers from the 17th and 18th centuries onward. Andrew Johnson (1808–75), 17th president of the US, was born in Raleigh, NC, the younger son of Jacob Johnson and Mary (or Polly) McDonough. Little is known of his ancestors. The 36th president, Lyndon B. Johnson, dates his American forebears back seven generations to James Johnston (sic) (born c. 1662) who lived at Currowaugh, Nansemond, and Isle of Wight counties, VA. — Noted early bearers also include Marmaduke Johnson (died 1674), a printer who came from England to MA in 1660; Edward Johnson (1598–1672), a colonial chronicler who was baptized at St. George's parish, Canterbury, England, and emigrated to Boston in 1630; and Sir Nathaniel Johnson (c. 1645–1713), a colonial governor of Carolina, who came from County Durham, England.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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