Brief Life History of James
When James Johnson Jr. was born on 5 January 1895, in Craftsville, Letcher, Kentucky, United States, his father, James Johnson, was 21 and his mother, Hester Jane Webb, was 19. He married Myrtle Polly on 11 March 1920, in Letcher, Kentucky, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 daughters. He lived in Magisterial District 1, Letcher, Kentucky, United States in 1940 and Letcher, Letcher, Kentucky, United States in 1950. He registered for military service in 1919. He died on 14 September 1964, in Whitesburg, Letcher, Kentucky, United States, at the age of 69, and was buried in Green Acres Cemetery, Ermine, Letcher, Kentucky, United States.
Photos and Memories (1)
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Family Time Line
Sources (21)
- James Johnson, "United States Census, 1920"
- James Johnson, "Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954"
- James Johnson, "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918"
Spouse and Children
Parents and Siblings
World Events (8)
1896 · Plessy vs. Ferguson
A landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities if the segregated facilities were equal in quality. It's widely regarded as one of the worst decisions in U.S. Supreme Court history.
1900 · Governor Shot
On January 30, 1900 Governor William Goebel of Kentucky was assassinated. He took a bullet to the chest, outside the Old State Capitol. He died on February 3, 1900.
1916 · The First woman elected into the US Congress
Jeannette Pickering Rankin became the first woman to hold a federal office position in the House of Representatives, and remains the only woman elected to Congress by Montana.
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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