James "The Immigrant" Johnson

Disputed Origins

James "The Immigrant" Johnson is seen as the son of Laird of Craig Thomas Johnston & Mary Irvine, who is seen in Scottish records and genealogies as James Johnston, litster in Aberdeen. That James married Jean Ogilvy in 1690, and was recorded as her husband when she died in Aberdeen in 1716. The theory is that the James in Abderdeen was the son of “this” James, the immigrant to Virginia, and therefore, that James was the grandson of Thomas of Craig

Brief Biography

James Johnson (c. 1650-1716) married first Margaret Alexander on Nov. 23, 1672 at St. Nicholas Church in Aberdeen. The couple had four sons and two daughters before Margaret died around 1685.

James remarried to Faith Leith in 1686 and in the 1690s migrated with all of his family except eldest son James Jr. to New Kent Co., VA. Accompanying him were his three youngest sons – John, Alexander and Benjamin Johnson. Genealogists had not included Benjamin in this family until recent DNA tests of Johnson descendants proved the relationship.

James Sr. in 1701 and 1704 acquired 150 acres of former Indian lands in the Pamunkey (River) Neck of northern Virginia that included the site of a former village and became known as Old Town in King William Co. James died there in 1716 and left his estate, by English law and tradition, to eldest son John.

Notes

• Sailed from Scotland in 1696
• Born 1656, married 1674, date of death unknown. Sailed to Virginia on a vessel belonging to Charles Dun 1696. Was living in 1704.
• Death date is correct per the article "The Johns(t)ons from Caskieben to Missouri", written by Randy McConnell. link According to that article, he died in 1716 on 150 acres that he obtained in 1701 & 1704, which became known as Old Town in King William county, VA.
• Faith Johnson was nothis son John Johnson's birth mother. She was James 'The Emigrant' Johnson's second wife. John Johnson's birth mother was Margaret Alexander, who died in 1685 in Scotland. James married Faith Leith in 1686, then emigrated to Virginia in 1699. This information was obtained from an article titled: "The Johns(t)ons from Caskieben to Missouri", written by Randy McConnell.

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National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Volume 21; Volumes 27-30. By National Genealogical Society. Page 30. GoogleBooks DESCENDANTS OF WILLIAM & JOHN JOHNSON OF VIRGINIA By WILLIAM WADE HINSHAW.

Cameron's “Landings & Sailings” show that in 1696 William, John & Alexander Johnson, Johns (t)on, sons of James Johnston of Aberdeenshire, of Scotland sailed to Va. on a ship owned by Charles Dun.

Little is known of Alexander. William Johnson & John Johnson m. respectively Sarah Massie & Lucretia Massie of the Parish of St. Peters, New Kent Co. Va. Dr. Lorand V. Johnson, descendant of John, has made exhaustive researches. ...

From http://oursoutherncousins.com/THE%20SCOTTISH%20JOHNSTON'S.pdf

James Johnson (c. 1650-1716) was christened in July 1656 and married first Margaret Alexander on Nov. 23, 1672 at St. Nicholas Church in Aberdeen. The couple had four sons and two daughters before Margaret died around 1685.

The Johnsons and Massies of Virginia:

James remarried to Faith Leith in 1686 and in the 1690s migrated with all of his family except eldest son James Jr. to New Kent Co., VA. Accompanying him were his three youngest sons – John, Alexander and Benjamin Johnson. Genealogists had not included Benjamin in this family until recent DNA tests of Johnson descendants proved the relationship.

James Sr. in 1701 and 1704 acquired 150 acres of former Indian lands in the Pamunkey (River) Neck of northern Virginia that included the site of a former village and became known as Old Town in King William Co. James died there in 1716 and left his estate, by English law and tradition, to eldest son John.

Little is known of son Alexander Johnson, other than three sons who were born from 1708 to 1714 in New Kent Co., VA and the possibility that he married a descendant of Richmond Terrell.

John and Benjamin, however, married women from the family of Peter and Penelope Massie, who were likewise descendants of prominent English families that joined the flood of royalist Cavaliers into Virginia in the last half of the 17th century.

Peter and Penelope’s daughter Elizabeth Massie married John Johnson, the eldest son of James the Emigrant, before 1699 in New Kent Co. Family legends recalled this daughter as Lucretia, but Quaker records show she was Elizabeth Massie.

John and Elizabeth had at least 12 children, including those with such significant family names as Ashley, Massie, John, Benjamin, Thomas, Margery, James and Elizabeth. Some descendants relocated to Ohio after the Revolution while others migrated earlier to Louisa and Amelia Cos., VA and Guilford Co., NC, where they were closely situated with descendants of John’s brother Benjamin.

From “A Place to Begin: Researching the Virginia and Aberdeen JOHNS(T)ONs” by Douglas Tucker CT 1998 URL: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~lksstarr/reports/aplace.txt

...Patent records show that James Johnson, father of John and possible father of William, acquired two patents (one for 110 acres and another for 40 acres) for property in the newly opened Indian grounds in Pamunkey Neck in 1701 and 1703, respectively. (In the 40 acre patent, his listed himself as the transported person. In the 110 acre patent, he listed three strangers as the transported persons.) The acquisition of these patents fits nicely with the fact that John and William had their own properties by 1704.

By the way, my notes indicate that James Johnston had two wives and that he had four sons by first wife Margaret Alexander and one daughter by second wife Faith Leith.

Records from the Aberdeen Quaker Monthly Meeting show that James married Faith Leith in 1686 and that a daughter, Elisabeth, was born 26 Dec 1688 in Aberdeen. That establishes that James and Faith could not have been in Virginia before 1689 at the very earliest.

My notes also show that James Johnston married Margaret Alexander 23 NOV 1672 at St. Nicholas Church, Aberdeen and that their four surviving sons were James, William, John and Alexander (not well-documented). There is hard evidence that James was their oldest son, that he married Jean Olgivie (Burgh records of Aberdeen show that Jean Olgivie Johnston died in 1716), and that he remained in Aberdeen at least through 1716.

Thus, the James Johnston who married Jean Olgilvie and remained in Aberdeen was the son of the James Johnston who settled at "Old Town" in Pamunkey Neck. (This is one of the relationships that Lorand Johnson mixed up in his first book, but corrected in his later books.) ....

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Comment: James Johnston, litster in Aberdeen is documented as son of Thomas Johnston of Craig and Mary Irvine, not of James Johnston and Margaret Alexander. Their children are listed as Alexander, William, John - and daughters Mary and Jean. (See https://archive.org/details/genealogicalacco1832john/page/40/mode/1up). William is known to reside in Aberdeen.

[This is well presented and does come with some documentation; but we need to remember there is a lot of circumstantial evidence here. Dr. Lorand never found absolute proof that Edward Johnson is a son of Dr. Arthur. Neither have we located proof that the James Johnston of Aberdeen, Scotland is the same James who appears in VA. Anyone who would like to help solve this puzzle, contact Suzanne Johnston ....]

References

• Stiven "The Clerk" JOHNSTON of Caskieben; Founder of family in Aberdeenshire & Descendants shows him as James Johnston “the immigrant” as son of Thomas Johnston of Craig, and therefore, the same person as the James Johnston who married the Jean Ogilvy who died in 1716 in Aberdeen.
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 21 February 2021), memorial page for James William Johnston (20 Jul 1651–6 Nov 1716), Find a Grave Memorial no. 46786799, ; Maintained by Gathering Roots (contributor 47213048) Body lost or destroyed.
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Johnston-909
• Born 1656; Aberdeen City Scotland; Married three times to 1) Margaret Alexander Johnston; 2) Jean Margaret Elizabeth Johnston; 3) Faith Johnston. (???)
• https://christiancomogenealogy.org/index.php/family-histories-2/ite...
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46786799/james-william-johnston
• https://geneagraphie.com/getperson.php?personID=I266525&tree=1
• http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~lksstarr/reports/newfindings.txt