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Captain John Johnson
b.Est 1590 England
d.30 Sep 1659 Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States
Family tree▼ (edit)
m. 21 Sep 1613
Facts and Events
John was married in St. Mary the Virgin church in Ware End. Ware End was physically part of Great Amwell parish, where some of his children were baptized. It's unclear whether they physically moved or just switched parishes. Came to America as part of the Winthrop Fleet aboard the "Arbella." (The Arbella was named for his possible kinsman Isaac Johnson's wife Lady Arabella Fiennes.) The fare was £5 a person, which included meals and beer. For John's family, that would have been £30, or about US$2000 (1999 $). [5] He appears in Roxbury in 1630 when he served on a coroner's jury 28 Sept. 1630. He also requested admittance as freeman in Oct. 1630 (granted the following May). He appears on Eliot's list of first comers to the church at Roxbury. Though he signed his name with his mark, his inventory contained two bibles and a psalm book. John served as quartermaster in Massachusetts, charged in 1642 with providing gun powder to each town as they needed it. He was still serving in this role in 1645, when his house, with several hundred pounds worth of gunpowder inside, caught fire. The massive explosion was recorded in Eliot's diary, as well as others. He also served on numerous town committees, including as Deputy for Roxbury to the General Court for over 20 years. Was Surveyor General in the years before his death. His tax valuation was one of the highest in town in 1642. By the early 1650s, he held 13 parcels of land, six of which had been grants from the town. In 1645, he petitioned for a 400+ acre grant, and later received 300 acres for his service to the town. At the time of his death, his estate was worth £623 1s. 6d., of which nearly £350 was real estate.[6] John was a prominent Puritan, and is quoted in several books about the period. "There is no room in Christ's amry for tolerationists," he once said. He also appreciated learning beyond the bible, however. In 1645, he joined with others to establish the free grammer school in Roxbury. A list of 90 books he and William Parks loaned to others in the colony appears in the Mather Papers. [5] John did not serve in the militia, but rather was freed from training, paying 10s. a year to the company, 31 October 1639, and the following year was freed entirely, in "regard of other public service without any pay to the company". If he was still eligible for service in 1640, he must have been under the age of 60.[2] He was however a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts 1638-1646 and Captain of the Roxbury Military Company. The memberships lead to the discovery that he was a member of the Honourable Artillery Company of London in 1612. [5] [edit] Family ConnectionsConnections to the Heath family revealed through wills - calls Isaac Heath “my loving brother”, Isaac names Mary Johnson Mowry in his will. [7]> His other wives were recorded in New England records as Margery and Grace Negus [Fawer][2]. Margery's name and lineage is usually given as Scudder, based on the Ancestral File, but that record also erroneously indicates that they married on the date he married Mary Heath, and places Margery as the mother of his children. Ancestor of Franklin Pierce and Walt Disney through son Isaac; of FDR through son Humphrey. [edit] Will"John Johnson of Roxbury" bequeathed to "my beloved wife" my dwelling house and certain lands "I have already given" during her natural life according to a deed, also £60 for her household furniture "which house and lands, after my wife's decease, I give unto my five children to be equally divided, my eldest son having a double portion"; to "my two grandchildren who have lived with me, Elizabeth Johnson and Mehittabel Johnson" £5 each; to "my sons Isaak Johnson & Robert Pepper" confirm the parcel of lands of fifty-five acres in the third division "I have formerly given" them; residue to "my five children equally divided, my eldest son having a double portion"; sons Isaac Johnson & Robert Pepper executors; "my dear brethren Elder Heath and Deacon Park" overseers; "If my children should disagree in any thing I do order them to choose one man more, to these my overseers, & stand to their determination"
References
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