Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Johnson Family Line of Bossier Parish



This is my Johnson line from the Plain Dealing area of Bossier Parish. Henry Johnson was the patriarch. According to the 1900 census below, he was born around 1824 in Virginia while the 1880 census have him being born in Alabama which is correct, I do not know at the present time. I do know from an article that ran in May 1902 issue of Confederate Veteran magazine that he fought in the civil war on the front lines at the 2nd mannassas (Battle of Bullrun)on the Confederate side alongside his former Master, John Little Hodges's son. According to the article, the son, Joseph Hodges was shot and my grandfather carried him for 4 miles on his back to try to save his life but the young man died anyway on 8/29/1862. I actually found the grave of Joseph Hodges and he did in fact die on 8/29/1862, the date of the Battle of Bullrun in Virginia.

I also found information the Slaveowner, John Little Hodges. He is listed in the 1860census with his family in Bossier Parish and on the 1860 slave schedule as owning 128
slaves. I also found out that he was the son of Edmond and Patience Hodges. He was originally from Houston County, Georgia which is not either of the states that census records indicate my grandpa Henry was from. However, Grandpa Henry could have been acquired by the Hodges when they arrived in Bossier Parish, Louisiana.

The article said that my grandfather, Henry was the only black person to show up for the reunion. At the time according to the article, my grandfather was an "upstanding citzen" and owned 320 acres of land.

I know that my grandpa Henry married was married to Effie Johnson. I do not know her married name but she had a son from a previous marriage named Dick Carter so Carter may or may not have been her maiden name. She was a teacher at the Antrim school in the Plain Dealing area according to another article in the Bossier Banner. Her birthplace is listed as Tennessee on the 1880 census but the 1900 says Louisiana and the 1910 says North Carolina so the correct birthplace is still unknown.

The 2 were the parents of my grandfather, Troy Johnson. They also had at least 4 other children, Nancy Johnson, Mary Johnson, Calvin Johnson and Dick Carter who was Effie's son from a previous marriage.

Troy's daughter was my "Big Mama", Annie Bell Johnson that I did a previous tribute to. She was a great woman in every since of the word. That being said, she must have come from good stock!

1900 census

Henry Johnson
Home in 1900: Police Jury Ward 5, Bossier, Louisiana
Age: 76
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1824
Birthplace: Virginia
Relationship to head-of-house: Head
Spouse's Name: Effie
Race: Black
Household Members: Name Age
Henry Johnson 76
Effie Johnson 60
Calvin Johnson 24

No comments: