Hit Brick Wall with Hartwell Johnson

Who Were Hartwell's Parents

I know that Hartwell was born in 1782 in the state of Virginia from the census records.  It was assumed until a couple of years ago that he was the son of a Hartwell Johnson Sr. who lived in Surrey County, Virginia.  Hartwell Sr. married Susan/Susanna Emery about the same time Hartwell Jr was born.  There was really no evidence to show that Hartwell Johnson Jr. was Hartwell Johnson Sr.'s son.  It was only assumed because of the names.

A couple of years ago, it was discovered that there was a Hartwell Johnson listed with a Coleman Johnson and a William Johnson starting in April 1805 - March, April, or May 1820 on the Halifax, VA personal tax records.  He was not listed on those tax records for 1807 and 1808.  His military records support the fact that he was in North Carolina during this time.

Hartwell married Lydia Shaw in 1807 in North Carolina and his son Williamson was born in 1808 in North Carolina.  In 1809, he was back on the Halifax, VA personal tax records.  In 1809, Hartwell and Lydia's daughter was born.

He enlisted in the military approximately July 1813 to serve in the war of 1812 and was discharged approximately Jan 1814.  He was stationed in Norfolk, VA during this time.  The Halifax, VA personal tax record dates support that he was there in March 1813 and there in April 1814.

Hartwell and Lydia had over 10 children.  The census is confusing sometimes since they can sometimes show two children born in the same year.  It is possible, I suppose.  I know back in those days people tended to have huge families.

Hartwell and his family left Virginia sometime after 1828.  His son Jasper was born in 1828 in Virginia according to the 1850 census records. 

Hartwell's grandson, Bethel was born in 1830 in Tennessee according to the 1870 census records.  I am assuming that Hartwell, Lydia and family had joined their oldest son, Williamson in Tennessee by then.  Hartwell and Lydia's son, Leonard was born in 1832 in Tennessee.  Their daughter Nancy was born in Tennessee in 1834.

It is believed that Hartwell, Lydia and family moved to the Looney Township area around 1835.  Hartwell was mentioned as an early settler in the book, "History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade and Barton Counties, Missouri", 1889 Published by Goodspeed.

Hartwell and Lydia's daughter, Lydia Melissa was born in Missouri in 1836.

There is steady documentation showing that Hartwell and Lydia lived in the Polk County, MO area until they died.  There are census records, tax documents, and slave census records that prove this.

I have two main areas of frustration at this time with Hartwell.  I have not found any documentation showing who his parents were. It was thought that William Johnson listed with him in Halifax County, VA might have been his father, but so far, there is no proof.  It was also thought that Coleman Johnson listed with him in Halifax County, Va might have been his brother, but so far there is no proof.  However, Hartwell did name one of his son's Coleman. 


Another area of frustration for me is that I never found out the names of the slaves that he had.  At one time, he owned eight slaves.  I believe all of them were female with the exception of one male child.  On the slave census records, there were no names listed.  I did find where he sold one negro girl, named Suse Johnson in Bolivar on December 11, 1837, but I don't know how old she was. 

I hope what I have written about Hartwell helps someone else.  If anyone has any information regarding this line, please contact me.
Timeline for Hartwell Johnson Jr.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/z84k9zov73uly5w/Hartwell%20Johnson%20Timeline3.xlsx?dl=0

We Lost Uncle Lloyd

Gone But Not Forgotten Uncle Lloyd

Uncle Lloyd McKay was from my Mom's side of the family.  He was married to my Mother's oldest sister, Thelma Irene Smith.  I loved my Uncle Lloyd so much.  He passed away last week at the age of 93 1/2. 

When I was young, we lived in Poplar, CA until I was 11 years old.  I only had one sister who was younger than me by two years.  Aunt Thelma and Uncle Lloyd lived in Stockton, CA.  They had a large family of five girls and two boys.  I used to love it when they would come to visit my Grandma and Grandpa Smith.

My sister, Tudy and I were at our Grandparents house more than we were at home.  Grandma took care of us while our parents worked. 

Uncle Lloyd loved kids.  When he came to visit, he always gave me a lot of attention.  He didn't play ball, or run with the kids like my Dad did.  Uncle Lloyd was a talker.  He loved to talk and he loved to know about people and how they were doing.  Uncle Lloyd always made me feel so important!  He made me feel that way until the day he died.

My Uncle Lloyd always drove a station wagon when his kids were growing up.   I loved to pile into the station wagon with all of my McKay cousins and my sister.  We never had any money so we would mostly just go to Church or to the grocery store.

After my family moved from Poplar and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, my sister and I used to stay a week or two at a time with Aunt Thelma and Uncle Lloyd.  They had a small house so we would crowd into bed with our cousins.  I would sleep with Carol and Fay, and my sister Tudy would sleep with Pam and Kathy.  It was lots of fun because we had lots of kids to hang out with even if it was at their house.

Uncle Lloyd was a doer and a helper.  He was always helping someone out by mowing their lawn, taking them to the doctor, helping them work on their house, etc.  When my grandparents got older and needed more help, he would drive up and down the 99 several times a month.

After Grandma died, Uncle Lloyd and Aunt Thelma brought my Grandpa Smith home to take care of him.  Uncle Lloyd helped him to bathe and do that sort of thing after Grandpa reached that point.  They took really good care of Grandpa with Aunt Thelma doing the cooking and Uncle Lloyd doing the physical part of the caring until Grandpa passed away.

Their oldest child, Lloyd David got a brain tumor that was terminal.  They brought him home.  Uncle Lloyd took care of his oldest son until he passed away.
Aunt Thelma developed several health issues.  She was totally bedridden, couldn't talk and was fed through a tube in her stomach for a couple of years.  Uncle Lloyd was right there with her taking care of her.

After Aunt Thelma could no longer talk, Uncle Lloyd used to call me to keep me up to date on the family comings and goings and the latest gossip.  Uncle Lloyd would also plant okra just for me.  It is hard for me to grow it in my area so he would grow it for me.

Uncle Lloyd loved his family.  He was a wonderful family man, a good Christian, and a great human being!  Because he cared so much about others, he was a natural at being an outstanding Father, Husband, Grandfather, Great Grandfather, Son in Law, Father in Law, Uncle, and Friend.

I know that he is in Heaven with Aunt Thelma and they are having a wonderful time. 
His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant

Blackberry Wine-Good for What Ails Ya!

Southern Ladies Willing To Whip Up Some Blackberry Winepparently, our ancestors put a lot of stock in the medicinal properties of Blueberry wine.
I found this article in ...
The Daily Chattanooga Rebel (Griffin, Georgia) Sat, Jul 2, 1864 First Edition Page 2

We are informed that there are many ladies through the country, who would willingly manufacture Blackberry wine and cordial for Hospital use, if the government would supply them with the necessary quantity of sugar with which to do it.  The matter is worthy of the immediate attention of the proper authorities.  The berries are now plenty but will not last long.  A little energy displayed at this time in distributing sugar, would probably result in supplying our hospitals with a sufficiency of these much needed articles.

Lip Smackin' Blackberry Wine
I ran across this Lip Smackin' Blackberry Wine recipe in...
Weekly Raleigh Register (Raleigh, North Carolina) Wed, Jul 22, 1857 Page 4

Blackberry Wine.--The Columbus Sun Says: There is no wine equal to the blackberry wine when properly made, either in flavor or for medicinal purposes, and every person who can conveniently do so, should manufacture enough for their own use every year, as it is invaluable in sickness as a tonic, and nothing is a better remedy for bowel diseases.  We, therefore, give the receipt for making it, and having tried it ourself, we speak advisedly upon the subject:
"Measure your berries and bruise them; to every gallon adding one quart of boiling water.  Let mixture stand twenty-four hours, stirring occasionally; then strain off the liquor into a cask, to gallon adding two pounds of sugar; cork it tight and let it stand till the following October, and you will have wine ready for use, without further straining or boiling, that will make lips smack as they never smacked under similar influence before."

I think at the very least, one may not be feeling any pain, so to speak, after they drink the blackberry wine. Apparently, it is good for many ailments. such as diarrhea, dysentery, hemorrhoids and to help prevent heart disease.

Y-DNA Adventures

My experience has been that finding out the results of any kind of DNA testing is a wonderful and fun adventure.  Y-DNA is different in that only males can be tested.  Women do not inherit their Father's Y-dna.  It is only passed down in a pattern such as this...son-> father-> father's father-> father's father's father-> etc., much like the family surname is passed down.

I am involved in three Y-DNA projects even though "I'm just girl".  In my case, I talked three male cousins that carry the family surname for each line into donating their spit and cheek scrapings to the cause. 

The Johnson/Johnston/Johnstone DNA Project

The first Y-DNA project I got involved in was the J/J/J surname project.  Since my Father was deceased and all of his brothers were also, I ask my first cousin, John Johnson if he would be a participant.  

As you might imagine, with a name like Johnson, the genealogy can become complicated because there are so many of them in the world.  Then, we had Johnsons marrying Johnsons.  My Johnsons helped us out quite a bit by appearing in court, and before judges and juries, for various misdeeds and crimes.  While they were appearing in court, etc., they were being written about in the newspapers.  They left quite a paper trail!  But still, we were only able to trace back to my 4th Great Grandfather, Hartwell Johnson 1782-1873, born in Virginia, died in Missouri, and then we hit a brick wall.


Since we have participated in the Johnson Y-DNA project, we have joined a small group within the project where our DNA matches those participants more closely than other Johnsons in other groups.  Each member has to submit a pedigree going back as far as they can.  John, my cousin, matches someone within the group that has a pedigree going back to Richard Johnson b. abt. 1730 VA, d. 1769 Johnston Co. NC, who was the son of Silvanus Johnson b. abt. 1676-1701 Essex Co. VA.  We know there is a connection, we just don't know how we are connected yet.  We are working on some promising leads in probate records, etc.

If anyone would be interested in testing in the J/J/J Y-DNA project, please see the links below.

https://www.familytreedna.com/public/johnson/default.aspx

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hjohnson/



Smith Official DNA & One Name Study Project 

The second Y-DNA project that I got involved in was Smith surname project. 

One would think that having a name like Johnson would be enough, but NO....my Daddy had to marry my Mama, who was a Smith. 

We have only been able to document back to my 2nd Great grandfather, Thomas H Smith, born 1820 in Tennessee.  It has been rumored that he died ca. 1860 in Arkansas, but there is no proof.

THE Smith One Name and DNA project for Smith, Schmidt, Smyth, Smythe, Smidt and all variations, for all locations. - See more at: http://www.smithsworldwide.org/#sthash.AkLkXbUB.dpuf

THE Smith One Name and DNA project for Smith, Schmidt, Smyth, Smythe, Smidt and all variations, for all locations. - See more at: http://www.smithsworldwide.org/#sthash.AkLkXbUB.dpuf

THE Smith One Name and DNA project for Smith, Schmidt, Smyth, Smythe, Smidt and all variations, for all locations. - See more at: http://www.smithsworldwide.org/#sthash.AkLkXbUB.dpuf

The Smith Y-DNA project is not as well organized as the Johnson Y-DNA project, in that it is not broken down into as small as groups.  I asked my cousin Kenneth Smith to participate in the project.  He is not my first cousin, but is the son of my Grandfather's first cousin.  It doesn't really matter as long as the Smith Y-DNA was carried down from son-> father-> father's father-> father's father's father-> etc.

So far, we haven't gotten a very good result as far as finding out anymore about our Smith line. Currently, Kenneth has only tested up to 37 markers.  Perhaps, we will get a better result when he tests for 67 markers.

If anyone is interested in testing for the Y-DNA Smith surname project, please check out the links below.  You don't have to be related to me, but you may want to find out more about your own Smith line.

http://www.smithsworldwide.org/

https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/smiths/about/background 


The Meek/Meeks Y-DNA Surname Project

The third and last (so far), Y-DNA project, I have involved myself in is the Meek/Meeks surname project.

My Dad's Mother was a Meek.  I was curious about the Meek line and it was kind of scrambled.  There were two Meek families in Arkansas at the same time. 

I asked my cousin Walter Meek who is my Father's first cousin to participate and he agreed.  So far, his results have confirmed that the group we thought we belonged is correct. 

We are still looking for more Meek/Meeks males to participate.  If you are interested, and are curious about your Meek family, please feel free to check out the links below.

http://meekdna.com/

https://www.familytreedna.com/public/Meek/

I am very grateful to all of my male cousins that have participated in these Y-DNA projects.  They are not interested in the results as much as I am, but are willing to help the cause as far as furthering the genealogical research. Thank you John, Kenneth, and Walter!

THE Smith One Name and DNA project for Smith, Schmidt, Smyth, Smythe, Smidt and all variations, for all locations. - See more at: http://www.smithsworldwide.org/#sthash.AkLkXbUB.dpuf

THE Smith One Name and DNA project for Smith, Schmidt, Smyth, Smythe, Smidt and all variations, for all locations. - See more at: http://www.smithsworldwide.org/#sthash.AkLkXbUB.dpuf

THE Smith One Name and DNA project for Smith, Schmidt, Smyth, Smythe, Smidt and all variations, for all locations. - See more at: http://www.smithsworldwide.org/#sthash.AkLkXbUB.dpuf

Smith Official DNA & One Name Study Project

Smith Official DNA Project

Smith Official DNA & One Name Study Project

Smith Official DNA & One Name Study Project

Smith Official DNA & One Name Study Project

Fighting "Okies"

When the Okies came to California, they had it tough.  There is no doubt about it.  I'm not sure when signs like this first appeared.  I am sure it was probably after California residents were witness to an influx of migrant farm workers from Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, etc.  The term "Okie" was coined to describe the new residents.

 










According to Dictionary.com the definition of Okie is...

a term used to refer to a migrant farm worker from Oklahoma or nearby states, especially one who moved westward during the Great Depression.
Usage  In historical contexts, Okie is usually used with disparaging intent and perceived as insulting, implying that the migrant worker is homeless, poor, ignorant, and uneducated.

I found this letter to the editor written in 1944.

The Fresno Bee The Republican (Fresno, California) Thu, Mar 23, 1944 Page 24

Fighting 'Okies' 

Editor of The Bee--Sir:  I read in the want ad section that Emory L. Cauble had a six room home to rent, but specified he did not want to rent to "Okies."

Well, I do not get what he means by that.  Does he think he is better than an "Okie"?  After all, the boys they call "Okies", are fighting right next to the boys from California and doing a hell of a good job.         A SOLDIER
Fresno Air Base

The Okies were tough people.  They had to scramble to find work and crude shelter in an unwelcoming environment.  Did they survive?  Hell yeah!  They were Okies....Fighting Okies.  They did better than survive, they hung in there and began to thrive.