Father: Julius Thompson
Mother: Sarah Stephens
Consort: *****
Child: Sarah (Sallie) - b: Mar/1856 - Washington Co.,
Utah Terr.
d: 8/Jun/1903 - Bogle Twp., Gentry Co., MO
Spouse: John Alford Johnson
m: 1/Mar/1849 - Van Buren Co., IA - div: ~1876
Child-1: Henry - b: 1857/1858 - Gentry Co., MO - nra:
1870
2: Joseph
A. - b: Aug/1859 - Gentry Co., MO
d: Nov/1922 - bur: Ingalls Cem., Payne Co., OK
3: James
Myron - b: 5/Mar/1862 - Jackson Twp., Gentry Co., MO
d: 4/Nov/1946 - Yale, Payne Co., OK - bur: Gray Horse Indian
Village Cem., Osage Co.
m: Edith Jane Goad - 4/May/1887 - Crawford Co., KS
m: Mary E. Bailey Hayden - 7/Mar/1910 - Tulsa, Tulsa Co., OK
4: Melissa
Jane - b: 15/Jun/1864 - Jackson Twp., Gentry Co., MO
d: 3/Sep/1940 - Platte Twp., Andrew Co., MO - bur: Lafayette
Cem., Nodaway Co.
m: William Franklin Coyle - 1881/1882
5: Louella
- b: 5/Sep/1867 - Jackson Twp., Gentry Co., MO
d: 25/May/1943 - Mercy Hosp., St. Joseph, Buchanan Co., MO - bur:
Lafayette Cem., Nodaway Co.
m: Green Tenly Bell - 1884/1885
Biographical Details:
Census records indicate that Elizabeth B. Thompson, daughter of Julius and Sarah Stephens Thompson, was born in Pennsylvania. Her middle name remains unknown. Even so, her birth date was inscribed on her tombstone as November 1, 1827. This is further supported by the 1830 US Census for Erie County, Pennsylvania, which indicated that there was a young female child present within the household of Julius Thompson at the time the census was taken. Obviously, it is a plausible assumption that this child was Elizabeth. As discussed elsewhere, the Thompson family is thought to have migrated westward to Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa with the early Mormons.1 Within this context, Elizabeth Thompson and John Alford Johnson were evidently married in Van Buren County, Iowa, on March 1, 1849. Subsequently, Elizabeth or "Lizzie" as she was familiarly known, traveled with her husband, parents, and other famly members to the Utah Territory, where her daughter, Sarah, was born in Washington County in March of 1856.2 Subsequently, the Johnson and Thompson families returned to Missouri and settled in Gentry County near Island City in Jackson Township. Elizabeth was a charter member of the Island City Christian Church.Source Notes and Citations:Population schedules for the 1870 and 1880 US Censuses for Gentry County imply that the marriage of John Alford and Elizabeth Thompson Johnson must have ended in separation and divorce sometime in the 1870's. Accordingly, John Alford evidently left the family and took two older sons with him. It appears that this must have occurred prior to October 16, 1876, since on that date it was not John, but instead Elizabeth, who renounced title to the only remaining forty acre parcel of land associated with John A. Johnson's original land patent.3 (The other one hundred and twenty acres had been lost to foreclosure on October 3, 1876.) Moreover, she also relinquished her dower rights, which would imply that this property specifically included the the family residence. (This inference is probable because legal procedures in Missouri descend, at least in part, from common and codified law of colonial Virginia.) Specific causes of the dissolution of the Johnson family are not definitely known; however, there is substantial evidence that they suffered extreme financial hardship, probably as the result of bad economic conditions associated with the Panic of 1873. Alternatively, more personal reasons may have precipitated failure of the marriage since according to the 1880 population schedule Elizabeth was living in the village of Island City and specifically indicated her marital status as "divorced" (although no supporting civil records have been found and it remains unclear if an actual divorce decree was issued by any court). In any case, Elizabeth Thompson Johnson remained in Gentry County for the remainder of her life. Both the 1900 and 1910 US Censuses for Gentry County indicate that she was living in the household of her daughter and son-in-law, Green T. and Luella Johnson Bell. In addition, in the population schedule of 1900 she indicated that she had been the mother of ten children, six of whom were then still living. None of these additional four children are known by name, thus, it is probable that they died quite young. According to official Missouri vital records, Lizzie Johnson died April 14, 1911, and was buried in the Lafayette Cemetery.
1. Robert Birbeck, "Along the St. Joe Trail - History of the Johnson Family", unpublished.
"Mrs. G. T. Bell gave the author the information that her mother, Aunt Lizzie Thompson-Johnson was about eight yr. old when her mother went west in 1849 to Salt Lake City from Pennsylvania."
"Aunt Lizzie, according to this above sketch was born on or about 1841, to have been eight years of age in 1849."
As in other accounts by Robert Birbeck, he has made substantial chronological errors; however, in this case they are much more serious since, as is indicated by census records, 1841 is far too late to have been the birth year of Elizabeth Thompson. However, if one assumes that she was about eight years old when the Thompson family went west with the Mormons from Pennsylvania (or Ohio) to Missouri, not Salt Lake City, one arrives at either the the year 1835 or 1836. This is exactly the time that the Mormons began settling in Ray, later Caldwell, County, Missouri. The migration of the Thompson and Johnson families to the Utah Territory occurred much later in the 1850's.
back to bio.2a. In particular, census records of 1880 indicate that Elizabeth Thompson Johnson's oldest surviving daughter, Sarah, known familiarly as "Sallie", was probably not the biological daughter of John Alford Johnson. Indeed, 1880 was the first time that birthplaces of the parents of each individual, as well as the individual's own birthplace, were included in the population schedule. Within this context, the birthplace of Sarah's father was reported to have been Connecticut, but the birthplace of the father of her younger siblings, viz., James, Malissa, and Luella, was consistently given as Virginia. In contrast, the mother's birthplace for all children included within the household of Elizabeth Johnson was uniformly stated as Pennsylvania as one should expect. It seems unlikely that this could have been an accidental mistake and, of course, John A. Johnson was born in Virginia, not Connecticut. Therefore, it seems reasonable to conclude that John Alford Johnson was not the father of Sarah Johnson, although she seems to have used the Johnson surname throughout her lifetime.
Within this context, it is known that Sarah's grandparents, Julius and Sarah Thompson, were early Mormons and had, apparently, traveled with extended family, viz., families of their daughters, to the Utah Territory in the mid-1850's where Sarah was born in March of 1856. Moreover, during this period of Mormon history there was considerable fluidity in family relationships due to the widespread practice of plural marriage, i.e., polygamy, by Latter-day Saints and, thus, one may suppose that somehow Sarah's parentage was a result of these unorthodox social customs. (Concomitantly, it may be significant that the Thompson family originated in Connecticut.) In any case, this may have contributed to the subsequent failure of the marriage of John Alford and Elizabeth Thompson Johnson, but such details must remain speculative.
Sadly, it seems clear that Sallie Johnson had an unhappy life. Indeed, by 1900 she was indigent and a resident of the Gentry County Farm, then located in Bogle Township, where it appears that she remained until her death. Moreover, local records collected by the Gentry County Historical Society and archived in the Carnegie Public Library at Albany reveal that Sallie Johnson committed suicide on June 8, 1903. It was further reported that she was originally from the Island City neighborhood and had previously tried to kill herself several times. On this occasion she "ate a bottle of mustard and lived only a few minutes". (It cannot be known what the evidently poisonous substance was, but it obviously could not have been merely dry mustard.) Concomitantly, there is no evidence that Sallie Johnson ever married; however, it is possible that she had an illegitimate child. (1900 US Census Population Schedule for Gentry County, Missouri, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 178A, (microfilm: roll T623_855; img. 361).)b. "Sarah Johnson, one of the old inmates of the county poor farm , died last Monday. It is said that her death was sudden and unlooked for. Her former home was in the west part of the county but she had been a county charge for ten or twelve years." (news item: Albany Ledger; Albany, MO, Fri., Jun. 12, 1903.)
back to bio.3. QUIT-CLAIM DEED. This Indenture, made on the Sixteenth day of October, A. D., one thousand eight hundred and seventy six, by and between Elizabeth Johnson of the County of Gentry and State of Missouri party of the first part, and Orlando Hunt, of the County of Gentry and State of Missouri, party of the second part:
Witnesseth, that the said party of the first part, in consideration of the sum of Four Hundred & Twenty five Dollars to them paid by the said party of the second part, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, do by these presents, Remise, Release, and Forever Quit-Claim, unto the said party of the second part, the following described lots, tracts or parcels of land, lying, being and situate in the County of Gentry and State of Missouri, to-wit: The North west quarter of the South east quarter of Section No Twenty four (24) in Township No Sixty two (62) of Range No Thirty three (33)
To have and to hold the same, with all the rights, immunities, privileges and appurtenances thereto belonging, unto the said party of the second part, and his heirs and assigns, forever; so that neither the said party of the first, nor her heirs, nor any other person or persons, for her or in her name or behalf, shall or will hereafter claim or demand any right or title to the aforesaid premises, or any part thereof, but they and every of them shall, by these presents, be excluded and forever barred.
In Witness Whereof, the said party of the first part has hereunto set her hand and seal, the day and year first above written. /s/Elizabeth Johnson her mark (seal) Attest: Wallace Hubbard (filed: 16 Oct 1876, Bk. S, Gentry Co., MO, pg. 487; refiled: 25 May 1885, Bk. 53, Gentry Co., MO, pg. 119.)
back to bio.
Additional Citations:
4. 1850 US Census Population Schedule for Van Buren County, Iowa, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 287B, (microfilm: roll M432_189; img. 87).5. 1860 US Census Population Schedule for Gentry County, Missouri, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 687, (microfilm: roll M653_620; img. 42).
6. 1870 US Census Population Schedule for Gentry County, Missouri, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 623B, (microfilm: roll M593_776; img. 466).
7. 1880 US Census Population Schedule for Gentry County, Missouri, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 535B, (microfilm: roll T9_687; img. 402).
8. 1900 US Census Population Schedule for Gentry County, Missouri, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 275B, (microfilm: roll T623_855; img. 558).
9. 1910 US Census Population Schedule for Gentry County, Missouri, National Archives, Washington DC: pg. 262B, (microfilm: roll T624_781; img. 524).
10. Marriage Records, Van Buren County, Keosauqua, IA. ("Early Van Buren Co IA Marriages", Van Buren County IAGenWeb Archives, 2002.)
11. List of Charter Members - Island City Christian Church, Centennial Homecoming Booklet - June 11, 1978, Stanberry, MO, unpublished.
12. Death Certificates, Missouri State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Jefferson City, MO, (Death Certificate No. 14028 - Bureau of Vital Statistics, State of Missouri, Jefferson City, MO).
13. Lafayette Cemetery, Nodaway County, Missouri (www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=179853&CScn=Lafayette&CScntry=4&CSst=26&CScnty=1470&, continuously updated).
14. Gray Horse Indian Village Cemetery, Osage County, Oklahoma (www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=98543&CScn=Gray+Horse&CScntry=4&CSst=38&CScnty=2184&, continuously updated).