Jacob Johnson (abt. 1771 - 1854)

Descendants

Died 8 Mar 1854 at about age 83 in East Gwillimbury, York, Canada West

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Biography

Birth

Jacob was born about 1771. This seems to be a calculated birthdate based on an age of 80 on the 1851 census. The 1851 census also lists his birthplace as "USA", though of course this would be a retroactive designation.^[1] He was the son of Isaac Johnson.

Farmstead

Jacob was a farmer ("yeoman") at Lot 3, Concession 3, East Gwillimbury. He received his Crown land patent on 13 February 1804.^[2][3] Rusnell's Directory of 1837, which lists heads of households, shows Jacob living at that location.^[4]

Land registry records show that a 100-acre parcel from the east half was transferred to Samuel Johnson in 1849, although this transfer was only registered in November 1854, after Jacob died.^[3]

He is still listed as a yeoman at the time of the 1851 census, though he was at the age of 80.^[1]

1851 census

Jacob's 1851 census returns show Jacob and his wife Sarah living by themselves. His age is listed as 80 while her age is scratched out and illegible. OCR seems to render it as "34", which is almost certainly incorrect.

Sequentially adjacent census returns are revealing. Jacob and Sarah's close neighbours can be presumed based on the census to be John Weddel (Jacob's brother-in-law), Samuel and Enoch Johnson (two of Jacob's sons, now both also farmers), and James Johnson, a seemingly unrelated labourer who had been born in England.

Death

He passed away in 1854. A mostly-eroded stone at the Newmarket Cemetery in Newmarket, Ontario contains the names "Jacob" and "Samuel" with a Johnson family name. This matches Jacob and his own son Samuel. This Jacob appears to have died in his 82nd year, which corresponds very closely to Jacob's estimated age at death.^[5] This is possibly transcribed by the OGS as I19.13.

Research Notes

• FamilySearch (as of 2023) lists his birthplace as the New York Colony, though this is unsourced.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "Canada Census, 1851", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MWTG-9B6 : 1 October 2021), Jacob Johnson, 1851.
2. ↑ https://news.ourontario.ca/newmarket/3206804/page/6
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} East Gwillimbury land books.
4. ↑ https://sites.rootsweb.com/~onyork/people-1837IJ.html
5. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/189074103/jacob-johnson

See also:

• FamilySearch Person: L69F-5D5