Thomas Johnson (abt. 1630 - 1694)

Born about 1630 in Yorkshire, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Ellin (Bostocke) Johnson — married 1650 in New Haven, Connecticut Colony

Descendants

Died 5 Nov 1694 at about age 64 in Newark Township, Essex County, Province of East Jersey

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Biography

Thomas Johnson is a Newark Founder.

He was born in England about 1630, according to his will, written 2 November 1694, in which he states his age as being about 64 years old.^[1][2] He is thought by many researchers to be the son of Thomas Johnson, who died in 1640. He was possibly born in Yorkshire. ( source)

He came to New Haven Colony as a child and grew up to be a well respected member of the colony. Around 1650, Thomas married Ellen Bostick, the daughter of Arthur Bostwick by his first wife.

Their children are as follows:

1. Joseph 1651^[1]
2. John 1654^[1]
3. Abigail 1657^[1]
4. Saving c. 1659; d. young^[1]
5. Abigail b. 14 Jun 1662^[1]
6. Thomas b. 11 July 1664^[1]
7. Eliphalet b.c. 1668; d. 1718; m^[1] (1)Deborah Ward; m. 2 Abigail ____^[1]

By 1669, Thomas had joined the Puritan migration to Newark, East Jersey led by Robert Treat, Samuel Swaine and the Rev. Abraham Pierson. He held the position of Constable in the newly created colony.^[3]

Thomas Johnson died 5 November 1694 in Newark, New Jersey ^[4] and was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Newark, New Jersey, in the Johnson Family plot.^[5]

Research Notes

• Wife's identity

Some of the confusion regarding the identity of Thomas Johnson's spouse can be traced to a marriage record for Thomas Johnson Sr. and Frances Hitchcock, widow of Edward Hitchcock. The couple married in September 1663.^[6]

However, close examination of an April 1663 court record where he made a claim regarding a debt on behalf of his "father in law Bausticke of Stratford"?^[7] and the final disposition of the estate of Mrs. Ellen Bostick, wife of Arthur Bostick have confirmed that the Ellin Johnson who was his wife in 1660^[8][9] and the "wife of son Jonson of New Jersey" [wife of son-in-law Johnson of New Jersey] named in the November 1677 disposition of Mrs. Ellen Bostick's estate^[10] are indeed the same person. Thomas Johnson being married only once and Frances Hitchcock being the wife of his older cousin by the same name.

• Other Johnson kin

Thomas is noted as being a kinsman of Robert Johnson, another early settler of New Haven Colony. The relationship is noted as being one of nephew/uncle.^[11]

In testimony given concerning the nuncupative will of Mrs. Elizabeth Godman, Jeremiah Johnson confirms that Thomas Johnson is his brother and Adlin Johnson (wife of Robert Johnson) is his aunt.^[12]

Robert Johnson was the brother of John Johnson who died before 3 November 1641.^[13]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8} Families of Ancient New Haven, Vol I-VIII. and Index Vol IX New Haven: 1931. Reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1974, 1981, 1997. Originally published as New Haven Genealogical Magazine, Volumes I-VIII. Rome, NY and New Haven, CT 1922-1932 p. 1030.
2. ↑ Salisbury, Edward Elbridge, "Family-Histories and Genealogies - Volume Second - Containing a Series of Genealogical and Biographical Monographs on the Families of Griswold, Wolcott, Pitkin, Ogden, Johnson and Diodati and Notes on the Families of De Wolf, Drake, Bond and Swayne, and Dunbar", Internet Archive (Online: archive.org: 2008), [Originally published: Salisbury, Edward Elbridge, "Family-Histories and Genealogies - Volume Second - Containing a Series of Genealogical and Biographical Monographs on the Families of Griswold, Wolcott, Pitkin, Ogden...and Notes on the Families of De Wolf,...", (Salisbury,1892).p. 308
3. ↑ Nelson, William, "Patents and Deeds and Other Early Records of New Jersey, 1664-1703", Google Books (Google, Inc., ), [Originally published: Nelson, William, "Patents and Deeds and Other Early Records of New Jersey, 1664-1703", (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc., 1997, 2000), p. 30], <https://books.google.com/books?id=xUflaip4hREC>
4. ↑ Stearns, Jonathan F., "First Church in Newark - Historical Discourses Relating to the First Presbyterian Church in Newark", Internet Archive (Online: archive.org, 2008), [Originally published: Stearns, Jonathan F., "First Church in Newark - Historical Discourses Relating to the First Presbyterian Church in Newark", (Newark: Daily Advertiser, 1853), , p. 81
5. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #6082214
6. ↑ Salisbury, "Family-Histories and Genealogies V. 2 p. 310
7. ↑ "Ancient Town Records, Volume II", Google Books (Online: Google, Inc., 2015), [Originally published: Dexter, Franklin Bowditch, "Ancient Town Records, Volume II, New Haven Town Records 1662-1684", (New Haven: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Company, 1919), p. 38],<https://books.google.com/books?id=Sh1NAQAAMAAJ>
8. ↑ "Ancient Town Records, Volume 1", Google Books (Online: Google, Inc., 2015), [Originally published: Dexter, Franklin Bowditch, "Ancient Town Records, Volume I, New Haven Town Records 1649-1662", (New Haven: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Company, 1917), pp. 462-462, 466],<https://books.google.com/books?id=Sh1NAQAAMAAJ>
9. ↑ Salisbury, "Family-Histories and Genealogie" V. 2 pp. 309-310
10. ↑ “Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999”, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015, [citing the "Disposition of the estate of Ellen Bostwick", Nov 1677, Fairfield County Court & District, Connecticut Colony]
11. ↑ "Ancient Town Records, Volume 1", Google Books (Online: Google, Inc., 2015), [Originally published: Dexter, Franklin Bowditch, "Ancient Town Records, Volume I, New Haven Town Records 1649-1662", (New Haven: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Company, 1917), p. 236],<https://books.google.com/books?id=Sh1NAQAAMAAJ>
12. ↑ "Ancient Town Records, Volume 1", Google Books (Online: Google, Inc., 2015), [Originally published: Dexter, Franklin Bowditch, "Ancient Town Records, Volume I, New Haven Town Records 1649-1662", (New Haven: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Company, 1917), pp. 466-468],<https://books.google.com/books?id=Sh1NAQAAMAAJ>
13. ↑ Hoadly, Charles J., "Records of the Colony and Plantation of New Haven, from 1638 to 1649", Google Books (Online: Google, Inc., 2013), [Originally published: Hoadly, Charles J., ""Records of the Colony and Plantation of New Haven, from 1638 to 1649", (Hartford: Case, Tiffany and Company, 1857), p. 59], <https://books.google.com/books?id=9LFXAAAAcAAJ>

• Tuttle, George Frederick. The descendants of William and Elizabeth Tuttle, who came from old to New England in 1635, and settled in New Haven in 1639, with numerous biographical notes and sketches : also, some account of the descendants of John Tuttle, of Ipswich; and Henry Tuthill, of Hingham, Mass. (Rutland, Vt. : Tuttle & Co., 1883) p. 666
• https://www.westfieldnjhistory.com/squier/fam00918.htm

• Shea, Jana , “Identifying Ellena: challenging long-held assumptions about the Johnson and Bostwick families of Connecticut", [blog post], Axehandles, 17 February 2019,<https://axehandles.wordpress.com/2019/02/18/her-name-was-ellena-challenging-long-held-assumptions-about-the-johnson-and-bostwick-families-of-connecticut/>

• Shea, Jana , “What Ellen left: analyzing the disposition of a 17th-century married woman’s estate", [blog post], Axehandles, 21 February 2019,<https://axehandles.wordpress.com/2019/02/22/what-ellen-left-analyzing-the-disposition-of-a-17th-century-married-womans-estate/>

• http://international.loc.gov/master/gdc/scdser01/200401/books_on_film_project/bodpdfs/20060731014jo.pdf