Genealogy Pockets - Carter Co., TN

Whenever I really dive in and research a family...especially one that has been in the same region for a long time, I spend a little extra time on allied families.  More times than not, these allied families have showed up in interesting ways.  There are good reasons that I spend extra time on these families.  Of late, I have been spending some time on Carter Co., TN and the Johnson family.

My 3rd great grandfather was Moses Johnson b. abt 1788 in NC possibly Randolph Co., NC.  He married Nancy Mayfield on 6 May 1816 in Granville Co., NC.  They had 5 children:

Henderson William Johnson b. 2 May 1817 Greensboro, Guilford Co., NC d. 29 Dec 1883, Valeria, Jasper Co., IA m. 12 Dec 1844 to Jane Carmeline Humphreys

Washington Abraham Johnson b. 25 Oct 1819 Greensboro, Guilford Co., NC d. 14 Feb 1917 in Kirkman, Shelby Co., IA m. 20 Aug 1855 Jefferson Co., TN to Mary Ann Smith

Martha Ann Johnson b. abt 1823 Guilford Co., NC d. abt 1862 Carter Co., TN m. 1 Jun 1839 Guilford Co., NC to Grenville C Walker

Nancy Jane Emily Johnson b. 27 Aug 1827 Guilford Co., NC d. 1 Oct 1908 Elwood, Madison Co., IL m. 23 Feb 1836 Guilford Co., NC to James Franklin Ballard

Nicholas Moses Johnson b. abt 1828 d. Unknown m. 14 Nov 1854 Carter Co., TN to Mary Ann Jenkins

At some time between the census record in 1840 where Moses Johnson was recorded in Guilford Co., NC and 1844 when Henderson Johnson marries Jane Humphreys, the Johnson family moved from North Carolina to Carter Co., TN.  I have my own theories about why they left North Carolina.  I know that one of Moses Johnson's nephews was actually hung for murder and he had other family members who were in legal trouble.  Having said that, I can only guess because I know of no documentation to tell me otherwise.  When I first started piecing the family together, I spent a lot time looking at the family of Nicholas Johnson and I spent a lot time piecing information together on his descendants because they stayed in the Carter Co., TN area.  At the time, I thought he was the only one whose family stayed there.  Nicholas dissappears after the Civil War and no one knows exactly what happened to him.  ( See Nicholas Johnson - Man of Mystery. )  However, his family stayed in Carter Co., TN and after my visit there in 2003, my interest was piqued.  I met one of the descendants of Nicholas Moses Johnson and learned something about a lot of things that I had never heard.  There was nothing neat and tidy about the Nicholas Johnson family and there were ties to local families like:  Peters, Campbells, Olivers, Potters and Goodwins.  So, I spent time adding information gleaned from cemetery records, census records, marriage records and other peoples research about the families.  I made a few family contacts and learned a lot of information.  However, my focus was drawn to other families.

Since that time I have added info about Henderson and Nancy's descendants, but the Martha Johnson branch remained stubbornly elusive.  The only twig that I had some success with was Martha's son, Nicholas Walker who married his first cousin Laura Mayfield Johnson.  (See Nicholas Walker and Laura Mayfield Johnson) However, thanks to another researcher and descendant Brock McIntosh the floodgates have opened.

It turns out that part of Martha Johnson Walker's family stayed in Carter Co., TN.  It also turns out that many of the families that I had researched while pursuing Nicholas Moses Johnson's descendants showed up in Martha Johnson's descendants as well and perhaps a bit too closely.  Martha had a great grandson named John Alexander Potter b. 3 Jan 1882 Carter Co., TN d. 21 Jan 1973 Sullivan Co., TN who was married to Bonnie Johnson b. 26 Aug 1891 Hampton, Carter Co., TN d. 25 Aug 1939.  John was the son of Hester McIntosh (granddaughter of Martha) and William Potter.  Hester's father and William's mother were siblings.  Bonnie was the daughter of Daniel Oliver Johnson and Nancy Elizabeth Campbell and therefore the granddaughter of Nicholas Moses Johnson.

So...Bonnie married her 1st cousin, once removed and John Alexander Potter and Bonnie Johnson's children have in their lines many of the most well known families of Carter Co., TN.  Of course, I am a bit partial to the Johnson name (I am descended from Washington Abraham Johnson).  On that branch you will find Campbell, Goodwin, Jenkins, and Bradley.  On the Potter branch you will find McIntosh, Johnson, Walker, and Justice.

Now, you can't define a "genealogy pocket" group without a lot of research.  In my case, this doesn't only involve the Johnson/Walker line, but also involves multiple other family groups.  You only find these groups when you find the parents and siblings and multiple connections.  It takes a lot of time and research to figure out who these families are and where they have connections.  The families who are in my Carter Co., TN "genealogy pocket" are: Johnson, Walker, Campbell, Goodwin, Carden, Oliver, Potter, Peters, & McIntosh.  This means when I add a name and spouse - if they have a familiar last name, it is time to figure out where they fit in the Carter Co., puzzle!

Nicholas Walker & Laura Mayfield Johnson

My mother gathered a lot of the early Johnson information that we have.  She sat down at a table with my grandfather many years ago and asked him about his family.  My grandfather didn’t really believe that he had that impressive of a family.  He had heard that he was related to President Andrew Johnson – but didn’t really know how.  See blog about Andrew Johnson (http://genheirlooms.blogspot.com/2012/01/am-i-related-to-andrew-johnson.html ) Other than that, there wasn’t anything all that surprising or unusual, at least on the surface.

Laura Mayfield Johnson was the sixth child of eleven.  She was born in Kirkman, Shelby Co., IA on 1 Dec 1865 during a turbulent time.  Her parents had left Tennessee in late 1861 to escape the Civil War.  They went to Jasper Co., IA where her father’s brother lived and then traveled to Shelby Co., IA.  There Laura and her remaining siblings were born and it was there she married Nicholas Walker. At one point another Johnson researcher and I joked that it would be funny if the Nicholas Walker that Laura Mayfield Johnson married was her cousin.  According to the marriage records posted online at the Shelby Co., IA genealogy website at http://iagenweb.org/shelby/marriage/br-ik.htm - they were cousins.  Nicholas was the son of Martha Johnson and Granville or Green Walker and Martha was the younger sister of Washington Abraham Johnson, Laura’s father. 

Nicholas is a mystery to me.  During the Civil War, Green Walker fought with his father in law (Moses) and brother in law (Nicholas) blowing up bridges for the 13^th TN Calvary.  However, after the Civil War, the Walker family seems to disappear.  Only Nicholas appears again in a marriage record in 1886 in Kirkman, Shelby Co., IA.  I’ve never been able to discover what happened to his parents or his siblings, nor do I know how he ended up in Iowa.  I’m sure he must have followed family members – but Hampton, Carter Co., TN is a long way away from Shelby Co., IA.  I talked to one their grandchildren and they were unaware that Nicholas and Laura were 1^st cousins.  So…as more records become available, I hope to discover more about the Walkers and what happened between the close of the Civil War and 1886 when Nicholas marries Laura Mayfield Johnson.  The family ended up moving to South Dakota and Nicholas and Laura and both died in Tulare, Spink Co., ND and are buried at Garfield Cemetery, Tulare, Spink Co., ND.

Descendants of Nicholas W. Walker

Generation No. 1

1.  NICHOLAS W.² WALKER  (GRENVILLE C.¹) was born 10 Jan 1855 in Hampton, Carter Co., TN, and died 21 Apr 1938 in Tulare, Spink Co., SD.  He married LAURA MAYFIELD JOHNSON 11 Aug 1886 in Kirkman, Shelby Co., IA, daughter of WASHINGTON JOHNSON and MARY SMITH.  She was born 01 Dec 1865 in Kirkman, Shelby Co., IA, and died 07 Nov 1927 in Tulare, Spink Co., SD.

Burial: 24 Apr 1938, Garfield Cemetery, Spink Co., SD

Census 1: 1860, 2nd Division, Carter Co., TN, Pg. 87, #588

Census 2: 1900, Dist 169, Greeley, Shelby Co., IA, Pg. 1A, #4

Census 3: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95

Census 4: 1930, Dist. 20, Garfield Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 1A, #9

More About LAURA MAYFIELD JOHNSON:

Burial: Nov 1927, Garfield Cemetery, Spink Co., SD

Census 1: 1880, Douglas, Shelby Co., IA, Pg 135A, #131

Census 2: 1870, Jackson Twp., Hardin Co., IA, pg 29, #1

Census 3: 1900, Dist 169, Greeley, Shelby Co., IA, Pg. 1A, #4

Census 4: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95

     

Children of NICHOLAS WALKER and LAURA JOHNSON are:

               i.   MAHLAN WILLIARD³ WALKER, b. 12 Jul 1887, Irwin, Shelby Co., IA; d. 13 Feb 1957, Yakima, Yakima Co., WA; m. (1) ELLA MAY PRICE; b. Jul 1896, SD; d. 1972; m. (2) GRACE PRICE; b. Feb 1889, SD; d. 1918; m. (3) BLANCHE M., Abt. 1908; b. Abt. 1888, IA.

More About MAHLAN WILLIARD WALKER:

Census 1: 1920, Lake Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg 1A, #7

Census 2: 1900, Dist 169, Greeley, Shelby Co., IA, Pg. 1A, #4

Census 3: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95

Census 4: 1930, Dist 36., Redfield, Spink Co., SD, Pg. 28A, #723 - Listed as Inmate

More About ELLA MAY PRICE:

Census 1: 1920, Lake Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg 1A, #7

Census 2: 1900, Dist. 305, Garfield, Spink Co., SD, Pg. 4A, #63

Census 3: 1930, Dist.44, Tulare, Three Rivers, Spink Co., SD, Pg. 3B, # 65

More About BLANCHE M.:

Census: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95

              ii.   ALBERT LEE WALKER, b. 08 Nov 1888, Irwin, Shelby Co., IA; d. 30 Dec 1967, Huron, Beadle Co., SD; m. LULA BESSIE PRICE, 04 Nov 1913, Redfield, Spink Co., SD; b. 03 Mar 1894, Tulare, Spink Co., SD; d. 09 Oct 1997, Huron, Beadle Co., SD.

More About ALBERT LEE WALKER:

Burial: 02 Jan 1968, Riverside Cemetery, Huron, Beadle Co., SD

Census 1: 1930, Dist. 8, Clear Lake, Duel Co., SD, Pg. 4B, #93

Census 2: 1900, Dist 169, Greeley, Shelby Co., IA, Pg. 1A, #4

Census 3: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95

Social Security Number: 503-38-9030, Issued SD

More About LULA BESSIE PRICE:

Burial: 11 Oct 1997, Riverside Cemetery, Huron, Beadle Co., SD

Census 1: 1930, Dist. 8, Clear Lake, Duel Co., SD, Pg. 4B, #93

Census 2: 1900, Dist. 305, Garfield, Spink Co., SD, Pg. 4A, #63

Social Security Number: 503-42-3302, Issued SD

             iii.   MYRTLE NOLA WALKER, b. 06 Jan 1891, Irwin, Shelby Co., IA; d. Feb 1978, Paramount, Los Angeles, CA; m. BERNARD CHRISTIAN HAGMANN, 21 May 1911, SD; b. 02 Oct 1890, SD; d. 26 Sep 1959, Long Beach, Los Angeles, CA.

More About MYRTLE NOLA WALKER:

Burial: Feb 1978, Westminster, Orange Co., CA

Census 1: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95

Census 2: 1900, Dist 169, Greeley, Shelby Co., IA, Pg. 1A, #4

More About BERNARD CHRISTIAN HAGMANN:

Burial: Sep 1959, Westminster, Orange Co., CA

             iv.   FRANCIS ALVIN WALKER, b. 08 Dec 1892, Irwin, Shelby Co., IA; d. 09 Aug 1965, Branson, Taney Co., MO; m. ELIZABETH C. SWANSON, 05 May 1919, Beadle Co., SD; b. Abt. 1892, SD.

More About FRANCIS ALVIN WALKER:

Census 1: 1920, Lake Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg 11B, #200

Census 2: 1900, Dist 169, Greeley, Shelby Co., IA, Pg. 1A, #4

Census 3: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95

More About ELIZABETH C. SWANSON:

Census: 1920, Lake Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg 11B, #200

              v.   OLLIE JOHNSON WALKER, b. 03 Sep 1895, Irwin, Shelby Co., IA; d. Oct 1978, Sioux City, Dakota Co., IA; m. MABEL HATCH.

More About OLLIE JOHNSON WALKER:

Census 1: 1920, Lake Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg 11B, #200

Census 2: 1900, Dist 169, Greeley, Shelby Co., IA, Pg. 1A, #4

Census 3: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95

Social Security Number: 479-01-8467, Issued IA

             vi.   RUSSELL MARION WALKER, b. 28 Aug 1897, Irwin, Shelby Co., IA; d. Sep 1978, Lakeport, Lake Co., CA; m. (1) FAE WILSON; m. (2) BELLE HANNA, 1944; d. 1954.

More About RUSSELL MARION WALKER:

Burial: Sep 1978, Westminster, Orange Co., CA

Census 1: 1930, Dist. 20, Garfield Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 1A, #9

Census 2: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95

            vii.   CORNELIA ELEANOR WALKER, b. 09 Sep 1900, Irwin, Shelby Co., IA; d. Feb 1987, Denison, Crawford Co., IA; m. NELS JENSEN, 05 Jul 1928, Spink Co., SD; b. 03 Feb 1900; d. 19 Sep 1997, Harlan, Shelby Co., IA.

More About CORNELIA ELEANOR WALKER:

Census 1: 1920, Lake Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg 11B, #200

Census 2: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95

Social Security Number: 485-40-1083   IA

            viii.   VELMA MAE WALKER, b. 11 Feb 1904, Irwin, Shelby Co., IA; d. 02 Feb 2000, Orange Co., CA.

More About VELMA MAE WALKER:

Burial: Feb 2000, Westminster Memorial Park, Orange Co., CA

Census 1: 1930, Dist. 20, Garfield Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 1A, #9

Census 2: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95

             ix.   ELMER LEON WALKER, b. 20 Apr 1907, Irwin, Shelby Co., IA; d. Oct 1973, Long Beach, Los Angeles Co., CA; m. DOROTHY STEVENSON, 02 Nov 1935, Spink Co., SD.

More About ELMER LEON WALKER:

Died 2: 1973, Long Beach, CA

Census: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95

Social Security Number: 572-18-6291

SSN issued: California

              x.   LYLE BERNARD WALKER, b. Jan 1910, Huron Co., SD; d. Abt. 1994, Palm Springs, CA; m. (1) ADA RUE, 1935; m. (2) VELMA TIMPE, 1955.

More About LYLE BERNARD WALKER:

Census: 1910, Tulare Twp., Spink Co., SD, Pg. 5B, #95