John "Jack" Johnson- Some family ID this as Jack. Others thought a child of Jack.Shared by Edwina from J.L.Elaine slightly restored.
John "Jack" Johnson- Some family ID this as Jack. Others thought a child of Jack.Shared by Edwina from J.L.Elaine slightly restored.

Birth and Early Years

John "Jack" Johnson is listed in most census records as having been born in North Carolina, although a few documents indicate Virginia. As with much of Jack's story, separating fact from fiction during slavery has been particularly challenging.
Enslaved people were rarely identified by name in federal census records prior to 1870. Records may also have been lost or destroyed, names and surnames could change after emancipation. As a result, tracing one individual backward through period of slavery often requires piecing together indirect evidence from many different sources.

One family story says that Jack came from the Bahamas as a free man and was indentured for six years. The evidence found does not support this story.
Another intriguing piece of oral history is that Jack reportedly told his daughter Jane, "We are really Kimbrew's". This story has received particular attention because the surname Kimbrough does appear in connection with Jack's enslavement in Greene County, Alabama and Kemper County, Mississippi.. Marmaduke and George Kimbrough (half bothers) lived on a plantation nearby. Kimbrough's have also married with Witts. The Witt surname was discovered when I had Y DNA taken in 2005 from a male to male descendant of Jack.

Photography

Many photos have been shared by family members and it is sometimes a struggle to authenticate. We usually will post if different lines have the same photo or drawing of a photo. Please use your own determination in what we present. We appreciate feedback!

Y DNA

The Y DNA chromosome is transmitted from father to son. Myat Johnson (1914-2010) gave us his DNA for Y testing at FTDNA (Family Tree). Autosomal DNA was not available at that time. Myat is the grandson of Jack through Mathew T. Johnson (1882-1970). It was through his DNA that we established with certainty that we descend from John Witt who was born about 1645 in England and died in St. Charles County, Virginia. John was a wealthy planter who had a tobacco farm on the banks of the James River.
Surname variations include but are not limited to Whitt, DeWitt, and White. It is not confirmed where and when this intersection occurred.

Year 1856

In 1856 the Will of John Caldwell Johns(t)on born 1-18-1802 in Union County, SC and died 1-11-1856 in Greene County, Alabama was probated. The division and distribution of his slaves included our Jack Johnson and his children; Henry born 1844, Caroline born 1845, Rufus born 1846, Francis Marion born 1849, William born 1850, Savannah born 1854, and Sallie born 1856.

Our Johnson family part of slave distribution.jpg

Year 1860

Jack and several of his children were listed with slave owner Robert Wilson Johns(t)on in the 1860 slave census in Vienna Twp., Jackson Parish, Louisiana

21860 RW Johnson slaves Louisiana

Years 1861-1865

Robert Wilson Johns(t)on (1836-1894) and his slaves relocated to Kemper County, MS. Slaveowner Robert joined the Kemper Fencibles 43rd MS Infantry, Co. K. for the Confederacy. He served with Clabe Johnson and John Kellis. At the end of the Civil War Robert and his family moved to Arkansas. Jack searched for his remaining children at other plantations and gathered all of them to Kemper County except the child he couldn't find: Rufus.

This drawing is based on a photo on Jack's gravestone.
This drawing is based on a photo on Jack's gravestone.

1866-1903

In 2007 county tax lists and agricultural census for Kemper County were not available. I had to purchase silver dupe positive microfilm from a Kansas underground vault storage. Listed in the microfilm are various tax census' information. Most of this information is now available at Family Search and Ancestry.com.

In 1866 Jack Johnson appears in the Mississippi census in Kemper County. He had to pay $1 as a colored man for taxes. In 1869 Jack is listed next to Henry, his firstborn son. He had to pay $1.80 in taxes for owning two mules. In 1874 Jack and children; Henry, William, and Frank paid tax on cattle, horses, swine, and even a carriage. Oral history tells us that Jack purchased the carriage for his new wife. Promising he would treat her as a queen if she married him. In 1876 Jack even paid tax on a watch. While Kemper County was in disarray, Jack Johnson and his family prospered. As racial strife heightened, Jack was one of the few to keep his land and livestock. One can only figure it was because of the strength of family. His multitudes in close proximity. Working hard toiling the land and not giving up.
Jack died in 1903 in Kemper County, Mississippi.

Wives of Jack Johnson

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Twenty Children of Jack Johnson

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