Welcome to "Long Lost Cuzzins" - A History Of The Johnson FamilyHello, I'm Missi , and I am the creator and webmaster of this site. This site is still under construction, but you will be able to view all of the contents that have been uploaded to the site thus far. Keep checking back periodically for more updates that will be added to the site over time. The first thing to note about the Scottish Johnstons from which my family members descend, is that they were "Lolanders" as well as being a "border clan." Many of them, including our ancestor Edmund Johnston, who was the first in "our line" to come to Jamestown, VA in 1639, lived in Dumfriedshire, Annandale, which is right smack dab on the border of Northern England. According to my research, the Scottish Johnstons just wanted to live out thier existence as farmers and such, but from what I can surmise, they were forced to be a fightin' bunch of people, as they were almost constantly feuding with the English, and some of the Scottish Highlanders as well. Will Johnstone writes: "They were also products of a brutal frontier. Centuries of border warfare and scorched-earth campaigns, in which the Scots frequently lost all their possessions to the English, left the borderers disinterested in growing crops. Guerilla warfare evolved into a guerilla existence. The borderers became semi-nomadic, raiding the English and neighboring clans to replenish the cattle and horses which were their chief form of property. The Johnstones were excellent horsemen, and, dressed in a metal helmet (steel bonnet), reinforced leather jacket (jack),a long lance, a cutting sword, and set of pistols, a Scottish Johnstone clansman was well adapted to his world. A monument at the Devil's Beeftub, a vast, sinister-looking hollow near the source of the Annan River, records that the Johnstones used the place "to hide cattle stolen in predatory raids." http://www.clanjohnstone.orgplease scroll to view old enlarged Johnson family photos at the bottom of this page click on the tab avove that says "Johnson Lineage In America" for more fascinating details about the Johnson family which includes military service records, plantation ownership, civil war history in the Johnson family, and more
This site exists because one of my long lost cuzzins, Elmo Johnson, wrote and published a 121 page book called "Long Lost Cuzzins" and distributed it to certain Johnson family members in 1968, which was also the year of my birth. The book Elmo wrote gives lots of interesting details about the Johnson family that came from Scotland 371 years ago in 1639 and landed on he eastern shore of Virgina only 147 years after Columbus set foot on American soil. From what I can tell, Elmo's book is not copyrighted, but I respectfully give him all the credit for the information that I will borrow from his book, and will either be paraphrasing from, or directly quoting from the text that he created. I will also be quoting and paraphrasing from other writers when necessary, and those folks will be credited for thier work as well. The first question that comes to mind when reading Long Lost Cuzzins is, WHY did Edmund Johnston come to America? From what I have read, Elmo did not answer this question, but Steven Akins answers this question best. Here is an excerpt from his writing about the Scottish immigrants, some of whom are our ancestors. Why did they come? Others came because of poverty. They had no hope of ever breaking out of their set place in the Class-system which existed in Britain, but in America, a man could make something of himself, regardless of his background. Most of these came as bonded-servants, and would be given passage to America, paid by the person who brought them over, and would have to work off their passage upon their arrival as per their contract, a period which often lasted for seven years. At the end of that time, they were on their own and it was up to themselves to make something of their life in the New World. "When did the Scottish come to the US? the Scottish History timeline may offer some hints as to why our Edmund Johnston left Scotland, but still, I am not sure why he came to the U.S. in 1639 http://www.rampantscotland.com/timeline/1899.htm
How were the Scots treated? Where did the Scots settle? Why? How did the Scots make a living in the US? What were the roles of different family members? This was the same as with other ethnic groups, the husband was generally the main provider, the wife the home-maker, mother, nurse, and the children usually did their share to help the family out, whether it was in farming, or working in the factories, or the streets as labourers. What traditions did they bring to the US? They brought their language, which influenced American English to some extent, particularly in Appalachia, but more than anything else, they brought their music, especially fiddle-music, which became what we know today as American "bluegrass" music.
Was the US really the "promised land" for them? http://www.siliconglen.com/Scotland/11_24.html " The Long Lost Cuzzins site was created on May 29th, 2010 |
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"The gentle Johnstons in Annana thousand years did ride;A thousand more will bide"[Sir Walter Scott] |