Definition: The action of keeping away from or not doing something
Well, that definitely describes me. Not only for today, but also for a long time when it comes to the Johnson line of my family tree. I actually need to be more specific, because I have a Johnson line on both my Mom and Dad’s side. Right now I’m talking about my Dad’s side.
Definitely looking a little... sparse.
Mary E. Johnson married my 2nd great grandfather, Robert James Moore. This is all I know about her side of the family. I’m feeling pretty guilty that I haven’t been able to figure out more about her. I don’t even have a confirmed death date for her. Which I will explain in another post… after I look back to see if I’ve talked about it already, lol. Right now I want to focus on her family a little more.
Here’s the records I have from her family:
- 1865 New York State Census – Islip, Suffolk County, New York
- 1870 United States Census – Huntington, Suffolk County, New York
- 1870 Suffolk County Deed – Ann Johnson, wife of Arthur Johnson buying a parcel of land from Alexander S. Brown. Who the family lived next to in the 1870 Census.
- 1880 United States Census – Babylon, Suffolk County, New York
- 1881 The Brooklyn Eagle news article – Mentioning Arthur Johnson of Babylon has lost his wife and 2 children within a fortnight.
- 1882 Suffolk County Deed – Arthur Johnson’s land is mentioned as adjoining land being sold by Stephen Wright to Charles Hallock
- 1884 New York State Death Index – Arthur Johnson died in Babylon (have not ordered this yet)
- 1888 map of Babylon – Showing Johnson in between Wright and Hallock properties, matching what I know from land records.
- 1896 Marriage Record for Mary E. Johnson to Robert James Moore. Listing her parents as Arthur Johnson and Ann Moffott.
- 1899 Birth Certificate of Mary Florence Moore, confirming that Mary Johnson was born in Babylon, Long Island, New York.
That’s it. That’s everything. For having so many siblings I really think I should have more information on this family. The New York death records are notoriously a long wait time. I’m on year 2 for another one. I think I will have to get the process started for that 1884 one though. I kept holding out hope the wait time might lesson over time, it has not.
Next Steps
Currently, I’m just cleaning up and become reacquainted with my computer files. I took quite a bit of a break and now it’s all unfamiliar to me. In the long run this will probably be a good thing because I’m coming at it with fresh eyes. Right now it feels a little overwhelming because I don’t have a lot to go on at all.
- Create a detailed timeline for the family, infer what I can from each record.
- Order the Arthur Johnson death record to see if I can confirm it’s my Arthur and maybe get a clue about one of the other children.
- See if I can find Arthur’s wife and two children in the death index in 1881 to see if I can get any additional information there. Death certificates for NY state are $22 so this will be a staggered process.
