Be Fruitful and Multiply; Prequel to The Long Way Home.

This is a prelude to the most compelling story in our family history. It is intended to provide orientation so that the story that follows will be easier to understand and place in context.

Somehow—except for one remaining uncle on my father’s side—I have become part of the oldest living generation. It happened far too quickly. My father was the third youngest of fourteen children born to Luther and Martha Johnson between 1905 and 1935. As mentioned previously, only one of his brothers is still living.

It is difficult to count our first cousins, but including both those who have passed away and those still living, we had at least 84. (Infant mortality was still prevalent in my father’s generation, especially in our rural mountain community, as his older siblings were having children. For that reason, I counted only those for whom I have seen a headstone or whose birth and burial were confirmed by a sibling.) Yes—84 first cousins. Family reunions in Big Gully are remarkable.

Our family appears in the 1810 Census as residing in the Big Gully area. I, for one, still love the place. One feature that makes our family unusual is that some of us have remained in this same general location for more than 200 years.

Most of us can trace our documented lineage to Eli Johnson, who was born in 1803 or 1804 in South Carolina. His mother was Phoebe Johnson, born in 1764—most likely in the Carolina colonies. Yes, colonies. She was born before, and lived through, the Revolutionary War, as well as many other wars, conflicts, and skirmishes. Eli married Mary “Polly” Winchester, the mother of all his children. Later in life, after Mary’s death, Eli married again. That becomes relevant later and deserves its own post. For simplicity, Eli Johnson was my great-great-grandfather.

Eli and Mary Johnson had nine children who lived past infancy:

1. Elizabeth A. “Betty” Johnson (born May 19, 1824), who married James T. Saffell

2. Maria Johnson (born October 16, 1825), who never married

3. Nancy W. Johnson (born around 1827), who married James Armstrong

4. Hugh Lawson White Johnson (born around 1830), who married M. A. W. Caldwell

5. Evelina H. Johnson (born around 1832), who married Laban J. Rhyne

6. Mary Margaret Johnson (born around 1838), who married Martin Luther Fields

7. Sallie A. “Sarah” Johnson (born around 1839), who married Sene Ross

8. Thomas M. Johnson (born March 27, 1842), who married Sarah Jane Caldwell

9. Richard Harrison “Dick” Johnson (born January 8, 1845), who married Julia A. Merritt

Our ancestor was Thomas Martin Johnson, who had five children, including Hugh Lawson White Johnson (born June 25, 1875) and Luther Johnson (born September 28, 1876). Some published information incorrectly identifies a Luther E. Johnson—born about ten years later and buried at Oakland Methodist Cemetery—as our ancestor. Based on discussions with my father and many others, my grandfather, Luther Johnson, is buried in the Four Mile Baptist Church Cemetery. Thomas Martin Johnson and Hugh Lawson White Johnson are buried at Union Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Big Gully.

To add further intrigue, by treaty and law, our end of Blount County—as well as all of Monroe and McMinn Counties—remained officially under Indian control until 1834. Our family homesteaded there much earlier than that. Eli and Polly had already had five children before the Cherokee officially relinquished the land. Many of you know from local history that Chota, the capital village of the Cherokee Nation, was just across the Little Tennessee River from the Big Gully area.

That is enough names and dates for one post. The story will begin soon, but I felt this information was important for context. Thank you for reading. I look forward to sharing more genealogy—and historical fiction grounded in fact—very soon.