JOHNSON, Bethia (Mrs. Joseph) and sons

The Johnson brothers and their sister Margaret came from Bridgewater, MA about 1800 with their widowed mother Bethia. Their father Joseph died in Bridgewater in 1792. The focus here is Daniel Johnson - one of the brothers. 

Daniel Johnson was born 1787 in Bridgewater, Massachusetts[i]  a child of Joseph and Bethia Johnson who were married in Bridgewater in 1771.[ii] Joseph died in Bridgewater in 1792[iii] and soon after Bethia moved to Readfield with her sons Daniel, Calvin, Joseph, Martin and Alfred and her daughter Margaret.[iv]

Daniel married Lydia Packard – both were Readfield residents - October 28, 1815.[v] She was a daughter of Caleb and Phebe (Ford) Packard of Kents Hill.[vi] Her grandfather, Joshua Packard, came to Readfield from Bridgewater, MA before 1790. The Packard men were carpenters and built several houses about town. They also trained other men in town to do the same.[vii]

Daniel Johnson's original homestead circa 1815

Two months after Daniel and Lydia Johnson were married he purchased 100 acres of land for $700 – the northern section of lot #67[viii] - from Robert and Elizabeth (Pitts) Brinley [ix] of Tyngston, MA. He arranged for a mortgage with them, which was released in April 1816 for payment in full.[x] Less than a year later their first child – Leonard – was born but they were destined to have a small family. The second child - and only other child - was Jere Page Johnson. He was named after Jere Page of Readfield no doubt. Jere Page Johnson was born in 1825.[xi] That same year Daniel and Lydia Johnson sold their home to John Coombs, a cordwainer from Monmouth. The Coombs family lived in this home for three generations and 72 years.[xii]

Daniel Johnson moved his family to another section of Readfield. He purchased and resold several pieces of  land and property at Readfield Corner and also near Dead Stream a little north of his original homestead. He bought one property in 1830 (at auction for $275) which was located at Readfield Corner – the Samuel Swett Jr. dwelling place and cabinet shop.[xiii]  This leads me to believe he was a carpenter / cabinetmaker himself. Given that information and the fact that he did not purchase or sell any property 1815-1825 I believe he built his first family home on the Winthrop Road circa 1815.[xiv]  

Daniel Johnson's brother Calvin lived in this house for a few years.

Located in Readfield Depot, John O. Craig built this

house circa 1850 for his son George Craig.

 

Daniel and Lydia’s son Leonard lived on the South Road in Readfield.[xv] Perhaps this was some land and a home inherited from a member of the Packard family? I say this because I find no record of Leonard buying this property but Daniel Johnson sold part of a farm (bordered east side of the railroad tracks) to Anson P. Morrill in 1855. In the deed it says…“part of the farm on which Leonard Johnson now lives…” [xvi] This house was located on the west side of the road a little north of where Readfield Elementary School is today.[xvii] Leonard died in 1892. More research would be required to gain a more comprehensive picture of his life.

Daniel Johnson built this house on

Factory Street (current Giles Road) circa 1837

 

In 1837 Daniel Johnson bought 2 acres of land from Daniel and Hannah Greene of Augusta.[xviii] The land was located north of and adjacent to the woolen mill property on Factory Square (Giles Road). There was no mention of buildings in this deed. No doubt Daniel Johnson built another home at this location circa 1837 because his residence is included among others in this area 1840 through 1860.[xix] In 1860 Daniel and Lydia’s son Jere, his wife Margery and 10 year old daughter Emily are living with them. Daniel was head of household and his occupation was listed as farmer. Jere was recorded as a merchant in 1860; then in 1870 and in 1880 as a grocer.[xx] Whether Jere Johnson’s mercantile was located here on the same location as this house is not known for sure. Jere and his daughter Emma were also postmaster / mistress in Readfield – more than likely the post office was located in their store as that was the custom in those days.

Lydia died in 1860 and Daniel died in 1865. Jere and Margery lived on the homestead for some time after – until 1893 when their only child Ellen – at the rather late age of 43 - married a widower named Reuben Fairbrother from Somerset County. Reuben was a cabinetmaker as a young man; then as he got older he owned a planing mill in Fairfield, ME. He moved to Boston where he was a foreman in a sash and blind factory, and met then married his first wife Sophia there. After she died he returned to Somerset County where he was the superintendant of a sash factory. One cannot help but wonder if he came to work at one of the factories in Readfield for a while in that interim and met Ellen while there. Jere and Margery were in their 70’s by then, so rather than live alone late in life they moved in with Ellen and Reuben. They sold the house on Factory Street about the same time. Jere died in Anson in 1899 and Margery died in 1910. They are buried in Readfield Corner Cemetery on the same three generation lot with Ellen and Reuben, Daniel and Lydia.[xxi]

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[i] 1850, 1860 and 1880 US Census gives Massachusetts as place of birth.

[ii] Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011) accessed 11/30/2013

[iii] Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011) accessed 11/30/2013

[iv] Kingsbury and Deyo, History of Kennebec County (New York, H.W. Blake & Co, pub. 1892), page 892

[v] Clark, Dale Potter; To Those Who Led the Way: VR’s of Readfield 1768-1913; self pub. 2009; www.readfieldmaine.blogspot.com

[vi] Potter-Clark-Boatman Family Tree www.ancestry.com author Dale Potter Clark accessed 11/25/2013

[vii] http://readfield1791.blogspot.com/2013/08/packard-joshua-1790-us-census-winthrop.html accessed 11/25/2013

[viii] Kennebec County Registry of Deeds Book 24 Page 350 12/2/1815

[ix] Robert Brinley was married to Eliza Pitts whose father was John Pitts and her mother a Tyng – both families were Kennebec Proprietors and lot #67 was a Proprietor’s lot on the Jones 1771 survey / plan.

[x] Kennebec County Registry of Deeds Book 22 Page 416 4/17/1816

[xi] Clark, Dale Potter; To Those Who Led the Way in Readfield, Maine: VR’s 1768-1913; self. pub. 2009; page 25; www.readfieldmaine.blogspot.com

[xii] Kennebec County Registry of Deeds Book 58 Page 349 7/15/1826

[xiii] Ibid Book 71 Page 286 2/27/1830

[xiv] Home of Wendell “Skip” and Joyce Adell in 2013

[xv] 1856 Kennebec County map of Readfield L. Johnson is located on the South Road.

[xvi] Kennebec County Registry of Deeds Book 209 Page 487 6/26/1855

[xvii] 1856 Kennebec County map

[xviii] Kennebec County Registry of Deeds Book 107 Page 267 10/18/1837

[xix] 1850 – 1870 US Census Readfield, Maine

[xx] 1860 – 1880 US Census Readfield, Maine

[xxi] Clark, Dale Potter; To Those Who Rest in Peace in Readfield Maine: Cemetery Listings and Inscriptions 1768-1985; pub. pending 2014