Last updated: 29 August 2026
Jesse Newport Johnson
1815-1868
Jesse Johnson was a large and powerfully built man, though not always robust in health.
A history of Jesse's Johnson family written in about 1926 contains a lengthy tale of Jesse's life and personality. This will be added soon.
Father: Derrick Johnson (1783-1842)
Mother: Nancy Powell (1796-1880)
Spouse: Martha Jane Dinsmore (1820-1903)
- Mortimer Johnson (1844-1852)
- Lola Montez Johnson (1846-1863)
- David Powell Johnson (1848-1852)
- Nancy Johnson (1851-1852)
- Roy Johnson (1853-1863)
- Elizabeth Johnson (1855-1856)
- Grace J. Johnson (1857-1943)
- Charles Johnson (1860-1906)
- Ernest Edgar Johnson (1863-1962)
Timeline
-
1815
February 17 - Born in Ohio. The 2nd of 12 children born to Derrick and Nancy (nee Powell) Johnson.[1]
-
1843
May 2 - Marries Martha Jane Dinsmore in Jefferson County, Ohio.[2]
-
1844
October 23 - Son Mortimer born.[3]
-
1847
February 13 - Daughter Lola born.[4]
-
1848
November 2 - Son David born.[5]
-
1851
February 9 - Daughter Nancy born.[6]
-
1852
September - Mortimer (aged 7), David (3) and Nancy (1) die from dysentery.[7]
-
1853
February 5 - Son Roy born.[8]
-
1855
September 2 - Daughter Elizabeth born.[9]
-
1856
November 2 - Daughter Elizabeth dies, aged 14 months.[10]
-
1857
September 2 - Daughter Grace born.[11]
-
1860
January 8 - Son Charles born.[12]
-
1861
Spring - Moves to White Eyes Township, Coshocton County, Ohio.[13]
-
1862
Scarlet fever permanently leaves 2 year old son Charles mentally and physically diminished.[14]
-
1863
May 20 - Daughter Lola dies, aged 17, from diphtheria.
July 10 - Son Roy dies, aged 10, from diphtheria.[15] -
1863
September 7 - Son Ernest born.[16]
-
1868
September 15 - Dies of dysentery in White Eyes Township, Coshocton County, Ohio, aged 53. Buried at Kimball Church near Fresno, Coshocton Co, Ohio.[17]
Footnotes and Sources
- [1] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants: Together with notes on related families, the author/compiler is purportedly Rev Hubert Rex Johnson (location unknown, privately printed, undated but perhaps c1926), p67; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/792596/ : downloaded 17 September 2022). This work relies heavily on the oral traditions of the Richard Johnston family of Jefferson County, Ohio.
- [2] “Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993," Jefferson, 1838-1866, p229, no. 793, database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61378/images/TH-1-17786-117981-8 : accessed 25 August 2026), marriage register image, Jesse N. Johnson and Martha J. Dinsmore, 2 May 1843, image 116/713; citing Marriage Records. Ohio Marriages. Various Ohio County Courthouses.
- [3] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p73.
- [4] Her Find A Grave memorial (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29312965/lola-montez-johnson : accessed 27 August 2026) lists Lola's date of birth as 13 February 1846, but I believe the year is incorrect because of the following sources:
- The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p73.
- 1850 U.S. census, Jefferson County, Ohio, population schedule, Cross Creek, page 97, dwelling 1379, family 1440, Lowly Johnson; imaged, “1850 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8054/images/4093946_00501 : accessed 27 August 2026). Lola is listed as aged 3 years old on 29 August 1850.
- 1860 U.S. census, Brooke County, Virginia, population schedule, District 4, Middle Ferry, page 101, dwelling 692, family 661, Lola Johnson; imaged, “1860 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7667/images/4297366_00149?pId=33664207 : accessed 27 August 2026). Lola is listed as aged 13 years old on 30 June 1860.
- [5] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p73.
- [6] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p73.
- [7] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p73.
- [8] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p73.
- [9] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p73.
- [10] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p73.
- [11] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, pp 73 & 108.
- [12] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, pp 73 & 110.
- [13] Sources:
- NN Hill, Jr, comp., History of Coshocton County, Ohio: Its Past and Present, 1740-1881 (Newark, Ohio: AA Graham & Co, Publishers; 1881; facsimile reprint, Salem MA: Higginson Book Co; 1995), p622.
- Coshocton County, Ohio, Recorder, "Coshocton Deeds", Vol. 34, p561; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37X-M98P?view=explore : accessed 10 December 2025), Deed records v. 34-35 1860-1863, image 290/740, IGN 008578424. On 17 April 1861, Jesse purchases about 204.5 acres of land in White Eyes Township, Coshocton County OH. The deed describes Jesse as "of the County of Coshocton".
- [14] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p110.
- [15] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p73.
- [16] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, pp 73 & 110.
- [17] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p68.

