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Hi,
I’m new to this forum. I am an adopted person with a possible Saponi connection in my biological family, though it could also be some other native group if there is a native connection at all.
I was told there were Saponi descendants in Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Michigan. I have one cousin I matched with a DNA test with documented Saponi ancestry from Virginia. I have three others with possible Saponi or Native ancestry from early 1800s’ Tennessee that moved to Kentucky and finally to Ohio later on with the surname “Johnson” in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Two of them said they had rumors of “Blackfoot” ancestry in their families. Below is a copy and pasted reply from one of the cousins of mine on his Johnson family:
My Johnson family goes back to a Pleasant Johnson b. 1820 in Tennessee, he’s listed as mulatto but he could be any generic mixed race person. He and his wife Julia have two children by 1870 – one b. 1859 TN, and one b. 1866 in KY. This means Pleasant and his family moved away from Tennessee, migrated to KY and then further on to OH.
This migration is very similar to the family tree of my two other Johnson cousins. Both of their Johnson families ended up in Ohio. I know many families traveled in certain routes and patterns. I have a genealogist currently who is looking into our inter-connected families, so more information will come soon.
This is all the information I have so far. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Could a Saponi or any other native connection be possible, based on any of the information I put above? Does the Johnson family, based on the migrations of this surname and its history, in anyone’s opinion have any possible native ancestry?
Welcome to Saponitown. If you use the search feature here, you should find quite a bit on the Johnson surname which is, indeed, a name often found with Saponi and/or other VA,NC ndn blood. Also read the link on the homepage about the eastern “blackfoot” designation.
Happy hunting, cousin.
Thank you. So a connection is possible, right? This Johnson came originally from Tennessee then went to Kentucky and finally in Ohio as far as I know but since the research is ongoing right now, I might they came from somewhere else before Tennessee. I’ll add any new information when I hear back from the genealogist.
battyboy12;37961 wrote: Thank you. So a connection is possible, right? This Johnson came originally from Tennessee then went to Kentucky and finally in Ohio as far as I know but since the research is ongoing right now, I might they came from somewhere else before Tennessee. I’ll add any new information when I hear back from the genealogist.
What you have said about the timeline, migration pattern, and census fits.
If they came to TN from VA/NC and they moved to Southwest Ohio then it is further evidence of a Saponi link. Looking at the specific counties can help to trace it down. Also looking at the surnames of associated families and neighbors on the census sheets can be helpful.The pattern as best I can describe it is – starting in VA/NC in the 1600/1700s, many moving out of the area in the late 1700s and early 1800s to TN, KY, and particularly OH – centered around Greene County. (virtually all my ancestors passed through OH within two counties of Greene County).
These mixed-blood families were endogamous so where you find one mixed-blood family you will find more, even into the 1900s. (in my family my mother is the first generation to marry outside of this group) Bill Childs was the main SaponiTown genealogist for years, I’m trying to follow in his footsteps as best I can. Let me know what you get from your genealogist and I can try and help further if needed.
Greene County Ohio? That’s where my Johnson family ended up. Maybe this is more evidence. Thank you for your information, I’ll be sure to contact you when the genealogist sends me the final report.
I just checked the others’ family trees. Looking at my other cousins, their Johnson families also seem to have settled around Greene county Ohio as well- only about an hour away, really. Could be coincidence but I’ll make note of it in case there’s something to this and a possible Saponi/native connection.
I think that is a strong indication to dig further. You may have noticed that the modern Saponi Nation of Ohio is in Xenia, Greene County, Ohio.
Yes, I have. Xenia is one of the places in Greene county Ohio some of my Johnson relatives lived in- some still live there today. I’m still waiting on the final report from the genealogist, but I expect it to be complete sometime this week. So you think there may be a small possibility for a Saponi connection? I’ll let you know if I need help once I get the rest of the information- I probably will, since I’m new to this sort of research.
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