If you were to explore the Johnson Family Tree you would discover that one of the clans is missing some of our ancestors. As my late father (Ozell Johnson) explained to me–as his father (Elmer) and uncles (John Henry and Richard) told him–Charley L. Johnson and his wife, Norvenia had two children. Annie Birtha was born in 1918 and lived only three years. However, James Edward (birthday unknown) survived into adulthood and reportedly, moved to Cleveland, Ohio where he married and raised a family. So, where is his family? Apparently Cleveland was so far away that the connections to the other clans did not survive.
I vividly remember my father telling me that James Edward would periodically (but seldom) contact relatives in Memphis and St. Louis. My father remembered that James Edward had one (or more) sons who lived in (and around) Cleveland. And that is where the trail ends. You can help pick up the trail by interviewing senior members of the family to find out what they remember about James Edward Johnson and his family. Please forward any information (even the smallest bit) to me via the Contact link on the Johnson Family Gazette website. I will publish all in the family blog–and just maybe we can find and reconnect with our missing relatives. Here is what I have been able to find through census and graveyard records:
- In 1940 the Cuyahoga (Cleveland) county census shows a James E. Johnson who previously resided in Tipton county, Tennessee. If this is our relative, he had a wife by the name of Anna Love Johnson–but in 1940 there were no children.
- Charley L. Johnson (a WWI Vet) was born in February, 1897 and died in March, 1922.
- Annie Birtha Johnson was born on November 20, 1918 and died on February 8, 1922, just one month before Charley passed.
- I could not find any information regarding Charley’s wife Norvenia.
Please spread the word to as many of the family as you can.