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SIX GENERATIONS REMOVED - CONNECTIONS TO LIBERIA 2/1/2009 8:55:11 PM
I am excited about the most recent link to my family tree, Elijah Johnson. My first book, Notes And Documents of Free Persons of Color:Four Hundred Years of An African American Family's History, chronicled my maternal ancestors from Pennsylvania and Colonial Virginia.
My second book, Pieces of the Quilt: The Mosaic of An African American Family, will be released April 2009. This book chronicles ancestors like Elijah Johnson, a Free Black who is credited with building Monrovia Liberia. He is a historical figure, but not familiar to most Americans. Elijah Johnson (born about 1785-died 1856), was born in Virginia, and moved to New Jersey with his family, as a child. He may be a descendant of Antonio Johnson, the first black to land in Jamestown Virginia in 1619. He was a soldier in the New York Militia during the War of 1812, and fought against the British.
He is related through through Sarah Johnson-Martin, my direct ancestor five times removed. Sarah (born about
1808), also had a brother named Elijah Johnson, who was born about 1810. Both were left in an orphanage in 1816, in Chester County Pennsylvania, and identified as the negro children of Elijah Johnson. Sarah and her brother were indentured out from the orphanage, and remained in Pennsylvania. Their mother is not identified on the records, and may have been deceased.
South Eastern Pennsylvania (including Philadelphia, Chester, and Lancaster County), held the Headquarters of the American Colonization Society. The ACS was an organization set up for the purpose of sending free blacks to Africa, or another colony set up for them. Lincoln University, an African American College in Chester County Pennsylvania, was first named Ashmum University. The college was named in honor of Ashmum Jehudi a white Methodist Minister who supported resettling Free Blacks in Liberia. Elijah Johnson was also a Methodist Minister, and a friend of Ashmum Jehudi. There was not a lot of support for the, "Back to Africa", movement among black leaders of that era. The ship, "Susan," sailed out of New York to Liberia in 1820 with eighty-six passengers. After landing, most of the passengers, including Jehudi's wife died from Malaria, and other illnesses. The natives were not happy with the settlers and attacked them, engaging the group in battle.
The group joined with other free blacks, in Sierra Leone, and then returned to Liberia. Jehudi Ashmum kept a
journal of the events, and noted that Elijah Johnsons' skills as a Military man saved many lives. For several months, Elijah was acting President of the fledgling Liberia, and his son, Richard E.W. Johnson was the first native born President in Liberia.
Since discovering my ancestor, I have been in contact with his, Liberian descendants, and we are planning a meeting later this year. We have found common names in the family lines that connect us to Elijah Johnson. I have dedicated a chapter of, Pieces of the Quilt, to Elijah Johnson and his exploits prior to, and during settling Liberia. Many of Elijah's Liberian descendants now live in the United States and continue to keep his legacy alive. We are planning to meet at the family reunion in July of 2009, at the Johnson Family reunion in Huston Texas.
