Household #172: Johnson, James D.

Back to the 1900 Census & Household Index

In the 1900 Barney census, James D Johnson headed a 2-person household. The table below preserves the exact names, relationships, ages, birthplaces, and occupations recorded for the household.

Household Snapshot

James D Johnson headed a 2-person household in the 1900 Barney census with 1 extended-family member.

James D Johnson's listed occupation was Farmer.

All listed household members were reported as born in Georgia.

Newspaper and Public-Record Trail

This section flags public-record leads separate from the census table. The detailed discussion stays in the family narrative, research status, and source citations below.

1900 Census Household

Name	Relation	Age	Birthplace	Occupation
James D Johnson	Head	49	Georgia	Farmer
Mary Johnson	Sister	54	Georgia	—

Children and Later Trails

No child-tracking items are open for this page because the 1900 table lists no children in the household.

Family Narrative

James D. Johnson (also James Johnson) - Born January 1851, Georgia - Died After 1900; no accepted death record has been found. The former 1922 Taylor County, Florida lead has been eliminated as a different Florida-born James D. Johnson. - Marital Status: Single (never married, no children) - Occupation: Farmer (1900 census) - Parents: James C. Johnson (born ~1819, South Carolina) and Sidney L. Mims (born December 7, 1812, Georgia; died August 26, 1899)

James D. Johnson was the eldest child of his father's second marriage. His father, James C. Johnson, married three times:

Elizabeth Miley (born ~1826, South Carolina) — first wife. Children: Paul Hamilton (~1844), Mary C. (~1846), Sarah R. (~1848).
Sidney L. Mims (born December 7, 1812, Georgia; died August 26, 1899) — second wife. James D. was likely her first child, born January 1851 at the transition between marriages.
"Sidney Elizabeth Hiers" — listed in FamilySearch as a third wife, but this is almost certainly a duplicate conflation of Sidney L. Mims. No independent record evidence supports this as a separate person.

Grandparents: Rev. Paul Johnson (FamilySearch G3QS-G4B) and Mary Polly Hiers (FamilySearch L8RN-STS). The Hiers connection links this household to HH#170 (John A. Hiers) and HH#144 (Jacob Hunter Hiers).

Paul Hamilton Johnson, born ~1844; mother Elizabeth Miley; Confirmed 1850 and 1860 censuses
Mary C. Johnson, born ~1846; mother Elizabeth Miley; Later "Mary Shockey" per FamilySearch (L1BV-FFQ); living with James D. in 1900, age 54
Sarah R. Johnson, born ~1848; mother Elizabeth Miley; Confirmed 1850 census
James D. Johnson, born Jan 1851; mother Sidney L. Mims; Head of HH#172
George A. Johnson, born ~1855; mother Sidney L. Mims; Confirmed 1880 census
Nancy E. Johnson, born ~1857; mother Sidney L. Mims; Confirmed 1880 census
Rev. John Calvin Johnson, born ~1860; mother Sidney L. Mims; FamilySearch GQLC-14N; three wives, fourteen children, Gwinnett County

1850 Census — Lowndes County, Georgia. James C. Johnson (31, male, South Carolina), Elizabeth (24, female, South Carolina), Paul (6), Mary (4), Sarah (2). James D. not yet born. FamilySearch ARK: MZYT-RB3.

1860 Census — Brooks County, Georgia. James D. appears as a child in James C. Johnson's household. Ancestry record 10751328 (link expired at time of research).

1870 Census — Brooks County, Georgia. James D. in James C. Johnson household. Ancestry record 587998.

1880 Census — Brooks County, Georgia. James D. (age 29) listed with siblings George A., Sarah R., Mary R., and Nancy E. in father's household.

1890 Georgia Property Tax Digest. James D. Johnson, Morven District 660, White. Ancestry record 716431.

1900 Census — Barney, Brooks County, Georgia (this household). James D. Johnson, age 49, single, born January 1851, Georgia, farmer. Living with sister Mary Johnson (age 54). FamilySearch ARK: M3FP-FPC. Note: Ancestry indexes marital status as "Widowed" but FamilySearch confirms "Single" on the original image. James D. never married and had no children.

1910 Census — Not Located. No match found in Brooks County (zero results) or in Georgia statewide (144 results, none clearly matching a single man born circa 1851). Florida search also returned no definitive match. He may have been missed by the census enumerator, enumerated under a different name, or residing in a location not yet searched.

1920 Census — Not Located. Florida statewide search returned only six results, none in Taylor County and none matching James D. Johnson's profile. No match found in Georgia either.

The Florida/Taylor County 1922 lead has now been downgraded from ambiguous candidate evidence to an eliminated cluster. FamilySearch search results for James D. Johnson in Taylor County show a Find a Grave memorial, 1910 census, 1920 census, and Florida death-index entry all pointing to a different man: James D. Johnson, born in Florida about 1849-1851, married to M. V./Mary/Miram Johnson, and buried at Perry, Taylor County, Florida. The detailed death certificate (FamilySearch ARK: FP9C-F2Z) also belongs to this Florida-born man, not to the Georgia-born single James D. Johnson in HH#172.

Ancestry's Florida probate index for James D. Johnson, probate date 20 November 1922, Taylor County, Florida (collection 8993, record 150662, image 005888907_00045), is most likely part of the same Florida-born James D. Johnson cluster unless the image proves otherwise. The index alone does not name parents, birthplace, spouse, heirs, or a Brooks County connection, and it should not be used as evidence for the HH#172 James D. Johnson.

No direct death certificate, burial record, probate file, obituary, or post-1900 census continuation has been found for the Georgia-born James D. Johnson after the 1900 Barney census.

Connections to Other Barney Families

James D. Johnson's grandmother, Mary Polly Hiers (FamilySearch L8RN-STS), connects this household directly to two other Barney households: - HH#170 — John A. Hiers (Mary Polly's son, James D.'s uncle) - HH#144 — Jacob Hunter Hiers (Mary Polly's grandson, James D.'s cousin)

The Johnson-Hiers family network spans at least three households in the Barney precinct, all tracing back to Rev. Paul Johnson and Mary Polly Hiers. Rev. Paul Johnson appears on the 1850 Lowndes County census as a separate household near his son James C. Johnson.

Research Notes

1910 and 1920 census absence. James D. does not appear in any searchable census record after 1900. The 1922 Taylor County death-index lead is now eliminated as proof for this man, so there is no accepted post-1900 date by which he is known to be alive. He may have died before 1910, been enumerated under a name variant, lived in a household where his surname was not recorded, moved away, or been missed by enumerators.
Sister Mary's later life. Mary C. Johnson (FamilySearch L1BV-FFQ), age 54 in 1900 and living with James D., has no traceable record after 1900. The FamilySearch tree lists her as "Mary Shockey," but no matching Shockey record has been found in post-1900 Georgia or Florida censuses.
Death/probate ambiguity now eliminated as proof. The Florida Death Index "J D Johnson, 1922, Taylor County" and the Ancestry Taylor County probate index should not be treated as supporting HH#172 unless a probate image later names Georgia/Brooks County relatives. FamilySearch results tie the Taylor County death/burial/census cluster to a different Florida-born married James D. Johnson with wife M. V./Mary/Miram Johnson.
"Sidney Elizabeth Hiers" third wife. FamilySearch lists a third wife for James C. Johnson named "Sidney Elizabeth Hiers." Given the 14-year age gap between Elizabeth Miley (born ~1826, South Carolina) and Sidney L. Mims (born 1812, Georgia), and the absence of any independent record for a third wife, this is almost certainly a duplicate entry conflating Sidney Mims with the Hiers surname. No separate marriage record or census entry supports a third marriage.

Open Research Questions

Resolve the open items flagged in Research Notes above with direct records before expanding this household narrative.

Research Status

Source-researched, not source-exhausted. The pre-1900 identity and sibling context are well supported by census records and the 1900 FamilySearch household page, but the post-1900 trail for James and Mary remains open. The Taylor County, Florida 1922 death/probate lead has been eliminated as proof for this household because the matching online record cluster belongs to a Florida-born married James D. Johnson. A death certificate, probate image, burial, newspaper item, or other parent/birthplace-linked source is still needed for the Georgia-born James D. Johnson.

Sources

1850 U.S. Federal Census, Lowndes County, Georgia (James C. Johnson household; FamilySearch ARK: MZYT-RB3)
1860 U.S. Federal Census, Brooks County, Georgia (James D. as child; Ancestry 7667:10751328)
1870 U.S. Federal Census, Brooks County, Georgia (James D. in household; Ancestry 7163:587998)
1880 U.S. Federal Census, Brooks County, Georgia (James D. age 29 with siblings; Ancestry 6742:40730394)
1890 Georgia Property Tax Digest, Morven District 660 (James D. Johnson, White; Ancestry 1729:716431)
1900 U.S. Federal Census, Barney, Brooks County, Georgia (James D. Johnson, single, age 49; FamilySearch ARK: M3FP-FPC)
Eliminated candidate: Florida Death Index / Find a Grave / census cluster for James D. Johnson, died 1922 Taylor County, Florida; FamilySearch results tie this cluster to a Florida-born married man with wife M. V./Mary/Miram Johnson, not HH#172.
Eliminated or unproven candidate: Ancestry, Florida, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1827-1950, James D. Johnson, probate date 20 November 1922, Taylor County, Florida, collection 8993, record 150662, image 005888907_00045; indexed detail gives no parents, birthplace, spouse, heirs, or burial and should not be used without image-level proof.

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