Re: Samuel W. Johnson son ofBenjamin Johnson
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In reply to:
Re: Samuel W. Johnson son ofBenjamin Johnson
1/28/99
Dear Susie,
I just sent an e-mail to you, but my computer is acting up and I'm afraid that it didn't go thru. The Emily Johnson, b. 1875, that you mention in your post was actually a biological daughter of a Cherokee indian named Tom Sanders. She was the first child of Marze Ellen. Marze was apparently a woman ahead of her time. She never tried to hide the fact that "Lizzie" was by Tom Sanders and, in fact, I have a notarized affidavit that attests to this fact for the purposes of "Lizzie" getting her indian rights. We do, however, share the same heritage of Marze Ellen (Hill) Sanders. She was the daughter of William Berry Hill (sometimes it appears as Berry William Hill), b. abt 1826 in Alabama and Elizabeth (Twiford) Hill. Elizabeth was the daughter of William and Jane(Cox) Twiford. The latter couple were both born in Ky. and moved to Shelby Co., Tenn.(Memphis) right after their marriage in 1825. William was in on the building of the first storehouse in Memphis. They were among the first settlers of Germantown, Tenn. A John Hill, b. abt. 1795 in S.C. was living next to Wm.Berry Hill in the 1850 census of Shelby Co. Although I know very little about the heritage of Ben Johnson, I did hear it stated that he also had some indian blood. I strongly suspect that Marze Ellen was part indian as well. She had olive complexion and dard piercing eyes. She was referred to as "Black Dutch" This was often a cover up in those days for having Native American blood. Hope his helps. I am at a black wall on where Wm. Berry Hill and Marze Ellen were between 1850 and 1875 when my ggmother was born in Dora, Crawford Co. Ark.
Bob Ausbourne, [email protected]