Ellen Cornelia Moore
James Jackson Johns
The first part of the Johns family that I am going to start looking at this fall is James Jackson Johns and his wife, Ellender Cornelia Moore. Ellen was born on October 13, 1839 in Coweta County, Georgia. Coweta County was formed in 1826 from lands originally belonging to the Creek Nation, relinquished to the US government as a part of the 1825 Treaty of Indian Springs.
James was born on September 18, 1828 in DeKalb County, Georgia. DeKalb County was formed in 1822 from three other counties: Henry, Gwinnett and Fayette.
Ellen and James married on December 18, 1859 at the age of 20 and 30, respectively, in Paulding, Georgia. Paulding County was formed in 1832 from the larger Cherokee County (Many of the Cherokee who lived in Paulding County left in 1838 during the Trail of Tears removal).
Ellen Moore’s Grave in Paulding Co., Georgia, courtesy of FindAGrave.com
James Jackson Johns’s Grave in Paulding Co., Georgia, courtesy of FindAGrave.com
James died on March 17, 1917 at the age of 88 in Villa Rica, Carroll County, Georgia. Carroll County was formed from the same treaty as Coweta County in 1832, and neighbors it to the northwest. Ellen died a few short months later on June 22, 1917 at the age of 77. They are both buried New Georgia Baptist Church Cemetery in Pauling County.
According to his gravestone, James was a Private in the Confederate States of America, Company F, 30th Georgia Infantry. This regiment participated in the Jackson Expedition, the Battle of Chicamauga, the Georgia Campaign, and the Tennessee Campaign. The Roster of Confederate Soldiers of Georgia indicates that he enlisted on September 25, 1861 at the age of 33 and mustered out on May 29, 1862, serving less than one year.
It was always rumored that Ellen Moore was of Native American ancestry. I haven’t yet been able to confirm that ancestry, though her birth in Coweta County lends itself to it being a distinct possibility.
Hey Cousin! My Dad passed away in 1982 and never mentioned much about his side of the family so I recently became interested in who they were. I am showing a very small amount of Native American DNA so Ellen may be the source.
Interesting! I showed no traces of Native when I did my DNA. My grandmother’s family was all kind of a hard scrabble lot, and we didn’t have much contact with them growing up either. Most of what I know if from my research and my aunt, as my mom passed in 1999. She’s always been the rumored Native American in the family from what I’ve heard, but I have been unable to confirm her parentage.
OK let me confuse you more. James Jackson’s father was Barlett C Johns who is listed as a Native American living in W Virginia and is listed on the Tribes roster as is his wife. His father was Robert Johns born in 1779…I have no idea where. Check the Monacan Nation, seems to be more people with the Johns surname that I ever knew existed.
Hi Ron – I’ve never been able to definitively prove that Bartlett was James Jackson’s father through documentation. I did a detail parentage report on James and Ellen here: https://rootsofkinship.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/james-jackson-johns-ellen-moore-parentage-research-report.pdf
However, when I did the DNA test I did match to people who I matched with that had Bartlett’s parents in their tree, but through a different child, which would seem to indicate some kind of relationship. Part of me suspects, due to how late in life James was born was that he is potentially the son of one of Bartlett’s oldest daughters.
Thank you for that information. I’m certainly new at this and learning to not trust everything I find. My information came from saponitown.com/forum/showthread.php?3488-Monacan-nation where I thought I’d hit the jackpot lol. I’ll have to keep checking.
Wow, great information. Wonderful to see the pictures as well. My Great, Great Grandparents.
Hi Ron, how do you trace your family back to them? Which of their children do you descend from?
His son George Washington Johns fathered James N Johns, who fathered E.L. (Buster). Who is my Dad….hopefully my research
is right :o)
My 2d great grandfather was their son William Jackson John’s, who fathered my great grandmother Lela Bell, who had my grandmother Dorothy.