1820. Nathan Johnson lives in Capt Mathis' District, Sampson Co. He is 26-45 as is his wife and they have 3 sons and 2 daughters. One son and one daughter are age 10-16, still raising the question of who these children are as every child of theirs I know of has a birth year after 1810. Augustus Jones lives next door.

Nathan Johnson is 68 in the 1850 Census and lives in Sampson County with Catheran 61 (must be Kezziah), Robert 23, Allen 18 and Matthew 60. I don’t know who Matthew was, not a brother I don’t think.

In the 1940 the WPA found and transcribed old graves. “Johnson Cemetery on 421 South out of Clinton, turn right at Delway, go 1/2 mile and turn left for 2 1/2 miles. Cemetery was in terrible condition in 1940 at the time of the survey. Nathan Johnson d.19 May 1854 age 71 years. Keziah, w/o Nathan, b.15 Apr 1790 d.4 Oct 1869. Also present Nathan W b.1820 and his wife Ann. A separate entry on Film 882954 calls it the Johnson Cemetery in Clinton (but Delway is pretty far from Clinton).

NHCL Book. A Portrait of 18th Century Sampson County, Court Minutes 1784-1800. 11 May 1790. Wm Johnston registers for Nathan Johnston, a minor, his mark -- a swallow fork in right ear and a slit in left ear with a half moon under it.

I know a fair amount about Nathan from a book entitled ”Sampson County Heritage” which I found at our local library, his will and from the Johnson book. The Heritage book gives the history of the county and biographies of some leading citizens.

Nathan’s will was written 15 Mar 1851 and was probated Aug 1854. According to his will, Nathan seems to have been a very wealthy man. He bequeathed over 2000 acres of land in many different plots to his several sons and daughters and his slave holdings exceeded his land holdings in actual value, at least based on the valuations that he gave to each of his plots of land and to each of his slaves. For example, he left his son Robert Calvin ”555 acres of land worth $1000 and Negro boy Frank worth $400, which he has received also that portion of land I bought from Ephraim Johnson including a grist mil”.

Nathan also left one acre of land to Evergreen Academy, the local school district, presumably to continue the operation of a school on that land.

Nathan was the son of William Johnson (and wife Jannie Register) according to the Heritage book, the Johnson Book and also according to another book on Revolutionary War Pensions. He was born in 1785 (according to those source but I believe that his age of 68 years in the 1850 Census implying about 1782 is closer) at their home in Delway. He married Kezziah Jane Jones and built his house on land given him by his father. His mansion, as the slaves described it, was about two miles from the crossroads at Delway. Nathan was a large land owner. He was always interested in education and believed it was the one great hope for the survival of democracy. For many years he provided a school building and paid the teachers for all the local students. At the time of his death, his slaves asked in unison that his tombstone be inscribed: ”He was a good and kind master.”

In 1940, his tombstone was transcribed in a project to identify pre-1914 tombstones in Sampson County and it gives his 1854 death date and age as 71 years. He is said in that place to be buried near Delway with his wife, son and daughter-in-law. All the burials took place between 1854 and 1869. The condition of this cemetery was described as ”terrible” in 1940.

He only received the sum of Sixpence in his father's will, the rest of William's estate went to his second wife and then later to the children they had together. Nathan may have been set up by his father prior to the will, though.

The 1940 survey of old cemteries gives rather specific directions as to where the graves of Nathan, Kezziah, Nathan W and his wife Ann can be found. Following those directions clearly leads from the Delway intersection on US 421 west and then south onto Herring Road which heads down toward Harrell’s. As best I could ever determine, the best bet for their location was on a farm on Herring Road named “The Old Place” by Nash Johnson farms.

But we have explored that property at great length -- driving all the dirt lanes that led back into the land and woods -- with no luck. We concluded that the graves probably were no longer in existence.

Then after several attempts on Herring Road, Carol Kinsely found my website and said she knew where those graves were and they were not at all where we had been looking. They, in fact, were on a property on US 421, a little north of Delway and she then found out they had been moved there in 1992.

The property where the graves are located may have been Nathan’s originally and may have been Nathan Washington’s later but most definitely belonged to Cornelius (or Cornelius Calhoun) Johnson, son of Nathan Washington and then his son Leonidas and then his son Calhoun. Calhoun’s widow sold it and the property is no longer in the family but is owned by people apparently quite willing to see the cemetery preserved.

Kezziah's full name comes from a write-up about her husband in an old Sampson County biographical history book. Someone who contributed to that book probably knew that to be the case. I can confirm her name was Kezziah from Nathan’s will and her tombstone which was transcribed along with her husband’s. It says she was born 15 Apr 1790 and died 4 Oct 1869. According to the 1870 Census Mortality Table, Kizzie Johnson died of heart dropsy. I know nothing more for certain of the Jones family from which Kezziah descended. There was a deed of gift of a Negro recorded from Jesse Jones of Carteret County to his daughter Keziah in 1788. Jesse had several children, two of whom have known birth dates of 1772 and 1781. It’s possible, therefore, that Kezziah was quite young when the deed of gift was made and it’s also possible that her tombstone was off by a couple of years (not unusual back then) and so this could be a lead to the parentage of Kezziah Jane, but it is only speculation for now.

Nathan and Kezziah named a daughter Kezziah Jane so that may well be confirmation of her middle name as well.

The 1850 Census lists Nathan Johnson in Sampson County with wife,Catheran, age 61, and sons Robert and Allen -- both correct according to Johnson book at SCL. There is also a Matthew, age 60, living there, not sure who that would be.

Also not sure if Kezziah Jane is one and the same with Catharan but she must be since Kezziah was still quite alive.