John Johnson. Origin: Old Inhabitant.

The Tatnall map shows John Johnson was granted 500 acres on Long Island in the current settlement of Bunches in November of 1789, but the Lands & Surveys map indicates that John Jonson’s land grant was only 250 acres.

In a 1704 petition from the inhabitants of New Providence to the New Providence Customs Officer, a Samuel Johnson was a signatory. In the 1734 Fitzwilliam census, there were three heads-of-household listed on Harbour Island with a last name spelled “Johnson:” Alice, Thomas, and Catherine (who had four children). Later, a daughter Susannah was born to John Johnson and wife Ann about 1750 on Eleuthera. A John Johnson and wife Hannah had a daughter named Jane, born 1760 on New Providence.

In Lockey, a man of this name is listed as living in East Florida in 1783. Another document lists a man of this name living in Antigua in 1789. It is possible, although very unlikely, that these three mentions were the same person, but much more likely that they were three different men with the same name. With such a common British name and conflicting information, it is impossible at this time to confirm Johnson’s origin, but because we had someone by this name living and having babies in the Bahamas during the 1750s, we decided that he was most likely an Old Inhabitant.

References: DM, DR, Lockey, JR, 1734C