Johnson, John

John JOHNSON (1588 - ?)

my 10g-grandfather

John JOHNSON was born about 1588 in Wales, the 7th son of Edmund JOHNSON. When he was 12, his father and 6 brothers all drowned, while fishing in the river at Pouty Pond, in South Wales. John escaped this fate, as he was home with his mother. [C&A, p. 773] I have not found Pouty Pond on a map, and I'm not sure how 7 men can drown while fishing in a river!

John had two sons: John ap John, who became an adherent of George FOX, founder of the Society of Friends or Quakers, in 1653; and Edmund JOHNSON, who emigrated to America. [C&A, p. 773]


John ap John and Edmund JOHNSON

The "ap" means "son of" in Welsh, so the name ap John is similar to the surname JOHNSON.

In [C&A, p. 773] is the claim that John ap John and Edmund are brothers. I don't have any other source for this fact.

From several sources, we know that Edmund was the 7th son of John JOHNSON, the only surviving son of Edmund JOHNSON, who drowned along with his 6 other sons. So the link between this family and John ap John is the one in question. It seems that John ap John was born and raised in north Wales, so I wonder why his uncles and grandfather were all fishing in south Wales. Also, there is some evidence that John ap John had 2 sisters, but no mention of brothers.

John ap John

... a committee of prominent Welsh Quakers visited William Penn in London in 1681 to enter into negotiations with him for the purchase of a large tract of land in Pennsylvania. The leader in this movement was John ap John, the "Apostle of Quakerism in Wales," who may be regarded as the founder of the Society of Friends in that country as well as the father of the Welsh Tract in Pennsylvania. [WFD, p. 252]

Since John ap John acquired some degree of fame (despite his emphasis on equal status for all people), it might be feasible to determine his birthplace, and hence the residence of his father and brother.

Howard Paddock [HP] tells us "John ap John was born about 1625 at a freehold- property called Pen y Cefn. (Please note that this is not to be confused with the villages of Pen y Cefn). Although we cannot be certain of its precise location, this property was probably situated in township of Cristionydd Kenrick which belonged to the parish of Ruabon and County of Denbighshire."

The Dictionary of Welsh Biography [DWB] says he was born about 1625, in "at Pen-y-cefn in the township of Coed Cristionydd, Ruabon".

In Miner Descent [MD] we find the claim "It is generally accepted that John ap John was born about 1625 at a freehold property called Pen y Cefn in the county of Denbighshire. The son of a yeoman farmer, he became one of the country’s leading dissenters. It was John ap John who first brought Quakerism into Wales and because of this he is commonly called ‘The First Apostle of Welsh Quakerism.’ The very first Quaker Meeting in Wales was held at his home in Cefn Mawr, an area which was then known as Cristionydd Kenrick, a township within the Parish of Ruabon."

Birthplace and home of John ap John

John ap John's residence was at Trevor, a hamlet in the extensive parish of Llangollen, much nearer to Ruabon than to Wrexham. Situated on the mountain side, the village commands a magnificent view of woodland and enclosures of cultivated land, over the Valley of the Dee, and large parts of Cheshire and Shropshire. The immediate locality was then probably chiefly pasture ; now it is largely occupied with brick works and colliery plant. The house which is supposed to have been his paternal home is known as "Plas Eva" or "Plas Evan," near to the Sun Inn, and close to the road from Llangollen to Ruabon. It has undergone many alterations, but parts of the old structure remain. Adjacent to it was a small field, an enclosed portion of which was called "the Quakers' Graveyard." But in excavating for the Chester canal, which passes by it, the earth was thrown upon the old graves and gravestones, and the appearance of the surface is changed. The little property remained in the occupation, and most probably in the possession of John ap John, until after the decease of his wife, and possibly it was only on his own removal from the place that it passed into other ownership. [WGN, p. 1-2]