Johnson DNA Project

Olive Group

Johnson/Johnston Y-DNA Project - Olive Group

The Olive Group is part of the Johnson Project at Family Tree DNA

It is now listed as "Hap`group R1b-Family ZZE (Olive)"

Johnson/Johnston/Johnstone DNA Test Results - Y-DNA Colorized Chart

Johnson/Johnston/Johnstone DNA Test Results - Y-DNA Classic Chart

The Group's Modal Results:

R-M269  13 24 15 10 12-14 12 12 12 14 13 30 17 09-10 11 11 25 14 20 30 12-16-17-17 10 11 19-23 16 14 18 18 36-36 11 12 11 09 15-16

     Kit # (number) - (# markers)   * Number of mutations   FF indicates FamilyFinder Results

Big Y - Terminal SNP: R-FT65340 

Olive Group Members & Detailed Lines of Descent

Early Virginia

Benjamin Johnson and his wife Margery along with John Johnson and his wife Elizabeth (Massie?) all first appeared in the Henrico Monthly Meeting in 1721/1722. They were neighbors and their family members attended the marriages and other events for the other family. It is likely that they were either siblings or very close cousins.


 

Comments & Corrections please contact me at jeffbockman@gmail.com

HELP WANTED

Looking for Y-DNA test results of additional descendants of  Benjamin Johnson and Margery 

I am trying to correct some of the publications & claims of Lorand Johnson. 

While they are not part of Olive Group I would like to know of any kits that are the descendants of 


What is New

9 June 2023

It appears as if there was another John Johnson in St Peter's Parish, New Kent, VA. He had sons Robert, Thomas, and John. He was probably the contractor listed in the Vestry.

Wikitree entry John Johnson Sr. (abt.1680-aft.1736) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree appears to have them both intermingled. There would not be two sons names John unless the first one had died.

There are no known Y-DNA descendants from Robert or Thomas.
The Thomas that married Constantina may not have been the son of "our" John & Elizabeth. They were not the parents of Robert baptised 2 Apr 1708.

January 2023 - Status Report

The four proven lines in the group go back to John & Elizabeth and Benjamin & Margery. They were living in the part of New Kent that became Hanover. 

I am looking to find their parents and where they came from. I am working on learning more about the Johnsons in Virginia in the mid to late 1600s and early 1700s.

Only one kit in the Olive Group has taken a Big-Y test. It shows that they came from eastern England a bit north of London. I am hoping to better understand how the locations are determined by the SNP Tracker SNP Tracker (scaledinnovation.com) before encouraging additional testing. 

I am hoping to make some progress on the unattached members of the group. 

It is frustrating looking at FamilySearch FamilyTree and WikiTree for these families since there is so much incorrect data that is still being repeated and treated as fact and merges make it almost impossible to correct them. I can only post links back to this site.


July 26, 2022

Kit # 983330 (37 markers) matched into the Olive Group. He is a descendant of Charles Johnson & Sarah Crew via their son Tarlton. Charles is a son of John Johnson & Elizabeth Massie. The matching Y-DNA does not disprove the claim.
Four of John's children were baptised including the son John. In the Quaker records it mentions Charles & his brother John. They both moved to Amelia co, VA.

March 26, 2022

I found connections to several 5th Cousins Once Removed of Jane Stevenson, a descendant of James "Seneca" and several daughters of James and Lucy at Ancestry Thrulines.

*These lines have multiple paths of connections

January 24, 2022

Found an 1807 Power of Attorney from James Johnson in Campbell County, VA to his son Zachariah M Johnson to try and recover property from Micajah Johnson given to them by his father James Johnson of Louisa County, VA. [Campbell Co, Deed Book 8, pages 81 and 82]
This proves that James "Seneca" was the son of James and Lucy. He was very young when he married Millie but this document verifies the connection.

Olive Group Members & Lines of Descent Updated and moved to a separate page

December 31, 2021

A Y111-DNA kit was just ordered for the 2nd cousin of the Caskieben tester.

November 29, 2021

Virginia Personal Property Tax Records giveth

Campbell County Personal Property Tax records shows that James "Seneca" had 16 year old males to support the four lines found with DNA.

Louisa County Personal Property Tax record of 1786 shows that James & Lucy's sons Micajah was 21 (born abt 1765) and the June 1787 and May 1788 records show that James was 20. He was born between 28 May and 19 June 1767. He was not listed in the 1789 tax records. 

September 29, 2021 - Connections Found

Louisa County, VA Deeds and Probate records and Quaker marriage records have helped to show that the Benjamin that married Mary Moorman is the brother of James that married Lucy Moorman and they are sons of John & Elizabeth. 

August 2021 - New Website 

Google discontinued their old "classic" website design, so the entire site had to be converted and edited. It forced or gave me the opportunity to make some major edits. A few things are for the better.  It works on phones, tablets, and computers. Let me know if some links do not work or something does not make sense.  

5 May 2021 - Lorand Johnson's Caskieben Connections Proven False

The 37 marker Y-DNA test (Kit #954415) for a verified descendant of the Caskieben Johnston line does not match with any of the descendants of the early Virginia Johnsons that Lorand V. Johnson claimed were descendants of that line in his various publications. This kit was upgraded to a Big Y.

The John that married Elizabeth was not the son of James the "Litster" Immigrant, the son of Thomas of Craig.  
Read the full report 

April 2001 - Kit # 951619 is a descendant of Benjamin Conrad Johnson

Benjamin was born in Surry, NC between 1827 and 1833. Lots of conflicting information. Could be a descendant of either John or Benjamin since both had descendants that moved to NC in that period.

Sept 2019 - Finding Connections

Ancestry's ThruLines has helped to show connections between the four sons of James Seneca and Millie Moorman. It has also connected four of the children of their son James.

There are also connections to other descendants of Zachariah Moorman and Henry Terrell.

Unfortunately the connections to some of the other Olive subgroups is impossible to tell if it is via the Johnson or Moorman side.

Participate in the Project:

OLIVE Group Members

Please review the 

Autosomal or at-DNA test results are helping to tie the various family groups together.

If you, a relative, or someone you know is descended from any of the lines in the Olive Group please get tested or if already tested then transfer the results to FTDNA and then join the Johnson Project.

Many of the connections are through the Moorman family which is heavily intermarried with the Johnsons.

See the Moorman Family descendant chart. Not 100% guaranteed correct, but a start.


Understanding the Y-DNA Results


Within the Olive Group any differences in results appear to be more from random mutations rather than helping to define a specific line. Additional participants are needed and increasing the tests to 67 or 111 markers may eventually provide unique markers. 

The majority of the mutations have occurred in the more rapidly changing markers. The results so far have not proven or disproven any of the researched or claimed lines. (10/28/17)

This just proves that research and Y-DNA need to be used together along with at-DNA to help verify relationships and help to determine the closeness.

Hopefully using a combination of Y-DNA testing and the numerous research resources that are now available a more accurate family tree can eventually be constructed.

Research Comments

Questionable Johnson History
Many of the participants are claiming descent from the family written about in 1972 by Lorand V. Johnson in "The Ancestry of William and John Johnson."

Please Review the Discussion on Dr. Lorand V. Johnson & his Caskieben claims

Hopefully using a combination of Y-DNA testing and the research resources that are now available a more accurate family tree can be constructed.

Within the Olive Group any differences in results appear to be more from random mutations rather than helping to define a specific line. Additional participants are needed and increasing the tests to 67 or 111 markers may eventually provide unique markers. 

The majority of the mutations have occurred in the more rapidly changing markers. The results so far have not proven or disproven any of the researched or claimed lines. (10/28/17)

Research Articles