William R. Johnson 1826–1890

Catalog ID p.2246 · Cite this page: njcoopers.com/p/2246/

William R. Johnson was born on 2 Aug 1826. He married Margaret Elisabeth Cooper. He died on 3 Apr 1890 in Sussex Co., NJ and was buried at Tranquility Cemetery, Green Twp, Sussex Co., NJ. Three children are recorded.

Facts

Event	Date	Place / detail	Certainty	Sources
birth	2 Aug 1826		certain	G.592, G.588
residence	1 Jun 1850	Township of Newton, Sussex Co., NJ	probable	D.826
residence	1855	Independence Twp, Warren Co., NJ	certain	F.318
residence	1860	Independence Twp, Warren Co., NJ	certain	D.469
residence	1865	Green Twp, Sussex Co., NJ	certain	F.318
residence	1870	Frelinghuysen Twp (P.O. Vienna), Warren Co., NJ	probable	D.839
residence	1880	Green Twp, Sussex Co., NJ	certain	D.660
occupation	1 Jun 1850	Labourer	probable	D.826
occupation	1870	Carpenter	probable	D.839
death	3 Apr 1890	Sussex Co., NJ	certain	G.592
burial		Tranquility Cemetery, Green Twp, Sussex Co., NJ	certain	G.592, G.588

Family

Parents

Not identified.

Spouses

Margaret Elisabeth (Cooper) Johnson 1832–1896 G.588, A.211

Children

Robert C. Johnson 1861–1954 probable G.654
Elizabeth V. (Johnson) Daley 1873–1957 probable G.655
M. Jane Johnson 1851–1932 probable G.656

Family tree

Solid lines and outlines: certain. Dashed: probable or weaker. Open the full tree (four generations)

In the documents

Every published document that names William R. Johnson, in date order, with what that document itself records.

Date	Document	Role	What it records
1826	G.592 cemetery memorial Find a Grave memorial 14874342, William R. Johnson (1826-1890), Tranquility Cemetery, Green Twp, Sussex Co., New Jersey	deceased as "William R. Johnson"
1832	G.588 cemetery memorial Find a Grave memorial 14874347, Margaret Elizabeth Cooper Johnson (1832-1896), Tranquility Cemetery, Green Twp, Sussex Co., New Jersey	spouse as "William R. Johnson"
1850	D.826 federal census 1850 US Federal Census, Township of Newton, Sussex Co., New Jersey, page 133a, lines 1-2 (family 411) - a two-person household, "William R Johnson" and "Margare…	head as "Johnson, William R"	residence: 1 Jun 1850, Township of Newton, Sussex Co., New Jersey probable occupation: 1 Jun 1850, Labourer probable
1853-06	F.364 birth register New Jersey return of births, Township of Newton, Sussex Co., 1848 - 1853, page 77, entry for Elsey Ann Johnson	father as "William R Johnson"	occupation: Laborer residence: 1853, Newton Twp, Sussex Co., NJ
9 Jun 1854	A.211 probate receipts Warren Co., N.J. Surrogate — Receipts and Discharges 1825-1867 vol. 1-3, book pages 140-143 and 449-452: seven receipts to Edward Chandler, administrator of Jos…	spouse as "William R. Johnson (husband of Margaret Elizabeth)"
23 Mar 1855	F.318 birth index New Jersey birth index rows, 1855-1865, for three children of Wm. R. Johnson and Margaret (Elisabeth / E.) — FamilySearch "New Jersey, Births and Christenings, …	father as "Wm. R. Johnson"
1870	D.839 federal census 1870 US Federal Census, Schedule 1, Frelinghuysen Township, Warren Co., New Jersey — P.O. Vienna, page 65A, lines 14-23, dwelling 4 / family 4 — the William R. …	head as "Johnson William R."	residence: 1870, Frelinghuysen Twp, Warren Co., New Jersey occupation: Carpenter
15 Jun 1880	D.660 census population 1880 1880 U.S. census, Green Township, Sussex Co., New Jersey, ED 177, page 11 line 50 and page 12 lines 1-4 (dwelling 108, family 111) — NARA T9 roll 798	head as "Johnson William R"	residence: 1880, Green Twp, Sussex Co., NJ occupation: 1880, Farmer

3 further documents not published (they may name living people).

Still unknown, and where we have looked

Parents not identified.
Birthplace not established.

Searches recorded

ancestry all 2026-10-18 · HIS 1870 CENSUS, gap status "no search recorded". 1870 census (coll. 7163), three complete county-and-cohort surname-only lists — the...

Searched for: HIS 1870 CENSUS, gap status "no search recorded". 1870 census (coll. 7163), three complete county-and-cohort surname-only lists — the shape his own 1850 record proved necessary, because Ancestry indexes his middle initial as B and a given-name search misses him. Sussex Co. for his cohort (birth=1826, 19 rows), Sussex for his wife's (birth=1832, 22 rows), then Warren Co. (birth=1826, 25 rows) — all rows read. Full parameters and the URLs are recorded once, at Margaret Elisabeth (Cooper) Johnson, to avoid two half-copies drifting apart.

Result: FOUND → [D.839] — head of dwelling 4, Frelinghuysen Twp, Warren Co., P.O. Vienna, 43, Carpenter, real 250 / personal 150, with Margaret E. and eight children. Both Sussex lists are real nulls, and that is the useful half: the family is in Sussex in 1865 and 1880, so Sussex is where this gap had always been searched. ⇒ They were in Warren for 1870.

ancestry all 2026-10-17 · HIS 1850 CENSUS. 1850 US Federal Census (Ancestry coll. 8054), the place recipe:...

Searched for: HIS 1850 CENSUS. 1850 US Federal Census (Ancestry coll. 8054), the place recipe: name=William_Johnson&count=50&residence=_sussex-new+jersey-usa_2837&residence_x=1-0-0_1-0 - the COMPLETE Sussex Co. list of William Johnsons, 7 rows, all read; and the same against Warren Co. (..._warren-new+jersey-usa_3036...), 13 rows, all read. Run from HIS side because his wife Margaret Elisabeth (Cooper) Johnson is indexed under a given name only.

Result: FOUND -> [D.826]. Sussex row 2: "William B Johnson", 23, Laborer, Newton, with a relative "Margaret" - opened, and the plate reads WILLIAM R JOHNSON, 23, Labourer, with Margaret, 18, both born N J, family 411, page 133a. THE INDEX'S MIDDLE INITIAL IS WRONG, AND THAT IS WHY HE WAS LOST. Ancestry reads B; the stitch shows an unmistakable looped R. A 2026-10-05 FamilySearch pass had searched "William Johnson b. 1822-1830 Warren" and found only an unidentified "William Johnsen", 22 - it was looking in the right years and the WRONG COUNTY, and would have been defeated by the initial in any case. ⇒ The lesson is the one the place recipe exists for: a SURNAME-ONLY county list does not care what the index did to a given name or an initial. The Warren Co. list (13 rows) is a clean null for him and is worth keeping: the only Warren William Johnson of about the right year is one at Harmony with a wife Elizabeth and an infant Mary L, opened and EXCLUDED - a household of three where ours should be a couple of two, and in a township on the opposite side of the county from any Cooper.

findagrave 2026-10-04 · Memorial 14874342 (ID from his wife's panel [G.588]).

Searched for: Memorial 14874342 (ID from his wife's panel [G.588]). (link)

Result: FETCHED with the parser: 2 Aug 1826 - 3 Apr 1890, Tranquility Cemetery, plot 2/208 [G.592].

familysearch tree 2026-10-04 · Profile MR7G-111 (seen while working Margaret Elisabeth (Cooper) Johnson).

Searched for: Profile MR7G-111 (seen while working Margaret Elisabeth (Cooper) Johnson).

Result: William R. Johnson, 2 Aug 1826 Frelinghuysen Twp - 3 Apr 1889; residences 1850-1880; nine children. Lead only.

ancestry all 2026-10-04 · Not run this pass.

Searched for: Not run this pass.

Result: Not run.

newspapers com 2026-10-04 · Not run this pass.

Searched for: Not run this pass.

Result: Not run.

genealogybank 2026-10-04 · Not run this pass.

Searched for: Not run this pass.

Result: Not run.

Documents

F.364 New Jersey return of births, Township of Newton, Sussex Co., 1848 - 1853, page 77, entry for Elsey Ann Johnson
G.588 Find a Grave memorial 14874347, Margaret Elizabeth Cooper Johnson (1832-1896), Tranquility Cemetery, Green Twp, Sussex Co., New Jersey
G.592 Find a Grave memorial 14874342, William R. Johnson (1826-1890), Tranquility Cemetery, Green Twp, Sussex Co., New Jersey
D.660 1880 U.S. census, Green Township, Sussex Co., New Jersey, ED 177, page 11 line 50 and page 12 lines 1-4 (dwelling 108, family 111) — NARA T9 roll 798
D.469 1860 US Federal Census, Schedule 1, Independence Twp., Warren Co., NJ - Page No. 49 (stamped 687), PO Danville, enumerated 21 June 1860; 40 lines covering dwellings 331-338, incl. the Derrick Deats household (dw.334) and two Cooper households (dw.335, dw.336).
F.318 New Jersey birth index rows, 1855-1865, for three children of Wm. R. Johnson and Margaret (Elisabeth / E.) — FamilySearch "New Jersey, Births and Christenings, 1660-1980" index records only (no images)
A.211 Warren Co., N.J. Surrogate — Receipts and Discharges 1825-1867 vol. 1-3, book pages 140-143 and 449-452: seven receipts to Edward Chandler, administrator of Joseph Cooper, dated 9 June 1854, 15 December 1856, 6 April 1857 and 14 May 1859, with acknowledgments
D.826 1850 US Federal Census, Township of Newton, Sussex Co., New Jersey, page 133a, lines 1-2 (family 411) - a two-person household, "William R Johnson" and "Margaret"; enumerated 20 September 1850 by John H. Johnson, Ass't Marshal; NARA M432 roll 464.
D.839 1870 US Federal Census, Schedule 1, Frelinghuysen Township, Warren Co., New Jersey — P.O. Vienna, page 65A, lines 14-23, dwelling 4 / family 4 — the William R. Johnson household of ten.