Martha Jane Dinsmore

1820-1903

Much more information about Martha will be added in time. This website is a work-in-progress.

Father: John J. Dinsmore (1793-1868)
Mother: Elizabeth Jamison (1794-1880)

Spouse: Jesse Newport Johnson (1815-1868)

Children: 
  • Mortimer Johnson (1844-1852)
  • Lola Montez Johnson (1846-1863)
  • David Powell Johnson (1848-1852)
  • Nancy Johnson (1851-1852)
  • Roy Johnson (1853-1863)
  • Elizabeth Johnson (1855-1856)
  • Grace J. Johnson (1857-1943)
  • Charles Johnson (1860-1906)
  • Ernest Edgar Johnson (1863-1962)

Timeline

  1. 1820

    June 23 - Born in Washington County, Pennsylvania. The 1st of 8 children of John and Elizabeth (nee Jamison) Dinsmore.[1]

  2. 1843

    May 2 - Marries Jesse Newport Johnson in Jefferson County, Ohio.[2]

  3. 1844

    October 23 - Son Mortimer born.[3]

  4. 1847

    February 13 - Daughter Lola born.[4]

  5. 1848

    November 2 - Son David born.[5]

  6. 1851

    February 9 - Daughter Nancy born.[6]

  7. 1852

    September - Mortimer (aged 7), David (3) and Nancy (1) die from dysentery.[7]

  8. 1853

    February 5 - Son Roy born.[8]

  9. 1855

    September 2 - Daughter Elizabeth born.[9]

  10. 1856

    November 2 - Daughter Elizabeth dies, aged 14 months.[10]

  11. 1857

    September 2 - Daughter Grace born.[11]

  12. 1860

    January 8 - Son Charles born.[12]

  13. 1861

    Family moves to White Eyes Township, Coshocton County, Ohio.[13]

  14. 1862

    Scarlet fever permanently leaves 2 year old son Charles mentally and physically diminished.[14]

  15. 1863

    May 20 - Daughter Lola dies, aged 17, from diphtheria.
    July 10 - Son Roy dies, aged 10, from diphtheria.[15]

  16. 1863

    September 7 - Son Ernest born.[16]

  17. 1868

    September 15 - Husband Jesse dies of dysentery.[17]

  18. 1903

    January 7 - Dies in Coshocton, Ohio, aged 82 years. Buried at Kimball Church near Fresno, Coschocton County, Ohio.[18]

Stories

Jesse & Martha Johnson 1852-1865 The Brutality of Disease on Jesse & Martha Johnson's Family

1852-1865

The Brutality of Disease on the Johnson Family

Footnotes and Sources

  1. [1] Sources:
    • The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants: Together with notes on related families, the author/compiler is purportedly Rev Hubert Rex Johnson (location unknown, privately printed, undated but perhaps c1926), p72. This work relies heavily on the oral traditions of the Richard Johnston family of Jefferson County, Ohio; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/792596/ : accessed 17 September 2022). This record states that she was born 23 June 1820.
    • Kimball Cemetery (monumental inscription: 1820 - 1903), Fresno, Coshocton County OH, Martha J. Johnson, personally read & photographed, 16 July 2025.
    • NN Hill, Jr, comp., History of Coshocton County, Ohio: Its Past and Present, 1740-1881 (Newark, Ohio: AA Graham & Co, Publishers; 1881; facsimile reprint, Salem MA: Higginson Book Co; 1995), p714. States her place of birth as Washington County, PA.
    • 1900 U.S. census, Coshocton County, Ohio, population schedule, Coshocton, page 257, dwelling 156, family 168, Martha Johnson; imaged, “1900 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7602/images/4117701_00852 : accessed 27 August 2026). This record lists her date & place of birth as June 1825, Pennsylvania.
  2. [2] “Ohio, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1774-1993," Jefferson, 1838-1866, p229, no. 793, database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61378/images/TH-1-17786-117981-8 : accessed 25 August 2026), marriage register image, Jesse N. Johnson and Martha J. Dinsmore, 2 May 1843, image 116/713; citing Marriage Records. Ohio Marriages. Various Ohio County Courthouses.
  3. [3] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p73.
  4. [4] Her Find A Grave memorial (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29312965/lola-montez-johnson : accessed 27 August 2026) lists Lola's date of birth as 13 February 1846, but I believe the year is incorrect because of the following sources:
    • The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p73.
    • 1850 U.S. census, Jefferson County, Ohio, population schedule, Cross Creek, page 97, dwelling 1379, family 1440, Lowly Johnson; imaged, “1850 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8054/images/4093946_00501 : accessed 27 August 2026). Lola is listed as aged 3 years old on 29 August 1850.
    • 1860 U.S. census, Brooke County, Virginia, population schedule, District 4, Middle Ferry, page 101, dwelling 692, family 661, Lola Johnson; imaged, “1860 United States Federal Census,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7667/images/4297366_00149?pId=33664207 : accessed 27 August 2026). Lola is listed as aged 13 years old on 30 June 1860.
  5. [5] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p73.
  6. [6] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p73.
  7. [7] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p73.
  8. [8] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p73.
  9. [9] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p73.
  10. [10] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p73.
  11. [11] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, pp 73 & 108.
  12. [12] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, pp 73 & 110.
  13. [13] Martha's husband, Jesse, is in Coshocton by April 1861 when he purchases the farm in White Eyes Township. I don't know whether he moved there before the rest of the family, but Martha is "of the County of Coshocton" by the end of the year. Sources:
    • NN Hill, Jr, comp., History of Coshocton County, Ohio: Its Past and Present, 1740-1881 (Newark, Ohio: AA Graham & Co, Publishers; 1881; facsimile reprint, Salem MA: Higginson Book Co; 1995), p622.
    • Coshocton County, Ohio, Recorder, "Coshocton Deeds", Vol. 34, p561; images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37X-M98P?view=explore : accessed 10 December 2025), Deed records v. 34-35 1860-1863, image 290/740, IGN 008578424. On 17 April 1861, Jesse purchases about 204.5 acres of land in White Eyes Township, Coshocton County OH. The deed describes Jesse as "of the County of Coshocton".
    • Jefferson County, Ohio, Recorder, "Jefferson Deeds," Deed book J-2, p472; images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L92H-K9SN-R?view=explore : accessed 28 August 2026), "Jefferson, Ohio, United States records," Jefferson Deeds 1859-1862, image 580/651, IGN 004021965. On 30 December 1861, Jesse N. Johnson and Martha Jane his wife of the County of Coshocton and State of Ohio sold property in Jefferson County OH to John Dougherty.
  14. [14] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p110.
  15. [15] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p73.
  16. [16] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p110.
  17. [17] The Family Record of Peter Johnson and His Descendants, p68.
  18. [18] "Death Claims Pioneer Woman of Coshocton County", The Coshocton Age (Coshocton OH), Friday 9 January 1903, p5:3; Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/15383737/ : accessed 4 April 2024).

Last updated: 29 August 2026

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