Marty and Karla Grant
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Johnson / Johnston Genealogy - VA and TN
Welcome to my Johnson / Johnston genealogy pages. I am interested in selected Johnson families of Knox Co., TN and their connections in Virginia, perhaps Bedford and Albemarle Counties (not sure yet). Since it’s a very common surname, my interest is limited to those counties, with some exceptions.
I have two other Johnson / Johnston lines in SC, not related to my TN family as far as is known.
Johnson and Johnston are variations of each other. Johnstone is a less common variation.
“Johnson” was the 2nd most common surname in the United States in 2000 and in 2010. “Johnston” was 207th most common in 2000. It dropped to 225th by 2010. “Johnstone” didn’t make the top 1000 list either year.
My most recent ancestor on this line is my 4 times Great Grandmother Nancy Johnson (1804-1852) who was born in Knox Co., TN. She married Samuel Hensley in 1823 in Knox. They soon moved to Monroe Co., TN where both died ten days apart in Oct 1852. They had nine children. Nancy is a daughter of Robert and Rachel (Burnett) Johnson.
Robert Johnson (1759-1849) was born in Virginia and married Rachel Burnett (1750s-1830s) there ca 1778. They moved to Knox Co., TN before ca 1792 and remained there until their deaths. They had 12 children. Robert is a son of Rev. William Johnson.
Rev. William Johnson (c1735-1814) was from Virginia and moved into eastern Tennessee. I have no data beyond him yet. What I do have on him, and much of what I have on Robert, is thanks to other researchers who’ve shared it with me.
Revised: July 20, 2026
Copyright © 1996-2026 Marvin A. Grant, Jr. All Rights Reserved.
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