My Genealogy Hound

JEDEDIAH M. JOHNSON, a very successful farmer and grape-grower of the town of Ripley, was born in the town of Norwich, Chenango county, New York, May 3, 1845, and is a son of Homer and Roxanna (Skinner) Johnson. The Johnson family is of English descent and settled at an early day in southern New England, from which Dr. Jonathan Johnson, the paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, came to Chenango county, New York, shortly after the year 1791. He read medicine for four years under a preceptor in his native State of Connecticut, received a diploma which is dated April 3, 1791, and after removing to Chenango county, his pioneer practice soon extended into adjoining counties. As his county developed Dr. Johnson grew in wealth, medical repute and personal influence and at his death owned several mills, stores and valuable farms, aggregating a value of one hundred thousand dollars. He married Hannah Graves, who lived to be ninety-six years of age. They had four sons and one daughter. One of the sons was Homer Johnson (father) who was born October 31, 1803, in Chenango county, where he died May 9, 1872. He was a carpenter by trade, a farmer by occupation, a whig and republican in politics and a member and trustee of the Baptist church. He married Roxanna Skinner, who was born February 14, 1806. Their family consisted of five sons and five daughters, of whom six are living: John, a farmer of Ripley (see sketch); Mary, widow of Orin Warner and wife of Thomas W. Hall, of Norwich, N. Y.; Jonathan Darwin; Abie, married to Ashel Holcomb, of Ripley; Emily, who married a Mr. Cartland Hall and afterwards Melvin Slater, of Norwich, N. Y.; and Jedediah M. Those deceased are: Hannah M., born March 23, 1827, died October 10, 186- ; Harriet A., born June 25, 1848, died April 19, 1864; George H., born July 8, 1834, died May 7, 1886 — he was a carpenter by trade and for many years was boss carpenter of a large gang of workmen, laying out the work for the others to do; and Charles H., born August 16, 1837, died December 3, 1880; he was a Baptist preacher of pronounced ability and during his itinerancy built two churches of that denomination and was the means of the conversion of many souls. Mrs. Johnson is a daughter of Daniel Skinner (maternal grandfather) who was a native of Connecticut and a resident of Chenango county, where he followed farming and married Hannah Skinner, by whom he had nine children.

Jedediah M. Johnson grew to manhood in his native town, where he attended the common schools and Norwich academy. He commenced life for himself as a farmer and in 1869 came to the productive lake farm in the town of Ripley, on which he now resides and on which he erected his present substantial residence, good barns and first-class out-buildings. He is a republican in politics, served five years in the State Militia, in which he refused a lieutenancy, and is a member of the Baptist church.

September 17, 1867, Mr. Johnson married Annie M., daughter of Hiram A. Burton, of Brocton, and a member of the Baptist church. To their union have been born one son and two daughters: Harriet A., born August 6, 1868; Hiram B., January 10, 1872; and Emily L. B., who was born March 8, 1879, and died April 18, 1887.

On his lake shore farm of eighty-two and a half acres of land he has a vineyard of twenty-five acres, which, during the grape season of 1890, produced the large yield of twenty-one thousand baskets, or one hundred tons of grapes. Since 1869 Mr. Johnson has been dealing continuously in apples, peaches, plums, pears and various other kinds of fruits. He handles large quantities of fruit and has been very successful in farming and the cultivation of the vine. He takes great interest in all agricultural pursuits and is a member of Ripley Grange, No. 68, Patrons of Husbandry.

He has twenty-five acres of young grapes which go on wires next year, which makes fifty acres in the ground now.