John Johnson (1833 - 1904) Family History: PHOTOS WITH NO NAME

At least part of the photos and tintypes shown below are of John Johnson's family. I am certain of that. They are primarily from the mid-1850's and 1860's. I believe some of the photos are the family of Mary Ray, John's first wife. I also believe some of the photos are family members of Cornelia Ricahrdson, John's 2nd wife.

A Little History
After my grandfather, Harold D. German, passed away, an old photo album was found under his stairs in a box. No one had seen the photo album before, and no one recognized the people in the photos. Unfortunately, no names are written in the album.

Old Johnson Photo Album, Front Cover

Old Johnson Photo Album, Front (right) and Back (left)

Believing these people were our ancestors, my mother began a quest to learn who tthey were.

To begin with, she knew who they were not. They were not Brodie's, German's, or Miller's. We already had photos of some of those ancestors.

My mother took the album to a photo shop specializing in restoration of old photos. They said that style of album was popular during the 1840's to 1850's.

The album contains 12 tintypes. Online sources indicate tintypes were largely used 1856 - 1900. The 16 paper photos are largely of the carte-de-viste type which were used about 1854 - 1900.

My mother then pulled out each photo or tintype to learn what, if anything was written on the back. Most said nothing. None had the names of people. But a few had the names of cities. Images were produced in:
Boston, Mass.
Peterboro, N.H.
Providence R.I.
Stoughton, Wis. (Dane County)
Madison, Wis. (Dane County)
Roxbury (no state named. Could be Massachusetts, New Hampshire, or most likely Wisconsin. Roxbury, Wisconsin is in Dane County, where John Johnson's family lived.)

Comparing the photos with others we already had, and knowing that several of the photos were taken in Dane County, Wisconsin, we determined that this must be the photo album of John Johnson.

I've done additional research online and am convinced that many of the people in the album are the family of John Johnson.

I believe the album might have belonged to John's first wife, Mary, who was the biological mother of 4 of his 5 children who grew to adulthood. John and Mary were married in Wisconsin in 1858. She died in 1874.

I believe one of the photos is Cornelia Johnson and another is her first husband.

Here's what I know and what I believe:

JOHN JOHNSON

John Johnson

This is John Johnson. Photo from the album of his daughter Minnie Johnson German, which is primarily made of cabinet card style photos.

John Johnson

This photo, including the frame, is about 2.5 ft x 3 ft. My mother had it when I was a little girl. We believe this is John Johnson. I wonder if she got it when her mother passed away, or when my grandfather remarried. It's really big and needs careful storage.

1st photo in album

This is the very first image in the old photo album; that might be significant. Is this tintype John Johnson? Probably not. Tintypes were primarily used 1856 - 1900. John was born 29 Dec 1834 and would have been about 21 years old in 1856.

Cornelia Richardson had a brother. Is this Cornelia's brother?

Mary A. Ray had two younger brothers. Is this William Gibson Ray (1841-1920) or John Washington Ray (1843-1907)? I believe this is most likely.

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JOHN & MARY and THEIR CHILDREN?

Is this John and Mary Johnson with their first son, John?
Maybe, maybe not. The little boy might be tired, but he also might have a disability.
Knowing that 2 of Mary's later sons had disabilities makes me believe this might be
our John Johnson with wife Mary and son John. John died before age 10. Were they getting a last photo?

Is this John and Mary Johnson with their first son, John?
We don't know.

Is this John Johnson, his first wife Mary, and their son John Johnson, who died before age 10? This is the only family photo in the album. Or is this someone else?

This photo faces the photo of the family above. Is this Mary A. Ray, John's first wife, who saw him through the Civil War, then died after giving birth to 6 children?

Is this John and Mary's daughter Frankie, who was born January 1861, was just 8 months old when he left for war, and would have been 3 1/2 years old when John mustered out in September, 1864? We don't know.

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INGEBRIGT & HELENE, JOHN'S PARENTS

Ingebrigt / Engebrigt and Helene Johnson Date unknown
Photo courtesy of Karen Hulford

These are John Johnson's parents. Compare this to the man and woman below. Are they the same. I don't think so, but maybe.

Now compare this woman to the photo of Cornelia Johnson below.

Is this a young Cornelia Richardson with her first husband?

Or are these other relatives?

I believe this is Cornelia Underwood Richardson with her first husband Richard Richardson.

But maybe not.

Cornelia Richardson Johnson

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Who is this? Is this John Johnson's father? Maybe, but I don't think so.

We know from her obituary that Cornelia had a brother; we don't know his name. Could this be him? Photo taken in Boston, Massachusetts.

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JOHN'S SISTERS AND BROTHERS

Sisters of John Johnson
Photo courtesy of Karen Hulford.

Cornelia Johnson (Seated, 2nd from right)
Photo taken in Wisconsin
with Siblings of John Johnson
I believe the man with the beard is John Johnson.

This photo shows Cornelia Johnson seated front row, second from right. The photo was taken in Wisconsin. I confident these are John Johnson's siblings. I believe the taller man is his brother Eli, the twin who survived the war. The woman seated on the left might be one of John's sisters, or she might be Eli's wife; compare to the newspaper photo below showing Eli's family. Is the man with the beard John Johnson? When compared to the photo of John in old age, shown on the Kansas page, I believe it is John.

Jonette, sister of John Johnson
Photo courtesy of Karen Hulford

This is John Johnson's sister Jonette.

Is one of these women Jonette? Perhaps the one on the left? I believe it is.

Here's another photo of this woman taken the same day, or about the same time;

at least she's wearing the same dress.

I believe this is John's sister Jonette.

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JOHN'S BROTHERS: TWINS ELI and OLIVER

Newspaper photo showing Eli Johnson and family.

John Johnson had younger brothers who were twins.

Oliver died in the Civil War at age 21 years. This photo shows Eli and his family.

Eli or Oliver?

Oliver or Eli?

Oliver and Eli with Edith?

I believe these young men are Oliver and Eli.

Perhaps the girl is their sister Inger / Edith (3 years younger) or Jonette (5 years younger.)

Oliver?

I believe the man in these two photos is Oliver, who died of disease at a hospital in Memphis during the Civil War. I believe it is Oliver because of the gold trim around the soldier photo.

OR they could be Oliver and Eli. OR It might be Eli.

When the boys were just 17 years old, they lied about their age, saying they were 20 years old in order to enlist.

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This photo was taken in one of the Union Civil War camps.

Note the flag in the background picture along with a row of tents, and the man at the bottom right of the painting is holding a gun.

This photo faces the one below.

Is this John Johnson? I don't think so, but maybe?

This photo is just before the one above. I believe the man is the same as the soldier above.

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This photo is on the first page of Minnie Johnson's photo album. It was taken in Cawker City, KS.

This photo is in John Johnson's photo album, beside the tintype of the little girl, and after the photo of the family. It was most likely taken in Wisconsin.

Are they the same woman? I think so...maybe.

But who is it? John Johnson's mother? Cornelia Johnson's mother? Mary Ray's mother?

Ingebrigt and Helene Johnson

This is definitely John Johnson's mother. Are they they same woman? I think so...maybe.

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Who are these women?