McLaughlin Family

Magdelena “Emma” Philippe married Oscar E. Johnson in Minneapolis, Hennipen, Minnesota in 1878. My grandmother and her sister Bertha always insisted that he’d died after the birth. However, with many of the details like these favorable tales evolved to hide facts. Bertha’s daughter Virgina was the one that found the marriage record in the Minneapolis City archives after much searching because Magdelena used her “Emma” nick name on the marriage record and the last name was Philips instead of Philippe (or Phillippi). The marriage date corresponded exactly with the family information.

It appears Emma and Oscar E. Johnson were divorced shortly after the birth of their daughter Elizabeth Johnson. She was raised as the daughter of Emma’s second husband, David Fern. It appears she discovered her true father’s identity between 1900 and 1910 because she changes the place of her father’s birth from New York (where David Fern was born) to Maine (where Oscar E. Johnson was born).

The 1870 US Federal Census reports the Johnson family as seen in the except below. Adam (Edmond) Johnson was born in Annapolis, Nova Scotia, Canada. Isabel (Isabelle and Isabella are alternate spellings) (nee Curtis) Johnson was born 23 Sep 1827 in New Castle, New Hampshire. They appear to have married in Maine, where they oldest son William E. Johnson was born in 1844. They in Onoro, Maine for the 1850 US Federal Census. Arthur is their first child born in Minnesota. One daughter, Isabel, was born in 18 Nov 1853, Onoro, Penobscot, Maine who died 3 Apr 1854, Onoro, Penobscot, Maine is excluded from US Census Records. She’s buried in the Riverside Cemetery, Onoro, Penobscot, Maine. Isabel’s burial lists her mother’s name as Isabella, which why the alternate spelling was originally adopted. It turned out that she appears to have been named for her great grandmother Isabella Curtis (her son didn’t adopt his father’s Relfe surname), who was born 19 Nov 1729 in Saint Thomas church, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England.

Oscar’s father was Adam Johnson, and his genealogy in short:

• Adam Johnson
  Born: 18 Mar 1820, Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada
  Married:
  Died: 16 Jan 1878, Hennipen, Minnesota, United States

Adam’s parents were:

• Timothy O’Brien Johnson
  Born: 17 Dec 1783, Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada
  Married:
  Died: 30 May 1825, Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada
• Eleanor MacLellan
  Born: 6 Jul 1782, Great Village, Colchester, Nova Scotia, Canada
  Died: 2 May 1859, Colchester, Nova Scotia, Canada

Oscar’s mother was Isabella C Lee, and her genealogy in short:

• Isabella C Lee
  Born: 1 Mar 1826, New Brunswick, Canada
  Married:
  Died: 22 Aug 1906, Hennipen, Minnesota, United States

Isabella’s parents were:

• H Lee
  Born: 1803, England
  Married:
  Died:
• Unknown
  Born: Abt 1805, Uknown
  Died:

The Johnson family goes from Truro, Nova Scotia back to Northern Ireland. It appears that Tim’s father John immigrated with his parents and a wife sometime in the 1760s to 1770s. James’ wife Eleanor O’Brien traces back to what appears to Timothy O’Brien and Margaret Gilmore; and Timothy O’Brien’s father is William O’Brien, 3rd Earl of Inchiquin, through his second wife Ester Lynton. This connection ties back to British royalty, and probably explains why my aunt Margaret said grandma didn’t like what she found. It must have disconcerted her to have paid for genealogy research that said she was of English and protestant ancestry. She receive the research while living in Hayward in a house provided by my father to his parents in the early 1960s. She tried to bury the history, but alas it is now found anew.