William Melancthon Johnson

Quick post here. I have been kind of stuck on Wm Melancthon Johnson (1834-1910). He was born in Cambridge, NY and received a doctorate in divinity from Princeton University. For many years, he was pastor of the Silliman Memorial Church in Cohoes, NY. The church no longer exists. It was demolished some years ago. I have been searching for WMJ's parents and finally came across a mention of them in an obituary printed in the Princeton Seminary Journal, which says his parents were Thias Johnson and Sarah McDougall of Cambridge, NY. So I went to findagrave.com (finally went there; don't think that this was a straight line), punched in Thias Johnson and up popped two graves in the Old White Church Cemetery in Cambridge, NY. The first grave showed 'Sarah S, consort of Thias Johnson, Jr,' who died Aug 5 1830. I can't make out the full inscription, but it looks like the end of it says, 'in the 18 years of her age.'  'Consort', by the way, means husband or wife, companion or partner. 

The second gravestone shows Dea. Thias Johnson, which I take to mean 'Deacon' Thias Johnson, who died in 1843. In the accompanying photos, the first is the grave of Sarah S, the second of Deacon Thias Johnson. As Wm Melancthon Johnson was born in 1834 and Sarah S died in 1830, it doesn't make sense that Sarah S was his mother. From the Princeton obituary, I know that WMJ's mother was Sarah McDougall. Perhaps she was Thias Johnson's second wife. Who knows? The search continues.

Wm Melancthon Johnson is buried in Woodlands Cemetery, Cambridge, NY. This information from findagrave.com gives the location of the grave: 'Johnson, Wm. M., b. 1834, d. 1910, par: T. Johnson, Sarah McDougall, Sec. T 33, 35, 36.' WMJ's wife, Anna Elizabeth Warner Johnson, is also buried in Woodlands Cemetery: 'Johnson, Anna Warner, b. 1834, d. 1894, sp. Wm. Johnson, par: Jonathan Warner, Maria Snyder, Sec. T 36.' Her father is also buried there: 'Warner, Jonathan, b. 1802, d. 1882, par: Solomon Warner, Elizabeth Woodworth, Sec. C 33.' In fact, there are lots of Warners buried there, many of them obviously related. 

Meanwhile, I have also been researching Sarah Johnson Lewis (1871-1943), daughter of Wm Melancthon Johnson and wife of Stephen Viele Lewis. I find that she also is buried in Cambridge, NY. Here is her obituary. If you click on it, it will open in a large window and you will be able to enlarge it. The title of the article is 'Mrs Lewis dies at home.'