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Joanna GREENLAW

Joanna GREENLAW

Female 1774 - Bef 19 June 1846?

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  • Name Joanna GREENLAW 
    Birth Bef 1771 
    Born SAY 1774 
    Gender Female 
    Birth *[1774-1777] 
    Birth [1774-1784]  [1
    Birth [1762]  [2
    Birth 1778 
    Death Bef 1851 CENSUS 
    Residence 10 Jun 1784  Passamaquoddy, Charlotte, NB Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Residence 26 Dec 1811  [St David, Charlotte, NB] Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Ann Smith m 1811 William Higgins
    Residence 15 Jun 1826  St Andrews, Charlotte, NB Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Volume I Page 186
      No 147
      15 June 1826
      Joan Collins widow St Andrews
      Alexander Strahan Junior merchant St Andrews
      5 pounds
      W Whittock
      Nathaniel Ames
      Town plot St Andrews
      Lot 8 Block F Bulkley's Division
    Residence 9 Aug 1830  St Andrews, Charlotte, NB Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    Religion 9 Aug 1831  [3
    Presbyterian 
    Aged 7 Dec 1837  75 years Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Residence 7 Dec 1837  Waweig, St Andrews, Charlotte, NB Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Residence 8 Oct 1840  St David, Charlotte, NB Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Residence 8 Oct 1840  Saint Patrick, Charlotte, NB Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    Died Bef 19 June 1846? 
    • Samuel Johnson sells land. Deed does not mention his wife.
    Person ID I10591  4 February 2018
    Last Modified 26 Nov 2022 

    Father Ebenezer GREENLAW,   b. SAY 1735,   d. Between 15 Nov 1809 and 10 Nov 1810  (Age ~ 74 years) 
    Mother Eunice,   b. Bef C 1745,   d. 29 Jan 1830, St George, Charlotte, NB Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age > 85 years) 
    Married C 1765 
    Family ID F3384  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 SMITH,   d. BY 1797? 
    Children 
     1. Ann SMITH,   b. [1791], NB Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 1871 CENSUS?
    Family ID F15865  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 2 Willoughby NASON,   b. [1773], ME Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 10 Aug 1850, Fort Kent, Aroostook, ME Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Married
    • Charlotte County County Council Record
      General Sessions Minutes
      1785-1815
      Provincial Archives of New Brunswick
      Film F349
      43/
      At an Inferior Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace held at the Court house in Saint Andrews, within and for the County of Charlotte on the second Tuesday in September in the Thirty fourth year of His Mejesty's reign Anno Domini 1794
      ...
      The Following Recognizances were returned by Justices
      To Wit.
      ...

      Willoby Nason Recognized with Sureties to answer to the oath of Filiation of Johannah Greenlaw [Grinley crossed out]
      Principal ?20 Sureties ?20 filed
    Children 
     1. Child GREENLAW,   b. C 1794
    Family ID F19345  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 3 Timothy BLAKE,   b. 1 Oct 1775,   d. C 1803? 
    Married 22 Mar 1797  All Saints Anglican, St Andrews, Charlotte, NB Find all individuals with events at this location 
    • Anglican Records: Timothy Blake married to Johanna Greenlaw, 22 March 1797?
      Kirk McColl: Prudence, daughter of -- Blake was born 15 March 1799, St David
      Hi William,
      I have heard that when the baptisms were done on a given day that a paper was circulated and the parents were to put down their name as the parents of that child and if they didn't then it was just shown as ----- surname. Not good but sometimes things slip through the cracks.
      Cheers, Arnie Krause

      22 Mar 179[7] Blake Timothy Greenlaw Johannah 28

      https://registers.nbgstwo.ca/display_record/MC223-S2-6D-28_marriage_0010
      NBGS Anglican Registers Project V2
      Data Source
      Record Key MC223-S2-6D-28_marriage_0010
      Register MC223-S2-6D
      Spreadsheet Id MC223-S2-6D_1
      Image Id/Sheet Name MC223-S2-6D-28
      Record Number 0010
      Event Type Marriage
      Event Date 1797-03-22
      Record Data Fields
      Recordid 1
      Entry number
      Groom given name Timothy
      Groom surname Blake
      Bride given name Johannah
      Bride surname Greenlaw
      Event location St Andrews Parish, Charlotte Co
      Event day 22
      Event month Mar
      Event year 1797
      Officiant Samuel Andrews
      Notes listed chronologically in register preceeding dates in 1797
      Date created 2020-02-01 17:15:36
    Children 
     1. Prudence BLAKE,   b. 15 Mar 1799, St David, Charlotte, NB Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Between 18 Apr 1870 and CENSUS 1871  (Age 71 years)
    Family ID F12431  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 4 James COLLINS,   b. *[1775],   d. Bef 15 June 1826 
    Married Between C 1803? and 1826 
    • The Collins family in St David were not Anglican or Presbyterian. They were probably Baptists, so records would never have existed.
    Family ID F10070  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 5 William PALMER,   b. C 1775?,   d. Bef 7 Dec 1837 
    Married 9 Aug 1830  Charlotte, NB Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    • William Palmer
      New Brunswick Provincial Marriages 1789-1950
      Name William Palmer
      Event Type Marriage
      Event Date 09 Aug 1830
      Event Place Saint Andrews, Charlotte, New Brunswick, Canada
      Gender Male
      Spouse's Name Joann Collins
      Spouse's Gender Female
      Page 242
      "New Brunswick Provincial Marriages 1789-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVBF-FKWH : 6 March 2015), William Palmer and Joann Collins, 09 Aug 1830; citing Saint Andrews, Charlotte, New Brunswick, Canada, p. 242, Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, Fredericton; FHL microfilm 845,794
      p 242
      William Palmer of Saint Andrews County of Charlotte and Joann Collins of Parish and County aforesaid Presbyterians were married this ninth day of August in the year One thousand Eight hundred and thirty by me.
      Alexr MacLean Minr of the Church of Scotland
      W Palmer
      Joann Collins
      In the presence of
      Eben Cumberland
      Benjamin Tufts [related by marriage to the Pomeroys from Lincoln County, ME]

      Recd & Regd 2d January 1831
    Family ID F9754  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 6 David KEEZER,   b. 1763, MA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 10 Dec 1839  (Age 76 years) 
    Married 7 Dec 1837  [Charlotte, NB] Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    • Date : December 27, 1837
      County : York
      Place : Fredericton
      Newspaper : The New Brunswick Royal Gazette

      Youthful Frolic! Thursday 7th inst., the Rev. A.D. THOMSON, Baptist Minister was called upon to unite in the silken bonds of matrimony a pair of fond hearts that had felt the influence of the softer passion; namely David KEEZER of St. David (Charlotte Co.) / Miss Johanna PALMER of Waweig. The happy pair will have ample materials with which to enliven the honeymoon; the hero in recounting his exploits in the revolutionary war and rejoicing in his American pension; the damsel in reciting the details of her former matrimonial adventures. The bride has numbered 75 summers and the bride groom has withstood the frosts of 80 winters.
    Family ID F3083  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 7 Samuel JOHNSON,   b. *[1774],   d. [1860-1861] 
    Family ID F3082  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Documents
    The Connection Between the Blakes and the Johnsons
    The Connection Between the Blakes and the Johnsons

  • Notes 
    • Marriage 1797: Johannah Greenlaw
      Baptism Smith 1798: Johanna Grenlow
      Deed 1826: Joan Collins widow
      Marriage 1830: Joann Collins
      Marriage Notice 1837: Miss Johanna Palmer
      Marriage 1840: Joanna Keezer
      Marriage Notice 1840: Mrs Joanna Keezer

      Return 1784: Joanna
      NB Newspaper Vitals: Nil
      York County Marriages: Nil
      Carleton County Marriages: Nil
      Eastport Sentinel: Nil
      NB Cemeteries: Nil
      Esther Clark Wright: St Andrews Collins: David, James, John
      Christ Church St Stephen: Nil
      Memorial of the Loyalist Families of William Moore, Josiah Hitchings and Robert Livingstone: Nil
      Old Widows: Nil
      Early Probate: Nil
      Gen Dict ME & NH: Nil
      Charlotte County Marriage Keezer: Nil
      First Families: Joanna Greenlaw m Timothy Blake d Jonathan Greenlaw m Elizabeth Lamb
      All Saints Anglican: Checked. 12 Apr 1798 Grenlow [ ] Smith c of Johanna Grenlow Greenlaw 13
      St Andrews Assessment 1822: Samuel Blake. Nil Collins
      St Andrews Assessment 1831 Town/Country: William (xFrancis) Palmer (country)
    • There are several inconsistencies in the life of Joanna Greenlaw, and several mysteries.

      When was she born?
      It is difficult to say just when she was born. The one time her age was given was in the announcement of her marriage to David Keezer. This would put her birth around 1762, which seems unlikely. When the return was made of folks at Passamaquoddy in 1784, Joanna Greenlaw was listed with the children under the age of 10, putting her birth sometime between 1774 and 1784.

      The next record she appeared in was her marriage to Timothy Blake in 1797. So she was likely born before 1777, but if she were a younger bride, she could be born as late as 1780.

      Now consider the 1798 baptism record of a child of Joannah Greenlow and a man named Smith. This is very likely the Ann Smith who married William Higgins in 1811. The name Greenlaw is recalled in the family, as "Joanna Greenlaw" was how Ann Smith's name was recalled in the death certificate of her daughter Sarah. One record puts Ann's birth at about 1791, which would be reasonable considering the year of her marriage.

      This would push Joanna's birth back a few years though. Again, considering a young mother, she could have been born as late as, say 1776. But let's look at it this way: Consider the newpaper annoucement of her marriage in 1837, giving her as age 75. If it was wrong by 10 years, this would put her birth in about 1772, which is far more reasonble. So she was be abour 19 when Ann was born, about 25 when she married Timothy Blake. This is at odds with the 1784 return, but only by a couple of years, which is in consequential in that era.

      Who was Ann Smith's father?
      The Smith family in the area around 1791 was the Reuben Smith family in St David. His sons John and James were old enough, and unmarried at that time.

      In St Andrews, Joseph Smith was a Penobscot Loyalist granted a lot in Lower Bayside. He was still married in 1807, so it is unlikely he was the father.

      Who was the Collins that Joanna was married to?
      After the death of her husband Timothy Blake in 1799, and before 1826, when Joanna was called Joan Collins in a deed, she married a man by the name of Collins. This Collins would most likely be connected to the James Collins family in St David. His family seems to be well documented, so it is difficult to say who would by Joanna's second husband.

      James is said to have returned to England and died about 1804. He supposedly had a brother called John, who was also granted land in Charlotte County. But he also is said to have returned to England.

      It is possible that her Collins husband came to the Province later, and left no trace.

      Where did William Palmer come from?
      There were no Loyalist Palmers who remained in Charlotte County. The Nathaniel Palmer counted among the Penobscot Loyalists, and the Nathaniel Palmerly/Palmerby at Beave Harbour were probably the same man, perhaps the Nathan Palmer, son of Daniel Palmer and Elizabeth Wheeler who were in Maugerville by 1763. In any case, he disappeared from Charlotte County quite early.

      The next Palmers to show up in Charlotte County all were apparently born in New Brunswick, but came from elsewhere. Some say they were (mostly all) related, children of John Palmer of Sheffield, but I have found no evidence to support this. Francis and Thomas lived at Deer Isle. Henry married in St Andrews but resided at Sheffield. James lived at St George. Catherine m Jonathan Godfrey and lived at St Andrews.

      William Palmer also lived at St Andrews. There is no evidence of him in Charlotte County before his marriage in 1830. He may have been of this group of Palmers, the evidence for whom points to Sheffield, albeit only faintly.

      Who were the Mary and Elizabeth Blake who were apparently the daughters of Prudence?
      Prudence Blake was the only daughter of Timothy Blake and Joanna Greenlaw. Prudence appeared in the 1851 census in the household of David Manzer. Samuel Johnson, Joanna's fifth and last husband, was also in the same household. Also resident were Mary Blake and Mary Hitchings, both called step-daughters of David. In 1861, an Elizabeth, possibly Blake, possibly daughter, appeared in the household.

      Mary Hitchings was probably the daughter of William Hitchings m Sarah Budd, and probably not related to anyone in the household. Mary Blake married and had a child, who disappeared after the 1881 census. She died before 1871. Elizabeth Blake likely died before 1871.
    • Town Lot St Andrews Lot 8 Block F Bulkley's Division

      William Greenlaw s Ebenezer Greenlaw m Eunice
      Elijah Greenlaw s Ebenezer Greenlaw m Eunice

      RS686 :: Index to New Brunswick Land Grants, 1784 - 1997
      Name GREENLAW, Ebenezer
      Volume NS-A
      Page 165
      Grant number 95
      Place Saint Andrews
      County Sunbury
      Date 1785-05-21
      Accompanying plan No
      Acres 0
      Microfilm F16302
      Comment Re-registered NS Grant of 1784/06/01: Town Lot

      Volume P Page 261 [283/553]
      No 218
      William Greenlaw yeoman St Andrews and wife Lidia [Lydia]
      Edward James Parker yeoman St Andrews
      2 pounds
      quit claim
      Lot 8 Block F Bulkley's Division
      9 January 1822
      Wit: Richd Watson, William Patterson

      Volume L Page 262 [284.553]
      No 219
      Elijah Greenlaw yeoman Le Etang and wife Sally
      Edward James Parker yeoman St Andrews
      2 pounds 10 shillings
      Town Plot St Andrews Lot 8 Block F Bulkley's
      3 January 1822
      Elijah Greenlaw [SS]
      Sarah Greenlaw [Her mark]
      Wit: James McCleary, James H Stevens

      Volume L Page 264 [286/553]
      No 223
      John Cumberland yeoman St Andrews and wife Miriam
      Edward James Parker gentleman St Andrew
      1 pound 17 shillings 4 pence
      Lot 8 Block F Bulkley's Division Town of St Andrews [Intersection sw Montague and Edward sts. 92 Edward Street]
      22 June 1822
      John Cumberland [His mark]
      Myriam Cumberland [His mark]
      Wit: James Thompson, Thomas Wyer

      Volume I Page 113 [116/ ]
      No 86
      Susannah McLachlan widow St Andrews [widow of Archibald McLachlan who had land dealings with Ebenezer Greenlaw]
      Alexander Strachan merchant St Andrews
      200 pounds
      Lots 7 & 8 Block F Bulkley's Division St Andrews
      7 December 1825
      Susannah McLachlan
      Wit: Jas Bucker

      Volume I Page 186
      No 147
      15 June 1826
      Joan Collins widow St Andrews
      Alexander Strahan Junior merchant St Andrews
      5 pounds
      W Whittock
      Nathaniel Ames
      Town plot St Andrews
      Lot 8 Block F Bulkley's Division [Southwest corner Montgue and Edward streets. Probably the one granted to Ebenezer Greenlaw]

      No Collins aquiring in Registry Books
      No wills

      Volume J Page 517 [519/553]
      No 478 Mortgage
      14 August 1829
      Alexander Strachan the Younger merchant St Andrews and Patty Lucy Strachan his wife
      Richard Hasluck merchant Birmingham, England
      All those 4 certain town lots being numbers 5, 6, 7, 8, Block F Bulkley's being the place whereon I now reside
      Alexr Strachan Jr
      Patty Lucy Strachan
      Wit: John Campbell JCP

      Volume L Page 265 [287/553]
      No 224
      3 December 1831
      Eunice Linton widow St Andrews
      Patty Lucy Strachan widow
      5 pounds
      Lot 8 Block F Bulkley's Division St Andrews
      Eunice Linton
      Wit: William Whitlock, Joseph W Linton

      Volume L Page 326 [348/553]
      No 261
      Patty Lucy Strachan administratrix intestate Alexander Strachan the Younger late of St Andrews deceased
      Samuel Hallet Whitlock Esquire St Andrews
      Town Lots 7 & 8 Block F Bulkley's Division St Andrews
      fronting on Montague and Edward Street 160 feet
      29 December 1831
      Patty Lucy Strachan
      Wit: D S Hasluck, H Hatch
    • When Joanna Greenlaw and Samuel Johnson were married in 1840, they were connected through obvious channels: Samuel's second wife Sarah was Joanna's sister; and Samuel owned a farm he bought fromm Ebenezer, Joanna's father. There were a couple of other interesting connections that ran deeper, and weren't so obvious. These connections were through Joanna's first husband Timothy Blake.

      Timothy Blake and Joanna Greenlaw were married in 1797 at the All Saints Anglican church in St Andrews. Timothy was born in Maine and lived at Penobscot before coming to New Brunwick. But he was not one of the Loyalists who settled St Andrews. He arrived in St Andrews some time before his marriage, perhaps earlier than 1790. As he was said to have died at sea, and that St Andrews was a growing port town, it is probable that Timothy was a mariner.

      Timothy was probably born around 1765, when his family was living at Georgetown, Maine. His parents Timothy Blake and Prudence Webster, both born in New Hampshire, were married at Georgetown in 1764. By 1776, Timothy Sr and his family had moved to the Penobscot River, settling in the area of present-day Bangor. By the time of the Revolutionary War, the family had come to Penobscot, but may have abandonded the place when the British took control of the Fort in 1779.

      Some unnamed Blake acquired land on Deer Isle some time before 1777, and only for a short time. A "Mr Blake of Bagaduce" was said to have purchased the improvements of William Greenlaw there, but it is unclear who that Blake was. Living at Penobscot at that time were Moses, Timothy s Moses, Israel, and Ephraim s Israel, all of whose families returned to Penobscot after the war. Despite the fact that we can't precisely determine which Blake had land on Deer Isle, the tangible connection between the Blakes and Greenlaws came in the marriage of Timothy Blake and Joanna Greenlaw in 1797. Did the Greenlaws play a role in Timothy's coming to New Brunswick?

      Despite the schism caused by the Revolution, there was still a relationship between the people of St Andrews and those of mid-coast Maine. This line of open communication--primarily over the water--brought some families back to Maine, and more to New Brunswick. One example is the Carlow brothers who returned to maine for a period, then came back to New Brunswick. Three Tibbetts sisters came to St Andrews after their family moved from Bangor to Penobscot around 1790. Their brothers John and Samuel came from Penobscot to Grand Manan before returning around 1810. Timothy's apparent occupation as a mariner probably brought him back and forth between Penobscot and St Andrews many times. The Greenlaws came back to Penobscot after the war too. In 1789, Jonathan, Ebenezer, and Alexander Greenlaw returned to Maine to dispose of a lot of land on Deer Isle formerly owned by their father.

      There are few records of Timothy. In fact, the earliest mention of him I could find was his marriage record in 1797. Prudence Blake born in 1799 was probably his daughter. An 1803 deed between his aunt and brother it witnessed by a Timothy Blake, which is probably him. He is said to have died at sea, and it could have been around this time. He doesn't head any households; no deeds are recorded in his name; no probate record exists for him. Joanna's life was unsettled, or perhaps always in motion. When she married Timothy in 1797, she already had one daughter. After Timothy died she married a Collins (who I can't identify), a Palmer, a Keezer, and finally Samuel Johnson.

      Joanna's first and last husband had something in common too, both of their fathers served in the same unit during the Revolutionary War. Who knows if this is knowledge any of them had, retained or shared, but it is an interesting thread. Timothy's father was Sergeant Timothy Blake, who was with Captain John Hobby's Company. Samuel Johnson's father Samuel Johnson was a private in that same Company from April through September 1779. Timothy Sr and Samuel Sr certainly knew one another, but since Timothy Sr is said to have died at West Point, presumably soon after his discharge in 1783, their only relationship would have been in the service.

      Timothy Sr's death would have left his children with no knowledge of his service, at least on a personal level. They certainly knew local soldiers who served with him, as is evident in Timothy Sr's son Moses's application for Bounty land due his father. Samuel Sr's recollections could have been buried too. He deserted his regiment in September. The Regiment was on its way from Castle Island, Boston, to Penobscot when they were informed of the disastrous rout of the Americans there. The transports may have laid in at a Maine port, where Samuel may have jumped ship, so to speak.

      Desertion during the war was not uncommon, as there may have been a desertion rate of 25% during that conflict. I can't say what kind of stigma was attached to this, and how his neighbors at home may have received him as a deserter. Nearly all the Balltown men named in a 1777 list of men of age for militia service served at some time during the war. And more than half of those returned to Balltown after the war. So the Revolutionary War was not soon to be forgotten in that neighborhood. But was the War remembered in Samuel Sr's household?

      Samuel Sr's service included the frigid winter near Valley Forge, several bouts of sickness including smallpox, as well as the battles and his ultimate desertion. At home it would have been just as trying for his wife Lydia, who had 4 small children to take care of without a husband for nearly 2 years. The war was clearly misearble for his whole family. The whole affair may have not been something to be recalled in the family. This possible lack of recollection in the family would have been compounded by the fact that no pension was ever sought by Samuel Sr or heirs. Although there was pension Acts passed in his lifetime, Samuel Sr was not eligible due to the length of his service. His widow Lydia died before the law granted widows a pension too.

      So the knowledge of the common service of Samuel Johnson Sr and Timothy Blake Sr was quickly lost. And the connection between Joanna Greenlaw and her fifth husband Samuel Johnson was never know, not revealed until more than two centuries later.










  • Sources 
    1. [S3977] Return of Men, Women and Children of the Penobscot Loyalists Settled in the District of Passamaquoddy the 10th of June 1, (http://members.shaw.ca/caren.secord/locations/NewBrunswick/Lists/PenobscotGroupSorted.html).

    2. [S123] Vital Statistics in New Brunswick Newspapers, Daniel F Johnson, (http://archives.gnb.ca/APPS/NewspaperVitalStats/Default.aspx?L=EN).

    3. [S170] Charlotte County Marriage Register, Charlotte County, NB.