The Johnson Connection

We really don't have a Johnson connection. However, it is apparently true that the late President Lyndon B. Johnson was my eighth cousin once removed. How is that possible? I have no idea. This is not something that was explained to me in any kind of logical way in childhood. This is something that only an advanced degree in genealogy research would be able to uncover. Now that ancestry.com is available, it is easy to see that the President Johnson connection does not come from my Grandfather McClellan's side. It comes from grandmother's Strickland roots. In fact, you have to go all the way back to Rebecca Izard (1614-1667) who lived in Isle of Wight, Virginia, to find the connection. One of Rebecca's granddaughters, Ann Braswell, daughter of Richard Braswell, married Matthew Strickland (1674-1744) and they had ten children. So we are descended from Rebecca's son Richard. The Johnsons are descendad from Rebecca's daughter Jane. They all lived in Isle of Wight back in the old days of colonial America. However, those days are long since gone. The United States exists now and Rebecca's descendants are scattered all over the place. So? This is true of many American families, obviously.