Martha Jane Stratton (Great-Great Grandmother, Johnson side)

Martha Jane Stratton was born March 20, 1848, to Anthony and Martha Jane Layne Johnson. Her parents were crossing the Plains when Martha was an infant. After they arrived in Utah, they located in Provo for three years before they got the call to go to Southern Utah to help settle the area. They went first to Cedar City and build up that area then they located in a small town called Virgin City.
The settlers would grow cane and grind the seeds for flour to make bread. In 1858, while the Stratton's lived in Virgin City, Martha became acquainted with Seth Johnson. She was a very faithful church worker and attended all her meetings every Sunday. Martha had a mild, quiet, patient disposition. She was the type that would make a good wife and mother and these were the virtues that attracted Seth and he tried to get Martha to be his 2nd wife. In 1865 Martha decided to marry Seth and they were sealed in the Endowment House.
Seth's 1st wife Lydia loved Martha because Martha was so kind to her and the children. Martha never complained about the hardships the family went through while living in Hillsdale. In 1886 Martha and her family moved over the mountain east of Hillsdale and located in a spot 3 miles south of Cannonville. It was during this time that the U.S. Marshall's were hunting men who had plural wives. It became necessary for Martha to hide and keep out of their reach. She had lived in many out of the way places under adverse conditions. She was in almost constant fear of being caught and taken to prison, this lasted for several years.
After Martha's 11th child was born in 1890, she had a very heavy load caring for her children, yet she was able to find time to care for the sick and to help others.
Seth called her an "unselfish, self-sacrificing woman." At times when food was scarce, she had been known to take only a piece of dry bread and drink water and save the rest of the food for the family. She was so tender-hearted that she could not be content if she knew of someone in trouble or stress.
Her motto, "Let's speak of all, the best we can."
Martha treated Lydia's children as her own. She made clothes for all the children. She would tell the children stories in the evenings. She kept the family united and she always knew how to make ends meet.
Martha had 12 children and numerous grandchildren. On the day of Martha's funeral, as they lowered her body into the grave, it was a warm day with not a cloud in the sky, a rainbow arched over her grave.
The Stake President stepped forward and said, "This is a sign of a most righteous woman who has lived her live with other folks in mind." Martha died 13 October, 1910 and is buried in Shelly Idaho.

 (I wish we could all be as kind and loving to others as grandma was, what a great tribute the Stake President gave her)

Ezekiel and Julia Hills Johnson

Ezekiel Johnson was the son of Ezekiel and Bethiah Garnsey Johnson. He was born 12 January 1776 in Uxbridge, Mass. He died 13 January 1848.
Julia Hills was the daughter of Joseph  and Esther Ellis Hills. She was born 26 September 1783 in Upton, Mass.
They were married 12 January 1801 in Nauvoo, Illinois. The are the parents of 16 children. (Our line comes through Joel Hills Johnson.)
Times were hard after the war of 1812 and it was almost impossible to care for a large family. All their support and home comforts were produced  by their labors. Flax  was grown for clothing, bed and table linens and towels. Cheese, butter, soap, sugar and candle making were common everyday events. Theirs was a pioneer life, clearing deep forests with great labor to obtain a scanty living. The children were happiest when gathering nuts, wild fruit and wild flowers with their beloved mother.
Son's Joel and David were the first to join the church in 1830 and then Julia and those children old enough were baptized.
The family started westward on 4 July, 1838, the company consisting of 60 wagons and nearly 400 souls. They reached Dayton Ohio where they stayed for a month then onto Ramus. The Johnson's were influential and quite numerous in Ramus (Now Macedonia). Some people dubbed them the "Royal Family."
When the Prophet Joseph Smith heard this he said they were a royal family and that the father Ezekiel would yet be a great man and stand at the head of a kingdom. He also said that not one of his children would ever leave the church.
Julia Hills was a poet. Some of her works have been published. She wrote the following song for the hymn book. (The gray book called, "The Deseret Sunday School Songs")Julia and Ezekiel are buried in a beautiful cemetery in Ramus, now Webster, Illinois.
Words to the song:
1.  We praise Thee, O God, for the joy and the song. Which unto us this beautiful season belongs;
We love and adore Thee, for light and for love, and for all the rich blessings that come from above.
2.  The gates are wide open and they beckon us all, each to follow and serve at the sound of call; Tho' portals of praise, and thro' Zion's fair gates, We will pass on with songs the work that awaits.
3.   At last in that city, with it's glories untold, with it's gates all of pearl and with streets of pure gold, we'll give to the Savior, who dwelleth in light, All the power and dominion, and wisdom and might.

Patriarchal Blessings of Joel Hills Johnson

First Patriarchal Blessing given by the Prophet Joseph Smith...no written copy given to Joel.

By Isaac Morley:

Brother Joel Hills Johnson, I place my hands upon your head by virtue of the Holy Priesthood, and I seal a father's blessing upon thee and ratify all former seals that the blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob may be realized upon thee. Thou shalt be blest in thy mission and in thy labors and this key shall be a blessing unto thee.
Thou shalt be forewarned of any trial and thou shalt know that all things are right when thy mind is under the influence of peace.
This mission will be a good school unto thee for thou wilt realize the Spirit of Anti-Christ to a degree that heretofore has not rested upon thee, and I say unto thee in all thy labors and interviews where honesty is found with them that hear thee. Thou shalt be prepared and blest in thy council. Thou shalt be prospered and blest to a degree that thou has never realized by communicating the everlasting gospel to those who are honest in heart.
Be prudent in thy communications and thy words shall be attended with the blessings of the Lord.
Let thy entreaties with them be short, and light will rest upon thy mind and cause the blessings of heaven to rest upon thee. No enemy shall cross thy path and prosper. If any desire thy council, let meekness be thy monitor. Faith shall be increased in thy mind and I say unto thee, Thou art of Ephraim, a descendant of the loins of Joseph. And I say unto thee, this seal shall be unto thee a comfort, a lamp in thy path. Thou shalt prosper in business and be blest in communicating tidings to thy brethren and in leaving thy family, and they shall prosper in thy absence. Thou mayest receive this key as a seal of knowledge, and I seal thee up unto eternal life in the name of Jesus Christ, even so, Amen...
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By Patriarch John Smith:  18, Jan. 1844

Brother Joel, I  lay my hands upon thy head to seal upon thee a father's blessing. Thou art of the blood of Ephraim and thy father not being in the Church hath no priesthood to bless thee. I pray the Lord to grant through His Spirit the power a blessing upon thee such as thy heart desireth.
Thou hast seen much affliction in thy day and waded through seas of sorrow and inasmuch as thou has been patient, the Lord shall bless thee with a multiplicity of blessings. Thou shalt be delivered from thy fears, thy family shall be blessed with health, wisdom and understanding, and thou shalt hold the priesthood forever, and the mysteries there of shall be unfolded by thy understanding far beyond what has entered my heart.
Thou shalt have power to administer in the name of Jesus Christ and no power shall oppose thee. Thou shalt have power to command the winds and the waves, to ride upon the wings of wind so mighty and great shall be thy faith.
The Lord shall give His angels charge over thee to deliver thee in time of danger and feed thee in times of famine; and thou shalt converse with them face to face as a man converseth with his friends. Thy children shalt be multiplied around thee and grow up like olive plants. They shall be numerous and a great and mighty people shall rise up and call thee blessed. Notwithstanding thou has seen much poverty, thy wants shall all be satisfied. I also bless thee with every blessing thy heart desireth and I seal thee up unto eternal life to inherit thrones, dominions, principalities, and power to bring all thy children with thee in due time. If thou observe the word of wisdom and eternal life, all these blessings shall be thine. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen...