Samuel Johnston’s Land in Yalobusha County, Mississippi on a Map

Samuel Johnston headed a household in 1850 Yalobusha County, Mississippi, household consisting of a supposed wife, Elizabeth, and children Isabella, Reuben, Luvina, George W, Madison (Marion), and David N. The children were born in Alabama, and the adults in South Carolina. Samuel had no real estate listed.[1]

Samuel appeared in three tax lists. In 1853, he was taxed on only a poll. No livestock, luxury items, or slaves were listed.[2] In 1854, he was tax on 160 acres of land in Section 12, Township 25 of Range 6.[3] In 1857, he was taxed on a clock and a poll.[4]

He purchased 160 acres of land from Isaac O. and Sarah Pearson for $200 on 31 March 1856. This land is the same land he was taxed on in 1854.[5]

His neighbors can be determined from the 1854 tax list that listed land owners by location.[6]

I created a plat map showing the people taxed in 1854. Samuel is in Section 12.

 

I wanted next to see where this was located on a map. I started with RandyMajors.org and used the land description to find it on the Section Township Range Map. I can now see the nearest towns. Velma is the closest town and Hopewell Road goes between Old Water Valley Road and Velma Crossing Road.[7] Section 12 is circled below.


Next, I’d like to see the area on a topo map. I downloaded the Water Valley, MS topo map, dated 1954 from the USGS Topo View site and then cropped it to the same location.[8] Samuel's land is marked in maroon. 


Although this is not a contemporary map to when Samuel lived in Mississippi, I can get a feel for what the land was like. I should check out when Piney Grove and Hopewell Church started. Maybe they attended one or the other. Another thing to check is when the railroad through Velma was built. Was it there when they went west to Texas in 1860? It looks like the Jew Creek was near his land, so the land probably had good soil until it was swampy.

No deed was found on the sale of Samuel’s land. However, the deed transacted on 8 Aug 1867 citing the sale of Henry Aringon to Eliza Arington, mentioned Samuel Johnston’s land. The consideration of the sale was fifteen hundred dollars to me in hand paid by the party of the second part or “rather my wife money was the purchase money that I paid to Samuel Johnston was the money belonging to my wife for that consideration I make my wife a deed for the said land the money I paid Samuel Johnston about the 28th day of November 1860.” The land description was “the Southwest quarter of Section twelve in Township twenty-five Range Six East containing one hundred and sixty acres, more or less.”[9]

Summary
Locating an ancestor’s land on a map is important to understand what their lives might have been like. What did they farm? Was it tough to farm there? Why did they leave after 4 years and go to Texas? More questions to try to answer.

#52Ancestors: Week 35 – On a Map

This is my ninth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe. I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

[1] 1850 U.S. census, Yalobusha Co, Mississippi, North of the Yalabusha River, p 287b (stamped), dwelling 161, family 161, Samuel Johnson (indexed Dehnson).

[2] Mississippi Office of the State Auditor, county tax rolls, Yalobusha County personal assessment, 1853, p. 20, Samuel Johnson; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RD4-724 : accessed 23 Aug 2026), IGN 004962729, image 343 of 593; citing Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson.

[3] Mississippi Office of the State Auditor, county tax rolls, Yalobusha County land assessment, 1854, p. 57, Saml Johnson; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-95QT-ZWV : accessed 23 Aug 2026), IGN 004857891, image 59 of 544; citing Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson.

[4] Mississippi Office of the State Auditor, county tax rolls, Yalobusha County personal assessment, 1857, p. 21, Samuel Johnston; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RD4-7XK : accessed 23 Aug 2026), IGN 004962729, image 392 of 593; citing Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson.

[5] Yalobusha Co, Mississippi, deeds, v. P, p. 638, J.O. Pearson to Samuel Johnston, 1856; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QY-N958-5 : accessed 23 Aug 2026), IGN 008567534, image 337 of 345; Chancery Clerk, Coffeeville.

[6] Mississippi Office of the State Auditor, county tax rolls, Yalobusha County land assessment, 1854, p. 56-57, Sections 1-2, 11-12, and 13-14, Township 25 Range 6 East; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-95QT-C51 : accessed 23 Aug 2026), IGN 004857891, image 58-59 of 544; citing Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson.

[7] Mississippi Section Township Range Map, Section 12 Township 25 North, Range 6 East, Choctaw PM; imaged at RandyMajors (https://www.randymajors.org/township-range-on-google-maps : accessed 24 Aug 2026). The site could not locate the exact place but I was able to move around in the map until I found the correct Township and Range.

[8] “Water Valley Quadrangle, Mississippi,” 15 minute series, field checked 1954; imaged, TopoView (https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/ht-bin/tv_browse.pl?id=aed4cc3fed1e1b8e237e64807f36cc9e : accessed 24 Aug 2026).

[9] Yalobusha Co, Mississippi, deed, v. T, p. 531-32, Henry Arington to Eliza Arington, 1867; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QY-V3P4-X : accessed 23 Aug 2026), IGN 008567536, images 283-84 of 587.


Copyright © 2011-2026 by Lisa S. Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family, All rights reserved.

Comments

  1. Marian B. WoodAugust 25, 2026 at 9:25 AM

    Really interesting to see how you went from a list to a plat map to a township range map to a topo map to try to understand where your ancestor lived and why the family might have moved after only a few years. (I love graph paper myself and smiled when I saw your hand-drawn plat map!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nancy Gilbride CaseyAugust 25, 2026 at 3:52 PM

    I love your hand-drawn plat map. Just shows that the old way is still a good way! Maps are so helpful in picturing where our ancestors lived. I hope you get to see it some day!

    ReplyDelete

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