James H. Johnson was born around 1818 in Ireland. He eventually immigrated to America and settled in New Jersey. He married a woman named Phoebe in the 1840s, and they had at least three children: Mary Jane, born around 1844; Susan Electa, born around 1848; and Joseph, born around 1851. They lived in New Providence, New Jersey, and Johnson worked as a blacksmith. They moved to Seneca Falls, New York, in the 1850s, and he earned a living as a machinist. By 1860, he owned $1,000 of real estate and $100 of personal property. A decade later, the family’s wealth had grown to $5,900 of real estate and $1,010 of personal property. Johnson died sometime in the late 1800s.

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