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In mid - 1846 William Peters came to Texas and received land through Mercer's Colony. He had come from Virginia with stops in TN and MO along the way, bringing with him his 2nd wife - Sarah, his son James, his widowed daughter Martha Jane Weatherford & her son David, and his youngest daughter Tabitha. He also brought with him two young mulatto girls named Hannah and Isabella - slaves - who were his biological daughters. In early 1847 Isabella and Hannah went with Peters' daughter Martha Jane to Henderson County. Martha had married Robert H Love in April 1846 and they were living at Kingsborough, in the home of Robert's father, William Love. In 1849 Robert Love died and Martha Jane and her son went back to live with her father, then in Anderson Co TX. However, the two girls remained in William Love's household. They were watched over by a man called by the name Toney Stuart and his wife Lucy, both slaves on the Wm Love place. The girls evidently thought of the Stuart couple with great regard because they both began using Stuart as their surname. By 1851 the Peters family had established themselves in Kaufman County and Martha Jane married again to William H Carter. In 1860 Isabella was living in the Carter household, and was treated like family, as in reality, she was Martha Jane's sister. During this time Isabella began using Carter as her surname for the first time. Also, by that time, Hannah was in the Charles Crouch household. In approximately 1862 Isabella "Jumped the Broom" with Richard 'Dick' Johnson, a slave of John K Love. John Love was the brother of Martha Jane's deceased husband, Robert Love. The Carters and John Love lived near each other and it is not known whether Dick and Isabella lived together at that time, or were housed on separate properties. It is known that after emancipation - 1866 in Texas - Isabella continued to work in the Carter house although she and Dick lived with John Love. Along with their children and her sister Hannah, they were all enumerated in the Love household on the 1870 census: 1870 Kaufman Co TX Census, Page 4, enumerated on 6 Jul 1870 - Household 19 / 19
*this is Lucinda Johnson as an Infant IsabellaHer exact date and place of birth is not known but according to census records the year of birth would have been 1845. It is not known exactly when she died, but evidently it was prior to 1903, as no Death Certificate has been located for her and it is known by Bible records and from her descendants that she died in Kaufman TX. According to Bible records Isabelle Stuart Johnson Carter is buried in an unmarked grave next to her son T J Johnson at Kaufman Pioneer Cemetery. She worked for Martha Jane & William Carter from about 1866 until 1871. One of the last things Isabella did with the Carter family was have her photograph made.  Front and Back of the CDV made of Isabella Stuart Johnson Carter in 1871 Found in the Carter - Kelley Family Bible In the summer of 1871 both William and Martha Jane Carter died. During the years 1871 to 1882 it is not known exactly what Isabella was doing, but there is record she worked for Eliza Weatherford, Martha Jane's daughter-in-law. And in November 1882 she began working for Martha Jane & William's daughter Mollie Carter, who married that month to Edwin Kelley. The memoirs of William Kelley, Mollie & Edwin's son, state Isabella lived in their house on 2nd North Street in Kaufman from the time he was about 6 years old ( 1894) until she died. It was around 1890 that Isabella began using the surname CARTER on Tax Records and other legal documents, and the inscription on her son Toney's tombstone, "5th child of Isabella Carter" proves she was using the Carter surname at that time. Richard "Dick" JohnsonAccording to Kaufman Co Voter Registration List of 1867 - the first list of African-American resident males after Emancipation - Richard "Dick" Johnson came to Texas in 1851, and was born in VA. Dick Johnson is buried at Mt Hebron Cemetery - tombstone reads: born Jan 1835 - died 31 Jan 1891. Through records it has been determined that Dick was probably the slave of William Johnson before becoming property of John K Love. The Children of Isabella & DickTo Isabella & Dick Johnson, 5 known children were born: We know that at least three of the children received some education as they were counted on the 1884 Kaufman County Scholastic Census report of the Colored Scholastic population in the city of Kaufman - July 7th 1884. They were listed as: Rich Johnson - age 14, Lucinda Johnson - age 13 & Tonie Johnson - age 9 Frank JohnsonBorn December 1863 and it is unknown as to when and where he died but it was after 1921. On the 1880 Kaufman Co Census Frank had left his family's home and was living in the Joshua Calip household, listed as age 18, born TX & Farm Laborer. Frank married Lillie Carlisle 20 Dec 1888 (Kaufman Co Marriage Book 4) Frank & Lillie had known children:Jefferson born 5 Oct 1889 On 1920 Census Frank is in Terrell TX married to a woman named Lizzie. Living with them are his son, Frank Jr - age 24, and her daughters: That year his son Preston is living in Kaufman, listed with his wife Bessie and Frank's 2 youngest daughters Ophelia-23 and Frankie-20. On August 5, 1897, Frank Johnson shot and killed another black man named Sam Moore on the main street in Terrell. He was arrested and jailed for the crime. His trial did not come to court for a year and a half. Kaufman Sun - 13 Aug 1897 Terrell Times Star - Aug 13th 1897 Terrelll Times Daily - 24 Feb 1899. Bob JohnsonAccording to the 1870 census Bob was born in 1868 and evidently was deceased by 1880. Richard Alonzo "Bud" JohnsonBorn circa Feb 1867 - he died 2 Feb 1904 in Kaufman Co TX & according to his death certificate was buried in the Post Oak Bend community, and is probably interred at Lone Star graveyard. He died intestate, with no probate to be found in Kaufman County. He is seen in official documents as Richard A, R A, Bud & Alonzo Johnson. He married 13 Sep 1888 in Kaufman TX Masella is found on records as Marzella, Mosella, Mozella, Melissa & Marsella. Her surname is written on the Marriage Certificate is Anderson, but researchers feel this was an error made by the clerk. It is on her son Jim's birth record that it was proven her maiden name to be Sanders. On the 1880 Kaufman County Census in Precinct 5 she is found living in the household of John Patterson as a Servant Girl, listed as Mosella Sanders, age 7, Mulatto & born in TX. Also, Only a few houses away on the 1880 Census Kitty Sanders is found living as a Servant, Widowed, age 55 born TN in the household of Nancy Jackson. This Kitty is found living with Bud and Masella in the 1900 census, listed under the name Kittie Perry Bud & Masella Johnson had 7 known children:Alberta (Alphretta) Johnson born Dec 1890 After Bud's death Masella remarried Richard Joiner on 28 May 1905 in Kaufman Co. Masella is on the 1920 census with Richard Joiner, but on the 1930 census he is found alone, listed as a widower. Bud & Masella's daughter Alphretta married Edgar B Miller in Kaufman County - 30 Mar 1908- Bk 10, pg 198. In 1910 they are residing in Grayson Co TX with 2 children: Edgar Jr & Lana A. Lucinda JohnsonBorn Kaufman TX 25 Dec 1869 - Died 27 August 1938, per Death Certificate - Kaufman County Death records Book 38, Page 190, listed as Lucinday; daughter of Dick Johnson and Bell Stewart. There is no Probate found for Lucinda Shannon in Kaufman County TX. She is buried in an Unmarked grave at Kaufman City Cemetery. She Married 15 Jun 1890 - Kaufman County Marriage Book 5 Lucinda and John probably met in school. John was counted on the 1884 Kaufman County Scholastic Census report of the Colored Scholastic Population as John - age 15. On the 1900 Kaufman County Texas Census, Lucinda is found listed as head of her own household and listed her Marital Status as "Divorced", having given birth to 5 children, 3 of whom were still living. On the 1900 Census for Texas, John Shannon is found residing in Montgomery County, near some of his relatives, living as a married man with a young woman named Mary, listed as his wife. Recorded as "married 1 year". *This leaves researchers to speculate on this situation. By the 1910 Kaufman County Census, Lucinda is back living with John Shannon, listed as his Wife. On the census they list they have been married 18 years and have 2 children living - Sam 15 and Tom 13. Known Children of Lucinda and John Shannon:Will Shannon born Nov 1891 - died before 1910 Lucinda & John's son Sam Shannon married Claudie McDowell in Kaufman on 19 Oct 1922 but by the 1930 census he was back living with his parents and she listed herself as "widowed" in her brother's household. No Divorce Decree has been located for them and she died 1960. By 1940 Sam was living with Elizabeth Swanson as husband and wife. They had a daughter - Sylvia Ann Shannon - born 9 Mar 1945, died 30 Jul 1948 and buried in an unmarked grave at the Kaufman City Cemetery. Their son Tom Shannon married Delilah Thompson in Kaufman 7 Jun 1927. Toney Joe JohnsonToney's tombstone in the Kaufman Pioneer Cemetery tells all there is known about his life. It is inscribed: "5th child of Isabella Carter" "Born 9 June 1872 - Died 7 July 1891". These inscriptions substantiate that he is the Toney listed on the 1880 census as Dick & Isabella's Son -age 7. He was probably named for the man Isabella recognized as a father figure - Toney Stuart. Below is a photo of his tombstone.  CENSUS RECORDS
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