Reverend Johnson Keaton

  General Notes:

Baldwin Ballard said that Johnson Keaton was a little man with a flat head. He was a good preacher and could prove it all by the Bible. However, he would not preach if he could get out of it. He would get one of the Ellison boys, probably James to preach for him.

1810 Census of Monroe County Johnson Keaton age 26 to 45 Wife age 26 to 45 1 son under the age of 10 1 daughter under the age of 10 Johnson Kearon was living on adjoining farms to William Keaton and Abraham DeBoy

1850 Monroe #181 Johnson Keaton 59 Baptist Preacher Elizabeth 58 Ankley 30 Cynthia 21 Coleman 16 Milom 13 Living on adjoining farms to Massey Ballard and Gregory Foster

1860 Monroe # 670 Calman Keaton 26 Elizabeth Keaton 70 Mother Cynthia 30

Rev Johnson Keaton was described in Dr Margaret Ballard's paper on the Mann Family as a 'little man with a flat head.' He is buried in the Keaton cemetery as is Elizabeth Indian Creek Church.

(The following information I obtained from another Ancestry.com family file) Source: A. A. Hopkins Note: Mr. Hopkins says that Johnson was the oldest of James Keaton's son. This is incorrect. Census show William was born 1788 and Johnson born 1791.

Johnson Keaton, the oldest of the two sons of James Keaton and his wife, Ankey Ballard Keaton, was presumably born in Orange County, VA about 1768. (This is clearly wrong as is much of the dates he has for James and Ankley) before the family came to Indian Creek in 1790.

Johnson Keaton became quite a celebrated Minister of the Old School or Primitive Baptist Church. He and elder, John C Hubbard labored faithfully and established several Primitve Baptist Churches and organized them into the Indian Creek District Association of which together they were moderators from 1837 until the time of his death in 1851. Johnson Keaton was moderator from 1837 till 1851. Elder John C Hubbard was moderator from 1851 till 1901, when he was made Moderator Emeritus to his death several years later.

Both of these faithful servants of the Lord preached hundreds of funerals and performed as many or more marriages and spoke comforting words to thousands of downcast and disconsolate persons in their long and faithful service in the work of the Master.

Johnson Keaton married Elizabeth Mann, the daughter of Jacob and Mary Kissinger Mann. They had quite a large family of 6 sons and 6 daughters as follows: Anderson, Thompson, George, James, Coleman, Milam, Susan, Mary, Ankley, Jane, Ann and Cynthia.

Anderson Keaton seems to be the oldest son of Johnson and Elizabeth Mann Keaton. Anderson married Margaret Ballard in 1830. He died in 1837 while uite a young man, not more than 27 years of age. He had but 7 years of married life. I have no record of his children, if any.

Thompson Keaton, the next son, married Polly Houchins. George the next son married Chloe Halstead in 1836. James died single on September 25, 1845. Coleman born 1834 died 1901. He was never married. Coleman was the only son of Johnson Keaton who served in the Confederate Army.

Susan Keaton, probably the oldest daughter of Johnson and Elizabeth, married Moses Miller in 1833. Mary married Jonathan Harvey in 1835. Ankley Keaton married Asa Ellison, the son of Rev. James Ellison and the brother of the famous Baptist Minister, Matthew Ellison, in 1839. After the death of her first husband, asa Ellison, Ankey married Andrew Hutchinson. Jane born 1821 married William Mann in 1841. She died in 1888. Ann married George W St. Clair in 1841.

Cynthia, who seems to be the youngest of the children, married John Mann in 1860, nine years after the death of her father.

  Research Notes:

Information about the Ballard family comes from Steve Leslie's website

  Noted events in his life were:

• Occupation: Primitive Baptist Preacher.

Johnson married Elizabeth "Betsy" Mann, daughter of John Jacob Mann and Mary R Kissinger, on 27 Aug 1809 in Monroe Co, Virginia (Now WV).¹ (Elizabeth "Betsy" Mann was born on 31 Mar 1792 in Monroe Co, Virginia (Now WV), died on 1 Apr 1866 in Monroe Co, WV and was buried in Keaton Cemetery, Cook's Run, Monroe Co, WV.)