From Johnstone to Johnson

My 7x great-grandfather was James Johnstone, 1st Earl of Annandale, Scotland, 2nd Earl of Hartfell (1625-1672), who in 1645 married Lady Henrietta Douglas. Their son was John Johnstone of Stapleton (1665 - 1730), who in 1695 married Elizabeth Belchier. Around 1700 in Ireland, they had a son Gilbert, who in 1724 married Caroline Johnstone (unknown if any relation). Gilbert died in 1775 in Brompton, North Carolina. (His brother Gabriel was the governor of the state.). Gilbert and Caroline's son was Gilbert II who was born c. 1725 in Armagh, Ireland. On June 2, 1750, he married Margaret Warburton in North Carolina. Gilbert II was a Revolutionary War veteran, a Captain in the North Carolina Rangers. The following quote was taken from the DAR application of my cousin Carolyn Graetz: "In 1776, Gilbert Johnstone and his eldest son Hugo organized and equipped a company of Partisan Horse and led them under Folsome in North Carolina from 1776 to 1780 and under Marion in South Carolina from 1780 to 1783." Gilbert II died c. 1793. His son Gilbert III was born c. 1756 and was the first to spell his surname "Johnston". His wife's name is unknown. Their son was Samuel Johnston, who was born in South Carolina in 1788. At some point, Samuel dropped the "t" in his surname and went by "Johnson". He married Martha "Patsy" Collier (born c. 1805 in TN) on January 13, 1820 in Vicksburg, MS. Land records show that Samuel and Patsy moved from Warren County to Carroll County, MS around 1835. He died sometime between 1850/1860 and she between 1860/1870. Their children were William, Gilbert (a/k/a Doc), Sarah, Hugh, John, Martha and Samuel Parsons (a/k/a S.P.)

S.P. was my great-grandfather who along with Susan Eliza Beck had a son, Joseph Emmitt Johnson, Sr. in 1887 in Carroll County. In the early 1900's, Joseph would leave Mississippi and move to New Orleans, La where he would meet and marry Ada Mayfield. Their son, Joseph "Emmitt" Johnson, Jr., husband of Victoria ("Vickie") Molla, was my father.