Kirtland, Ohio

After the founding of the United States, northern Ohio was designated as the Western Reserve and was sold to the Connecticut Land Company. The area was first surveyed by Moses Cleaveland and his party in 1796.

Kirtland is named for Turhand Kirtland,^[8] a principal of the Connecticut Land Company and judge in Trumbull County, the first political entity in Ohio that included Kirtland township. Kirtland, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, demonstrated "both breadth of vision and integrity" in his fair dealings with the local Native Americans. He was known for his bravery, resourcefulness, and passion for justice. ^[9] Dr. Jared Potter Kirtland was the son of the former; he helped to found a medical college in nearby Willoughby, Ohio, and he compiled the first ornithology of Ohio.^[10] The bird Kirtland's warbler is named for Jared Kirtland. This rare species has been documented in the city during migration, but it does not nest in Ohio.

Being less well suited to agriculture, the densely forested, clay soiled, high, hilly, land of Kirtland was settled later than surrounding townships: Mentor in 1798, and Chester in 1802. Kirtland's first European settlers were the John Moore family, soon followed by the Crary family who came to Kirtland in 1811.

In 1833, Julia Hills and her children moved the 133 miles to Kirtland, Ohio, where many members of the family worked to help build the first temple of this dispensation of the gospel. They had a house “on the flat” next to what is now the LDS Visitors’ Center. The house has been rebuilt, but part of the original remains.

There is a little hill behind the house where we think family members are buried.

• David died in 1833 after making brick for the Kirtland Temple.
• Seth died in 1835, having been weakened by his march with Zion’s Camp.
• Susan and Nancy both died in 1836.

 

They all died from “consumption”, (probably tuberculosis)

Read this short History of the Johnson Family in Kirtland and Pomfret for more details.

Sites of Historical Events of the Ezekial & Juia Hill Johnson Family

These sites are marked in purple on the map.

#1.  Lot 18 sub-lots B & S purchased by Joel in 1833.  (See Lot 18 Briggs Collection map.)  S was next to the schoolhouse and had a house, while B included a hill and orchard along the Kirtland-Chardon Road.  (See #8 diorama in John Johnson inn.)  Joel built the original house on B that presently houses missionaries beside the school and visitor center.  Property was transferred to Seth in 1834 and to Julia Hill in 1837.  Julia sold this property to Mary and Samuel Parker in 1837.  (See local maps and property deeds of family members at the Ezekiel and Julia Hills Johnson.com website listed on the other side of page.)

#2.  Kirtland Flats school house.  BF and the younger siblings attended this school 1834-6.

#3.  Johnson Family cemetery on the hill behind the house and orchard.  David, Seth, Susan, and Nancy died of “consumption” (tuberculosis) and were buried here.  

#4.  Lot 4 sub-lot H (see Lot 4 Briggs Collection map) was the property of Lyman and Delcina Johnson (BF’s sister) Sherman.  BF wrote that Julia and all her children received their Patriarchal blessings from Joseph Smith Senior at the Sherman’s house in 1884.  BF received Seth’s blessings from the prophet’s father at this time. 

#5.  Possible brickyard where Joel, Seth, David, Joseph and BF prepared bricks for the temple. BF wrote that David became ill and passed away from consumption, possibly exacerbated by his exhausting efforts in the brick-making enterprise.  

#6.  Stannard Quarry where the sandstone for the temple was extracted, in place of the bricks.  2.3 miles south on Chillicothe Road.     

#7.  BF wrote that he learned to make harnesses and saddles with Urian B. Powell, possibly at the Sidney Rigdon tannery.  BF would later open a saddlery business in Utah.  A replica of that business can be visited at the “This Is The Place Heritage Park” in Salt Lake City, Utah at the mouth of Emigration Canyon.

#8.  John Johnson Inn where a 3-D diorama of Kirtland Flats and Kirtland proper is found along with other artifacts such as an early edition of the Book of Mormon.

#9.  Joel’s sawmill used to cut lumber for the temple.  BF wrote that he and Joseph worked at the sawmill and hauled logs to it.

#10. Site of many Kirtland baptisms, including Eliza R Snow.  BF was baptized in 1835.

#11.  Ezekiel Johnson bought property and lived in Menton, OH near Lake Erie, away from Julia Hill.

#12.  Kirtland Temple.  BF wrote about standing inside the door of the newly built temple, just before the dedication, as the prophet Joseph Smith Jr. was giving blessings to those that helped build the temple. After the last of the blessings were bestowed, the prophet noticed BF in the back and sent Hyrum to bring him forward to receive a blessing too. 

#13.  Whitney Store where BF attended the School of the Prophets.

#14.   Joseph and Emma Smith’s home before 1838.  BF and Melissa LaBaron were married in 1841 by Almon Babitt, husband to BF’s sister Julia.    

# 15.  Lot 18 sub-lots D and J were bought by Seth Johnson in 1833.   BF wrote that when Julia and her children arrived in Kirtland, “Some of our wagons and teams were traded for a home on what was then called ‘Kirtland Flat’ close to the schoolhouse.” These parcels are immediately to the north of the parcels which Joel had purchased. On 5 Jan 1835.shortly before Seth’s death, he sold this property to Samual H. Smith

#16. Land that Joel Hills Johnson’s purchased from Titus Street in 1834. BF called it “wild land” and wrote that he and Joseph tapped trees for maple syrup, cleared land and hauled logs to the sawmill.  Joel may have built a house for his own wife and children on this property. 

#17.  Property of Joseph Ellis Johnson; Lot 33.sub-lot B.   Joel Hills had subdivided this 4-acre parcel from his 105-acre lot and sold it to Edson Barney in 1834.  Joseph bought it back in 1837. Julia and her unmarried children lived there until they left Kirtland.

#18 (P on the map) Benjamin was married to Melissa LeBaron by Almon Babbitt in the house where Joseph and Emma Smith had lived. 

Johnson Direct Line Ancestors who lived in Kirtland

• Ezekiel Johnson (1773-1848) and Julia Hills (1783-1853)

• Joel Hills Johnson (1802-1882)

• Nancy Maria Johnson (1803-1836)

• Seth Garnsey Johnson (1805-1835)

• Delcina Diadamia Johnson (1806-1854)

• Julia Ann Johnson (1808-1857)

• David Johnson (1810-1833)

• Almera Woodward Johnson (1812-1896)

• Susan Ellen Johnson (1814-1836)

• Joseph Ellis Johnson (1817-1882)

• Benjamin Franklin Johnson (1818-1905)

• Mary Ellen Johnson (1820-1845)

• George Washington Johnson (1823-1900)

• William Derby Johnson (1824-1896)

• Esther Melita Johnson (1827-1876)

• Amos Partridge Johnson (1829-1842)

Places to visit in Kirtland

• LDS Visitor Center - 7800 Kirtland-Chardon Rd, Kirtland, OH

• Johnson House, and hillside graves - just off the Visitor Center parking lot

• Newel K. Whitney Store Kirtland-Chardon Rd, Kirtland, OH (where Benjamin attended the School of the Prophets)

• Reconstructed sawmill where Joel Hills Johnson worked

• Kirtland Temple Visitor’s Center, 9076 Chillicothe Rd, Kirtland, OH

• Kirtland Temple Historic Site

  • 7809 Joseph St. Kirtland, OH 44094

  • kirtlandtemple.org 440-256-1830 x7

• John Johnson House -6203 Pioneer Trail, Hiram, Ohio. House tour

• Snow Home - 11118 Mantua Center Rd., Mantua, OH (Privately owned)