I have decided to send out the whole of the family letter I have in hopes it may help others or possibly help me out. The letter is from Emma JOHNSTON DAVEY living in California at the time to Marie JOHNSTONE DOMINY in Indiana. Both are aunts in my line. It was probably written after 1920, although it was not dated. I have followed the letter with the pieces of genealogy I sorted out from this and other sources. The original had no punctuation whatsoever. I have found our family name in various forms from JOHNSON, JOHNSTON and finally JOHNSTONE. "You were a little late writing but am so glad you could go to see your brothers and sisters. You wanted to know what nationality we are. American of course. Your maternal great grandmother and suppose your great grandfather was of the same nationality. They came from Holland not they, but their ancestors and were Revolution stock some of them leaving their horse and plows in the field and going away to fight one of the battles. Your great grandmother was left a widow with seven little children the youngest only 7 days old on a farm in Ohio. She raised them all but one and gave them, for those days, a good education , raising flax and wool to make them clothes, weaving and dying both wool and flax. When I was twenty (1870), my sister Mary and I make a visit to the old farm and saw the old log house then standing but my grandmother was living in a frame house on the same farm with her son Daniel. He had 3 daughters and one son, and what a lovely visit we had! Your great grandmother's family name was Ganter or Gunter, I think the first. Her name after marriage was Fink. The farm where we visited was in Canfield, Mahoing(?) Co, Ohio. Your grandmother and grandfather were married in Canfield and their marriage license is, I still suppose, in the courthouse. Your great uncle George Fink was a 49er and went from Canfield to California in one of the famous covered wagons. He was six months going across at the time of the great gold excitement. He never came home but always wrote to my mother until a few years before her death. In the last letter enclosed was this ad I am sending you. How little he thought that after many years it would travel across the country. You were so good sending the pictures back that I will send this for you to return. He was a bachelor Johnson on your grandfather's side. Your great grandmother's name was Perry, Catherine Perry, but your great grandfather's name I am a little mixed up on for one was Henry and the other Daniel. Both were family names and both had two sons by that name. I forgot to tell you that your great grandmother Fink's given name was Susan. Your Johnson ancestors came from England and were given much land on the Western Reserve in Ohio. They owned land in the east, out where cannot remember, but were well thought of and when coming from England were given twice as much land as the minister because they were blacksmiths and were considered more necessary in the country. If I remember the land was cow pasture. This grandmother Johnson (my grandmother) had fifteen children but land on the Western Reserve was not very valuable then. I have a friend in Cleveland who still owns some of the land. Her grandmother came all the way from Connecticut on horseback, the saddle now in the museum in Cleveland. How I loved to listen to the stories of the settling of the new country. Think I have somewhere carefully put away a picture of the Johnson coat of arms with their history. If I find it will send it to you but did not suppose anyone would ever care for it. The Johnson family lot in Woodland Cemetery is in Section 40. If there is anything I have not told you, ask me. If you think your sister would care to read this letter, you may send it to her if she will be kind to consider it answer to the one she wrote me. Letter writing is hard for I know of so little to write of not because I would not like to write to her and I would love to get a letter from her. But please send her my ad. Not long ago I gave away a family bible that had been in the Davey family 150 years with the dates of their births and deaths. They brought it from England. Allie was the only heir, and she would not have it. Like myself she could not lift it around and no room for it in our little house. I gave it to a friend who was so kind when I had the broken limb. He had a large collection of interesting things said he would rather have that than a farm. It was a very interesting thing, illustrated with wood cuts but too heavy for a woman to lift. They can afford a room and cases for these things. Keep your letter. Some day you may want to refer to it. It has no money value for there is none in the family unless your side is the lucky possessors. With much love, believe this is the day of the birthday dinner. I wish I were there. Keeping house for one is not very interesting." >From this, census and Bible records, and help from Jocelyn, I have the following: Hiram JOHNSTON (JOHNSON) born about 1822 married Anna Maria FINK (b.1827) on Aug 6 1849 in Canfield, OH. They had children: Emma born 1850 in Ohio, George born 1857 in Coldwater, Michigan, Carra born NY??, and Mary born 1852 in OH. I believe Hiram's parents may be Henry(?) JOHNSTON and Catherine PERRY from the letter, but I have not been able to verify this anywhere. He may have had brothers, Daniel and Henry. Anna Maria FINK's parents were Daniel FINK, Jr. and Mary Susannah KENTNEY(sp? born 1789 in PA). Both died in Canfield, Mahoning County, OH. Other siblings possibly: George (the 49er mentioned in letter), Mary Susannah, Daniel and Henry from will info from Jocelyn. Daniel FINK, Sr. married Elizabeth Ann WELTZEL both of PA according to will and Rev War records for Daniel Sr. Daniel Sr. served in Northampton Co. Rangers, PA. They had other children: Barbara, Jacob Catherine, Molly, Susannah and John. Any help on any of these lines would be appreciated. Nancy Johnstone Ratay, Denver CO