Louisiana’s Name Mystery
Overview
Do you have?
- A photo of Mary Macklin (daughter of Louisiana & James Badgley)
- A photo of Lemuel Franklin McCracken (oldest son of Lemuel and Louisanna
The family was always told that Louisiana’s maiden name was Johnson. However, it appears that her maiden name was Matteer. Lemuel would have known her father as he lived in Lee County, Iowa. So, questions remain as to why people believed her name was Johnson.
Johnson
No records have been found for Louisiana with the Johnson name or any similar name. The only reference to Johnson in the family is Andrew’s middle name. However, it is likely that he was named after President Andrew Johnson, who had taken office the year before his birth. Also, the family lived next to a Johnson family in Crawford County, Kansas.
Matteer
Matteer appears to be Louisiana’s actual maiden name. You will see this in the records for her marriage to James Badgley (her first husband) and it is also demonstrated through Matthias/Mathias Matteer’s records, particularly that he moved to Lee County, Iowa, which is where Louisiana married Lemuel McCracken. DNA data also shows that the woman who married James Badgley is our Louisiana.
The Questions
- Why did the family say that Louisiana’s maiden name was Johnson when it was Matteer?
- Were the Johnson/Johnston family that lived near the McCracken family in Crawford county somehow related?
- It was said that William T. McCracken’s first wife, Louretta Johnson/Johnston was a cousin of Louisiana. Is she? Is this where the name Johnson came from as Louisiana’s maiden name?
- Does the Johnson name fit in some other way?