Are We Related?: Johns

January 2, 2025

Trying to search for a surname like Johns proved to be interesting. I had to work to determine the best terms and ways to remove terms to get the best search possible. In this instance, I ran a search for: Johns -Johnson -Johnston. This weeded out the more common surnames Johnson and Johnston and made the search much less arduous.

Quotation excerpt by Art Johns from transcript. IHS, M1346.

One of the best matches I found in our collection for Johns family members was Art Johns, a circus painter from Peru, Indiana. He was featured in John Hanners Circus Research Collection along with his wife, Grace. The collection includes a lecture by Art in both transcript and cassette form. There is an interview with Grace Johns in the collection as well.

Newspaper clipping images including Art Johns in his element as an artist and circus enthusiast, The Indianapolis News, 1970 and The Indianapolis Star, 1972. Accessed via Newspapers.com, December 2024.

What I was seeking though was a familial connection with Art Johns. From what I can trace, his name was officially Harry Arthur Johns. He was born and died in Indiana. His father, Harry P. Johns also spent his life in Indiana. Art’s grandfather Henry P. Johns was born in Ohio to a Welsh father, Nathan Johns.

Images of me, my grandmother, Nina Faye (Johns) Belcher, and her father, Tee Alvis Johns; Art Johns in a clipping from the Leader-Tribune (Marion, IN), 1966. Images courtesy of author; Accessed via Newspapers.com, December 2024.

While one thing parallels my Johns family, the use of the same given name and the son (or father) taking on the use of their middle names, that’s just about where the familial similarity ends. My Johns ancestors were solid Kentuckians, and before that, Tennesseans. I can trace back through to my 4x great grandfather, Townley Johns who was born and died in Tennessee. However, from there the tracing gets less clear and it is unknown where the family travelled from to get to Tennessee, or how long they have spent in what is today the United States.

Although no discernable family connection was found, if I were able to go back a few generations, who knows what I would find. In any case, it’s always fun to follow along and to see possible features that have passed down through a surname’s line.

Be sure to check out previous Are We Related blogs and other great content on the IHS blogsite!

Amy Vedra is the director of reference services. She is currently reading her way through the Great American Reads list.

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