Sukeek's Cabin

Several kinds of historical documents have been used to build information about the people who lived at Sukeek’s Cabin and their relatives. The family speaks of her as Jane Dawkins, her maiden name. A local farmer, Tom Fowler, said that his father told him about "Jane Johnson" who lived in the house at Sukeek's Cabin Site. Jane Dawkins apparently took the name of the father of her son, Isaac Johnson. The fact that she is listed as "Widow" indicates that she married Isaac's father (we are searching for a marriage record). Based on a family story, we looked for Jane Johnson in the 1918 death index. According to the story, Jane received word one morning that her son, Isaac, had been killed in the war (World War I). When she got the news, she sent one of her granddaughters to fetch her a drink of water from the spring. When the granddaughter returned, Jane had died. Later that same afternoon, Isaac returned home from the war. The news of his death had been a mistake. (We knew that the U.S. was in war in 1918. The death date supports the story).

Note that the certificate gives Ms. Johnson’s mother’s maiden name, Becky Coats. This was a new piece of information. Becky Coats was Sukeek’s daughter, called "Sobeck" by some family members.

The uncertainty about her age helps explain the different ages given for Jane in various censuses. She may not have known exactly the year she was born. We knew from the 1870 census that Jane Dawkins had a son named John Hardman. His name on the death certificate strengthens the assumption that Jane Dawkins is the same person known as Jane Johnson. The 1910 census shows him living with her.