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The Johnsons Thomas Johnson
I (1690-1761) The three generations of the Johnson family constitute one of the great gravestone carving dynasties of eighteenth-century Connecticut. They worked from the famous brownstone quarries in Portland, although some of the early Thomas Johnson I stones appear to have been carved in New Haven. Although much of their work is found west of the Connecticut River, many of their stones appear in eastern burying grounds, especially in the western section and along the coast. It is not easy to attribute a considerable portion of the Johnson stones to one specific carver; after the period of Thomas I's skull stones, they followed each other's styles and in fact apparently often worked together and with a brother of the second Thomas Johnson named Stephen whose work, if he ever worked independently, has not been identified. All known Johnson stones are brown or red sandstones. The earliest stones by the elder Johnson were apparently simple stones with only pinwheel designs in the finials. The problem with attribution of such stones is that the design was also used by the Stanclifts who were intimately associated with the Johnsons in the gravestone business for many decades. Thomas Johnson I
produced stones between 1723 and 1736 a series of original looking skull
stones, with menacing faces, triangular noses and border panels of either
gourd or fig-like designs or double scrolls. Others are capped by elaborate
crowns and border panels of floral designs. Thomas Johnson II
developed a more elaborate style using the cherubim, usually crowned
and with wings extending outward and upward. These stones usually had
elaborate decorations of almost Victorian exuberance above the cherubim
and at the sides in the form of drapes. Thomas Johnson III
seemed to use the same basic designs as his father and continued to
add to the busy motif. A great many of his stones occur in the valley
graveyards. At present it is often not possible to separate the work
of the second and third Thomas Johnsons, for they apparently worked
together for years. However the stones of Thomas Johnson III can often
be recognized by having the chins of his cherubim more pointed and the
eyes more drowsy. The tops of some of his lunettes become exceedingly
ornate. To compound the problem, there were many imitators of the dominant
Johnson style in the late 1700's. Dr. Caulfield says that the three
Johnsons "set standards for stone art throughout most of Connecticut,
not only while they lived, but also for many years thereafter."
Certainly, a detailed study of the evolution and variability of their
style will be a formidable but important task. Confusion - Caution
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