History of the Johnson-Wilson Cemetery
Burlington, Boone County, Kentucky

The Johnson-Wilson Cemetery is an one-third acre pioneer cemetery, located in the Hidden Creek Subdivision, one mile west of the county seat of Burlington. Benjamin Johnson of Albermarle County, Virginia, settled 740 acres of land in 1796. The Johnson property stretched from just west of (what is now) Burlington to the waters of Woolper Creek. The Hidden Creek Subdivision represents the last fifty acres of what was the Benjamin Johnson Farm.

The historic cemetery is now owned by Johnson-Wilson Cemetery Stewards Association, a non-profit organization which was established in September 2002. The cemetery is bounded to the east and south by woods and to the west by Mary Teal Lane. On the north side of the cemetery is a two-story home occupied by descendants of Benjamin Johnson. There are at least twelve defined burial sites and potentially thirty to forty more burials. Most of the grave markers have been dislocated due to years of neglect. However, genealogical research has confirmed family relationships among the interred and most of the dislocated markers seem to be close to their original placement.

Benjamin and Winefred Johnson came to Kentucky from Preddye's Creek (also called Pretty's or Prethis Creek) in Albermarle County, Virginia, home of President Thomas Jefferson. The ancestry of Benjamin and Winefred Johnson has not been confirmed, however, there is a close connection to two better known Johnsons, Cave and Robert Johnson. Cave Johnson was a significant figure at Bryant's Station in Fayette County. Cave Johnson then moved to Boone County, where he appears on numerous court records, many in conjunction with Benjamin Johnson. Robert Johnson was the father of Richard Mentor Johnson, vice-president under Martin Van Buren.

Benjamin and Winefred Johnson parented at least four children- Mary, George Martin, Lucy and Robert (not the same Robert as previously mentioned). It was to Lucy and her husband, Christopher Wilson, whom Benjamin deeded 130 acres of his Boone Farm in 1801. It was upon this farm that the Johnson-Wilson Cemetery was established with the burial of Winefred Johnson in 1812.

Christopher Wilson was a prominent Baptist preacher in Boone County, having been baptized by the evangelist, John Taylor. Reverend Wilson was active at Bullittsburg Baptist Church, the earliest known Baptist congregation in the county. He was a constituting member of of the Church at Middle Creek and is honored as its first pastor. His tenure there lasted from 1803-1812. Reverend Wilson served at other pioneer churches in Boone and Campbell Counties including, the Forks of the Gunpowder, Sand Run Baptist, Mouth of the Licking River Church, and Brush Creek. Reverend Wilson is the minister of record on many Boone County marriage licenses.

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Christopher Wilson's ministry at the Forks of Gunpowder ended in 1828, as did his participation in the North Bend Association of Baptists. His name disappears from local records by 1833. He is mentioned in the 1837 will of Lucy Wilson as "deceased", his gravesite located on one-half acre of their farm. Lucy was buried near her parents in 1844. In March 2003, the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Church at Middle Creek, the church (now known as the Belleview Baptist Church) set and dedicated a memorial stone to Christopher Wilson. The memorial rests beside Lucy Johnson Wilson.

Others buried in the cemetery include additional ties to early Boone County settlers, the Botts and Gaines families through the Wilks line. Mills and Lucy Botts Wilks owned the Wilson farm about ten years after the death of Lucy Wilson. Mills Wilks was a veteran of the War of 1812. They both died in 1866 and are buried side by side on the northern edge of the cemetery. Their daughter, Lucy Wilks Thomas, is buried nearby along with two of her infant sons, Edward and Orvil. The Botts line goes back to Culpepper, Spotsylvania, and King and Queen Counties in Virginia. Botts Lane, five miles west of Burlington, is named for these Boone County pioneers.

Both the Johnson-Wilson and Wilks families were slave owners. The existence of rough or field stone markers in the Johnson-Wilson Cemetery indicates the possibility of African-American slave burials. Census records, wills and deeds record the names of at least six slaves among the three families. This connection will be further researched during the next two years.

The restoration of the Johnson-Wilson Cemetery is a work in progress. In December 2003, the Department of Local Government in Frankfort approved a grant application by the Johnson-Wilson Cemetery Stewards Association for proposed work in this historic cemetery. Trees that endanger gravesites will be cut down and appropriate fencing will be erected. A long-term plan for the cemetery is in the draft stages. Broken stones will be repaired following historic preservation guidelines. Current genealogical information will be updated through a book, From Preddye’s Creek to Woolper Creek. All proceeds from the book will benefit the cemetery. The cemetery will be stabilized, restored, and landscaped with an eye to the future. May our posterity look to and learn from this historic cemetery.

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Located Tombstones