The name Winesett is relatively of recent orgin here in America. The very earliest appearance in written records which I have found is in the 1820 Federal Census for Stokes County, North Carolina.

North Carolina Federal Census. That census lists only the named of the head of the houshold. Other household members are listed by sex and age groups. The following is how I interprete the information on Johnson Winesett and his household.

Both Johnson Winesett and his spouse were born in 1775 or earlier. There were 6 younger males who I presume to be Johnson's sons. I have since identified four of the six as Johnson Jr., Isaac, Lemuel and Noah. One of the other two is probable Henry.

Henry (about 1803 to after 1850) was the bondsman for the marriage of I. George and Anne Farmer on 25-Mar-1827, Grayson County, Va. Henry and his wife,Anna [Jennings?], left Grayson County and were in Sagamon County, Illinois, for the 1830 Federal Census. The family including son, Calvin, moved to Nelson County, Kentucky before 1840. Henry still owned property in Grayson [in a part which became Carroll County] which Henry conveyed by appointing Richard Farmer his power of attorney in 1848.

My presumption that Henry is Johnson Winesett's son is based on his age and him being in Grayson County at the same time. Also there have been other Henrys in the family since then. In a 1893 biographical sketch, Henry's son, Calvin, stated that his grandfather was also named Henry and he had served in the Revoluntary War. Calvin may have meant great-grandfather rather than grandfather. The years would not have worked, Johnson was too young. It is also unlikely that if Johnson was not Henry's father, that Henry would have had a father old enough to have served in that conflict. Perhaps Johnson's father was named Henry. A Henry Winset in Charles County, MD, took an oath of fidelity in 1778. However, I cannot connect him to Johnson Winesett at this time.

I find Henry's journey to Illinois and to Nelson County, Kentucky significant. I suspect that he knew some of those Winsetts and Wimsetts because they were related and were aware of the relationship.

There were several girls in Johnson's 1820 household. A few were old enough that there is a possibility that one or more may have been sisters of either Johnson or his wife rather than their children. I have identifid Johnson's wife as Mary called "Polly". However her surname is currently unknown. It is rumored and possible that she was a "Farmer" or a "Porter" from Surry County but nothing of record has been found.

Since Johnson was the first "Winesett", what was his orgin? The follwing is pure guess and speculation. I have not found written proof.

There are families named Winsett without the middle "e" and Wimsett with an "m" instead of an "n". They were already in Maryland by the early 1700's. By mid-century they were in Onslow, Dobbs and Lenoir counties.

A Winsett male married a daughter of Col. Thomas Johnston of Onslow County. Neither the given name of the groom nor the bride appear in the written record. Col. Johnston was sometimes listed as Johnson.

A John Winsett (born about 1784) married an Anne Johnson. John later died in Williamson, Tennesee. Their only known child was William Winesett. They are too young to be the parents of Johnson Winesett.

An Anne Winsett was born about 1797 in Eagleville, Williamson, TN. Her parents were listed as Robert Winsett and Milly. She married 29-Apr-1816 Stringer Potts. [Mormon Church] Note: Other stronger evidence is that she was the daughter of Amos Winsett and Mary C. [Phillips].

An Anna Winsett was born about 1804 to William Winsett, mother's name not given. [Mormon Church]

It was fairly common for to honor a relative by marriage by using the surname as a given name. I suspect that Johnson Winesett was named in honor of Col. Thomas Johnston/Johnson but he was not Col. Johnston's grandson as he was too old.

I found a census listing a Winsettle family which stated that the parents were born in Austria. There had been some Winsettle brothers in Surry County in the early 1800's but I found no connection to Johnson Winesett or to any of the Winsett/Wimsett families.

A search of Ancestry.com for distribution of Winesett families in England and Wales in 1891 reflects between 6 and 9 families scattered between Worchestershire, Warwickshire and Kent counties. It also reflected between 24 and 51 Winsett families between Kent, Yorkshire, Warwickshire, Sussex, Dorset and Glouchestershire counties.