In the History of the Town of Whately, Mass is reference to "an Indian known as Samson Johnson or Johnson Samson." He had three sons- David, Cyrus, and Eph (Ephraim), who worked on farms in town and in nearby Conway and Deerfield "as late as 1835." It was noted that Cyrus was "half negro." The book's author related that after Cyrus's birth, Johnson tied up his Indigenous wife, beat her, and "gave her a lecture that I have often heard, but will not relate here."
According to Massachusetts State Vital Records, Johnson Samson married Mary Barney on October 27, 1789. It isn't known for certain how many children they had, aside from David, Cyrus, and Eph. They used the surname "Johnson." Charles Sampson (1794-1818) of Conway might be another son. "Sensimon" was also given as his surname and he was described as being "Indian." A second Charles Sampson married in 1839, and appears in the 1840 census for that town. It is possible that after the first child by that name died in 1818, the couple had another son named Charles. This would not be unusual.
Before 1815, Johnson and at least two of his sons moved to Conway. The 1820 federal census shows that David Johnson was the head of household with two "Free Colored" males between the ages of 26 and 44, one female aged 14-25, and one female under age 14. David would have been one of the males and the other might have been Eph, as the 1860 federal census shows a Cyrus Johnson as head of a household in Van Buren, New York. Conway vital records note under the "Sampson" surname that "Johnson, an Indian" died of fever on December 20, 1815. He was about 50 years old.
Sources Consulted
History of the Town of Whately, Mass, James M. Crafts, 1899, pp. 70, 282-283
Conway, Massachusetts vital records