Thank you Trish.
I'm not dismissing it, just need to dig around a bit more. William McINTYRES dad, James was born in 1797 in Lanark and his mum was Christian Johnson, this is where I have believed the Johnson to come from.
Once again many thanks, it may be that it always remains a mystery
William's also my ancestor
Are you sure about his father James's parents? According to old handwritten records found in a descendant's home in 1999 (as per this website:
http://www.genealogy.com/ftm/s/c/h/Sheila-Schneider/WEBSITE-0001/UHP-0209.html), James's mother was a Jane, born 1767, died January 18, 1832 and buried at St. Mary's, Gateshead, Co. Durham. There is no mention of a father, though. I agree with you that there are quite a few brick walls here.
If Christian Johnson is not in fact James's mother, perhaps the Johnson comes from Susan's mother Mary's maiden name, although that does not appear consistent with how Susan and William named their other children. Speaking of the Burns side of the family, I saw Susan and brother James on familysearch.org christened in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, with father James and mother Mary, but also an Elizabeth Shipley Burns christened in 1823. Could she be another sibling? Lots of questions left... wish we had more to go on.