Background
Johns was born on June 14, 1759, in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, the son of Kensey and Susannah (Galloway) Johns of West River.
jurist lawyer plantation owner politician
Johns was born on June 14, 1759, in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, the son of Kensey and Susannah (Galloway) Johns of West River.
Johns studied law, first with the noted Judge Samuel Chase, and then moved to Delaware and completed his studies under George Read.
Unusually successful in his practice, Johns soon accumulated a large estate and married. His first appearance in public life was as delegate from New Castle County to the constitutional convention of 1792, where he took a leading part in debate with such eminent men as John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, and Nicholas Ridgeley.
Upon the resignation of George Read from the United States Senate in 1794, Johns was appointed by Governor Joshua Clayton to fill the vacancy. Doubt was expressed as to the legality of this proceeding, however, since a session of the legislature had intervened between the occurrence of the vacancy and the appointment, so Johns never claimed the seat. By this time he had attained great success at the bar, but, probably upon the solicitation of Chief Justice Read, he relinquished his practice to accept the appointment of associate judge on the supreme court.
Upon Read's death Johns succeeded him as chief justice, January 3, 1799. In this capacity he served over thirty years. The revolution from colony to state was still in process, and many questions, arising from the change of institutions and government, were unsettled. The statutes, which were collected, revised, and published by George Read in 1794, needed new constructions. As an associate of those men who had framed the constitution of 1776, and as an active member of the state convention of 1792, Johns had become thoroughly acquainted with the unwritten decisions upon the questions of law which arose during this period. He could therefore develop the law by interpretations based on the judgments of the state's founders. In April 1830 he was appointed chancellor, as successor to Nicholas Ridgeley. While chief justice he had acted as president of the court of errors and appeals in all chancery cases, which service had given him peculiar qualifications for his later position.
Upon the adoption of the new constitution in 1832, he retired on account of his advanced age, and was succeeded by his son, Kensey Johns. The remaining years of his life were uneventful. Johns died on December 20, 1848, in New Castle, Delaware.
Johns possessed a discriminating mind; and being thoroughly educated in the principles of his profession, he was generally able to lay hold of and accurately decide the important questions arising in a cause. His judgment was cautious, and his convictions, resulting always from a most careful examination, were so fixed as to be seldom shaken.
Johns was the husband of Nancy Ann Van Dyke Johns who was the daughter of Delaware Governor Nicholas Van Dyke. They were married in 1784 and had 2 sons and 2 daughters.