Background
William Johnson was born at Smithtown, County Meath, Ireland.
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book
The Papers of Sir William Johnson, Vol. 5: Prepared Fur Publication by the Division of Archives and History (Classic Reprint)
(Excerpt from The Papers of Sir William Johnson, Vol. 5: P...)
Excerpt from The Papers of Sir William Johnson, Vol. 5: Prepared Fur Publication by the Division of Archives and History The affairs of Canada, in which Johnson exercised a control over Indian nations, and where he was regularly represented by an agent, are matters of description and discussion in these papers, which indicate in some measure the progress of events toward the consolidation of that province as a member state in the British empire. Here Sir Guy Carleton comes into notice, a man destined to be a prominent actor in the Revolutionary struggle and in the development of the Canadian provinces. His desire to exercise a measure of direction over Indian trade is sufficiently indicated. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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William Johnson
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also known as
Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet
Career
Johnson came to New York about 1738 to supervise the lands along the Mohawk River belonging to his uncle.
Johnson gained influence with the Indians and in 1745, at the outbreak of king George's War, he kept the Iroquois from allying with the French. The following year he was appointed a colonel and given responsibility for Indian affairs. In February 1748 Johnson was given command of 14 companies of militia raised for the defense of the New York frontier, and on May 1 he was commissioned as colonel for the Albany County militia regiment. In April 1750 Johnson was appointed to the Council of New York, a position he held for the rest of his life. Five years later, in the French and Indian War, he received a commission for "sole Management & direction of the Affairs of the Six Nations of Iroquois & their Allies. " As a major general, with 2, 000 militia and 200 Indians, he defeated the French and Indians forces at Crown Point in September 1755. Although failing to take Crown Point, Johnson built a fort and won acclaim for blunting the French threat. In November 1755 Johnson was made a baronet and appointed superintendent of Indian affairs for the Northern Department. For the next 3 years he concerned himself with Indian affairs and the defense of the northern frontier. He commanded the column that captured Ft. Niagara on July 25, 1759, and participated in Gen. Jeffery Amherst's successful expedition against French Montreal. Johnson next undertook the organization of new tribes under his jurisdiction and in 1763 was able to put down the conspiracy of Chief Pontiac. In the Treaty of Ft. Stanwix (November 1768) he persuaded the Indians to give up their claims to lands in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. He was successful in preventing the Iroquois from joining the Shawnees at the outbreak of Lord Dunmore's War in 1774. Johnson was a member of the American Philosophical Society and of the Society for the Promotion of Arts, an organization devoted to the development of agriculture. He died on July 11, 1774.
Achievements
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Johnson commanded Iroquois and colonial militia forces during the French and Indian War, the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War (1754–1763) in Europe. His role in the British victory at the Battle of Lake George in 1755 earned him a baronetcy; his capture of Fort Niagara from the French in 1759 brought him additional renown.
Old Fort Johnson, his first home built in 1749, is on the Historic American Buildings Survey. It is currently the home of the Montgomery County Historical Society, which operates a museum, gift shop, and holds events. Guy Park Manor, built in 1773, for Sir William's daughter Mary (Polly) and her husband, his nephew Guy Johnson, is also open to the public.
Works
book
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The Papers of Sir William Johnson, Vol. 5: Prepared Fur Publication by the Division of Archives and History (Classic Reprint)
(Excerpt from The Papers of Sir William Johnson, Vol. 5: P...)
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The Papers of Sir William Johnson, Vol. 5: Prepared Fur Publication by the Division of Archives and History (Classic Reprint)
Personality
In his lifetime, Johnson gained a reputation as a man who had numerous children with several European and Native American women. At the time, men were not ostracised for having illegitimate children, as long as they could afford it and supported them. One 20th-century scholar estimated that Johnson had perhaps 100 illegitimate children, but the historian Francis Jennings argued that "there is no truth in wild stories that he slept with innumerable Mohawk women. " In his will, Johnson acknowledged children by Catherine Weisenberg and Molly Brant, German and Mohawk, respectively, with whom he had long-term relationships. He implicitly acknowledged several other children by unnamed mothers.
Connections
In New York Johnson either married or took as a mistress Catherine Weisberg, who bore him a son and a daughter. After the death of his first wife he took a niece of a Mohawk chief as a housekeeper; she bore him three children. Later, by his common-law wife, the sister of another Mohawk chief, he had eight children.
References
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Born
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Died
July 11, 1774 (aged 59) -
Nationality
American -
Ethnicity