congressman horse-racer horse-breeder
Johnson was born in 1782, in Warren County, North Carolina, the son of Marmaduke and Elizabeth (Ransom) Johnson. On his mother's side he was descended from ancestors established in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, as early as 1652. Reared in a region where horse-racing was the major sport of the planters, he early displayed an extraordinary aptitude for the training of thoroughbreds, and while he was still quite young undertook the management of his father's stables.
When Johnson was twenty-five he was elected to represent Warren County in the North Carolina House of Representatives and served from 1807 to 1814, with the exception of the year 1809. Meanwhile, he had established stables at "Oakland" and commenced his notable career on the Virginia turf. About 1816, influenced by his wife and his friend John Randolph of Roanoke, he moved his residence to Virginia and embarked upon a mercantile venture in Petersburg, but a few years later settled permanently at "Oakland. " He sat in the Virginia House of Delegates from Petersburg, 1818-1820, and from Chesterfield County, 1821-1822, and was re-elected for the following term, but resigned his seat to enter the state Senate, where he served until 1826. He was in the House again, 1828-1830, and from 1833 to 1837, when he resigned.
The vestiges of Johnson's training track at "Oakland" may still be seen. He bred horses to some extent, but his main interest was in training and running them. After successfully racing Sir Archy and Pacolet (between 1808 and 1813), he sold them at long prices to win greater renown in the stud than they had won on the track. In 1816, in a match race at Washington, D. C. , he defeated Tuckahoe with Vanity and won $30, 000. Match races were the order of the day, and in such contests the owners of the respective entries frequently had partners who shared the profits or losses. Johnson's fame as a manager of such affairs grew with the passing years; so that in 1823 when the long series of North and South matches began, he became by common consent the leader and manager for the South in the first race; and in practically all the thirty contests to 1834. In nearly all these contests Johnson was the largest stockholder on his side. The South won seventeen of the thirty races. In four of the five most famous North and South matches, of which the South won three, Johnson was manager for the South. In 1823 his entry, Henry, lost to American Eclipse. In 1825 he defeated Ariel with Flirtilla, owned by William Wynn of Virginia. In 1836 he defeated Post Boy with John Bascombe, owned by John Crowell of Alabama. In 1842 he lost with Boston, owned jointly by himself and James Long of Washington, D. C. , in his race with Fashion. The Ariel-Flirtilla race was of three-mile heats; each of the other races of fourmile heats. The Post Boy-John Bascombe race was for a stake of $5, 000; each of the other races, for $20, 000. All four were run on the Union Course, Long Island, and were witnessed by vast multitudes assembled from both sections of the country.
He died suddenly, of influenza, at Mobile, Alabama, on February 10, 1849, while racing, and was buried at "Oakland. "
For a generation Johnson was regarded as the leading American turfman, and he came to be known as "Napoleon of the Turf. " By common consent he was the manager for the South in the South-North Races held in Washington, D. C. , in 1823. From then until 1834 he managed nearly thirty other races of which the South won seventeen.
The leading turfman of America for a generation, Johnson was noted for his "rare good sense, " his executive ability, and his "great amiability of character. " In later life, with his strong features and leonine shock of white hair, he was of striking appearance.
About 1803 Johnson married Mary Evans, daughter of Dr. George Evans of "Oakland, " on the Appomattox River in Chesterfield County, near Petersburg, Virginia.
