Johnson, Thomas (1732-1819), lawyer, politician, and justice, was born on 4 Nov 1732 near St. Leonard's Creek in Calvert County, Maryland, the fifth child of Thomas Johnson (1702-1777) and his wife Dorcas Sedgwick (1705-1770), daughter of Joshua Sedgwick. Johnson had two older and five younger brothers and two older and two younger sisters; one brother died in infancy. Both his parents were Maryland natives of English descent; his paternal grandfather emigrated from Yarmouth, England.

After receiving his primary education at home, Johnson moved to Annapolis where he obtained employment with the Land Office, under the Register, Thomas Jennings. Johnson left this position to study law with noted attorney Stephen Bordley. Johnson was first admitted to practice in the Annapolis Mayor's Court in 1756 and subsequently gained admittance to various county courts and to the Provincial and Chancery courts by 1767. Having established himself as a successful lawyer, Johnson in 1766 married Anne Jennings (1745-1794), daughter of his former employer. The couple had seven children, three sons and four daughters.

In addition to his law practice, Johnson was a partner with Annapolis merchant Lancelot Jacques in a western Maryland iron furnace from the 1760s to the early 1770s. He also formed a partnership with three of his brothers in an ironworks that included several furnaces, forges, glassworks, and mills, principally the Catoctin Furnace near the town of Frederick.

Johnson's public career began in 1762, with election as the Anne Arundel County representative to the Lower House of the Maryland General Assembly. Serving in that body until 1774, he participated in committees to guide the Stamp Act Congress, to resolve the constitutional rights of freemen, and to supervise building of a new State House. In 1774, Thomas Johnson was elected to represent Maryland in the Continental Congress. On 15 June 1775 during the second Continental Congress, he had the honor of nominating George Washington as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. From Jan 1776 to Feb 1777, Johnson was a senior brigadier general in the Maryland Militia, and commanded troops sent to aid Washington during his retreat through New Jersey in the winter of 1776-1777.

On 13 Feb 1777, the legislature elected Johnson as the first governor of the State of Maryland. His inauguration, held in the State House which he helped to create, followed on 21 March 1777. Johnson was re-elected unanimously in Nov 1777 and Nov 1778 (the statutory limit for consecutive terms). As governor during the Revolutionary War, Johnson prepared for possible invasion by British forces and secured provisions for Washington's troops.

Upon leaving office, Johnson settled at "Richfield," his Frederick County estate. Although elected to represent Maryland in Congress in both Dec 1779 and Oct 1780, he declined to serve. Instead, in Dec 1780 Johnson accepted a seat from Frederick County in the House of Delegates, where he encouraged a vote in favor of the Articles of Confederation. He resigned this post in Dec 1781 and resumed the practice of law, but returned to the House in 1787 and 1788 to shepherd the Federal Constitution through the ratification process and to support George Washington in his bid for the Presidency. On 20 April 1790, Johnson accepted an appointment as Chief Judge of the General Court, serving until Oct 1791 when Washington appointed him to the United States Supreme Court. Johnson also headed the Board of Commissioners of the Federal City, helping to choose a site and a name for the new national capital.

Johnson left the bench in 1793, and declined an appointment as Secretary of State. He came out of retirement for a final time on 22 Feb 1800 to deliver a funeral oration for his friend, George Washington. Thomas Johnson died on 26 Oct 1819 at "Rose Hill," the Frederick home of his son-in-law. He was buried in the family vault in All Saints' Parish cemetery, but in 1913 Johnson's body was removed to Mt. Olivet Cemetery where a monument was erected in his honor.
 

761 words Biography Project, Maryland State Archives


 

New DNB Sources sheet
 

Subject's name: Johnson, Thomas, Jr.
 

MATERIAL USED IN THE PREPARATION OF THE ARTICLE

1* E. C. Papenfuse, A. F. Day, D. W. Jordan, and G. A. Stiverson, eds., A biographical dictionary of the Maryland legislature, 1635-1789, Baltimore, Maryland (1979

2* E. S. Delaplaine, The life of Thomas Johnson, New York (1927)

3* F. F. White, Jr., Governors of Maryland, 1777-1970, Annapolis, Maryland (1970)
 
 

ARCHIVAL DEPOSITS
 

SUBJECT'S ARCHIVE

None

OTHER IMPORTANT DEPOSITS

None

SOUND ARCHIVES

None

MOVING-PICTURE ARCHIVES

None

LIKENESSES

* C. W. Peale, portrait (oils), 1824 , Maryland State Archives

C. W. Peale, family portrait (oils), 1772, Baltimore Museum of Art

J. Hesselius, portrait (oils), 1765-1775?, Daughters of the American Revolution Museum, Washington, DC
 

WEALTH AT DEATH

Value of estate or

possessions at death Personal property not inventoried. Owned approximately 23,000 acres in Maryland and a one-half interest in 1,300 acres in Virginia.

Source of data Biographical Dictionary, 2:497

New DNB Information sheet
 

SUBJECT'S NAMES

Main Name Johnson Thomas

Variants of main names none

Alternative names none

Name as known none
 

TITLES

None

Source of data: Biographical Dictionary: 2:495
 

BIRTH AND BAPTISM SEX Male

Birth 4 November 1732 Calvert County, Maryland

Source of data: Biographical Dictionary, 2:495
 

Baptism

unknown
 

FATHER

Main name Johnson Thomas

Alternative names none

Titles none

Birth date 1702 Death date 1777

Occupation planter
 

MOTHER

Maiden name Sedgwick Dorcas

Alternative names none

Titles none

Birth date 1705 Death date 1770

Occupation none

Source of Parents' data: Biographical Dictionary, 2:495
 
 
 

EDUCATION

?-? at home

?-? studied law in Annapolis with Stephen Bordley

Source of data and comments: Biographical Dictionary, 2:495
 

RELIGION

1732-1819 Christian: Church of England, Episcopal Church

Source of data: Biographical Dictionary, 2:495
 

FIRST/ONLY SPOUSE OR PARTNER

Main name Jennings Anne

Alternative name none

Titles none

Birth date 1745 Death date 1794

Occupation none

Relationship married x

Date started 16 February 1766 Ended 1794 by death

Source of data: Biographical Dictionary, 2:495
 

RESIDENCE

Date Address

1732-? Calvert County, Maryland

? - c.1779 Annapolis, Maryland

c.1779-1819 Frederick County, Maryland

Source of data: Biographical Dictionary, 2:495
 

GEOGRAPHICAL/ETHNIC ASSOCIATIONS

By descent England

By association Maryland
 

DEATH AND BURIAL

Death 26 October 1819 "Rose Hill," Frederick, Maryland

Cause of death unknown

Burial All Saint's Parish Cemetery, Frederick, Maryland; reinterred Mt. Olivet Cemetery, 1913

Source of data: Biographical Dictionary, 2:497
 

Missing data

None not noted above.
 

ARTICLE CHECK-LIST

Birth, death, burial x

Parents x

Spouse/partners x
 

IN YOUR ARTICLE TEXT

Double spacing x

Quotations x