Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/481

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JOHNSON
JOHNSON
445

at his expense. The bishopric of Indiana was of- fered to him, but was declined. In 1847 he became rector of St. John's church, Brooklyn. In 1850 he was chosen professor of systematic divinity in the General theological seminary in New York city. He retained this post until 1870, when he re- signed, and shortly afterward retired to Amenia, where he officiated as rector of St. Thomas's church until his death. He was a man of fine natural abilities, improved by constant reading and study.


JOHNSON, John Mercer, Canadian statesman, b. in Liverpool, England, in 1818 ; d. in Northum- berland, New Brunswick, 9 Nov., 1868. He came with his father to New Brunswick at an early age, was educated in the Northumberland county gram- mar-school, and admitted to the bar in 1840. He was soon afterward elected a member of the Pro- vincial legislature, made postmaster-general in 1847, and then speaker of the house, attorney-gen- eral, and in 1854 solicitor-general. He was a mem- ber of the conference that met in Quebec in 1864, and of the London conference, which settled the details of the confederation act. When the Union was accomplished he was elected a member of the Dominion parliament for Northumberland.


JOHNSON, John Milton, physician, b. in Smithland, Livingston co., Ky., 15 Jan., 1812 ; d. in Atlanta, Ga., 18 May, 1886. His ancestor, Thomas, came to this country in 1700. After re- ceiving an education from his father and from a physician of Madisonville, Ky., he began the prac- tice of medicine in 1833. His success in treating an epidemic in western Kentucky that was known as the " milk sickness," between 1840 and 1845, brought him into notice, and his notes upon this disease and its causes were republished in the Lon- don " Lancet " and other medical journals. In 1861 he entered the Confederate army, and in 1862 was surgeon of the post at Atlanta, Ga. After- ward he was medical director for Gen. Hardee's division, and served in all of Gen. Bragg's en- gagements. After the close of the civil war he settled in Atlanta, where he practised his pro- fession until his death. He was president of the Atlanta academy of medicine in 1875, and from 1868 till 1872 taught physiology and pathological anatomy in Atlanta medical college. He has pub- lished numerous medical papers. — His brother, Richard W., soldier, b. near Smithland, Living- ston co., Ky., 7 Feb., 1827, was graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1849, and assigned to the 6th infantry. He soon joined the 1st infantry, and in March, 1855, was transferred to the cavalry, in which he was quartermaster until December, 1856, when he was made captain and served against the Indians on the Texan frontier. He became lieutenant-colonel of the 3d Kentuckv cavalry (Na- tional) on 28 Aug., 1861, and on 11 Oct., 1861, was made brigadier-general of volunteers and assigned to a brigade in Gen. Buell's army, engaging in the movement to Pittsburg Landing, Tenn., and also serving in Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky. He was present at the siege of Corinth on 28 May, 1862, and routed a Confederate force in his front. In July, 1862, he commanded a division of the Army of the Ohio, in the Tennessee campaign. He was taken prisoner at Gallatin, Tenn., on 21 Aug., by a greatly superior force under Morgan, and after his exchange in December was placed in command of the 12th division of the Army of the Cumberland. He was at Stone River, Chicka- mauga, and Missionary Ridge, and in the At- lanta campaign, being engaged in all the battles in the line of march from Nashville to New Hope Church, near Atlanta, where he was severely wounded, 28 May, 1864. He subsequently com- manded a division of cavalry at the battle of Nash- ville, was brevetted brigadier-general, U. S. army, for gallant and meritorious services, 13 March, 1865, and also major-general for his services in the field during the war. He remained on the staff of Gen. George H. Thomas, as provost-marshal and judge-advocate of the military division of the Ten- nessee, serving till 1866, when he was mustered out of volunteer service. He was retired with the rank of brigadier-general on 12 Oct., 1867. He was mili- tary professor in the University of Missouri in 1868-9, and in the University of Minnesota in 1869-'70. In 1*881 he was the Democratic nominee for governor of Minnesota. He is the author of a " Life of Gen. George H. Thomas " (Philadelphia, 1881), and "A Soldier's Reminiscences" (1886).


JOHNSON, John Smoke (Sakayenkwaraghton, or "The Disappearing Mist "), Mohawk chief, b. in the Mohawk village, Canada West, 2 Dec. 1792 ; d. there, 26 Aug., 1886. His middle name refers to the English translation of his Indian title. He was the leader of the Iroquois contingent, on the Brit- ish side, during the war of 1812, and at its close the Six Nations and their allies bestowed on him the office of premier or " speaker of the grand Indian council." He was a man of singular force and purity of character, a gallant warrior, and gifted orator. — His son. George Henry Martin (Onwanonsyshon), Mohawk chief, b. in Grand River reserve, near Brantford, Canada, 7 Oct., 1816 ; d. there, 19 Feb., 1884, went to school in Brantford, and became a member of the family of Rev. Adam Elliot, aiding him in the translation of sermons. In 1840 he was appointed interpreter for the English church mission on the reserve. While thus engaged he became a chief, and was also appointed government interpreter for the Six Nations. Subsequently he was made warden of the reserve, and did much to free it from the law-breakers and liquor- vendors. In 1865, and again in 1873, he was assaulted and beaten, and he bore the marks of these attacks until his death. He erected on his farm a house that obtained for him the Indian name of Onwanonsyshon (" He who has the great mansion"). One of his aims was to direct the agricultural industry of his tribe, and he established an agricultural society on the reserve.


JOHNSON, Joseph, governor of Virginia, b. in Orange county, N. Y, 19 Dec, 1785 ; d. in Bridgeport, W. Va., 27 Feb.. 1877. In 1800 he removed to Bridgeport, W. Va., where he worked on a farm and educated himself. He served in the war of 1812 as captain of a volunteer company of riflemen, was elected to congress as a Democrat, serving from 1823 till 1827, again in 1833 for the unexpired term of Philip Doddridge, and also in 1835-'41 and 1845-7. In 1844 he was a delegate to the National Democratic convention. From 1852 till 1856 he was governor of Virginia. He was a supporter of the Confederacy in 1861-'5. — His nephew, Waldo Porter, senator, b. in Harrison county, Va., 16 Sept., 1817; d. in Osceola, Saint Clair co., Mo., 14 Aug., 1885, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and began practice in Osceola in 1843. In 1846 he enlisted as a private in the Mexican war, and while on the plains was honorably discharged to serve in the Missouri legislature to which he had been elected. He became prosecuting attorney and judge of his judicial district, and was elected" to the U. S. senate as a Democrat, serving from 4 July, 1861 till 10 Jan., 1862, when he was expelled, because he had joined the Confederate army. During the special session of July, 1861, he offered the resolution for a peace conven-