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'Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet' (1715 – 11 July 1774), founder of Johnstown, New York, was an Irish pioneer and army officer in colonial New York, and the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs from 1755 to 1774. He served on the Governor's Council in New York, earned the rank of Major General in the British forces during the French and Indian War. Sir William was a man of many accomplishments, and ultimately his estate in the Mohawk River Valley covered over 400,000 acres (1,600 km²).

Contents

Irish Origins

His Years in America

His intimates and their children

French and Indian War

Death and Legacy

Footnotes

References

External links

Family Tree

Johnson Baronets of New York

Triva

Irish Origins

William Johnson was born to Christopher Johnson - son of William MacShane and great, great grandson of Sir Turlough mac Henry Ó Néill - in County Meath, Ireland in 1715. The family was originally the O'Neills of the Fews in Armagh and thus a branch of the Uí Néill, but had been dispossessed by the Irish Confederate Wars and the Williamite war in Ireland. William's father was originally known as William MacShane (Ó Néill) but changed his name to the English version of MacShane: Johnson.

His Years in America

William Johnson is thought to have originally planned a mercantile or legal career, but in 1738 he emigrated to America to manage land granted to his uncle, Admiral Sir Peter Warren. Settling in Upstate New York along the Mohawk River, he built Fort Johnson, a home and business center which also provided protection for local settlers^[1]. He learned from and lived with the Mohawk Indians, who adopted him and later made him a civil chief (sachem). He also began to purchase land from the Indians in his own right.
Johnson was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs by the British, and later became a Major General in the British forces during the French and Indian War. As a reward for his services, he was granted additional tracts of land in what is now Hamilton and Fulton counties. In 1762, he founded the city of Johnstown about 25 miles west of Schenectady, New York. The city, originally called John's Town, was named by Johnson for his son, John. Ten years later, Johnstown became the county seat of Tryon County when Johnson convinced William Tryon, the British Governor of New York, to separate the western portion of the state from Albany County making Johnstown and the surrounding area a separate county named for Governor Tryon.
In 1764, Johnson, "by virtue of the powers and authority to him given by his Majesty" the king of England, signed a friendship and peace treaty with four delegates representing the Hurons of Detroit.^[2]
Having begun as an Indian trader, Johnson soon became one of New York's most prosperous and influential citizens. His business interests came to include various enterprises including a lumber business and a flour mill. In acknowledgment of Johnson's successful business endeavors, the local Native American inhabitants dubbed him "Warragghivagey," or "he who does much business."^[3] Johnson's businesses, perhaps most particularly his lumber operations, benefitted from slavery, which was then legal in New York State. As the largest slaveholder in the county and perhaps in the state of New York, he had some sixty slaves working for him.^[4]

His intimates and their children

Many of these relationships were maintained concurrently.
In June 1739, William began a relationship with an immigrant of German Palatine extraction, Catherine Weisenberg (1723 – April, 1759). She originally came to America as an indentured servant, but had run away, apparently with the help of relatives, and became a servant to a family called Phillips. William purchased her contract, and the couple had three children before her death. Their son John Johnson, inherited his father's title and estates.

By the time of Catherine's death, he had already begun a similarly unmarried relationship with Elizabeth Brant, by whom he had three children, Keghneghtago or Brant, born in 1742, Thomas and Christian, born in 1744 and 1745 — both of whom died in infancy.
About 1750, he had a son called Tagawirunta or William by a Mohawk woman, possibly Elizabeth Brant's younger sister, Margaret.
By Molly Brant, sister of Joseph Brant, he had eight children and by Caroline Peters, niece of King Hendrick, about three.
Johnson is also known to have been intimate with the sisters Susannah and Elizabeth Wormwood (daughters of Henry Wormwood), an Irish woman called Mary McGrath (by whom he appears to have had a daughter, Mary), and several other Mohawk women.

French and Indian War

Commander-in-chief General Braddock commissioned Johnson a major general and tasked him to lead militia forces against Crown Point. In September, his expedition defeated Baron Dieskau at the Battle of Lake George. In recognition of this victory he was awarded £5,000 and made a baronet in November. In 1758, he was part of General Abercrombie's failed attempt to take Fort Ticonderoga.
Johnson led an Indian and militia force as part of General John Prideaux's siege of Fort Niagara in the summer of 1759. When Prideaux was killed, Johnson took command of the force and captured the fort. He also accompanied General Amherst at the capture of Montreal in 1760. After the war, King George rewarded him with the grant of an additional tract of 100,000 acres (400 km²) north of the Mohawk River.

Death and Legacy

William Johnson died from a stroke at his home in Johnstown on July 11, 1774. His role as Superintendent of Indian Affairs was taken over by his nephew (and son-in-law) Guy Johnson. His manor house in Johnstown, New York is now a New York State Historic site and is open to the public.

Footnotes

1. "Fort Johnson" by Timothy J. Shannon in Peter Eisenstadt (editor) ''The Encyclopedia of New York State'' (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, c.2005), page 589
2. "Document Doubles" in Detecting the Truth: Fakes, Forgeries and Trickery, a virtual museum exhibition at Library and Archives Canada
3. Decker, p. 29
4. Williams-Myers, p. 24; 29-30

References

★ http://www.clanmcshane.org/history.html

★ http://www.uelgovsimcoe.org/Loyalist-Trails/Loyalist-Trails-2004-19.php

★ http://www.thepeerage.com/p9454.htm

★ http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/a0826468.html

★ Detecting the Truth: Fakes, Forgeries and Trickery, a virtual museum exhibition at Library and Archives Canada

★ Decker, Lewis G., ''Images of America: Johnstown''. Arcadia Publishing (an imprint of Tempus Publishing, Inc.); Charlestown, SC. 1999. ISBN 0-7385-0174-3.

★ O'Toole, Fintan, ''White Savage: William Johnson and the Invention of America''; Farrar, Straus and Giroux; New York, NY. 2005. ISBN 0-374-28128-9.

★ Williams-Myers, A.J. ''Long Hammering: Essays on the Forging of an African American Presence in the Hudson River Valley to the Early Twentieth Century''. Africa World Press, Inc.; Trenton, NJ. 1994. ISBN 0-86543-303-8.

External links

★ Johnson Hall historic site

★ Johnstown's memorial page

★ W. Max Reid, ''The Story of Old Fort Johnson'', 1906

★ Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''

★ ''Fort Johnson Historic Landmark''

★ First White Settlement and Black Joe article of William Johnston {William of Canajohrie?} died 1807 Buffalo NY age 65 - for reference only

★ William Johnson on Find-A-Grave

Family Tree

Aodh (Hugh) O Neill, fl. 1505, younger son of King of Tir Eoghan; 1st O Neill of the Fews.
|
Henry mac Aodh O Neill
|
Sir Turlough mac Henry O Neill, fl. 1593-1602.
|
Sir Henry mac Turlough O Neill of the Fews, alive 1641.
|
Shane/John O Neill of the Fews
|
Tomas mac Shane O Neill, fl. 1648
|
William MacShane (O Neill)
|
Christopher Johnson (MacShane) of Smithstown, Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath, 1684-1763.
=Anne Warren
|__________________________________________
| | | | |
| John Warren Anne Catherine
| /
| /
| ?
| |
| Guy Johnson, c.1740-88.
| =
|
Sir William
+Catherine +Elizabeth +Margaret +Mary +Molly Brant +Caroline{16)
| | | | | |
Ann (1) Keghneghtago(4) Tagawirunta Mary Peter (7) William(15)
John (2) Thomas (5) (6) Elizabeth(8) daughter
Mary (3) Christian Magdelene(9) daughter
Margaret (10)
George (11)
Mary (12)
Susanna(13)
Anne (14)
Note 1: aka Nancy Married to Indian Agent/Colonel Christian Daniel Claus
Note 2: See Johnson Baronets of New York
Note 3: Married to Guy Johnson
Note 7: Died 1777 near Philadelphia while serving with 26th Regiment of Foot[1]
Note 8: Married Dr Robert Kerr. Their son William Johnson Kerr married to Elizabeth the daughter of Chief Joseph Brandt and granddaughter of New York trader George Croghan.
Note 11: Tekahiowake, aka George Jacob Johnson, 1758-1843; father of Smoke Johnson
Note 15: William of Canajoharie-died 1807? {see reference above}
Note 16: Niece of King Hendrick
I am not vandalising this, but this Descent has been falsified.
- Gary McShane

Johnson Baronets of New York

Christopher Johnson
=Anne Warren (a sister of Sir. Peter Warren)
|
Sir William Johnson (c.1715-1774), '1st' Baronet
=Catherine Weisenberg
|
Sir John Johnson (1741-January 1830), '2nd' Baronet
=Mary Watts-descendant of Stephanus Van Cortlandt
|
Sir Adam Gordon Johnson (1781-1843), '3rd' baronet
=
|
Sir William George Johnson (1830-1908), '4th' baronet
=
|
Sir Edward Gordon Johnson (1867-1957), '5th' baronet
=
|
Sir John Paley Johnson (1907-1976), '6th' Baronet
=Carol Haas (m.1929) =Jasmine Bligh (m.1940) =Rosemary Cohen (m.1949)
|
Sir Peter Colpoys Paley Johnson (1930-May 2003), '7th' Baronet
=Clare Bruce (m.1956) = Caroline Hodsoll (m.1973)
| |
|_________________________________________________________ |
| | | |
Sir(Colpoys)Guy Johnson Marina Johnson Alison Johnson |
(b.1965), '8th' Baronet (b.1960) (b.1961) |
=Marie-Louise Holroyd (m. 1990) |
| |
| Nicholas Johnson
| (b.1977)
|____________________________________________________
| | |
William Johnson Rufus Johnson Benedict Johnson
(b. 1993) (b. 1996) (b. 2000)

Triva

★ A relative by marriage was Captain Philip Skene of the British Army and founder of Whitehall (village), New York.