Jacob Johnson (father of Andrew Johnson)

Jacob Johnson
Born	1778 Newcastle, England or Raleigh, North Carolina
Died	January 4, 1812 (aged 33–34) Raleigh, North Carolina
Occupation	hostler, soldier, sexton, porter
Spouse	Mary McDonough Johnson
Children	Andrew Johnson

Jacob Johnson (1778 – January 4, 1812) was the father of Andrew Johnson, the seventeenth President of the United States.

Early life

Jacob Johnson was born circa 1778. Some sources indicate that he was born in Newcastle, England and sailed to America around 1795, but other sources indicate that he was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, and that it was his grandfather (and possible namesake) who sailed to North America from England. Historian Rev. Nash A. Odom writes that "In the year 1760, Peter Johnson, migrated from Kintyre Scotland to North Carolina with his large family and settled in Cumberland County. The preaching instinct broke out again and a number of the Johnsons became ministers. One was the father of Jacob Johnson, who moved to Raleigh, North Carolina and was the father of President Andrew Johnson." Author Billy Kennedy writes that Jacob's father, named Andrew, a Presbyterian, came to North Carolina about 1750 from Mounthill, which is now in Northern Ireland.

The late genealogist and local historian Hugh Buckner Johnston, Jr. (1913–1990) of Wilson, North Carolina published a series of articles in The North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal between 1978 and 1985 identifying the probable siblings of Jacob Johnson, and proposing a theoretical ancestry for President Johnson. In an article published in February, 1978, Johnston identified Aaron Johnson as the brother of Jacob Johnson, based upon claims made by Johnson’s detractor William Gannaway Brownlow concerning Aaron’s son Madison Johnson, who was executed for murder in Wake County, North Carolina in 1841. Hugh B. Johnston also published an article in May, 1979 concerning the 1845 criminal trial of Matthew Johnson of Wake County, North Carolina, who was also identified by Brownlow as a cousin of Andrew Johnson. Matthew Johnson was the son of Jesse Johnson of Raleigh. In an article entitled “A Renewed Search for the Ancestry of President Andrew Johnson” published in May, 1982, Hugh B. Johnston identified a number of letters found in the papers of President Johnson written by individuals claiming kinship. Henderson W. Johnson of Jasper County, Iowa, son of Moses Johnson of Carter County, Tennessee, wrote Andrew Johnson a letter dated February 8, 1861 identifying himself as a cousin. Jesse Wheeler of Johnston County, North Carolina, while imprisoned at Point Lookout, Maryland during the Civil War, also wrote two letters dated June 29, 1864 and December 23, 1864 seeking Johnson’s assistance. Wheeler identified his mother, Rulaney (Johnson) Wheeler, as a cousin of Johnson. On August 2, 1865, Jane (Utley) Johnson of Raleigh, North Carolina, widow of Jesse Johnson, wrote President Johnson seeking his aid. She identified her late husband Jesse Johnson of Raleigh as the President’s uncle. In a subsequent article published in May, 1985, Hugh Buckner Johnston further identified John Johnson as a sibling of Jacob Johnson, citing a May 4, 1875 letter written by John’s grandson Henry H. Depo of Fayetteville, NC describing his family’s relationship. Johnston’s 1985 article also set forth a theoretical ancestry for Jacob Johnson, suggesting that he and his probable siblings Jesse, John, Moses, and Aaron Johnson were the sons of William Johnson of the Mark’s Creek area of eastern Wake County, North Carolina. Johnston further proposed that Jacob Johnson’s putative father William was a descendant of Sylvanus “Sill” Johnson (ca. 1696–1763) of Essex, Amelia, and Prince Edward Counties, Virginia, and Johnston County, North Carolina. This theoretical ancestry put forth by Hugh B. Johnston was repeated in Hans L. Trefousse’s book, Andrew Johnson: A Biography (1989).

DNA testing conducted by the Johnson/Johnston/Johnstone DNA Surname Project sponsored by FamilyTreeDNA has largely discredited the theoretical ancestry of President Andrew Johnson suggested by the late genealogist Hugh Buckner Johnston, as well as the various theories published by other earlier biographers of President Johnson. Two direct male descendants of Moses Johnson (ca. 1788 – ca. 1873) of Carter County, Tennessee have been DNA tested, as well as a direct male descendant of Sylvanus “Sill” Johnson (ca. 1696–1763) of Johnston County, North Carolina. The y-chromosome DNA test results confirm that the family of Jacob Johnson is not descended from Sylvanus “Sill” Johnson. In 2010, a direct male descendant of William Johnson (1804–1865) of Brazoria County, Texas, brother of President Andrew Johnson, was also DNA tested. The results of that y-chromosome DNA test reveal a close genetic match with the descendants of Moses Johnson of Carter County, Tennessee, thus substantiating the relationship of that family to President Johnson. Current DNA results performed for the Johnson/Johnston/Johnstone DNA Surname Project suggest that President Andrew Johnson is likely descended from or genetically related to William Johnson of Surry County, Virginia, who devised his will on November 4, 1709 (Probated July 4, 1710; Surry County, Virginia Deeds, Wills, Etc., Volume 6, 1709 – 1715, p. 28). President Andrew Johnson’s paternal Johnson ancestors belong to Haplogroup I2b.

Marriage and family

Jacob Johnson married Mary "Polly" McDonough (b. July 17, 1783, d. February 13, 1856) on September 9, 1801 in Wake County, North Carolina. They had three children: William Patterson Johnson (1804–1865), Elizabeth Johnson (1806–unknown), and Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808–July 31, 1875). Andrew is thought to have been named after his maternal grandfather, Andrew McDonough.

Career

Known as "mud-sills", Jacob and Mary were both employed at Casso's Inn (see below), where Mary worked as a weaver and clothes washer, and Jacob worked as a hostler. Jacob also served as a militia Captain of Muster Division 20, as a sexton for the Presbyterian Church, and as a porter for the State Bank of North Carolina (chartered in 1811). Jacob is also reported to have been the sole bell toller in Raleigh.

Home

The home of Jacob and Andrew Johnson in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The Johnson family log home was located on the property owned by Casso's Inn, a popular antebellum inn located northeast of the present-day North Carolina State Capitol building. Casso's Inn was run by Peter Casso, a Revolutionary War soldier.

The Johnson home is now preserved at Mordecai Historic Park in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Death

Jacob Johnson's grave at the Old City Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina

Jacob Johnson saved the lives of Colonel Thomas Henderson, the young editor of the Raleigh Star, and his friend Mr. Callum, when the enthusiastic group of fishermen capsized their fishing skiff on Walnut Creek near Hunter's Mill in December 1811. The third occupant of the skiff, Mr. William Peace, had no trouble getting to shore. Jacob Johnson jumped in the water and saved Henderson and Callum, to the detriment of his own health. Jacob died several weeks later—ironically, while ringing the funeral bell at the State Capitol Building. He is buried at the Old City Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina.

His obituary from the Raleigh Star newspaper (dated January 10, 1812) read as follows:

• "Died, in this city, on Saturday last, Jacob Johnson, who had for years occupied a humble but useful station in Society. He was a city constable, sexton, and porter of the State Bank. In his last illness he was visited by the principal inhabitants of the city, by all whom he was esteemed for his honesty, industry, and humane and friendly disposition. Among all whom he was known and esteemed none lament him more (except, perhaps, his relatives) than the publisher of this paper; for he owes his life, on a particular occasion, to the boldness and humanity of Johnson."

Following the death of her husband, Mary "Polly" (McDonough) Johnson married secondly Turner Daughtrey (or Daugherty) on May 6, 1812 in Wake County, North Carolina, with Jesse Johnson serving as bondsman for the marriage. Mary "Polly" (McDonough) Johnson Daugherty is buried in the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery, Greenville, Greene County, Tennessee.

Gravesite Dedication by Andrew Johnson

Jacob's grave remained marked only by “J.X.J.” until 1867, when the current marker was erected. The writing on the marker has been obliterated from weather and vandalism, but an early account indicates that it was inscribed as follows:

• "In memory of Jacob Johnson. An honest man, loved and respected by all who knew him."

Then-president Andrew Johnson was invited by Raleigh Mayor William Dallas Haywood to attend the public erection of Jacob's monument. He agreed to attend the dedication; this marked Johnson's only trip to the south during his term as President. He departed Washington, DC on June 1, 1867, stayed at Richmond, Virginia on the 2nd, and arrived in Raleigh on the 3rd. Johnson stayed at the Yarborough House Hotel on Fayetteville Street during his stay, and delivered a lengthy speech about various topics shortly after arriving.

The gravesite dedication took place on June 4. At the ceremony, the president called his father an "honest and faithful friend, a character I prize higher than all the wordly fortunes that could have been left me.” He spent the 5th and 6th in Chapel Hill, where he attended one of the commencement ceremonies for the University of North Carolina, and left for Washington on the 7th.

References

Websites:

• State Library of North Carolina Encyclopedia Entry for Andrew Johnson: [1]
• Legacy Family Tree entry for Jacob Johnson: [2]
• Andrew Johnson’s father, a hero in his own right

Books:

• Bergeron, Paul H. et al. The Papers of Andrew Johnson, Volume 12, February - August 1867. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press. 1995.
• Savage, John. The Life and Public Services of Andrew Johnson, Seventeenth President of the United States. New York: Derby & Miller, Publishers. 1866.
• Stryker, Lloyd Paul. Andrew Johnson: A Study in Courage. New York: The MacMillan Company. 1936.
• Thomas, Lately. The First President Johnson: The Three Lives of the Seventeenth President of the United States of America. New York: William Morrow & Company, Inc. 1968.
• Winston, Robert W. Andrew Johnson: Plebeian and Patriot. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1928.

Journals:

• Graf, LeRoy and Ralph W. Haskins, Editors. This Clangor of Belated Mourning. The South Atlantic Quarterly. Volume 62.3, 1963.