Joseph Johnson (Virginia politician)

Joseph Johnson
32nd Governor of Virginia
In office January 16, 1852 – January 1, 1856
Lieutenant	Shelton Leake
Preceded by	John B. Floyd
Succeeded by	Henry A. Wise
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 14th district
In office March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847
Preceded by	George W. Summers
Succeeded by	Robert A. Thompson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 20th district
In office March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1841
Preceded by	John J. Allen
Succeeded by	Samuel L. Hays
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 18th district
In office March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1827
Preceded by	Mark Alexander
Succeeded by	Isaac Leffler
In office January 21, 1833 – March 3, 1833
Preceded by	Philip Doddridge
Succeeded by	John H. Fulton
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
In office 1815-1816 1818-1822
Personal details
Born	(1785-12-19)December 19, 1785 Orange County, New York
Died	February 27, 1877(1877-02-27) (aged 91) Bridgeport, West Virginia
Political party	Jacksonian democrat, Democrat
Occupation	Military officer, farmer

Joseph Johnson (December 19, 1785 – February 27, 1877) was a United States Representative and was the 32nd Governor of Virginia from 1852 to 1856.

Biography

Born in Orange County, New York, Johnson moved with his mother to Belvidere, New Jersey in 1791 and then to Bridgeport, Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1801. He engaged in agricultural pursuits, served in the War of 1812 as captain of a company of Virginia riflemen, and was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1815, 1816, and 1818-1822.

Johnson was elected to the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Congresses (March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1827); while a Representative, he was chairman, Committee on Expenditures on Public Buildings (Nineteenth Congress). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1826 to the Twentieth Congress and was elected to the Twenty-second Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Philip Doddridge, serving from January 21 to March 3, 1833; he was not a candidate for renomination in 1832. He was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-fourth Congress and reelected as a Democrat to the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1841); he was chairman of the Committee on Accounts in the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth Congresses. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1840 and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1844.

He was elected to the Twenty-ninth Congress (March 4, 1845 - March 3, 1847); he was chairman, Committee on Revolutionary Claims (Twenty-ninth Congress), and declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1846. He was again a member of the Virginia House of Delegates in 1847 and 1848, after which he resumed agricultural pursuits. He was a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850 and 1851 and was elected Governor of Virginia in 1851, serving a short term, and was reelected and entered upon the duties of the office January 1, 1852, and served four years. He died in Bridgeport, West Virginia in 1877 and was buried in the old Brick Church Cemetery.

Johnson was an uncle of Senator Waldo P. Johnson of Missouri.

Electoral history

1851; Johnson was elected Governor of Virginia with 53% of the vote, defeating Whig George W. Summers.

Legacy

Several locations are named after Johnson in Bridgeport, West Virginia including Johnson Avenue, Johnson Elementary School, and his former home, the Governor Joseph Johnson House.

References

• United States Congress. "Joseph Johnson (id: J000155)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

External links

• Joseph Johnson at Find a Grave
• A Guide to the Executive Papers of Governor Joseph Johnson, 1852-1855 at The Library of Virginia