Ann Jennings Johnson (May 8, 1745 – November 22, 1794) was the inaugural

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and wife of the first non-colonial

Governor of Maryland The Governor of the State of Maryland is the head of government of Maryland, and is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state and has a broad range of appointive powers ...

, Thomas Johnson.

Early life and family

Ann Jennings was born on May 8, 1745, the daughter of Rebecca Sauders Jennings and Judge Thomas Jennings, chief clerk of the Maryland Register of Land Office. Her mother was the daughter of Robert Sauders, and her father was the son of the Reverend Henry Jennings of St. Marys County, Maryland. Ann grew up in Annapolis, Maryland in an Episcopal upbringing. Her family attended St. Anne's Parish in Annapolis. In the 1760s, she met Thomas Johnson who was a young man recently employed as an apprentice at the land office where her father worked.Delaplaine, Edward S. ''The Life of Thomas Johnson'' (New York: The Grafton Press, 1927). Ann and Thomas wed on February 16, 1766, enjoyed a happy marriage, and had eight children, including one who died in infancy and a second who died as a young adult.

First Lady

After serving as an

Anne Arundel County Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, whi ...

Delegate to the Provincial Assembly and as a Congressman in two

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

es, Thomas Johnson was elected by the legislature as the first governor of Maryland in 1777. With her husband's new position, Ann became the inaugural First Lady in Maryland's history. Ann was in the role of First Lady throughout her husband's governorship from 1777 to 1779. During this period and throughout her husband's political career, Ann was a prominent and influential figure in Annapolis society.

Later life and death

After Thomas' tenure as governor, the family moved to the newly built Richfield Estate in

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

. Ann continued to support her husband's public service as a member of the

Maryland General Assembly The Maryland General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland that convenes within the State House in Annapolis. It is a bicameral body: the upper chamber, the Maryland Senate, has 47 representatives and the lower chamb ...

and

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single- ...

, Commissioner of the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and as an

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is any member of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of 18 ...

between 1779 and 1793. Ann Jennings Johnson died on November 22, 1794, at the age of 49 after a period of illness, and only a few months after her husband's retirement from public service. She was buried at All Saints' Episcopal Church and her remains (along with her husband's) were moved to a new family monument at Mount Olivet Cemetery in 1913.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings Johnson, Ann 1745 births 1794 deaths Colonial American women First ladies and gentlemen of Maryland People from Annapolis, Maryland People of colonial Maryland