Jacob Johnson (November 1, 1847 – August 15, 1925) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. Johnson was born in

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, but he emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1854. After living in both Utah and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, he studied law in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. Returning to Utah, in 1872 he became a resident of Spring City in

Sanpete County Sanpete County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 27,822. Its county seat is Manti, and its largest city is Ephraim. The county was created in 1850. History The Sanpete Valley ma ...

, where he was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1877. In 1880 he became a

United States District Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

, a position he held until 1888. He then served as Sanpete County's probate judge until 1890. During 1892–1894 he was prosecuting attorney in Sanpete County, overlapping an 1893–1895 term in the Utah Territorial Legislature. In 1896 Johnson became a state court judge in Utah's Seventh Judicial District. His judicial duties took him traveling throughout southeastern Utah until 1905. Active in

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

politics, Johnson was a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

in 1912. That year Utah had just been granted its second congressional seat. Incumbent

Joseph Howell Joseph Howell (February 17, 1857 – July 18, 1918) was a U.S. Representative from Utah. Life and career Born in Brigham City, Utah Territory, Howell moved with his parents to Wellsville, Utah, in 1863. He attended the common schools and the ...

was re-elected, and Johnson was elected as Utah's new representative to the

63rd United States Congress The 63rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1913, to ...

. He served one term in Congress, failing to win the nomination in 1914. Johnson retired from politics to continue his law practice in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, where he died in 1925. The Jacob Johnson house and barn still stand in Spring City. Due to their historic and architectural significance, they are included in the

Spring City Historic District Spring City is a city in Sanpete County, Utah, United States. The population was 988 at the 2010 census. Description Although it is still largely a farming town, Spring City is becoming increasingly known as an artist community. Many excellent ...

, listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The owners received a 2009 Heritage Award from the Utah Heritage Foundation for restoring the property.

References

External links

* * 1847 births 1925 deaths Danish emigrants to the United States Members of the Utah Territorial Legislature 19th-century American politicians People from Sanpete County, Utah United States Attorneys for the District of Utah Utah state court judges Politicians from Aalborg Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Utah {{US-Congress-stub