James Leeper Johnson (October 30, 1818 – February 12, 1877) 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

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. Born near

Smithland, Kentucky Smithland is a home rule-class city in Livingston County, Kentucky, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers. The population was 301 at the 2010 census, a drop from 401 in 2000. It is the county seat of Livingston Count ...

, Johnson attended private schools. He moved to

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lou ...

, in 1836. He studied law. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1841 and commenced practice in Owensboro. He owned slaves. He served as a member of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form ...

in 1844. Johnson was elected as a Whig to the Thirty-first Congress (March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851). He was nominated for reelection in 1850 but declined to accept. He resumed the practice of law in Owensboro and also engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was appointed judge of the Daviess County circuit court on May 4, 1867, and served until September 2 of that year. He died in

, on February 12, 1877. He was interred in

Rosehill Elmwood Cemetery Rosehill Elmwood Cemetery is located at 1300 Old Hartford Road Owensboro Daviess County Kentucky. There are about 55,000 interments. It is officially recognized as a historical landmark by the state of Kentucky. Notable people buried in the ceme ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, James Leeper 1818 births 1877 deaths People from Livingston County, Kentucky American people of English descent Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Kentucky state court judges American slave owners 19th-century American judges