John Johnson Sr. (September 12, 1770 – July 30, 1824) was a

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 ...

attorney and judge, and the fourth

Chancellor of Maryland The Chancellor of Maryland was the highest judicial office in the U.S. state, state of Maryland from before the American Revolution until the state's High Court of Chancery ceased to exist, on June 4, 1854. The High Court of Chancery of Maryland wa ...

, from 1821 to 1824.William J. Marbury,
The High Court of Chancery and the Chancellors of Maryland
, Report of the Tenth Annual Meeting of the Maryland State Bar Association, (1905), p. 137-155.

Early life

Johnson was born in Annapolis, Maryland, on September 12, 1770. He was the son of Anne and Robert Johnson, who was said to have been a revolutionary officer. This cannot be positively ascertained. The incidents of Johnson's early life "seem to be lost in obscurity".

Career

He settled in Annapolis and there practiced his profession. He was appointed Attorney-General of Maryland on October 18, 1806, to succeed

John Thomson Mason John Thomson Mason (15 March 1765 – 10 December 1824) was an American lawyer and Attorney General of Maryland in 1806. Early life Mason was born on 15 March 1765 at Chopawamsic in Stafford County, Virginia. He was the third child and you ...

, his predecessors in that office having also included

Luther Martin Luther Martin (February 20, 1748, New Brunswick, New Jersey – July 10, 1826, New York, New York) was a politician and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, who left the Constitutional Convention early because he felt the Cons ...

and

William Pinkney William Pinkney (March 17, 1764February 25, 1822) was an American statesman and diplomat, and was appointed the seventh U.S. Attorney General by President James Madison. Biography William Pinkney was born in 1764 in Annapolis in the Province ...

. Chief Justice

Roger B. Taney Roger Brooke Taney (; March 17, 1777 – October 12, 1864) was the fifth chief justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864. Although an opponent of slavery, believing it to be an evil practice, Taney belie ...

, in his ''Autobiography'', mentions John Johnson along with Luther Martin,

Philip Barton Key Philip Barton Key (April 12, 1757 – July 28, 1815), was an American Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War and later was a United States Circuit Judge and Chief United States Circuit Judge of the United States circuit court for the F ...

, John Thomson Mason, Arthur Scharff, James Winchester as a leader of the bar when he went to Annapolis to study law in the first decade of the last century. In other places he speaks of him with honor. He was Attorney-General March 25, 1811, when he was appointed Judge of the

Maryland Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Maryland is the highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. Its name was changed on December 14, 2022, from the Maryland Court of Appeals, after a voter-approved change to the state constitution. The court, which is compose ...

to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Judge Gantt. Johnson held this position for ten years, where he authored many well-regarded opinions. He was a Presidential Elector in 1816.

Chancellor of Maryland

Upon the death of William Kilty, Johnson was the sole candidate considered for the office of Chancellor of Maryland. He was immediately appointed and accepted. He was appointed to this position on October 15, 1821, but his term was comparatively short and few of his opinions are given in the reports of the Court of Appeals, most of the cases that went up on appeal containing the bare decree of the Chancellor below. He was one of the Boundary Commissioners to settle the dispute between Maryland and Virginia.

Personal life

On January 9, 1794, he married Deborah ( née Ghieselen) Johnson (1773–1847), the daughter of Reverdy Ghiselin. Together, they were the parents of: *

Reverdy Johnson Reverdy Johnson (May 21, 1796February 10, 1876) was a statesman and jurist from Maryland. He gained fame as a defense attorney, defending notables such as Sandford of the Dred Scott case, Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter at his court-martial, and Mary ...

(1796–1876), who married Mary Mackall Bowie (1801–1873), the sister of

Thomas Fielder Bowie Thomas Fielder Bowie (April 7, 1808 – October 30, 1869) was an American politician who served in office from 1842 to 1859. Early life Born in Queen Anne, in Prince George's County, Maryland, Bowie attended Charlotte Hall Military Aca ...

* John Johnson Jr. (1798–1856) who would become the last Chancellor of Maryland. * Mary Johnson (b. 1802) * George Johnson (1817–1892), who married Henrietta E. Harwood (1819–1895) * William Johnson He died at

Hancock, Maryland Hancock is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,546 at the 2010 census. The Western Maryland community is notable for being located at the narrowest part of the state. The north-south distance from the Penns ...

on July 30, 1824 of fever while in discharge of his duties in the western part of the State. At the time of his death, he owned a house in Annapolis and a farm in

Prince George's County ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrook ...

. His estate was valued at $4,174, and he owned 10 slaves.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, John Sr. 1770 births 1824 deaths Chancellors of Maryland Judges of the Maryland Court of Appeals