William Johnson (1760-1845) was an Irish politician, law officer and judge of the early nineteenth century. He sat in the Irish House of Commons, served as Serjeant-at-law (Ireland) and was a justice of the

Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) The Court of Common Pleas was one of the principal courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror image of the equivalent court in England. Common Pleas was one of the four courts of justice which gave the Four Courts in Dublin, which is still ...

.Ball, F. Elrington ''"The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921"''. London. John Murray, 1926, p. 340. He was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, probably at

Fishamble Street Fishamble Street (; ) is a street in Dublin, Ireland within the old city walls. Location The street joins Wood Quay at the Fish Slip near Fyan's Castle. It originally ran from Castle Street to Essex Quay until the creation of Lord Edward Stre ...

, the fifth son of Thomas Johnson, an apothecary who in later life qualified as a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. Thomas was described as a "good, orthodox, hard-praying

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

", but who was rather self-conscious about his humble origins. William's eldest brother was

Robert Johnson (1745-1833) Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generat ...

, who had a very similar career to William, being an MP and a justice of the Court of Common Pleas. Robert's career was destroyed in 1805 when he was convicted of seditious libel and forced to resign from the Bench, for having written a number of pseudonymous letters attacking the Government (the so-called "Juverna" affair). Robert's disgrace adversely affected William's career, and he had to wait long years before his own elevation to the Bench.Ball, p. 257. The two brothers married sisters, Susan and Margaret Evans, daughters of John Evans of Dublin, and both had issue. William was educated at Trinity College Dublin, where he graduated Bachelor of Laws in 1784, and entered

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1782. He was called to the Irish Bar in 1784, and became

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1808.Hart, A.R. ''A History of the King's Serjeants-at-law in Ireland''. Dublin. Four Courts Press 2000, p. 173. He became Third Serjeant in 1813, Second Serjeant in 1814 and First Serjeant in 1816. His political career was brief: he entered the Commons as member for the borough of

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who built ...

in 1799, but his career in Parliament ended with the

Act of Union 1801 The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a single 'Act of Union 1801') were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irela ...

, which he actively supported. He was appointed a justice of the Court of Common Pleas in 1817, and served until 1841. It was generally agreed that his appointment would have come much sooner but for his brother's disgrace. He was a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

. Unlike most judges of the time he did not have a country "place", preferring to live entirely in Dublin city. He died at

Dun Laoghaire A dun is an ancient or medieval fort. In Ireland and Britain it is mainly a kind of hillfort and also a kind of Atlantic roundhouse. Etymology The term comes from Irish ''dún'' or Scottish Gaelic ''dùn'' (meaning "fort"), and is cognate ...

in 1845. He was regarded as a much abler lawyer than his brother, and was generally respected, although critics said that he could be arrogant, morose, coarse and bad-tempered. The statesman Henry Grattan, who knew the Johnson family well, wrote that while William had his faults, he had never forgotten William's great kindness to him when Grattan was seriously ill.Grattan ''Memoirs'' vol. 5.

Sources

*Ball, F. Elrington. ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' London John Murray 1926 *Hart, A.R. ''A History of the King's Serjeants-at-law in Ireland'' Dublin Four Courts Press 2000 *''Memoirs of the life and times of the Right Hon. Henry Grattan'' Vol. 5 1846 *Woods, C.J. "Johnson, Robert" ''Cambridge Dictionary of National Biography'' 2009

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, William Justices of the Irish Common Pleas Serjeants-at-law (Ireland) Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Royal Irish Academy Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Roscommon constituencies 1760 births 1845 deaths