Francis Johnson (June 19, 1776 – May 16, 1842) 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 ...

. Born in

Caroline County, Virginia Caroline County is a county (United States), United States county located in the eastern part of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The northern boundary of the county borders on the Rappahannock River, notably at the hist ...

, Johnson pursued preparatory studies. 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 ...

and practiced. He owned slaves. He moved to

Woodford County, Kentucky Woodford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,871. Its county seat is Versailles. The area was home to Pisgah Academy. Woodford County is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metro ...

, in 1796 and to Bowling Green in 1807. He served as member of the State house of representatives in 1812, 1813, and 1815. Johnson was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

to the Sixteenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of David Walker and reelected to the Seventeenth Congress. Johnson was elected as an Adams-Clay Republican to the Eighteenth Congress and as an Adams candidate to the Nineteenth Congress and served from November 13, 1820, to March 3, 1827. He served as chairman of the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads (Seventeenth and Eighteenth Congresses). He moved to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, in 1829 and resumed the practice of law. He served as Commonwealth attorney for the fifth district. He was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for Governor. He died in

, May 16, 1842. He was interred in the old family burial ground, later a municipal playground.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Francis 1776 births 1842 deaths People from Caroline County, Virginia Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives American slave owners People from Woodford County, Kentucky Politicians from Bowling Green, Kentucky Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky