Josiah Stoddard Johnston (November 24, 1784May 19, 1833) was a

United States 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 ...

and Senator from

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. Born in

Salisbury, Connecticut Salisbury () is a town situated in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is the northwesternmost in the state of Connecticut; the Massachusetts-New York-Connecticut tri-state marker is located at the northwest corner of the town ...

, he moved with his father to

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 ...

in 1788, and went to Connecticut to attend primary school. He graduated from

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...

( Lexington, Kentucky) in 1802, studied law, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the prin ...

(then the

Territory of Orleans The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from October 1, 1804, until April 30, 1812, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Louisiana. History In 180 ...

). He was a member of the Territorial legislature from 1805 to 1812 and during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

raised and organized a regiment for the defense of New Orleans, but reached the city after the battle. He engaged in agricultural pursuits and was a State district judge from 1812 to 1821. Johnston was elected to the Seventeenth Congress, serving from March 4, 1821 to March 3, 1823; he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1822 to the Eighteenth Congress. In 1824 he was appointed to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James Brown; he elected to the Senate in 1825 and was reelected in 1831, serving from January 15, 1824, until his death, caused by an explosion on the steamboat '' Lioness'', on the Red River in Louisiana, May 19, 1833. While in the Senate he was chairman of the Committee on Commerce (Nineteenth Congress); interment was in Rapides Cemetery,

Pineville, Louisiana Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located across the Red River from the larger Alexandria. Pineville is hence part of the Alexandria Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,555 at the 2010 cens ...

Family

His half-brother,

Albert Sidney Johnston Albert Sidney Johnston (February 2, 1803 – April 6, 1862) served as a general in three different armies: the Texian Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army. He saw extensive combat during his 34-year military career, figh ...

, was a Confederate Army general during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. His son, J. Stoddard Johnston (1833–1913), a journalist and editor, also served during the War, eventually becoming Kentucky's Secretary of State.George Baber
Colonel J. Stoddard Johnston: A Great Kentuckian who was distinguished as a Soldier,Scholar and Journalis
Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Vol. 14, No. 40 (JANUARY, 1916), pp. 7, 9-13.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Josiah 1784 births 1833 deaths People from Salisbury, Connecticut United States senators from Louisiana American people of the War of 1812 Transylvania University alumni Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery Accidental deaths in Louisiana Deaths due to ship fires Louisiana National Republicans National Republican Party United States senators Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana 19th-century American politicians

Family

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