John Johnson (loyalist)

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For other men with the same name, see John Johnson (disambiguation).

Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet (5 November 1741 – 4 January 1830) was a loyalist leader during the American Revolution. He was the son of the Superintendent of Indian Affairs Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet, who had promoted the British settlement of the Mohawk Valley and founded the community of Johnstown in Tryon County in the Province of New York.

Sir John Johnson

In 1774, John Johnson inherited his father's title and estates, making him a wealthy landowner. When the American Revolutionary War erupted in 1775, Sir John's loyalty to the King cost him his home in Johnstown and extensive property in the Mohawk Valley. He and his family were arrested early in the war, but he broke parole and fled to Canada. He led a large group of his tenants and allies among the Iroquois Confederacy to Montreal, Quebec. He and his followers formed the core of the British military regiment known as the King's Royal Regiment of New York, which saw substantial action under his command throughout the war. Johnson was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in 1782.

In 1783 when the Treaty of Paris was signed, establishing the independence of the American Colonies, Johnson and thousands of other loyalists found themselves in permanent exile in Canada. In 1784, Johnson was assigned by the British government to distribute crown lands along the St. Lawrence River and the north shore of Lake Ontario to the loyalists who had come to Canada during the Revolution and to help them settle on these lands. Johnson estimated that he had arranged the settlement of 3,776 loyalists during that year. In 1796, he moved back to Montreal and served in the Legislative Council of Lower Canada and as head of the Indian Department for Lower Canada. He held extensive land holdings in Upper and Lower Canada, including the seigneuries of Monnoir and Argenteuil.

Johnson married Mary Watts (daughter of John Watts of New York) on 30 June 1773 and the couple had eight sons, all of whom served in the British army and navy, and three daughters. He died in Montreal in 1830 and was succeeded by his eldest son, William. His last surviving child, an unmarried daughter, died in London on 1 January 1868.

The Sir John Johnson House in Williamstown was declared a Canadian National Historic Site.

[edit] Family Tree

Johnson Baronets of New York (incomplete)

  Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet, c.1715-1774.
 +Catherine Weisenberg
  |
  | 
  Sir John Johnson, 1741-January 1830; 2nd Baronet
 =Mary Watts of New York (m. 30 June 1773)
  |
  |________________________________________________________________________
  |               |                     |        |  |   |  |     |   |   | 
  |               |                     |        |  |   |  |     |   |   |
  William         Sir Abaci, 3rd Bart.  Adam   & 4 other sons  & 3 daughters
 =Susan de Lancey  d.1843              =?
   no issue?                            |
                                        |
                                        |
  Sir William George Johnson, 4th Baronet; alive 1887.
 =?
  |
  |
  5th Baronet
 =?
  |
  |
  Sir John Paley Johnson, 1907-76; 6th Baronet
 =Carol Haas (m.1929)  =Jasmine Bligh (m.1940)  =Rosemary Cohen (m.1949)
  |
  |
  Sir Peter Colpoys Paley Johnson, 1930-2003; 7th Baronet 
 =Clare Bruce (m.1956)                    = Caroline Hodsoll (m.1973)
  |                                         |
  |_________________________________        | 
  |                            |   |        a second son 
  |                            |   |
  Sir Guy (Colpys Guy Johnson  & two daughters           
  b.1965, 8th Baronet of New York.
 =Lady Johnson
  |
  |
  issue