Thomas Johnson

Thomas Johnson (1732-1819) was an American jurist with a distinguished political career. He was the first elected Governor of Maryland, a delegate to the Continental Congress and an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Thomas Johnson (governor) by Charles Willson Peale circa 1772 in the Maryland State Archives, on display at Government House, Annapolis This image is in the public domain in the United States and possibly other jurisdictions. ... Thomas Johnson (governor) by Charles Willson Peale circa 1772 in the Maryland State Archives, on display at Government House, Annapolis This image is in the public domain in the United States and possibly other jurisdictions. ... Events February 23 - First performance of Handels Orlando, in London June 9 - James Oglethorpe is granted a royal charter for the colony of Georgia. ... 1819 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Robert L. Ehrlich, the 60th and current Governor of Maryland. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Continental Congress was the legislature of the Thirteen Colonies and later of the United States from 1774 to 1789, a period that included the American Revolutionary War and the Articles of Confederation. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States...

Background

Johnson was born in Calvert County, Maryland on November 4, 1732, the son of Thomas and Dorcas Sedgwick Johnson. His grandfather, also named Thomas, was a lawyer in London who emigrated to Maryland sometime before 1700. He was the fourth of ten children, some of whom also had large families. (His brother Joshua's daughter Louisa Johnson married John Quincy Adams.) Calvert County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. ... Jump to: navigation, search November 4 is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 57 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search The clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, which contains Big Ben London is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... White House portrait Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams (1775 - 1852), wife of John Quincy Adams, was First Lady of the United States from 1825 to 1829. ... Jump to: navigation, search John Quincy Adams (July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth (1825-1829) President of the United States. ...

The family, including Thomas, were educated at home. The young man was attracted to the law, studied it, and was admitted to the Maryland bar in 1753. By 1760, he had moved his practice to Frederick County, Maryland. He was also elected for the first time to the provincial assembly in 1761. This Thomas Johnson married Ann Jennings, the daughter of an Annapolis judge on February 16, 1766. The couple had four children: Ann, Rebecca, Dorcas, and Joshua. Location in the state of Maryland Formed 1748 Seat Frederick Area  - Total  - Water 1,728 km² (667 mi²) 12 km² (4 mi²) of it is water 0. ... Jump to: navigation, search Nickname: Americas Sailing Capital , Naptown Founded Incorporated 1649 1708  County Anne Arundel County Mayor Ellen O. Moyer (Dem) Area  - Total  - Water 19. ...

Revolutionary years

In 1774 and 1775 the Maryland assembly sent him as a delegate to the Continental Congress. In the Congress he was firmly in the camp of those who favored separation from Great Britain. It was his voice that nominated George Washington to be the head of the Continental Army in June of 1775. Jump to: navigation, search The Continental Congress was the legislature of the Thirteen Colonies and later of the United States from 1774 to 1789, a period that included the American Revolutionary War and the Articles of Confederation. ... Jump to: navigation, search George Washington (February 22, 1732–December 14, 1799) was an American planter, political figure, the highest ranking military leader in U.S. history and first President of the United States. ...

He returned to Maryland and continued his work in the Assembly so he didn't have a chance to join in the United States Declaration of Independence. But, in 1775 he did draft a declaration of rights adopted by the Maryland assembly. The declaration was later included as the first part of the state's first constitution, which was adopted for Maryland by the state's constitutional convention at Annapolis in 1776. He also began his service as Brigadier General in charge of militia units in Maryland. Besides his political activities, he supported the revolution by manufacturing rifles. The remains of his factory is just outside of Frederick, Maryland. U.S. Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence is a document in which the Thirteen Colonies declared themselves independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain and explained their justifications for doing so. ... Thomas Johnson, who was a delegate to the Maryland Constitutional Convention of 1776 and was later elected as the first Governor of Maryland under the 1776 constitution. ... Jump to: navigation, search Location in Maryland Founded Incorporated 1745   County Frederick County Mayor Jennifer Dougherty Area  - Total  - Water 59. ...

As Maryland began to exercise its newly declared autonomy, the state legislature elected Thomas as the state's first Governor in 1777. He served as in that capacity until 1779. In the 1780s he held a number of judicial posts in Maryland, and served in the assembly in 1780, 1786, and 1787. In 1785 he was one of the commissioners from Maryland and Virginia that met at Mount Vernon to agree on jurisdiction and navigation rules for the Potomac River. He attended the Maryland Convention in 1788, where he successfully urged the ratification of the United States Constitution. Jump to: navigation, search Events and Trends 1787 United States Constitution 1788 Great Britain established the prison colony of New South Wales in Australia. ... Mount Vernon is the name of several places around the world. ... The Potomac River at Great Falls, MD from Olmstead Island, water relatively low The Potomac River flows into Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States (USA). ... Jump to: navigation, search Page I of the Constitution of the United States of America Page II of the United States Constitution Page III of the United States Constitution Page IV of the United States Constitution The Syng inkstand, with which the Constitution was signed The Constitution of the United...

Federal years

In September of 1789, President Washington nominated him to be the first federal judge for the district of Maryland, but he declined to take the state bench. In 1790 and 1791 he was the senior justice in the Maryland General Court system. Then in 1791 Washingon appointed him to the U.S. Supreme Court after John Rutledge resigned. He was the author of the Court's first written opinion, Georgia v. Brailsford, in 1792. He served on the court until February of 1793 when he resigned due to poor health. His health also made him decline Washington's 1795 offer to make him Secretary of State, an office that Thomas Jefferson recommended him for. 1791 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... John Rutledge John Rutledge (September 1739-July 18, 1800) was Governor of South Carolina, delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and served on the U.S. Supreme Court (Chief Justice from August to December 1795). ... Jump to: navigation, search The Seal of the United States Department of State The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. ... Jump to: navigation, search Thomas Jefferson (April 13 (April 2 O.S.), 1743 – July 4, 1826) was the third (1801–1809) President of the United States, second (1797–1801) Vice President, first (1789–1795) United States Secretary of State, and an American statesman, ambassador to France, political philosopher, revolutionary, agriculturalist...

On February 28, 1801 President Adams named him chief judge for the Territory or the District of Columbia. As such he was a member of the board of Commissioners for the new federal city, which he suggested be named Washington. Jump to: navigation, search John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was the first (1789–1797) Vice President of the United States, and the second (1797–1801) President of the United States. ... This article is in the process of being merged into Washington, DC#Geography, and may be outdated. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United...

Later life

His daughter Ann had married John Colin Grahame in 1788, and in his later years he lived with them in a home they had built in Frederick, Maryland. The home, called Rose Hill Manor, is now a county park, and is open to the public (a high school with his namesake is on half of the Rose Hill property). Thomas was in very poor health for many years. He did deliver a eulogy for his friend George Washington at a birthday memorial service on February 22, 1800. He died at Rose Hill on October 26, 1819 and is buried at the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick. Jump to: navigation, search Location in Maryland Founded Incorporated 1745   County Frederick County Mayor Jennifer Dougherty Area  - Total  - Water 59. ... Jump to: navigation, search February 22 is the 53rd day of every year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search October 26 is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 66 days remaining. ...

The Jay Court
1792–1793:	J. Wilson | Wm. Cushing | J. Blair | J. Iredell | Th. Johnson

Robert L. Ehrlich, the 60th and current Governor of Maryland. ... 1777 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1779 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Thomas Sim Lee (October 29, 1745–November 9, 1819) was an American planter and statesman of Frederick County, Maryland. ... John Rutledge John Rutledge (September 1739-July 18, 1800) was Governor of South Carolina, delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and served on the U.S. Supreme Court (Chief Justice from August to December 1795). ... Jump to: navigation, search In order to become a Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States, an individual must be nominated by the President of the United States and approved by the U.S. Senate, with at least half of that body approving in the affirmative. ... Jump to: navigation, search August 6 is the 218th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (219th in leap years), with 147 days remaining. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... January 16 is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1793 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... William Paterson (December 24, 1745–September 9, 1806) was a New Jersey statesman and signer of the United States Constitution. ... John Jay, first Chief Justice of the United States Oil painting by Gilbert Stuart, 1794 John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat and jurist. ... Jump to: navigation, search Image File history File links Seal_of_the_United_States_Supreme_Court. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1793 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... James Wilson (September 14, 1742–August 21, 1798), a complex and contradictory man, has been largely lost to history. ... William Cushing (March 1, 1732–September 13, 1810) was an early associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, from its inception to his death. ... John Blair (1732–August 31, 1800) was an American politician, Founding Father, and Patriot. ... Jump to: navigation, search James Iredell, one of the original six justices on the U.S. Supreme Court James Iredell (October 5, 1751 – October 20, 1799) was one of the original Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. ...

External links

• Johnson's Congressional Biography
• Rose Hill Manor Park web pages
• Maryland archives image of 1776 Declaration of Rights

Further reading

• Edward Delaplaine; The Life of Thomas Johnson: Member of the Continental Congress, First Governor of Maryland, and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court; 1998 paperback edition: Heritage Books, ISBN 1585496871.