Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/470

436 nal was published by Alejambe in his " Mortes il- lustres" (Rome, 1667). His life has been written by Felix Martin (Paris, 1873 ; New York, 1885).

JOHNS, James Arnold McGilvray, author, b. in the island of Antigua, W. I., 19 Jan., 1830. His parents were Mandingo negroes. The son was graduated at Buxton Grove academy, and studied theology under Rt. Rev. George Wall Wes- terby, Moravian bishop of the West Indies. He went to Jamaica in 1861, by order of the Moravian bishops at Herrnhut, Germany, to act as director of the schools that were connected with Bethany Sta- tion, and also to be assistant pastor. By the same authority, he was sent to the island of St. Christo- pher to take charge of Bethel station. He came to the United States in 1879, was editor of the " West Indian Abroad " (1883-'4), and is author of " The Last Days of a Pirate," " Proverbial Philosophy of the Colored Race," " Climatology of the West In- dies," and other works.

JOHNS, Kensey, jurist, b. in Maryland, 14 June, 1759 ; d. in New Castle, Del., 21 Dec, 1848. He studied law with George Read, and after twelve years of practice was appointed associate judge of the supreme court of Delaware. In 1792 he was a member of the State constitutional convention, and in March, 1794, he was appointed U. S. sena- tor, to succeed George Read, resigned, but the senate on a technicality refused to admit him. In 1798, on the death of Mr. Read, he succeeded him as chief justice of Delaware, retaining the office for thirty years. In 1828 he became chancellor of the state, holding that post until the change of constitution in 1832. He was active in the coun- cils of the Protestant Episcopal church. — His son, Kensey, jurist, b. in New Castle, Del., 10 Dec, 1791 ; d. there, 28 March, 1857, was graduated at Princeton in 1810, studied law with his father, and was admitted to practice in 1813. He was a mem- ber of congress from Delaware from 1827 till 1831, and was then appointed chancellor of the state, succeeding his father in 1832, and holding the office until his death. Jefferson college, Pa., gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1846. — Another son, John, P. E. bishop, b. in New Castle, Del., 10 July, 1796; d. in Fairfax county, Va., 6 April, 1876, was graduated at Princeton in 1815, studied theol- ogy, and was ordained priest in 1820. After hav- ing charge of two parishes, he was elected assist- ant bishop of Virginia and was consecrated, 13 Oct., 1842. In 1862 he became the successor of Bishop Meade. He was also president of William and Mary college from 1849 till 1854. In 1834 he received the degree of S. T. D. from Princeton, Columbia, and the University of New York, while William and Mary conferred on him that of LL. D. in 1855. Dr. Johns published a " Memorial of Bishop Meade " (Baltimore, 1857).

JOHNSON, Alexander Bryan, author, b. in Gosport, England, 29 May, 1786 ; d. in Utica, N. Y., 9 Sept., 1867. He removed to the United States in 1801, settled in Utica, N. Y., was admitted to the bar, but did not practise, and engaged in bank- ing for more than forty-five years. He published, besides numerous lectures and addresses, "The Nature of Value, Capital, etc." (New York, 1813) ; " The Philosophy of Human Knowledge " (1828) ; " Treatise on Language " (1836) ; " Religion in Re- lation to the Present Life " (1840) ; " The Meaning of Words Analyzed " (1854) ; " Physiology of the Senses " (1856) ; " An Encyclopedia of Instruction " (1857); and a "Guide to Right Understanding of our American Union " (1857).

JOHNSON, Alexander Smith, jurist, b. in Utica, N. Y., 30 July, 1817; d. in Nassau, New Providence, 26 Jan., 1878. He was graduated at Yale in 1835, studied law, and began practice in New York city. In 1846 he was elected a judge of the New York court of appeals, and served till 1860, when he went to Utica and resumed practice in that city. In 1864 he was appointed U. S. com- missioner for the settlement of the claims of the Hudson bay and Puget sound companies, Great Britain being represented by John Rose, of Cana- da. Warm praise was awarded Judge Johnson in both England and Canada for the sagacity that he displayed in the peaceful settlement of these diffi- culties, which at one time threatened serious re- sults. During his term as commissioner he was regent of the University of the state of New York. In 1873 he succeeded Judge Ward Hunt as com- missioner of the court of appeals, and he was U. S. judge of the 2d judicial district from this year until his death. Hamilton college gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1859.

JOHNSON, Andrew, seventeenth president of the United States, b. in Raleigh, N. C, 29 Dec, 1808; d. near Carter's Station, Tenn., 31 July, 1875. His parents were very poor, and when he was four years old his father died of. injuries received in saving another from drowning. At the age of ten Andrew was apprenticed to a tailor. A natural craving to learn was fostered by hearing a gentleman read from "The American Speaker." The boy was taught the alphabet by fellow-workmen, borrowed the book and learned to read. In 1824 he removed to Laurens Court-House, S. C., where he worked as a journeyman tailor. The illustration on page 437 represents the small shop in which he pursued the calling that is announced on the sign over the door. In May, 1826, he returned to Raleigh, and in September, with his mother and step-father, he set out in a two-wheeled cart, drawn by a blind pony, for Greenville, Tenn. Here he married Eliza McCardle, a woman of refinement, who taught him to write, and read to him while he was at work during the day. It was not until he had been in congress that he learned to write with ease. From Greenville he went to the west, but returned after the lapse of a year. In those days Tennessee was controlled by landholders, whose interests were fostered by the state constitution, and Greenville was ruled by what was called an " aristocratic coterie of the quality." Johnson resisted their supremacy, and made himself a leader of the opposition. In 1828 he was elected alderman, in 1829 and 1830 was re-elected, and in 1830 was advanced to the mayoralty, which office he held for three years. In 1831 the county court appointed him a trustee of Rhea academy, and about this time he took part in the debates of a society at Greenville college. In 1834 he advocated the adoption of the new state constitution, by which the influence of the large landholders was abridged. In 1835 he represented Greene and Washington counties in the legislature. He resisted the popular mania for internal improvements, which caused his defeat in 1837, but the reaction justified his foresight, strengthened his influence, and restored his popularity. In 1839 he was returned. In 1836 he supported Hugh L. White for the presidency, and was a Bell man in the warm personal and political altercations between John Bell and James K. Polk, which distracted Tennessee at this time. Johnson was the only ardent follower of Bell that failed to go over to the Whig party. In 1840 he was an elector for the state-at-large on Van Buren's ticket, and made a state reputation by the force of his oratory. In 1841 he was elected