Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 06.djvu/133

 JOHNSON

JOHNSON

married, Feb. 16, 1766, to Anne, daughter of Judge Tliomas Jolmson, of Annapolis, Md. He was a member of the committee of correspond- ence, a member of the council of safety, drew up an address to the king, October, 1774, and it was through his influence that the deputies from Mary- land in congress were in- structed, Jan. 28, 1776, to declare their independence of Great Britain. He be- came interested in the scheme for improving the naviga- tion of the Potomac river in 1774 and he founded the Potomac companj\ He was a member of the Annapolis conven- tion, June, 1774; a delegate from Maryland to the Continental congress by repeated elections, 1774-77, and nominated George Washington for coramandei'-in-chief of all the continental forces raised or to be raised for the defence of Amer- ican liberty, June 15, 1775. He was elected senior brigadier-general of the provincial forces, Jan. 5,

1776, and organized and personally led the " Fly- ing Camp."' a company of 1800 militia-men, to General "Washington's relief during liis retreat through New Jersey. He was constrained to withdraw from the army by petition of the con- vention of Maryland, Nov. 10, 1776, that lie might continue to represent the province in con- gress. When the Declaration of Independence was adopted, July 4, 1776, he was present and voted for the measure, but on Aug. 2, 1776, when the instrument was signed he was absent on account of illness in his family, and his name does not appear on the document. He was elected the first governor of Maryland, Feb. 13,

1777, serving two years, wlien he retii-ed from public life. He was appointed by President Washington associate justice of the U.S. su- preme court, in place of John Rutledge, resigned, and he discharged the duties, 1791-93, when he resigned. He declined the cabinet position of secretary of state, offered by President Wash- ington, Aug. 24, 1795. He was appointed a com- missioner to lay out the streets of Washington, D.C., and to select the sites of the capitol. Pres- ident's house, and other public buildings. He died at Rose Hill, Md., Oct. 26, 1819.

JOHNSON, Thomas Cary, educator, was born at Fishbok Hill, Monroe county, Va., July 19, 1859; son of Thomas and Alinerva (Hinchman) John- son; grandson of Barnabas and Sarah (Thomas) Johnson and of William and Marj- (Simms) Hinchman, and a descendant of Scotch, Irish, Huguenot, Dutch and English ancestors. He was graduated from Hampden-Sidney college, Va., in 1881, took diplomas in Latin. Greek and mathematics at the University of Virginia, 1883-

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84, graduated from Union Theological seminary, Va., in 1887, and was a special student at the Yale Divinity school, 1887-88. He was licensed by the presbytery of Greenbrier, W. Va.. in May, 1887; was professor of Greek and Hebrew- exegesis at Austin Theological school, Texas, 1888-90, and was also assistant professor of mental and moral philosopliy at the University of Texas during those 3ears. He was or- dained by the pres- bytery of Central Texas in August, 1890, and was a stat- ed supi^ly and pastor- elect of the 3d Pres- byterian church at Louisville, Ky., 1890- 91. He was professor of English Bible and pastoral theology at Union Theological seminary, Virginia, 1891-92, and became professor of eccle- siastical historj' and polity there in 1892. He was elected a member of the American Histor- ical association. He received from Hampden- Sidney college the degree of D.D. in 1891, and that of LL.D. in 1899. He is the author of: A History of the Southern Presbyterian Church (1894, in Vol. XL of the American Church History Series); Alleged Differences Between the Northern and Southern Presbyterian Churches (1894); Ministerial Training (1896-97); A Brief Sketch of the United Synod of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (1897); The Mode of Baptism in the Apostolic Age (1899); John Calvin and the Genevan Reformation: A Sketch (1899). He also edited the collected writ- ings of the Rev. Dr. Thomas E. Peck, and con- tributed numerous articles to periodicals and newspapers.

JOHNSON, Tom Loftin, representative, was born in Georgetown, Ky., July 18, 1854; son of Albert W. and Helen (Loftin) Johnson. After attending the public schools of Georgetown, he found employment in a rolling mill, and subse- quently entered a railroad office, wjiere lie was rapidly advanced to the position of secretary. In 1872 he invented an improvement in steel rails, afterward known as " Johnson's steel car rail."' He removed to Cleveland, Ohio, where he ob- tained a charter to conduct a street railwaj', which became one of the best paying roads in the country. He removed to Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1896, where he was interested in the Brooklyn street railways, and introduced the free transfer system. He obtained control of large rolling