James Johnson

Who was James Johnson?

James Johnson was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky, brother of Richard Mentor Johnson and John Telemachus Johnson and uncle of Robert Ward Johnson.

Born in Orange County, Virginia, Johnson moved with his father to Kentucky in 1779. He pursued preparatory studies. He was a member of the State senate in 1808. He served as lieutenant colonel in the War of 1812. Contractor for furnishing supplies to troops on the western frontier in 1819 and 1820. He served as presidential elector on the ticket of Monroe and Tompkins in 1820.

Johnson was elected as a Jacksonian to the Nineteenth Congress and served from March 4, 1825, until his death in Washington, D.C., August 13, 1826. He was interred in the family cemetery, Great Crossings, Kentucky.