Lyman E. Johnson

Who was Lyman E. Johnson?

Lyman Eugene Johnson was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement and an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He broke with Joseph Smith, Jr. and Sidney Rigdon during the 1837–38 period when schism divided the early Church. Johnson later became a successful pioneer lawyer in Iowa and was one of the town fathers of Keokuk, Iowa.

Johnson was born in Pomfret, Windsor County, Vermont in 1811 to John Johnson, Sr., and Alice "Elsa" Johnson. The family moved to Hiram, Ohio in 1818, where they established the John Johnson Farm, a successful 300-acre farm.

Johnson died in 1859, drowning in the Mississippi River in a boating accident at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. He had four children.