CV.
CV. JOSEPH JOHNSON.
CV. Governor.
CV. January 1, 1852, to January 1, 1856.
In reviewing the career of Joseph Johnson, the triumph
of natural ability and lofty character over the inauspicious
circumstances of his early life is very striking. He was born
in New York, but moved with his family to Harrison County,
Virginia, at the age of fifteen years. Here he was the support
of his widowed mother and younger brother, with no
advantages for learning other than his own self-help. Gradually
his industry and probity won their way, and he became
first, employee, then manager, and finally the son-in-law of a
respectable farmer in the neighborhood where he lived. In
the end he purchased the estate of his former patron, and the
place continued to be his home until the close of his life.
Mr. Johnson was eminently a self-made man, and his
education, the result of solitary study by night and a continuous
application of his powers in the search for knowledge.
In a debating society which he originated in a village
near his home, he developed ability as a thinker and a speaker,
but it was as the Captain of a Rifle Company (when the
Atlantic sea-board was threatened in 1814, and he with his
command were ordered to Norfolk) that he first came into
public notice. From this time on, Mr. Johnson's long and
active life was replete with gathering honors and usefulness.
In 1818 he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates,
and again in 1822, declining re-election at the expiration of
this last term. In 1823, he was sent to Congress, and in
1845, was elected to that body for the seventh time. At the
close of the 29th Congress, in 1847, Mr. Johnson issued an
address to his constituents, thanking them for their past confidence,
and expressing his wish to retire permanently from
public life. But the people could not spare him yet, and he
was returned to the House of Delegates, where he served in
the session of 1847-48. In 1850 he was elected a member of
the State Constitutional Convention, and whilst a member of
that body was chosen by the Legislature, Governor of Virginia,
under the provisions of the then existing Constitution.
In the fall of 1851, the Constitution which he had helped to
frame was adopted, and under its articles Mr. Johnson, who
had been nominated by the Democratic party, was elected
Governor, by the popular vote, for the term of four years from
January 1, 1852. This was the first election of a Governor
of Virginia by the votes of the people.
Governor Johnson's administration was popular and successful,
his attention being specially directed to the internal
development of the state, and to the establishment of a general
railroad system throughout Virginia. He justly regarded
this latter method as the promptest and most efficient means
to vitalize the abundant resources of the Old Dominion.
Upon the expiration of his gubernatorial term, Governor
Johnson finally retired to private life, enjoying in the evening
of his days, the comforts of a happy home enlivened by his
family and friends.
When the period of the late war between the States drew
on, Mr. Johnson was called upon to give his views to his fellow-citizens.
This he did. Always loving the Union, he
had counselled moderation and patience, but when the issue
came, he advised his people to stand by their section.
Governor Johnson died in the 92d year of his age, on
February 27, 1877, regretted as a man whose talents, firmness
of character, and unsullied integrity had won in no common
measure the esteem of his fellowmen. The day after his death
a public meeting was held at Clarksburg, West Virginia, to
give expression to the universal sorrow at his loss, to speak
in glowing terms of his many virtues, and to tell of his private
and public worth.
