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The William Johnson story, we have come to know, begins with his arrival in Boston 1737. These pages will develop into the story of the Johnson family and associates through articles, biographies, opinion, family papers, and web links throughout North America. We welcome your feedback and help, with our understanding of this influential and complex family that helped shape the Northeastern America we live in today. If you know of a historically accurate website or resource, that we could include on these pages, please contact us at webmaster@oldfortjohnson. Thank you for your interest and we hope you are able to visit the fort this coming season. |
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Sir WILLIAM JOHNSON |
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| Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography 1887 Earlyamerica article of Johnson-Indian Superintendent by Paul Redmond Drew. Also visit earlyamerica.com for movies and reviews |
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| Rootsweb article of William Johnson A great site with several bios and links (some outdated) A new book is in the works by Paul Keesler. It is all about the Mohawk Valley and here is a link to a Chapter on Sir William. The Relation of Sir William Johnson to Education |
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| GUY JOHNSON Guy Johnson was Sir William Johnson’s nephew and like Sir William he was born and raised in County Meath, Ireland. He arrived in America in 1756, aged 16, entering at Boston and it is assumed he immediately sought out his already successful uncle. Sir William had him commissioned as a lieutenant in a New York regiment and in 1761 took him along on a diplomatic excursion to Detroit. Apparently Guy was being groomed for  Indian Department service and he was eventually appointed Secretary of Indian Affairs.In 1763 he married Sir William’s daughter Mary (ne Polly). For this fortunate new couple Sir William built a wooden mansion called Guy Park, which was struck by lightening and burned in June, 1773. With it went what is believed to have been the Johnson family’s primary collection of maps, Guys many drawings, papers related to land grants and his fine library. Guy and Polly did not have long to enjoy the rebuilt stone mansion, Guy Park Manor, still standing beside the Mohawk River in Amsterdam, because he and his family and two hundred loyalist followers left the valley for Canada in June of 1775. Guy had been appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs upon the death of Sir William in 1774 and he retained this position until replaced by Sir John Johnson in 1782. At the conclusion of the war Guy and family returned to London where he died on March 5th, 1788. One of the small drawings done by Guy that survived the fire in 1773 was a rendering in 1758 of Fort Johnson and its various outbuildings. This was drawn to accompany an article on Sir William in London’s Gentleman’s Magazine, and may be observed while visiting Fort Johnson. |
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| Rootsweb article of John Johnson A great site with several bios and links (some outdated) |
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| Canada Heirloom Series See volume 3 for mention of the Johnsons. A fantastic site on the history of Canada, from Native Peoples to Wayfarers to Visionaries! |
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Guy's Sketch of Fort Johnson estate  Guy Park Manor, Amsterdam NY |
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| Christian Daniel Claus page, courtesy of Claus' Rangers | ||||||||||||
| JOSEPH BRANT It is generally believed that Joseph Brant was born in 1742. Exactly when and how he came to the atte  ntion of Sir William Johnson is unknown, but Johnson did send Brant to Wheelock’s school for Indians in Lebanon, Connecticut. Brant is also supposed to have been with Johnson at the Battle of Lake George, at which time he would have been thirteen. The fact that he was the younger brother of Molly Brant, Sir William’s consort, kept him constantly in the forefront of Johnson’s activities.When Johnson died in 1774, Joseph Brant was 32 years old. Guy Johnson assumed the Superintendency and appointed Joseph his personal secretary. Brant no doubt believed that the interests of his people would be best served by the suppression of the Revolution. He took a leading role in many raids and frontier battles, working with both Sir John Johnson and Col. John Butler and their respective corps, but always his first concern was to act as an Indian nationalist: whatever he believed was best for his own people governed his actions. While in England with Guy Johnson, Brant obtained a captain’s commission in the British Army. He was an active participant in the Battle of Oriskany in 1777 and received much of the blame, perhaps erroneously, for the conduct of the Indians at the so-called “Cherry Valley Massacre” in 1778. At the conclusion of the war, Brant was shocked to discover that Indian interests were virtually ignored in the peace settlement. Lobbying heavily for Indian interests in the company of his sister Molly and other prominent Indian war leaders, Brant helped convince the British government to set aside decent land for the Iroquois tribes to resettle on and became an active spokesperson for Indian interests during the remainder of his lifetime. He died in 1807, being sixty-five years of age. |
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| Joseph Brant link at the Museums of Burlington (Our thanks to Marrianne!) |
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| Another Joseph Brant page at theoldwestwebride.com with a really nice design. | ||||||||||||
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Go to Page 2 for Sir John and Molly Brant
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