Member of the Tennessee House, 21st and 22nd General Assemblies, 1835-39; representing Greene and Washington counties; SENATE, 24th General Assembly, 1841-43; representing Greene and Hawkins counties; Democrat, Unionist. Born in Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, on December 29, 1808; son of Jacob and Mary (McDonough) Johnson. Never attended school; apprenticed to a tailor at the age of ten; was taught to read and write by his wife. Removed to Greeneville, Greene County, about 1825; took up trade of tailoring; later public official, politican, and statesman. Married on May 17, 1827, to Eliza McCardle. Children — Martha (Mrs. David T. Patterson), Charles, Mary (Mrs. W. R. Bacon), Robert, and Andrew Johnson, Jr. Greeneville alderman, 1828; mayor of Greeneville, 1830-34; elected to the House of Representatives of the 28th through the 32nd Congress, serving from March 4, 1843 to March 3, 1853; governor of Tennessee, 1853-57. Elected to U.S. Senate and served from October 8, 1857 to March 4, 1862. Military governor of Tennessee with the rank of Brigadier General from March 4, 1862 until 1865. Elected Vice-President of the United States and served from March 4, 1865, until the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, April 15, 1865; President of the United States, April 15, 1865 to March 3, 1869. Again elected to the U. S. Senate and served from March 4, 1875, until his death. Other affiliations: organized Working Man’s Party in Greeneville, 1828; Mason in Greeneville Lodge #119; Knight Templar. Died in Elizabethton, Carter County, on July 31, 1875; buried in Andrew Johnson National Cemetery, Greeneville. His Greeneville home, his tailor shop, and his burial place constitute the Andrew Johnson National Monument. Father of Robert Johnson, sometime member Tennessee General Assembly.

Sources: Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1927, p.1151; Henry Geneology of the Families of the Presidents, 239; Temple, Notable Men of Tennessee, 357-61; Morristown Gazette, January 26, 1876; Andrew Johnson Genealogical File, Tennessee State Library.

Transcribed by Mildred Collins from published biographies of Tennessee Legislators, compiled and printed by the TN State Library & Archives.