He was born into slavery but his owner, also named William Johnson and thought to be his father, emancipated him in 1820. His mother, Amy, had been freed in 1814 and his sister Adelia in 1818. Johnson trained with his brother-in-law James Miller as a barber, and began working in Port Gibson, Mississippi. He returned to Natchez, becoming a successful entrepreneur with a barbershop, bath house, bookstore, and land holdings. Though a former slave, William Johnson went on to own sixteen slaves himself.[1] He began a diary in 1835, which he continued through the remainder of his life. Also in 1835, he married Ann Battle, a free woman of color with a similar background to his, and they had eleven children. Johnson loaned money to many people, including the governor of Mississippi who had signed his emancipation papers.
Johnson was murdered in 1851 after an adjudicated boundary dispute, by a mixed-race neighbor named Baylor Winn, in front of his son, a free black apprentice, and a slave.[1] Winn was held in prison for two years and brought to trial twice; Johnson was such a well-respected businessman that the outrage over his murder caused the trial to be held in a neighboring town. In that town no one knew Winn, so they didn't know that he was half-black. Since Mississippi law forbade blacks from testifying against whites in criminal cases, Winn's defense was that he was half-white and half-Native American, making him white by law. The defense worked, none of the (black) witnesses could testify, and Winn escaped conviction.[1]
Johnson's diary was rediscovered in 1938 and published in 1951. It reveals much of the daily life of a 19th-century Mississippi businessman, including the fact that he was himself later a slaveholder. His papers are archived at Louisiana State University.
Salvatore, Nick. William Johnson's Natchez: The ante-bellum diary of a free Negro. -book reviews. African American Review. Winter, 1995.
February 15, 2024
william, johnson, barber, other, people, named, william, johnson, william, johnson, disambiguation, william, johnson, 1809, june, 1851, free, african, american, barber, biracial, parentage, lived, natchez, mississippi, william, johnson, house, museum, natchez,. For other people named William Johnson see William Johnson disambiguation William T Johnson 1809 June 17 1851 was a free African American barber of biracial parentage who lived in Natchez Mississippi William Johnson House Museum at Natchez National Historical Park in Natchez Mississippi He was born into slavery but his owner also named William Johnson and thought to be his father emancipated him in 1820 His mother Amy had been freed in 1814 and his sister Adelia in 1818 Johnson trained with his brother in law James Miller as a barber and began working in Port Gibson Mississippi He returned to Natchez becoming a successful entrepreneur with a barbershop bath house bookstore and land holdings Though a former slave William Johnson went on to own sixteen slaves himself 1 He began a diary in 1835 which he continued through the remainder of his life Also in 1835 he married Ann Battle a free woman of color with a similar background to his and they had eleven children Johnson loaned money to many people including the governor of Mississippi who had signed his emancipation papers Johnson was murdered in 1851 after an adjudicated boundary dispute by a mixed race neighbor named Baylor Winn in front of his son a free black apprentice and a slave 1 Winn was held in prison for two years and brought to trial twice Johnson was such a well respected businessman that the outrage over his murder caused the trial to be held in a neighboring town In that town no one knew Winn so they didn t know that he was half black Since Mississippi law forbade blacks from testifying against whites in criminal cases Winn s defense was that he was half white and half Native American making him white by law The defense worked none of the black witnesses could testify and Winn escaped conviction 1 Johnson s diary was rediscovered in 1938 and published in 1951 It reveals much of the daily life of a 19th century Mississippi businessman including the fact that he was himself later a slaveholder His papers are archived at Louisiana State University Through an act of Congress the home of William Johnson became a part of the Natchez National Historical Park in 1990 References edit a b c Van Cleave Timothy The Barber of Natchez National Park Service Retrieved 2015 03 30 Davis Edwin Adams and William Ransom Hogan The Barber of Natchez Baton Rouge Louisiana State University Press 1973 Salvatore Nick William Johnson s Natchez The ante bellum diary of a free Negro book reviews African American Review Winter 1995 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Johnson barber amp oldid 1186762904, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
