JOHNSON, SIR WILLIAM British soldier and American pioneer, was born in Smithtown, Co. Meath, Ire land, the son of a country gentleman, Christopher Johnson. In 1737 he removed to America for the purpose of managing a tract of land in the Mohawk valley, N.Y., belonging to his uncle, Admiral Sir Peter Warren. He established himself on the south bank of the Mohawk, about 25m. W. of Schenectady, but before 1743 removed to the north bank where he had purchased a large tract of his own. His settlement prospered and a valuable trade was built up with the Indians. Fort Johnson with a store and mill was erected. His situation, together with his character, soon won for Johnson an immense influence over the Indians. He was adopted by the Mohawks and learned their language. In 1744 Governor George Clinton of New York appointed him superin tendent of the affairs of the Six Nations (Iroquois). In 1746 he was made commissary of the province for Indian affairs and was influential in enlisting and equipping the Six Nations for partici pation in the conflict with French Canada. Two years later he was placed in command of a line of outposts on the New York fron tier, but the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle interrupted the offensive operations he had planned. In May 1750, by royal appointment, he became a member for life of the governor's council. In he was one of the New York delegates to the Albany intercolonial Congress, where plans of union were discussed and a council held with the Indians. In 1755 he was commissioned a major general, in which capacity he directed the expedition against Crown Point, and in September defeated the Indians and French at the battle of Lake George. For this success he received the thanks of parliament and was created a baronet. Also in 1756 he was appointed sole agent and superintendent of the Six Nations and all other Indians inhabiting British territory north of the Carolinas and the Ohio river, a position which he held until his death. Johnson took part in Abercrombie's disastrous campaign
against Ticonderoga (1758), and in 1759 was second-in-command in Gen. Prideaux's expedition against Ft. Niagara, succeeding to the chief command on that officer's death and capturing the fort. In 1760 he was with Gen. Amherst at the capture of Montreal. As a reward for his services the king granted him ioo,0ooac. of land north of the Mohawk river, on which he built Johnson Hall (on the site of the present Johnstown) and lived in baronial style after the war. It was Johnson's influence that kept the Iroquois loyal and made them effective in the French and Indian War. It was his influence which kept them from joining Pontiac in his conspiracy in 1763. Again, Johnson was instrumental in arrang ing the treaty of Stanwix in 1768. His services for a period of 3o years, through successive crises, as the outstanding Indian diplo mat of the colonies, can hardly be over-estimated.
His son, SIR JOHN JOHNSON, who also served through the French and Indian War, succeeded to the baronetcy upon his father's death ; but during the Revolution he chose to remain on the British side and organized a loyalist regiment, whereupon the estates in the Mohawk valley were confiscated.