Johnson, John H.

Born: 1808-02-05 Newark, New Jersey

Died: 1886-XX-XX Springfield, Illinois

Flourished: Springfield, Illinois

Johnson received his education in his native state, and eventually moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he worked in a bookbindery and publishing house. He moved to Illinois in the 1830s, and in 1837, entered into a partnership with Caleb Birchall. Birchall & Johnson was a bookbindery and bookstore. In 1839, Birchall & Johnson moved their business to Springfield, Illinois. In October 1839, Johnson married Mary Davis, with whom he had six children. Birchall & Johnson continued until 1841, when John S. Bradford bought out the interest of Birchall and the firm became Johnson & Bradford. This enterprise continued for twenty-five years. The business thrived, and by 1860, Johnson owned $10,000 in real estate and had a personal estate of $6,000. In 1870, he owned $45,000 in real property and had a personal estate of $1,500. Johnson was an active member and deacon of the Second Presbyterian Church of Springfield.

Gravestone, Block 10, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, IL; Finding Aid, C. Birchall (Firm), (Springfield, IL) Records, 1796-1860, Manuscript Division, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, Springfield, IL; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Sangamon County, 9 October 1839, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Springfield, Sangamon County, IL, 145; U.S. Census Office, Ninth Census of the United States (1870), Springfield, Sangamon County, IL, 237; Joseph Wallace, Past and Present of the City of Springfield and Sangamon County Illinois (Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1904), 390-91.