USA > Maryland > Biographical sketches of distinguished Marylanders > Part 5
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The sentiments of Kentucky are not yet known here. Inde- pendent of these, the parties in this State, from the known or presumed opinions of the members, are pretty equally balanced. The one in favour of the Constitution preponderates at present ; but a little matter cast into the opposite scale may make it the heaviest.
If in suggesting these hints I have exceeded the proper limit, I shall yet hope to be excused. I have but one public wish re- maining. It is, that in peace and retirement I may see this country rescued from the danger that is perding, and rise in respectability, maugre the intrigues of its public and private enemies. I am, with very great esteem and regard, etc."
Eight days after the date of this letter the Constitu- tion was ratified by Maryland by a vote of sixty-three to eleven, and the certificate was signed by the members of the Convention on the 28th of April, 1758.
The force of Governor Johnson's influence is thus shown in dealing with a State so slow to yield as Mary- land.
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THOMAS JOHNSON.
As Governor Johnson had nominated Washington to be Commander-in-Chief of all the Continental armies, he was amongst the first who named him as the first President of the United States. In a letter to George Washington on the subject, dated October the 10th, 1788, he says: " We cannot, Sir, do without you, and I and thousands more can explain to anybody but your- self why we cannot do without you."
As Washington had not relied in vain upon Johnson in the fiery days of war, now that peace was come he sought his aid as of yore.
In 1789 he tendered him the office of United States District Judge. The following is the President's letter on the subject :
NEW YORK, September 28th, 1789.
DEAR SIR :- In assenting to the opinion that due administra- tion of justice is the strongest cement of good government, you will also agree with me that the first organization of the judicial department is essential to the happiness of our country, and to the stability of our political system. Hence the selection of the fittest characters to expound the laws and dispense justice, has been an invariable object of my concern. Consulting your domestic inclinations, and the state of your health, I yielded on a recent occasion, persuaded by your friends that you would not be prevailed on to leave your State to mingle in the administra- tion of public affairs. But I found it impossible in selecting a character to preside in the District Court to refuse the public wish and the conviction of my own mind, the necessity of nominating you to that office, and I cannot but flatter myself that the same reasons which have led you to former sacrafices in the public service will now operate to induce your accept- ance of an appointment so highly interesting to your country.
As soon as the acts which are necessary accompaniments of the appointment can be got ready, you will receive official notice of the latter. This letter is only to be considered as an early communication of my sentiments on this occasion, and as a testimony of the sincere esteem and regard with which I am, dear sir, your most obedient servant,
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
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Notwithstanding the urgency of this letter, Governor Johnson declined the judgeship tendered to him.
Under the Constitution of Maryland, which Governor Johnson aiding in framing, and under which he was the first Governor, the judicial department of the gov- ernment was composed of a Court of Appeals, a Court of Chancery, and a General Court. The General Court, like the Provincial Court which it superseded, had original jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases of a certain grade over the whole State. In Mr. Tyler's Memoir of Chief Justice Taney, the Chief Justice, in the first chapter, which he wrote himself, says of this Court: "The Court consisted of three judges, always selected from the eminent men of the Bar; the jurors from each county were taken from the most respectable and intelligent class of society ; and, generally speak- ing, the jury who tried the cause probably never heard of it before they were empanneled, and had no knowl- edge whatever of the parties, except what they gathered from the testimony. There was every security, there- fore, for an impartial trial. The extent of the jurisdic- tion, and the importance of the cases tried in it, brought together, at its sessions, all that were eminent or distinguished at the Bar on either of the shores for which it was sitting.
"The first session of the General Court, after I went to Annapolis, made a strong impression upon me. . The three judges, wearing scarlet cloaks, sat in chairs placed on an elevated platform; and all the distinguished lawyers of Maryland were assembled at the Bar."
On the 20th of April, 1790, Thomas Johnson was appointed by the Governor of Maryland, with the ad- vice of the Senate, Chief Judge of this Court. Al- though, in October of the following year, he resigned the judgeship, before him had been argued many im-
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portant cases by such famous lawyers as William Pinkney, Samusi Chase, and Martin Luther.
Notwithstanding his urgent desire to retire from public life. he yielded to the importunities of Wash- ington, and accepted the position of Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. Having at one time declined the place on account of circuit duty, Washington wrote as follows in reply to the ob- jection : "Upon considering the arrangements of the judges with respect to the ensuing circuit, and the probability of future relief from these disagrecable tours, I thought it best to direct your commission to be made out and transmitted to you, which has accordingly been done; and I have no doubt that the public will be benefitted, and the wishes of your friends gratified by your acceptance. With sentiments of very great re- gard, etc."
Judge Johnson's predecessor in office was John Rut- ledge, of South Carolina, a zealous patriot. His health finally failing, Mr. Johnson tendered his resignation by letter to the President on the 16th of January, 1793. In reply, Washington wrote :
PHILADELPHIA, February 1, 1793.
DEAR SIR :- Whilst I ackhowledge the receipt of your letter of 16th January, I cannot but express the regret with which I received the resignation of your office, and sincerely lament the causes that produced it. It is unnecessary for me to say how much I should have been pleased had your health permitted you to continue in office ; for besides the difficulty of providing a character to fill the distinguished and important station of Judge, in whom are combined the necessary professional, local, and other requisites, the resignation of persons holding that high office conveys to the public mind a want of stability in that department, where, perhaps, it is more essential than in any other. With sentiments of pure esteem and regard, and sincere wishes for your health and happiness, I am, sir, your most obedient servaut, etc.
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THOMAS JOHNSON.
In the year 1795, Edmund Randolph, of Virginia, re- signed the office of Secretary of State. At once Wash- ington tendered to the Honorable Thomas Johnson the position made vacant. The following letter on the sub- ject is from the pen of Washington :
PRIVATE. PHILADELPHIA, 24 August, 1795.
MY DEAR SIR :- The office of Secretary of State is vacant, occasioned by the resignation of Mr. Randolph. Will you ac- cept it ? You know my wishes of old to bring you into the administration. Where then is the necessity of repeating them ? No time more than the present ever required the aid of your abilities, nor of the old and proved talents of the country. To have yours would be pleasing to me, and I verily believe would be agreeable also to the community at large. It is with you to decide. If in the affirmative, return to me the inclosed letter, and I will communicate further on this subject the moment you inform me thereof. If it is in the negative, be so good as to forward the letter by the post agreeably to its address; and at any rate, write to me the result of your determination as soon as you can after the receipt of this letter, as I remain here to get this and some other matters arranged before I go to Virginia for my family. With sincere esteem and regard, I am, etc.
This honor Mr. Johnson declined-an honor which it is said had once before been tendered him by the greatest of our Presidents.
In declining the office, Governor Johnson, in a letter dated 29th of August, 1795, says : " I feel real concern that my circumstances will not permit me to fill the important office you propose to me. I am far from being out of humor with the world on my own account ; it has done me more than justice in estimating my abilities, and more justice than common in conjecturing my motives. I feel nothing of fear either in hazarding again the little reputation I may have acquired, for I am not conscious of having sought or despised ap-
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plause ; but, without affectation, I do not think I could do credit to the office of Secretary. I cannot persuade myself that I possess the necessary qualifications for it, and I am sure I am too old to expect improvement. My strength declines, and so, too, probably, will my mental powers soon. My views in this world have been some time bounded to my children. They yet, for a little while, may have me to lean on. Being constantly with them adds to their happiness, and makes my chief comfort."
One of the projects of Washington's statesmanship was the connection of the waters of the Potomac and the Ohio rivers. Johnson, too, favored the plan. From Mount Vernon Washington wrote to Thomas Jefferson, then in the Congress of the United States, respecting the practicability of an easy and short communication between the waters of the Ohio and Potomac, of the advantages of that communication and the preference it has over all others, and of the policy there would be in this State (Virginia) and Maryland to adopt and render it facile. He speaks of Thomas Johnson as "a warm promoter of the scheme on the North side of the Potomac;" and adds, "I wish, if it should fall in your way, that you would discourse with Mr. Thomas Johnson, formerly Governor of Maryland, on the subject."
The date of this letter was March 29th, 1784. Through their great efforts the Potomac Company was incorporated in 1784 by Maryland and Virginia, as a means of connecting the waters of the Potomac and the Ohio.
George Washington Parke Custis, in his "Recollec- tions and Private Memoirs of the Life and Character of Washington," thus writes: "The canoe or pirogue, in which General Washington and a party of friends made
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the first survey of the Potomac to ascertain the practi- cability of & navigation above tide-water, was hollowed out of a large poplar tree under the direction of General Johnson, of Frederick county, Maryland. This humble bark was placed upon a wagon, hauled into the stream, and there received its honored freight. The General was accompanied in the interesting and important re- connoissance by General (the late Governor) Johnson, of Maryland, one of the first Commissioners of the city of Washington, and several other gentlemen. At night- fall, it was usual for the party to land and seek quarters of some of the planters or farmers who lived near the banks of the river, in all the pride and comfort of old- fashioned kindliness and hospitality."
In July, 1785, General Washington, accompanied by the Directors of the Potomac Company, made a tour of inspection, following closely the course of the Potomac from Georgetown to the beautiful region of Harper's Ferry. The Directors proceeded a portion of the way by land. Having made a thorough survey they re- turned to the head of the Great Falls above George- town.
Washington in his Diary, says : "August 5th .- After breakfast, and after directing Mr. Rumsey, when he had marked the way and set the laborers at work, to meet us at Harper's Ferry, myself and the directors set out for the same place by way of Fredericktown in Maryland; dined at a Dutchman's two miles above the mouth of Monococy, and reached Fredericktown about 5 o'clock. Drank tea, supped and lodged at Governor Johnson's. The next day Governor Johnson and the party started to examine the Shenandoah Falls."
On the 11th of December, 1787, Governor Johnson in a letter, said : "The present circumstances with respect to the future seat of Congress, in my opinion, call for
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vigorous exertions to perfect the navigation of the l'otomac speedily. Surely five or six hundred miles of inland navigation, added to the central situation and other advantages, would decide in favor of Potomac for the permanent seat of government."
Thus was begun the construction of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, in conjunction with the location, per- manently, of the seat of government overlooking the waters of the Potomac.
Washington, who unselfishly looked ever forward to the advancement of his country's interests, chose from among the many the strongest and the best as his workers. When the permanent seat of the Federal Government was to be laid out he appointed Thomas Johnson, David Stewart and Daniel Carroll as what were termed " The Commissioners of the Federal Dis- trict." In the execution of their duties the Commis- sioners addressed a letter to Major L'Enfant, the Engineer, dated February the 9th, 1791, from which the following extract is taken :
"We have agreed that the Federal District shall be called The Territory of Columbia, and the Federal city, The City of Washington. The title of the map, there- fore, will be ' A Map of the City of Washington in the Territory of Columbia.' We have also agreed the streets be named alphabetically one way, and numeric- ally the other; the former divided into North and South letters, the latter into East and West numbers, from the Capitol."
It will thus be seen that Johnson aided in bestowing upon the Capital of our Nation the name of its wisest chief.
When Washington died in 1799, Governor Johnson delivered at Frederick city, in Maryland, a eulogy on his life and character. As companion heroes on the
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field of battle, the battle-field of life, and on the page of history, George Washington of Virginia and Thomas Johnson of Maryland stand side by side.
After the tumult of public life was over, Governor Johnson lived in felicitous peace at his country-seat. This estate, known as Rose Hill, was situated at the summit of Frederick town, in Maryland. His home was such as is often pictured, yet seldom realized, as a resting-place for a great man after the turmoil and vex- ations of a busy life. The family motto of " Trust and Strive," seemed ever in his memory.
The following letter, written during the war of 1812 to his daughter, the late Mrs. Hugh W. Evans, of Balti- more, has been kindly furnished to the author, as well as other letters in this sketch, by Mrs. E. Wethered, the daughter of Mrs. Evans, and is evidence of the deep domestic affection of Governor Johnson :
FREDERICK, September 2nd, 1813.
Your letter, my dear child, of 25th August, reached me yester- day. It afforded me great satisfaction, as it ascertained me of your being amongst your friends in Baltimore, where I expect they and yourself will be in safety at least for a while; for I do not suppose the enemy will undertake anything of great hazard or difficulty in the course of this month, lest a Northeast storm should defeat their project and perhaps their future hopes.
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The notice taken of me lately in the newspapers adds nothing to my self-complacency; indeed, I wish, rather, that I had not been mentioned at all. I acquit myself altogether of laying any trap to catch praise; well knowing that well deserved excites envy, and if excessive, is like coarse, bad painting, it hightens sinall defects into deformity. 'Though a very old man my mind is not so gone as to be flattered by praise. I love the good opinion of the world when it follows my own, but I must be older before it leads. It is the fault of the present day that we are all geese or swans, according to our party-however, enough on this subject. I love and much appreciate family pride, to the extent as an additional guard against doing anything improper.
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THOMAS JOHNSON.
I hope to leave to every descendant of mine the inheritance of not blushing for their blood having passed through my veins. So far, and so far only, be proud of your family, which happily affords you a like incentive in other branches of it. .
Your sisters give me great satisfaction. Their teacher bas found the way to excite emulation for scholars, perhaps to the degree of envy, amongst some of her scholars. It has not, I believe, risen to that degree with my girls, and I hope it will not. Their application is equal to any thing I could wish. They each have a fair prospect of gaining all that could be reasonably expected. I reckon it among my comforts, of which I thank God I yet enjoy a great share.
There needs no great cunning to go through the world with self-approbation and credit. Indeed, cunning will sometimes prevent a regard for truth and sincerity, which surpass in value all the cunning of the most dextrous politician and are open to the practice of every honest mind.
May heaven bless you. My good wishes to all enquiring friends. Your very affectionate father,
THOS. JOHNSON.
Mrs. Ann G. Ross, residing in Frederick city, Mary- land, a grand-daughter of Governor Johnson, gives to the writer of this sketch the following account of her grandfather's lineage :
" Thomas Johnson the elder, was from a place called Porte Head, Yarmouth, England. He was a barrister, in good practice, and had a brother who held a position of consequence in the Department of Foreign Affairs, in the reign of Queen Anne. Thomas Johnson eloped with a chancery ward, which made it necessary for him to come to America, which he did with his wife, under the protection of Capt. Roger Baker, his wife's father, who commanded the vessel. This seems strange, but we infer that although marrying the chancery ward was a penal offense, still the alliance met with her father's approbation. This was probably about 1660. They died and were buried at St. Leonard's Creek, Calvert 6*
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county, leaving one son 12 years of age, Thomas John- son, who grew up and married Dorcas Sedgewick, of Calvert county. They had twelve children, the fifth of whom was afterward Governor Johnson, and was born November 4th, 1732, and married Ann Jennings, daughter of Thomas Jennings, of Annapolis.
"We have a few of Gen. Washington's letters to grandpa, but he purposely destroyed all confidential letters before his death."
Thomas Johnson was born in Calvert county, Mary- land, November 4th, 1732. He had three brothers : Joshua, born in 1742; Baker, born 1747; and Roger, born in 1749; all in the county of Calvert.
The two last-named studied law in the office of their brother, Thomas, in Annapolis. Settling afterward in Frederick city, Maryland, they practiced their pro- fession. Joshua having gone early in life to London, there entered commercial life. He was, after that, for many years, the Consular Agent from America. He was noted, particularly amongst his countrymen abroad, for the most generous hospitality. His daughter be- came the wife of John Quincy Adams, who was after- ward the President of the United States.
General Bradley T. Johnson, late of the Confederate army, is a descendant of this family. Governor John- son belonged to a wealthy family ; he was thus enabled to equip, and maintain at his own expense, the military forces which he led to the relief of General Washington in New Jersey.
On the 26th of October, 1819, Governor Johnson died at his residence, Rose Hill. He was in the eighty- seventh year of his age. The grave of this patriot (so wise, so pure, so honored, so beloved !) is in the cemetery at Frederick City.
This resting-place of the dead overlooks the rich and
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beautiful valley lying between the Linganore Hills and the Catoctin Mountains. Here in the shadow of high trees, where nature's sweetest tones fill the air, the old hero sleeps long and well.
Requiescat in Pace.
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FAIR MARYLAND.
Y TOUR loyalty and valor, A heritage for kings, Mother land, fair Maryland, A poet loves and sings !
The grandest truths are simple, And in their grandest guise Are only simple lessons Of wisdom to the wise !
Soldiers of dear Maryland, In nature's bravest mould, You wear the fame of princes, Nor bought with prince's gold !
Vain pomp and gilded titles May win to-day's renown, Yet noble thoughts and actions In weighing bear them down.
Who scoff at lofty manners, The proof of gentle caste, Are pigmies in the shadows Of giants of the Past !
Wives, mothers, and fair daughters, Good, beautiful, and true, The earth hath yielded laurels And roses unto you !
God send you grace and wisdom, From His most regal Throne, Whose " love is love forever !" Whose peace is Peace alone !
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CHARLES CARROLL, OF CARROLLTON.
" His stately mien as well implied, A high-born heart, a martial pride, As if a baron's crest he wore."
N his " Chronicles of Baltimore," Scharf says : "On the 13th of January, 1695, Charles Carroll surveyed one thousand acres of land lying in Baltimore county, on the north side of Patapsco river, in the woods upon Jones' Falls, and on the west side of the said Falls, which was called ' Ely O'Carroll.'"
The origin of the name given to this tract of land is of peculiar interest, being closely linked with the earliest history of Erin. Helia, or Ely O'Carroll, was the name given to an extensive tract of country in Ireland, comprising King's county, portions of Queen's county and Tipperary.
O'Hart, in his book of "Irish Pedigrees," says: " The Territory of ' Ely' got its name from Eile, one of its princes in the fifth century; and from being pos- sessed by the O'Carroll's, was called ' Ely O'Carroll ; ' which comprised the present barony of Lower Ormond, in the county Tipperary, with the Barony of Clon- lisk, and part of Ballybrit, in the King's county, ex- tending to Slieve Bloom Mountains, on the borders of
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the Queen's county." The O'Carroll's descended from Kian, the third son of Olioll Olium, King of Munster. According to Sir William Beatham, Ulster king-at- arms, the grants of land made to Charles Carroll were in name and extent the same as those lost by his father in Ireland, namely, twenty thousand acres in each tract, Ely O'Carroll, Doughoreagan and Carrolston. The his- tory of this powerful Irish clan is given very fully by Sir William Beatham, in his "Irish Antiquarian Re- searches."
About the year 1688, Charles O'Carroll is said to have come to this country from Ireland. His coming was through the influence of Lord Powis, of the Court of James II, King of England. Mr. Charles O'Carroll had been Secretary to Lord Powis, and through his in- fluence superseded Colonel Henry Darnall, as Register of the Land Office under the Proprietary Government. Although a Roman Catholic, he seems also to have maintained his influence with the rulers of the Province, appointed by William and Mary.
Much that is of an interesting nature relating to the ancient clan of O'Carroll, is given in O'Hart's "Irish Pedigrees," before referred to. The original name of the family was Cearbheoil, which was that borne by one of its chiefs, and whose posterity afterward changed it to O'Carroll, the O being finally dropped. The first one of the family who assumed the name of O'Carroll, was Monach, the son of the above-named chief.
The following order for a land-grant, appears among the early records of the Proprietary :
" In behalf of his lordship, Lord Proprietary of this province, you are hereby required to reserve for his lord- ship's use, the quantity of fifteen thousand acres of land, if the same can be found together in one entire tract, otherwise no less than ten thousand acres, lately sur-
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CHARLES CARROLL, OF CARROLLTON.
veved for Charles Carroll, Esq., in Prince George's county, the same to be laid between such metes and bounds as may be most profitable to his lordship."- Lib. B. B., folio 81.
And the following, transmitted from the past, wears a good deal of interest also upon its face :
[L. S.] C. BALTIMORE.
"Instructions, power and authority to be observed and pursued by Charles Carroll, my agent and receiver- general in Maryland, given by me this, the 12th day of September, 1712.
" You are also hereby ordered and empowered, yearly to pay, in tobacco, the several allowances heretofore made by me, to the several persons and officers hereinafter mentioned, viz :
Major Nicholas Sewall, 12,000 pounds of tobacco.
Major Nicholas Sewall, 3,000 pounds of tobacco.
Henry Sewell, 3,000 pounds of tobacco, for assistance to his father, in shipping at Patuxent.
To my officer at Patuxent, 6,000 pounds of tobacco.
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