William Andrew Johnson

William Andrew Johnson
Johnson at the U.S. Capitol during his 1937 trip to Washington, D.C., by Harris & Ewing
Born(1858-02-08)February 8, 1858
Greeneville, Tennessee, U.S.
DiedMay 16, 1943(1943-05-16) (aged 85)
Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
MotherDolly Johnson
RelativesFlorence Johnson Smith (sister)
Elizabeth Johnson Forby (sister)
Sam Johnson (uncle)

William Andrew Johnson (February 8, 1858[a] – May 16, 1943) was a lifelong Tennessean who was primarily employed as a restaurant cook. He was described as a "quiet, bright-eyed" man,[1] a "great favorite" in Knoxville,[2] and (per the Indianapolis Recorder in 1941) he was "regarded by many as the best pastry chef in East Tennessee."[3] William Andrew Johnson was believed to be the last surviving American to have been enslaved by a U.S. president.[4] Johnson, his two sisters Florence and Elizabeth, his mother Dolly and his Uncle Sam were all once legally the property of Andrew Johnson, who became the 17th President of the United States following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865. In later years, when describing his lifelong relationships with Johnson's children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, Johnson said "They treat me just like I was one of the family."[5]

Local media covered Johnson and his recollections of the late President with some regularity beginning in the 1920s, although the coverage often described Johnson in fairly patronizing terms.[6] William A. Johnson made national headlines in 1937 when he visited the White House at the invitation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who gave him a silver-handled cane engraved with both of their names. Meeting Roosevelt one-on-one had been a dream of Johnson's since at least 1934, when he told a local reporter, "I feel like he's one of my kin folks, since I used to stay in the White House, too."[7]

  1. ^ a b "Andrew Johnson Celebrates Birthday". Knoxville Journal. October 4, 1938. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-05-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Slave of President Johnson Spends an Hour in White House: Hopes of Four Years Realized as He Completes Journey from Knoxville Begun in 1875". Washington News, Society and General. Washington Star. Vol. 85, no. 33895. February 17, 1937. p. B1. Retrieved 2023-05-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Taylor, O.B. (November 29, 1941). "Ex-Servant of U.S. President Donated Chair". Indianapolis Recorder. Vol. XLV, no. 52. ANB. p. 16. Retrieved 2023-05-16 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  4. ^ Stimpson, George W. (June 15, 1943). "You'd be surprised: Slave-owning presidents". Corpus Christi Times. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "HAPPY OLD SLAVE VISITS ROOSEVELT; Servant of Andrew Johnson Is Brought From Tennessee at President's Request HAS A CANE AS MEMENTO Insists There Never Was Man Like 'Marster,' but Host Is 'My Kind of Folks'". The New York Times. Associated Press. p. 23. Retrieved 2023-06-11.
  6. ^ Miller, Zachary A. (August 2022). False Idol: The Memory of Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction in Greeneville, Tennessee 1869-2022 (Master of Arts thesis). Eastern Tennessee State University. Paper 4096.
  7. ^ "William Andrew Sees Roosevelt at Rail Station". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. No. 15779. November 17, 1934. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-05-12 – via Newspapers.com.


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