My Genealogy Hound

James S. Johnson. Truly has it been said, “the good men do, lives after them,” and the history of a country, State or county must perforce depend upon the record of the prominent citizens for interest to the general reader. Everybody is more or less glad to hear of a truly successful career, and it is to this class of men that the world owes its present commercial development. Chief among them ranks he whose name heads this sketch. He was born in Chester District, S. C., December 17, 1837, and is a son of William B. and Eliza F. (Rowell) Johnson, natives of South Carolina and North Carolina, respectively. The mother is still living, making her home with her son. She was born in 1818; the father was born in 1816, and died in this county on January 29, 1879. They lived in South Carolina until 1856, at which time they moved to Marshall County, Miss., afterward locating in Lincoln County, then known as Drew County, Ark. He was a farmer, and later in life took up the practice of medicine most successfully. They were both members of the Missionary Baptist Church, and he was in the declining years of his career a Baptist minister, having been licensed to preach in 1870. He was a Mason, having taken the Royal Arch degrees; he was, besides, a Democrat. During the late war he figured prominently in the Confederate troops, and was in the battle of Bowling Green, Ky. This family is of Irish descent, and trace their ancestors back through generations of famous men. They were the parents of nine children, three of whom are living at this date, viz.: James S. (the subject of the present sketch), Jane McCrady (the wife of D. J. McKinney, ex-representative of Bradley County), and Thomas J. Y. Mr. Johnson spent his school days in Chester District, S. C, and came with his parents to Mississippi in 1856, and in 1860 to this county, where he has continued to reside, with the exception of a short time. In 1862 he enlisted in Col. Morgan’s regiment in the Confederate army, and fought in many of the chief battles. Since that time he has, by means of industry and good management, amassed quite a fortune, and is a highly respected business man. He owns an estate of 320 acres of valuable land, which is well cultivated. He was elected justice of the peace in 1884, serving several years. He was married to Miss Maggie A. Wallace on December 5, 1860. She is a daughter of Thomas and Mary Wallace, and her birth occurred in Alabama. She received a splendid education at Oxford, Miss. To them were born one child, a son, Henry T. Brown, who died when only ten months old. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are members of the Missionary Baptist Church. He is a Mason of considerable prominence, and is politically a Democrat. In point of fact, few men have ever been more universally liked and respected than is the subject of this sketch throughout the entire county in which he resides.