John Telemachus JOHNSON, Congress, KY (1788-1856)

JOHNSON, John Telemachus, (brother of James Johnson and Richard Mentor Johnson and uncle of Robert Ward Johnson), a Representative from Kentucky; born at Great Crossings, Scott County, Ky., October 5, 1788; pursued preparatory studies; attended Transylvania University, Lexington, Ky.; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1809 and commenced practice in Georgetown, Ky.; served in the War of 1812 as an aide to Gen. William H. Harrison; member of the State house of representatives and served five terms; elected as a Republican to the Seventeenth Congress and reelected as a Jackson Republican to the Eighteenth Congress (March 4, 1821-March 3, 1825); chairman, Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads (Eighteenth Congress); was not a candidate for renomination in 1824; appointed judge of the court of appeals April 20, 1826, and served until December 30, 1826; minister of the Christian Church for a number of years; became editor of the Christian Messenger in 1832, the Gospel Advocate in 1835, and the Christian in 1837; was instrumental in establishing the old Bacon College at Georgetown, Ky., in 1836; died in Lexington, Mo., December 17, 1856; interment in Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, Ky.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present