Legislative Reference Library

Texas Legislators: Past & Present

John Warner Johnson

Full Name: John Warner Johnson
Birth date: August 2, 1830
Death date: 1920

Terms of Service

  • House, 16th (1) (2) (3) Legislature
    1/14/1879 - 2/17/1880
    Unaffiliated
(1) Republican, 1/14/1879, p. 1. Galveston Daily News .
(2) A.F. Kinneson, in special election 2/17/1880, succeeded John W. Johnson, removed from district. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004 2005.
(3) Independent. Texas Legislative Manual, 1879-80 1879.

Biographical Notes and Resources

Resolutions and Journal entries

  • J.W. Johnson. House Journal .

Other Resources

  • Account of the election of 1878, Texas House of Representatives, candidates: R.C. Saunders, Ibzan William Middlebrook, and Jahu Worner [John Warner] Johnson. "Early on, Johnson tried to distance himself from his Republican roots, claiming he had been urged to run . . . as an 'independent and non-partisan candidate.'" Jahu W. Johnson forfeited his seat when he moved out of the district; Johnson and his son Gail Borden Johnson had decided to move to Houston by November 1879. Alex F. Kinnison, a Republican and "black county county commissioner and school teacher," elected in a special election 2/17/1880; however, "the legislature never convened while he held the office." Part 9: 1878-1883. Consider the Lily: the Ungilded History of Colorado County, Texas .
  • Jahu Worner Johnson's election as Colorado County's presiding justice as a Republican on 1/10/1872 and election as Colorado County judge in 1876; Johnson moved to Columbus in 1867. Part 8: 1870-1878. Consider the Lily: the Ungilded History of Colorado County, Texas .
  • Jehu W. Johnson, marriage to Philadelphia W. Swift, 9/3/1856 in Guadalupe County.
    Census of 1880 - John Johnson, Houston, Harris County, age 49, born 1830 in Virginia, planter, wife Prila, son Gail, age 20, editor Texas Post. FamilySearch . 1880 Texas, County Marriage Records, 1837-1965
  • Jehu Warner Johnson (1830-1920), burial in Glenwood Cemetery, Houston, Harris County, with wife Phila W. Johnson. Find a Grave .
  • Burial records, Jehu Warner Johnson, burial date 8/17/1920, section WA, lot 276 with wife Phila W. Johnson, burial date 8/17/1880. Glenwood Cemetery, Houston, Texas .
  • John W. Johnson. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004 2005.
  • Obituaries of Mrs. Phila W. Johnson, "Death of Mrs. Johnson," "wife of Hon. J.W. Johnson, state senator from the Columbus district," death date 8/17/1880, Galveston Daily News, 8/18/1880, p. 4; "The Late Mrs. Johnson," Galveston Daily News, 8/20/1880, p. 4. Crediting Abilene Library Consortium. Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries) . August 18, 1880 August 20, 1880
  • Judge Jehu Warner Johnson, birth date 8/10/1830 in Clarksburg, Harrison County, West Virginia, death date 10/29/1920 in Houston, Harris County, Texas, married Philadelphia Wheeler Borden 9/3/1856 in Guadalupe County, Texas. Selected Families and Individuals. Terry Mason's Family History Site 1999.
  • Biographical sketch, John Warner Johnson, p. 268. Born 8/2/1830 in Harrison County, West Virginia. Elected to the House as an "Independent, by a majority of 644 over the Democratic nominee." Previously mayor of Columbus, presiding justice, inspector of public schools, and county judge. Texas Legislative Manual, 1879-80 1879.
  • Biographical sketch and portrait, Jahu Worner Johnson, pp. 122-127. Born 8/2/1830. "When the Democrats called their convention in the legislative district embracing the counties of Colorado and Lavaca and made their nominations, which was generally conceded to be equivalent to an election, forty-eight responsible citizens of Colorado county addressed a letter to Judge Johnson in which they respectfully requested him to become an independent, non-partisan candidate for a seat in the sixteenth legislature, pledging their undivided support." "Since the adjournment of the sixteenth legislature he has changed his residence from Columbus to Houston . . . " The Encyclopedia of the New West 1881.

Committee Information

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