Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784)

Born 18 Sep 1709 in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Jervis) Johnson — married 9 Jul 1735 in St Werburgh, Derby, England

Died 13 Dec 1784 at age 75 in London, England

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Biography

Samuel Johnson is Notable.

Samuel Johnson was an English writer, poet, essayist, literary critic, biographer and lexicographer. He published A Dictionary of the English Language in 1755, and it was considered the pre-eminent English dictionary for more than a century.

Christening: Samuell Johnson, 9 September 1709 at Saint Mary, Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. Father: Michael Johnson.^[1]

He married Elizabeth Porter, a woman who was more than 20 years his senior ^[2] and the widow of his friend. There were no children from this union.

Following his wife's death, he was assisted by an enslaved Jamaican manservant named Francis (Quashey) Barber who was later freed by his owner, Colonel Richard Bathurst.

Samuel Johnson was outspoken about slavery and described it as "an immoral state".^[3] At one time, Johnson made a toast to the next slave uprising. Samuel treated Francis well, sending him off to school at the cost of 300 pounds and apart from a period working for an apothecary and in the Royal Navy, Barber worked for Johnson until the latter's death and received a legacy of £750 by way of an annuity. ^[4]

Bibliography

• Essays, pamphlets, periodicals, sermons

1732–33 Birmingham Journal
1747 Plan for a Dictionary of the English Language
1750–52 The Rambler
1753–54 The Adventurer
1756 Universal Visiter
1756- The Literary Magazine, or Universal Review
1758–60 The Idler
1770 The False Alarm
1771 Thoughts on the Late Transactions Respecting Falkland's Islands
1774 The Patriot
1775 A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland
Taxation No Tyranny
1781 The Beauties of Johnson

• Poetry

1728 Messiah, a translation into Latin of Alexander Pope's Messiah
1738 London
1747 Prologue at the Opening of the Theatre in Drury Lane
1749 The Vanity of Human Wishes
Irene, a Tragedy

• Biographies, criticism

1735 A Voyage to Abyssinia, by Jerome Lobo, translated from the French
1744 Life of Mr Richard Savage
1745 Miscellaneous Observations on the Tragedy of Macbeth
1756 "Life of Browne" in Thomas Browne's Christian Morals
Proposals for Printing, by Subscription, the Dramatick Works of William Shakespeare
1765 Preface to the Plays of William Shakespeare
The Plays of William Shakespeare
1779–81 Lives of the Poets

• Dictionary

1755 Preface to a Dictionary of the English Language
A Dictionary of the English Language

• Novellas

1759 The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia

Sources

1. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (Samuell Johnson: accessed 30 August 2015), Michael Johnson in entry for Samuell Johnson, 09 Sep 1709; citing SAINT MARY,LICHFIELD,STAFFORD,ENGLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 421,567.
2. ↑ "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NJHX-F3V : 10 February 2018), Samuell Johnson and Elizabeth Porter, 1735; citing St. Werburgh'S, Derby, Derbyshire, England, reference 2:3CXKF3X, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 496,701.
3. ↑ Gerzina, Gretchen. "Black England: Life Before Emancipation" (London: John Murray, 1995), pp. 44-5 48-50 Internet Archive
4. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Barber

See also:

• Wikipedia entry
• Encyclopedia Brittanica
• https://www.drjohnsonshouse.org/
• 'Virginia Woolf' a biography by her nephew Quentin Bell, published by The Hogarth Press, Pimlico, London in 1996. ISBN 0 7126 7450 0, includes extensive family trees. Hundreds of friends, professional connections and people in the 'Bloomsbury set' are also mentioned in the text.'Virginia Woolf' a biography by her nephew Quentin Bell
• 'Jane Austen's Family through Five Generations' by Maggie Lane, published by Robert Hale Limited, London. ISBN 0 7090 4832 7. Includes extensive family trees. Details of contemporaries and other connections are also mentioned in the text.Jane Austen's Family through Five Generations

Acknowledgments

Johnson-24170 was created by John Tucker through the import of Tucker282014.GED on Feb 8, 2014.