William samuel johnson cropped
Portrait of William Samuel Johnson
Henry Inman

William Samuel Johnson

Gender:
Male
Born:
December 13, 1795
Died:
1882
Home Town:
Stratford, CT
Later Residences:
Troy, NY
New York, NY
Marriage(s):
Laura Woolsey Johnson (August 20, 1824)
Biographical Notes:
William Samuel Johnson was the son of Samuel William Johnson and Susan Edwards. William became a lawyer and a New York State Senator. He moved to upstate New York and was a land office proprietor in Cattaraugus, New York.

He returned to New York City and served as an Assistant Alderman for the 35d Ward from1834-1835, Trustee of the New York Society Library from1837 to1840 and a member of the New York State Senate from1848 to 1849.

Charles Frederick Johnson, a cousin of William Samuel Johnson, was orphaned at the age of two and raised by Samuel William Johnson and Susan Pierpont Edwards Johnson (parents of William Samuel). Charles would later marry Sarah Dwight Woolsey, sister of Laura Woolsey (William Samuel's wife).
Education
Years at LLS:
1816-1817
Other Education:
Graduated from Union College in 1816.
Profession / Service
Profession:
Lawyer; Political Office
State Posts:
State Senator (NY)
Related Objects and Documents
In the Ledger:
Other:
Letter, 1851 April 11, Cambridge, Mass., to William Samuel Johnson.
Papers, 1792-1851
Papers, 1748-1855
Johnson family papers, 1722-1863
Johnson Family papers, 1631-1987
William Samuel Johnson papers, 1834-1868
help The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation.

Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
Handwritten list by William Samuel Johnson, Catalogue of the Students at Law in the school at Litchfield Conn. at & after Aug. 15th 1817, Connecticut Historical Society, Johnson Family Papers, 1722-1863, Box - Johnson Papers.

Catalogue of the Litchfield Law School, Hartford, CT: Press of Case, Tiffany and Company, 1849.
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