Sir William Johnson, 1715-1774
Papers, 1738-1808

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Research Use and Access Note

The papers of Sir William Johnson were severely damaged in the 1911 New York State Capitol fire. Thus, readers usually will be directed to use published sources that contain printed transcripts of the original manuscripts. A selected number of the documents were published in Volumes II and IV of the Documentary History of the State of New-York, edited by E. B. O'Callaghan (Albany: Weed, Parsons & Co., Public Printers, 1850-51). Similarly, documents were published in Volumes VI, VII and VIII of Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New-York, also edited by E. B. O'Callaghan (Albany, Weed, Parsons and Company, Printers, 1853-87).

The most comprehensive source of printed transcripts is the14-volume The Papers of Sir William Johnson (Albany: University of the State of New York, 1921-1965). Note that this set (referred to in the Container List as Johnson Papers) does not adhere to the arrangement of the original manuscripts, and it does not include full text of most of the documents in the O'Callaghan publications. The first eight volumes of the Papers contain transcriptions of documents found only in the original manuscripts, and are drawn largely from a printer's proof of the transcripts compiled by New York State Historian Hugh Hastings. The manuscript of Hastings's work was destroyed in the fire, too, so the printer's proof serves as the only evidence of the content of many of the documents that were damaged or lost. Duplicate documents found in other collections or repositories were sometimes used to fill in gaps of fire-damaged text. Volumes 9-13 contain transcriptions of documents found in other archives, manuscript repositories and private collections in addition to documents from these papers that were not included in the first eight volumes. Volume 13 also includes a chronological list of the documents that were published in volumes 1-13 of the Papers and the O'Callaghan publications. Volume 14 is the general index to the contents of all 14 volumes. The introductory material in each volume of The Papers of Sir William Johnson provides further information on the volume's content.

The key to locating specific documents in the original manuscripts is the Calendar of the Sir William Johnson Manuscripts in the New York State Library compiled by Richard E. Day (Albany: University of the State of New York, 1909). Since this item was completed shortly before the fire, it serves as the only complete record to all the documents that were in the original 26 volumes. Using the Calendar, one can determine which items were severely damaged or destroyed by the fire. The Calendar also includes references to documents that were published in the Documentary History of the State of New-York (including references to both the octavo and quarto editions of the publication)and Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New-York, and the duplicates found in records held by New York State Archives known as the New York Colonial Manuscripts.

Arrangement and Condition Note

The Johnson Papers are arranged chronologically within three series corresponding to the major acquisitions of the 19th century. (See Provenance Note for further details.) Many individual items as well as entire volumes were lost in the Capitol fire. The condition of the 26 volumes that constitute the main group of Johnson papers can be described as thus: Ten volumes are in fair condition, twelve volumes are in poor or fragmentary shape, and four volumes are missing. Most of documents described as being in fair condition were salvaged and later mounted and bound together, circa 1913-1919. Many of these items suffered only a partial loss of the text. Documents rated as poor are those found to have lost a substantial amount of text. Many of these documents were mounted, too, but there are numerous gaps in the record. Thus, they were not always bound together. Some documents were found to be in such a fragmentary state, that it was not possible for these items to be restored and mounted. These documents are too fragile for research use. The container list provides specific information regarding the condition of each of the original volumes including those that were completely destroyed by the fire.

Provenance Note

The Sir William Johnson Papers in the New York State Library were acquired over a period of many years. The first group comprised of several bundles of papers that were initially deposited with the Office of the Secretary of State in 1801. This group was eventually transferred to the library by 1850, the year when another large group was donated by John Tayler Cooper. Cooper inherited the papers from his grandfather, John Tayler, who had acquired them at an auction held at Fort Hunter shortly after the papers and personal property belonging to the Johnson estate were confiscated from Johnson Hall during the American Revolution. These two groups of papers were collated, arranged and bound under the supervision of Dr. E.B. O'Callaghan as volumes 1-22 inclusive. The papers found in volumes 23, 24 and 25 were purchased in 1863 from William L. Stone, Jr. through a special appropriation from the New York State Legislature. In 1866, another group of documents was purchased from Henry Stevens, who had obtained them at a sale of public records in London. The Stevens' documents consist chiefly of Indian Department disbursements that were bound into volume 26. The final group of manuscripts and facsimiles, housed in box 36, constitute a collation of individual items that were acquired by the library via purchase or donation from various sources. They were initially accessioned and catalogued separately, but were collated and added to other Johnson papers in the mid-1990s.

Biographical Note

Sir William Johnson was born in 1715 in County Meath, Ireland, and immigrated to the American colonies in 1738 at the invitation of his uncle, Peter Warren, a prominent figure in the siege of Louisbourg. Johnson settled in the Mohawk Valley about 25 miles west of Schenectady, New York, where he established a trading post to serve the needs of white settlers and Native Americans. Johnson served as an agent for his uncle, assisting him in the management of extensive landholdings in the Mohawk Valley.

Johnson is noted for establishing strong relations with the native tribes, in particular the Mohawks. He learned their languages, dressed in their clothing, welcomed them into his home and labored to preserve their lands from encroachment. He also provided the natives with educational opportunities and religious instruction. Johnson's diplomatic skills were put to work during King George's War (1744-48) when he enlisted Iroquois warriors in the war against France. He was also commissary of the store that equipped the Indians with munitions and other military supplies. After this war he was commissioned as colonel of 14 companies of militia comprised of volunteers from colonial settlers and the Iroquois Indians. He was also appointed as the principle agent of New York Colony with the Iroquois Indians. He resigned from this post in 1751 when the colonial assembly discontinued funding the position. In 1754 he served as a delegate of the congress of seven colonies held at Albany.

The French and Indian War, 1755-1763, brought Johnson great prominence as a military leader and negotiator with the Six Nations. Despite the failure of Johnson's assault against Crown Point, he was successful as a military commander. In 1755 his troops defeated the French in the Battle of Lake George and subsequently erected Fort William Henry. His victorious campaign here was rewarded with a baronetcy. In 1756 Johnson was appointed the superintendent of all of the northern tribes, a position he held for the rest of his life. Johnson's forces again achieved great victory in battle in 1759 when they seized Fort Niagara, the key to the West. The following year he joined forces with Jeffery Amherst in routing French forces in the vicinity of Montreal. During the later years of the war, Johnson was in almost constant negotiation with the Six Nations and other natives. After the war, he won prominence by persuading the Iroquois to stay out of Pontiac's Rebellion. In 1768 Johnson was the lead negotiator in the first Treaty of Fort Stanwix in which boundaries were established between the lands of native peoples and colonists. The boundary dispute between the Mohawks and Mohicans was settled here, too. Later he helped resolve a disputed claim to land in the Ohio River Valley.

Johnson acquired huge land holdings, much of which came as gifts from the Mohawks, and he became one of the wealthiest men in the colonies. In 1762 Johnson founded the city of Johnstown, N.Y., and was successful in obtaining its designation as the county seat of Tryon County. He also had a large manor house erected on a massive estate near there that was known as Johnson Hall, a baronial manor frequented by many native visitors. He married, first, Catherine Wisenberg, who bore him three children. After her death, he married two successive Native American women. The second of these was Molly Brant, sister of the famed chief Joseph Brant. Johnson died at Johnson Hall in 1774 and is buried in Johnstown.

Scope and Content Note

The Sir William Johnson papers in the New York State Library, covering a period from 1738 to 1808, constitute the richest vein of documents related to his private life as well as his career in business, the military and government. From 1738 to1745 the papers are few in number. This is also true for 1774 through 1808. As Johnson had died in 1774, the few papers we have for those years relate to matters with which his relatives were connected. Johnson's mercantile career is documented in correspondence, bills, receipts accounts, and other papers related to his activities as a fur trader and other commercial dealings with the Iroquois Indian Nations. In addition, there are many papers related to Johnson's activities as a land agent on behalf of his uncle, Sir Peter Warren.

Johnson's military career is well documented in correspondence, memoranda and debit-credit accounts. During King George's War, Johnson wrote about the difficulties of supplying troops garrisoned at Oswego. Johnson's activities during the French and Indian War are also well documented, particularly the assault against Crown Point that was a failure, the Battle of Lake George in 1755, in which his forces defeated the French and erected Fort William Henry, and the capture of Fort Niagara in 1759. After the war his papers concern his activities as Superintendent of Indian Affairs, his role in persuading the Iroquois to stay out of Pontiac's Rebellion, and as lead negotiator in the first Treaty of Fort Stanwix, 1768, in which boundary disputes between the Iroquois and colonists were settled. (The Six Nations would ultimately cede large tracts of land in New York and Pennsylvania.) Proceedings of these treaty negotiations along with related memoranda are included in the papers.

The papers in the later phase of Johnson's life reveal his wide interests and the multiplicity of his duties. In particular, his great interest in education and religion is evident in correspondence that concerns his role in helping to establish schools and churches. Johnson's role in establishing Tryon County separate from Albany County is documented, too. Also, many of his letters reveal his great interest in imperial affairs and his loyalty to Britain. However, there is no evidence that he was either interested in or aware of revolutionary activity stirring amongst the colonies during the final three years of his life.

These papers also include many documents related to his extensive landholdings and the construction of his homes, Fort Johnson and Johnson Hall; the erection of public buildings for use by the county seat in Johnstown, New York, and other papers related to the settlement and development of land on the colonial frontier. These papers also include inventories and other documents related to the estate of Johnson and his family. In essence these papers are an invaluable source of information not only for political and military history, but also for the social, industrial, commercial, and agricultural history of the time.

Container List

The Papers of Sir William Johnson is referred to in this container list as Johnson Papers.

Letters by Sir William Johnson (catalogued previously as separate items).
A.L.S. – Autograph Letter Signed; L.S. – Letter Signed ; D.S. – Document Signed

Letters and documents of Sir William Johnson relative to Indian Affairs

Letters to Sir William Johnson

Letters from the collection of John E. Wyman, Fonda, New York

Miscellaneous documents including facsimiles and transcriptions of original letters and documents held by other repositories or private collectors: