page_title: Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet
section_title: Personal life
hierarchical_section_title: Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet / Personal life
caption_attribution_description: English: Lady Mary Johnson copied by Henderson, Montreal from a family painting
context_page_description: Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet of New York was a Loyalist leader during the American Revolution, British Loyalist/provincial military officer, a politician in Canada and a wealthy landowner. He was the son of Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet, who was the British Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the northern colonies, based in New York province.
  He inherited his father's baronetcy and lands in 1774. Sir John moved to Canada during the American Revolutionary War with family and allies, as he was at risk of arrest by rebel authorities. He led the King's Royal Regiment of New York and was promoted to brigadier general in 1782. That year Sir John Johnson was also appointed as Superintendent General and Inspector General of Indian affairs of First Nations in Canada, including the four Iroquois nations that had relocated there. After the war, he was appointed by the Crown to distribute lands in Upper Canada to exiled Loyalists, and estimated he helped resettle nearly 3800 in 1784. He also served in the Legislative Council of Lower Canada.
context_section_description: From 1765 to 1773, Johnson took as a common-law wife, fifteen year old Clarissa Putman (1751–1833), daughter of Arent V. Putman, of Dutch ancestry, and Elizabeth Peek of Tribes Hill, New York.  Before their relationship ended and he married Mary Nicoll Watts, John and Clarissa were the parents of a daughter and a son:
  Margaret Johnson (1765–c. 1830), who married James Van Horne, the son of Sheriff Abraham Van Horne, in 1791.
  William Johnson (1770–1836), who was taken to Canada by Johnson where he was educated and became the lock master at The Cascades in Lower Canada.
  On June 30, 1773, Johnson married Mary Nicoll "Polly" Watts (1751–1815), a daughter of Hon. John Watts, President of the King's Council, of New York. After he escaped to Canada in May 1776 at the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, Lady Johnson was detained that year by the Whigs of New York as a hostage for the good conduct of her husband. After she was freed to join Sir John in Canada, the couple lived in Montreal during the winter and spent the summers on their seigneury at Argenteuil, Ottawa on the Ottawa River. The couple also visited in England. Together, Mary and Sir John had ten sons, eight of whom served in the British army and navy, and eight daughters, including:
  Anne Nancy Johnson (1774–1848), who married Colonel Edward MacDonnell (1766–1812), the Deputy Quartermaster General to the Forces in Canada who served as an aide-de-camp to the Duke of Wellington.
  William Johnson (1775–1811), who married Sarah Delancey, granddaughter of Oliver Delancey.
  Warren Johnson (1777–1802), a major in the 60th regiment.
  Adam Gordon Johnson (1781–1843), who succeeded his father to the baronetcy.
  John Johnson (1782–1841), who married Mary Diana Dillon (1809–1861).
  James Stephen Johnson (1785–1812), who was killed at the 1812 Siege of Badajoz.
  Catherine Maria Johnson (1786–1850), who married Major-General Barnard Foord Bowes in 1805. Bowes died at the Siege of the Salamanca Forts in 1812.
  Robert Thomas Johnson (1787–1812), who drowned in the St. Lawrence River in 1812.
  Charles Christopher Johnson (1787–1864), who became a vice-admiral and married Susan Griffith Colpoys, daughter of Sir Edward Griffith Colpoys.
  Archibald Kennedy Johnson (1792–1866), who married Jenet Robertson and Maria Langham.
  Their last surviving child, an unmarried daughter, died in London on 1 January 1868.
  Lady Johnson died in Montreal on August 7, 1815. Sir John died, at the age of 88, in Montreal, while still Superintendent of Indian Affairs, on January 4, 1830.  Both are buried at Mount Johnson, near Chambly, Quebec.
caption: Lady Mary Johnson, copied by Henderson, of Montreal, from a family painting
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